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Memphis Wrestling Press Conference Recap: Jerry Lawler Forced Out of Main Event!

Posted: Apr 12th 2007 By: CMBurnham

Introduced at the beginning of the conference were Mike Barbee, Jimmy Hart, Cory Macklin, and Jerry Lawler.

Barbee took the stand and said it was a big event for Memphis and the biggest independent wrestling event ever presented in the United States. Barbie then introduced Jerry Lawler. Lawler thanked everyone for coming out and said there would be some breaking news in a few minutes that was a surprise to him. Lawler praised Cory Macklin for his hard work with Memphis Wrestling over the years, saying he was the brains behind a lot that's gone on.

Lawler talked about the legacy of the Mid-South Coliseum when it comes to professional wrestling and that the venue was closed last December for not being in compliance with the American Diabilities Act. He said he and Macklin got together with the idea of having one last show in the Mid-South Coliseum as a farewell to the venue, with it being a Memphis Wrestling show.

Lawler said back in November, Hulk Hogan and his daughter Brooke were promoting her CD in Memphis and someone brought up that Hogan and Lawler had a match 20 years ago and that it's still shown regularly on Memphis TV. Hogan said that maybe down the line they can finalize that match and have a rematch. When Hogan returned to Memphis sometime later, they brought it up again.

Lawler said that Cory Macklin went to the Memphis City Council about doing the show at the Mid-South Coliseum and was turned down. Macklin refused to be told no and went to the Mayor's office and the Mayor was enthusiastic about the idea, even having his office write a letter saying that they supported the idea of doing one last match at Mid-South. Jimmy Hart told Hogan, who thought it would be a perfect match to close the building and that's how the match came about.

Lawler said that a few days after they finalized the idea of the match, some people in the Justice Department was brought in and told the Mayor that there was no way there could be even one more show at the Coliseum unless millions of dollars were spent to upgrade the facility. Lawler said that the match was off even though it was announced. The "fine people at the FedEx Forum:" came forward to help and negotiated with Macklin, saving the event.

Lawler discussed the match with Hogan from 20 years ago, saying it ended with a disqualification but there were times Lawler had him on the ropes. He said Hogan went on to become one of the biggest stars in wrestling history, so when Memphis Wrestling showed the match again on tape, it would be edited to show Lawler in control. Word would get back to Hogan over the years and a lot of people are

Lawler said they expected it to be the biggest event in the history of Memphis Wrestling, but "as most people know" Lawler works for World Wrestling Entertainment announcing every Monday. He said this past Monday, he was called into the office and asked if he was going to wrestle Hogan in Memphis. He told them that he was and they said that was a problem. Lawler noted that the business is fun, but there's a not so fun side of it and that's the business side of it. He noted that he was under contract to WWE while Hogan is under contract to VH-1 for his reality show.

He said that there is a problem with any NBC/Universal talent (which WWE stars fall under) appearing on VH-1. He noted that Hogan cannot pull out of his deal with VH-1 because one of the major reasons the show was being done was to have footage for the reality show. Lawler reiterated that he cannot appear on VH-1, so he's going to have to "bow out of the match". Lawler said that he wishes it could happen but because of contracts and business reasons, he cannot appear and wrestle Hogan.

Lawler announced that there would still be a show on 4/27 in Memphis with Hulk Hogan wrestling. Lawler said that Hogan was looking forward to walking out of Memphis having beaten Jerry Lawler and walking out with a smile on his face for VH-1 cameras and Lawler was looking forward to stopping that. Lawler said Cory Macklin has pulled a miracle out of his hat and Hogan's visit won't be as pleasant as Hogan likely hoped it would be, but "the show must go on." Lawler said that he won't be involved but the show will be bigger and better.

Jimmy Hart took the mic and said he was devastated last night when he found out the news. Hart said that everyone knows the tradition of wrestling in the city of Memphis. Hart talked about growing up watching Memphis Wrestling on channel 5 every week. He said five years ago, Cory Macklin came to him with the idea of doing a studio show every Saturday morning and history was made. He said next month, it will be over 200 shows that were recorded on CW30. He said that Macklin kept the dream of Memphis Wrestling alive.

Mackline took the mic and said that while they had some tough news but also some big news. He thanked the Payroll Management Group and said it was the first of many events they hoped to have at the FedEx Forum, Clash of the Legends. Macklin ran down the names that are signed for the show, which we've mentioned here on PWInsider.com before. He noted Lance Russell will be there and the Mayor will ring the first bell.

He ran down the ticket prices, noting the golden circle ringside will include a meet and greet with everyone on the show, including Hulk Hogan. He thanked the sponsors and noted Sam's Town casino will be giving out free $20 slot machine cards to the first 5,000 fans in attendance.

Macklin then announced the new main event will feature Hulk Hogan back in the ring. Hogan made his way to the podium and thanked everyone for coming out. Hogan said it's been a strange twist of fate over the last 24 hours when he found out Lawler won't be participating. He said that unfortunately something that was going to be a fun situation created some political drama and joked about Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

Hogan said that Cory Macklin and Jimmy Hart have always had WWE's support in the past with WWE sending talents to their Memphis Wrestling shows. He said that Hogan vs. Lawler was going to be a fun match for the old school hardcore fans to see again and they wanted to close the Mid-South Coliseum.

When that didn't happen, they had the chance to come to the FedEx Forum. Hogan said the Forum called the WWE to make sure it was OK and WWE told them it wasn't a problem because Jerry Lawler, Jimmy Hart, and Cory Macklin were involved....until Hulk Hogan's name came into the picture. Hogan said that WWE officials tried to get the Forum to cancel and were told no. Hogan said that WWE then offered to pay Cory Macklin's deposit back, plus interest but were turned down by Macklin.

