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The biggest problem I have with Hansen was that he wasn't as good in the US as he was in Puerto Rico and Japan. I can't think of a match he had stateside that came close to his career matches overseas. That's a pretty glaring mark on his GOAT candidacy in my book. He's also part of an early 80s Japanese era that I like less and less every time I see it, and he's not much of a mat worker. Not that you want Stan Hansen to work the mat, but he does from time to time and it's not great. On the Hansen runs he had good runs in Memphis,WCW, and the WWF. I agree none of it compares to his Japan run. I think the biggest thing is lack of footage of big matches in Georgia. He was a huge star there. Though he had good matches with Idol, Luger, and Backlund in the states. Also OJ on your criteria Americans who only worked the U.S does that disqualify them from GOAT because they never worked Japan? What about the Luchadores?

True, but Ricky Gibson was already made in Memphis before Robert showed up. Robert clearly got the rub from Ricky status in Memphis. I like Robert, and think he's better than average. Though he owes a lot of his stardom to his brother, and to Morton.

I think you just covered it. It was pretty awesome.

Nick Bockwinkel Interview (12/31/83) Jerry Lawler vs. Nick Bockwinkel Music Video (Arena Clips 1/2) + Nick Bockwinkel Interview / Both of Bock's interviews are killer. His It was your pleasure line is gold. The $500 dollar punch interview is a classic. erry Lawler Interview (1/7/84) Jerry Lawler vs. Nick Bockwinkel (Arena Clips 1/9) + Jerry Lawler Interview (1/14/84) Sheiks Blackwell & Patera Promo / Jerry Lawler + Jimmy Hart / Jerry Lawler & Austin Idol vs. Crusher Blackwell & Ken Patera (Arena Clips 1/24) (1/28/84) This was all good stuff, but it wasn't Lawler/Idol. It was Morton and Gibson. Jerry Lawler & Austin Idol vs. Road Warriors (1/31/84) They show 7 minutes of a 20 minute match. What we saw wasn't much. Jerry Lawler & Blackjack Mulligan vs. Jerry Blackwell & Ken Patera (AWA 3/4/84) This is a pretty good match. Blackwell and Lawler looked amazing in this match. Patera looked good too. Mulligan was fine. Blackwell does everything to make Mulligan look good. The faces have a fun shine sequence. They tag in and out working over the heels. Both heels bumping big. Eventually Lawler gets cut off and is FIP. Lawler is great in his role. Patera and Lawler milk this bear hug spot. Lawler does this amazing small package on Blackwell. Heels do a good job focusing on Lawler's back. They do a fun tease of the tag that the ref misses because he's distracted by the ref. The heels are effective in switching in and out and remaining fresh. Finally Lawler gets the hot tag to Mulligan. Mulligan is a house of fire for a minute. Lawler back in with rapid fire punches that look great. We build to a fuck finish. 3 1/4* Jerry Lawler + Joe LeDuc (Fireball) (3/31/84) What a great angle. Jerry Lawler & JJ Dillon vs. Randy Savage & Jimmy Hart (Arena Clips 4/2) (4/7/84) Fun for what it was. Jerry Lawler vs. Randy Savage (4/9/84) This is a good match. Savage is so intense and believable. Savage is on the bike to start. He spits at Lawler. Some fun brawling. They are working the mat. Nothing special, but kinda neat with the arm bar, and pulling hair reversals. They take it to the floor and some brawling. Jimmy Hart is working hard here. They bust out a strong finishing run with big moves that might have been better served with some selling. After all these big moves Lawler wins with a roll up. 4* Jimmy Hart Interview + First Family Rally (4/21/84) This is a great pep talk. Jerry Lawler vs. Lord Humongous (Arena Clips) (4/30/84) Jerry Lawler Interview & Eddie Marlin Promo (5/5/84) Jerry Lawler vs. Humongous (Arena Clips (5/7) / Jimmy Hart Interview + Jerry Lawler Interview (5/12/84) Jerry Lawler Show Mother’s Day Special (5/13/84) Jerry Lawler Interview (on Andy Kaufman’s Death) (5/19/84) Needs splice edit Jerry Lawler vs. Humongous (Finish Only) (5/21/84) All good stuff. The Kaufman stuff is sad that he's dead. Jimmy Hart blaming the piledriver for the cause of the Cancer is in bad taste.

Yeah the Apter story was beyond hilarious.

I'm looking forward to hearing this. My boy Johnny is always a hoot. I think he does more impressions than the BWO did.

