2006-03-23 - Monday Night Rasslin’: Travis Scott Bowden looks at the WWE’s return to Memphis

Jerry “the King” Lawler and professional wrestling once again basked in the spotlight of my hometown this week—and on a Monday night no less. The new FedEx Forum, located directly off tourist-friendly Beale Street in Memphis replaced the gritty—and often dirty—Mid-South Coliseum as the venue of choice. While I don’t recall fans at the Coliseum looking this affluent—especially by the time I was a performer in 1994—the heated reaction WWE performers received during Monday’s televised RAW broadcast proved that Memphis is still a wrestling town. (Actually, Corey Maclin’s MEMPHIS CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING ratings have been impressive of late—nowhere near Jarrett Promotions back in its heyday back in the early ’80s, but impressive.)

Although Lawler’s quips are not quite as sharp as they used to, it’s nice to see the King still involved as part of a big wrestling event in Memphis. Oddly enough, as much as I dislike the three-man announcing team, I think Lawler’s been better since the departure of Jim Ross—or maybe it just seems that way since Coach is often terrible and predictable. (I’ll give Coach a little credit: He’s getting better since working with Lawler. When Lita suggested that Foley and Edge have a wrestling match as opposed to a hardcore match at WRESTLEMANIA, Coach earnestly blurted out, “That makes a lot of sense.” Not too shabby.) Still, a major wrestling show in Memphis still doesn’t look right without Lance Russell calling the action.

The Lawler boys were on hand as well, as Kevin Christian Lawler was booked to appear as one of the McMahons’ security guards, but they felt he was too small for the role. A shame, too, as Kevin would have taken some fantastic bumps when HBK and John Cena were cleaning house at the end. I suppose Kevin forgot to pack the bodysuit made famous during his hooded Yellowjacket run. For those who have never seen the suit, think Robin Williams in Robert Altman’s POPEYE. (I cannot confirm reports that Kevin sold the suit to Shane McMahon.) Brian Christopher Lawler showed up backstage as an invited guest of Viscera—and contrary to some Internet reports of Brian’s rep, most of the boys were reportedly glad to see him. Upon hearing that Brian was spotted backstage, Jerry Lawler joked, “Yeah, and I heard he’s already been hired and fired twice tonight.”

Because the broadcast aired live from Memphis, I was less likely to TiVo past some of the show, and I enjoyed it for the most part. Granted, I couldn’t help but cringe when the show once again kicked off with a lengthy McMahon promo, but the band wasn’t a bad touch (never mind the fact that Memphis is far better known for the blues and rock ‘n’ roll than jazz).

WWE still hasn’t convinced me that John Cena vs. Triple H is worthy of WRESTLEMANIA main-event status—in part because the title match is being overshadowed by the McMahons/HBK drama. That and the fact that it appears to be a lock that Cena will be dropping the spinning piece of bling to Trips. (Typing that made me long for the days of “the 10 pounds of gold.”)

At least WWE has portrayed Cena in a more aggressive light of late, but it’s getting comical the way he and HHH can’t seem to even hook up before their scheduled match. Yes, keep them apart, but quit booking them in tag matches. I’m also not a big fan of the way they are promoting the WRESTLEMANIA match-up as their first-ever meeting, as the two have worked together several times at house shows. Cena came off well here, as Memphis fans dig the hip-hop gimmick. Hell, some area fans loved PG-13, so Cena is definitely an upgrade in their eyes. (If there wasn’t a sign in the Memphis crowd that read “JC Ice just called from jail—he wants his gimmick back,” then, well, there really should have been.) The McMahons are just fine in their on-air roles—I only wish we didn’t have to see so much of them. Shane’s reaction to Vince’s impromptu matchmaking was wonderful, and the camera caught it perfectly.

