Meantime, rather quietly, Missy Hyatt slipped into the area with Hitman Doug Gilbert that week as well. It was Missy’s first foray into Jarrett territory. Likely though many area fans were well aware of exactly who Missy Hyatt was.

Missy had come to prominence in 1985 in the World Class promotion as valet to Hollywood John Tatum. The World Class promotion had introduced Sunshine to the wrestling world as a valet. Her association with Jim Garvin helped turned Garvin into a major attraction. As the world turned though, Garvin was then paired with Precious (his real life wife) and Sunshine was turned face and paired with Gentleman Chris Adams in one of the business’s top feuds of the 1980s. The lesson learned by wrestling promoters was that the female valet was one more way to attract wrestling fans. Soon other promotions were using similar storylines and introducing female valets into the business.

After her stopover in World Class, Hyatt ventured to Bill Watts’ Mid-South promotion, eventually renamed the UWF. Hyatt came along with her real life and storyline boyfriend Tatum and his tag partner Jack Victory. Not long into their stay with Watts, Hyatt, Tatum & Victory formed an alliance with Eddie Gilbert.

Gilbert had popped into Watts’ area in 1985 after his heel run against Jerry Lawler in Memphis. After searching for his role in the promotion, Gilbert finally hit his stride mostly serving as a manager for the promotion. With upstarts Sting and Rick Steiner as his co-horts, Gilbert banded with Hyatt, Tatum & Victory to create trouble for opponents.

It became apparent though to fans that followed the storylines each week that Gilbert and Hyatt had more on their minds than business. This was interesting since Hyatt and Tatum were paired with each other in real life as well as in the eyes of the fans. In the strange world of professional wrestling the storylines began to intersect as Gilbert and Hyatt became a real life item as well. Eventually the two were married in New Orleans.

With Gilbert’s Hot Stuff persona irritating fans because of his sneaky ways, Hyatt, a gorgeous photogenic blonde, drew her own sort of heat. Portrayed as a spoiled brat, Hyatt, with her trustworthy loaded Gucci purse, was more than willing to do pretty much anything to have her men win their matches. By 1987 Gilbert had gained some power working for Watts as many of his ideas were put into action. In time he was made booker. At around the same time he and Hyatt were offered deals with Vince McMahon’s WWF. Gilbert was torn since the WWF offered the best pay and exposure in the U.S. while the creative outlet of booking a wrestling territory was his dream job. Gilbert chose to stay with the UWF. Hyatt, on the other hand, was free to go to the WWF. In the WWF she was scheduled to host a TV interview segment. A few interviews were taped but the idea was scrapped and Hyatt was let go by the WWF. Eddie’s father, Tommy, would also work for the UWF for a time as a referee and agent while younger brother Doug worked some there under a mask as The Enforcer. Meantime, Bill Watts had sold the UWF to Jim Crockett’s promotion and over time Crockett’s booker Dusty Rhodes destroyed most all the credibility most of the UWF stars had including Gilbert. Gilbert was misused in the Crockett promotion. Hyatt meantime did do some announcing for the promotion. By 1988 though Gilbert and Hyatt left the Crockett promotion.

So as Missy Hyatt appeared on Memphis TV one February Saturday with Hitman Doug Gilbert at her side, many fans were well aware through the newsstand magazines and through the syndicated UWF show that aired in much of the territory that Missy Hyatt and Eddie Gilbert were usually partners in crime. Eddie though was nowhere in sight. This made fans wonder why Eddie was not around. When questioned by Lance Russell (and also by Jerry Lawler on his Sunday show), Hyatt avoided answering any specifics about Eddie’s whereabouts and why she was there with Doug.

Monday night at the Mid-South Coliseum, as Lawler wrestled arch-rival Tommy Rich in Memphis, Doug Gilbert appeared and attacked Lawler. Then unannounced Eddie Gilbert joined in the fray. A few moments later, Eddie threw a big fireball at Lawler. Lawler, who had turned back foes right and left often with the use of fire, had fallen prey to the hot stuff himself. Meantime, outside the ring, Tommy Gilbert stood enjoying what he was seeing. Suddenly, he was approached by promotion authority figure Eddie Marlin. The two, who had held both the Southern tag and Mid-America tag titles at various times in the 1970s, began to argue. Marlin was incensed at what had happened to Lawler at the hands of Tommy’s sons. As Marlin turned to signal for help, Tommy leveled Marlin. The two former partners who had formed one of the most popular, enduring and memorable tag teams ever in the area were now at odds with each other.

