Memphis Wrestling: The most HEATED TV angle in history! 1

[volstar8]

Jarrett dumped the paint on Tojo, so the beating was well deserved.

[marathonriverrat]

Although this is a great angle in my own opinion the Lawler Dundee feud had way more heat. For the simple fact Dundee was a heat seeking missle during the whole feud.

[DirtyDutchster]

Needs more SHOEBABY!

[joeymcnew37209]

Lance Russell, Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross on WWE!

[joeymcnew37209]

Lance Russell to the WWE with Jerry Lawler!

[bedbugzz1]

great!

[MissDeeCole]

Good heat, crazy heat. Not the most heated in the history of Memphis let alone wrestling.

[drgonzo767]

Haha Tojo and throwing salt into the eyes, classic! I used to watch this with my grandma, she lived through WWII and always got so worked up about Tojo, calling him a "goddamn Jap bastard" lol.

[kilroy238]

One of my chief regrets from childhood is never taking the time to write and get my free tickets to see WMC-TV Saturday morning wrestling.

[arkansoul]

@kilroy238 Mine too!!! I always said me and my brothers would go and we never did...damn...

[yourtunesfuckinsuck]

"COME ON, TOJO" at 2:39 is too funny.

[lizardman77]

Eddie Marlin could turn red faster than any human alive.

[GoblinGirl]

@lizardman77 Every clip I've seen of Eddie he's always getting the crap kicked out of him (and he's always bleeding). And he was the promoter, right? If I was the promoter, I wouldn't have myself get beaten down every night.

[lizardman77]

@GoblinGirl Yeah he was the promoter, but he used to be a wrestler. He loved getting beaten up, I imagine it kept him younger...lol.

[kilroy238]

@GoblinGirl Just shows dedication to putting on a good show. He came out a lot though where Eddie didn't get attacked.

[Stereolabdream]

"evwybory say we sneaky jap...where jewwy jawett...I'm gornna beat his back like a dog...where his wetarded son...I'm a gonna tell you...I beat his back like a dirty dog...

CLASSIC.

Notive the guy trying to stop himself laughing from 0:48 onwards...

[mrbluto3]

Tojo was one of JJ trainers.

[ExtremeChris300]

Was Mr.Fugi inspired by Tojo Yamamoto? Because they both seemed to had the same styles of managing.

[bgshort99]

lance russell stoled the show here..

[kevindionstevens]

thiS was GREAT!

[clusterfocked]

Lance Russell totally sold this. What a great job. I envy all the fans that got to see Memphis Wrestling on TV at the time.

[roadgeek09]

@clusterfocked  It was totally awesome, much better than what you get today.

[piercdbruh]

Tojo swung a mean stic k for an old man! This was HEAT at it's best.

[wsjiii]

Absolutely phenomenal! btw, where was Dave Brown the whole time, under the desk? lol.

[arkansoul]

Does anybody even throw salt nowadays?

[finisher3x]

LMAO . . . Tojo is the shyt.

"Now I'm gonna beat . . . his fatha, you understand? Where is Jerry Jarrett? Where is the coward Jerry Jarrett?"

hahahahaha

He was beating the hell out of Jeff Jarrett with that kendo stick. I never missed Memphis wrestling growing up.

LMAO @ Lance talking about Tojo . . "you're a disgrace to your people"

The best wrestling actors were definitely in that Memphis promotion back in the 70s and 80s.

Tojo was the dude though.

[arkansoul]

@finisher3x Memphis Wrestling was THE SHIIIIIT!!! Did you hear how Tojo's voice sounded after beating Jeff Jarrett? He beat Jeff til he stopped moving. I never missed a Saturday of rasslin' back in those days either.

[A7235555]

BONZAAAAIIIIIIIIII!

LOL

[tnadrg1982]

did tojo say he was going to eat jeff and jerry jarrett?

[cratenerd]

Memphis Wrestling was the Saturday morning ritual at my grandmother's house. Anybody remember Brickhouse Brown or Rough And Ready?......oh and Koko B. Ware.

[soln4suhreborn]

Memphis and Mid South were so live back in the days-I LOVED IT!!

[soln4suhreborn]

I used to laugh every time Tojo Yamamoto opened his mouth!!

He really knew how to get the Memphis crowd in an uproar!

[sammyreed]

How come Tojo didn't think to dip the belt in the paint on the floor, so he could give Jeff yellow stripes?

[buck2239]

Man Memphis always created the best emotion! I got upset just watching it. Now I wanna see them get their butts kicked. Lance did his part and sold this really well. Agreed Lance is most underrated announcer.

[stevieray1967]

Lance Russell catch phrases....

1) What in the Sam Hill is going on here?

2) Can we get some help out here?

3) If we're gonna get it in, we better get it on!

4) Hello everybody....this is Lance Russell and Dave Brown right along ringside with another BIG week of Championship Wrestling!

5) Aw...C'mon Jerry!

6) Tuesday night....at the Gardens......Be there!

[ddrock23]

Here's some more to add to that list:

1) Stop that stuff...we dont need any fighting here in the studio!

