The death of our SlamWrestling.net colleague Jamie Melissa Hemmings is more than a fitting reason to dust off the ol’ Slam Speaks format. What quickly became evident is that, in her 43 years, she impacted a lot of lives, beyond just her writing about pro wrestling.
The site’s Producer, Greg Oliver, started things off, breaking the news with February 10th’s Mat Matters: We will miss you, Jamie Hemmings.
From there, it was a non-stop run of memories, with plenty of revisiting of the Archive of SlamWrestling.net’s stories by Jamie Hemmings.
JOHN POWELL, Editor-in-Chief
Fans of anything and everything are kindred spirits as you have to be a certain kind of personality to love wrestling, comic books, Taylor Swift, etc. Jamie and I were that times two. Both of us were die-hard wrestling fans and horror movie fans so we shared a special connection immediately inside and outside of Slam.
But, that was Jamie.
That bond which shone so brightly makes her loss even harder to bear. You can tangibly feel the void that is left. It is like staring at a clear, summer night’s sky, standing there and staring as a bright shiny star just winks out.
What also brought us together is our shared pain in that life in general has never been easy for us for a variety of reasons. For some reason, whichever celestial you believe in put us on a rough road right from the start or perhaps we just wandered there. Who knows? I was always extremely proud of her for the strength she showed in displaying her scars to the world which inspired others, helped others, let them know they were never alone. It takes a strong person to be able to do that and I would like to think that Jamie helped so many others with her kind words, thoughts.
But, that was Jamie.
I will miss our horror movie debates, sharing our thoughts and experiences together. I will miss her brilliant cosplays. I will miss her insightful and passionate contributions to Slam.
But, what I will miss most is everything that was and forever will be Jamie.
TOMMY “MILAGRO” MARTINEZ
It doesn’t seem that long ago when I started writing for SlamWrestling.net, and just trying to get my feet. Over four years ago, I was introduced to Jamie and she put me on an assignment to cover the graphic novel on “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. A few mad scribbles later, I showed it to her and she and I quickly bonded.
I find impressing women not my strongest forte. But impressing Jamie with my way around books, pro wrestling, and the odd B-movie horror reference (in this case, the Piper classic Hell Comes to Frogtown), that sealed the deal.
Over the years we shared many a talk and a text, whether on families, the minutiae of how to infuse vodka with Hatch chiles from New Mexico, podcasts (like when she came on to TV TAN PODCAST with me and Bill Frost not once, but twice), but more importantly … the Sport of Professional Wrestling.
But she was also instrumental in helping me out when I was tasked with doing an interview with Christina Von Eerie breaking her silence on Chris Dickinson and I did not know how to properly handle such a sensitive topic. Her words and guidance were instrumental to helping make sure I did my job right.
I just recently learned she moved close to me in Colorado Springs, and I was in the process of planning to visit her and the family and showing some indie shows and some local wrestling friends.
But that isn’t the case.
If you are reading this, Jamie, I will do my best to honor you any chance I get to crank out a story.
I’m not ready to say, “goodbye.” But to use her words (which she borrowed from Sting), it’s more of a, “see you soon.”
“TRAPPER” TOM LETURGEY
Jamie Hemmings quickly became one of my favorite fellow writers at Slam Wrestling. As a fellow bespectacled lover of books, especially of the wrestling variety, Jamie was my favorite “sister” of the craft.
I was envious when she dug and found a copy of Terry Funk’s biography at a rummage sale. I thought of her often as I dug through rummage sale books, hoping to duplicate her find. I eventually had to purchase it at a discount book seller. I still thought of my friend.
Over the years we shared Holiday cards, as I celebrated Christmas, while she observed Hanukkah. For a couple of years, I had to purchase a Canadian stamp from my favorite suburban Pittsburgh post office.
I just got a card from her this year, as she had returned to the states. I always thought of Jamie as extraordinarily intelligent, funny and a proud mother and wife. I am profoundly sad about this news.
BRADLEY CRAIG
Jamie’s enthusiasm for pro wrestling was something she held from her childhood in the 1980s. She would often recall her favorite storyline being the blow-up between the Mega Powers, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, and how it really made her fall in love with the industry. The storyline was unique in that it involved women in the feud, with key roles for Miss Elizabeth and Sensational Sherri. At the time that Jamie was introduced to wrestling, it was very much a sport which revolved around men, but in the decades since, this has changed and become more inclusive. Even the fanbase has changed, in part because of girls like Jamie who were willing to be proud as fans. In our conversations, she remembered being teased as a young girl for liking pro wrestling, and expressed how glad she was that wrestling is now marketed towards everyone. Jamie liked pro wrestling content but had great fondness for the community around the business. In her mind, it was the unique people that make pro wrestling so special and dazzling.
