Memphis/CWA #40 Page #2
- Top heel: Tojo Yamamoto. Honorable mention: Mario Galento
- Top feud: The Masked Blue Infernos vs. Billy Hines & Jimmy
Hines. Honorable mention: Len Rossi vs. Great Yamaha
- Top babyface team: Billy Hines & Jimmy Hines. Honorable mention:
Jackie Fargo & Len Rossi
- Top heel team: The Masked Blue Infernos. Honorable mention: Don
Greene & Al Greene
- Top manager: Saul Weingeroff.
- Top newcomer: Bob Armstrong. Honorable mention: Don Carson
- Most valuable performer: Len Rossi. Honorable mention: Billy Hines
& Jimmy Hines
- Quick thoughts on 1967: Len Rossi had a banner year. Don Carson
worked some during this year with “brother” Ron Carson, aka Dick Murdoch.
1968
- Top babyface: Len Rossi. Honorable mention: Jackie Fargo
- Top heel: Tojo Yamamoto. Honorable mention: Don Greene
- Top feud: Don Carson & The Masked Red Shadow vs. Ken Lucas &
Dennis Hall. Honorable mention: Len Rossi vs. Tojo Yamamoto
- Top babyface team: Ken Lucas & Dennis Hall. Honorable mention:
Joe Sky & Bill Sky
- Top heel team: Don Carson & the Masked Red Shadow. Honorable
mention: The Masked Yankees
- Top manager: Saul Weingeroff.
- Top newcomer: Dennis Hall. Honorable mention: Ken Lucas
- Most valuable performer: Don Carson & The Masked Red Shadow.
Honorable mention: Len Rossi.
- Quick thoughts on 1968: Don Carson & The Masked Red Shadow (Dick
Dunn) worked on top of cards in every major city during the year.
Interesting to note how Tojo Yamamoto seemingly was either the top heel or
near the top for years.
1969
- Top babyface: Jackie Fargo. Honorable mention: Bearcat Brown
- Top heel: Tojo Yamamoto. Honorable mention: Don Greene
- Top feud: Don Greene vs. Herb Welch. Honorable mention: The Masked
Spoilers vs. Len Rossi & Bearcat Brown
- Top babyface team: Len Rossi & Bearcat Brown. Honorable mention:
Johnny Walker & Bearcat Brown
- Top heel team: The Masked Yankees. Honorable mention: The Masked
Spoilers
- Top manager: Saul Weingeroff
- Top newcomer: Jerry Jarrett. Honorable mention: Jimmy Golden
- Most valuable performer: Len Rossi & Bearcat Brown. Honorable
mention: Jackie Fargo
- Quick thoughts on 1969: The racial barrier came down somewhat in
1969 with the regular appearance of Bearcat Brown, who teamed with Len Rossi
a good deal of the year. Weingeroff, who had made a small fortune managing
The Von Brauners during the 1960s found himself managing others such as The
Masked Spoilers.
1970
- Top babyface: Tojo Yamamoto. Honorable mention: Len Rossi
- Top heel: Big Bad John. Honorable mention: Bobby Hart
- Top feud: Don Greene & Al Greene vs. Tojo Yamamoto & Jerry
Jarrett. Honorable mention: The Interns vs. The Spoilers
- Top babyface team: Tojo Yamamoto & Jerry Jarrett. Honorable
mention: Len Rossi & Bearcat Brown
- Top heel team: The Masked Interns. Honorable mention: Bobby Hart
& Lorenzo Parente
- Top manager: Dr. Ken Ramey. Honorable mention: Sir Clements
- Top newcomer: Dr. Ken Ramey & The Masked Interns. Honorable
mention: Big Bad John
- Most valuable performer: Tojo Yamamoto. Honorable mention: Dr. Ken
Ramey & The Masked Interns
- Quick thoughts about 1970: Tojo Yamamoto became the lead face during
the year by teaming with young Jerry Jarrett and they feuded much of the
year with The Greenes, who were in the midst of a very successful multi-year
run in the area.
1971
- Top babyface: Jackie Fargo. Honorable mention: Tojo Yamamoto
- Top heel: Al Greene. Honorable mention: Don Greene
- Top feud: Jackie Fargo vs. Al Greene. Honorable mention: The Masked
Interns vs. Len Rossi & Bearcat Brown.
- Top babyface team: Tojo Yamamoto & Jerry Jarrett. Honorable
mention: Dennis Hall & Jimmy Golden.