Disc 16 Jerry Lawler Interview + Bill Dundee & Eddie Marlin Interview Man this was a nice piece of business and Lawler is clearly positioned as the face. Dundee was amusing but comes across as an arrogant ass. Jerry Lawler, Austin Idol & Dutch Mantel vs. The Moondogs & Man Mountain Link We get about 12 minutes of an 18 minute match here. We start with a little brawling to start. The match settles down and we get a babyface shine. Lawler works some miscommunication spots with the heels. Moondogs start the hide the chain schtick to wake the crowd up. Lawler's FIP is done well. He takes one killer bump that is kinda a front nestea plunge bump from the apron to taking a header into the table. During the heat on Lawler the match drags. Lawler takes another bump into the table. The heels prop the table up and ram Lawler into it on the floor. The match breaks down into a brawl and Lawler captures the pin on Man Mountain Link. I'd give it 2 1/2* . Jerry Lawler Interview + Andy Kaufman Phone Call Kaufman is insane here. Jerry Lawler, Austin Idol & Dutch Mantel vs. The Moondogs & Man Mountain Link This a falls count anywhere match and I didn't see a clip in the footage. Pretty much we get a 6 minute wild brawl. Canes are used. Everyone is bleeding. This is wild as shit. The finish is Lawler throwing the fire for a DQ. I don't feel comfortable rating a match so short, but I will say it was a real good brawl. Jerry Lawler Interview / Jerry Lawler vs. Jeff Briggs / Bill Dundee vs. Don Donovan (11/12/83) Jerry Lawler Show: Bill Dundee Interview (11/13/83) Fun stuff on the whatever you can do I can do better in the squash match. The Lawler show piece was a great piece of business. You believe they hate each other. Jerry Lawler vs. Andy Kaufman (11/14/83) They built the heat. Kaufman is a heat machine. Jerry Lawler vs. Buddy Landell (11/19/83) (Andy Kaufman on Commentary) Holy fuck was this a spectacle. They only go 5 minutes but man is the presentation of this great. It was super heated, Lawler takes the chair bump. To Landell preening and posing. Then you have Kaufman killing it in studio just getting the crowd nuclear. They break a wheat bag with the worst Russian ever. Jerry Lawler Music Video “Mean Streak” (11/19/83) A fun video. Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee This was a solid match, but doesn't compare to their high end match. This would be like their touring match on the indy circuit. The 1st 5 minutes is them getting by on their charisma. Dundee is a dick here. Dundee beats on Lawler, and focuses on different strikes to Lawler's face. Eventually the strap comes down for the comeback. Lawler punching like a mofo. The Russian comes in for the DQ. The match went 11 minutes and I'd say 2 1/2* for the match. Jerry Lawler vs. Randy Savage (Cage Match) This was a pretty fun cage. We start with Savage controlling Lawler early. Savage does an Ax handle to the floor that was nuts since the error of landing was nill.Eventually it build to Savage using the cage as a weapon on Lawler. He bumps Lawler into the cage, ring post,and great punches to the eye. Eventually Lawler returns the favor and puts Savage into the cage. Savage misses an ax handle from top of the cage. Savage delivers an airplane spin that both guys sell. Eventually LeDuc climbs the cage for a DQ. This was a good match but had some limitations. Like Savage took too much of the match, but it was important to position him strong. The match has flaws like Lawler only gots flurries of offense even at the finish. I still think the good outweighs the bad. I'd go as high 3 3/4* Jerry Lawler Interview + Randy Savage Promo (12/17/83 All I can say is where can I buy a ticket. They are perfect opponents for one another. Jerry Lawler & Cowboy Lang vs. Plowboy Frazier & Little Tokyo Man this was a blast. The midgets stole the match. Lawler and Plowboy were used as bases for spots. Hart telling Frazier to get the midget was great. 3* Austin Idol Promo & Jerry Lawler Interview + Jimmy Hart Interview (12/24/83) This was great all around and makes you wonder what is going to happen. Overall another killer disc.

Those suplexes are your downfall Parv. Lol

I decided to watch the Steiners vs . Saito/ Muta match since everybody seems to have different opinions on it and such . I'd give it 2 3/4*. I liked the early shine by the Steiners . Scott and Muta on the mat was fun for the short time we got it . When Rick and Saito got it on I loved how it looked like Rick was going for a Steinerline only to cross up Saito and nail him with a drop kick. Heck I was expecting Steinerline. Eventually, Rick is put FIP and he isn't really compelling in that role. Eventually he gets the hot tag . Scotty in and kicks ass for a minute than goes FIP. We get a cluster fuck at the finish and Rick nails a sunset flip off the top rope over Scotty for the 3. The finish was sudden, but made sense since the teams were being positioned as different sides of the same coin. So a trick play was what decided the match .It was a solid match that left much to be desired.