The following week on TV, Eddie wondered why fans couldn’t understand why he had tossed fire on Lawler when they approved of Lawler tossing fire on his opponents. Hyatt, meantime, began trying to nudge Dave Brown out of his announcer slot claiming she could do better a job than the seasoned pro. Missy’s professionalism as an announcer was tested almost immediately. The promotion was running a trivia contest in conjunction with the Renegades Rampage tournament they were running. As Russell asked the week’s question Gilbert whispered the answer to Hyatt who promptly blurted the answer out loud to the studio and viewing audience. In a couple of segments, the pained expression on Russell’s face spoke volumes…Hot Stuff and Missy had arrived and the promotion would not be the same for awhile.

Tommy Gilbert explained he was the reason the tag team he had formed with Eddie Marlin had been so successful. Tommy then said he was sick of Marlin and had been for years. All this did was to bring out an angry Eddie Marlin, still smarting from Tommy’s recent attack on him. Marlin, at age 57, said he was too old to be back in the ring to wrestle but he was still up for a fight and felt like his old partner was just the person to feel his wrath.

With Lawler out of action from Gilbert’s fireball, Steve Keirn stepped up to the plate to battle Gilbert. Since Keirn had feuded against Lawler in late 1987 it made little sense for Keirn to be facing Gilbert for revenge for Lawler. Instead the match was promoted as Keirn being upset at Gilbert once copping the Fabulous Ones name and gimmick in 1984 with Tommy Rich. That night in Memphis the Gilberts made their presence known elsewhere as they interfered in a Bill Dundee match with Nightmare Ken Wayne (Eddie would meet Wayne in Memphis the following week in a Renegades Rampage tournament match in a brief reprise of their 1979 feud). The three Gilberts leveled Dundee. The Gilberts were on a tear and the old Memphis guard, represented by Lawler and Dundee, seemed in trouble. The trouble though was just beginning.

The more Eddie Gilbert appeared the more his motives became more clear. He recalled his 1985 feud with Lawler when Gilbert first announced he was the heir-apparent to the Memphis wrestling throne Jerry Lawler had taken from Jackie Fargo. Eddie, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways, warned Lawler that he (Eddie) knew all there was to know about Lawler. The implication was that Eddie seemed willing to go to any lengths to lay claim to his belief that he was the heir-apparent to the Memphis wrestling crown.

Meantime, former tag partners Tommy Gilbert and Eddie Marlin had battled in a Memphis match. Tommy ripped the referee’s belt from him and strapped Marlin to warm up their feud. With Lawler out of action and Dundee following suit, the Gilberts became the primary focus on the TV show. As Missy tried to become Russell’s co-host, Eddie would sometimes speculate about Lawler’s whereabouts. The answer, of course, was Lawler was home recuperating from Eddie’s fireball attack. Lawler also missed his hosting duties for his own show the next several weeks. One week, Lance Russell subbed. The next week, Randy Hales subbed. Both weeks, the Gilberts were guests and got over to the viewers their plans to control the area.

A couple of weeks after the fireball incident, Lance Russell began conducting a telephone interview with Lawler. Hot Stuff rushed out and snatched the phone from Russell. He argued briefly with Lawler and then hung up on him. Things though would get much hotter on this March Saturday in Memphis.

Promoter Jerry Jarrett made a rare TV appearance to present Lance Russell with an award. Jarrett’s visit did not go unnoticed by the Gilberts. Eddie called out Jarrett to read him out about how his promotion, and a long-standing clique Gilbert claimed that involved such illustrious area ring names as Fargo and Yamamoto, had long protected Lawler and ignored the Gilberts. Eddie was on a roll and barked how Jarrett apparently had little regard for his own son and his own 57-year-old father-in-law, whom Eddie intimated was too old to be wrestling anymore but that Jarrett allowed to wrestle anyway. Calmly, Jarrett fired back that Eddie’s dad, Tommy was pretty old too and that maybe he should retire. The retort angered the Gilberts. Tommy lunged for Jarrett and held him, Doug held Lance Russell back and Eddie suddenly tossed a fireball on Jarrett.

Later, a boiling mad Eddie Marlin called out the Gilberts saying they had gone too far this time. While Marlin fumed, Jerry Lawler phoned in again. Lawler said the doctors hadn’t cleared him to return to action yet but after he had seen what the Gilberts had done to Jerry Jarrett he would be back in action that week in Memphis.

The following week Eddie blocked video airing of his match against Lawler on the grounds that he had contractual control over what video could be shown about him. It was clear though that Lawler had returned and had given Eddie a tough time the week before. With Dave Brown away that week, Lance Russell was joined by Randy Hales. Hales, who had worked in a number of capacities for the promotion over the years, had often appeared at ringside with Russell on video segments from the Mid-South Coliseum. Since Missy continually wanted the announcing position beside Russell, Hales’ presence this day was noted by the Gilberts.

