KAW KAW KAW

Thanks to the WWF (hello Vince) wrestling was THE big thing in 1999. Even a non fan knows who The Rock and Stone Cold are and this resulted in any old indy having a show on local TV, hell IWA Mid-South had a brief but crappy show but there is one show that has managed to escape attention and that is Memphis’ own Kick Ass Wrestling!

Ran by Terry Golden (who in true wrestler/promoter fashion booked himself as the top guy and was the champion for at least six months), and hosted by the mullet clad David Jett the promotion was formed to give an alternative to the traditional Saturday morning wrestling that had been the staple in Memphis for decades. Gone was Jerry Lawler and Lance Russell, in was The Littles, a tag team right out of Deliverance, the stable WEED with Izzy High, Dr Bud Ganja and Motley Garcia, Bull Pain, senior referee Alkie Holic complete with beer can and Madman Pondo smashing lighttubes over peoples heads – all at 11 in the morning! The show didn’t last long and moved to UPN30 where it stayed until the promotion closed in January 2000.

Thankfully, someone converted all the tapes to DVD so I have been able to witness this epic action. The early days in KAW had near identical matches involving weapons but fortunately they got better as there were some good workers in the mix. The show really started to improve when Bill Dundee came in and chased Golden for the belt, hell they even had Golden go to Dundee’s strip club! Other highlights include a TV taping from a woman’s prison, Chip Diver and his search for a new Muffy, David Jett (always), JC Ice, Todd Morton and SID. Best bit? Brickhouse Brown telling Danny B he was not black enough and he was going to beat the colour off him. Only in Memphis can you get away with crap like that.

KAW closed when they did a deal with the devil (relax, I’m a Lawler mark) and turned into Memphis Championship Wrestling, but sadly Memphis wrestling was all but dead then and is now. Shame, as I’ve always been a mark for this stuff.

-Jamie