Why is this so much better than today's wrestling? I know both are staged but i forget it's staged when im watching 70's and 80's Memphis as opposed to being constantly reminded in today's wrestling
Fundamentally, both the presentation and format are different to what we have today. Secondly, the content is different to. Wrestling is still the same today in its essentials; faces, heels, turns, comebacks, feuds etc. But wrestling just doesn't take itself seriously in the same way anymore
The outcomes were staged together with stipulations, but the paths to the outcomes weren't staged. These guys didn't have a script and cut every promo on the fly.
No script. No choreography. Just an angle and let 'em work it. Lawler and Dundee were awesome at promos. Those Electro-Voice mics proved their toughness for decades.
He's in his own class. It is pacing. How he lets them play out or cuts them off, or gets nervous or relaxed; he is controlling the pacing of the show. And of course, the two great interviews of the area explain why this is important. Then Eddie Marlin, does what he does best, stays out of the way (that is not meant to be an insult, some find this hard to do).
@@joepadgett6683 Yes It was . But seriously . Dundee used to blow people away with his bench pressing , working out in Hendersonville . When Jarrett ran Dallas, Kerry Von Erich was blown away with Bill's bench . When I saw people commenting about the weight bar, I had to share that . He was the same size a Kevin Sullivan, KoKo Ware . Bill Dundee was a Bad Ass . He had to be to make it through the WCW Days in Australia .
Once I enrolled at Ole Miss and saw THIS on cable TV, I fell in love with the stuff. I feel regret that I never drove up to the Mid South Coliseum to see them.
Always loved some Jimmy Heart, but especially in Memphis, before he became a cartoon character of himself..... not only charismatic but sinister and believable, really fun to watch.
Jerry Lawler later teamed with Dutch Mantell against Bill Dundee and Buddy Landel a few times in 1986 and later defeated them in a 28-fall "Texas Death Match."
I grew up with Memphis CWA thanks to my grandparents ! And JCP/NWA etc.. I cant thank them enough . RIP , Grace Waters , Pauline and Virgil Houp for making me the fan I am still .
They say Gordon Solie is the dean of wrestling announcers. Hell even Jim Ross says this but I’m convinced it’s Lance Russell. I much prefer listening to Mr. Russell to Gordon or Bob Caudle or even JR or Shiavone. Mauro is great too.
On Monday June 6, 1983, Jerry Lawler beat Bill Dundee (21:56) to win the Southern championship title in a “no DQ loser leaves town” match at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, TN.
Dundee went to Bill Watts Mid South after that and he also was the booker. He also the one who brought Jim Cornette, Midnight Express and the Rock n Roll Express to Mid South as well
@@RealDaveTalk Actually, Dundee went to book for Ole after this match . Then returned , Watts wanted him, and Bill put Steve Kerin over in a LLT match Dec 83, then headed to Mid - South
I just loved how they talked back then . It sounded like real people having a real argument or dispute with Lance being the straitlaced sports announcer/interviewer . So much more believable . No scripted corny banter , they just interacted like they would if it was all legit .
Yep. Reportedly there was real life tension between the two. These days a booker like Tony Khan would have them steer clear of each other, but back then a booker like Jerry Jarrett was going to book them together and let their natural competitiveness take over, but also realize that they were professionals and weren't going to start shooting on each other.
You won't get that for primetime shows, but a lot of local Indy shows will give you front row for 5 bucks. But you're definitely right when talking about big shows like Memphis
I know a lot of fans and wrestlers considered Memphis to be too silly and cartoonish, a territory of cheap gimmicks. They miss the point, I believe. Lance Russell is the best ever.
