Memphis Wrestling
December 8, 1979
Memphis, TN
WMC-5 TV Studio

The current Memphis wrestling champions are as follows:
AWA World Champion: Nick Bockwinkel (11/8/1975)
CWA World Champion: Jerry Lawler (11/8/1979)
AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion: Jackie Fargo (11/22/1979)
AWA Southern Tag Team Champions: The Assassins (12/2/1979)

Your hosts are Lance Russell and Dave Brown.

• Tojo Yamamoto vs. Pat Hutchinson
  

With the Nick Gulas territory on its deathbed, Tojo Yamamoto has returned to the Memphis area for the first time since Jerry Jarrett took Memphis away from Nick Gulas and Roy Welch in 1977. There are people out there in the internet world who know the story of the split better than I do so I won’t pretend to know more than I learned from the Memphis Heat DVD about George Gulas and how nepotism reared its ugly head in the state of Tennessee. I mean a 45 minute draw with NWA world champ Harley Race? Really Mr. Gulas? Anyways, we’re here to talk about TOJO. Good grief, he’s 52 years old here. When his long wrestling career was coming to an end, he became a trainer and trained guys of the next generation like Jeff Jarrett, Bobby Eaton, Sid Vicious, and Tommy Rich = all future world champs. Sonny King comes out and talks about making a comeback. STOMACH CLAW wins for Tojo at 2:04.

Lance Russell meets with Ricky Morton and Big Red. Sonny King has a fight coming for slapping him in the face. Great close up shot of Morton as it all happens off camera to give you the feel that it wasn’t planned. Those were the days, man. But what happens is Sonny King and Tojo Yamamoto jump Big Red. Sonny starts HOG-TYING Red while Tojo keeps Morton back by threatening him with his giant Japanese shoes. With Red beaten up and tied up, Morton is all alone to be called “boy”. Tojo grabs Morton from behind while Sonny slaps him around. Since it seems there are so few strong babyfaces right now in Memphis, the ref Jerry Calhoun comes to untie Big Red so he can help out his buddy Rick Morton. Red and Morton chase Sonny and Tojo back through the curtain and the TV audience is going insane. This was awesome and it is your semi main event for this Monday night.

• Jerry Lawler (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Koko Ware
  

Boy, that CWA world title is hideous, right? Just as I say that, Russell remarks how handsome the belt is. This is non-title, btw. Lots of wristlock action from Koko and accusations of hairpulling. Of course, there was NONE. Lawler applies a headlock on the mat and tries for the quick pin. Koko escapes into a headscissors and Lawler HANDSTANDS out. He tries to grab another headlock and Koko ducks. Now Lawler is mad as DOWN COMES THE STRAP. He pulls on the afro to take Koko down into an armbar. Lawler keeps the hold on with one arm and kisses his bicep on the other. Koko eventually punches back and headbutts Lawler. He nails Lawler with a couple running shoulder butts. He misses the third one though. Lawler gives Koko a suplex and finishes him off with the FLYING FIST DROP. (9:02) Just a master of psychology is Jerry Lawler. Fun stuff. Just basic holds and never boring. **

They take us back to a month ago when Jerry Lawler defeated Superstar Billy Graham in the Rupp Arena in Lexington Kentucky for the CWA world title. A bunch of other heels and Jimmy Hart are super excited for him. Lawler is bleeding over his right eye. Everybody has to eat their words because Lawler is the world champ. Russell wants to know if Lawler will relinquish the AWA southern championship now that he’s the world champ. Lawler has a good laugh about that one and wants the southern tag titles now too. He’s looking for a partner and tells all the wrestlers listening to send in their applications to the King. Russell says Graham is PISSED he can’t get a rematch. Lawler calls Graham overrated and undeserving right now, so he’ll have to get in the back of the line now if he wants a return match. The one Lawler now wants is the other world champ Nick Bockwinkel. Lawler says he knew he had the world title won when he first signed the contract. Graham doesn’t want any more of Lawler! Another awesome promo here. They showed all this to say that there will be a unification match between the AWA world champ Nick Bockwinkel and the CWA world champ Jerry Lawler this Monday night at the Mid-South Coliseum.