2) And the main event partna, Mon night which is the worth the price of admission itself

3) Katy bar the door!

4) Belltime...and here we go!

5) Son of a gun

6) And one of my favorites...Ok now c'mon (insert name of any heel here) we have a show to do now you guys take it on outta here!

[IceColdWater]

A few more....

1) Ooooooook (usually directed at Jimmy Hart)

2) Ring the bell Daveyyyy.......

3) Now you talk about a SCRAP....boy I'll tell you.....

4) We'll take time out and be back with more action

5) For Dave Brown, Lance Russell sayin....Bye Bye everybody

[seawind0721]

@stevieray1967 You must be from Louisville!

[arkansoul]

I get a kick out of this every time I see this clip. Jeff Jarrett deserved that beat down.

[zisoul]

I really dig MEMPHIS WRESTLING and I

always liked how LANCE RUSSELL doing

the anouncing.But his play calling of this

could ve' been a little bit better than this.

Maybe he had something on his mind

when this was happening.

[kirkwanglers32]

Tojo set up i feel.

Pro wrestling is a phewrsard.

[magnumshifter]

Everybody say we sneaky jap.

[IKEEICHOLTZ]

Lance Russell = Great!

Greatly Underrated.

[arkansoul]

And listen to how the crowd of 50 holler as Jeff takes a real Memphis style ass whoopin'...

[arkansoul]

Listen to how Tojo sounds after beating Jeff Jarrett. I cried laughing when I saw this live. Classic Memphis Wrestling. No other promotion compares...

[Fruth37]

Wonderful angle and well acted out. Eddie ripping his shirt off and exposing that flabby body is classic. Lance is the calm in the storm. But didn't Jeff start all this trouble? Lance threatening to sue Tojo. WWII was over 40 years during the time of this taping. Salt in the eyes! LOL

[steved8878]

Classic. I'd forgotten all about that feud. Lance Russell was everybody's unofficial grandpa. I loved how he would scold folks.  Best example of that is when he was trying to break up Andy Kaufman and Jimmy Heart. And, I LOVED his play-by-play.

[barthunt1]

Tojo and the powder..... Classic!!!!!

[ddrock23]

He called them without any dumb ass gimmicky cathphrases like.."VINTAGE JERRY LAWLER!" or "THE MEMPHIS UNIVERSE IS CHEERING FOR LAWLER TO PULL THE STRAP DOWN!"

[RPenta]

Given how Lance Russell called the matches, I always thought that he DID have his eyes closed; I know that my eyes closed soon after I heard his voice. But in those days, I was a WWE/AWA fan anyway so I minimized my exposure to him. Whatever role Okerlund and Heenan fulfilled on the commentary team, they had one thing Russell did not have: talent as a broadcaster. Have a nice day. PS Actually I agree wth you on Jim Ross and fatso Gorilla Monsoon;

[ddrock23]

Ole Anderson? I'm not asking him a damn thing. He thinks Flair is overrated mainly because of his jealousy towards Flair. Solie was given the name "The Dean of Wrestling Announcers" not by himself, but by the industry. So the industry also disagrees with you and Mr. Ole. And dont get me wrong, Im a huge fan of The Brain. I love Heenan. Heenan was the for the comedy only and to put over the heel wrestlers. Lance just called the damn matches like they were suppose to be called.

[RPenta]

It is nostalgic to look back at these videos and realize that Lance Russell was even worse than I remember him being--he has to rank among the most lackluster and untalented announcers in history--Okerlund and Heenan had him beat any day of the week--and even though I have mixed feelings about him since he was such a McMahon stooge--Monsoon was way better as well.

[ddrock23]

Lance Russell, Jim Ross, Gordon Solie, and Monsoon=THE BEST PLAY BY PLAY MEN EVER!!!!!!!!! Lance could call a match with his eyes closed buddy. Okerlund and Heenan were not play by play commentators. Thats a stupid comparison that makes zero sense.

[RPenta]

I don't think Solie was as good as they were--ask Olie Anderson; Stagger Lee Marshall was good too.

[bmeister316]

And you're a dumb Vince mark. Solie was the best!!

[bmeister316]

WWE mark!!!

[RPenta]

Don't ever call me a WWE mark; I am a joshi fan myself, furthest thing from a mark there is WWE or otherwise; I am sorry I interrupted you; please return to watching the "Smokey and the Bandit" marathon down at the "Dew Drop In".

However, I will say that Solie was probably better than I gave him credit; still don't get grandpa Lance.

[natebgraham]

get fired up big daddy lance

[lorinrtard]

fuuuunnnyyy

[86lenny]

Lance Russell is the greatest ! Just the best !

Also, is there any doubt that Memphis was the birthplace of hardcore wrestling in America ?

[manzi71]

I always thought Jeff Jarrett was retarted but tojo confirmed it!

[sdwhitt]

Lance Russell made this angle if it wasn't for him, it would have been alright. Next to Lawler he is arguably the most important figure in Memphis wrestling history.

[Pistoldtown]

NOBODY could carry an interview and host a show like Lance Russell. I forgot where I read it, but someone alluded to him being like Kermit the Frog- trying to run a smooth TV show, if it wasn't for all these crazy Muppets. He plays that role so well.

