Memphis Wrestling

[ErictheDragon]

It's so sweet of Jimmy Hart to set up a fundraiser for Honky's medical bills. I'm sure the donations will be pouring in. 😉

Consider me ready for the clash between Bull and Madusa.

That's a loaded tournament whether or not Steiner holds onto his spot in it.

After an incredible 1990 USWA is ready to make a climatic Last Stand.

[spaldoni]

HTM is lucky to have such a caring manager like Jimmy Hart. Get well soon HTM 

A Lawler less Memphis will be very interesting. 

York and Wallstreet clear everything up and it looks like Nakano wants a piece of Medusa 

Austin gets back on the winning track while Medusa takes her frustrations out on poor Jimmy Hart. Hasn't the man suffered enough 

The fans in Nashville will get a great night of tournament action. We'll see who heads into 91 with the Southern title. Who knows, it might just be the cock of the walk Terry Taylor. 

Savage is ready for 91. 

Memphis might be upside down but that means we're in for more exciting times ahead. 

[kevinmcfl]

State Fairgrounds Arena

Nashville

December 17, 1990

This is the biggest night of the year in Nashville as they get to hold a one night tournament to crown the new Southern Heavyweight Champion as the title was vacated by Randy “Macho Man” Savage when he won the USWA World Heavyweight Title at Wrestlecade II.

Before we get into the tournament, we must first go back to this week’s tv show where Terry Taylor, who was left out of the tournament, was granted a shot by Scott Steiner to “win” his spot in the tournament if Taylor could beat Steiner in TV.  Steiner did this because he wanted to put Taylor in his place and was tired of Taylor’s arrogance and obnoxious behavior. 

As for this match, Taylor talked a good game but once he felt the power of Steiner, he lost some of that arrogance and played the frightened heel really well… or maybe he wasn’t playing as Steiner was showcasing some insane power moves.  Taylor did have some time on top as he was really good at the dirty tactics but in the end, Steiner goes over Taylor with a big powerbomb. 

Also coming out of this week’s tv show was that the suspension of Jerry “The King” Lawler had been lifted.  Lawler was suspended because of the fireball he tossed into the face of Honky Tonk Man.  Jimmy Hart was not happy about Lawler’s suspension being lifted as he claims that HTM is still weeks away from totally regaining his eye sight and Hart once again asked for money to be sent to help cover the medical bills of the HTM.

Just as Hart was not too happy this week, neither was Jerry Lawler.  Lawler was fuming about being left out of the Southern Heavyweight Tournament.  Lance tried to calm him down and did tell the King that Bill Apter said Lawler was definitely in the top 8 wrestlers in the USWA but that he did not include him due to the current suspension.

Jerry Jarrett came out to try and calm down Lawler but Lawler continued with his demands that he be in the tournament.  He told Jarrett that it was simple… take Tommy Rich out of the tournament and put Lawler in.  You heard some in-studio fans cheer this idea while others seemed upset.  While Lawler is the King of Memphis, Wildfire has been a good soldier since his return to the area and the fans are really behind him. Jarrett seemed unsure of what to do as he said the tournament was already set and it would be unfair to take Wildfire out.  Lawler, the one babyface that has not accepted Wildfire since his return, got on the fans a bit here and told them that Tommy Rich was nothing but a cheating, lowlife who has them all fooled.

This brought out Tommy Rich, who seemed as sick of Lawler as Lawler was of him.  Wildfire  didn’t seem to know what Lawler’s problem was but if he didn’t want to let bygones be bygones, they need to settle this in the ring once and for all and that Nashville was the perfect place. 

So, it was Tommy “Wildfire” Rich solving the problem for all… It would be the #8 seed, Tommy Rich wrestling the #9 seed Jerry “The King” Lawler in the first round of the tournament.  Lance wonders what’s been going on with Lawler lately.  First it was Lawler with the fireball and now it’s Lawler going after Tommy Rich for no reason at all.  Dave Brown wonders if it has anything to do with Randy Savage winning the world title from Bossman and not Jerry Lawler.