With Brown away, Eddie wondered where Brown was briefly before again wondering about area hero Lawler’s whereabouts. Eddie then stepped in the ring for a match. Missy, meantime, began hounding Hales to relinquish his announce position for her. Hales though refused. Even though he was wrestling, Eddie noticed Missy causing a scene at the announce desk. Eddie hopped out of the ring and began demanding Hales get up so Missy could begin announcing his match. Hales held his ground though and the referee counted Eddie out of his match. Missy, Eddie and Hales argued over the situation. Suddenly, Doug Gilbert grabbed Lance Russell, while Tommy grabbed Hales, Eddie then tossed a fireball on Hales. The Gilberts had struck again.

After the Hales incident, Jerry Lawler called in to the show. As he cut a promo on Eddie, Eddie snatched the phone away from Russell again to briefly argue with Lawler before hanging up on him again. A few minutes later though Lawler called in again. This time Missy Hyatt grabbed the phone and argued with Lawler before slamming the phone down.

The Eddie Marlin-Tommy Gilbert feud had continued during this time as well with the two meeting in strap and lumberjack-strap matches. Nothing had been resolved between the two though as Marlin, who cut some great anger-filled interviews, held his own against his younger foe.

The next week on TV Lance Russell began conducting another telephone interview with Jerry Lawler. As had become custom the previous weeks, Eddie charged the set and grabbed the phone away from Russell. Eddie argued with Lawler and before hanging the phone up claimed Lawler was no longer man enough to show up to face him. Russell, who had grown more stressed week by week at the shenanigans of the Gilberts, began a tirade about Eddie and his actions. Eddie though was in no mood for Russell’s words and flung words back at the veteran announcer. Gilbert began relaying all he had done since returning to the area. He had put Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee out of action and had burned Jerry Jarrett and Randy Hales. In his eyes, Eddie was slaying the area’s legends on his way to becoming the next area legend. Eddie’s voiced filled with glee though when he looked at Russell and said there was one legend who had remained unscathed hinting his next victim was Russell, whom Eddie called an "ancient mariner".

Russell though had a surprise for Eddie that stopped Gilbert in his tracks. Russell told Gilbert that although Lawler had called the studio for the interview that day that Lawler was not calling from home as he had in previous weeks. Lawler was calling from another part of the TV station. Suddenly there was no more wondering about Jerry Lawler’s whereabouts as on cue Lawler walked out of the dressing room and began brawling with his arch rival.

The two brawled around the announce desk tipping the backdrop on it’s side. They then brawled over the desk and around the studio. They then brawled out a hall and into the WMC-TV parking lot. With the action out of control, the TV show went to a commercial break. Upon return from the break though Lawler and Gilbert were still in the parking lot fighting. In one of the year’s most memorable scenes, the two brawled onto the hood of a car. There Gilbert picked Lawler up and slammed him into the car’s windshield. Gilbert then began walking away. Lawler staggered off the car and hopped onto Gilbert’s back as the brawl continued. Later, Lawler promised the fans he would get his hands on Gilbert in the week ahead and when he did he promised to throw a fireball on him. Lawler lived up to his word and burned Gilbert in Memphis that week.

Eddie Marlin and Tommy Gilbert continued their war with a number of matches in March and into April. One of the highlights was a cowboy boot match between the two. After Eddie had been burned Doug began complaining to Marlin about Lawler’s use of fire. The Gilberts then jumped Marlin and busted him up with a cowboy boot. Marlin and Tommy then met in a match where the objective was to relieve your opponent of both his cowboy boots. Along the way, if a boot came off it was fair game as a weapon. As this feud progressed, Marlin’s grandson, Jeff Jarrett, became involved in it as well.

In the Lawler-Hot Stuff feud the shoe was now on the other foot. Eddie was now relegated to sending in taped interviews. As he wore a makeshift hood, Gilbert revealed he had placed a $25,000 bounty on Lawler and the first taker was AWA champion Curt Hennig. Interestingly enough, promoter Jerry Jarrett had announced Lawler would battle Hennig for the AWA title in May in Memphis. Lawler had agreed to retire if he didn’t win the title that night. A month before the championship match the two would lock up in a battle with different stakes.

As Lawler battled Hennig in Memphis, a masked man entered the ring to attack Lawler. Most everyone determined it was Eddie Gilbert under the mask. The mask came off though revealing young Scott Levy. Lawler then pounded on Levy but was attacked by an obviously masked Eddie Gilbert, who used ether to subdue Lawler leading to Hennig’s pinfall win.

