Fame, You Will Remember The Macho Man: Randy Savage, Jerry Lawler, Rock N Roll Express (Memphis 1983-1985)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Even though I was born in 1989, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes is a huge part of my life and I was deeply devastated by his sudden, unexpected passing a few days prior. Within the past week, I was having a rather rough work week like we all have had in our lives. I was walking the trail outside my work in the evening to clear my head and get ready back to grind out another report. I called my buddy up and we started to chit chat. Subconsciously, I just started doing a Dusty impression to answer one of my friend's questions and as a non-wrestling fan she was like what the fuck. I just did that for the rest of the phone conversation for like half an hour to amuse myself. She could barely understand DaAmericanDreamDustyRhodes wax philosophic about "waffle-legging" and "repetenda" and was growing quite pissed , but I was laughing my ass off. It was the best I had felt in weeks and was ready to get back knock out some more work. Thank you for all the memories and all the inspiration, Big Dust! He is one of the few wrestlers that every single time I would see him on the TV screen, I would smile just because his mere presence was enjoyable. To honor Dusty Rhodes, I will continue to live my life just like he did, on the end of a lightning bolt! Rest in peace, Dusty and condolences to all his family and his friends. Even though he may have passed, the American Dream will live in the hearts of every wrestling fan. I love you, Big Dust & Gold Bless You!

Busty Dusty! :p

This wrestling death is the one that has hit me the hardest since the passing of my favorite wrestler, "Macho Man" Randy Savage. I have watched Macho Man's big time runs to death, but his ICW and Mempho runs remained unseen and it only furthered his cause to be ranked among the greatest wrestlers of all time. What this particular run really shed light on was Macho Man's irresistible charisma and how it was already present well before his WWF run. In a short year and half, he proved he could be the most hated villain against Jerry Lawler infuriating fans with cowardly antics, his incessant cheating and downright despicable behavior. With a flip of a switch, he could channel that effusive energy to being cheered rabidly by the Memphis faithful. You will be hard pressed to ever find a wrestler as over as Randy Savage was on September 10, 1984 at Mid-South Coliseum. It is something that should be seen to be truly appreciated. As literally every movement caused a raucous ovation for the Macho Man, who was even more over than his tag partner, The King, dare I say. Memphis is a very fun promotion, but rarely did they ever possess a true star of Randy Savage and it was just incredible watching someone with Hogan, Dusty like charisma just ignite the promotion. 

With all this praise for his Memphis, the best match I actually watched for this blog was for his father's outlaw International Championship Wrestling based out of Lexington, KY. The footage for the ICW is scant, but one match we do have is Randy Savage, the star of the promotion, defending his championship against Ronnie Garvin in a fabulously violent steel cage match that is a must see for all wrestling fans and one of the greatest American wrestling matches of the 80s and maybe Randy Savage's best match. That is high praise, but deserved praise for one roller coaster of a match. Definitely check that one out! 

ICW Heavyweight Champion Randy Savage vs Ronnie Garvin - ICW Steel Cage 1982/1983

Best babyface Savage performance of his career besides the Savage/Flair GAB '95 match. Savage is an all-time great as a heel by being a totally despicable human and someone who always makes the babyface look like a million bucks. As a babyface, he relies a lot on his selling (he is world-class), but there is not much in the way of offense. The selling keeps it from feeling like an exhibition, but still I wish there would be more struggle in his babyface matches. I think that this cage match with Garvin really shows babyface Savage in a violent war over the ICW Championship. This should go down as one of the all-time great cage matches and reminder how great the stipulation can be. From the outset, they let us know that this is going to be a street fight with the way they were tussling over a front facelock and how they were clawing and choking each other. There was nothing pretty about it, but it was incredibly compelling. Unlike so many cage matches, it never felt claustrophobic, they were still able to brawl and use the cage as a weapon. We get double juice as these two just hate each other. Of course, this match features Savage's amazing trademark selling as he is staggered and collapsing after each hope spot. I love how the piledriver is treated like such a kill shot and each is doing all they can to avoid the other's. So much talk about Savage, but Garvin was awesome on top using the cage at will and choking Savage. He was a true heel. The best part of the match is in the middle of the match, a boxing match breaks out and two of the best working punches going at it. Down goes Garvin! Savage scampers on his knees to pin, but only two. I love the urgency! They are looking to end it in a most violent way, piledriver, but neither can get it. Savage misses his top rope elbow. Ruh roh! Garvin throws him into the ref and gets the belt and blasts Savage. He is hanging Savage and this match just ventured into classic territory. Savage kicks him off as a survival tactic. Savage throws the belt at Garvin to stop the top rope knee drop. HE PILEDRIVES HIM OFF THE TOP ROPE! THAT IS HOW YOU PAY OFF TEASES, BITCHES! Savage vs Lawler, here we come! ****3/4

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AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lawler vs Randy Savage 

Memphis, Mid-South Coliesum 12/12/83, Steel Cage Match

"EVERYONE DIES!" Randy Savage's verbal ravings during the match.

