The 8-Ball 09.14.12: Top 8 Jerry Lawler Feuds

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the 8-Ball. I am your party host, Ryan Byers, and it’s time for yet another countdown column . . . because we know there aren’t nearly enough of those on the internet.

But, hey, at least we’re not the Bleacher Report, right?

Top 8 Jerry Lawler Feuds

This week, those of us who watched Monday Night Raw saw one of the worst possible things that we could see when watching a professional wrestling show. I don’t have to recount the story for anybody who is reading this now, but, for the sake of anybody who may be browsing the archives years from my original writing, here it goes:

Monday night, we saw the aftermath of beloved WWE commentator and pro wrestling legend Jerry Lawler being whisked from ringside and rushed out of the arena as the result of a massive heart attack. Fans were never entirely certain what happened throughout the close of the show, and, for some period of time, there was a very real fear that the King might not make it through the evening.

Fortunately, as of the time of this writing, things are looking up for Lawler. His vital signs have returned to normal, he is again speaking, and, perhaps most importantly, test results have indicated that he suffered no brain damage, despite the fact that the King was not breathing for several minutes.

Given that he’s not completely out of the woods and still has some recovery ahead of him, we here at the 8-Ball thought that there would be no better way to pay tribute to the King than to count down the top eight feuds of his lengthy in-ring career, which began literally forty-two years ago.

8. Vince McMahon

This is one of the more obscure entries on the list, but, in terms of a quality, intriguing feud, it has to make the cut even though its audience might not have been as large. The year was 1993, and the once vibrant Memphis wrestling territory had been converted into the USWA, essentially an independent level group with a few older stars like Lawler on the roster. The USWA entered into a working relationship with the World Wrestling Federation, and the result was quite a bit of WWF talent coming through Memphis, and, in time, it became a full-on war between the local heroes and the national stars. Who was the general for the WWF in that war? None other than Vincent Kennedy McMahon, who, in kayfabe terms at the time, was merely the “voice of the World Wrestling Federation.” Vince Jr. overtly played heel on screen for the first time in his career as part of this angle, and it was a heel role that was, in many ways, even more unsettling than the “Mr. McMahon” persona that he would adopt in late 1997. Vince seemed more unbalanced here, almost like a psychopath as opposed to the pompous jerk that he would later play. Though the majority of Vince’s feud with Lawler took place through pre-taped promos, he did make one live appearance at the Mid-South Coliseum, and the dynamic between the two, live or taped, was near-perfect.

7. Bret Hart

When Jerry Lawler first came to the World Wrestling Federation, primarily as a color commentator, there was some serious doubt as to whether he would flourish or whether he was brought in simply to be crushed and humiliated. After all, Lawler’s style of southern “rasslin” wasn’t exactly the style that the WWF promoted, and Vince McMahon had every reason to not particularly care for Lawler, given that he had sued the WWF several years before and actually won. However, what we got was the exactly opposite of what many people expected, as Lawler not only succeeded as an announcer in the Fed but also became one of the top heels in the promotion for a period of time by virtue of his feud with Bret “The Hitman” Hart. The rivalry began as a result of the King burying the Hitman and his family with some delightfully brilliant barbs on commentary, and it continued with an excellent beatdown after the 1993 King of the Ring tournament, turning into an uncharacteristically well-booked, long term story between the two men that is still remembered fondly by fans of the era. In fact, I would go as far as saying it’s not just one of Lawler’s best career feuds . . . I would say that it’s one of Hart’s best career feuds as well.

6. Randy Savage

The feud between Randy Savage and Jerry Lawler began as a real-life rivalry which spilled over into the world of kayfabe. As most of you know, in the 1970s and 1980s, the Memphis wrestling territory was controlled by Lawler and partner Jerry Jarrett, who were ridiculously successful in their local market. It wasn’t long, though, before they were challenged by a rival, outlaw promotion, called ICW. ICW was owned and operated by legendary wrestler Angelo Poffo, and the top two stars were his children, Randy Savage and Lanny Poffo. The Poffos took extreme measures to take the wind out of their competition, including challenging the Lawler-Jarrett wrestlers to legitimate fights and giving out their real names and other personal information on the air. There was plenty of bad blood, but, instead of it culminating in fisticuffs as you may have expected, it instead ended when the Poffo’s group went out of business and the worthwhile parts of their roster were essentially absorbed by Jarrett and company. This began a kayfabe rivalry between the Poffos and the Memphis wrestlers, famous in part for Randy Savage piledriving Ricky Morton through a table but famous even moreso for Savage and the King going mano-a-mano in a series of matches, including the brutal steel cage.