Scott Levy’s part of the whole plan though was baffling. Levy had wrestled in the area for a few weeks, mostly billed as Scotty the Body. Lance Russell interrogated the youngster trying to determine his motives thinking Levy had received a payoff from Gilbert. Levy though stunned the audience by revealing he agreed to help Gilbert because Gilbert had promised Levy a date with Missy Hyatt. Missy approached Levy then and said a date was his—if he beat Jerry Lawler. Levy then promptly lost a TV match to Lawler. After the match Hyatt slapped Levy for his losing effort while Russell chided him about running with the wrong crowd.

With Gilbert sending in interviews via tape the focus of the feud moved away from Eddie and to Missy at the time. Behind the scenes, Gilbert was in the process of booking the hurting Continental promotion based in Alabama. Missy’s expanded role and Eddie’s burn injury covered Gilbert’s absence. Longtime Lawler rival Dory Funk, Jr. came to town to attempt to collect Gilbert’s bounty in Eddie’s absence.

As Eddie’s feud with Lawler shifted focus toward Missy, Eddie Marlin’s feud with Tommy Gilbert shifted as well. Tommy and Doug had roughed up The Bruise Brothers: Ron & Don Harris with the use of an object. Since the decision of their match was disputed, it was determined that a special referee should be named. Eddie Marlin was that special referee which continued the feud from another angle.

Next up to attempt to collect the bounty on Lawler was a foe from way back named Robert Fuller. The two had battled each other numerous times in the mid-1970s in the territory. Then though the roles were reversed as Fuller was the babyface and Lawler was the heel. Their initial match in 1988 though carried some special stipulations with it. If Lawler won Missy Hyatt would serve as his maid for a day, while if Fuller won, Lawler would serve as Hyatt’s servant for the day. On the TV show before the match something unexpected occurred.

Out of the blue, Downtown Bruno returned. Bruno called out Lawler reminding fans that Lawler’s beating of Don Bass the previous August had lead to Bruno’s departure from the area. Lawler came out. Bruno though began buttering up Lawler and as Lawler grew more distracted by the mouthy manager, Robert Fuller attacked Lawler. Fuller handcuffed Lawler and then hung him with a rope over the ring ropes setting up their upcoming match.

Lawler downed Fuller in their match. Lawler had Kenny Dees in his corner to keep Missy out of the action. The plan worked as Dees successfully thwarted Hyatt. Missy had to become Lawler’s maid for a day.

The following week on TV, clips of Lawler’s day with Missy aired. Missy, hardly a domestic goddess, washed Lawler’s car, did his laundry and vacuumed his floors. The finale of the segment saw Missy on her hands and knees scrubbing Lawler’s toilet.

The vignette served to crank up Lawler’s feud with Eddie again for a week. Eddie wanted revenge because Missy had been embarrassed. With a world title shot a week away, Lawler though refused any notion of a match against Eddie feeling he had finally got his revenge and also because he wanted a week off to prepare for his match against Curt Hennig. Gilbert though was willing to offer anything to get Lawler in the ring once more. With shades of his 1977 feud with Bill (and Beverly) Dundee as a backdrop, Lawler then agreed to face Gilbert but only if Missy’s hair would be at stake if Gilbert lost. Meantime, the Gilberts "adopted" Gorgeous Gary Young to look after Missy since she had become a target. In one of the year’s funniest lines, Young leered at Hyatt and said he was glad to help the Gilberts and more than willing to watch Missy’s "behind, I mean watch her back".

Gilbert and Lawler squared off with Eddie coming out on top. Lawler once again had Kenny Dees in his corner. Dees though was bought off by Hyatt. At an inopportune time for Lawler, Dees entered the ring and tossed powder at Lawler while the referee was distracted by the returning Lawler rival Paul E. Dangerously. Gilbert scored the win and Missy escaped with her blonde locks intact.

The feud sputtered at this point. Eddie devoted his efforts at reviving the Continental promotion. Brother Doug would work some more for Jarrett but would join Eddie in time working as the Masked Nightmare Freddie. Tommy would continue to work some in the territory but not at the level he had in prior months. Missy would also work for the Continental promotion as an announcer alongside veteran Charlie Platt. Paul E. Dangerously, who returned to Memphis for the one appearance to assist Gilbert, would join the crew as well. Their efforts resuscitated the struggling promotion and provided longtime fans with some of the year’s best action.