I have seen this before, but never in full and honestly I have been underwhelmed by this match. Mostly because I was expecting OMG LAWLER VS SAVAGE~! and instead it was just a great match. I will say this match definitely features the two of the best working punches in history. I love Savage's windup right hand almost like how a pitcher in baseball wind ups before delivering a fastball. Savage is in full Memphis heel mode running away and stooging for Lawler's punches. Lawler starts the match off unusually red hot with furious punches. Savage spits on Lawler to get him so riled up that he makes a mistake and Savage applies a chinlock to quell his momentum. Lawler throws him into cage, which is set up to go to the floor and Savage is staggered and falls ass first to the outside in a great bump. Savage starts to fiddle with his tights so here comes the foreign object playing that is a hallmark of the Mempho territory. Savage rakes eyes maybe with the foreign object it is hard to see and now he just suffocates Lawler. Awesome working punches, the double axehandle to the floor and ramming him into the cage. Lawler is coming back with punches and wrestles the foreign object away from Savage and he drives into Savage's eye, naaaasty. Now, we get the problem with the match, if there was ever a Memphi/Lawler spotfest this is it. That sounds weird because Memphis is almost as anti-spotfest as you get, but here they are start just throwing out spots against each other. Savage misses an Elbow from the top of the Cage and that is just another spot in the middle of the match! Lawler thinks better of going to the top of the cage instead hits a flying bodypress for two. Savage is just up flying into the middle rope and then he is doing a tremendous airplane spin. The airplane spin would be so  over in today's hipster culture, but I guess the Giant Swing is that, but more athletically impressive. They are both come out staggered and Lawler tags with a right! Like most Memphis matches, it is all about piledriver teases which I love, Savage headbutts him in the balls to stop one. Savage throws him into the cage, but STRAP DOWN~! Lawler with furious punches only to Jos LeDuc trigger the DQ in the cage match. That was a super lame finish, but it is tough to start the first match of a series off with a cage match. They really had to though because this feud was already so hot from Savage's promos on ICW TV and the interpromotional feud. So you had to do the cage match, but you wanted to get more out of the feud so you needed the shitty ending. It is all action, but it is just all over the place. Savage missing the top of the cage elbow was crazy, but treated like just another spot. Still a great match that should be seen, but it was no Savage vs Garvin. ****

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AWA Southern Champion Jerry Lawler vs NWA Mid-American Champion Randy Savage Lexington, KY 4/9/84 

Lawler ventures to Savage's home turf, but crowd seems split as Jimmy Hart is in Savage's corner and Savage is in total heel mode. I loved the beginning with Savage using the hair only to have Lawler really whip him down by the hair and Savage throws a hissy fit. Savage is really into taking walks to break the rhythm of the King. Savage is such a great character. If this was 1997, he would have decked a camera man or ring announcer that was all that was missing. Definitely one of all time favorite stallers. I wish wrestling had more bullshit stalling in it today. There is a great moment where if you pay close attention to Savage's face you see how terrified he is of Lawler's closed fist so he quickly yanks him down by the hair. Fear is a powerful driver and I love how that pushes him to cheat to avoid the dangerous Lawler right. Lawler does some real nice technical mat wrestling with a back heel trip into a headscissors into a sort of mini-piledriver. Very cool. Savage crawls out of the ring while in the headscissors and he is takes advantage to cheapshot Lawler and sends him into the post. Everything is focused on the head of Lawler and Savage is just relentless hitting him in the head whenever. He would run himself ragged to set up different ways to stomp or punch him in the head. The double axehandle to the floor is such a perfect move of the character Savage had cultivated. There was literally no place you were safe from this wildman. Lawler has to resort to throwing a drink into Savage's eyes and blasts him with a right one after another. They trade misses, first Lawler misses a fist drop then Savage misses elbow drop and then Lawler misses his top rope fist drop. I really like that sequence. This time Lawler is ready for Savage as he is coming off the top rope and nails him in the midsection with a fist. The King looks for the countout victory, but Savage has too much pride in his hometown to go down like that. This time it is Lawler with the low bridge to stop the Savage piledriver. STRAP DOWN~! Levels the Macho Man! Fist drop, but no ref thanks to Angelo & Jimmy Hart, Savage nails a piledriver. Still no referee and Savage gets frustrated leading to a Lawler roll up for the win. That was a very modern WWE finish. Again, I just did not feel like Savage vs Lawler reached that next level. I have seen their loser leaves town match a couple years ago and really liked that. Early on, I liked this better than the cage match because it was Savage and Lawler just ripping it up as their characters, but they have not put together that next level finish stretch. Both of them are coming back at will and trading spots with out that level of struggle and consequence that makes a match a classic. Still, again there is enough action that this is a quick watch and super entertaining. Still waiting for Lawler vs Savage the classic, but next up they actually tag up against Rick Rude & King Kong Bundy. 1984 Memphis was stacked! ****

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Randy Savage & Lanny Poffo vs Rock N Roll Express - Mid-South Coliseum 6/25/84 

SAVAGE PILEDRIVES MORTON THROUGH THE TABLE! When I was a kid, we rented some video or found some TV show that had this angle on the tape. I literally remember nothing else on the video just Savage piledriving Ricky Morton through the table at ringside. Eat it, ECW! Talk about a hot and I mean double hot angle!

