Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Happy Birthday, Jerry Lawler

he's one of my favorite performers in the ring. he turns 62 today. here's a clip of him in his prime, fending off five- count 'em, five- attackers at once, even after taking some punishment. pretty good, when even Road Warrior Hawk can't defeat three Horsemen by himself. this picture is of him as the "Unified" Champion, where he won the AWA and WCCW title belts.  that's something that will never happen again.

he's one of the best ring psychologists ever to be in the squared circle, and it's too bad that modern wrestling doesn't seem to pay attention to the past.  he knew when to be funny and when to be dramatic.

I don't recognize who all the heels are, other than Jimmy Hart. not really one of the First Family's better incarnations. perhaps they are not quite Horsemen level. can anyone ID them? it's loads of fun though, and this happened after Lawler's broken leg and subsequent face turn.

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7 comments:

  1. ChadNovember 29, 2011 at 12:08 PM

    Truly one of the greatest. I think Memphis survived as a territory until 97 largely because of Lawler. He has been part of so many memorable angles and matches over the years. His angle with Andy Kaufman and their confrontation on the Letterman show is the stuff of legend.

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  2. X7November 29, 2011 at 12:20 PM

    I agree. I thought about posting a video of Kaufman and Lawler, but that's all been done a lot. so I chose this one, thought it was fun.

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  3. C. ElamNovember 29, 2011 at 6:20 PM

    I have to wish the King a happy birthday, or he will throw a fireball at me!

    According to this article I am reading, those five "wrestlers" are the Turk, El Toro, the Bounty Hunters, and Jim Kent (manager). So I guess there's technically six if we count Jimmy Hart. And no, I don't know who anyone other than Hart is offhand. Might find an answer somewhere.

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  4. C. ElamNovember 29, 2011 at 6:40 PM

    Here is a recap with more of this sequence. The Bounty Hunters are Jerry and David Novak, not that I've seen them do any other gimmick.

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  5. X7November 29, 2011 at 7:09 PM

    well that does help out a bit, even if I still have no idea who most of those heels were.

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  6. ChadDecember 7, 2011 at 8:47 PM

    Jimmy Kent was the guy with the Mohawk. He was the kayfabe brother of Don Kent. He was a typical kayfabe cowboy at one point. The irony is he managed Jerry Lawler at one point.

    http://youtu.be/qffOGbnZi44

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  7. X7December 7, 2011 at 9:37 PM

    that is really awesome Chad. post more!

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