[1990-06-02-USWA-Championship Sports] Interview: Bill Dundee / Jerry Lawler promo

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

An extended Lawler/Dundee feud in 1990 with a few complete matches would have been the cherry on the cake on the feud of this set. Lawler says Dundee isn't even a has been, he's a never was who has never beaten anyone of importance, won any titles and that he's not championship material. Again, I hate that Lawler takes this approach. What's wrong with mentioning their (at this point) 13-year rivalry to enhance the match - and their history both as teammates and rivals? I don't put that all on Lawler, but it's missed opportunity.

 

Dundee's promo is actually better than Lawler's here. He tells him if he doesn't like coming to Dallas, to just stop coming to Dallas, but to leave the belt with him. He also gets over the Tatum feud nicely and teases an upcoming feud with Dirty White Boy. Dundee as a serious babyface works really well for me. This may be the best babyface promo I've ever seen from him.

[PeteF3]

Yeah, this is all of Lawler's worst instincts as a heel in one package. Bill Dundee is an insignificant speck who only Texas idiots could cheer for who's never won anything or accomplished anything and never will. SO WHY THE FUCK SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT THIS MATCH? I get the fact that the heel is supposed to be wrong, but unless you're going for a 1-2-3 Kid/Mikey Whipwreck type angle, both the babyface and heel at least need to be emotionally invested in the match.

 

Dundee gets over simultaneous issues with Lawler, Tatum, and Tony Anthony (managed by Ronnie P. Gossett--glad to see he's still getting work). "My heart isn't on my sleeve, it's in here, brother!" Very good stuff.

[soup23]

Agree that this showed more flaws with regards to Lawler than any other promo so far. Dundee does a really good babyface act and seemed to genuinely like squeezing and kissing Tessa.

[Kevin Ridge]

Dundee had a quite an evening last night against Lawler. Jerry thinks Dundee is a never has been. You sure have spent a good portion of your career feuding with someone who you consider a nobody.

 

Tessa doesn’t seem too comfortable with Dundee. Bill thinks fans will be behind him when he wins the title. Dundee thanks Tatum for him to getting to hook up with Tessa. Dundee calls out Dirty White Boy. Dundee is okay with anyone beating up their own lady but they can’t beat up his.

[Cox]

The order feels messed up here - didn't Dundee get the title match with Lawler already? Anyway, great stick work from two masters. Lawler seems to cut all of his pretaped promos in front of the same bathroom wall though.

[Cox]

Oh, and 6'4" Craig Johnson should never, ever interview Bill Dundee.

[garretta]

I guess Memphis and Dallas are really supposed to be two distinct universes that never, ever intersect, because Lawler treats Dundee like they haven't been joined at the hip for fifteen years or better. I get that showing the whole history of the feud would take more time than they've got on six months of shows, but at least say that they've fought all over the South (which they have, in a manner of speaking), and also been tag team partners and even World tag team champions. Without that history being acknowledged, Dundee becomes just another nobody within Lawler's universe, and the whole segment falls flat on its face. In no universe where both Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee exist should Dundee be more concerned with John Tatum than Lawler. Simple as that.

 

Were Dundee and Tessa a real-life item at any time? He seems an odd choice to play knight in shining armor out of nowhere.

[PeteF3]

Were Dundee and Tessa a real-life item at any time?

 

Yes, apparently.

[drew wardlaw]

Craig Johnson is the guy that replaced Marc Lowrence, correct? What a shabby replacement, and he totally dwarfs Bill Dundee. Doesn't even have the courtesy of a Tom Byron wide stance.

[GSR]

Bill Dundee and Tessa join Craig Johnson and he wants to talk to them about his match the other night with Jerry Lawler, but before he does they have some words from the Unified champion himself.

 

A taped Lawler promo and he says that Bill ‘Superstar’ Dundee is a name that insignificant low life insect pinned on himself to try and impress all these idiots. It may impress the people in this backward state of Texas, but it doesn’t impress him as he’s Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler. ‘The King’ isn’t a name that he just pulled out of the air, it’s a name he earned by knocking off every contender that ever got in front of him. Bill Dundee sat one night and thought about what he could do to try and make these people respect him? What he can do to pull the wool over their eyes, so they can’t see through him and realise what a wimp he really is. He doesn’t need a light to see through him, he knows exactly what he is, and that’s nothing! He’s never beaten anyone of any stature, he’s never won any title that has ever meant anything and most of all, he’s not championship material. Dundee couldn’t beat him if he came to the ring with a gun in one hip and a straight razor in the other. He’s the World Champion and Bill Dundee is struggling to get where he is, but while there is breath in his body he will make sure he never gets there.

 

Back to the Sportatorium and Johnson says how Dundee has a World title match against ‘The King’. Dundee jokes that Lawler must block out all of his losses as he never mentions them! It took a negotiations, but John Tatum did him a favour when he put that bounty on his head. Jerry Lawler came to collect it, but he never got the job done. What he did do was shoot his mouth off like he does every week about what he was going to do, but he did nothing and that makes him the number one contender. He tells Lawler that if he doesn’t like coming to Dallas don’t come, just bring that belt one more time, leave it here and they don’t have to look at him ever again. The bounty with Tatum is still outstanding and he then kisses Tessa telling Tatum that he’ll never get to do that again. He finally says that when he beats Lawler to become the World Champion, that will give him the right to choose his first opponent, and he picks Tony Anthony (who is managed by that Ronnie ‘Porky’ Gossett). Anthony is not going to put his hands on Tessa again, and he doesn’t like men that go around beating up their wives and there’s a lot of them out there! He thanks John Tatum, tells Jerry Lawler he’s going to beat him and says the Dirty White Boy is his next opponent, before laying a smacker on Tessa.

 

Lawler’s promo looked like it was taped the same time as the one where he was talking about bringing in The Inhuman to collect on John Tatum’s bounty. I don’t have any problem with Lawler running Dundee down, but saying that he’s never won any titles of importance when they are former AWA Tag Team champions together just doesn’t wash with me. Good promo from Dundee and he’s able to talk about three separate programs smoothly, while at the same time bringing them together.

[dawho5]

I was thinking that Craig should stay out of the shot with Dundee as well. He just looks so much bigger than Dundee. Lawler needs to give Dundee a little bit of credit, but he seems like he's a one-note guy in Dallas.