Just like the existing promotions of today, each wrestling territory had its own flavor. I’ve always considered myself a lucky wrestling fan in that I can really find something to like in any style of the sport we love. Watching classic wrestling I can flip from show to show, promotion to promotion, style to style without a second thought. One area that has always stood out to me was Memphis. It was almost the perfect blend. You had great stars, a wild fanbase, hard-hitting wrestling and even a solid dose of what we would now call “sports entertainment.” Some of the content may not have held up as is the case in many other promotions, yet simultaneously a lot of the product was ahead of its time. I’ve also been very fortunate to have met many of the key players from the glory days of the promotion. Jerry Lawler, Jackie Fargo, Lance Russell, Jerry Jarrett. The list goes on and on. Now, if you want a true history lesson in Memphis wrestling you’ll take some advice that I’ve given before on this blog and head over to MarkJamesBooks.com. In addition to being a great guy (and Hall of Famer!), Mark is the absolute authority on Memphis and its many wrestling greats. In fact, he has co-authored many of their autobiographies!
Today we’re going more for some fun nostalgia than a history lesson. There were various types of programs published by the Memphis promotion over the years from the digest-sized “Slam-O-Gram” to the “Action Ringside” programs. It’s an example of the latter that we’re paging through here. On the Action Ringside covers you’ll often see one of the iconic names of the promotion in a black and white photo. On this example we have Jerry Lawler, Jimmy Valiant, Superstar Bill Dundee, Norvell Austin, Dennis Condrey and Phil Hickerson. The date? Nearly forty-five years ago on November 9, 1977. The location? Evansville, IN. Always the trooper, it appears that The King was doing double-duty in our huge Double Main Event. One match was slated to be Lawler and Dundee taking on Jimmy and Johnny Valiant while Lawler would also team with Norvell Austin to go against Phil Hickerson and Dennis Condrey. Midnight Express fans would take interest in the latter as the match features pioneering members of the team on opposing sides. The card was also set to feature The Great Mephisto against Scott Casey, Mr. Wrestling against Ken Dillenger and Terry Gordie against David Shultz. The spelling was a bit off but that last listed match obviously features Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy (at just sixteen years of age) against “Dr. D” David Schultz. If that was an opener you get the feeling that it did its job in getting the crowd going.
This is one of the thinner Memphis programs that I’ve come across. Really it’s a total of six pages if you include the front and back cover. Still, the promotion smartly used every bit of space on each page. Interestingly, the program only advertises and promotes the wrestling stars, shows and other inter-promotional interests. There aren’t any ads for local sponsors such as restaurants, retail stores or insurance agencies as you’d often see in other territorial programs. The Jarrett-Welch promotion wanted to promote one thing: wrestling. It certainly shows here. I’d definitely be interested in locating some of the materials from the Dundee-Lawler Fan Club that is advertised. If the quality of the membership card was anything like that of Jimmy Valiant’s (which is almost vinyl and still shines), there very well could be some sitting around in a dusty Tennessee attic. The other Samoan tag team of the ‘70s, Tio and Tapu, are shown here as well.
The next two pages are chalk full of photos and interesting bits. David “Shultz” is shown along with Mike Stark. The duo was said to be forming a team. Territorial wrestler Bill Howard is shown as “Ratamyas.” Most interesting is the half-page ad announcing that The Gentry’s would be “coming here soon” in concert with special guest Jerry Lawler. It isn’t truly clear if they’d be coming to Evansville or not, but we all know where this would end up. As prominently shown, Jimmy Hart was a member of the group best remembered for their hit “Keep On Dancin.” The rest is history. At nearly 80, Jimmy Hart is still one of the hardest working men in pro wrestling. He makes countless appearances and in addition to being one of the nicest people in the business always makes sure that fans walk away with a smile on their face. He’s gotten a huge kick out of the many Memphis items that I’ve brought to signings over the years. I could definitely do several entries just on “The Merchandise of The Mouth,” and in fact I already have. We finish off this section with the written word of “Kangaroo” Al Costello seemingly telling us that wrestlers are not bigoted. Costello managed the team of Condrey and Hickerson on this night.
We close the book with a photographic look at four “Fan Favorites” as the page proudly proclaims. Fresh-faced youngsters are featured, to be sure. We’ve got Scott Casey, Bill Dundee, Robert Gibson and our teenaged sensation Terry Gordie. Dundee, likely the oldest of the bunch here in his 30s, definitely looks to be channeling Elvis here as he often did, just months after the passing of “The King of Rock n’ Roll.” Robert Gibson, mustache and all, is definitely doing his best to be the number one heartthrob in the territory here, years before The Rock N’ Roll Express would be born in this exact promotion. Casey is mainly remembered for his work in Texas and his WWF run (highlighted by his 1988 Survivor Series appearance) but he’s missing his familiar mustache here. Perhaps Gibson borrowed it? Last but not least we have the man who would become a Freebird in a few years. Honestly, he looks like a thicker Bryan Danielson here! Terry Gordy was a young prodigy of the mat game, for sure.
It appears that Lawler and Dundee bested The Valiant Brothers that night while Lawler and Austin lost to Hickerson and Condrey. It also seems that Schultz did double duty just like Lawler and defeated both Scott Casey and Terry Gordy, individually. Finally, Mr. Wrestling beat Ken Dillenger. From anything that I could find it seems that this was indeed Tim Woods under the mask. You can never be too careful with identities in these “wild west” days of a notoriously carny industry. These results (and the substitution) are all what was noted by the original fan who owned this program, so it may not be spot on. Sounds like a fun show, though! Where do I buy my ticket?
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