I really hope they're able to use a lot of USWA/Mid Southern/AWA/Power Pro wrestling footage. He really was so much more of an influence than the clown that he became in WWF/E.
Quite a bit of Memphis actually. I've seen a very crappy version of the Lawler v Flair match on YouTube. But, do I want to spend the extra for the bluray? I wonder how much they go into Sam Bass in the extra segments. His book really played up their friendship.
It really is a shame what the WWF made him into. Nit that he isn't even more of a prominent figure, but he was THE Wrestling God (sorry JBL) in Memphis for nearly fifteen years before his national break.
So as someone who isn't very familiar with Lawler's early days, was he usually a heel in Memphis or was he a face in his home territories? I know when he was still semiactive in WWE he was solidly heel, both as a commentator and as a wrestler, until he started softening into a neutral color man.
Lawler started as a heel with Ron Bass as a partner, he eventually left his side and became the biggest face in Memphis.
He would occasionally turn heel in Memphis, but always went back to face.
If you go to Youtube, you can watch him and see some truly terrific promos. He's not a total joke like WWF made him into. He can cut a serious promo, he could build a great deal of heat, and he knew how to book for a regional promotion.
Sure, he was the Hulk Hogan of the south, beating EVERYBODY, but he wasn't a one trick pony in doing so.
Since Louisville was Tuesday nights at the Louisville Gardens on the weekly circuit the old USWA outfit traveled, Jerry Lawler is STILL a beloved man locally, not just in Memphis. I would imagine it's the same in Evansville, IN which was their Wednesday night stop. Lawler was a HUGE (yes in all caps) babyface throughout most of my childhood and into my teen years. I still remember I couldn't believe it when he and Bill Dundee split and had that epic "Loser Leaves Town Match." (AKA the "We've been up and down the road" match). When Lawler went to the WWF and became a heel he still played a face back on tv in Memphis/Louisville/Evansville for a while, but eventually had to actually turn heel locally probably to keep up kayfabe (hopefully someone else who still watched faithfully during those years can elaborate on how that finally happened as I was in High School/College by then and it was no longer appointment viewing on Saturday afternoons).
Of course, before the WWF came to prominence w/Hulk Hogan there weren't a lot of other "Federation" shows on locally so most people around here just called it "Channel 3 Wrestling" since it was on Channel 3 every Saturday at noon and the show was simply called "Wrestling". It was only in the mid to late 80's that they felt the need to differentiate themselves, at least to the Louisville audience.
edit to say: I'm VERY much looking forward to getting this for many of the nostalgia reasons alluded to above.
(edited by DrewDewce on 5.5.15 1437) "You are going to get a certain amount of snarkiness on the Internet no matter what, and my rule is that you don't post anything that you wouldn't say to someone's face." Marc Andreyko (Writer of DC Comic's "Manhunter")
Now that I think on it, the King did main event in one of the house shows I went to up in Evansville, and I recall him mentioning on the mic while the "fans up north" weren't real fond of the King, he'd always be welcome around these parts. I think he wrestled the WWE Champ at the time, though I'm drawing a blank on who it was. I wanna say Bret during the revival of the Hart Foundation, but I'm not sure. I do recall Lawler getting one of the biggest pops of the night, though by then his active career was on its last legs.
WrestlingDVDNews.com reports that the following people were interviewed for the DVD: Lawler himself, girlfriend Lauryn McBride, acquaintances growing up, people who knew Andy Kaufman, Bill Apter, Bill Dundee, Bret Hart, son Brian Christopher, Road Dogg, Gerald Brisco, Harvey Wippleman, Jerry Jarrett, Jim Ross, Jimmy Hart, Lance Russell, Michael Cole, WWE producer Mike Mansury, Natalya, The Kat Stacy Carter, The Miz and Vince McMahon.
Bill Dundee! Jerry Jarrett! Lance Russell! Downtown Bruno(sorry, Harvy Wippleman)! and The Kat! (where'd they dig her up?)
Even when he was a face he was a tweener faceat the matches in Louisville at the Garden. And the matches I have seen when he was a face he was more of a SCSA face. Allowed to do heel things while getting cheered.
(edited by AWArulz on 7.5.15 0716) We'll be back right after order has been restored here in the Omni Center.
That the universe was formed by a fortuitous concourse of atoms, I will no more believe than that the accidental jumbling of the alphabet would fall into a most ingenious treatise of philosophy - Swift
Rip Rogers was a great heel, doing an fey gimmick, often with wife Brenda (don't call her "Flea Bag") Britton. He worked in places like the Maritimes and Indianapolis and notably Alabama, where he feuded with Adrian Street.