I've been thinking, which admittedly is dangerous. What I've been thinking is what I love about wrestling. You see after the 4-19 Raw and what I refer to as the MacGruber Incident I have been on a lot of tirades, and before that TNA took major rant hits. I decided I needed to de-rant this week and reflect on something I have unconditional sentiment for : the wrestling shows of my youth. I have been a wrestling fan my entire life. That is not just an expression either, as some of my earliest memories involve watching the sport (then it was still considered a sport). I have often heard stories of how as an infant I would stop crying only when wrestling came on, ironically, some of today's story line induce tears from me. I was born in 1974 which was smack in the middle of the territory era, which meant each region of the country had their own separate promotion to watch. Since I grew up in western Ky. my territory was Contintinental Wrestling Association aka Mid-Southern later to be known as USWA, but more commonly refered to by it's base city Memphis. The territory always ran a Monday show at the Mid-South Coliseum and then in a pre-internet and still-kayfabe day ran the same exact show on Tuesdays in Lousville, Ky. and Wednesdays in Evansville, In. The rest of the week was spent in various cities in Ky, Tn, Arkansas, and southern Indiana. While I spent many hours at the Evansville Coliseum, my fondest memories come from watching the Saturday morning program. It was in a small studio with about 50 fans on only one side of the ring and the ring ropes were literally made from garden hoses with duct tape comprising turnbuckles, but nobody cared because the action was golden. By the time I was watching, Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler were the only show in town. (A few years before they broke away from original promoter Nick Gulas due to poor booking decisions and thrived while Gulas went bankrupt.) Lawler, who gained his moniker the King in Memphis, was the star of the show. Any heel who came in the area who was anybody eventually faced Lawler. He was as big as ... , well, actually, he was bigger than anybody really is right now. Wrestling in Memphis in the late 70's and early 80's was white hot, and right at the center was Jimmy Hart. Hart and Lawler had the greatest feud in pro wrestling history, in my opinion. It lasted from about 1977 to 1985 when Hart signed with WWE. The beautiful thing about the feud was as Hart was a manager, the story was Lawler was always wrestling new people, but they were always managed by Hart. Memphis saw so many people get their start or at least close to it that I can't name them all: Randy Savage, Steve Austin, Undertaker (as the Master of Pain), Cactus Jack, Jim Cornette, Koko Ware, Jeff Jarrett, King Kong Bundy, Sting and Ultimate Warrior (first as Freedom Fighters and later as Blade Runners), Bobby Eaton, Dennis Condrey, and Wayne Ferris pre-Honky Tonk Man (well, no territory is perfect.) At the base of the promotion was Lawler, the Fabulous Ones, Austin Idol, Bill Dundee, and Dirty Dutch Mantell Behind all of the action was the announce team of the great Lance Russell and Dave Brown. Not only did help tell the story but hey were part of the story. Often, Russell himself would cut an indinent promo on a particularly unruly heel. After watching the pitiful excuse that was Raw on Monday, I decided to run a once month Memphis Memories article in which I discuss a particular angle or performer. I can say the first topic will undoubtedly be Andy Kaufman. So, as I plan to leave specific memories for later features I thought I would close this week's Rant with a Memphis wrestling trivia quiz. I have posted the answers in their own article. As always feel free to send comments at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and enjoy the wrestling.

TRIVIA

1. The man who replaced Lance Russell as an announcer when he retired, he eventually returned, was:

A. Ronnie Gossett

B. Corey Maclin

c.  Randy Hales

D. Eddie Marlin

2. HOFer Jimmy Hart was longtime presence in the area. Previously to his wrestling career Hart recorded a #1 single "Keep On Dancin'". What was the name of the band he recorded it with?

A. JJ and the Shakers

B. The Wrestling Boot Band

C. The Kongs

D. The Gentrys

3. One of the most famous feuds of the are involved Jerry Lawler and actor Andy Kaufman. What was the result of their inital 1982 match at the Mid-South Coliseum?

A. Kaufman won by DQ

b. Lawler pinned Kaufman

C. Lawler won after Kaufman couldn't continue

D. Kaufman pinned Lawler

4. Memphis, known for it's innovation, featured the first scaffold match. Who were the participants?

A. Austin Idol and Rick Rude

B. KoKo Ware and Bill Dundee

C. Jerry Lawler and Terry Funk

D. Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee

5. In a famous 1987 match Austin Idol defeated Jerry Lawler, with assistance from an ally who was hiding under the ring (the cage was on the floor Hell in a Cell style). Who was the ally?

