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I haven't watched Hogan 80's in a while So I'll wait to make that claim. Though I will say Bob>Hogan.

Steamboat as US champ (70s) would be an interesting person to compare the WWF champ to. He can show vulnerability and make OTHER PEOPLE look good while maintaining his popularity and position as champ and getting over the idea of him as a world-class wrestler. The WWF champ was solely in the business of making The WWF Champ look good.

It's pretty awesome when Dave and Austin are just marking out about Mid-South, while Alvarez just there quietly.

Disc 21 Jerry Lawler vs. Bruiser Brody (5/20/85) This was a good match. Lawler gets one of Brody's best singles matches out of him. We start with a good give and take brawl. Lawler punches Brody right in the back of the neck. Eventually Lawler takes a beating from Brody. They take it outside where Brody slams him to the time keepers table a couple of times. Brody posts him. He punches him, and kicks him. Lawler is bleeding and Brody works the cut. Back in the strap comes out and Lawler makes the comeback. Their is a DQ and a fun post angle where Lawler eats a spiked pile driver. I'd say 3 1/2*. Jerry Lawler vs. Randy Savage (Loser Leaves Town) (6/3/85) Another strong match. Savage is on the bike. He's really milking the 1st tie up. All the early stalling leads to a payoff. Lawler takes a bump into the timekeepers table. As a result his eye is busted and bleeding. Savage is really targeting the cut with straight lefts. Lawler's eye is a total mess. The ref tries to stop the match. Lawler gets another opinion and it's on. We build to the finish and Savage is off to become a millionaire. I wish we would have gotten a little bit more of the match. Still the drama, and the story of the match is compelling. 4 1/4* Jerry Lawler Interview (6/8/85) This was great. Lance had to cut Brody's promo for him. Jerry Lawler vs. Koko Ware This was a fun studio match. This would also be a template for the Lawler touring indy match. Koko using the hide the object on Lawler to great effect. The crowd was eating this stuff up. 3* Jerry Lawler & Austin Idol vs. Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy (8/5/85) Brawl to start. It settles down into a more traditional tag though it had fighting throughout. Idol starts j hooking the heels when he brings a cane in. On the floor Gordy gives Lawler a suplex. Lawler's selling was great. 3 1/2*. Jerry Lawler Interview + Freebirds & Austin Idol Promos (8/10/85) These are to set up the Badstreet Match. Idol is really great here. Jerry Lawler, Jerry Jarrett, Tojo Yamamoto & Koko B Ware vs. The Spoiler, Billy Travis ,Ron Sexton & Phil Hickerson (8/10/85) Just a fun workrate studio match. Billy Travis was amazing here in his bumping and stooging. Koko did this weird reverse dropkick that made me pop huge. Jarrett was pretty good in his FIP role. Tojo's schtick was really good. Just fun fun stuff. 3* Jerry Lawler & Austin Idol vs. Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy (Badstreet Match) (8/12/85) This was a fun brawl. Lawler is dressed wrong though. Man the crowd was eating this shit up. 3 3/4* Man fun disc here.

We've known that for months. Your Hogan point might be on point. I think Hogan had more charisma so it seemed like he showed more sympathy. I think he just connected to the crowd better.

. The WWF didn't sell Vulnerable in their Champs. They sold their Champs fighting the latest Heel to come into town calling out the Champ, and the Champ beating them. Exactly. This how the territory worked.

No way, man. You KNOW Andy would have loved it. He would have loved it. Still who ever said Kaufman had good taste.

Disc 20 The matches here are all ok. Nothing amazing though. Though we get some killer angles and promos. Eddie Gilbert does This is your Life. This was tremendous. Their is a great comedy segment with Playboy Frazier. They show highlights of Lawler vs. Gilbert that resulted in Jimmy Hart leaving Memphis. Savage/Poffo/Iron Mike Sharpe/Gilbert attack Lawler and go after his eye. They show him all bandaged up. He cuts an incredible promo. Their is an injury angle to Lawler's neck. This was amazing. So we're getting an amazing build in the Lawler/Savage feud. This feud is on fire. Who plays crazy,out of control better. Funk or Savage?

Bill Apter interviews Steamboat about George Scott. Bill Apter ‏@apter1wrestling 1h Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat memories of George Scott at The Apter Chat ...

Sometimes. He did guzzle Volkoff,took a lot of the Valentine match. He still took a lot of the Larry Z matches. I do see Bob selling in his matches, and we've clearly disagree on that.

The formula for Bruno, Bob, and Pedro is they all worked on top. This was a WWF thing not just a Bob Backlund thing . I think their belief was they had to keep their face champions strong to draw. This isn't my favorite style. I just think applying it to only Bob isn't fair.

No. I kind of feel like inducting Ali would be in poor taste considering that the HOF contains Antonio Inoki, the guy largely responsible for Ali being in the condition he's in. I've never heard this talking point? I mean the years of boxing had no effect. It was Antinio Inoki's leg kicks were the cause. I think the logic would be if Ali hadn't got his legs kicked to hell, then he wouldn't have taken so much punishment in his later fights due to being slower and less spry on his feet. That's grasping.

No. I kind of feel like inducting Ali would be in poor taste considering that the HOF contains Antonio Inoki, the guy largely responsible for Ali being in the condition he's in. I've never heard this talking point? I mean the years of boxing had no effect. It was Antinio Inoki's leg kicks were the cause.

Dave has an abbreviated bio up on his site. No mention of the George Scott finish which their is no way in hell he invented.