 

USWA SOUTHERN TITLE TOURNAMENT RULES:

-Single Elimination

-First two rounds have a 15-minute time limit

-Semifinals have a 30-minute time limit

Finals have no time limit

 

 

Round #1

Tommy “Wildfire” Rich vs Jerry “the King Lawler

The King has been the only one not buying Wildfire’s babyface return here in Memphis and it turned out the King was right!  This match started with a handshake offer from Wildfire that was turned down by the King but it ended with Wildfire tossing the referee from the ring and then nailing Lawler with multiple chair shots to the head.  Wildfire was disqualified but he left with a big smile on his face as it seems this has been something he has been waiting for since his return to Memphis.

 

 

Quarterfinals

Bossman vs Jerry “The King” Lawler

Lawler has had his recent struggles with Bossman over the past few months as these two former USWA World Champions have squared off on numerous occasions and this one was no different.  Lawler, with no time to recover after the chair shots by Wildfire, was still laying in the ring when Bossman walked down the aisle; all the disadvantages of being the #9 seed.  This match was easy pickings for the Bossman who simply came to the ring, nailed Lawer with a few big shoulder blocks before finishing him off with a sidewalk slam.  While the crowd had been wondering about Lawler’s behavior of late, the Wildfire turn had them right back 100% behind their King and you could tell they were really concerned about Lawler’s health. 

 

 

“Stunning” Steve Austin with Medusa vs Jeff Jarrett

These two faced off many times in recent months as they were both vying for the USWA World Television Title which at that point was held by Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert.  Their familiarity with each other and their in-ring talent made this possibly the best wrestling match of the tournament.  Both men did a great job of bumping and selling around the ring with multiply momentum changes in this fast-paced match.  The problem was that never man could finish the other off in the 15 minutes-  Time Limit Draw!

 

Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart vs Greg “the Hammer” Valentine with Jimmy Hart

To quote a former Dawn of War writer, GeneJackson, who I recently heard on a podcast about Memphis Wrestling, “only in Memphis would you see two guys face off against each other week after week following their big blow off match.”  Well, the Anvil and the Hammer just fought each other in a Memphis Street Fight at Wrestlecade where Anvil actually hit the Hammer with an anvil and now they are back at it again.  This time it was Jimmy Hart’s megaphone connecting with the Anvil which allowed Greg Valentine to hit a middle-rope knee drop to get the pinfall.  Valentine moves on!

 

 

Scott Steiner vs “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert with Missy Hyatt and Jimmy Hart

We have seen plenty of wrestlers in Memphis seem enamored with Missy Hyatt and her “assets” which has often been a bone of contention for Eddie Gilbert.  This time, it might be Missy who has eyes for someone else as she seems “real interested” in Scott Steiner.  Eddie does notice this and seems genuinely angry with Missy.  Jimmy Hart tries to get Eddie to focus but the damage may be done.  Scott Steiner is just different.  Rarely has there been this combination of skill and power and with Eddie’s mind elsewhere, he is doomed from the beginning.  The match goes less than 8 minutes with Steiner getting the win with a belly to belly suplex off the middle rope.  Even with her man lying on the ground, Missy does seem to watch Scott Steiner head up the aisle.

 

Semifinals: 

Bossman with a bye to the finals as a result of the Austin-Jarrett Time Limit Draw.

 

Scott Steiner vs “Greg “The Hammer” Valentine

This was a very hard-hitting bout but with different styles.  Steiner was looking for the power moves but Valentine was looking to wear down his larger opponent by taking him apart limb by limb.  The Hammer’s kicks, knees and elbow drops to Steiner’s right leg had him hobbling every time he tried to nail a big move.  Valentine almost had the submission win with the figure four but Steiner managed to drag himself to the ropes forcing the break.

In the end, Steiner managed a big powerbomb for the victory.  One thing for sure is that neither Steiner or Austin is entering the finals at 100%.

 

USWA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH

The Road Warriors © defeat The Assassin (Don Bass) and The Super Destroyer (Bill Irwin) with the Doomsday Device on The Assassin.

 

USWA Southern Title Tournament Finals:

Bossman vs Scott Steiner

Bossman comes to the ring first and he is all fired up as he is arguing with any fan that will fight back.  He gets the ring and immediately starts running the ropes as he is all amped up.  Steiner comes to the ring and is 100% focused. 

Bossman asks for the house mic before the match started…

Bossman:  Steiner… you don’t belong in this ring.  You are nothing but a second rate tag team wrestler.  You were living off your brother Rick and sense he got hurt, you’ve done nothing. Why don’t you save yourself a whole lot of pain and walk away now! 