[tngerman]

Used to watch Tojo and Gypsy Joe wrestle @ national Guard Armory in Clarksville Tn

[kirkwanglers32]

An Angles.

[1steve726]

lol sneaky Japs try that one today

[amishashaman]

Memphis Wrestling in the 70's and early 80's is still the best I've ever seen. ICW and Mid-South had some stuff that came close, but there is nothing like classic Memphis Wrestling. Just about everyone who was anyone at that time made a stop in Memphis at some point.

[deanw0rmer]

i almst forgot about this.... yeah this had some major heat

[kes1963]

was eddie marlin jeff jarrett's grandfather?

[okrabay]

i think by law.

[ddrock23]

Ahh yes Memphis wrestling..nobody could do angles, brawls, and interviews like Memphis

[ed2kou1]

Do you have the one, where downtown Bruno wore a diaper.

[arkansoul]

Tojo was no punk!!!

[arkansoul]

Memphis Wrestling set the trend for studio brawls. During this time, Memphis was the only promotion that had the balls to have a fighting promoter. No other promotion in the history of professional wrestling compared. We didn't have the bright lights like the parasitic, copycat WWF. We made wrestling in Memphis.

[PWeesux1023]

Good stuff. I do believe though there were many "fighting" promoters still left during this time.

[DAMNMorpheus]

The Chosen One for life.

[memphistenn90]

Banzaii!!!!!  LOL

[sweetdynomite21]

I watched this live every Saturday morning in Memphis, TN Channel 5. Eddie Marlin & Jerry Jarrett (Jeff Jarrett's Pops) put on helluva shows back then. By the way, this is REAL. Look at all the bruises on Jarrett's back. Tojo was a legend(RIP) Watch all of the Memphis wrestling flick if you wanna see real wrestling entertainment.

[mysteriowc]

Same here! I watched every Sat morning in Louisville KY and then went to Lou Gardens Tuesday night! I loved them!

[soln4suhreborn]

Memphis Wrestling was the only other wrestling other than Mid South that was super raw. Georgia,Mid Atlantic and St. Louis came close,but Memphis and Mid South were the BEST!

[1steve726]

sneaky Japs lol try that one today in this politically correct society

[ddrock23]

Its amazing how wrestling now and back then is so different. Every back then looked real and believable and made want to tune in next week. But now todays wrestlers cant cut it and its not all their faults, it's the crappy material that they are being presented with!

[songoku350]

This is when you didn't need catch phrases and kilos of steroids to be a wrestler and have imagination and logic to create a great angle. Wrestling today pretty much sucks.

[zackskyler]

Memphis...the original

[SandyKrebs]

Gordon Solie and Lance Russell were the 2 greatest wrestling announcers in history, bar none!

[ptonio3000]

Jim Ross wasn't too bad either! ;)

[TheRealMooke]

Ah Tarzan Goto of FMW IWA Japan & the Orient Express (Sato & Tanaka.) Classic stuff.

[ECOOL76]

STELLAR Even to this day this had me mesmerized. Memphis Wrestling is number one!!!!!!!

[cja2k8]

The classic Memphis line: "Boy Im tellin ya".

Tojo beat the breaks off Jeff.What year is this? I'm gonna guess 86-88?

[mrcoffey1972]

when are you going to post part 2?

[phatalbert73]

I have waited 20+ years to see this classic angle again!!! Thank You!!!!

[volstar88]

That looked like a pretty stiff beating that Tojo put on Jarrett. I have heard Tojo was the guy they used to break in the new wrestlers. He would really be stiff with them but it was a good way to seperate the wheat from the chaff. If you came back after a "match" with Tojo you were probably tough enough to stay around.

[appalachianporky]

OMG !!!!!!!!! LOL did you hear yamamoto at 6:21 / 22??? he said straight up, "where the FUCK is he?" LOLOLOLOL gotta love live memphis tv back in the day.

[ECOOL76]

HAHA He did say fuck! RIP TOJO

[appalachianporky]

lance russell is great.  notice how from beginning to end he just keeps pushing the storyline and the characters. he doesn't try to infuse himself into the bit. lance is a good talent.

[GoblinGirl]

@appalachianporky Lance really sells it, no tongue in cheek, total sincerity.

[DocFarnoff]

Great stuff GShea! I hope you keep posting!

[Cobra37061]

Has anyone ever noticed that only the Japanese wrestlers that wrestle in the United States throw salt, but not the ones that wrestle in Japan?

GShea, thanks for all of the great clips that I thought I'd never see again. I remember watching this episode on TV back when I was like 13.

[mrcoffey1972]

LOVE IT!!!!

[maddogwrestlingfan]

Wow, They sure as hell don't make rasslin like that any more... Too f'n bad for us fans...... This is a fantastic video package, Thanks for posting them both....

[lawlersarmy]

RIP Tojo - one of the greatest heels and, pound for pound, greatest wrestlers of all time.Definite HOF'er.

[dandbradley]

Textbook Memphis.

I think I was there for the show at the fairgrounds that week. Didn't make it to mid-south.