Jerry Lawler & Dutch Mantel + The First Family (9/3/83) Jerry Lawler Show: Austin Idol Interview / Jim Cornette Interview (9/4/83) Jimmy Hart Commentary on Lawler vs. Dundee (Arena Clips 9/5) (9/10/83) Jerry Lawler Show: Ken Patera Interview + Dear Jerry (9/11/83) Jerry Lawler Interview + Bill Dundee Promo (9/17/83) Jerry Lawler Show: Rock N Roll Express Interview / Jimmy Hart Interview + Dear Jerry (9/18/83) Jerry Lawler vs. Jesse Ventura (Arena Clips 9/19/83) Jerry Lawler Show: Dutch Mantel Interview (9/25/83) Nothing really earth shattering here. It was interesting to watch. Jerry Lawler & Austin Idol vs. Stan Hansen & Jesse Ventura (9/25/83) This was a solid brawl. Lawler's FIP work was well done. When Hansen and him were in the ring together it was really good. Idol gets a hot tag and gets cut off. Idol is FIP now and he's no Lawler. Eventually it gets out of control. They're brawling all over the arena. Chairs are used. They're are up in the stands and Lawler takes an insane bump to the floor. The post match was wild. I'll split the difference and go 3 1/4 * for the match. Jerry Lawler Show: Assassins Interview + Dear Jerry / Lily Butler Interview (10/2/83) The Lily Butler interview is awesome. She sounded a lot like a lot of us when talking about the wrestling we grew up on. Bill Dundee Interview / Bill Dundee + Jimmy Hart + Jerry Lawler Phone Call (10/8/83) (Chicken Suit) This angle had it all. Humor, blood, a beatdown, heat, and Lawler and Dundee reuniting. Jerry Lawler Show: Lance Russell Interview (10/9/83) An amazing piece of going down memory lane. Jerry Lawler vs. Jesse Ventura (10/10/83) Ventura is a bad worker. Lawler does his best with him. Lawler peppers him with punches. I loved Ventura's spin bumps off Lawler punches. Still not a good match. I'd go 2 1/4 * Jerry Lawler & Bill Dundee vs. Bruise Brothers (10/10/83) This was a fun tag. The story that was told was Lawler and Dundee's timing is off.They haven't tagged in a while so they're rusty. The Bruise Bros are a good tag team and exploit Dundee and Lawler. Plus the Bruise Bros use a gimmick to get heat. Good Memphis tag. A 2 3/4 * match. Jerry Lawler Show: High School Cheerleaders Interview (10/16/83) Thank God their advisor was there. You could tell Jerry had a favorite. Elimination Match (Arena Clips 10/17/83) + Jimmy Hart Interview / Jerry Lawler Promo (10/22/83) Bill Dundee + The Moondogs (10/22/83) Jerry Lawler Show: Jimmy Valiant Interview / Jerry’s Artwork (10/23/83) Jerry Lawler Interview w/ Arena Clips (10/24/83) Fun stuff the rest of the way. We also see Lawler and Dundee dissolve the partnership.

True, though in the Q&A Perkins Miller was asked about video capturing, and he said it wouldn't be needed because the footage would always be available. I kinda smelt the b.s immediately. Still I'm looking forward to this.

Good write up Kevin. Yeah we decided to tweak the format. We were on pace for a 5 hr show. Johnny made the point that we are our own bosses so their is no set rules. We cut down the footage so we are not doing a rush job, and to keep the show tighter and more energy in the show.

I thought him and Backlund had great matches in 82. I just did a quick write up in the Lawler thread of Adonis , and Tully vs. Lawler and and Sweetan that was quite good .

According to Meltzer in the new Observer only 1.5% of what they have in the vault is going to be uploaded at 1st, and little of it will be the territories.

I have him as a top 5 guy. After going through the whole comp we'll see. I'll say though 10 years ago I had him as a top 40 guy whenever that Smarkchoice poll was. I mean I've watched the Memphis set and some of the yearbooks , Schneider comps , MOTY comps to give him a fair shake. Thus his moving up the ranks over the last 8-10 years. I'm looking forward to seeing more.

Sometimes it 's cool to be old like Johnny.

I thought Parv would have appreciated Patera character a bit more than he has.

Dylan I'm enjoying Patera's run as we go through 1980 right now . Parv isn't feeling the love quite as much. We've seen 3 Backlund matches, we'll see 2 Patterson matches, a couple of Pedro matches on the horizon. Their is that fun tag of Black and Blue Express vs. Andre /Patterson. I also know he has a good match with Bruno in late 1980. Is their anything else to pimp to Parv?

Parv to answer your question Hogan did work Memphis for a tad in 81.

I just watched the Bruno/Hansen cage match from 77. It went 11 minutes and I bet Stan took one minute of offense. This is just one example. It's also possible Bruno didn't want to give Stan a lot because he was legit injured by him. Other possibilities when Bruno gave Stan opportunities too take control he used it to attempt to escape the cage. I'm just curious to see how this develops. Is it a Backlund thing or is it a WWF champion thing pre Vince taking over.

I don't think it was nominated.

Great call Parv.

I hope you aren't referring to Johnny,Kelly, and myself to jobbers . Kelly might take it as a compliment, but Johnny and I don't . Lol