April 21, 2001
Aired on WMC TV-5 Memphis, TN
By: Craig Allen
Dave Brown and Corey Maclin hosted the show, and were also joined by Jimmy Hart in the second segment and Jerry Lawler in the third segment. All four remained for the rest of the show and will all serve as cohosts for future episodes.
They had a segment where they called the Fabulous One Jackie Fargo and Fargo talked about wrestling in Memphis. He hung up on Jimmy Hart.
A lot of interaction between Hart and Jerry Lawler, which was funny as Lawler got Hart into the business.
Some matches were shown but all were joined in progress, no full matches. Some matches shown included Lawler vs Nick Bockwinkle from the Mid South Coliseum and Jackie Fargo and Stan Lane vs The Moondogs from the Coliseum. From the studio, a match between the PYT Express vs Tommy Rich and Eddie Gilbert was shown already in progress. Most matches had Lance Russell on commentary.
A Jerry Lawler music video was shown. Overall, a pretty good show.
For next week, Jimmy Hart promised to call a major superstar in wrestling that made a lot of money in Memphis. They also will be showing footage of the early days of Macho Man Randy Savage as well as Austin Idol, who Lawler said he was most asked about when talking about former Memphis wrestling stars.
April 28, 2001
Aired on WMC TV-5 Memphis, TN
By: Craig Allen
Hosted by: Dave Brown & Corey Maclin & Jimmy Hart & Jerry Lawler
The show opened up with all four hosts previewing the show. Lawler talked about his relationship with Bill Dundee in the past, about how Dundee was a tough opponent and a great partner.
A Kamala video was shown of him walking around in the "jungle" with a voiceover of his stats. Then, Kamala's debut appearance in the studio was shown, with Kamala staring oddly at all the TV equipment. Kamala stalked announcers Dave Brown and Lance Russell and then stalked the fans at ringside. After the video, Jimmy Hart agreed that he had never managed Kamala, but he did manage Kamala 2, which was Ployboy Frazier painted up, which made the other hosts laugh. Hart said Buddy Wayne used to be Kim Chee.
The hosts then talked about the Rock and Roll Express. Lawler told a story about how he paired Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson up and formed the Express. Lawler said he sent them to the flea market to buy a ton of bandanas and made their tights and it caught on.
A video was then shown of the Rock and Roll Express facing the Bruise Brothers (Porkchop Cash & Dream Machine) from the Mid-South Coliseum. Express won the titles. After the match, the Bruise Brothers attacked referee Paul Morton, Ricky Morton's father.
After a break, the panel talked about the Moondogs. Lawler talked about how they looked and smelled like they came out of the swamps of Louisiana. Hart said the Moondogs were one of the best teams ever in Memphis.
A video was shown of the Fabulous Ones taking on the Moondogs from the Mid-South Colisem. Late in the match Steve Keirn was hooked between the top and middle rope being choked. The Moondogs and Jimmy Hart made sure Keirn stayed trapped as Stan Lane continued to try and make the save. Lane eventually made the save with a steel chair. A Moondogs music video then aired. The Moondogs were out in the woods barking and chewing on a bone during it and coming out of the "swamps" and crawling in the bushes.
After a break, Hart complained about the seating arrangements as he was having to sit on a table. The panel then talked again about the Lawler/Dundee relationship. Lawler said they had so many matches, including matches for each others cars. Lawler said they had hair matches, and Lawler even shaved Bill Dundee's wife's head!
A match from the Mid-South Coliseum aired with Jerry Lawler taking on Bill Dundee. Dundee was wearing these God awful pink tights. This was when Lawler was a heel using a chain and such. The match was stopped because Dundee couldn't continue.
A Lawler interview from the studio aired. Lawler was trash talking Dundee and Dundee's wife when Dundee's wife came out and started slapping away at Lawler. Dundee pulled his wife to the back as Lawler had some laughs about the whole situation.
Clips of various celebrities talking about Andy Kaufman aired. Afterwards, Lawler, Brown, and Maclin teased Hart about footage he was supposed to show of Kaufman and Jesse Ventura. Hart said he was holding off on showing the footage for a week or two.
The finish of Randy Savage vs Austin Idol from the Mid-South Coliseum was next. Savage used a gimmick to get the win. Idol beat up Savage after the match and bodyslammed Angelo Poffo, then put the Las Vegas Leglock on Poffo.
A follow up video of Austin Idol in the studio aired. It's weird seeing Idol in the studio in this old footage. Back when I watched it seemed like he always sent in interviews. Idol hyped an upcoming match with Savage. A video from Randy Savage aired next, with
Savage hyping the same match. Savage had so much hair in this video!