When Jamie started writing for the professional wrestling industry, she was a trailblazer in some respects as it is a field which remains underrepresented. However, Jamie would often explain that the best way to help encourage change is to be a part of the process. Her enjoyment of wrestling was matched by her love of reading, and I will sorely miss her insightful reviews of pro wrestling books, as well as her personal style of writing. She was also an expert editor, who could take the most impenetrable prose and make it concise and accessible for all readers from the SLAM! community.
Most of all, I will miss our conversations, Jamie had a way of making people smile whenever she chatted with them. My deepest sympathies go towards her family and close friends, and I know her loss will be devastating. She was so proud of her family and loved them dearly. My hope is that, over time, the memory of her joyful demeanor and kindness will be of comfort to those she touched.
JOHN COSPER
Jamie was such a positive force on social media, for wrestling and wrestling writers. She was a champion of book writers, so much so that when we produced the Covid-Con virtual wrestling book fair, Kenny Casanova (I think it was Kenny) dubbed her Queen of the Wrestling Books. She was always supportive of my fictional work as well as wrestling, and over time, she became a friend.
Jamie was the first person to inform me after Hurricane JJ Maguire passed away. I hadn’t been on social media all day, and her message out of the blue floored me. I know the two of them had hit it off as well, and she was so compassionate about the loss.
I always felt like Jamie would join the ranks of authors one day. She certainly had the chops, and she had so much love for wrestling. I’m completely stunned right now, and I’m going to miss her terribly. My heart and prayers go out to her son and husband.
JON LANGMEAD
News of the death of Jamie Hemmings was a heavy blow to the heart. Jamie was thoughtful and funny and empathetic, all traits she brought to her writing. More than anything, she seemed open and honest and determined to find the humanity at the heart of the people she was writing about. We could all learn a lot from her example. I’ll never forget a particular email she sent me about a piece I’d written on one of her favorite writers. She wrote, “I don’t know if it’s just one thing that fascinates me about him. I think it’s a combination of things. I just find him very interesting, eccentric and quirky. And this might be silly but I was watching his appearance on Dark Side of the Ring and I couldn’t help but notice that his glasses were in such bad condition. And it’s not a knock on him at all. It just struck me that he has far more pressing concerns than repairing or getting a new pair of glasses. I think I’d be very nervous to talk to him to be honest. I’m someone who nerds out over the wrestling writers rather than the wrestlers lol” These were the kind of unexpected messages you got from her. She seemed totally tuned in to all of the details of whatever it was she was working on, as if she owed it her full attention and respect. She’s going to be missed by so many people whose lives she touched in large and small ways. A terrible, terrible loss.
BOB KAPUR
If you’re a fan of the show Seinfeld, then you’ll know the frustrated way Jerry always said “Newman!” whenever he fell victim, directly or otherwise, to one of Newman’s many schemes. That’s the way I felt about Jamie Hemmings at times.
Because it seemed that every time I was interested in reviewing a book for the site, Jamie would always beat me to it. The Sabu autobiography? Before I’d even finished turning the last page, Jamie had already published her review. The Rock photo book? Even though I got the interview with Hiram Garcia, it was Jamie who snagged the review copy and wrote about it. Same thing happened with “Dangerous” Danny Davis’ autobiography.
And every time it happened, I’d shake my fist and say “Hemmings!” in frustration.
I wasn’t really mad, of course.
Because I understood how much Jamie loved reading. And I knew that no matter what kind of review I would have written, hers would be better. Because she had a way of appreciating the written word in a way that few others can. And, what’s more, she could articulate those thoughts in a way that was accessible, clear, and honest.
It is that same honesty that flowed into every piece she wrote for the site. And allowed her to share her empathy and compassion for all of the people she connected with. One only needs to re-read her series of stories with Barry O to see that.
It came through in every communication, every interaction I had with her.
That those interactions have come to a pause saddens me. I will miss the “Hemmings!”
TOP PHOTOS: Jamie Hemmings dressed up as “Macho Man” Randy Savage — her favorite — and with Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
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