[1990-01-06-USWA-Memphis TV] Jerry Lawler and King Cobra

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Lawler is here to tell us the origins of King Cobra. Vaguely racist stuff, but the punchline at the end of the long story about King Cobra's real name is tremendous. Just wait for it. It says a lot about how they view King Cobra when Eddie Marlin cuts most of his promo for him before he even shows his face. If you enjoyed Jerry Lawler in this segment, brace yourselves for a very fun set!

[PeteF3]

Fantastic shaggy-dog story from Lawler that manages to be equally offensive to blacks and Hispanics. Actually the payoff to the outhouse story I found funnier than Cobra's real name.

 

I do appreciate the fact that Cobra and Marlin are able to talk their way out of the no-DQ challenge without actually coming off as cowards.

[Kevin Ridge]

And I was under the assumption that Lawler was always a face in Memphis until later on. Great story with some really funny moments. King Cobra's name and the Outhouse were both great but I like the Korea War one too. I am very much looking forward to more Lawler.

[soup23]

Lawler making the racist comments and payoff to the joke was entertaining. I always loved enforcer Eddie Marlin and him and Lawler get into a pretty good spat. King Cobra definitely doesn't seem to be much of a talker evidenced by what we see here but 1990 looks to be shaping up as a great year for Lawler with him playing a different role from what I am used to seeing.

[Cox]

Mostly a one man show with Lawler carrying King Cobra through a promo to set up their match this Monday night, but a great one man show. And that's not to discount Dave Brown as the exasperated TV announcer or Eddie Marlin as the promoter, but Lawler does a great job here hyping a match that, on paper, would appear to be dying on the vine without a lot of help.

[JerryvonKramer]

Ha ha ha ha ha

 

Superb dick heel promo.

 

Really liked the straight-laced Dave Brown here too. His vague disease and looks to the side help to make this even greater.

 

However, Lawler's mullet is atrocious.

 

I like Eddie Marlin as an authority figure and this angle of Lawler not having the pull in the USWA that he did in the CWA is really interesting. This is a great back and forth.

 

Then when King Cobra comes out Lawler's insideously racist jibes really help to stoke this feud even further.

 

The psychology of a heel asking for a no DQ match is a bit strange -- but this is nonetheless a great segment. Can't help but feel Cobra's performance wasn't up to everyone else's here though.

[Johnny Sorrow]

Lawler rules. The Onyx joke is gold.

 

The psychology of a heel asking for a no DQ match is a bit strange

Why wouldn't a Legendary guy who cheats want a no DQ match? Which Eddie Marlin says, actually.

[Laney]

Fantastic promo work from Lawler here who shows that he is the master of put-downs. King Cobra's mic work is nothing to write about, but Lawler carries this one and makes it great. I am definitely looking forward to more Lawler on this set.

[ajtroma]

The semi-racist jokes werent really a stretch for Lawler.

[Bix]

Lawler draws out the punchline so much I wonder how much was his stock jokes and how much was adlibbed.

[bradhindsight]

For as much of a dick-heel that Lawler is, he balances the line and doesn't make anyone else look stupid (to diminish the feud) even though King Cobra can't keep up. Loved that Eddie Marlin was self-deprecating AND called Lawler out for the exact reason he wanted a no DQ match. Dave Brown was great as well.

[cheapshot]

King Cobra may be the worst promo of all time.

 

This dragged for me at first with Lawler's rambling story that I felt was being used to kill time but I thought it was good that Cobra didn't come over as weak for not accepting the No DQ challenge issued by Lawler.

[garretta]

Great use of psychology by everyone involved. Lawler was fantastic as usual, Eddie Marlin was written a lot stronger than most authority figures and made the most of it, and Dave, like Lance before him, just wants the show to flow smoothly. The only one not on fire here was Cobra, but with Lawler backing him up, he didn't have to be. I've never heard before of the heel in a feud wanting a no DQ match, but it makes sense here, as does Marlin/Cobra's refusal to grant it.

[El-P]

Lawler is here to tell us the origins of King Cobra. Vaguely racist stuff, but the punchline at the end of the long story about King Cobra's real name is tremendous.

 

Indeed. Totally cracked me up. Lawler was terrific here. Cobra, on the other hand, comes off as a third rate JYD knock-off with no charisma. Why was he given the belt in the first place ?