After a break, Bill Dundee called in to the show. Dundee talked about coming to Memphis with George Barnes and his start in
Memphis wrestling. Dundee agreed with Lawler about being the best partner he's had and the toughest opponent he's had. Dundee said he and Lawler brought out the best in each other.
After the final break, Hart announced that next week Terry Funk would be calling in. Also, footage of the Lawler/Funk empty arena match would be shown. Lawler told a quick story about how that match was set up. Hart said next week he'd have special footage of the First Family. Next week the show returns to the 11am time slot.
May 5, 2001
Aired on WMC TV-5 Memphis, TN
By: Craig Allen
Hosted by: Dave Brown & Corey Maclin & Jerry Lawler & Jimmy Hart
After the opening, the hosts started off this week's show talking about battle royals and how hard it is on the referee in those matches. They talked about a battle royal they were about to show footage of, which was a two ring triple chance battle royal from the Mid-South Coliseum.
The footage of the battle royal aired. Some of the people involved were Lawler, Rick Rude, Porkchop Cash, Dutch Mantell, Randy Savage, The Spoiler, and Eddie Gilbert. The final two were Lawler and Rude. In the end, the referee was down (in a battle royal!?!?) and Lawler burned Rude and got the win.
After a break, Lawler told a story about wrestling in Japan with Jimmy Valiant as his tag team partner. Lawler talked about how great the fans were and how fun Jimmy Valiant was as a partner.
A Jackie Fargo interview aired as he was teaming with Tommy Rich. Tommy Rich and Eddie Gilbert had had a falling out so Fargo was coming in to be Tommy Rich's partner against King Kong Bundy and Rick Rude. The match then aired. Eddie Gilbert came in from the crowd and attacked Tommy Rich, leading to Bundy's team getting the win. After the match, Bundy, Jimmy Hart and Rude attacked Fargo and left, as Eddie Gilbert attacked Tommy Rich with a boot. Of course, Rich bled.
After a break, another Jackie Fargo interview aired from the next week. Fargo said he was bringing in Steve Keirn to be his partner against Bundy and Rick Rude.
Jimmy Hart then talked about Jackie Fargo and Lawler joked with Hart about Hart stealing his insults.
Footage aired of a Rick Rude interview from the studio, where Rude went out in the parking lot and smashed the windshield out of Lawler's Lincoln Town Car. The fans were actually getting up in the ring to watch. Lance Russell's reaction to the incident was priceless as usual.
After a break, the Empty Arena Match was shown between Jerry Lawler and Terry Funk. Before the footage, Lawler told the story of how the match came to be. In the match, Funk's eye ended up being injured. The interaction of Funk and Lance Russell was tremendous.
After a break, Terry Funk called in. A really good segment. Lawler started off asking if Funk's eye healed. Funk got upset and said he was seeing double out of one eye because of Lawler. Funk ended up challenging Lawler to a cage match with two rattlesnakes in the cage! Funk said he wanted to be in the cage with Lawler until one of them got bit. Funk said the snake bit Lawler the snake would die. Funk didn't want to talk to Lawler anymore so Dave Brown interjected. After introducing himself, Funk said he would like to kick Dave Brown's ass too! Needless to say, lots of bleeps in this one. Hart started kissing up to Funk and Funk caught on. Hart asked Funk who he thought he was talking to and Hart defended himself saying he was thousands of miles away. Funk said the two years Hart managed him was the two most miserable years of his life. Hart turned around and pouted. Funk told his story about Lawler needing an audience, which is why he asked for the empty arena match. Funk said next time they call him to call in advance and ask if they can talk to him. After Funk hung up, Hart said they had called him collect. Great stuff!
A Jimmy Valiant interview aired. Valiant was hyped up as usual!
The hosts closed the show talking about next week's special guest, Lance Russell! I'm really looking forward to that one. Jimmy Hart said he would have footage of Hulk Hogan on the show next week as well.
June 16, 2001
Aired on WMC TV-5 Memphis, TN
The show was live this morning following the Clash of the Legends card in Memphis on Friday night. Show opens with Dave Brown, Lance Russell, and Corey Maclin running down some of the sponsors of the card. They say that thousands were in attendance. They mention a few surprise appearances at the card included long time Memphis ref Jerry Calhoun [He was being advertised beforehand], Eddie Marlin, and Curt Hennig, who the announcers mentioned that the last time Curt was in Memphis he lost the AWA World title to Jerry Lawler. Eddie Marlin joins the hosts and says that it was the highlight of his career seeing the boys and the fans again.
Promo taped last night aired - Pork Chop Cash and Mad Dog. They ran through about ten classic wrestling clichés during the promo. [Trent is right here, this was cliché city, but it was enjoyable.] It seemed like they had a blast cutting a promo and being front of the camera again. They show the Cadillac that was won by Jimmy Hart arriving (although they didn't mention Hart won it yet).