Yeah pro wrestling should always have at least a little bit of silliness. It's boring to take it deadly seriously all of the time. We wouldn't have guys like the Undertaker without silliness, because the concept of a literal zombie man with magical lightning powers who briefly came back to life again for a while and became a biker before eventually dying and becoming an undead zombie again, is extremely silly. It's jut that taker was so great at it that it worked. I don't think anyone else could have done that. The character of Kane is another good one, it's inherently silly. But it works. Memphis was just full of a ton of creativity and a braveness to be silly for the sake of entertainment, instead of being cowardly and not wanting to risk ridicule if a silly idea turns out to not work. Not every idea worked, but there were more than enough ideas that did work and worked great. Wrestling has kind of lost that a bit these days which is a shame. Everyone has realistic names and sometimes they can be spooky but not to the extent that they're dead or supernatural in some way or anything like that. Like for example Judgement Day in WWE or House of Black in AEW. They're basically just goths who like dark themes and stories but they're still just real people. Which is a bit lame. The entire concept of pro wrestling is inherently silly, let's be honest. It's a whole bunch of people just pretending to fight. But it's great. And it's great because the characters can be truly larger than life, and if they embrace some of the silliness then it's just a great time, it's more fun that way. I hope wrestling goes back to being more silly. You can still have seriousness, but mix in the odd sprinkle of silliness now and then and the whole show will be more entertaining.
I was hoping they would leave the commercials in so we could see POW5 which made me laugh my butt off at the people saying pow pow pow about 100 times. Damnbthose were the days 😂
I'm really sorry I couldn't see this when I was a young lady - it just felt so much more...real? Like you really felt these guys hated each other. Memphis wrestling had its own special vibe.
How did they draw with the undersized wrestler like dutch and Bill D? Mid-South's wrestlers were all just so much larger men but Memphis sold tickets and got big crowds weekly.
@@williamcordier1201 ...... What the hell are you talking about ??? ..... I'm from there and I was there and saw this match. Bill Dundee shocked a lot of people by winning over Lawler in this "Loser Leave Town" match.
Jerry Lawler was a legitimate bad ass back then in the Memphis area.. He was a well known enforcer for a local 1% MC and when they called for his services he knew exactly how to get their message across
I have a question about this match. I remember when Lawler lost this match and he was gone for several months. If I remember correctly, I believe he wrestled in Hawaii. But nobody expected Lawler to lose a "Loser Leave Town" match in Memphis. So my question is, does anyone know the real reason Lawler was booked to lose & leave Memphis ??
@@LB-qg1lg ....... Wrong ...... Dundee won the match and Lawler left for a few months. Eddie Marlin brought him back to help Dutch Mantel battle Dundee and Buddy Landel.
@@nashburnette7247 that was the 1985 loser leaves town match. Dundee lost this one and went to Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling to book and occasionally wrestle.
Lawler won this match, and lost the one in 85 , Because, he was getting stale, I can't miss you , if you dont leave . Plus the spike in attendance for several month after returning . It was the last sell out ever in Memphis when he returned .
LOL, after this "loser leaves town" video, it's hilarious to see another video here called "Jerry Lawler Bill Dundee Studio Brawl 1985." Evidently, that 'must leave town' stuff must not exactly have been permanent!
The Aptermags used to refer to Memphis and surrounding CWA cities as MidSouthern. Yet they referred to Bill Watts's Territory as MidSouth which is what it was known as. And Memphis Pro Wrestlers of course wrestled on Monday nights in The MidSouth Coliseum!😂🤷♂️🎤🎼🎸🤼♂️B.W.
Watch it again ..... Eddie did NOT say the clip was going to be of Austin Idol ...... He talked about Austin Idol, but then changed subjects to another man and said here's a clip of him, referring to Handsome Jimmy.
This is a MUST WATCH from start to finish . If you don't enjoy this , it makes me wonder if you can call yourself a true wrestling fan .Then seek out the match . Its here last I checked . And hey , I love all types of wrestling . When done right . Deathmatches , spotfests , technical , old school , Kings Road , Strong Style , Lucha , you name it . But to me , THIS is what all wrestling should be based on and like . Add your modern twists afterwards . Just keep it believable as much as possible .
If I'm not mistaken it was Bill Dundee that ended up doing a stint in WCW after losing this match. The loser was actually winning in the end because he got to be on national tv.