- Top heel team: Don Greene & Al Greene. Honorable mention: Kurt
Von Brauner & Karl Von Brauner
- Top manager: Sir Clements. Honorable mention: Saul Weingeroff
- Top newcomer: Robert Fuller. Honorable mention: Jerry Lawler
- Most valuable performer: Don Greene & Al Greene. Honorable
mention: Jackie Fargo
- Quick thoughts about 1971: The Jackie Fargo feud with the Greenes
kicked in during 1971 (and carried over in 1972). Manager Sir Clements
played a major part in that feud by managing the Greenes.
1972
- Top babyface: Jackie Fargo. Honorable mention: Len Rossi
- Top heel: Al Greene. Honorable mention: Don Greene
- Top feud: Al Greene vs. Jackie Fargo. Honorable mention: Kurt Von
Brauner & Karl Von Brauner vs. Tojo Yamamoto & Jerry Jarrett
- Top babyface team: Len Rossi & Bearcat Brown. Honorable mention:
Tojo Yamamoto & Bill Dromo
- Top heel team: Don Greene & Al Greene. Honorable mention: Kurt
Von Brauner & Karl Von Brauner
- Top manager: Sir Clements. Honorable mention: Dr. Ken Ramey
- Top newcomer: Kevin Sullivan. Honorable mention: Bill Dromo
- Most valuable performer: Jackie Fargo. Honorable mention: Don Greene
& Al Greene
- Quick thoughts about 1972: The area was loaded with tag teams during
1972 (actually 1970-73). A young Kevin Sullivan worked at the top of some
cards during the year.
1973
- Top babyface: Jackie Fargo. Honorable mention: Jerry Jarrett
- Top heel: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Terry Garvin
- Top feud: Eddie Marlin & Tommy Gilbert vs. The Bounty Hunters.
Honorable mention: Jackie Fargo vs. Terry Garvin
- Top babyface team: Eddie Marlin & Tommy Gilbert. Honorable
mention: Jackie Fargo & Jerry Jarrett
- Top heel team: Jerry Lawler & Jim White. Honorable mention: The
Bounty Hunters
- Top manager: Sam Bass. Honorable mention: Jim Kent
- Top newcomer: Terry Garvin & Ronnie Garvin. Honorable mention:
Ben Justice
- Most valuable performer: Jackie Fargo. Honorable mention: Jerry
Lawler & Jim White
- Quick thoughts about 1973: The memorable team of Jerry Lawler &
Jim White headlined in every city in the territory during the year. On the
other side of things, as unpopular as Lawler & White were, Eddie Marlin
& Tommy Gilbert were popular. Newcomer Ben Justice made a splash for a
few months before heading back to work in Detroit.
1974
- Top babyface: Jackie Fargo. Honorable mention: Tommy Gilbert
- Top heel: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Don Kent
- Top feud: Jerry Lawler vs. Jackie Fargo. Honorable mention: Don Kent
vs. Steve Kovacs
- Top babyface team: Tommy Gilbert & Eddie Marlin. Honorable
mention: Frank Monte & Nick DeCarlo
- Top heel team: Al Greene & Phil Hickerson. Honorable mention:
Charlie Fulton & Bobby Mayne
- Top manager: Sam Bass. Honorable mention: Sir Clements
- Top newcomer: Ricky Gibson. Honorable mention: Rufus R. Jones
- Most valuable performer: Jackie Fargo. Honorable mention: Jerry
Lawler
- Quick thoughts about 1974: Newcomer Ricky Gibson feuded some with
Jerry Lawler, who became the area’s top heel during the year. At the same
time, Tommy Gilbert embarked on a mostly successful singles career after
teaming with Eddie Marlin. The tag team ranks were lead by the powerhouse
team of Al Greene & Phil Hickerson.
1975
- Top babyface: Bob Armstrong. Honorable mention: Ron Fuller
- Top heel: The Mongolian Stomper. Honorable mention: Luke Graham
- Top feud: Bob Armstrong vs. The Mongolian Stomper. Honorable
mention: Luke Graham vs. Jackie Fargo
- Top babyface team: Jackie Fargo & Mr. Wrestling (Don Greene).
Honorable mention: Jackie Fargo & Jerry Jarrett
- Top heel team: Phil Hickerson & Dennis Condrey. Honorable
mention: George Barnes & Bill Dundee
- Top manager: Sam Bass. Honorable mention: Dr. Ken Ramey
- Top newcomer: The Mongolian Stomper. Honorable mention: George
Barnes & Bill Dundee
- Most valuable performer: The Mongolian Stomper. Honorable mention:
Jackie Fargo
- Quick thoughts about 1975: With Jerry Lawler gone much of the year,
a lot of new faces made inroads. Bob Armstrong returned and had his best
year ever in the territory. Jackie Fargo was still part of the mix though
despite working fewer dates than previous years.