Meanwhile, Lawler set his eyes toward his eventual showdown with AWA champion Curt Hennig. The year though had been a real trial by fire for Lawler and others in the promotion. They had all survived Hot Stuff, the Walkin’ Riot and rest of the Gilbert family.

With the Southern title, Mid-America title and the International title being unified to create the CWA title, Jerry Lawler entered the year as champion. His initial reign ended in February at the hands of Max Pain.

When the Midnight Rockers: Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels left the territory in late December they were Southern tag champions. With their departure the titles were held up and a tournament for the renamed CWA tag titles was held in February with the team of Gary Young and Max Pain winning the tournament. For the next few weeks they bounced the titles back and forth with Ron and Don Harris, the Bruise Brothers. The Midnight Rockers would make some return appearances in the territory later in this time frame when they defended their regained AWA tag titles.

Working the area at this time were Jeff Jarrett, Manny Fernandez, Jimmy Jack Funk, Tejiho Khan, The Rock n Roll RPMs: Mike Davis & Tommy Lane, King Cobra, Skip Young, Billy Travis, Gary Young, Scott Hall, Ricki Nelson, Memphis Vice: Jerry Bryant and Lou Winston, Carl Fergie, Don Bass, Bill Dundee, The Nasty Boys: Jerry Sags and Brian Knobs, Debbie Combs, Lady Satan (Cora Combs), Olympia, Candi Divine, Ken Wayne, Hector Guerrero, Cat Garrett, Terry Taylor, AWA champion Curt Hennig, Terry Adonis, The Cuban Choir Boys, The Zebra Warriors, The Rock n Roll Express: Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson, Tommy Rich, Prince Samu, The Great Kokina, Eddie, Tommy and Doug Gilbert, Missy Hyatt, Scotty the Body, Giant Hillbilly, Big Bad Jim and more.

Veterans Sputnik Monroe and Billy Wicks both came out of retirement to renew their famous record attendance setting 1959 area feud. Veteran Judo Joe also stepped back in the ring briefly as well. Eddie Marlin got back in the ring also. This time he battled one-time tag partner Tommy Gilbert.

Early in the year the promotion debuted one of their most controversial acts ever when Ernest Angel appeared. On the heels of various tele-evangelist scandals, Angel spoke with the cadence of a minister and carried a book (actually it appeared to be a ¾" videotape box) called "The Good Book". Angel then would ask viewers to send in donations for his ongoing project, Wrestling USA, a supposed pro wrestling theme park Angel was building. Viewers in the strongly religious area were not pleased with Angel and his rhetoric. The promotion hung on to Angel although they toned him down some. By the summer though Angel left to work some for the Continental promotion in Alabama and to plead with viewers of their show to donate to him there.

The promotion received a boost in exposure when the fledgling FNN/Score cable network added a Jarrett TV show to their weekend schedule. The promotion had a syndicated network of stations throughout the territory and also in various parts of the country but the FNN/Score venture opened their product up to some parts of the country that previously had been unable to regularly watch the weekly TV show. Most often, the FNN/Score show was a highlights show of matches from previous weeks in Memphis’ Mid-South Coliseum as opposed to an edited version of the studio show most others in the territory were able to watch. Later in the early summer, Alabama’s Continental promotion also joined the FNN/Score line-up.

On a more somber note, longtime area manager Gentleman Saul Weingeroff passed away in March at the age of 72. Though it is likely only a handful of area fans in 1988 remembered Weingeroff, it should not take away from his accomplishments as many who remembered him well considered him one of the best ringside managers ever.

The mid-1980s saw professional wrestling embrace groups who worked together for their own betterment. The Crockett promotion prominently featured a group that became known as The Four Horsemen. In the WWF, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Bob Orton, Jr. & David Shultz formed an association. In Mid-South and World Class rings, General Skandor Akbar fronted a group called Devastation, Incorporated. The three man combination of Buddy Roberts, Terry Gordy & Michael Hayes, more widely known as The Fabulous Freebirds, could also be counted in this category. In area rings, Lawler’s Army, Jimmy Hart’s First Family and The Prince’s Commission all had these similar elements. Meantime, in Alabama rings in the 1980s, there was another group that banded together to advance their own agenda. That group was called The Stud Stable and was usually fronted by Robert Fuller.

The Fuller family has deep roots in southern wrestling lore. Robert and older brother Ron were sons of Buddy Fuller, one time promotional partner to area promoter Jerry Jarrett. Buddy Fuller was the ring name of Edward Welch. Edward was the son of one of the four famous wrestling Welch brothers, Roy, Herb, Jack and Lester, whose influence on the wrestling business dates back into the 1920s and 1930s in the South. Edward’s father, Roy, of course had been promotional partners with Nick Gulas. As Roy’s health weakened, Jerry Jarrett, who had become a valuable part of the business behind the scenes, became the heir-apparent to his part of the business. When Jarrett and Gulas split, Edward sided with Jarrett. The Welch family had other business interests in the wrestling world as at one time or another than in just Tennessee as they had owned or partially owned territories in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Arizona and other places.

