Wrestling MarketWatch: Goin’ South!

We’re goin’ south! A little trip back to the southern wrestling territories and promotions, that is. It’s truly fascinating how something like professional wrestling could have different flavors wherever you went in the country or even the world. The presentation, the in-ring style and even the fans themselves could be as different as night and day from region to region. Even more interesting, and perhaps worthy of some sort of study, is how many wrestlers were able to adapt going from area to area. Even still, why did some flounder upon moving? Regardless, in this latest edition of MarketWatch we’re going to look at a few items from the southern wrestling territories. Grab your Diet Cheerwine and a drumstick from Bojangles, we’re headed for Dixie!

*While traces of the territorial system still exist and certainly independent promotions in some areas will differ from others, the wrestling landscape is largely a different animal nowadays. The last true territory in the eyes of many people was Jim Cornette’s Smoky Mountain Wrestling. From 1991 to 1995 the promotion used a mix of established stars and up-and-comers to reflect Cornette’s vision of what wrestling should be. To this day the shows and matches from SMW thrill fans, but there just wasn’t enough support at the time to keep it afloat. Not only does Corny need to make a return to public appearances, but why not give SMW another shot? I think we need another dose of quality southern wrestling. The very first SMW Ringside Report recently sold for $38.

*Another man who had his hand in not only the on-air portion of the product but also the behind-the-scenes aspect of southern wrestling was “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. You know that Dusty is one of the G.O.A.T.’s around this blog, so I won’t go into all of his accomplishments yet again. You also know of the beloved Mello Yello ad-campaign that Dusty helmed in a deal with Jim Crockett Promotions thanks to several blog entries and the great commercials on YouTube. The Mello Yello cans featuring the mugs of various NWA stars are highly collected to this day and not always the easiest to find. The aluminum masterpiece featuring The Dream himself recently sold for $60. I really miss Mello Yello Zero. Just sayin’.

*It’s sort of a trend that we’re featuring stars who were as prominent behind the scenes as they were on camera. Ole Anderson is another that fits the bill. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a million times more: for as much as it’s written that Ole is grumpy this and opinionated that, he was always great to me. Always willing to sign autographs, take photos and, especially, talk. The word is that his health has plummeted in recent years and I wish nothing but the best for him. Talk about real promos and a real wrestling style. Ole wrote the book on both. He also had the book for Georgia Championship Wrestling. The July 1980 Georgia Ringsider program, featuring a shot of an irate Ole being interviewed by Gordon Solie, recently sold for $27.

*If you’re talking the south, southern wrestling and southern boys you have to be talking Michael P.S. Hayes. Wrestling’s original bad boy and the leader of The Fabulous Freebirds. (What’s your excuse?) He was wrestling’s equivalent to a southern rocker, lived the life and even lived to tell about it. He also cut a record that has been prominently featured here on the blog many times over the years. When I see a photo that appeared here in the blog show up elsewhere, it’s usually because no one else has ever written much about a particular item. Well, my original shot of the “Off The Streets” album has appeared everywhere around the globe. Accompanying this paragraph is a new one, now complete with signatures, just ready to be shared and shared and shared. A sealed copy of this infamous album recently sold for $450.

*No discussion that includes southern wrestling and music is complete without “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart. The former member of The Gentry’s broke into wrestling largely because of his musical fame and found a way to bring all of his talents together. It’s hard to believe that in just a few months we’ll be celebrating the 80^th birthday of The Mouth! Even more amazing is that he’s still the hardest working man in wrestling. If you’re a fan of meeting wrestling legends and you still haven’t met Jimmy Hart, you just aren’t trying. This time we’re not looking at any of his records but rather a classic Memphis “Action Ringside” program featuring The Mouth looking very much in pain…in his Superman attire. A copy of this program recently sold for $40.

As always with our MarketWatch blog entries the prices shown are for unsigned examples despite the photos displaying otherwise. The old southern territories had a certain energy that lives on through great memorabilia like this. Like many of you in just a few days I plan on going south for the love of classic professional wrestling. It’s simply a different world and I love every second. A great southern wrestling fan, the late Peggy Lathan, once said to me, “Josh, you’re southern at heart.” I treasure those words even more than the items that you see here.