CWA TV 12/12/1987

Written by: Bob Colling

CWA TV
Date: 12/12/1987
From: Memphis. TN

Lance Russell and Dave rundown the program and what we’ll see during the show. Russell says there are a few announcements on the show and he’s excited for them.

Mark Guleen enters comes out and wonders towards the announcers, who are acting like they don’t know it’s Guleen despite his vignettes. Following a commercial, Russell says they have a format and Guleen is scheduled for an interview now and not the opening of the show. Guleen says that things will be done differently now that he’s here. Taijho Khan makes his way into the scene. Guleen says they are greatness and people will understand them in the future. Guleen says that Khan is dangerous and works for him. Guleen says he’s the leader of the House of Guleen and is getting a group of great wrestlers for the area.

Opening Contest: Teijho Khan vs. Freezer Thompson: This is Khan’s studio debut. Khan quickly gets in the ring goes after Thompson and dangerously tosses Thompson to the floor. Khan wins the match following a strike. After the match, Khan drops Thompson with a chop and yells at the camera.

Teijho Khan goes over to Mark Guleen and tosses papers off the announcers table. Guleen tells Russell that he will learn. Guleen is here to assemble the finest wrestlers in the world. Guleen mentions that Khan lost to a couple of wrestlers. Guleen says they either cheated or they are special wrestlers. Guleen is going to get the Midnight Rockers to be part of his group. Guleen has an offer for the Rockers and believes they will not refuse it. Guleen puts over the Rockers as fine athletes and is going to offer them a cash bonus to sign with him. Marty Jannetty asks how much money Guleen is offering them. Guleen offers them $5,000 to join his group. Shawn Michaels mentions that nobody gives them anything but they got to work for it. Michaels and Jannetty decline the offer for $5,000. Guleen asks the Rockers to name their price. The Rockers think about it as they’ve always had to work for anything. Michaels tells Guleen that their number is $15,000 per guy. Guleen says that the Rockers will follow him and his rules. Guleen offers $10,000 for each man to sign. Jannetty asks if Guleen has the money on him. Guleen would never be in this neighborhood with that kind of money.

Jerry Lawler comes out and tells the Rockers that they don’t know who Guleen is and says that all managers are jerks. Guleen is not offering any money to Lawler and is trying to work with the Rockers. Lawler says that the Rockers don’t need a leech like Guleen since they are champions already. Michaels tells Lawler that Guleen is talking to them and they can handle it on their own. Michaels says they are big boys and don’t need help from Lawler. Guleen says that he will have the money next week for them to sign to be with his group. Michaels mentions that they have won the fans money and diamond rings and they have gotten nothing in return. Michaels tells Guleen that they will sign the contract next week if the money is there.

Eddie Marlin is with Lance Russell to announce a couple of things. Marlin talks about various champions in promotions all over the country. Marlin says that back in the day there was one champion and one set of tag team championships. Marlin mentions that they have three single championships and those championships are going to be unified into the CWA World Heavyweight Championship. Manny Fernandez, Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Lawler hold the singles championships that would be unified. Marlin wrote the three names down on a piece paper and they will be involved in a round robin challenge. Marlin puts the names in a hat. The third person taken out of the hat will get a bye. Russell picks a name out of the hat and it is Jerry Lawler. The second name is Jeff Jarrett. The crowd seemed interested in a match between Lawler and Jarrett. The winner of that match will wrestle Manny Fernandez to crown the CWA World Heavyweight Champion.

Second Contest: Hector Guerrero vs. Benny Wilson: In short order, Guerrero wins the match following a clothesline. That match took less than a minute.

Third Contest: Jimmy Jack Funk vs. Ken Raper: Funk has a little difficulty with Raper, but finishes him off with the twisting powerslam.

Lance Russell is sitting in a chair and has three empty ones next to him. Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Lawler make their way out to talk about the unification match. Lawler says that Marlin called him earlier in the week to tell him the plan. Lawler agreed with the idea and having one champion. Lawler remembers when everyone wanted to be the Southern Champion. Lawler thinks if there are so many championships it devalues the Southern Championship. Russell says that they invited Manny Fernandez to take part in the interview and Fernandez declined the offer. Jarrett doesn’t know if he’d consider it the luck of the draw. Jarrett found out on Thursday about the plan. Jarrett thought about wrestling Lawler and that would be an interesting match. Jarrett says that Lawler has the experience and size. However, Jarrett knows that Lawler has won a lot of matches with his right hand. Jarrett doesn’t think Lawler will use the fist in this match.

Jarrett notes that they are close and thinks that Lawler will wrestle. Jarrett thinks he’s a little quicker than Lawler, too. Lawler is reminded of a young man talking to Russell about a match with Jackie Fargo and it’s a big match. The man said the same things that Jarrett are saying right now. Lawler says it was him saying all that stuff back then. Lawler is not going to take anything away from Jarrett. Lawler tells Russell that he didn’t get any sleep before the Fargo match and thinks that Jarrett won’t get any sleep, either. Jarrett is looking forward to a tough match. Russell reminds them that whomever wins faces Fernandez and then the winner of that gets a AWA World Championship match against Curt Hennig! It could be a long night.

Fourth Contest: Bobby Jaggers vs. David Wilson: Nate the Rat is with Jaggers. As expected, Jaggers easily wins following a clothesline. After the match, Jaggers beats on Wilson outside the ring with a cane.

During a promo for Evansville, the Nasty Boys confronted the Midnight Rockers about what they have been doing and trying to convince them to not join with Guleen. Rockers don’t care and call them fat slobs suggesting they keep their nose out of their business.

Main Event: Rock & Roll RPMs & Keith Roberson vs. Bill Dundee, Billy Travis & Jeff Jarrett: Dundee and Lane start the match with Dundee taking Lane over with a hip toss and dropkick. Dundee dropkicks Davis, too. Davis tags into the match and Dundee keeps wrist control before tagging in Travis. Davis gets to the ropes after an arm drag. Travis takes Davis down to the mat and tags in Jarrett. Jarrett back elbows Davis with Travis and Davis begs off in the corner. Jarrett is backed into the wrong corner as Roberson enters, but Jarrett escapes. Jarrett keeps arm control on Roberson as Dundee tags in. Dundee runs the ropes and decks Roberson with a forearm followed by a slam. Travis tags in and scoop slams Roberson. Travis comes off the ropes to deliver an elbow drop. Jarrett comes off the middle rope to deliver an elbow strike. Dundee returns to the match and takes Roberson down to the mat. Dundee decks Roberson with a right hand. Travis nearly pins Roberson on a rollup. Dundee tries to get a few pin attempts, but Roberson kicks out. Jarrett returns to deliver a back elbow to Roberson for another two count. Jarrett arm drags Roberson and keeps arm control. Travis tags in and keeps a wrist lock on Roberson. Roberson backs Jarrett into the corner and Lane gets a few strikes in. All six men are in the ring brawling until the RPMs bail to the floor. Roberson is met with a double backdrop. Jarrett pins Roberson following a dropkick. (*1/2. Kind of an expected situation here to close the program. The action was simple and basic for the most part. It seems like the RPMs are moving back down the card after their feud with the Rockers. With the Rockers seemingly going heel, the RPMs may be expendable.)

Final Thoughts:
The Midnight Rockers segment was interesting and Michaels is doing a really good job of playing a heel role, if that’s the direction they go in. Jarrett/Lawler seems to be a big match for Memphis and to kind of throw it together for a round robin match seems a little bizarre to me. I’d have a hard time believing that Jerry Lawler will not be the CWA World Champion. An enjoyable week for TV.

Thanks for reading.