By the mid and late 1960s, Edward, as Buddy Fuller, was a major part of what went on in Georgia rings including behind the scenes. His two sons also debuted into the wrestling world. Ron, who legitimately stands close to 6’9", debuted first and was followed by Robert. The family would also introduce Jimmy Golden and Jackie & Roy Lee Welch to the wrestling world. Golden’s mother was a Welch and married Bill Golden, who promoted wrestling in the South as well. Jackie & Roy Lee Welch were sons of Lester Welch, who had at various times owned pieces of the Georgia and Florida offices. As the 1970s started it seemed the Welch family name and reputation would be carried on quite well in the business.

The Fuller boys achieved varying amounts of success in the business. Ron did well for Gulas and in Florida and Georgia. He also often appeared on Sam Muchnick’s St. Louis cards. Robert also worked for Gulas as well as Florida and Georgia. In late 1974, Ron purchased the small Knoxville territory from John Cazana. The promotion which would be named Southeastern Championship Wrestling then began a near five year run as one of wrestling’s best kept secrets. In time, Ron would also purchase the Alabama territory and it would also be called Southeastern Championship Wrestling. Ron, brother Robert and cousin Jimmy were headline mainstays for the promotion for years. As 1979 ended and 1980 started, Ron sold the Knoxville end in the face of competition from the Poffo family and their upstart ICW group. This left Ron with the Alabama end to work. For most of the next decade fans there would get to know the Fullers well.

With some underrated talent working on their cards the Alabama-based promotion thrilled fans with such stars as Jos LeDuc, Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, Jacques Rougeau, Austin Idol, Jerry Stubbs, Bob Armstrong, Paul Orndorff, Norvell Austin, Ron Bass, Dennis Condrey, Randy Rose, The Mongolian Stomper, Don Carson, Dutch Mantel, Stan Lane, Mr. Wrestling II, Arn Anderson, Tom Prichard, Tony Anthony and countless others. Dating back to the mid-1970s, Ron often referred to himself as The Tennessee Stud. At various times during the 1980s, Robert would also refer to himself as The Tennessee Stud. Sometimes the two would battle each other over exactly which one was The Tennessee Stud. While never gaining the mainstream recognition in the newsstand magazines the area should have, many longtime fans appreciated the talent and style of promotion the group offered.

By 1988 though the area had done almost all they could do with the talent they had available. Ron, who had long since retired from active competition except for a special appearance here or there, sold the promotion to Montgomery, Alabama TV executive David Woods. Woods looked outside the core of talent that had worked there most of the past decade (Ron & Robert Fuller, Jimmy Golden & Bob Armstrong in particular) to provide the area with a fresh approach. He looked north to Memphis and tapped Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert to reenergize the territory. It left active wrestlers like Robert Fuller, Golden and Armstrong out of the loop.

With the national promotions swallowing the remaining territories, Fuller, Golden and Armstrong had worked the Alabama-based promotion, renamed Continental Championship Wrestling in mid-1986, almost exclusively. Now though if the national promotions had no interest in them they had to fend for themselves in the dwindling number of territories. Ron Fuller reopened the Knoxville side in 1988 so Armstrong went to work for him. Robert and Jimmy though took off for Memphis.

(For more information about Alabama’s Southeastern and Continental promotions, please visit the Southeastern or Continental sections.

Robert, initially brought in as one of Eddie Gilbert’s bounty hunters after Jerry Lawler, made a quick impression by attacking Jerry Lawler. Lawler, though was set to win the AWA title soon, so Fuller was placed into a program against Jeff Jarrett. As Lawler had to be away more often due to his AWA title commitments and Bill Dundee leaving to work for Ron Fuller, Jeff Jarrett became the top face in the area many weeks which placed Fuller as the lead heel.

By June, Golden joined Robert. A beautiful blonde named Sylvia also joined Robert. Sylvia was in actuality Robert’s wife. The promotion which had introduced the controversial Ernest Angel early in the year was in search of top heels. After Angel was toned down, he left for Alabama and Brickhouse Brown picked up the slack as a manager. About the same time though, Robert Fuller put into place a group called The Stud Stable as he had done before in Alabama.