After a break, they chat about the card a bit more and go out to the parking lot where Hart, Sonny Onoo, Moondogs, and Lord Humongous arrive. Sonny is doing the camera gimmick taking pictures of Hart's stable. [Sonny was hilarious here.] Jimmy Hart said that he had the last laugh on Jerry Lawler when he won the twenty man battle royal at the Legends card. Jimmy says that he is now the King of Memphis. Announcers say that Hart hid during the entire battle royal.
King Cobra and Rocky Johnson join Lance and Dave in the studio. [Rocky has put on weight in the last couple years.] Brown says that Rocky was a pure athlete when he came to Memphis. Rocky says some of his fond memories include the boxing match with Jerry Lawler in Memphis and also becoming the first African-American Southern champion. Rocky says that he is proud of his son (Duane Johnson -- Rock). King Cobra said he is proud to be from Memphis and still wrestles from time to time.
About 5 minutes of footage from the Bushwackers-Moondogs match from the Legends show airs. The Moondogs have easily gained eighty pounds each. Luke and Butch were about fifteen pounds lighter than their last Titan run. The match was basically the typical hardcore stuff, but when you figure the age of the guys, you have to appreciate their toughness. Problem is there were hitting each other with gimmicks including a wood plank and the crowd would have little reaction to it. [Crowd was not into it. The action was also very slow.] The footage ends with Moondogs chasing Dave Brown and Corey Maclin to the dressing room.
Maclin joins Hart and the First Family in the parking lot. Moondogs are polishing the car with towels. Hart says that he wants to drive his new vehicle into the studio. Onoo is taking pictures. Maclin mentions that footage from the battle royal will air later on in the show. Hart runs through guys that he managed in Memphis (Hogan, Savage, Lawler, etc.). Bill Dundee drives up and cuts a promo on Hart and the heels. The Moondogs attack Dundee. Out comes the TV producer [Crayton Armour] and says that there was to be no fighting on WMC property. Dundee joins Lance and Dave and he challenges Moondogs to a match with he and Lawler on July 3 at Shelby Farms. Dundee says Hart was there when WCW went out of business and that Memphis is not going out of business. [Dundee did a real good fired-up promo here.]
Footage from battle royal airs next. During the match Maclin mentions that on 6/22 somewhere in AR, he and the Moondogs will be at some card there. Sputnik Monroe was at ringside to present the winner of the match with keys to the car. Typical battle royal stuff. Basically Hart hid behind Humongous during the match. Match is left in progress.
Bushwackers in gimmick cut a promo saying that they invented hardcore and brought it to thirty-seven countries. They are still going strong, yada yada. [Yeah, this was not one of their better promos.]
More footage of the battle royal follows. Brian Christopher, Lawler, Hennig, Stan Lane, Hart, and Humongous were the final guys in the ring. Lane throws out Brian Christopher (wearing his WWF gimmick clothes). Humongous throws Lawler, Lane, and Hennig over the top. Lord Humongous climbed over the top rope to eliminate himself so Jimmy wins the match. Sputnik Monroe, Jimmy Hart, and the same heels from the parking lot are in the studio. Monroe says that he will be in Humongous' corner in the future. [I got a kick out of Sputnik, especially when he was flexing.]
Lawler and Jackie Fargo are talking about how Hart was a weasel in the battle royal. Fargo was acting like a father-figure to Lawler during the segment. Lawler then puts over the card, Fargo, and the talent appearing on the card. Lawler says that Hart won't have the car long if Lawler has anything to do about it.
Summary / Comments: It appears that everyone associated with the card had a good time. It is very clear that the Memphis Classics TV program has become a vehicle to promote future Hart-Lawler endeavors in the future.
[I thought this was a very good TV show. The format worked well. If and when this new territory gets started, they should consider doing the TV in a format similar to this one, with the hosts in the studio introducing matches from the arenas and shooting a few angles at the studio. Hopefully they can come up with a cost effective way to shoot the matches.]
I can be reached via e-mail at mcgrathj@ix.netcom.com
Memphis Classics TV report
by Trent Walters
MEMPHIS CLASSICS TV 07/01/2001
twalters@interbaun.com
Show opens with Dave Brown, Corey Maclin, Jimmy Hart, and Jerry Lawler discussing the fact
that Lawler and Humongous will be fighting a rematch of their June 15 ‘five star
classic’ in Memphis. Hart says that he was bullied into the rematch because Lawler
threatened to smash the window of the car that he won by winning a battle royal on the
same card. The stips of the rematch are that Hart puts up that new car and Lawler puts up
his “King” moniker and the original Southern Heavyweight Title Belt, which
Lawler pulls out and shows the audience at home. They show the angle from last week. Jimmy
Hart also gets to pick a special referee.