Absolutely tremendous! For what we got, this was on pace to be one of my favorite Memphis Wrestling matches of the 80s and on pace to be better than both Savage vs Lawler matches I have watched so far, but a premature DQ ending makes for a fun match rather than a classic. Wow, were these two teams made for each other! Savage and Poffo were perfect heel stooges for the Rock n Rolls and of course RnRs excel at giving the early crowd pleasing spots. I am such a mark for high-octane movement in the ring that ends with the heel either on his ass or falling on his face. There are plenty of those with Poffo and Savage trying to get one up on RnRs and failing spectacularly. My favorite spot was RnR did their normal spot of rolling through a banana split and decked Savage on the apron. They go to do it again, but Savage has learned his lesson so he jumps off the apron. He gets back on the apron and showboats only to be decked again. Popped huge for that! The transition to the heat segment was awesome with Gibson running into the top turnbuckle, but it was a fake out. In the ensuing fracas, Morton gets rammed into the post by Angelo and the short heat segment is worked perfectly. Savage and Poffo's control feels tenuous at best, which gives a really exciting feeling of when Gibson will make a tag, but Morton is out of it that it is hard for him to make a tag even when he gets a hope spot in. I know this is stating the obvious, but Morton sold perfectly in this match just enough to get sympathy, but was still active in trying to tag out. Great stuff! Savage is great at working a nasty heat segment with his wicked punches and full court press offense. Gibson finally gets in, but before he can do any really damage, Angelo pulls down the top rope and he goes tumbling out for the premature DQ. At a scant nine minutes of awesomeness, I am definitely left wanting more to the point where the finish is frustrating. I am of the opinion that I rather get twenty minutes with this finish than just ten with this finish leaving the match feel underdeveloped. A brawl develops at ringside and this is where Savage piledrives Ricky Morton through the table. These two teams absolutely rocked it and I look forward to the rematch.  ***3/4

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Randy Savage & Lanny Poffo vs Rock N Roll Express - Mid-South Coliseum 7/4/84

Savage vs Morton needed to happen! Just another one of those on paper classics that never happened. Plus instead of these shitty finishes, they could have put RnRs over in a tag setting, but with Savage going over clean one on one. Oh well, another great match from these two teams, but not quite on the level as the last match. The babyface shine featured what you expected with the RnRs getting the best of the Poffos, but there was not as many fun spots as the previous match and a lot of was just fun stalling. They gave more time for the heat segment in this go around and Randy Savage just looked huge here. Randy  Savage looked like a colossal star in this match. 1984 had to be when Memphis was the most loaded with talent. The mid-80s definitely feels like the highwater mark for pro wrestling in terms of starpower in every territory. Today feels downright shallow compared to the depth of the 80s. Savage was all over the place as Lance Russell said in this match. Off a blind tag, Savage was able to sneak a quick jab to Morton's ribs and then threw him out only to come crashing down with the double axehandle. I loved Savage sneaking around the ring and coming up from behind to blast Morton. The entire heat segment was just potshot after potshot on Morton from the entire Poffo family including Angelo. Morton would do his best to use his movement to create opportunities to tag, but the Poffos always grabbed him at the last second. The highwater mark of this heat segment was Savage going for the piledriver on the table only to be back body dropped onto the table! He's hardcore! He's hardcore! He's hardcore! Finally Gibson comes in and is a house of fire climaxing with a nice superplex, which I actually thought would be the finish, but Savage/Morton brawl on the outside distracted the ref meaning Angelo came in and hit with the boot. The ref called for the bell. Morton came in and wrestled the boot out of his hands. Then there was a quick Savage/Morton brawl before the video cut out that looked fantastic. Oh! To have lived in Mempho in 1984! I preferred the June match, but this was still tons of fun. I just wish we got the classic that was clearly present with these two teams. Frustrating, but still happy we got what we got. Looking forward to more Savage and more Morton throughout the 80s! ***1/2

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 Jerry Lawler & Randy Savage vs. King Kong Bundy & Rick Rude - Memphis 9/10/84

