Memphis Wrestling
Date: 2/27/2021
From: Memphis, TN
Dustin Starr and his wife Maria Starr host the program. This marks the return of Memphis Wrestling on television as this program is aired on CW30. Tonight is the beginning of a three week tournament.
MATCH #1: JONNY LYONS VS. BRETT MICHAELS — COBRA CUP FIRST ROUND
FINISH: Michaels wins the match following a discus clothesline to advance.
Bob’s Take: Lyons is a younger, smaller wrestler while Michaels is muscular and looks to be at least twenty years older than Lyons. Lyons tries for a strike offense, but Michaels is not all that impacted by the strikes due to the size difference. A mostly one-sided match with Lyons not having much of his offense bothering Michaels. I can see Michaels being a focus in Memphis Wrestling as he has a good look to him. The match was less than two minutes long.
Match Rating: *
A video of a wrestler training is shown and says “coming soon.” His sparring partner quits because the kicks are too devastating.
MATCH #2: DJ BROWN VS. CHRIS LEXX — COBRA CUP FIRST ROUND
NOTE: During the match, a mysterious man hands a note to Dustin Starr at commentary.
FINISH: Brown maanges to surprise Lexx with a rollup and wins the match to advance.
Bob’s Take: Brown is a bit more of a fast pace wrestler and hit some high impact offense early on including a head scissors. I like DJ’s energy. Lexx is a hard hitting brawler type as shown by a few nice uppercuts thrown during the match. I thought for a moment that Lexx was going to advance, but I’m digging DJ Brown and like that he was able to advance.
Match Rating: *1/2
Dustin Starr announces that the letter says that next week a king will be there. Starr notes that he only knows one king.
Backstage, a video of one team pranking another tag team with a whoopie cushion is shown.
Backstage, Eric McMahon tries to get entrance, but his name isn’t on the list.
There’s an ad with Dustin Starr and Dave Brown (Memphis legend) doing a roofing ad. I’m only noting this because I’m a huge fan of Dave Brown.
There’s a video package promoting what I can only assume is a new version of Humongous.
Backstage, two women insulting a man saying his jacket is gross. Two other women come out of the same room and they are thrilled with his work. The stylist also appears and says he’ll see them at ringside.
MATCH #3: MIKE ANTHONY VS. JUSTIN COLE — COBRA CUP FIRST ROUND
FINISH: Cole avoids a running knee strike and pins Anthony with a rollup. After the match, Anthony attacks Cole hitting a spear.
Bob’s Take: Justin Cole comes across as a potential star for Memphis Wrestling. Cole had a good series of moves consisting of clotheslines and a sit out side slam in the early portions of the match. Anthony had an extended segment of control, but didn’t do much to hold my interest as it was mostly basic heel work. Despite the lack of offense, I left this match more interested in Cole and his potential. I’m assuming we’ll get another match between these considering the aftermath.
Match Rating: *1/2
A video package promoting the Crowley’s is shown as Dustin Starr says they are creepy.
MATCH #4: CASSANDRA GOLDEN VS. SALENA DEAN
NOTE: The stylist named Precious makes his way down to the ring to watch the match.
FINISH: Golden wins the match following a sit out Death Valley Driver.
Bob’s Take: Salena Dean is apparently a spoiled rich girl gimmick and was one of the women who didn’t like the stylists work from earlier. Meanwhile, Golden did like the stylist. Dustin Starr notes that Memphis Wrestling has never had a women’s division before, which is kind of a crazy thing to think about. Golden has had experience in Impact, AEW and WWE. Dean didn’t do much offense wise, but Golden looked good throughout the match and it doesn’t surprise me that she’d work with the bigger companies already.
Match Rating: *1/2
Dustin Starr was at the Mid-South Coliseum with King Cobra for an interview. December 30th, 1989 Cobra pinned Jerry Lawler to win the championship. Cobra never thought he’d be champion, and it became a dream that came true.
MAIN EVENT: NORMAN MEKLOKOV VS. RYAN REMBRANDT — COBRA CUP ROUND 1
FINISH: Norman wins following a full nelson slam.
Bob’s Take: Ryan Rembrandt is more of a old school type of gimmick wearing a sparkling robe. Of course, as soon as I type that, Norman is a Russian heel straight from the 1980s. I’m not sure if either man is likable, but I’m certain that Norman is the heel in this contest. This is a slow and plodding match that nobody in the crowd seemed to care even a little bit about. I’m not kidding when I say this felt like it took forever to finish. There’s just zero heat to the match when Norman is doing anything. The fans try to rally behind Rembrandt, and he hit a nice middle rope Codebreaker at one point. I am not interested in Norman, at all. Rembrandt had some good underdog offense, but this overall was not very engaging.
Match Rating: *
Final Thoughts:
There are a couple of wrestlers that stood out to me including Golden, DJ, and Cole. I love Memphis Wrestling from the 80s and 90s. I wouldn’t consider this a good program, but there are some pieces worth building upon.
Thanks for reading.