1976
- Top babyface: Tommy Rich. Honorable mention: Rocky Johnson
- Top heel: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Roger Kirby
- Top feud: Phil Hickerson & Dennis Condrey vs. Jackie Fargo &
partners. Honorable mention: Jerry Lawler vs. Jerry Jarrett
- Top babyface team: Bill Dundee & Tommy Rich. Honorable mention:
Danny Little Bear & Chief Thundercloud
- Top heel team: Phil Hickerson & Dennis Condrey. Honorable
mention: David Shultz & Bill Ash
- Top manager: Sam Bass. Honorable mention: J.C. Dykes
- Top newcomer: Rocky Johnson. Honorable mention: Gorgeous George, Jr.
- Most valuable performer: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Phil
Hickerson & Dennis Condrey
- Quick thoughts about 1976: Phil Hickerson & Dennis Condrey’s
domination of the tag team scene was in high gear especially as they feuded
against Jackie Fargo. Sad to note the area’s two top managers for the
year, Sam Bass and J.C. Dykes, did not work past this year in the business.
1977 Gulas
- Top babyface: Jackie Fargo. Honorable mention: Ken Lucas
- Top heel: Luke Graham. Honorable mention: The Masked Executioner
- Top feud: Jackie Fargo vs. Luke Graham. Honorable mention: Tojo
Yamamoto & George Gulas vs. Gypsy Joe & Leroy Rochester
- Top babyface team: Tojo Yamamoto & George Gulas. Honorable
mention: Pez Whatley & Ray Candy
- Top heel team: Luke Graham & Ripper Collins. Honorable mention:
Phil Hickerson & Dennis Condrey
- Top manager: Jim Kent. Honorable mention: Billy Hines
- Top newcomer: Gypsy Joe. Honorable mention: Bobby Eaton
- Most valuable performer: Jackie Fargo. Honorable mention: Luke
Graham & Ripper Collins
- Quick thoughts about 1977 for Gulas: Jackie Fargo really stepped up
to the plate again this year. Gypsy Joe really turned heads during the year.
The team of Luke Graham & Ripper Collins was a great heel duo.
1977 Jarrett
- Top babyface: Bill Dundee. Honorable mention: Jerry Lawler
- Top heel: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Jimmy Valiant
- Top feud: Bill Dundee vs. Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Jerry
Lawler vs. Jimmy Valiant
- Top babyface team: Bill Dundee & Norvell Austin. Honorable
mention: Bill Dundee & Tommy Rich
- Top heel team: Phil Hickerson & Dennis Condrey. Honorable
mention: The Hollywood Blondes: Jerry Brown & Dick Roberts
- Top manager: Al Greene. Honorable mention: Mickey Poole
- Top newcomer: Jimmy Valiant. Honorable mention: Paul Orndorff
- Most valuable performer: Jimmy Valiant. Honorable mention: Jerry
Lawler
- Quick thoughts about 1977 for Jarrett: Jerry Lawler was both a heel
and a face during the year but Jimmy Valiant helped settle things after the
split with Gulas with his initial heel run. Bill Dundee was also vital to
the promotion’s success at the time.
1978 Gulas
- Top babyface: Dutch Mantel. Honorable mention: Ken Lucas
- Top heel: Randy Savage. Honorable mention: The Masked Blue Yankee
- Top feud: Dutch Mantel vs. Randy Savage. Honorable mention: Ken
Lucas & Dutch Mantel vs. Ripper Collins & Whipper Watson, Jr.
- Top babyface team: Ken Lucas & Dutch Mantel. Honorable mention:
George Gulas & Bobby Eaton
- Top heel team: Tojo Yamamoto & Gypsy Joe. Honorable mention:
Ripper Collins & Whipper Watson, Jr.
- Top manager: Las Vegas Louie.
- Top newcomer: Randy Savage. Honorable mention: The Mexican Angel
- Most valuable performer: Dutch Mantel. Honorable mention: Gypsy Joe
- Quick thoughts about 1978 for Gulas: Dutch Mantel did it all this
year, singles and tag teams and was embroiled in the year’s top feud with
Randy Savage.