Randy Savage was over like all get out! He was more over than fucking Lawler! It was insane; literally every movement got a huge reaction from the crowd. He could have blown his nose in the middle of the ring and gotten a pop. He came over like a massive star in this match as time would tell he would go to be arguably the second biggest wrestling star of the 80s (Andre would be the only one in contention). It was just irresistible not to have fun while watching this match especially the awesome shine to start the match. Savage's wildman antics are hilarious and garnering a huge pop from the audience. The posedown with Rude gets tremendous heat. Did they ever lock up in WWF? That would have been one helluva combination. Against Bundy, when Bundy grabbed a chair, he grabbed the steel post that sectioned off the fans from the wrestlers. Gotta love Savage! The stall-o-rama here wears on me. Savage executes a crazy airplane spin, probably the more rotational speed I have ever seen. The shine finally ends with Bundy catching Lawler with size. It is shocking to see Lawler get outshined, but in this match Savage just had the extra je ne sais quoi that it was hard even for the King to compete with. Rude and Bundy actually make for a badass tag team combination. Rude gets a piledriver and is a heat machine. Bundy is very agile for his size and he should have been a bigger star. The crowd wants Savage in so bad. Bundy misses a kneedrop and Lawler fires up to tag out to the Macho Man. Savage nails the fucking ref in the fracas. There is a great post-match brawl between all four with Savage pinning Rude down with the steps and Lawler hitting Bundy with the chair. The beginning was the best part, but it was heated throughout and set up the No DQ match a week later really well. The big story here is that the Macho Man is ready for primetime and has a star power that only few like a Hogan or Flair possess. ****

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Jerry Lawler & Randy Savage vs. King Kong Bundy & Rick Rude - Memphis 9/17/84, No DQ

It is not often the place-setter match for the wild brawl outshines, but unfortunately that is the case here. I was all revved up for a raucous, bitchin time. Don't get me wrong the match was good, but it was not the classic brawl that I think that these four could have. It is Texas Tornado style. I love the name Texas Tornado whoever came up with that is a genius. Bundy gets a chair broken over his head in the first big spot of the match, while Rude is earning his money with his excellent stooging. Savage comes flying out of the sky to the floor with a double axehandle twice. Rude hits an atomic drop, which is not as cool as him taking one. Bundy and Rude are able to isolate Lawler and beat him down. In the sequence of the match, Rude bounces Savage's head off the table and THROWS a table at him! However, The Macho Man came prepared with a chain and is able to nail Rude with it. In the ring, Bundy lays a table on The King and just stands on it. OW! Savage saves with his handy, dandy chain. STRAP DOWN~! Lawler has the chain and nails Rude. Piledriver! Lawler fist drop onto Bundy with the chain, but that snake in the grass Jimmy Hart grabs the ref's hand as it is falling. Savage hits a back suplex on Rude, but pins himself!?!?!?!? WTF, MATE! That's a finish for a classic championship match or a TV title match nearing a draw not for a heated brawl. Very lame finish for the context of the match. There were some nice spots, but I did not think this had the intensity it needed to overcome such a lame finish. ***1/2

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AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Randy Savage vs  Jerry Lawler   

Memphis, Mid-South Coliesum 6/3/85, Loser Leaves Town, No DQ

This is not your standard Loser Leaves Town, you see. Jerry Lawler has gone on record stating he will not wrestle anywhere but Memphis effectively meaning a  loss will put Lawler out of wrestling for a year.

This is the anti-workrate classic. It proves that you don't need flashy MOVEZ~! and action every second to deliver a highly entertaining bout for the ages. In the first five minutes, there are only three punches thrown, but that is all they need to tell their story. In interim, you have the lunacy of Savage taking center stage, jawing with the crowd, spitting and throwing chairs in the ring. Savage is such a despicable, cowardly human in the outset that he works everyone in Memphis into lather. When he does eventually lock up with The King, Lawler is smart enough to know he is not going to get a clean break in the ropes. He blocks the Savage right and nails him right in the nose. The crowd roars and Savage sells it beautifully. They work this sequence again and on the third time when Savage thinks he has it figured out, Lawler ducks and puts him on his ass with a right cross. It is electric. Savage gets up pissed, humiliated and discombobulated. He puts arms out like an X over his forearm to defend himself and looks ridiculous. When Savage does manage to get control, Lawler immediately low blows him. He is not taking any chances in a high stakes Loser Leaves Town match. At this point, there is a cut in the action and thanks to Lance Russell’s time calls, it seems we are missing 13 minutes of this match, which is about half the match. The best spot of the match is when The King is trying to recuperate on the apron and Savage comes crashing into him with a high knee, which sends him flying onto the table in a Holy Shit bump! Lance lets us know that he has a cut around his eye. Later on in the match, we get a feel of just how nasty this cut is. Savage is a damn animal working that cut and torturing Lawler, who is screaming and staggering. The drama is really building that Lawler may lose because there seems no way out. Then just when you think all hope is lost, Lawler seems to be absorbing the punches. You think you have seen this story before, but then Savage really rears back and unleashes a devastating barrage of punches onto the eye of Lawler and then gnawing it. Savage forced the hand of Jerry Calhoun, senior Memphis ref, to save Lawler’s vision and call the match off. The crowd was in shock and Lawler was appalled. He got on the house mic and said Savage would have to pin him to the mat 1-2-3, his eyesight be damned! Lawler was granted his wish and Savage pounced on his eye, but now The King’s dander had been raised and he was really fighting on adrenaline. He unleashes one helluva comeback. Having watched a good chunk of Lawler, his comeback is what makes him truly special. It is absolutely insanely great energy! It is onslaught of fist drops and then a fatal PILEDRIVER~! That sends Macho Man out of Mempho out the door to the Big Apple and The King continues his reign!

