[1991-06-29-USWA-Memphis TV] Jerry Lawler vs Ta-Gar, Lord of the Volcanoes

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Zenjo]

I was worried about how a non-corporeal entity such as Ta-Gar was going to have a wrestling match. Fortunately he was able to assume a physical form for this contest. Jerry Lawler banishes him back to the Volcano in fairly short order.

 

Don't worry monster fans, there is more to come in the yearbook.

[Loss]

I cracked up at Michael St. John saying that Ta-Gar's gloves are probably loaded with weights. I think this segment really sums up everything great about Memphis wrestling. The entire idea of a guy wearing a costume like this in a legitimate athletic contest is completely and totally bogus, but the announcers treat it respectfully. This is a bunch of no-selling from Ta-Gar while Lawler finds ways to sneak in some cheating and do what he has to do to get a win. Embry tries to immediately run in after the match and eats a right hand. Fun.

[PeteF3]

Judging by the ALL CAPS SPELLING of his name on the graphics Ta-Gar's true identity may be that of a lost Michinoku Pro worker or Ultimo Dragon trainee. I question the looseness of the USWA rulebook allowing Ta-Gar to wrestle in a plastic metal faceplate. This is all about Lawler trying to find ways around the mask, even busting out an enzuigiri. Lawler boots Ta-Gar in the groin and then rolls him for the pin. Embry tries a sneak attack afterward but Lawler is ready with a punch, sending Embry over the top rope in a bump borrowed from Lawler's repertoire. This was better and more logical than any Oz match ever.

[Kevin Ridge]

Yeah, the announcers trying to legitimize Ta-Gar is funny. St. John thinks it is hard to wrestle Ta-Gar as you can’t see his eyes. Ta-Gar may be an alien but feels the same effects of a low blow.

[shoe]

This didn't do much for me. Even when the announcers are calling it as a shoot. It was too absurd for me.

[soup23]

A match that had to be on for yearbook consideration but must be taken in the right frame of mind to be enjoyed. As a piece of wrestlecrap, this was pretty top end stuff with a Volcano wrestling and Dave Brown and Michael St. John treating it like a true main event.

[garretta]

They actually manage to craft a pretty good story out of Lawler wrestling a man literally risen from the ashes, which is a miracle. Dave and Michael manage to keep straight faces while doing it, even incorporating some nifty psychology around Ta-Gar's headgear and mask; that's miracle number two. And Lawler manages to look somewhat vulnerable while dominating the match on offense; that's miracle number three. I wouldn't go so far as to say that this was in Lawler's top ten as far as studio performances goes, but it may be his most unexpectedly good. He even has enough left to knock an interfering Embry from the ring with one shot. (By the way, I thought Ta-Gar was a cohort of Embry's, so why was Embry not at ringside? It would have made the run-in easier, if nothing else.)

 

Who played Ta-Gar here? I'm guessing it had to be a Memphis regular, since trying to explain the gimmick to an outsider would almost certainly have been more trouble than it was worth.

[dawho5]

For all of the bad things that could have happened here, they managed to pull this off surprisingly well. Maybe part of Lawler's charm is booking himself into seemingly impossible matches to pull off and managing to make them work.