1978 Jarrett
- Top babyface: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Jimmy Valiant
- Top heel: Jos LeDuc. Honorable mention: Jimmy Valiant
- Top feud: Jerry Lawler vs. Jos LeDuc. Honorable mention: Bill Dundee
vs. Jimmy Valiant
- Top babyface team: Jerry Lawler & Bill Dundee. Honorable
mention: Bill Dundee & Jimmy Valiant
- Top heel team: Jos LeDuc & Jean Louie. Honorable mention: The
Bounty Hunters.
- Top manager: Gorgeous George, Jr. Honorable mention: Al Greene
- Top newcomer: Jos LeDuc. Honorable mention: Austin Idol
- Most valuable performer: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Jos LeDuc
- Quick thoughts about 1978 for Jarrett: Jerry Lawler had a big year
spending most of the year warring against Jos LeDuc. Lawler’s year and
Jimmy Valiant’s babyface turn overshadowed a big year by Bill Dundee.
1979 Gulas
- Top babyface: Bobby Eaton. Honorable mention: Dutch Mantel
- Top heel: Chris Colt. Honorable mention: Bobby Eaton
- Top feud: Terry Gordy & Michael Hayes vs. Tom Renesto &
partners. Honorable mention: Tojo Yamamoto vs. Gypsy Joe
- Top babyface team: George Gulas & Bobby Eaton. Honorable
mention: Ricky Gibson & Robert Gibson
- Top heel team: Terry Gordy & Michael Hayes. Honorable mention:
Tojo Yamamoto & the Great Togo
- Top manager: Tojo Yamamoto. Honorable mention: Sgt. Danny Davis
- Top newcomer: Terry Gordy & Michael Hayes. Honorable mention:
Chris Colt
- Most valuable performer: Bobby Eaton. Honorable mention: Terry Gordy
& Michael Hayes
- Quick thoughts about 1979 for Gulas: Bobby Eaton had a breakthrough
year teaming with George Gulas but really made waves when he turned heel and
became the area’s top singles performer. Terry Gordy & Michael Hayes
began hitting a groove as a tag team here.
1979 Jarrett
- Top babyface: Bill Dundee. Honorable mention: Jerry Lawler
- Top heel: Austin Idol. Honorable mention: Jerry Lawler
- Top feud: Jerry Lawler & Bill Dundee vs. Larry Latham &
Wayne Farris. Honorable mention: Jerry Lawler vs. Austin Idol
- Top babyface team: Jerry Lawler & Bill Dundee. Honorable
mention: Sonny King & Rick Morton
- Top heel team: Wayne Farris & Larry Latham. Honorable mention:
The Masked Assassins
- Top manager: Danny Davis. Honorable mention: Gorgeous George, Jr.
- Top newcomer: Billy Robinson. Honorable mention: Rick Morton
- Most valuable performer: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Bill
Dundee
- Quick thoughts about 1979 for Jarrett: Jerry Lawler had a big year
again. He turned heel against partner Bill Dundee in the late summer. Lawler
and Dundee’s team then feud slightly edges the team of Wayne Farris &
Larry Latham for top performer honors.
1980 Gulas
- Top babyface: Bobby Eaton. Honorable mention: Rocky Johnson
- Top heel: Bobby Eaton. Honorable mention: The Great Togo
- Top feud: Bobby Eaton & George Gulas vs. Larry Latham &
Wayne Farris. Honorable mention: Rocky Johnson vs. Roger Mason
- Top babyface team: Bobby Eaton & George Gulas. Honorable
mention: George Gulas & Rocky Brewer
- Top heel team: Larry Latham & Wayne Farris. Honorable mention:
Tojo Yamamoto & Gypsy Joe
- Top manager: Danny Davis. Honorable mention: Sputnik Monroe
- Top newcomer: Roger Mason. Honorable mention: Steve Regal
- Most valuable performer: Bobby Eaton. Honorable mention: Larry
Latham & Wayne Farris
- Quick thoughts about 1980 for Gulas: Bobby Eaton again did it all
for promoter Nick Gulas. In a sign of how the promotion slipped George Gulas
anchored the two top babyface teams of the year.