Steiner simply nods his head at the bossman as the ref calls for the bell…

WHAM… Belly to Belly suplex as Scott Steiner tosses Bossman half way across the ring!

Lance Russell wonders if the Bossman now thinks that Scott Steiner belongs in this match.

Bossman to his knees which leads to a few big clubbing forearms by Steiner to Bossman’s back.  Steiner drapes Bossman over the bottom rope face first and does his best Bossman impersonation as he comes flying off the ropes and lands on Bossman’s back!  He is now riding him like a bronco, using the ropes to add to his momentum.  Steiner whips Bossman into the corner and comes flying after him….

WHAM…Bossman with both knees to the face of Steiner and Steiner flies backwards.

Bossman simply jumps on Steiner and starts throwing big right hands.  The ref is admonishing him to no avail.  The ref starts counting and verbally warning Bossman.  Finally, Bossman stops but only to scoop up Steiner for a big back to back suplex. 

Now it is Steiner in a world of hurt!

Bossman with the baseball slide and big right hand to Steiner’s face as he was now draped across the middle rope.

Bossman back in the ring… but he took a little to long and as he put one foot across the middle rope, Steiner grabbed the rope and starting lifting it violently between Bossman’s legs.  If you didn’t know it, it would be hard to tell by the wrestling if either of these two were babyfaces.  This was all out war.

Steiner now with a few kicks and punches before he hoists the 300-pound Bossman across the ring with another belly to belly!

What’s this… a wrestling move? Steiner locks in the Boston Crab and is really adding in some serious yanking on the chin of his opponent.  It looks like Bossman is going to snap in half but he won’t submit…. Steiner keeps yanking and yanking and adding in some big time torque!

The ref grabs Bossman’s arm and lifts it once… it falls to the ground.  Is Bossman completely knocked out from the pain?

The ref lifts Bossman’s arm and drops it again… it falls straight to the ground for a count of two.

The ref lifts the arm for the third time… he releases … and it falls straight to the ground for the count of three!

We have a new USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion!  Scott Steiner is celebrating as the ref hands him the title. 

From out of the back comes Rick Steiner who we have not seen since Halloween to celebrate with his brother.  Rick is still walking with the aid of crutches after the knee injury he survived against the Road Warriors that night.  The Steiner brothers embrace and head to the back as we see the Bossman struggling to get to his feet!

 

 

 

[ErictheDragon]

Well it looks like Lawler has been vindicated in his distrust of Rich. Personally though, i'mm looking forward to Tommy's response because Lawler was pushing him pretty hard. Still, an easy first round match for the Bossman.

Austin & Jarrett know each other a little too well.

Always nice to hear from Gene. Hart's interference pays off this time giving the Hammer some payback.

Scott with an impressive display in his first round match. Missy certainly thought so.

Steiner goes bck-to-back by putting down the Hammer.

Road Warriors run over the masked men.

One things that stands out as you research the Steiner Bros is how early promoters realized that Scott had it in him to be The Man. Jerry Jarrett agrees and December 1990 marks the beginning of the Steiner era.

[spaldoni]

I actually thought Rich was changing his ways. I guess Lawler was right all along. Thanks to Rich, Bossman gets an easy win. At least we're going to get more Lawler/Rich wars. 

Austin and Jarret go the limit in a show stealing match 

Valentine gets some revenge on Anvil 

After proving himself against Taylor, Steiner decimates Hot Stuff and gets the attention of Missy 

Valentine puts the hammer down but Steiner prevails

Road Warriors give the fans a good showing 

Great write up for the finals. Bossman and Steiner went at it! I loved that finish. Very believable and made total sense. Steiner's on a whole new level now. It'll be interesting to see what happens when Rick returns. 

Savage, Steiner, the Road Warriors. Memphis has some damn good champions. 

[LowBlowPodcast]

This was a really solid show and it felt like a true Memphis-style big night. The Lawler and Tommy Rich stuff carried the emotion of the card, and Rich turning heel paid off immediately by putting the crowd fully back behind Lawler. Scott Steiner came out of this looking like a made guy — beating Gilbert, Valentine, and Bossman in one night didn’t feel forced and really established him as a top player. The Austin–Jarrett time-limit draw worked because it made the tournament feel real, even if it clearly set that feud aside for later. The Missy distraction with Steiner was subtle and effective without becoming the focus. The finals were physical and believable, and the Boston Crab finish was a smart way to show Steiner isn’t just power