The first half of this match is an excellent exhibition of how you can work a compelling match without MOVEZ~! And focus on character work. The second half is one of the most dramatic and violent endings to any match. The big problem is we are missing 13 minutes of 28 minutes, if we had it this match may be  a candidate for the greatest match of all time. As is, I have a problem with deeming it a classic with really what is a disjointed because of the massive cut. What see is truly awesome and is a must see for any wrestling fan! ****1/4  

Long Live The King

Hey yo,

One of the unique facets of weekly pro wrestling is that you grow up with the wrestlers in a way that is not true about athletes and actors. Besides soap opera actors, what actor plays the same character for 40+ years? Nobody, but yet men such as Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan (yeah, there was obvious character development, but at their core they remained the same people) have played their characters for 40+ years. In the case of Ric Flair, that is not a character, the Ric Flair you watch on TV is pretty much the one you get in real life based off all accounts I have read. Athletes have a special connection with their fans, but at the same time how personal does one get with an athlete. Sure we know all the talking points: they want to win the championship, they respect their opponent and they take it one game at a time. Occasionally, a couple of athletes will be more playful, but they only being beamed into your household during the season. I am not trying to diminish the admiration fans have for their favorite idols. I just want to point out the strong connection I have with some men of TV land because they have been a part of my life on a weekly basis for the past 15 years. One man, who has entered my house each and every Monday, was Jerry “The King” Lawler, the color commentator for Monday Night Raw. Last night, Lawler, 62, suffered a heart attack on air and had to be stretchered out of the building and rushed to the hospital. It is one of those moments that separates wrestling so vividly from entertainment. Aside from Broadway (where this event would be very unlikely of happening), no other media of entertainment would this occur as I would hope they promptly stop filming and get this person medical attention. I literally watched a man, who has been a part of my life for 15 years, have a heart attack (the WWE of course tastefully directed the cameras away from him, save for just a brief second). It is one of the most surreal, shocking and hurtful things to undergo.  In the grand scheme of things, I barely know the guy, but it is that odd bond that so many fans have with their wrestlers that have me constantly thinking of Lawler. The show did go on, but without commentary, this eerie silence was coupled with a genuine concern from the Montreal audience with multiple “Jerry” chants breaking out. At the end of the night, Michael Cole, the broadcast colleague, told us Lawler had stabilized, but was still in serious condition, but his heart was beating on its own and he was breathing on his own. I wish for nothing but the speediest recovery for Jerry Lawler.

I have taken Jerry Lawler for granted most these years. Every wrestling fan has taken potshots at Lawler’s commentary. However, just this summer, I stumbled upon an interesting consensus from a certain segment of internet wrestling fans: Jerry Lawler was one of the greatest wrestlers of the 80s and they were saying Ric Flair-great. I was stunned. I knew Lawler ruled Memphis with an iron-fist and was a huge draw there and is to this day. On Sunday, he wrestled in Aruba and keeps a very regular wrestling schedule every weekend even at 62 years old. However, as Hogan has proved, being a great draw and a great wrestler is not mutually inclusive. Yet, there were all these men touting Lawler in the class of Flair, Bockwinkel, Funk and Steamboat as a wrestler of the 80s. I have not explored Lawler nearly as in depth as necessary to make that assertion, but I do know this: in the 1980s, he was really fuckin good. Just two weeks ago, Lawler and WWE Champion CM Punk had one of the best main event angles of RAW inside a steel cage. Just 30 minutes before this tragic event, my brother and I were marveling at the height of his dropkick in his RAW tag team match.