1980 Jarrett
- Top babyface: Bill Dundee. Honorable mention: Jimmy Valiant
- Top heel: Tommy Rich. Honorable mention: Paul Ellering
- Top feud: Tommy Rich vs. Bill Dundee. Honorable mention: Paul
Ellering vs. Jimmy Valiant
- Top babyface team: Ken Lucas & Ricky Morton. Honorable mention:
Tommy Gilbert & Eddie Gilbert
- Top heel team: Dennis Condrey & David Shultz. Honorable mention:
The Masked Assassins
- Top manager: Jimmy Hart. Honorable mention: Danny Davis
- Top newcomer: Bobby Eaton. Honorable mention: Dream Machine
- Most valuable performer: Jimmy Hart. Honorable mention: Bill Dundee
- Quick thoughts about 1980 for Jarrett: Jimmy Hart truly stepped into
the spotlight in the wake of Jerry Lawler’s injury. Two of the most
underrated babyface teams the area hosted in years, Ken Lucas & Ricky
Morton and Tommy Gilbert & Eddie Gilbert, headlined tag action most of
the last half of the year.
1981
- Top babyface: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Dutch Mantel
- Top heel: Dream Machine. Honorable mention: Kevin Sullivan
- Top feud: Jerry Lawler vs. Jimmy Hart. Honorable mention: Mr. Onita
& Masa Fuchi vs. Dutch Mantel & partners
- Top babyface team: Bill Dundee & Steve Keirn. Honorable mention:
Ricky Gibson & Robert Gibson
- Top heel team: Mr. Onita & Masa Fuchi. Honorable mention: Austin
Idol & Dutch Mantel
- Top manager: Jimmy Hart. Honorable mention: Tojo Yamamoto
- Top newcomer: Stan Lane. Honorable mention: Mr. Onita & Masa
Fuchi
- Most valuable performer: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Jimmy Hart
- Quick thoughts about 1981: Jerry Lawler’s return drew the largest
crowds to arenas in years indicating his worth to the promotion. Troy
Graham’s turn as The Dream Machine helped establish him as one of the
legends in the area.
1982
- Top babyface: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Bill Dundee
- Top heel: Andy Kaufman. Honorable mention: Dream Machine
- Top feud: Jerry Lawler vs. Andy Kaufman. Honorable mention: Bill
Dundee vs. Dutch Mantel
- Top babyface team: The Fabulous Ones: Steve Keirn & Stan Lane.
Honorable mention: Terry Taylor & Jacques Rougeau
- Top heel team: Bobby Eaton & Sweet Brown Sugar. Honorable
mention: The Sheepherders: Jonathan Boyd & Luke Williams
- Top manager: Jimmy Hart. Honorable mention: J.J. Dillon
- Top newcomer: Adrian Street. Honorable mention: Jim Cornette
- Most valuable performer: Jimmy Hart. Honorable mention: Jerry Lawler
- Quick thoughts about 1982: Comedian Andy Kaufman drew more heat in
limited appearances than many longtime heels. The team of Bobby Eaton &
Sweet Brown Sugar ruled the heel side of things all year. This was Jimmy
Hart’s year though as he proved to be the catalyst for so many of the
shenanigans in the area during the year.
1983
- Top babyface: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Austin Idol
- Top heel: Bill Dundee. Honorable mention: Jesse Ventura
- Top feud: Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee. Honorable mention: The
Fabulous Ones vs. The Masked Assassins
- Top babyface team: The Fabulous Ones: Steve Keirn & Stan Lane.
Honorable mention: Jerry Lawler & Austin Idol
- Top heel team: The Bruise Brothers: Troy Graham & Porkchop Cash.
Honorable mention: The Masked Grapplers
- Top manager: Jimmy Hart. Honorable mention: Jim Cornette
- Top newcomer: The Rock n Roll Express: Robert Gibson & Ricky
Morton. Honorable mention: Randy Savage
- Most valuable performer: The Fabulous Ones: Steve Keirn & Stan
Lane. Honorable mention: Jerry Lawler
- Quick thoughts about 1983: The reprise of the Lawler-Dundee feud was
short but was big money at the box office. The Fabulous Ones really took off
during 1983.
1984
- Top babyface: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Austin Idol
- Top heel: Randy Savage. Honorable mention: Eddie Gilbert
- Top feud: Jerry Lawler vs. Randy Savage. Honorable mention: Jerry
Lawler vs. Rick Rude
- Top babyface team: Rock n Roll Express: Robert Gibson & Ricky
Morton. Honorable mention: The Fabulous Ones: Steve Keirn & Stan Lane
- Top heel team: The Zambui Express: Kareem Muhammad & Ellijah
Akeem. Honorable mention: The PYTs: Norvell Austin & Koko Ware
- Top manager: Jimmy Hart. Honorable mention: Troy Graham
- Top newcomer: Rick Rude. Honorable mention: King Kong Bundy
- Most valuable performer: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Eddie
Gilbert
- Quick thoughts about 1984: Randy Savage and Eddie Gilbert were the
area’s top heels edging out newcomer Rick Rude, who showed loads of
potential. Austin Idol had a big year, spending a lot of time in the area,
especially early in the year.
