CWA TV 9/6/1986

Written by: Bob Colling

CWA TV
Date: 9/6/1986
From: Memphis, TN

Lance Russell and Dave Brown welcome everyone to the show and they rundown what we’ll see on the program.

Opening Contest: JT Southern vs. The Red Demon: Early on, Demon jumps Southern from behind but he gets met with a clothesline moments later. Southern hits a Samoan Drop and wins the match in short order. (1/4*. Just the usual quick Southern squash match.)

Second Contest: Jerry Lawler & The Killer vs. The Scorpions: Lawler starts off with a hip toss and a standing dropkick for the early advantage. Lawler gets worked over with right hands but comes back with a strike of his own. There’s one girl screaming incredibly loud and even the broadcasters note it as being a death scream. Lawler gets out of an arm bar with a hip toss and dropkick tagging in Killer. Killer plants a Scorpion with a powerslam, but doesn’t go for the cover. Killer press slams Scorpion and plays to the crowd. Lawler returns to the match delivering a right hand. Lawler battles back with right hands before Killer returns to the contest. Killer hits a leaping clothesline. Lawler comes off the middle rope to deliver a fist drop, which the camera doesn’t catch because they are filming Kenny D dancing on the floor. (1/2*. A fine enhancement match for Lawler and Killer. It was simple and to the point.)

Lance Russell talks about Great Kabuki and how he took out guys like Austin Idol. We then see a video package promoting the Great Kabuki. The package includes seeing Kabuki in action against Jeff Jarrett and Pat Tanaka. A lot of focus on a sword and candles during the video. Footage of Kabuki spitting mist into Idol’s eyes is shown, too. Kabuki appears to be a unique character returning to the area. There’s a bit of focus on the mist, too.

Lance Russell promotes the Evansville show on Wednesday night. There will be five matches. Four title matches will be on the line. AWA International Tag Team Champions Akio Sato and Tarzan Goto defend against Jeff Jarrett and Pat Tanaka in a match where there will be two referees. Tojo is happy about being champions. AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Bam-Bam Bigelow and Larry Sharpe enter the scene to promote a Texas Death Match. Sharpe says that Lawler can’t hide behind the Killer. Sharpe wants to know if there are stretchers and hospitals there because Lawler is going to need them.

Eddie Marlin comes out and wants Fire and Flame to come out as it is time for them to defend the AWA Southern Tag Team Championships. Fire says his lawyers are looking to take care of the stipulation.

Third Contest: AWA Southern Tag Team Champions Fire & Flame vs. The Giant Hillbilly & Cousin Junior: Flame and Junior start the match with Junior hitting a scoop slam. Junior delivers a mule kick after leaping over Flame and that sends Flame to the floor. Fire enters after not getting a tag. The referee doesn’t seem to know what’s going on. So, they get away with it. Junior backdrops Fire sending Fire to the floor where they regroup. Fire eye rakes Junior followed by a headbutt and tags in Flame to keep control of the match with strikes and a knee lift. Flame whacks Junior with a chair on the floor over the head. Fire elbows Junior and keeps control of the match with a front face lock. Hillbilly gets tagged in and sends the champions into each other. Hillbilly delivers a leg drop and earns the pin to win the tag team titles! (1/4*. Well, that was a disappointing way to have Fire and Flame lose on television. It seems like there were better options to go with. Personally, the angle with Hickerson and LeDuc would have gotten a bigger reaction from me.) After the match, the locker room empties to celebrate with Hillbilly and Junior. Fire and Flame demand one rematch and Eddie Marlin will only do it if they put their masks on the line. They agree, although they don’t find that to be fair.

Lance Russell promotes the Evansville card once again. AWA Mid-American Champion Tracy Smothers defends against Spike. The AWA International Tag Team Titles will be on the line with two referees. Fire and Flame put their masks on the line for a rematch with Hillbilly and Junior. AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Bam-Bam Bigelow defends against Jerry Lawler in a Texas Death Match.

