[1990-07-07-USWA-Memphis TV] Bill Dundee vs Dirty White Boy / Jerry Lawler, Bill Dundee & Eddie Gilbert

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

We get a quick clip from Mid South Coliseum of Dundee pinning Dirty White Boy, then getting attacked after the match by DWB and Kimberly. Tessa finally comes to the rescue and we have a catfight. Jerry Jarrett loved catfights in 1990, but these two are just not coordinated at all. A barefoot John Tatum gets involved and hits Dundee with his shoe and a superkick. Prelim guys try to make the save to no avail. Good beatdown that went a little too long.

 

Dundee then enters the studio for a promo. He has found a partner and wants him to come out. Instead, he gets Guy Coffey, which makes Lawler and Dundee crack jokes. Dundee's partner won't come out as long as Lawler is out there, so Lawler agrees to leave the area. And here we go - it's HOT STUFF EDDIE GILBERT! The story is that Dundee has offered him a ton of money to get in the ring, and Gilbert makes his heel turn pretty obvious, as he's completely money-motivated. He touches on the history with Tatum, and the heels run out to attack Dundee, while Gilbert stands by and does nothing. Gilbert isn't planning on helping him until Monday night because that wasn't part of what he was being paid for.

 

Great segment!

 

(Funny story: Eddie Gilbert got out of his WCW contract by telling Jim Herd he was injured, and that he would feel they would be well within their rights to release him, because he felt bad collecting a paycheck without being able to perform. Herd released him, and that's how he ended up here.)

[PeteF3]

A lot to digest here. Bill Dundee pins Tony Anthony in an MSC match but gets destroyed by Anthony, the Dirty White Girl, and John Tatum after the match. Kimberly lays in some pretty weak shots with a whip before getting run off to the back by Tessa in a catfight that isn't nearly as intense as the ones between Jeannie and Toni. Dundee is repeatedly spike piledriven in a beatdown that lasts longer than the announced time of the match.

 

Dundee and Tessa are out for a promo and I'm not a big fan of Dundee strutting around like nothing's happened. That's the kind of shit Cena got criticized for on Monday. His promo is pretty great, as he announces he's paid $5,000 to make a Deal with the Devil: "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert is back in Memphis. Gilbert is the "best friend that money can buy" and touches on his past history with Tatum from the UWF. Tessa actually gets mic time, but DWB and Kimberly come out for an attack. Dundee and Tessa get abused while Eddie Gilbert stands there. He was paid to wrestle on Monday night, not help in the studio or even team with Dundee on television. He generously offers to stand in Dundee's corner, because that's free.

 

Really great segment that gear-shifted multiple times in ways that only happen in Memphis. Intriguing tag match to come as Gilbert promised he wouldn't turn because of the payoff, and I actually believe him at least for this week.

[soup23]

I really liked the sequence in the studio. The clips from the MSC were fine but went on way too long. I like Bill and Lawlers interactions and Eddie Gilbert makes his glorious return. We even get a get bucked chant when DWB comes out.

[shoe]

I'm so glad they did the Gilbert turn so quickly. You could see it coming a mile away. Still this was a great segment and a lot of entertainment value.

[Kevin Ridge]

Right to the finish with Dundee get the win with a sunset flip. Dirty White Boy attacks Dundee after the match. Dirty White Girl whips Dundee. Tessa shows up and her and DWG roll around in the ring. Ladies disappear to the back and Tatum hits the ring. Superkick and spike piledriver puts Dundee down for good. Another Superkick. Dundee getting his assed beat. Joey Maggs and Rex King aren’t much help as they get attacked trying to help Dundee. One more spike piledriver before more wrestlers hit the ring.

 

Dundee and Tessa do an interview. Figured Dundee would be selling it a bit more. Nice jacket Superstar. Dundee has made a deal with the devil to find himself a partner. Lawler needs to leave studio area for Dundee’s partner to come out. And out comes Eddie Gilbert! He’s the best friend money can buy! Tessa has bad interview posture. Dirty White Boy and Girl rush the interview area. Gilbert doesn’t do a thing to help. Dundee is not happy with Eddie. Gilbert tries to explain that he only agreed to get physical in Monday night match as that was what he is getting paid for. Fun segment.

[garretta]

The beatdown went way too long without help, but really, who was there to help, except maybe Lawler? The Memphis babyface side can't possibly get much thinner, and that's with Lawler's turn all but official.

 

I like the back-and-forth between Lawler and Dundee here. You can tell that Bill really doesn't trust Lawler yet (and why would he?), but he's afraid to piss him off because he already has a feeling that he might need Lawler's help in case this Gilbert thing doesn't go well (it's obvious that something stinks from the second Dundee starts talking about deals with the devil).

 

Why is Bill not selling the beatdown? Probably because Tessa would be on her own if he wasn't there. Let's face it; anyone who was beaten as badly as he was should be in the hospital, but if he was gone, could you imagine her trying to lead this segment, even with Dave and the King's help? She can't even throw a decent punch in a catfight, for heaven's sake. Sometimes, the science of producing watchable television trumps kayfabe, like it or not.