Before there was the Attitude, before there was an ECW, there was Memphis Wrestling. Did you think the first time someone got piledrove through a table was in late 90s WWF? ECW? Maybe you know Terry Funk did to Ric Flair in the NWA 1989? But guess what you would still be wrong. Randy Savage piledrove Ricky Morton through a table in 1984 in Memphis.  Did you think Rock/Foley had the first Empty Arena match in 1999? Nope that honor goes to Jerry Lawler vs Terry Funk in 1981 in Memphis. Did you think the first barbed wire match was between Terry Funk and Sabu in ECW 1997? Nope, Lawler and Dutch Mantell had one in 1982 in where else but Memphis. Memphis was doing Crash TV before Vince Russo even walked into a WWF office. Crash TV, Memphis-style, was using TV studio angles to quickly set up matches for the big shows that weekend at a rapid-fire pace. In most other territories, TV had squash matches, which allowed the stars to beat jobbers in relatively short-order. Then over the weekend the stars would clash and people would pay money to see the better matches. In Memphis, they did things differently, they would often set up an angle to get a huge main event on TV, but then give you only a taste of it. Im going to cover the Ric Flair/ Jerry Lawler angle in my next blog. I am going to cover the Lawler/Mantell angle later in this blog. My point is that in 1982, Memphis was produced like WCW/WWF 1997, a full 15 years ahead of its time. It almost pains me to see Lawler mentioned as a Hall of Fame broadcaster, when he is not just that. He is a Hall of Fame Wrestler. I know from watching interviews with him that is what he always wants to be remembered for.

So I can only yammer about this so much. It is time to produce some evidence. Thanks to good people at Death Valley Driver Video Review, who have been running a project to cull together all the footage of the 80s of each territory and these faithful have it watched and reviewed. This facilitated my ability to at least start with best Lawler feuds and matches. Going into this, save for the much televised Andy Kaufman feud, I really did not know who Lawler faced and who were his major opponents. In case you were wondering, his matches with Bill Dundee were voted the best by this committee of 58. However, I have chosen to watch his matches with Dutch Mantell (2 of 3 matches voted into the top 5) because I have heard of that name. I was very interested in seeing a barbed wire match in 1982. Plus, I will admit I was very intrigued given that Dutch looks like Yosemite Sam come to life. However, first we begin with there No Disqualification

match for the Southern Heavyweight Championship in 1982.

Thanks to the following blog for clearing up why these two men were feuding. Lawler was entangled in his interminable feud with Jimmy Hart and his First Family. He had recruited the Dirty Dutchman to help him wrestle these men in tag team matches. Then one night, the Mantell walks out on Lawler as he is being battered by the First Family. Next week on TV, Lawler calls Dutch yellow and wants to know why he walked out. Dutch noted that it was Lawler’s mouth that got him in trouble and he was tired of fighting Lawler’s battles. Dutch also feels as though Lawler disrespected him by not acknowledging his prowess in the ring. All in all, it is not most unreasonable thing someone has said. Lawler, is pissed because someone he trusted to have his back left him to the jackals. This is when wrestling is at its best, two men who in their own mind have merit to their grounds, but at the same time it is a very contentious issue. The crowd of course sides with Lawler as he instigates the first brawl. So after a month or so of matches, Lawler and Mantell were contracted to square off in Memphis, TN for the Southern Heavyweight Title in a No Disqualification Match.  

Those boots are why I love wrestling.

Southern Heavyweight Champion Jerry “The King” Lawler vs “Dirty” Dutch Mantell
March 22, 1982 Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, TN
No Disqualification

Lawler starts off hot with some beautiful punches and has Mantell rocking. Lawler has some of the prettiest, worked punches ever thrown.  They even work in a spot where Dutch whiffs on a kick when Lawler telepgraphs the back body drop, which is a neat little spot I have never seen before. Lance Russell, the Voice of Memphis, even notes how peculiar this fast start is for Lawler given that he is normally slow-starter. He reasons out that it must due to the nature of this heated feud that Lawler just wants to beat the ever-lovin piss out of Dutch and there is no time like the present. I paraphrased that, but you get the gist. Lawler even busts out an enziguri much to the delight of the crowd. Dutch takes a powder as he attempts to adjust his strategy. Well when in a No DQ, might as well as grab a steel chair. Lawler ends up with the chair and throws outside the ring and hits Dutch in the shoulder. I am a total sucker for chair throws because they always look so damn violent. Then Dutch totally ups him with the Mother of All Chair Throws: hurling the chair across the ring into the King’s knee with pinpoint accuracy and brutality.

Mantell takes over and surprisingly does not attack the knee with as much vim and vigor as I would like instead focusing opening Lawler above the eye. He makes up for his lack of creative offense by keeping Lawler on the outside and busting him over the eye. Lawler’s selling is elicits sympathy from the raucous crowd that try to urge him. A great spot is Lawler whiffing on the desperation right and you feel the end is near for our hero. Dutch gets a two off a vertical suplex and there is all like “Lets quit fuckin around” and pulverizes Lalwer with a chair, BUT Lawler gets his foot on the ropes. Mantell is really hot after Jerry breaks pinfalls off of a knee drop, a PILEDRIVER (Memphis Death Move), and a splash. Lawler Up and Strap Down and Full Steam Ahead. Rights and lefts leave the Dirty Dutchman reeling and then he sends him into the post for retribution. The crowd is feeling it, but Lawler gets greedy and Dutch catches him with knees on his second splash attempt.