Fourth Contest: The Miami New Breed (Fear & Power) vs. Jerry Garmen & Benny Trailer: Well, Miami New Breed have a similar attire and look to Memphis Vice. Power and Garmen start the match with Power using his power to toss Garmen to the mat. Fear tags in and keeps control of the match with a snapmare. Power tags back in and Garmen continues to be double teamed in the corner. Garmen tags in Trailer and Trailer isn’t able to get any momentum after trying a dropkick and shoulder block. Fear drives Trailer down with a powerslam. Power returns to the match and Trailer is met with a few backbreakers. Fear comes off the middle rope with a elbow strike and Power hits a suplex. Fear hits a shoulder breaker and tags in Power. They completely mess up a slingshot clothesline finish to win the match. (1/4*. Yikes, that wasn’t very good at all. I hope that Miami New Breed don’t last very long because they take away from a far more effective heel team in Memphis Vice.)

Fifth Contest: AWA International Tag Team Champions Akio Sato & Tarzan Goto vs. David Haskins & William “the Bear” Thompson: Early on, Haskins and Thompson get a few strikes in on the champions, but their momentum doesn’t last very long. Sato keeps control of Thompson on the mat with a few strikes before tagging in Goto. There are other cameras at ringside to film a documentary. Tojo hits Haskins with the kendo stick from the floor. Haskins almost pins Sato with a sunset flip. Tojo delivers another shot with the kendo stick from the floor. Goto nearly pins Haskins following a powerslam. Sato locks in the Boston Crab on Haskins but doesn’t get a submission. Haskins nearly pins Goto after a crossbody coming off the ropes followed by a standing dropkick. Thompson enters and gets chopped by the champions. Thompson is kicked in the corner and pinned following a big splash. (1/2*. Well, I don’t think this needed to be a lengthy match. They didn’t do anything to keep me interested in the action.)

Lance Russell promotes the Evansville show and we hear from Jeff Jarrett and Pat Tanaka. Jarrett says there are two referees this time and there will not be any interference. Giant Hillbilly and Cousin Junior promise to take the masks off of Fire and Flame and win the AWA Southern Tag Team Championships. Jerry Lawler chimes in to take on AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Bam-Bam Bigelow in a Texas Death Match. Lawler doesn’t believe that Bigelow is unbeatable and he is going to show Bigelow why he is the king of wrestling. Lawler says that we are going to see what Bigelow looks like with actual flames on his head.

They promote a new VHS being sold with 70-minutes of action. Madmen, Maniacs and Lunatics is the name of the tape. It features a match between Jerry Lawler and Andy Kaufman.

Main Event: Jeff Jarrett & Pat Tanaka vs. Keith Roberson & Juicy Jonny: Jarrett starts the match hitting a few dropkicks to send both opponents to the floor. Tanaka enters and works over Jonny’s arm after an arm drag. Jarrett comes off the top to axe handle Jonny. Jarrett continues to take Jonny down with a hip toss and arm drag. Tanaka backdrops Roberson for a two count. Jarrett takes Jonny down with a Thez Press to win the match. (1/4* Nothing really going on here.)

Lance Russell talks to Jerry Lawler to close the program and they talk about the AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Bam-Bam Bigelow. Lawler is wearing a Donald Duck t-shirt and Russell jokes about it. Lawler was asked how he’d rate on a scale of 1-10 and said he’s rate him a 12. Lawler notes all the big guys he’s wrestled, such as Hogan, Andre, Road Warriors and King Kong Bundy. Lawler uses his speed to take out the muscular guys. However, Bigelow is just a big guy and very agile for his size. Lawler believes in the motto that the bigger they are the harder they fall. Russell says that the key for victory is how smart Lawler is compared to Bigelow.

Final Thoughts:
The main angle to take from this was the title change from Fire and Flame. I didn’t agree with the decision to give the titles to Hillbilly and Junior. It just felt like putting the titles on bigger names instead of a hotter feud. They’ve done a really good job building up Lawler vs. Bigelow and I’d likely go to the arena to check it out.

Thanks for reading.