 

I don't know which was better: Dundee calling Lawler "the devil's right hand man" or Lawler's "Oh my God, he'll kill him!" when he sees Guy Coffey come out and "mistakes" him for Dundee's surprise partner.

 

Eddie's just as sleazy as you'd expect. It's a nice nod to history that he refuses to come out while Lawler's at the announce table. I also like him referencing his past with Tatum, though it's doubtful how many people actually remember their feud in the UWF.

 

I don't think I've ever seen an angle where the surprise partner refuses to help the guy who's being attacked. Usually, they jump in with both feet in order to convince the fans that the partnership is solid, even if the fans can figure out based on past history that a turn's coming at some point.

 

It's not that Eddie needed Missy to be effective, but he certainly could have used her. I wonder what Turner promised her or what she was looking for from them that led her to stay when Eddie left.

[drew wardlaw]

Wow Eddie Gilbert not moving during the beat down was really cool. I've never seen that before and was really sleazy. He wasn't paid for that.

[GSR]

We join the footage right at the end of the match as Dundee pins the Dirty White Boy with a sunset flip. Anthony blindsides him immediately and the two of them continue to fight. The White Girl is out with a whip and Anthony holds ‘The Superstar’ down, and she repeatedly whips him until Tessa comes out to get at her. The woman fight amongst themselves and Tessa ends up chasing the White Girl to the back. John Tatum, in short shorts and slip on shoes, then jumps Dundee from behind and they double team him. He nails him with a shoe, a superkick and they also spike piledrive him. Ben Jordan, Joey Maggs and Rex King try to help Dundee but to no avail. Reverse neck breaker, another spike piledriver and finally the three of them are able to get in there and put a stop to this.

 

Back in the studio and Jerry Lawler is co-hosting with Dave Brown this week. Dundee and Tessa are out for an interview, and no neck brace and no sign whatsoever of selling the beat down from ‘The Superstar’. Lawler even comments that was the worst beating he’s ever seen anyone take, so again perplexing that he’s not selling it at all. Dundee says that sometimes in your life you do something that you don’t particularly want to do, and he’s just done that, spending an awful lot of money and making a deal with the devil. He went out and got himself a man that was as mean, as bad and as nasty as both John Tatum and the Dirty White Boy, but had to pay $5,000 to do so. Lawler interrupts and says for that kind of money he could’ve made a deal with ‘The King’ and then he wouldn’t have had to deal with the devil. Dundee then jokes, ‘listen to who’s talking? That’s the devil’s right hand man just there!’ He asks his partner to come out but no-one does, and they’re starting to wonder where he is when out walks Guy Coffey to laughter from the crowd and Lawler joking ‘he’ll kill them!’ Coffey says that as long as Jerry Lawler is out there his partner won’t come out, so ‘The King’ heads off to the back. His partner makes his entrance, and it’s ‘Hot Stuff’ Eddie Gilbert! He says to Dundee that he’s the best friend money can buy, he’s going to stand by his side, there’ll be no double crossing and he’ll be his friend for life with this money. He then tells John Tatum that he’s waited four years for this and it’s a reunion he can’t wait for, he’s going to let the air out of the Dirty White Boy so that he flies around that arena like a balloon on a mission, and for that amount of money he doesn’t mind slapping the Dirty White Girl around either! Dundee tells him that he doesn’t have to concern himself with the White Girl as Tessa will take care of her. As she starts to cut a promo, the Dirty White Boys and White Girl rush out. Tom Burton attacks Dundee and Tony Anthony grabs Tessa allowing Kim to slap her and rip open her top. All while this is going on Eddie Gilbert is just standing by doing nothing. Dundee wonders why, and Gilbert tells him that they made the deal for this week at the Coliseum, he said nothing about helping him on television. That’s overtime and bonus money, and if he wants his help on television he needs to pay him some more money. Dundee is exasperated but he's got a match coming up and Gilbert offers to stand in his corner for it, because that’s free!

 

After two spike piledrivers Dundee should’ve been hospitalized at the least, but too see him come out not selling the beating in the slightest and not even wearing a neck brace? The lack of continued selling of a move, a beating, an angle has been my biggest pet peeve of the stuff I’ve watched from the Yearbook. The beat down went on too long, although it is nice to see this feud transition from Dallas to Memphis. From their brief ‘catfight’ I’m not holding out much hope for the women, and this was not a patch on what Jeannie and Toni have been doing. The Dundee promo in the studio is probably the best thing I’ve seen him do so far on the set, and Eddie Gilbert was excellent, being all about the money and nothing else. If I were ‘The Superstar’ I’d cut ties with him immediately as I think we know how this one is going to end up!

[dawho5]

This is another in the great tradition of Memphis studio interactions. Some of my favorite things about American pro wrestling happen in this studio. Gilbert refusing to help was incredible.