Into the finish, we go as they are trading rights and lefts. Their heads collide off a Irish whip spot sending Mantell out onto the floor. Lawler has Dutch at his mercy as he punches repeatedly with Mantell using the ropes to hold him from crashing off the apron. Lawler gets greedy again, playing to the crowd for one more punch, Dutch capitalizes with a  gut shot and then slingshots over for a sunset flip and the victory. Your Winner and New Southern Heavyweight Champion “Dirty” Dutch Mantell

I have to say my biggest hindrance was the poor video quality. Don’t get me wrong I could clearly see who was doing the moves and what was going on. However, I was missing those nuances that really takes a very good match and elevate it to that rarified air of a classic. For instances, I would have known that Lawler had bladed unless Russell informed me. I didn’t see either facial expressions or hear their verbal selling. I think it is a very good match, but I did not think it was an excellent one. I liked that they didn’t run the ropes at all sticking to that real-fight feel that these are two guys that just want to fuck each other up. I like that it was Lawler’s desire to inflict more punishment on Dutch that cost him the match, whereas Dutch was more concerned about winning and thus proving he was the better wrestler. Lawler’s selling was really well done, theatric enough for the live audience to see it, but not so cheesy that it takes you out of the competition. His comeback was well-done. Lawler’s punches at the end are just a thing of beauty. I think the heat segment is where they lost me. Outside the ring, I couldn’t see Jerry blade and hear him yell. Then inside the ring, it seemed like a collection of spots, yes to win the match, but Dutch could have conveyed his frustration better. I would like a better transition from the heat segment to the comeback. All in all, you show me the same match, but with some floor cameras, better lighting and better ring mic’ing Im sure I see why it one of the all-time best. Without that, it still stands the test of time as a damn fine match.

In the TV Studio with one of the greatest announcers, Lance Russel

Southern Heavyweight Champion “Dirty” Dutch Mantell vs Jerry “The King” Lawler
March 27, 1982 TV Studio Memphis, TN
Loser Leaves Town

Recalling what I said earlier, wrestling in the 80s were crafted differently. TV was filled with squashes and promos that were used to set up the big house shows later in the week. Memphis liked to fuck with this mold every once in a while to whet the appetite of the fans. The newly crowned Southern Heavyweight Champion is out with Lance Russel to conduct an interview. He is still hot under collar about Lawler’s disrespectful last week. He has beaten David Price a 100x and if Lawler thinks Dutch is not in his league then he will  have no problem accepting a Loser Leaves Town match for the title right now. Russel display indignation to the statement that Dutch’s emotions are out of control and that a match of that caliber should not happen on TV. Cut to commercial. Here comes Lawler, he tells Dutch he is on and Russel is just flustered. Great, great segment resulting in the following match. Russel was rightfully flustered that his program schedule was being messed with and the inmates were running the asylum. Dutch wanted to use his leverage with the belt to exact the ultimate revenge force the King of Memphis to leave for good. Lawler, who is pissed off a Dutch, was chomping at the bit to get a piece of Dutch and send him out of the territory for good.

Lawler storms the ring and it is on. They tussle for control in very heated fashion. Mantell grabs a couple wrist control holds to slow down Lawler, but Jerry is able to use the jab to force the Dirty Dutchman out of the ring. Russell informs us that Lawler gets retribution for Mantell running a fist into him while he was prone on the apron by doing the same thing to Mantell. The overzealous Lawler finally makes that critical mistake as he charges Mantell, who is able to back body drop him to the outside.

Mantell, promptly, sends him head first into the post and smacks him across the back with a steel chair whipping the studio audience into a frenzy. They do a countout false finish as the crowd urges him on. I know when I am in a blood feud and just want to whip someone’s ass I always grab an abdominal stretch. Pilderiver attempt on the floor now that’s more like it, Mantell. Lawler blocks it with a back body drop. I smell a comeback.

Lawler hits Dutch with  a chair in the back. Lawler’s beautiful punches have Dutch reeling. He gives it one last ditch charge and eats a boot. More punches and Dutch runs for the hills and grabs the mic.

He says this is all stupid because they are beatin the piss out of each other and for what. He starts preachin Mutually Assured Destruction and this is stupid because the First Family and Midnight Express are laughing all the way to the bank as Dutch and Lawler are killing each other. Dutch is willing to concede the belt and team up with Lawler against those teams. Lawler is easily convinced by Dutch’s argument and the crowd is popping like mad for thought of that super team. Just as Lawler turns around, BANG~! Dutch pops him from behind and now wraps a steel chair around his head. He adds a PILEDRIVER and a elbow good for measure. He counts his own pin and then grabs his belt. Hahahahahahah SUCKA!!! THIS ANGLE WAS FUCKIN BITCHIN!!!!