He had the great Jake Roberts feud, in 89 when he was past his prime he had a great brawl with Flair on the power hr. He had a good match with Sting on Saturday Night, and of course the Clash Tag. In the WWF he had a good match with Valentine. His Mid-Atlantic run he had a good team with Bob Orton, a strong feud with Piper, and that great match with Steamboat from Worldwide in 84.

Disc 19 Rick Rude vs. Keith Eric (9/8/84) This turns into Rude vs. Lawler. This turns into a fun studio match. Of course it's a non finish. I loved Rude's pile driver. This lead to Rude working over Lawler's neck. I'm pretty convinced by now that the piledriver in the 80's is a move like a body slam. Lawler was great punching and Rude bumping big for him. They seem to really compliment each other in the ring. Jerry Lawler & Randy Savage vs. King Kong Bundy & Rick Rude What a great match.They milk the lock up and the crowd is nuclear. Rude bumping around early. Bundy's in to turn the tide. We get a real good miscommunication spot that pops the crowd. We get a real fun shine sequence. Savage was great on the apron. He would then pick his spots and come in and nail the heels. Their is a great pose off between Rude and Savage. Lawer's FIP work is so well done here. It has amazing action. The match loses steam for about a minute or 2, but they bring it back. Savage hits the ref for a DQ. The postmatch brawl is great as well. 4 1/4*. Jerry Lawler & Randy Savage vs. King Kong Bundy & Rick Rude (No DQ) Another killer bout. This was an awesome Memphis brawl. It was full of plunder. All 4 were in at the same time. They used the table, chairs, rope holders etc. Just fantastic shit. We get a fuck finish to continue the feud. 4 1/4* Jerry Lawler vs. Eddie Gilbert From PWUSA this match was for Lawler to look good. He does. We get a killer studio brawl between Lawler/Savage and Hart/Rude/Bundy. This was fucking insane. The set is getting destroyed. The wall almost falls over onto the cameras. This is must see and put gasoline on this feud. We also get the Wimpbusters video. Lawler's wife is smokin. It's good to be King Jerry Lawler vs. Eddie Gilbert Another good studio bout that teases us for the future. We get a few squashes and a workrate 6 man tag. Jerry Lawler vs. Nightmare #1 Another fun studio bout. Nightmare takes a Harley Race bump over the ring post into a header onto the apron. It's insane. Jerry Lawler vs. Bob Roop Man I really liked this match. Roop as the former amateur stud and he looks down at Lawler and his wrestling skills. So we have the striker vs. the wrestler. Lawler openswith some punches that Roop blocks with his elbows. Roop toys with him a bit and Lawler starts getting in Roops head. It turns into a real game of chess that has big payoffs. A real good studio match. 3*

For starters I enjoyed the Rude feud and wish we had a complete match. Well we get a Lawler promo where he says that Rude is no Kamala or Bundy and he's beaten both of them. On top of it Rude is stupid. This would be an example of Lawler burying his opponents. Then he has a match with Bundy that is great. Maybe Bundy's best ever. Lawler does some stalling here which is a critique some make of him. Here it works so well in the story. Just a gem of a match. Another good match he has is with Kamala. It might be Kamala's best match ever. They do a great job brawling on the floor. Actually the match plays to both their strengths. I've seen Kamala have some good ones with Hogan, David and Kerry V.E, Terry Taylor, and Duggan to name a few. I think this might be his best yet.

I don't know what happened but I lost everything I wrote about disc 18. So i'm going forward. Though this disc shows why Lawler is great, and gives ammunition to his detractors.

I'd go 81-89 as his prime. A lot of his schtick he's able to do for years. He's one of the smartest workers around, has great timing, is a great promo. I feel the criticisms aimed at him are fair. I feel at times he can rely on schtick too much. He does bury his opponents a lot in promos. Him and Cornette use the same insult book. One mostly as a heel, and one mostly as a face. He has a cocky swagger, and can be an asshole as a face. I think when you compare him to his peers in the U.S I'd have to say Flair,Rose,Bockwinkle,Funk, Hansen are the guys from 81-89 you'd be comparing Lawler too. Each guy has different strengths and weaknesses. From 81-89 in Japan I'd say you have Jumbo,Tenyru, and Fujinami are guys you're comparing Lawler to. In Mexico which is one of my weak spots I'd rate Casas,Santo, and Atlantis. I'm sure someone who's more of a lucha guy can pimp some.

Will you're back peddling quicker than a Memphis heel on a Lawler comeback . 1st you say the chain isn't a game ender. Then a certain type of chain can be a game ender. Then if the man has fat fists and uses a chain it can be a game changer. Jerry "she told me she was 18" Lawler would be proud of you.

We've seen a chain used as a KO finish in Memphis more times than I could count. In the Bundy/Lawler 10,000 dollar challenge which is a masterpiece. Lawler gets KO'd by a chain.

Come on Will he went all Memphis heel in that run. I liked it, but it was mostly all character work . It also probably wouldn't have worked if he wasn't part of the hottest baby face act in the Rock n Roll Express that was on top for 2 years in SMW.

I would never call any of these guys average or run of the mill. I also like OMG, but can understand people not liking them . Greg Valentine on this list is major crimes offensive.

Hansen produced good matches with slaughter, Blackwell, and Hennig in the AWA.

You said it yourself. If their was no Morton he would have coasted on his brothers rep. He's a decent worker who if he didn't catch lightning in a bottle with Morton would have been a middle of the road territory guy.