Over the course of the summer the Stud Stable were the most prominent group of heels in the territory. Fuller, Golden and Sylvia were joined at times and in various combinations by Gorgeous Gary Young, Don Bass, Brickhouse Brown, Downtown Bruno, Phil Hickerson, Cactus Jack and Sid Vicious. Being the lead heels, the Stud Stable was part of some of the most memorable angles of the year in the area.

As Fuller feuded with Jeff Jarrett, another familiar face returned to the area. Tojo Yamamoto returned, this time as manager to The Great Senshe. Initially, Fuller asked Tojo and Senshe to become members of the Stud Stable. Yamamoto though was unimpressed. As Fuller and Jimmy Golden attacked Jeff Jarrett, Tojo and Senshe ran into the ring to rescue Jarrett, a reprise of the previously run angle where Yamamoto rescued Jeff’s dad, Jerry.

Although Yamamoto and Jeff had spent a good bit of 1986 at each other’s throats all seemed forgotten as Jeff suddenly had Senshe and Tojo on his side. With Sylvia acting as a nuisance at ringside this allowed Yamamoto to appear to neutralize her with the kendo stick he carried. The kendo stick would fall into Sylvia’s hands and she would use it to batter Yamamoto to place more heat between them. Sylvia would hold onto the kendo stick during the Stable’s run and use it frequently when her men were trouble.

As the feud warmed, Fuller took a baseball bat to Jarrett one week on the TV show "breaking" Jeff’s arm. The move put Jeff out of the feud for a time. Dirty Dutch Mantel returned to replace Jeff for a few weeks. The Stable then became the terrors of the territory in Jeff’s absence as they chose their shots by attacking, at various times, Tojo Yamamoto, Eddie Marlin and Jerry Jarrett. The attacks on Marlin and Jerry Jarrett sped up Jeff’s return. The move though would be one he regretted. Jeff soon discovered that all things were not forgotten between him and Tojo, as Senshe and Tojo turned on him joining Fuller’s crew.

Jeff turned to two area legends to help him battle his foes. Jerry Lawler and Jimmy Valiant stepped into the feud to battle Fuller, Golden and Senshe. Valiant fell prey to Senshe and Tojo in the feud when they cut his long shaggy beard (an angle he had worked elsewhere as well). With Lawler having AWA title commitments and Valiant chasing after Senshe for revenge, Jeff turned first to Bam Bam Bigelow as a tag partner. Then another old familiar face stepped into the fray.

Jeff brought back Superstar Bill Dundee to help him in his war with The Stud Stable. Dundee made an immediate impact as he used the figure four leglock to "injure" Fuller. In his absence, Fuller brought in The Mongolian Stomper to fill his spot. Fuller would return though and when he did he favored his "injured" leg. He favored it so much that it became obvious to fans he wasn’t really hurt he was instead loading his boot and using it as a weapon on his opponents. Not long after he started doing this, Fuller used his loaded boot to level Dundee’s young son Jamie Dundee.

Jeff Jarrett veered off into a feud against Stud Stable member Phil Hickerson, who held the CWA title. Although Jarrett was popular among many of the young female fans, Hickerson, from Jackson, Tennessee, was popular, despite his heel tactics, with many longtime area fans who viewed the roughhouse brawler as someone who could take care of himself and someone they identified with due to his longevity in the area. Slowly, Hickerson’s association with the Stable would be dropped and he would identify more with Downtown Bruno, whom he would claim to adopt. Around the same time trouble was brewing inside The Stud Stable.

Brickhouse Brown was renamed Bunkhouse Brown by The Stud Stable. Brown, who had tapped into a bit of pop culture a year previously when he worked as The Black Prince, was then expected by the Stable to adopt the look of a cowboy. Brown was not amused at the Stable’s attempts to change him. He was also not amused at the demeaning way the group treated and spoke to him, usually with racial overtones. It was enough to draw sympathy from many fans who wanted Brown to break free from the group. The problem though for Brown was that the Stable owned his contract.

Brown would break away from the Stable despite their claim to his contract. Brown would pair with Jeff Jarrett and the two would eventually get hold of Robert Fuller’s "bad leg" and remove his loaded boot. Jarrett then began wearing the boot and using it as a weapon in matches against The Stud Stable.

As Fuller and Golden were occupied with Jarrett and Brown, Gorgeous Gary Young & Cactus Jack began making noises as a tag team in the area. When the CWA titles became vacant, Young & Jack surprised fans by winning a tournament to claim the titles. Fuller & Golden though were not pleased and demanded that Young & Jack give the belts to them to defend. When Young & Jack refused another split occurred in the Stud Stable. Stable member Downtown Bruno would side with Young & Jack. Fuller & Golden would win the belts and the feud against their Stable mates was short-circuited some as the promotion was undergoing some major changes.

