wrestling / Video Reviews
Memphis Wrestling (2.4.1984) Review
Image Credit: Memphis Wrestling
Loading...-Originally aired February 4, 1984.
-Your hosts are Lance Russell and Dave Brown.
-Jerry Lawler & Austin Idol are unsatisfied with their win over the Road Warriors because a DQ victory doesn’t prove anything. The Road Warriors send in pre-taped words, and Animal is STRUGGLING, forgetting the night of the show and not being able to finish his sentences, and he finally gets fed up and just gives the microphone to Hawk to finish this for him. Anyway, it’s no-DQ on Monday night, and Lawler & Idol better not go cryin’ to Mama when it’s over.
-We go to tag team tournament highlights from this past Memphis. The Zambuie Express gets the victory over the Rock & Roll Express, not just clean, but the highlights make it look like a complete squash. The finals come down to the Zambuie Express vs. the newly-formed combo of Stagger Lee & Norvell Austin. Norvell makes a big comeback with a series of dropkicks, but the Zambuies use twin magic to get a tainted win and capture the Southern Tag Team Titles.
ZAMBUIE EXPRESS (Southern Tag Team Champions) vs. JIM JAMISON & IRA REESE
-Elijah Akeem starts off with Ira, slamming him and hammering away. Jamison tags in and takes his knocks. Jamison sells a clothesline by falling forward, and a diving headbutt finishes this one easily for the Express.
-Randy Savage finally cuts a promo live in the studio, with his dad proudly showing off the flower-decorated title belt. He snatches Dave’s microphone and declares that Memphis is MACHO MAN COUNTRY!
-We take a look at some highlights of Stagger & Norvell’s matches in the tournament, and it looks like they might make a pretty damn good tag team for guys who haven’t done this before. The new team arrives in the studio wearing three-piece suits, with “Thriller” as theme music. It seems like there’s probably some other Michael Jackson song that would serve them well as theme music.
-Jimmy Hart comes out and laughs at them for using a Michael Jackson song for entrance music because Norvell suddenly looks 45 years old now that he’s shaved off the beard. And speaking of imitators, he can’t stand the Fabulous Ones because they keep ripping off Rick Rude’s act, and everyone knows that Rick Rude is the true heartthrob of pro wrestling.
-Point made: we get a Rick Rude music video, set to “Everybody Wants You” and featuring a ton of the same camera shots as the original Fabulous Ones video.
-Monday night, Joe LeDuc and King Konga will be battling Buzz & Brett Sawyer. Joe wonders if they’ll even show up, which is a legitimate concern with Buzz Sawyer, in all fairness.
JOE LEDUC & KING KONGA vs. ROBERT REED & KEN RAPER
-I guess Ken Raper will just keep auditioning different partners until he gets a win over this pair. Choking and clothesline. The promotion is experimenting with some stuff this week, as Lance did the previous promo in front of a new backdrop, they have new lighting in the studio, and they’re playing with a new camera angle throughout this match. Konga finishes quickly with an elbow drop.
-We get a Konga music video set to “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.” Next, we get some Koe LeDuc career highlights, including him keeping his hands clasped while 14 men pull, and the harness actually breaks. Next, we see him breaking a glass vase over his own head, and the notorious promo where he carves into his own arm with an ax.
EXPIRATION OF TIME: JERRY “The King” LAWLER, AUSTIN IDOL, & DUTCH MANTEL vs. PINK PANTHER, MASKED MARAUDER, & BIG LOU WINSTON
-FALL ONE: Dave is less than subtle here, pretty much giving a time cue while doing the ring introductions, so all the faces hurry up and get their stuff in against Big Lou. Marauder tags in and gets backdropped by Dutch. Fist drop by the king, and an elbow by Dutch wraps it up right on time.
-But WAIT! We’re actually not done with this hour of television. It turns out they did the Expiration of Time match so early because they’re going to show us ONE ENTIRE MATCH from the Mid-South Coliseum, and it’s a doozy of a main event for free TV…
JERRY “The King” LAWLER & AUSTIN IDOL vs. THE ROAD WARRIORS
-Lawler tries to lock up but Hawk just responds by shoving him on his ass, and the crowd lets out a satisfying “ooooh” reaction as they’re just instantly concerned for the King’s life.
-Lawler slams the King, who lets out a loud “WOAH” and backs into the corner, and Lawler, with only a couple of spots, has instantly established that these guys are monsters and he might be totally boned here.
-But hey! You know what always works for Lawler? That famous right hand…Hawk doesn’t even budge and Lawler steps back with his eyes wide from that. Hawk gives Lawler a right hand of his own, and Lawler drops to his knees from it. Everybody tags…
-Animal shoves Austin and shoves him again. Idol tries a shoulderblock and accomplishes nothing with it. Hawk tags back in and shoulderblocks Idol right on his ass. The crowd has some legit “What’s going ON with these guys?” awe right now, and when Austin manages to back Hawk into a corner, they erupt with joy because the faces finally did SOMETHING. But Austin tries to Irish whip Hawk and Hawk just slams on the brakes and slams Idol.
-Everybody tags again. Lawler charges several times and keeps trying shoulderblocks, but he only hurts himself on each go. Animal press slams him. Hawk tags in and press slams him. Hawk drops the leg…and Lawler moves. The crowd is absolutely relieved. Lawler charges and hits Hawk full-speed, like he’s putting everything he still has into this one, and knocks Hawk over with a shoulderblock. Hawk no-sells a dropkick and turns around to play to the crowd, so Lawler dropkicks him again, and Hawk tumbles through the ropes. Idol atomic drops Hawk on the concrete, and suddenly, the faces seem to have a game plan going.
-Animal tags in and misses a corner charge, but recovers and gives Lawler a backbreaker. Animal applies a chinlock and rams Lawler into the turnbuckles a few times, and we pause for a break.
-We return with the King blocking a turnbuckle shot, and THE STRAP COMES DOWN. Lawler throws a few punches and tags in Idol to get a pier sixer going, and the action spills out to the floor. Weapons get involved, the referee gets knocked over, and that’s gonna do it. Everybody’s disqualified. Not an all-time classic in terms of spots, or movesets, or whatever, but for pure storytelling, this is a must-watch for learning monster psychology. They unfolded a really good story here, with a series of spots hammering home that these guys are immortal, and then once the fans have bought into that completely, the story of the faces gradually figuring out their weaknesses and working at it and working at it. Locker room empties out to break up the post-match brawl, and I’m already getting in line to buy my ticket for the rematch from 42 years in the future.