1985
- Top babyface: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Koko Ware
- Top heel: Bill Dundee. Honorable mention: Randy Savage
- Top feud: Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee. Honorable mention: The
Fabulous Ones: Steve Keirn & Stan Lane vs. The Sheepherders: Jonathan
Boyd & Rip Morgan
- Top babyface team: The Fabulous Ones: Steve Keirn & Stan Lane.
Honorable mention: Tojo Yamamoto & Jerry Jarrett
- Top heel team: The Sheepherders: Jonathan Boyd & Rip Morgan.
Honorable mention: The Nightmares
- Top manager: Tux Newman. Honorable mention: Buddy Wayne
- Top newcomer: Billy Travis. Honorable mention: Tux Newman
- Most valuable performer: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: The
Fabulous Ones: Steve Keirn & Stan Lane
- Quick thoughts about 1985: The Lawler-Dundee feud kicked in again at
year’s end and was topped off with Lawler losing a loser leaves town
match. Area veteran Koko Ware got a good singles push late in the year,
including a Memphis match against NWA champion Ric Flair.
1986
- Top babyface: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Bill Dundee
- Top heel: Bill Dundee. Honorable mention: Bam Bam Bigelow
- Top feud: Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee. Honorable mention: Akio Sato
& Tarzan Gotoh vs. Jeff Jarrett & Pat Tanaka
- Top babyface team: Jeff Jarrett & Pat Tanaka. Honorable mention:
Pat Tanaka & Paul Diamond
- Top heel team: Akio Sato & Tarzan Gotoh. Honorable mention: Fire
& Flame
- Top manager: Tojo Yamamoto. Honorable mention: J.D. Costello
- Top newcomer: Bam Bam Bigelow. Honorable mention: Jeff Jarrett
- Most valuable performer: Bill Dundee. Honorable mention: Pat Tanaka
- Quick thoughts about 1986: The Lawler-Dundee feud played again to
big crowds while Dundee proved to be someone to watch week after week.
Newcomers included Bam Bam Bigelow, who amazed everyone with his agility,
and Jeff Jarrett, son of promoter Jerry Jarrett.
1987
- Top babyface: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Bill Dundee
- Top heel: Austin Idol. Honorable mention: Tommy Rich
- Top feud: Jerry Lawler & partners vs. Austin Idol & Tommy
Rich. Honorable mention: Bill Dundee vs. George Barnes
- Top babyface team: Jeff Jarrett & Billy Travis. Honorable
mention: Jeff Jarrett & Pat Tanaka
- Top heel team: Austin Idol & Tommy Rich. Honorable mention: The
Rock n Roll RPMs: Mike Davis & Tommy Lane
- Top manager: Paul E. Dangerly. Honorable mention: Downtown Bruno
- Top newcomer: George Barnes. Honorable mention: The Midnight
Rockers: Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty
- Most valuable performer: Austin Idol. Honorable mention: Jerry
Lawler
- Quick thoughts about 1987: Jerry Lawler’s feud against Austin Idol
& Tommy Rich may have been the feud of the decade in the area. Idol’s
heel run, his first heel appearances in the area since 1983, were top notch.
Upstart manager Paul Dangerly (Dangerously) made waves while Bill Dundee
feuded with old partner George Barnes, who returned after a twelve year
absence.
1988
- Top babyface: Jeff Jarrett. Honorable mention: Jerry Lawler
- Top heel: Eddie Gilbert. Honorable mention: Robert Fuller
- Top feud: Jerry Lawler vs. Eddie Gilbert. Honorable mention: Robert
Fuller vs. Jeff Jarrett
- Top babyface team: Bill Dundee & Todd Morton. Honorable mention:
Ron Harris & Don Harris
- Top heel team: Robert Fuller & Jimmy Golden. Honorable mention:
Gary Young & Cactus Jack
- Top manager: Ernest Angel. Honorable mention: Downtown Bruno
- Top newcomer: Max Pain. Honorable mention: Ernest Angel
- Most valuable performer: Jeff Jarrett. Honorable mention: Eddie
Gilbert
- Quick thoughts about 1988: Eddie Gilbert’s heel work here against
Jerry Lawler was excellent. While Lawler won the AWA title it took him out
of the week to week mix sometimes. This allowed Jeff Jarrett to become the
lead babyface much of the year.