5. Terry Funk

MY EYE!
MY EYE!
MY EYE!
MY EYE!
MY EYE!

4. Jackie Fargo

This is pretty much where it all began for Jerry Lawler. Before he was the King of Memphis wrestling, he was a fan of Memphis wrestling, drawing caricatures of his favorite wrestlers and submitting them to the promotion to get whatever freebies that he could. One of Lawler’s favorites was none other than Jackie Fargo, who was a major star nationally in the 1950s, though, by the time the 1970s rolled around, he was a regional champion in Tennessee, albeit an incredibly popular regional champion. When Jerry Lawler made his debut as a wrestler in the early 1970s, it was not that much longer before his was directly involved with Fargo, sometimes teaming with him and sometimes engaged in a bitter rivalry with him. In fact, this was the origin of Jerry’s royal moniker, as Fargo was so popular that he was recognized as a king in his own right. But, thanks to a huge match between the legend Jackie and the upstart Jerry, Fargo’s title of “king” was on the line, and Lawler managed to upset him for it, giving him the nickname that he would use for the next four decades. If for no other reason, creating such an integral part of Lawler’s persona means that this rivalry belongs on our countdown.

3. Bill Dundee

There are two major reasons that this feud makes the list: 1) It has insane longevity. Lawler and Dundee had their first matches with one another in the 1970s and have had matches with each other as recently as the 2010s and 2) Hair vs. Hair. By the time that Dundee arrived in Memphis and established himself as a fan favorite, Lawler had been around for several years after besting Jackie Fargo and was one of the most hated men south of the Mason-Dixon line. The two wrestlers were on a collision course and it looked like, after numerous other babyfaces had tried and failed, Dundee was finally the man who came along and had Lawler’s number. He took the majority of the victories in the feud until, in a last ditch effort to get revenge, the King decided to put his hair on the line. Then, out of nowhere, despite the fact that Superstar Dundee had been dominant for months, Lawler managed to pull off the victory and shave away the well-groomed coif of his diminutive Australian rival. In a rematch, Dundee took things a step further by putting his WIFE’S hair on the line and, despite the stipulation that seemingly made a Superstar win a certainty, Lawler walked out of the arena with the “W,” and Ms. Dundee’s hair fell to the mat at the end of the evening. The heat for Lawler taking both Dudnees’ hair was insane, and it set the foundation for a rivalry that would literally continue for over a quarter of a century.

2. Jimmy Hart

In a way, putting Jimmy Hart on this list feels like cheating, because Hart vs. Lawler really wasn’t a standalone feud. Really, Jimmy Hart instead served as the common thread through which numerous matches that Lawler had with individual wrestlers were tied together into a neat package. Of course, the King and the Mouth of the South weren’t always rivals. Hart used to manage Lawler in the King’s more villainous days until a broken leg took Jerry out of action for a year. Jimmy almost immediately turned on his charge, calling him worthless due to his injury and picking up other men to join his stable. Cue Lawler’s return one year later, and cue the kickoff of an intense battle between the King and any hired goon that Hart could get his hands on, which included some fairly prolific names, such as former world heavyweight champions Dory and Terry Funk and men like Rick Rude, King Kong Bundy, Jim Neidhart, and even Hulk Hogan before they were major stars on a national level. If you ask Memphis wrestling fans what feud defined Jerry Lawler’s career for them, they’re most likely going to say Jimmy Hart.

Wait a minute . . . if Jimmy Hart is the Lawler rival that would define the King’s career in Memphis, why isn’t he number one? Read on . . .

1. Andy Kaufman

Though Jimmy Hart may have been the feud that defined Jerry Lawler’s career in Memphis, if there is one feud that defines Lawler’s career on a national level, it is his issue with stand-up comedian and Hollywood actor Andy Kaufman. Kaufman initially approached the World Wide Wrestling Federation about participating in the sport, which he had long been a fan of, but the powers that be in the northeast rejected the idea, leaving none other than magazine editor Bill Apter to make the connection between Kaufman and Lawler, and the rest was history. The King and the clown made headlines from coast to coast, turning Lawler from a regional star into an individual that had a certain degree of mainstream recognition. Of particular note is the confrontation between Lawler and Kaufman on Late Night with David Letterman which has consistently ranked among the most memorable moments in the entire history of broadcast television by publications like TV Guide. In fact, the feud was so memorable that it formed a large part of the plot of the Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon. Wrestling storylines that are so popular they become movies are few and far between, meaning there’s no way that Jerry vs. Andy could not have topped this list.

That’s it for this week’s 8-Ball. If you can’t get enough of Ryan, follow him on Twitter here.