It’s been a while since we’ve seen Jeremiah Plunkett grace the TV screen for the National Wrestling Alliance. When we last saw him on NWA Powerrr, he was part of The Ill-Begotten faction, but a stipulation had it that if they lost their match, then they would disband as a team.
That was almost two years ago. Yet when SlamWrestling.net recently caught up with the Tater Peeler from Tennessee, he has not been keeping idle.
“Man, [I] just stay busy on the independents,” Plunkett said. “I was working some for the Exodus Pro territory, and mostly for the Joe Cazana territory.”
Both are territories under the NWA banner, and the second one is NWA Southeastern Joe Cazana Promotions. It’s also the promotion that Plunkett has some history with the elder Cazana.
“I’m trying to think when I started. I know it was before AJ [Cazana] was even in the NWA,” he recalled. “I’ve met AJ working the independents and his dad on the show. One day Joe just called me up to come up and work, and I’ve been here and there for him ever since.”
It’s truly home. “I love working up there for him,” Plunkett added of the Knoxville-based promotion. “I love just talking old stuff with Joe.”
What do Plunkett and Cazana talk about when they get together as it relates to “old stuff”?
“He’ll tell me territory stories and that’s what I’ve always been here for,” he explained. “Like, my favorite thing is when there’s a territory guy in the locker room and butting up and hearing stories.”
The Cazana family has promoted in and around the Knoxville area for years, starting with the grandfather. Joe Cazana was therefore a little kid watching his grandfather run the shows, and his father wrestle. Just by sitting and listening, Plunkett feels that he’s gotten an education on how the territories worked.
Plunkett has been making his mark, having recently participated in the NWA’s signature event, Back to the Territories, held in June of this year. He was featured in a match with Mario Pardua from NWA Chicago, Hunter Drake from Kross Fire Wrestling in Seveierville, TN, and Dante Casanova of NWA Exodus Pro for the NWA Mid-America title.
As to how he got in the mix of this four-way, Plunkett gave credit where it was due. “All things go to Joe,” he said. “I just got a call one night, and he had said, ‘How would you like to represent NWA JCP at the Back to the Territories event?’ I’m like, ‘Well, Joe, of course, that’d be great. And then when he told me what it was for, I’ll be honest, I started to get a ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’ type of mindset, and when it was announced, I was like, ‘Well, I guess this thing’s happening. So, I need to come in top shape and ready to go.'”
And go he did and won the NWA Mid-America championship on that night besting the three competitors, which you can see on YouTube:
Winning that title means a lot to Plunkett. “It’s real special because Tracy Smothers, one of my mentors, held that title,” Plunkett said. “Early on I did some training with Dutch Mantell for a while. Dutch Mantell, probably the most prolific holder of that belt, growing up. Jerry Lawler was my hero. Obviously, Jerry Lawler [was the] last holder of that belt. Jeff Jarrett, my favorite wrestler 100% to this day. I watch anything Jeff Jarrett does [and] Jeff Jarrett held that belt.”
After he won the belt, Plunkett reached out to Jarrett. “I hit up Jeff after it came out and I had this idea, but I wanted to clear it by him first just because I’m big on the respect thing and I would never do this if I didn’t have the approval,” Plunkett said.
“The Ten Pounds of Gold is named ‘Sweet Charlotte,’ right? So, I’m the inaugural NWA Mid-America champion. I can set up something like that. I think [former NWA World champion] Adam Pearce may have been the first person to call it ‘Sweet Charlotte.’ Well, I want to name the Mid-America championship, and I thought the only name that would fit because of the history of the belt [and] where the belt came from, where the territory came from would be ‘Miss Christine.'”
That would be in honor of Christine Jarrett, or “Teeny” for short; she was the matriarch of the Jarretts.
Double J’s reaction? “He said he loved it,” recalled Plunkett. “I needed the Jarrett blessing. I figured that belt started in the Roy Welch and Nick Gulas territory which Miss Christine Jarrett was a promoter of that area.”
“She’s one of the first female promoters in the history of the business,” he reasoned. “So why not honor her with the naming of the Mid-America title?”
That match was finally broadcast on The CW App in September of this year and on the NWA’s YouTube channel. To keep that secret before broadcast must’ve been hard for Plunkett. “Very,” he agreed. “And, you know, I went with that year off or whatever. I had that weird mindset of that ‘I believe it when I see it’ type thing. I was waiting for [the NWA to say], ‘Hey, we changed our mind. Send it back.'”
“I’ve had so, so many times the rug pulled out from under me in wrestling,” he explained. “That is why it’s always been ‘I believe when I see it,’ but once it was announced that it was gonna happen, it’s gonna air. I’m like, ‘All right.’ Well, the second thought became, ‘Let’s see how this is accepted.'”
Plunkett is determined to defend “Miss Christine” and get it accepted in the NWA and other territories. “The rubber is gonna be meeting the road,” he said. “I’m gonna be doing some traveling, which is good. I mean, I’ve been saying, ‘How is this gonna change things?’ I’ve been a road warrior my entire run, so I’m used to it. It’s gonna be mostly the same, hopefully busier, but, it’s gonna be me making shots, making towns, and defending a title.”
One such town will be this Friday, October 4, in Augusta, KY. He will defend the NWA Mid-America title against Gaston Larue for Generation Next Pro Wrestling. Then on Saturday, October 5, in his hometown of Murfreesboro, TN, he will compete for Southern All-Star Wrestling versus TeVon Jordyn.
TOP PHOTO: Jeremiah Plunkett gets ready to make towns at Tennessee All-Pro Wrestling as the NWA Mid-America champion. Photo by Anna Long-Beautifully Broken Photography
JEREMIAH PLUNKETT LINKS
- Jeremiah Plunkett story and column archive
- Jeremiah Plunkett socials via LinkTree