Hogan said that one of his concerns about the show was wrestling Jerry Lawler, since Jerry appears on Raw every week. He said he asked Jerry if it was going to be OK because "once Hulk Hogan is involved, things change." Hogan said that Lawler promised him that even if he was fired, he would wrestle the match.

This week, WWE came to Lawler with a bunch of reasons as to why he couldn't appear on the show, including protecting their intellectual properties, saying they wouldn't send talent to Memphis Wrestling anymore, and also that they didn't want Lawler appearing on VH-1 because of the contractual problems with NBC Universal. Hogan noted that in recent years, lots of WWE stars including Vince McMahon have appeared on his VH-1 reality series, which has even even included clips of his Summerslam matches.

Hogan said that he feels its a personal thing against him. He said that he feels bad Lawler doesn't want to participate because WWE is his main source of employment. Hogan noted that perhaps WWE and Vince McMahon feel that Hogan, at 53, can be a threat to them and perhaps they are right. He joked that WWE supports Memphis Wrestling until he comes along, and says perhaps Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton can explain to him what discrimination is all about.

Hogan said that his knee replacement has been feeling good and now his good knee feels up to par as well. He says that he's been running and jogging again for the first time in years and honestly feels like he is in the best shape in a long time.

Hogan said none of them are going to back down and they are going to deliver the match that should have been part of Wrestlemania 23 in front of 80,000 people. Hogan promised that they had something big for the fans and thanked everyone for supporting the company.

Macklin said that they are staying the course for the show and nothing, no matter who they are, are going to stop them, because Hogan's opponent will be "formerly known as the Big Show", Paul "The Great" Wight.

Wight came to the podium and thanked the city of Memphis for allowing the match to happen. He said it was a match that the fans wanted to see and thanked Cory Macklin for not backing down. Wight said that Hogan had given him a lot of advice and was a big influence on his life. He said that he can't think of a better opportunity than to wrestle Hulk Hogan on 4/27 and put him in his place with a chokeslam and a pinfall. He said that he admires Hogan and what he's done for the industry but he's not going to walk into the ring as Hogan's friend. He said he sees a chance to carve his place in history and he's going to take it.

Cory Macklin said that no matter what happens the "Big Show must go on." Wight returned to the mic and said, "I renounce my slave name. My name is Paul Wight."

Macklin said that he believes to the fans and the city of Memphis and he refused to sellout and not deliver for the city.

They opened up for a question and answer session. Hogan was asked if he was scared about wrestling. Hogan said he's not scared but he wishes it was Jerry Lawler. He said that people don't truly understand the business and the injuries. He said that no matter what happens, you get hurt in the ring. He said that at his age, he wishes it was Lawler but Paul Wight puts another spin on it. He said that as you get older, you get brittle, but also more aggressive.

Hogan said that he's not done with his career and when he saw WWE made fun of his daughter Brooke, that made his perception of them as people change forever. He said that made him decide he needs to do something and Memphis is a great place to start. Hogan noted that Wight isn't part of the WWE anymore.

Hogan said this show is the start of Hogan deciding how to write the end of his legacy. He said that the only way to do that is to show that Hulk Hogan fans and the Hulkamania fans are bigger than the WWE. He said if they fill the building, this will send a message. He said the show is exciting to him because he's going to be part of the match that fans were cheated out of for Wrestlemania 23. He said that they were in negotiations for the match but WWE didn't want to take it "on the straight and narrow." He said he isn't going to let the period on his legacy be that WWE made fun of his children.

Paul Wight said that he's trying to break out of his own and give back to the fans and the industry. He said that he's got to bring his best side because he has his kids and family to feed. He said that he doesn't want to live in the shadows of anyone, Vince McMahon or otherwise anymore. Wight said that he's down 60 lbs. now and does intense cardio training. He said he took time off due to injuries and mental fatigue from the grind. He said that mentally and physically he feels stronger and faster than he has in the last 10 years. He said he can't find a better idea to test himself then against the best of all time.

Hogan said it's going to be a great test for all of them and Hogan said it's weird to finally be able to physically run again. Hogan said that he hasn't felt this good in years, not even during his comeback against The Rock in 2002. He said that it's the first independent show he's ever done in his career and he can't believe the monster that this has turned into. He said he's glad he's in good shape for the match and is happy he's against Paul Wight.

Cory Macklin said that fans are going to be a chance to be part of history. Paul Wight reiterated he's getting out beyond the shadows of others.

Hogan was asked how his family feels about it. He joked his wife likes to see him get beat up, but his kids worry about him because they see the day to day effect of the injuries. Hogan says he's wrestled longer than anyone he knows except for Ric Flair and this is all he knows.

Macklin was asked about WWE's feeling on the show. He said they were asked by WWE to pull the show and refused. He said that WWE offered to reimburse them for not running the show and they all refused.

Wight was asked where the new name came from. Wight joked that it was his real name. When asked why he got involved in the match, he said that he's one of the few talents not owned by Vince McMahon anymore. He said he wants to build his name and his brand and Hogan will help him springboard that. He said now he gets to do what he wants as opposed to someone else taking 97% of the merchandising rights and having to do what someone else thinks is funny or worthwhile. He said that whatever he does right now, he's free and he's going at it 100% for himself, not for someone who wants to run a thoroughbred to the ground and then jump on the next horse.

Big Show was asked about TNA. Show said that Billy Gunn is a good friend of his and he's close with Kurt Angle. He said at this point, he's leery of working with any established promotions because he doesn't want to be owned by anyone at this point of his life.

At that point, the audio from the video feed went silent.