Lance Russell welcomes Billy Robinson and Paul Ellering to the program. They seem like modest fellows. A well-dressed Robinson has to bring up Ellering’s powerlifting records and accomplishments. Like everyone else, they just want to win the world title.

• Paul Ellering vs. The Avenger
  

Billy Robinson takes Dave Brown’s chair and joins Lance Russell for commentary. He calls some of the amateur moves Ellering implements on the masked jabroni. Ellering wins with a running atomic drop at 3:46.

After the break, Billy Robinson sticks around to watch footage of his match in the Mid-South Coliseum last Sunday night. It was a handicap match against the Blonde Bombers. Robinson doesn’t really have any trouble with the Bombers until their manager Danny Davis grabs the foot. They double (and triple) team Robinson until the ref calls for the bell awarding Robinson the match via DQ. Robinson fights them off and gives Davis an awesome BACKBREAKER.

• AWA Southern Tag Team Championship: The Assassins (c) vs. Hector Guerrero & Steve Regal
  

More Billy Robinson on commentary. The Assassins jump the challengers from the get-go. Hector gets his arm ripped and torn on for the rest of the match. One of the Assassins delivers a NASTY legdrop to Hector’s arm and a concerned Billy Robinson points out that Hector is definitely injured. Looks like Jerry Calhoun calls for the bell showing Hector some mercy ending this thing early. (2:58) Afterwards, Billy Robinson jumps in the ring to help clear the ring of the Assassins. Hector has to be helped out of the ring as he is on his way out of the territory. He spends a few weeks on the Nick Gulas side of Tennessee before heading down to Florida to work. *½

When Billy Robinson heads back over to the table, he’s jumped by the Assassins until Paul Ellering comes to his aid. Commercials!

Before Russell runs down the card for Monday night, Billy Robinson comes back out saying the Assassins went after his eye that had been injured and doctored on for months. He wants Jerry Jarrett to come out and sign a match for him against the Assassins. Jerry comes out, but it will be a non-title match. Fine with Billy. He wants Paul Ellering to be his partner. So Jerry makes it happen.

Two dollar GA tickets and kids under ten when accompanied by a parent get in free throughout the month of December.

• Steve Regal versus Ken Wayne
  
• The Assassins versus Billy Robinson (in place of Koko Ware) and Paul Ellering
  
• Koko Ware (instead of Billy Robinson) versus The Super Destroyer
  
• Sonny King & Tojo Yamamoto versus Big Red & Rick Morton
  
• AWA World Champ Nick Bockwinkel versus CWA World Champ Jerry Lawler
  

Jerry Lawler and Jimmy Hart come by to talk about Nick Bockwinkel. Lawler plans to be the first man with two world titles after Monday night. They will compete under a 90 minute time limit to settle the score once and for all. While Lawler is talking, Russell checks his watch and gets blasted for it. HA. Lawler thinks that Bockwinkel is trying to settle for a time limit draw since he can’t beat Lawler, but it won’t matter because Lawler is going to finally win the AWA world title. Lawler is really into kissing those biceps right now.

Since they have run out of match for the day, they show us highlights from the Assassins winning the AWA southern tag titles from Hector Guerrero and Steve Regal last Monday night. That seems to be where we close out the program this week.

Whoa. At the tail end of the video, Jack Eaton from WMC Channel 5 Sports explains that neither title changed hands between Lawler and Bockwinkel. Eaton has to be explained what an atomic drop is. Jimmy Hart punches Bockwinkel with a chain on his hand. There is blood here. As Lawler goes for the pin, he gets slapped on the back and lets up at the two-count thinking the match is over. When he steps away to celebrate, Bockwinkel rolls him up. No count is made as Hart is on the apron and gets slugged. Ref Jerry Calhoun intercepts Jerry Lawler’s punch using the chain and awards the match to Bockwinkel via DQ. There’s results given on the evening news. That’s awesome. The older newscaster calls the AWA world champ “Bullwinkle”.

Until next time, so long for now.