A. Bill Dundee

B. Eddie Gilbert

C. Tommy Rich

D. Randy Satterly

6. What was the name of manager Jimmy Hart's stable of wrestlers?

A. First Family

B. Memphis Mafia

C. Outlaw Dynasty

D. The Hart Attack

7. Stan Lane and Steve Keirn formed a widly popular tag team named "The Fabulous Ones". What retired Memphis legend was portrayed as the "mentor" of the team?

A. Tojo Yamamoto

B. Eddie Marlin

C. Jackie Fargo

D. Spike Huber

8. In 1985 Jimmy signed with the WWF. To explain this departure, hart had to leave town as the result of one of his wrestlers losing a match to Jerry Lawler. Who was Lawler's opponent?

A. Plowboy Frazier

B. Bill Dundee

C. Terry Taylor

D. Eddie Gilbert

9. In 1986 Jeff Jarret made his first wrestling television appearance. In what capacity did he appear?

A. Manager

B. Referee

C. He was in the audience

D. Wrestler

10. Announcer Dave Brown also had a "day job". What was it?

A. Weather Man

B. Disc Jockey

C. Car Lot Owner

D. City Councilman

Today's rant begins with the June 15, 2009 edition of WWE's Monday Night Raw. The convoluted story line was that Donald Trump had bought the WWE's flagship show and was announcing his guest host initiative, which consisted of each week having a different celebrity (or as close as they could find) serving as host/general manager. At the time I remembered thinking this could be tolerable, if it were short-term and the guest selections made sense. Now, let's fast forward to almost a year later on April 12, 2010. Again, I am watching Raw but this time David Hasselhoff is the guest stumbling through cheesy skits and looking as though he would tumble from a lifeguard's chair. Unfortunately, he didn't. At this point any hope/naivity I had for the guest host gimmick has vanished with MVP's heat. Obviously this mess is not short-term and the guest selection is a hodgepodge of c-list actors and non-wrestling athletes. Here's a state for you: Out of 42 guest hosts only eleven (counting Pete Rose as he is a WWE HOFer) were wrestling affiliated. I can handle when the legends come on for a spot. After all, a familiar face who knows the product is usually a good addition. Hell, even Otunga made sense as the host. He sucked but it helped pushed NXT and build heat for Mr. Hudson (sorry, they're not married yet). This leads me to my biggest beef with the non-wrestler guests: I don't tune in to watch these people, nobody I've ever talked to does. Honestly did Raw gain one viewer from Ty Murray and Jewel, or Ricky Hatton? I tune in to watch the WWE roster, not Jon Heder in a Flair robe. I would say 95% of the men and women on the Raw roster bust heir ass to put on a good show and all of them risk current and future injury to further their career. So, it really cranks me that guys like the aforementioned MVP, Carlito, Kofi Kingston, Yoshi Tatsu, and Evan Bourne get little or incocnsistent television time to either build or maintain their heat. Meanwhile these parasitic celebrities come on to hawk their product or themselves and give back nothing to the program but annoyance and time shortage. Simply put, I am a wrestling fan and I became a RAW fan because it featured wrestling, or at least wrestlers, and after 10 months of this junk I want all of my two hours to focus on wrestling not Seth Green, Mini-Me, or any other cast memb er of Austin Powers. With that ranted, I will close with including my five favorite and least favorite guest hosts, but as always feel free to e-mail your opinions to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Favorites

5. Roddy Piper- Not his best work, but what can I say? I'm a total Hot Rod mark.

4. Jesse Ventura- It was worth it simply to hear the nostalgic announce team of Ventura and McMahon call one last match.

3. Bret Hart- As with Piper, not Bret's sharpest effort, but after waiting 12+ years to see him back in a ring with McMahon and HBK, who cares?

2. Bob Barker- Who would have an octogenerian game show host would be able to show up almost every other guest host. Proves a   true pro can adapt to any format.

1. William Shatner- I am not a Shatner fan. In fact, I think he may be the most overrated actor of all time. But there is no denying the man can pull off self-deprecating humor like none other. One of the few hosts to use his trademarks (priceline and spoken word vocals) to enhance the program.

Least favorite

5. Nancy O'Dell- Who? Why?

4. Dennis Miller- I was a fan of his old HBO show, but obscure political and literary references mix about as well with Raw as they do Monday Night Football.

3. Jeremy Bivens- You can't bother to know the name is SummerSlam then I don't bother to call you Piven. PS next time leave Dr. Ken at home. Douche bags.

2. Jerry Springer- Even for his standards the Kelly Kelly is pregnant and fifty dudes could be the dad skit was an embarrassment.

1. David Hasselhoff- He looked a poor man's Tom Jones coming out in a sparkly jacket to his own cheesy music. Not to mention he weaved and slurred as though he were three sheets to the wind. Absolutely Hoff-ful.