1989
- Top babyface: Jeff Jarrett. Honorable mention: Jerry Lawler
- Top heel: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Dutch Mantel
- Top feud: Ronnie Gossett vs. Eddie Marlin & the promotion.
Honorable mention: Wildside: Chris Champion & Mark Starr vs. The Rock n
Roll Express: Robert Gibson & Ricky Morton
- Top babyface team: Rock n Roll Express: Robert Gibson & Ricky
Morton. Honorable mention: Bill Dundee & Ricky Morton
- Top heel team: Wildside: Chris Champion & Mark Starr. Honorable
mention: The Blackbirds: Iceman Parsons & Brickhouse Brown
- Top manager: Ronnie Gossett. Honorable mention: Nate the Rat
- Top newcomer: Master of Pain. Honorable mention: Dustin Rhodes
- Most valuable performer: Jerry Lawler. Honorable mention: Ronnie
Gossett
- Quick thoughts about 1989: It’s hard to imagine what the year
would have been without Jerry Lawler, as he played face and heel equally
well during the year. Dutch Mantel had a solid heel run most of the year.
Twenty
five years covers a great amount of time. During that time cities that ran
weekly house shows likely ran over 1200 professional wrestling cards. Hundreds
of wrestlers worked these shows. Tens of thousands of fans walked through the
turnstiles of armories and auditoriums. It was a weekly habit for some who
enjoyed the action that took place in an elevated ring inside ropes on a plain
mat under intense lights. For much of those twenty five years the show called
professional wrestling also stopped over in high school and elementary school
gyms in small towns providing a night of excitement in towns where everybody
knew everybody else. It was a grand ole time!
Over
the course of the last few years these articles have explored many of the cold
hard facts that can be accumulated about pro wrestling’s past as promoted by
Roy Welch, Nick Gulas and Jerry Jarrett. These articles have uncovered many of
the champions and the feuds and the high points and low points. Cards and
attendance figures have been listed and speculation of all sorts has been
bandied about. Honestly, my own memory about wrestling in the area doesn’t
stretch back to the full time period covered here. Through some research and
discussion with those who do recall it firsthand from inside the business or
those who remember it as a fan, I have been privileged enough to write about
this territory for several years. In this process I have learned much more than
I ever dreamt.
Ultimately
though for those of us who enjoy professional wrestling from the territorial
days, when you cut past the list of champions and attendance figures and
speculation and the facts and figures, it is all about memories. My memories
from watching this territory specifically, and wrestling in general, remain
vivid and special.
Watching
a bad guy Tojo Yamamoto holding a wrist lock on an opponent and while the
referee’s eyes are diverted Tojo slowly began spreading his opponent’s
fingers apart while announcer Harry Thornton screamed how the rules of wrestling
were being violated then made me think Tojo was the meanest man in the whole
world but now makes me grin at how I bought into what I was watching without
thinking otherwise.
Watching
Phil Hickerson & Dennis Condrey work their tag team magic yet never quite
getting shut up made me want to see them eventually get their comeuppance but
now makes me realize how good they were at getting me to the place they wanted
me to be.
Watching
a fan favorite Jerry Lawler get attacked by a group of villains and wondering
who would rescue Lawler then made me believe somehow Lawler would get back at
these ne’er do-wells but now makes me wonder why I couldn’t see what was
happening clearer before it happened.
Watching
Jackie Fargo tell an opponent to “Put up your dukes, pally” makes me
remember when I believed no one could whip the blonde good guy and now makes me
marvel at his charisma and how he connected with the fans.
Watching
Nick Gulas in his mumbling monotone tell viewers “a record breaking crowd”
is expected at the next card then made me want to buy a ticket that moment but
now makes me chuckle a bit wondering how understated Nick seemed to be in
retrospect.
And
so many of these things and more make me smile but sometimes they make me very
sad. It’s all a part of my life but a part I can only recall.
Maybe
it’s just a bit of relishing days gone by as if they are better in retrospect
than what I understood at the time that makes me feel this way sometimes. Maybe
it’s the descending trail the business once called professional wrestling but
now called sports entertainment started down a few years back that make me enjoy
old tapes, old magazines, old newsletters and old, but frequently revisited,
memories more often than I would like to do so. Maybe it’s something
altogether different that I haven’t cared to discover yet or something
somewhere in-between.