Promoter Jerry Jarrett made a risky business venture in the fall when he purchased controlling interest in the floundering World Class promotion based in Dallas. The new venture saw Jarrett try to mesh the two offices and their talent pools for a time late in the year. Texas fans got a chance to see most of the Tennessee-based stars and most of the Tennessee fans got a chance to see most of the Texas-based stars. In the midst of the chaos putting two promotions under one umbrella caused Young & Jack found themselves mostly working on the Texas end of the promotion after their split from the Stud Stable.

In the fall the promotion introduced Sid Vicious to area rings. Vicious had worked Memphis area rings before in 1987 as that year’s version of Lord Humongous. Prior to that he briefly worked under a mask as Nighthawk. Vicious had spent the previous few months working in Alabama as Humongous. As he entered the area he had the look of what the business had come to perceive as a future star. With curly brown-blonde hair and standing near 6’9" with a tremendous physique, Vicious only lacked seasoning as a major attraction. Vicious would become a member of Fuller’s group as well.

With the Texas side pulling some of the Tennessee stars there, the Memphis end reloaded with some new and returning talent. Brian Lee was introduced in November. Lee, a tall blonde, was placed into main matches almost as soon as his debut in the area. Around the same time Wendell Cooley would return (he had wrestled as Rick Casey a few years previously in the area). With Vicious, Lee and Cooley added to the mix, Fuller & Golden had a whole new set of partners and opponents to play against as 1988 ended.

The Stud Stable had made an impression on area fans. Fuller, Golden & Sylvia, in particular had played a part in a large part of the storylines in the territory from the start of the summer. They were still together as 1988 drew to a close which meant 1989 would be certain to hold trouble for those who tried to cross their paths.

Max Pain’s run as CWA champion ended when Brickhouse Brown won the title. Brown had been Pain’s manager. When the AWA title changed hands, new champion Jerry Lawler said the CWA champion should get a shot at the AWA title. Former AWA champion Curt Hennig would then demand a CWA title shot and Brown would accept without Pain’s approval causing a split between the two and Brown’s eventual title win. Pain though regained the title in late June.

Ron and Don Harris lost the CWA tag titles to The Cuban Choir Boys who lost the titles to Billy Travis and Scott Steiner. Steiner and Travis then lost the belts to Gary Young and Don Bass before Travis and Steiner regained them again.

Working in the area at this time were Dory Funk, Jr., Jerry Lawler, Tommy, Eddie and Doug Gilbert, Missy Hyatt, Steve Keirn, Jeff Jarrett, Mike Graham, Moondog Spike, Ken Wayne, Jonathan Boyd, Buddy Wayne, Tom Brandi, Terry Adonis, Ernest Angel, Scotty the Body, Lou Winston, Mark Starr, Robert Fuller, Uncle Elmer, The Great Senshe (Shinya Hashimoto), Tojo Yamamoto, Shawn Baxter (son of longtime Southern star Tarzan Baxter), Dutch Mantel, Rough and Ready, Downtown Bruno, Sylvia, Sputnik Monroe, Doug Furnas, Bob Holly, Pat Rose, King Parsons, Phil Hickerson, Michael Hayes, Buddy Roberts, Kerry Von Erich and more.

Longtime area promoter Nick Gulas and son George worked some with the WOW (World Organization of Wrestling) based out of Pensacola. The promotion which at times featured some talented stars such as The Fabulous Fargos (Pat Rose & Ken Timbs) managed by Don Fargo, Bruiser Bob Sweetan, The Rock n Roll Express: Robert Gibson & Ricky Morton, as well as talented newcomer, Bob Holly, though would sputter over time and shut down.

At the start of the year, the promotion struck a partnership with a tobacco company. The company would promote a tournament during the first half of the year and award a $250,000 prize to the winner. The tournament was called "Renegade’s Rampage". Area wrestling rings wore a skirt (the material that hangs from the ring apron to the floor) adorning the Renegade’s Rampage logo. The actual wrestling mat also featured the Renegade’s Rampage logo. The tournament though seemed to get lost in the hot Lawler-Gilbert feud then Lawler’s AWA title win. In June, newcomer Scott Steiner, often called The Motor City Muscle Man, won the tournament.

Gold for Lawler, Jarrett goes Texas and more.

Special Thanks

Edsel Harrison, Mike Rodgers, Scott Teal, Charles Warburton and David Williamson.

Of the victims of terrorism on September 11, 2001.

Of the families affected by the events of September 11, 2001.