They mention Randy Savage will be phoning in later on in the show. They run through the
line-up for an upcoming show on July 3 (Kat vs Sonny Onoo in a kendo stick match, Moondogs
vs Brian Christophers & Bill Dundee, Lawler vs Humongous rematch, they again talk
about the stips that they just finished talking about 40 seconds earlier). An old video
montage of Jerry Lawler airs with Rocky music that is really cool.
Lawler says that Sam Bass was the greatest manager in history. Hart says that Lawler has
always been saying that, rubbing it in his face. Hart says that when he gets the Southern
Title belt, he is going to throw it into the Mississippi River just like Lawler threw his
Gold Record into the river years ago. Lawler says that he wore that belt the last time
that Sam Bass managed him before Bass was killed in an auto accident and that Bass was the
greatest manager that he has ever had. Lawler says that Jimmy will be in the river long
before that belt will ever be in the river. This was a pretty good segment. Well thought
out. History was effectively used to add some substance and heat to the Hart-Lawler
program.
They air an old Bill Dundee video. Dundee does all the cliché 80s poses in the video. A
quick clip of a scaffold match involving Dundee and another wrestler aired (possibly Dutch
Mantel, his face and back weren’t shown). Back in the studio, Hart is laughing
mocking the clothes that Dundee wore back then. Hart says that there will be a special
person to announce the special referee during the show.
They mention that Rock n Roll Express will also be at the show on July 3. Hart says he is
glad Morton will be there because Morton owes Jimmy 5 bucks. They show a match between the
Express and the Galaxians from the 80s. Jim Cornette is managing the heels. Randy Hales is
doing commentary. They do the broadway finish where time runs out when the faces have the
heels pinned. Ref says that the timekeeper mistimed the match by two minutes so he is
adding five more minutes to the match. Huh? He must be using the same math that was used
to calculate the payoffs for the wrestlers in ECW. Cornette gets involved in the match
seconds after the match is restarted and the heels win.
After talking about some teams that cut their teeth in Memphis, they show clips of the
match from June 15 between LOD and Stan Lane and Curt Hennig. Hennig is keeping himself in
great shape. Stan Lane introduces Hennig (subbing for Keirn) as a former AWA, WCW, and WWF
champion. Man, I don’t remember those World Title held by Curt. Hennig sold well for
the LOD. It seemed like Hennig worked most of the match. Finish has Animal rolled up by
Lane, but Hennig clotheslines Lane. LOD and Curt beat on Lane until Jackie Fargo lumbers
down to the ring to make the save with a 2 by 4. About 6 minutes aired.
After the break, Hart is complaining about how many times he has been ripped off by
referees over the years. Hart brings out Dave Penzer (WCW announcer). The others call
Penzer a stooge. Lawler says that Penzer put the WCW out of business. Penzer says it was
Buffer’s fault not him. He proceeds to say that WWF didn’t buy WCW, but it went
out of business and then Vince picked up the pieces. Hart starts to cough and Penzer goes
and gets Hart something to drink. Lawler calls him a stooge again. Match between Nick
Bockwinkle and Lawler is shown. Nick is shown pounding on a prone Lawler body. After a
Lawler comeback, Hart interferes and Lawler wins by DQ.
They come back and talk about the Poffo family mentioning Randy and Lanny. Savage is on
the phone. Randy says that Lawler probably wants to forget the history between them.
Savage says that he was blackballed from the June 15 show in Memphis and that he was never
contacted for the show. He continues to say that he is not retired and just finished the
Spider Man movie, which is out in May 2002. He says that Angelo Poffo is the sit-up king
with 6,033 sit-ups. When he and his dad reflect on old times, Lawler’s name comes up
now and then and it is always in a negative fashion. Savage brings up the Lawler-Savage
loser leaves town match that Lawler won and asks how come all the times when Randy beat
Jerry why those never aired. He says that any time he may show up in Memphis and go after
Lawler. Lawler says that he will stick Slim Jims up when the sun doesn’t shine and
snap into Randy Savage.
They run through the Lawler match with Humongous on July 3 again. Lawler says that he isn’t
really worried about Humongous, but is a little concerned about the special referee.
Maclin and Brown say that they are concerned about the match. As they are talking, Penzer
comes back out and announces that the special referee for the match is Jimmy Hart. Hart
comes out wearing a referee shirt with WCW logo on it.
Notes: Lots of hype for what is a free shows on July 3. The matches will be taped for
future broadcast on the Memphis Classic Wrestling show. Trent Van Dresser told me that
Jimmy Hart and Corey Maclin were on Bert Prentices USA Championship Wrestling TV show in
Nashville this morning as well. Beginning next week, the Memphis Classics TV show will air
in Nashville as a separate program to USA Wrestling TV show.