I
do know a few things though. I miss Saturdays in front of the television hearing
the bell ring and not quite knowing what to expect. I miss the TV audience
razzing the bad guys and exhorting the good guys. I miss seeing a new wrestler
for the first time or one returning from a long absence.
I
miss the edgy expectancy of an evening at the matches while pulling into the
arena parking lot. I miss the cigarette and cigar smoke hanging in the
unreachable atmosphere above the lights. I miss the lights dangling above the
ring. I miss the ring resting alone and silently on the floor as if waiting
patiently for the pandemonium that would ensue soon.
I
miss the crowd banter. I miss the anticipation and faith of true believers,
those who no matter what happened or what they heard would not believe anything
other than what they knew and understood. I miss watching fans who took
seriously what they were watching, fans who had their favorites and stood by
them through thick and thin. I miss not having to peer around homemade signs to
see the ring just so some ham can get his mug on TV for three seconds.
I
miss soft drinks in red paper Coca-Cola cups and greasy hot dogs and the smell
of popcorn. I miss the programs you could buy for under a buck and that turn
yellow with time. I miss cramming the evening’s ticket stub into my pocket
knowing it would be kept at night’s end because it was a reminder of a trip to
some magical world that enthralled me like few things ever had.
I
miss wrestlers entering from different sides of the building into the
auditorium. I miss bad guys swaggering into the ring and feeling a small hint of
fear developing in my gut. I miss wrestlers hiding under the ring from their
opponent. I miss tag team doubleteams and interfering managers. I miss the
airplane spin as a finishing move. I miss seeing a chair shot once every six
months. I miss believing the piledriver was the most dangerous wrestling move of
all time. I miss the midgets and the fabulous ladies and even the wrestling
bear. I miss when a main event meant something special.
Somehow
along the way, these things changed. Of course, I’ve changed as well. Most of
us come to understand that change in life is seemingly the only constant.
Sometimes though when it comes to something that has been such a regular
companion, change is not always welcome.
Maybe
time has passed me by when it comes to professional wrestling. I know there are
those in the business today who are great at what they do and I wish them well.
I understand that there are things about the business that make it easier for
the boys now than in a previous time and for those things I am glad. I hope
those who enjoy those benefits today appreciate the price paid by those who
walked that aisle before them.
Yes,
it’s still a show with a ring and lights and fans and many of the things
remembered from a time gone by. Still, though it’s all different now.
At
times now I look back and think about cities like Memphis, Chattanooga,
Nashville, Birmingham, Huntsville, Lexington, Jackson, Tupelo, Jonesboro,
Evansville and Louisville and others that scheduled wrestling on a regular
basis. I think about those old buildings that housed those regular cards and the
memories that haunt those walls. I think about little towns throughout the
territory that brought wrestling to town a couple of times a year just to raise
some money for the athletic booster club. I think about the long road trips made
by the boys. Sometimes I even find myself on some of the same roads I’m
certain they traveled at some time or another. I find myself wondering if at
some point in the past one of the boys while ticking off the miles somewhere
between last night’s show and the next show thought that the world they knew
then would never change. I then realize in the world I knew then that sometimes
crossed into their world then that I never saw change coming and never imagined
things would change from what they were then.
Still,
the miles tick on bringing change, sometimes slowly, sometimes swiftly, with
every day.
Since
change is so constant, it provides a bit of hope for me that in someway things
can change again, maybe not to the exact way things were but in some direction
more reminiscent of the business of professional wrestling that I miss like an
old friend on a lonely day. I’ll wait and see, and hope.
Meantime,
I turn back to the old tapes, programs, clippings, magazines, newsletters and
results. I read the articles on KM’s main site and read the knowledge on the
KM message board imparted from fans and wrestlers with an almost unexplainable
passion for the business. I realize I am not alone in feeling melancholy for the
old days sometimes. I also know I am not alone in reliving and rehashing these
kayfabe memories.
NEXT
MONTH:
The memories continue…
Special thanks
To
all those who have contributed in small ways or large ways to the previous 39
articles, thank you immensely for helping capture a part of professional
wrestling history and for sharing your memories.
To
all those who participated in the grand business of professional wrestling in
the territory working for Mr. Welch, Mr. Gulas and Mr. Jarrett, thank you for
the memories so many of us value.
Dedicated to the memory of
Roy
Welch, Nick Gulas, Harry Thornton and Miss Christine Jarrett
and in honor of
Jerry
Jarrett
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