Jeff Gann obit

Former WCW Star “The Gambler” Jeff Gann Sadly Passes Away

 

He was not on the list.

Former WCW star “The Gambler” Jeff Gann has passed away, according to PWInsider. Women’s wrestling legend Susan Green announced Gann’s passing this afternoon but no other details were provided.

Gann began his pro wrestling career in 1990 when he signed with WCW and began training at the Power Plant. Using the name Jeff Gamble, he debuted on the November 17, 1990 edition of WCW Saturday Night with a loss to The Big Cat (aka Mr. Hughes). Gann developed his Gambler persona in USWA, where he first worked in 1992. Gann returned to WCW in 1993 with the gimmick, and would go on to be a “jobber to the stars,” losing to numerous top WCW talents. He remained on the WCW roster through 1999, but only worked two bouts in 1997, two in 1998, and six in 1999. His last match was a loss to Johnny Attitude on the August 21, 1999 edition of WCW Saturday Night.

Gann did pick up the occasional win on WCW Pro and WCW Saturday Night, but no more than a few, and over other enhancement talents. His first TV win looks to be over Scott Studd on the September 10, 1994 edition of WCW Pro. Gambler found some success in USWA as he and Brickhouse Brown held the USWA Tag Team Titles for 16 days in April 1995.

Gann was released from his WCW contract on August 31, 1999, and did not continue with his career in pro wrestling. He turned down at least one indie booking in recent years.

Chris Jericho wrote the following on Gann and their December 1996 WCW Pro match in his “A Lion’s Tale : Around the World in Spandex” book from 2007:

    [He was a] journeyman wrestler that I’d never seen before (or since). His gimmick was he was a Kenny Rogers impersonator. Even though that gimmick would rule, his actual gimmick was of a Maverick-style riverboat gambler. It was a horrible feeling knowing that my future was in the hands of a man who did card tricks on his way to the ring. I didn’t know if he was good or if he sucked, but my self-esteem was at such a low that I was going to leave the match up to him. I was gambling on the Gambler.

    Having confidence is a huge part of being successful. When you have it, you can do no wrong. When you don’t, all you can do is wrong. At that point all of my previous accomplishments didn’t mean a damn thing. This was my last chance.

    The Gambler led the match and I followed him. He was a meat-and-potatoes wrestler so it was nothing fancy, but it was exactly what I needed. It was the type of basic match that I would’ve had in wrestling camp. No bells or whistles, just a good story and solid execution. Lo and behold, we had a good little match and within five minutes I had regained my confidence and once again became Chris Jericho – World Beater.