Memphis Wrestling (12.24.1983) Review

-Originally aired December 24, 1983.

-Your host is Lance Russell flying solo.

-We go straight to the Mid-South Coliseum, with the Fabulous Ones battling Bill Dundee and his new friend Jim Morris. It is JARRING to see Hillbilly Jim in standard black tights, kneepads, and boots, and he actually looks a bit like Bruiser Brody when he’s in normal wrestling gear. Fantastic Ones are getting destroyed. Steve Keirn makes a desperate last-ounce-of-breath comeback, but double-teaming is too much for him to take, and the heels basically take this one cleanly.

-Eddie Marlin is out here, and Lance wishes him Happy Holidays because it’s 1983 and the most annoying people alive don’t have an outlet to bitch him out for doing so. Eddie Marlin has signed a loser-leaves-town match for this Monday night between Steve Keirn and Superstar Bill Dundee. To their credit, the next step here is that they acknowledge that Bill Dundee already lost a loser-leaves-town match six months ago, and yet here he is. So Eddie says it is explicitly written in the contract that the loser has to stay gone for ONE YEAR with no chance to slip back into the promotion any other way.

-Steve Keirn cuts a promo. Stan Lane is spending the holidays with his family, and he’s not going to be hiding somewhere in the stands to help on Monday night. It’s going to be Steve all alone fighting for his own career.

-“Little Billy” promise that he’ll be a giant killer, and the jokes about Tattoo from Fantasy Island are going to be over as soon as the match is over on Monday night.

-We watch the “Bad Reputation” music video for Bill one last time…I mean, one last time if he loses, which we don’t know yet.

-Monday night, Jerry Lawler and Austin Idol will wrestle each other one-on-one, the winner gets a match against Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Title. I’m so accustomed to the…production values in Memphis that I’m caught completely by surprise by the pre-taped Austin Idol promo here, as Lance leads off by apologizing for the crappy acoustics in the room where they’re interviewing Austin, but this match is of such importance that they held the interview in the first room that was available. Austin thinks that either he or Jerry Lawler can beat Nick Bockwinkel, and Austin keeps this strictly babyface, expressing regret that it has to be two friends, two tag team partners, battling each other.

-Jerry Lawler is equally modest. He’s beaten Jesse Ventura, Ken Patera, and Randy Savage (by DQ), but oh crap, he hasn’t beaten his good close personal friend, the equally-qualified Austin Idol. Jimmy Hart interrupts to give everyone a thorough history lesson. Five and a half years ago, Jimmy Hart was managing Jerry Lawler, and the impossible happened: Jerry Lawler’s leg was broken. Who did it? Jerry Lawler’s good friend Austin Idol. And two years ago, Austin Idol put 17 stitches in Jerry Lawler’s head.

-Jerry Lawler knows where this is going, and he calmly tells Jimmy that he is NEVER going to rehire Jimmy as his manager again, and he walks out.

-After the commercial, Jimmy Hart is still out there, and he wants Austin Idol on the phone. And it’s 1983 so it takes FOREVER for them to hook up the equipment for the phone call on live television. But finally, they get Austin Idol on the phone, and this is hilarious, as Jimmy does the literal opposite of his last promo, recapping all of the issues that Austin has had with Jerry Lawler. Remember when Jerry Lawler burned his face? And Austin Idol doesn’t want to discuss it. He doesn’t want anything to do with Jimmy Hart, either.

-Angelo Poffo is here to talk about his son, former ICW World Heavyweight Champion Randy “Macho Man” Savage. And people want to ask if the former WORLD Champion can beat the Mid-American Champion, Terry Taylor. Angelo thinks it’s a ridiculous question, and Randy Savage says that someday, Terry Taylor will have the honor of telling his grandchildren that he once lost a match to the greatest wrestler of all time.

7.8

The final score: review Good

The 411

Another no-actual-matches recording, but a fun set of angles this week. Jimmy Hart was worth it. Skewing the rating just a bit since it's just a collection of segments and not a full-blown episode.