[Johnny Guitar]

Good promo from Lawler, even though it was a bit racist. I appreciate the fact that he doesn't just bury Cobra, which he could of. Marlin played his part well and Dave Brown was great.

[drew wardlaw]

I already forget, is this the one where Lawler makes a joke about Mexicans and is cracking himself up during it? He may or may not have used a similar joke on WWE tv like 2 years ago. Lawler's improvising ability and wit unquestionable.

[GSR]

Jerry Lawler wants to tell us all about the history of King Cobra. It took him a long time, took a lot of hunting and a lot of researching, but he finally came up with the true background of this mysterious Cobra. He apparently tried to steal the name 'King' from Lawler himself and when he asked him what his real name was he refused to tell him. Well he should have, because that would have saved him the embarrassment of Lawler going out and finding what his real name is.

 

It took some serious research and he traced his family all the way back to the baboons! He then tells a long winded tale about finding Cobra's parents renting out the basement of a Mexican woman's outhouse. Apparently Cobra's father first got put in jail for refusing to fight in the Korean war, the reason being that he's had gonorrhoea, had diarrhoea and if Korea was anything like those wanted nothing to do with it! Dave Brown isn't buying it, but the King claims it's true. He then says that he spoke to Cobra's mother and asked her what his real name was. She said he's got three sisters: Emerald, Ruby and Pearl, then he came along and we named him Onyx, because he was Onyxpected! Lawler is in fits at his own jokes and again claims that what he is saying is gospel. He tells Cobra that he was only saved in their last match because Eddie Marlin sent another referee out and disqualified him. Dave Brown interjects and says it was because of that piledriver he used, but Lawler tells him if a man is prepared to step in the ring with him, he better be prepared to take anything he can dish out. This week he wants a no DQ match against Cobra with no time limit and no stopping the match. At this point Eddie Marlin comes out and says just because he wants it to be a no DQ match, doesn't mean that it's going to happen. The match is already signed, it's a straight wrestling match and there's no reason to change it. Lawler continues to argue for a no DQ match, but Marlin tells him that he doesn't have the pull here like he did in the CWA and as King Cobra is the World Heavyweight champion, it would be more reasonable to listen to what the champion wants, not the challenger. Cobra finally comes out and despite Lawler's best efforts to manipulate him into accepting a no DQ match, he doesn't have any luck and the original match stands.

 

Lawler is all kinds of awesome here. The tale about finding Cobra's parents does drag, but the pay off is more than worth it. Cobra is a dreadful promo and I have a hunch he's not up to much in the ring either. It's hard to understand him and he's not helped by talking when Dave Brown doesn't even have the mic on him! Fortunately both Lawler and Marlin (who is great here) are on hand to walk him through the segment. I was expecting Lawler to talk his way into the no DQ match so was surprised that wasn't the pay off (although both Marlin and Cobra give plausible reasons why they shouldn't agree to his wishes). As tremendous as this was, if it doesn't lead to a no DQ match the week after, I can't get the feeling out of my head that this was actually a pointless segment.

[dawho5]

Here is my dilemma after watching this. People can't watch Benoit matches because he murdered his family. I get that. But they can watch Lawler promos where he is flat out racist, which could be the truth of it, without batting an eye? I understand that racism is not murder. And I can separate performance and the human being behind the performance. It's just afterwards that I start wondering how much of what Lawler says is nonsense to get over as a heel and how much he actually agrees with.

 

All that said, he is absolutely brilliant here in the role he plays. Marlin and Brown do great as well, but they've both been in their respective roles long enough that it's no surprise. I suppose the reason Cobra was champ had a lot to do waith a. race-baiting by Lawler to get him over as a heel and b. not many guys are going to sit through that for the kind of money they would get in Memphis.

[Stiva]

Lawler kills it with a hilarious, albeit racist promo. It's always funny seeing Lawler swing for the crassest stereotypes possible in Memphis, while the black section of the audience laughs their head off. King Cobra, on the other hand is....not great though is probably perfect face-fodder for heel Lawler to work around.

[Wahoos Leg]

Lawler is in his element as a heel after such a long time as the Memphis good guy but this aged really poorly for me due to the racism, and I say that as someone who ranks Jim Duggan in a gorilla suit as one of the peak wrestling angles ever.