Jeffrey Gann is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

retired

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

, best known for his time with

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...

(WCW), under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or project ...

The Gambler. He appeared with the company as a

jobber to the stars In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect information related to kayfabe from being revealed. The term can be used a numbe ...

between 1990 and 1999. He initially competed as Jeff Gamble during the early years of his career before developing his Gambler

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

. He also briefly competed in the

United States Wrestling Association The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Wrest ...

, where he was a one-time World Tag Team Champion with

Brickhouse Brown Frederick Seawright (August 11, 1960 – July 29, 2018) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Brickhouse Brown. He was a top heel in several Southern promotions in the 1980s and 1990s. Professional wrestling career ...

Professional wrestling career

World Championship Wrestling

Jeff Gamble (1990–1991)

Gann started his professional wrestling career in 1990 by signing a contract with

(WCW). He was trained at the

WCW Power Plant The WCW Power Plant was a professional wrestling school in Atlanta, Georgia, owned and operated by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The school was founded by wrestler Jody Hamilton, who opened the training center in 1989 in Lovejoy, Georgia ...

and made his debut on WCW television as an

enhancement talent In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect information related to kayfabe from being revealed. The term can be used a numbe ...

on the November 17 episode of ''

'', where he lost to The Big Cat under the

Jeff Gamble. The following week, on the November 24 episode of ''World Championship Wrestling'', Gamble and Scott Sandlin lost to Big Cat and The Motor City Madman. His next appearance was on the January 13, 1991 episode of ''

Main Event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

'', where he lost to

Bobby Eaton Bobby Lee Eaton (August 14, 1958 – August 4, 2021) was an American professional wrestler best known as "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton. He was most famous for his work in tag teams, especially as one-half of The Midnight Express. Under the managem ...

The Gambler (1992–1995)

Gann developed his

of The Gambler in

(USWA), where he teamed with Psycho in a loss to The Power Twins on May 30, 1992. Gamble assisted in carrying the Fabulous Moolah's caravan to the ring at Slamboree '93 on May 23, 1993, and later was one of Rick Rude's two "belt guards" that guarded the vacated US Title inside a briefcase. He returned to WCW action at a live event on September 21, 1993 under the Gambler character, where he lost to Jim Steele. His televised return was on the October 23 episode of ''Saturday Night'', where he teamed with Fred Avery and Todd Zane against The Shockmaster,

Ice Train The Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE ()) is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany. It also serves some destinations in Austria, Denmark (ceased in 2017 but planned to resume in 2022), France, Belgium, Switzerla ...

and Charlie Norris. His first televised appearance as Gambler was in a tag team match with

Big Bad John "Big Bad John" is a country song originally performed by Jimmy Dean, who wrote and composed it. It was released in September 1961 and by the beginning of November it had gone to number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It won Dean the 1962 Gr ...

against Thunder and

Lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an average ...

on the November 28 episode of ''Main Event''. He would make a unique entrance by taking out a set of

playing card A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a f ...

s from his jacket and showing them to the audience as part of his character. He was a regular

against major stars including

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-earth ...

Ricky Steamboat Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...

Dustin Rhodes Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes. He is best known for his multiple tenures with WWE ...

, Erik Watts, Johnny B. Badd,

Brian Pillman Brian William Pillman (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional wrestler and professional football player best known for his appearances in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Ch ...

Arn Anderson Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by the ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a ...

, The Patriot,

Marcus Alexander Bagwell Marcus Alexander Bagwell (born January 10, 1970) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Buff Bagwell. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1991 to 2001, where he was a fi ...

and

2 Cold Scorpio Charles Bernard Scaggs (born October 25, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name 2 Cold Scorpio (sometimes spelled Too Cold Scorpio). He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, Extrem ...

. Gambler gained his first win in WCW on the September 10 episode of ''

Pro Pro is an abbreviation meaning " professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof may also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retire ...

'' against Scott Studd. He received his only title shot in WCW on the October 22, 1994 episode of ''Saturday Night'' against

Jim Duggan James Edward Duggan Jr. (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE on a Legends contract. His best-known character is that of an American patriot, which ...

for the United States Heavyweight Championship and lost in a short match.

United States Wrestling Association (1995)

As part of WCW's working relationship with

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

-based USWA, Gann toured with USWA in 1995, returning to the company after three years. Gambler formed a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

with

upon debuting in USWA and the duo were booked to win the promotion's

World Tag Team Championship The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championship (professional wrestling), championships in professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotions, promotions. Nomenclature The name of the promo ...

by beating

PG-13 The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion pictures ...

on April 15. They made a successful title defense against PG-13 on April 24 before dropping the title back to PG-13 on May 1. After failing to regain the titles on May 8, Gann formed a new tag team with

Gorgeous George III Robert Kellum (born January 26, 1973) is an American professional wrestler and actor, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling under the ring name The Maestro. He has also wrestled for other promotions, including the Unit ...

to regain the title from PG-13. Gambler and George received a title shot at World Tag Team Championship against PG-13 on June 5, but were defeated. At ''Memphis Memories II'', Gambler, George, Mr. World Class and Maxx Muscle defeated Scott Studd, Davey Haskins, Super Mario and King Cobra. On July 3, Gambler lost a match to his former tag team partner Brickhouse Brown. Gambler closed his run in USWA with a loss to

Steven Dunn Steven Lyle Doll (December 9, 1960 – March 22, 2009) was an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as Steven Dunn in the tag team Well Dunn. Professional wrestling career Early care ...

on September 4, 1995.

Return to WCW (1995–1999)

After a stint with USWA, Gann returned to WCW television on the December 2, 1995 episode of ''Saturday Night'' against Mr. JL. After the launch of ''

Monday Nitro ''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the United ...

'', Gann became a regular jobber on WCW's B-shows such as ''Saturday Night'', ''WorldWide'', ''Pro'' and ''Main Event''. Gann put over many rising and established stars during his career and also served as the first opponent of Prince Iaukea on the June 1, 1996 episode of ''Saturday Night'' and

Glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

on the September 8 episode of ''Pro''.

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jerich ...

, another young WCW wrestler, recalled a bout against Gann: After a few matches in early 1997, Gambler took a hiatus and returned to television on the July 18, 1998 episode of ''Saturday Night'', where he suffered a loss against Norman Smiley. He picked up a victory against David Taylor on the April 27, 1999 episode of ''WorldWide''. Gambler's final match was on the August 21 episode of ''WorldWide'', a loss to Johnny Attitude. He was released from his WCW contract on August 31, 1999.

Championships and accomplishments

*Mid-Missouri Wrestling Association **MMWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **MMWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Frankie D *

** USWA World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with

References

General * Specific

External links

Professional wrestling record for The Gambler from The Internet Wrestling DatabaseThe Gambler at Cagematch.net
*
The Gambler at Wrestlingdata.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gambler, The American male professional wrestlers Living people People from Biloxi, Mississippi Sportspeople from Biloxi, Mississippi Year of birth missing (living people)