[1990-12-29-USWA-Memphis TV] Jerry Lawler & Bam Bam Bigelow vs Eddie Gilbert & Austin Idol

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Lawler is participating in a cash giveaway for a fan when Gilbert and Austin Idol jump him. Bam Bam Bigelow finally make the save and we have ourselves either a scheduled match or impromptu brawl. I can't really tell. Highlights of the match, which looks good, but not as good as some of the Gilbert/Dirty White Boy tags from earlier in the year. The call back to the ringpost crotch spot from the Lawler vs Rich/Idol feud in '87 is a nice touch. The match falls apart when Idol accidentally slugs the ref, then decides to do it again. Wrestlers swarm the ring in an attempt to restore order. They booked this to be chaotic, but the match appears to have been worked at half-speed, if the clips are any indication.

[PeteF3]

Really fun brawl with Bigelow looking pretty good in the clips that we see. Bigelow rescues Lawler from a ringpost-crotching that's both a nice nod to history and a well-done feat of strength spot for Bam Bam. Idol slugs Jerry Calhoun and the match gets thrown out, and wrestlers swarm the ring to try to break things up. Blink and you'll miss the Yearbook debut of Brian Christopher, working as 1/2 of the underneath babyface tag team the New Kids.

[Kevin Ridge]

Some type of raffle prize where Lawler’s pulls a fans name out of a box to win $100. Gilbert and Idol attack looking to collect the bounty. Bigelow saves Lawler from further beating. Tag match. Those referees in Memphis sure do get beat up. Black Magic just seems to be standing around in the ring in the post match brawl.

[soup23]

Action and brawl were ok but it did look like everyone ate too much food at Christmas and was going slow. I have no idea how long Bam Bam stuck around but him and the Fabs are some fresh faces for 1991.

[garretta]

What we saw wasn't a scheduled match. There had been a match between the two teams earlier in the night, but this was a Gilbert/Idol sneak attack following a battle royal victory by Lawler. That's why Lawler could piledrive Eddie with no consequences. That's also why this looks slow; these four guys had worked a regular tag match plus a battle royal and now were doing this brawl to (presumably) end the evening, which meant that they were working three times in one night. Calhoun adds to the confusion by trying to count a pin on Lawler.

 

Actually, this was a smart way to promote the bounty angle, as Eddie and Idol come across as so desperate to collect the money that they'll attack Lawler even when he's waiting to give a fan the money she won in the Christmas raffle, thus potentially endangering said fan. I noticed that the lady never came to the ring, so either she was somewhere else in the building (ladies' room, concession stand), or they somehow managed to tell her not to go to the ring when her name was called without breaking kayfabe, though how they could possibly manage that I have no idea. I hope she got her money somehow.

 

I agree that the teased crotching of Lawler was a nice callback to one of the most infamous moments in Memphis history. Unfortunately, the idiot announcers totally undersold it. One of them even said something to the effect of, "They're looking to give (Lawler) a career-ending injury that'll put him out of action for a while." Honest to God, where do they find these announcers for the MSC cards? On the eighties set, we either had Lance Russell, who was one of if not the best in the business, or Randy Hales, who was very good once you got past his rather thick accent. Now, it sounds like a couple of public access employees or college students from Memphis University calling the matches. Either tell these guys to show some fire or bring on Corey Maclin.

 

Could anyone tell if Brian was the New Kid whom Lawler hit in the brawl? I can just hear Jerry on the ride home: "Oh, gee, sorry, son. I thought you were Eddie Gilbert!"

[dawho5]

Fun little segment and I'm glad that lucky fan didn't get to the ring before Idol and Gilbert. Memphis roster must have been thin to have Lawler, Idol, Gilbert and Bam Bam do triple duty.