One of the best 15 minute angles I have ever seen. The build-up promos were excellent. The wrestling was hot and intense with great transitions. The one misfire was the ab stretch, but other than that Lawler and Mantell he really sold this as a fight. The post-match promo had the crowd whipped into frenzy with the thought of that super team. The other shoe drops and Mantell pulverizes Lawler. Money, money angle that was brilliant. I have watched that three times and each time, I immediately want to watch the Barbed Wire Match that takes place just two days later in the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, TN.

Southern Heavyweight Champion “Dirty” Dutch Mantell vs Jerry “The King” Lawler
March 29, 1982 Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, TN
Barbed Wire Match

Interesting reaction at the beginning as there are clearly Mantell fans in the audience and they are vocal. I had been reading that Mantell was not treated as a true heel and many fans agreed with his stance even though he did employ nefarious tactics. Heels fans in 1982??? Shades of gray booking??? Just more proof that Memphis was way ahead of its time.

The barbed wire is not around he ropes ala Funk/Sabu, but rather around the outside the ring in order to keep Dutch in the ring and prevent him from getting chairs or taking it to the outside. The idea at the beginning is to really put over how he barbed wire has changed the complexion of the match. Both men are trying their damnest to avoid the barbed wire and there are a lot of barbed wire teases. This has led to a match that has a more cautious beginning with even some wrestling. I liked that a lot because you can only do a brawl so many ways. Thus by adding a stipulation they forced them to layout a new match. This what so many bookers/wrestlers don’t understand about stipulations they should exist for a reason and then be treated differently. Also, Lance Russell articulates these statements so well for the home viewer facilitating their understanding. They do a nice even-stevens should block sequence, which Dutch surprisingly wins with a Thesz press, which gets two, but gives Mantell control.

Of course, Mantell is able to use the barbed wire to slice Lawler wide open on the forehead in particularly gruesome fashion. Russell informs me that he is wearing the crimson mask. Lawler misses on a desperation, wild right due to his vision being blurred by the blood, good spot. A desperation right boot finds it mark in the corner and Lawler IS UP! He immediately exacts retribution by slicing Mantell open on the barbed wire and then attacks the cuts with a series of right leaving Dutch to beg off. Crowd is going wild for Lawler until Dutch clips him south of the border and the Dutch fans start cheering. Lawler blocks a suplex attempt only to hit one of his own. They trade missed elbow drops. LAWLER SCORES WITH A PILEDRIVER!!! However, the tape clips after the pinfall to Mantell back in control. BOOOOOOO

Lawler comes charging out of the corner and spears Dutch. It sounds like a simple spot, but you have to see the power and velocity that Lawler got this late into the match that really made that spot look so cool. Lawler misses a fist drop and Dutch takes over with lefts and rights. Wait, what is this, Russell notes that Mantell is losing steam on his punches. Has Dutch punched himself out? Lawler pulls the strap down. O, it is one like Donkey Kong. Slugfest erupts and Lawler has a little more behind his punches than Dutch and wins that battle. This fuckin feels like the 12^th round of a heavyweight boxing match, some real good shit right now. Dutch does a less comical Flair Flop. Mantell cant even stand, but still kicks out. Lawler punches Mantell while he is on the ground, but he loses steam and yes Lawler has now punched himself out. They run off the ropes and collide both ending up worst for wear. THIS IS A FIGHT!!! Both punch each other simultaneously sending Dutch down and Lawler on Jell-O legs finally collapses. Both men are selling exhaustion like champs. Dutch tries to bodyslam Lawler, but he is too fatigued to execute it and his legs give way with Lawler on top giving Lawler a 2 count. That was an excellent false finish as I thought it would have been a great ending to this slobberknocker. They tussle over an Irish Whip and they both collide off the ropes. Lawler falls on top of Mantell for the pinfall and the three count.  

This is the definition of slobberknocker. If you are looking for thousands of wrestling moves, this match aint going to scratch that itch. If you are looking for a heated, intense, dramatic fight between two wrestlers then it will be hard to top this. My compliant was similar if there was better video quality then I would have been able to see the bladejobs and hear verbal selling. But even without it, holy fuck, this was such a BITCHIN match with an excellent story and even more excellent performances.

Jerry Lawler has had an amazing career, which has been lost to time due to a myriad of reasons. It matches like these against Dutch Mantell that Lawler had plenty to take pride in. Now Lawler had to focus on recovering. CAT scans show that Lawler has no brain damage from the heart attack, but is not out of the woods yet. Lance Russell always said “We should know better than to count King out of it so soon.”

Long Live The King!