Austin Idol and Jerry Lawler

[wrestlingrecap]

I took a look at a match that shocked a lot of people in Memphis. Austin Idol battling Jerry Lawler inside a steel cage in a hair vs. hair match. The outcome surprised many, but did it surprise you?


wrestlingrecaps.com/2017/05/14/the-match-11-austin-idol-vs-jerry-lawler-in-memphis-87/

[Joe Neglia]

Lawler would have died for the business, so nothing he did really shocked me. Dude took a speeding car head on just to get a heel heat, let his opponents actually destroy irreplaceable sentimental items from late friends to get angles over and (much later) let his relatives' passings get brought into storylines.

'87 was about the end of the road for Idol. He came and went for years after, but that was the last year he seemed to have any aura to him of being a top star in the territories. It's a shame he just never seemed more motivated to move to the next level, he could have been much more had he actually tried.

[Mozenrath]

May 14, 2017 12:01:57 GMT -5 Joe Neglia said:

Lawler would have died for the business, so nothing he did really shocked me. Dude took a speeding car head on just to get a heel heat, let his opponents actually destroy irreplaceable sentimental items from late friends to get angles over and (much later) let his relatives' passings get brought into storylines.

'87 was about the end of the road for Idol. He came and went for years after, but that was the last year he seemed to have any aura to him of being a top star in the territories. It's a shame he just never seemed more motivated to move to the next level, he could have been much more had he actually tried.

I feel a bit bad that any time I think of Austin Idol, my brain goes to him cashing the check he won in a battle royal when the promoted thought it was just going to be a prop.

[brody]

The match was big enough that Memphis took out ads in PWI to try and sell a tape of it for 45 bucks a pop.

[cabbageboy]

Nah, if you watch the build with Idol vowing to return the gate money if he lost you knew there was no way he was losing. The postmatch interview with him and Tommy Rich (and a young Paul Heyman!) is one of the great heel promos of all time. Here it is:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p4etzAfOWo