Chris Masters and Carlito appear ready to upset Big Show and Kane for the tag straps—which I guess explains why one half of the challengers was squashed just weeks before the match. Hard to believe it was nearly 15 years ago to the day when I refereed Kane’s first wrestling match in a small town in Arkansas. That night Glen Jacobs wrestled as the Christmas Creature, wresting under a hood and wearing a green and red-and-white-striped body suit with ornaments and candycanes attached to it. (Kevin Lawler helped design the suit, but didn’t need to affix any foam padding, as young Jacobs was already a monster physically. He and the King sleepwalked through a typical small-town Lawler match: the Memphis native bumped for the Creature’s clumsy power moves, heel manager Bert Prentice interfered constantly behind my back, and Lawler finally made his comeback. After Lawler pulled down the strap on his singlet, and the fists were flying, I positioned myself for a ref bump I’d seen hundreds of times as a fan (and that’s possibly only a slight exaggeration). Lawler grabbed the Creature for a headlock but before the King could connect with further punches, Santa’s least favorite wrestler threw Lawler into me, rendering me unconscious. In a Christmas miracle, Prentice’s interference backfired and I recovered just in time to count three as Lawler schoolboyed the Creature. God bless us…everyone. (For the record, it’s true that every time a bell rings, an angel get its wings. What’s not as well known is that every time a bell sounds at ringside, an angel gets set on fire.) But once again…I digress.

Mick Foley, who likened his ’88-’89 stint working for Jerry Jarrett and Lawler to serving in the U.S. Marines, gave the best RAW promo in years on Monday—a perfect example of what some of the boys are capable of if they dared venture from their carefully worded scripts. If the Edge/Foley match at ‘MANIA is to mean anything, Foley had to make this interview count, and he did in a big way. Mike Coughlin wrote on Dave Meltzer’s site early in the week that the Foley/Edge feud was missing something: I believe Foley’s promo was it. Memphis fans popped for Foley abusing Lita to bait Edge, much like they did decades earlier when Lawler belted and then later piledrove Rick Rude’s valet Angel. (What…no chants of “Mr.Sock-Hooooo”?) I’d much rather prefer Edge in that lead heel role as champ heading into ‘MANIA; however, I think a hot bout with Foley will help him regain some of the steam he lost after dropping the belt back to Cena. I think these two will deliver in Chicago.

At the risk of sounding unlike a red-blooded, rednecked-Memphian, the Diva skits and matches usually bore me to no end. But Mickie James has got it—charisma, in-ring talent and what appears to be a least a basic understanding of wrestling psychology. The blood-stained kiss was great stuff.

Guys not only love Trish, but they also empathize with Trish’s plight, as most have had some desperate girl freak out when you tell them you just want to be friends. (I’ve certainly had my share in the past.) It’s the most entertaining Divas feud the company’s had in years. On the other manicured hand, the Torrie Wilson/Candice feud is everything that’s wrong with the Divas division: two beautiful women with zero personality who are barely passable performers in the ring. Still, the two PLAYBOY covergirls give the company exposure to its target market, so at least it makes sense booking them to work together at WRESTLEMANIA.

If Jarrett and Lawler had been booking the tag match finale, Triple H would have attacked Cena before the bell and pedigreed him on the ramp, drawing first blood. Later, with a blood-stained white gauze bandage wrapped around his head, Cena would admirably charge the ring and get his hands on everyone but Triple H. But this is WWE, so instead of that scenario, which would have added more heat to the WRESTLEMANIA main event, McMahon instead again displays how powerful he is by intimidating Cena to go to the back, leaving Michaels in a handicap match. Instead of a hot crowd fired up and anticipating Cena’s return, the audience was flat most of the way, most likely because it came off more like McMahon cheated them out the promised main event—this was negative heat that company doesn’t need heading into its biggest show. But at least they. kept Cena and Triple H apart, and I liked the security guards bumping everywhere.

I’ll say this for Vince the performer: He’s pretty damn funny most of the time. Vince’s challenge to Cena was a good way to close the program and should make for an intriguing show right before WRESTLEMANIA.

(I know I’m going to catch some heat for this, but…the tag-team countdown will continue next week. Settle down, marks.)

EMAIL THE AUTHOR | ARCHIVES