Memphis Roundtable with Jerry Jarrett, Lance Russell and Dave Brown

The Good
Three of the most significant figures in Memphis pro-wrestling history are given an opportunity to share their experiences with fans in a discussion directed by former manager Scott Bowden.  Bowden grew up on this stuff, so he knows how to pull out the best of these three.  Jerry Jarrett is a great storyteller and can explain things well, so most anything he does is excellent.  Lance Russell is a tremendous talker and someone who infuses humor well, so those qualities that made him a great straight-man for Memphis wrestling, makes him entertaining in this atmosphere.  Dave Brown has never done a detailed shoot interview (that I know of, probably radio interviews), so it was great to catch his perspective, stories and details on some of Memphis's greatest angles and personalities.

The Bad

This was relatively short and having multiple people always cuts down on time even more, but Scott Bowden kept this flowing and so it did not seem as rambling as it could have.  A couple repeat stories out of Jerry Jarrett and Lance Russell, but you have to expect that to an extent.  Obviously there were dozens of great names and angles that went unmentioned, which could disappoint that person who really wanted to hear about the Dream Machine, Plowboy Frazier or some other character.  You hear about Jackie Fargo, Jerry Lawler, Jimmy Valiant and the other iconic figures of Memphis wrestling, but many are left out.

The Rating: ***3/4

Lance Russell Shoot (Highspots)

Lance Russell, the classic voice of Memphis wrestling, seems like a can't-miss for a shoot interview.  Here, he was what you'd expect, a great storyteller whose regional dialect and verbiage made for intriguing material.  While his memory seemed sharp and he was honest, this interview lacked the depth I really wanted.  Highspots' interviews tend to be good and this was, but I wished that it'd run a little longer and dig more than briefly go over Lance's highlights and most famous peers in the business.  His role in the Gulas-Jarrett split seemed like the most notable omission, but it was hardly the only one.  Let's hope this has a follow up because Lance Russell is a fantastic interview.

Rating: ****

The Tupelo Concession Stand Brawls

Memphis Rasslin' has often been linked to the emergence of "hardcore wrestling" with all the two-fisted bloody brawls that it became famous (or infamous) for in the 1970s and 1980s.  Perhaps none was more notable than the Tupelo Concession Stand Brawl, the first of which took place in 1979.

The first came after the Blonde Bombers (Larry Latham and Wayne Ferris) were awarded the Southern Tag belts and Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee take exception to the decision.  After battling in the ring post-match with the belts as prominent weapons, they go to the floor as the TV show ends.

In the unedited version, Lance Russell urges the production crew to find this fight, which was now wild and woolly in the concession stand.  The idea of flung mustard and popcorn in a legendary match seems wacky, but those elements are secondary to the bloodbath going on.  Lawler and Dundee are two of the best punchers in pro-wrestling history and that really takes this fight to a level of greatness that a modern streetfight-type match simply lacks.



The actual sequel came the following year with the Bombers (now with Sgt. Danny Davis) taking on the Gibson brothers.  Rick, who has been lost in history, was a tremendous talent as a babyface.  While he might not have been Ricky Morton, one can see that Robert learned his role early on by teaming with his brother.  This is not so much a TCSB as a three-man ass-whippin' on Rick Gibson.



The following years involved great but all new talents.  Eddie Gilbert and Ricky Morton are the babyface here, they're great brawlers and would go on to legendary careers.  Their opponents are Tojo Yamamoto's charges Onita and Fuchi.  Onita would go on to bring aspects of this style to Japan years later and innovate pro-wrestling with his brand of garbage/hardcore/extreme wrestling.  Fuchi would return to All Japan and be a stalwart for years to come and gained perhaps his biggest fame when he and Toshiaki Kawada were the only Japanese workers who stayed with All Japan after a mass exodus in 2000.  Despite the great talent here, this is just not what the first one was.  However, this one introduced mustard as a central prop, which became the hallmark of this style of match.



Two of the original players returned for the fourth and final (well-known) version of this match, which actually took place in Kennet, Missouri (3.5 hours Northwest of Tupelo).  Jerry Lawler interjected himself in a 2-on-1 butt-whoopin' by the Moondogs on Jeff Jarrett.  The Moondogs, Rex and Spot, were prominent heels in the region and became a fixture for the region for years to come.  Spot, although he looked remarkably different, was actually Latham.  The brawl quickly spills out of the ring as trash cans, broom sticks, steel chairs and all manner of garbage are used.  This is decidedly safe, but Jarrett's back gets torn up by something (broken glass?).




This legendary gimmick "match" was actually revisited at WCW first Uncensored show (held in Tupelo in `95) by the Nasty Boys and Harlem Heat.  The match was full of mustard and wackiness, but it was not so much a heated brawl as it was a silly gimmick match.