• Look Back In History
• Pmessages
• Quiz
• Stump The Staff
• Top Fifty
• Close

Famous wrestler brings Memphis-style barbecue to Houston

Posted: Aug 11th 2022 By: J. C. Reid - HoustonChronicle.com

King Jerry Lawler’s Memphis BBQ Company has opened in the Channelview area on the east side of Houston.

Can different styles of barbecue succeed in Houston? Though I’ve asked this question before, the jury is still out.

Central and East Texas styles of barbecue are most common in these parts. But a far-flung style of regional barbecue will occasionally make a go of it.

Carolina-style barbecue continues to make inroads in Houston, mostly as an add-on to the standard Texas-trinity menu of brisket, pork ribs and sausage. For example, Feges BBQ and Truth BBQ will cook a whole hog and offer pulled or chopped pork as a regular or special menu item.

Still, it’s unlikely we will see a local barbecue joint solely dedicated to Carolina-style whole-hog barbecue in the near future.
Tennessee-style barbecue has traditionally been more successful here, specifically at Fainmous BBQ, which specializes in barbecue from the eastern portion of that state.

More recently, King Jerry Lawler’s Memphis BBQ Company opened a location in the Channelview area on the east side of Houston. Lawler’s has a good chance of succeeding here, due in part to a clever marketing strategy that targets a specific audience.

For a segment of the Generation X demographic, Jerry “The King” Lawler is a benchmark of that era. I know, because, I’m part of that segment.

In the early 1980s, professional wrestling was just emerging from regional divisions to a national footprint with the rise of the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE). This is known as the “rock-n-wrestling” era when professional wrestling partnered with other cultural influences, specifically the MTV music channel.

Perhaps some of the most memorable videos shown on MTV during that time were by Cyndi Lauper, notably featuring wrestling manager “Captain” Lou Albano as her fictional father on videos for songs such as “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”

Other cultural trends of the time that helped to usher in wrestling to a mainstream audience were TV shows including "Saturday Night Live (SNL) and "Late Night with David Letterman."

Surrealistic comedian Andy Kaufman, who gained fame on "Saturday Night Live" and “Taxi,” tapped into the wrestling mania by challenging Memphis-based wrestler Jerry Lawler to a match in which Kaufman suffered a neck injury due to a piledriver maneuver.

Kaufman and Lawler eventually ended up on an infamous July 28, 1982 episode of "Late Night with David Letterman," in which they were supposed to reconcile, but Lawler ended up slapping the neck-brace-wearing Kaufman out of his chair and Kaufman responding with profanities and throwing a cup of coffee on Lawler.

Though the incident is alleged to have been staged, it is something of a touchstone for Generation X members who followed wrestling at the time and is recognized as a precursor to the eventual wave of reality television that ensued.

Lawler’s long wrestling career, including the Andy Kaufman incident, is very much a part of the marketing for King Jerry Lawler’s Memphis BBQ Company.

There are the obligatory wrestling-themed menu items including a slate of “Slamwiches” such as the “Southern Champ,” “Rude Awakening” and “Full Nelson.” And just inside the entrance are posters from Lawler’s wrestling career, including the infamous Kaufman-Letterman episode.

When the first location opened in Memphis in 2017, Lawler hosted a full card of wrestling matches in the restaurant’s parking lot. No word yet on whether he will host any wrestling matches at his first location in Houston.