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[1991-06-22-USWA-Memphis TV] Jerry Lawler vs Eric Embry


Loss

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  • 3 months later...

I knew they'd find a way out of this! I'm actually glad they did. Embry is out on crutches and in street clothes. He claims he sprained his ankle and can't wrestle. Embry is funny ("You're lucky I'm hurt, man"). Tom Pritchard comes out and Embry says he'd be happy to wrestle Lawler on TV, but this is all a distraction, as Embry ends up attacking Lawler with his crutches and can suddenly walk just fine. The match finally goes into the ring, but it's a short one and is pretty one-sided early on, but Lawler finally pulls out his comeback. Suddenly, the tides are turned and Embry bails. The USWA is the best booked promotion in the United States at this point. It's not even close.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Embry tragically has sprained his ankle in the Pipkin Building last Monday night, an injury even more crippling than the one Devastation Inc. inflicted on his knee, I'm sure. He's unable to fulfill his obligation to face Lawler and tries to get Tom Prichard to take his place. Embry is spectacular here, and the predictability of Embry not really being hurt doesn't make this any less compelling. Lawler turns momentarily to brush off Prichard and that gets him a crutch to the back, allowing Embry to take Lawler apart once the match starts. Lawler makes his Hulk-Up, strap-pull comeback and a long, fantastic chase scene ensues--seriously one of the best chases in any wrestling match. Tomk's review talked about how the Freebirds' stalling was almost to the point of being athletic--this was the Freebird stall of chases, with its own control segments and false finishes. Embry eventually makes it to the back.

 

Has any potential match on any continent gotten a better build than Jerry Lawler vs. Eric Embry in 1991? I'm going to have to say no.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Oh no! Embry is on crutches. He’s a severe sprained ankle. Lawler is not buying it and thinks Eric is a coward. Embry volunteers Pritchard to face Lawler. Embry’s ankle heels mid segment and he attacks Lawler with the crutch. A tease for future match. Glad they held off as TV match at this point would be too soon.

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  • 4 months later...
  • 1 year later...

Anyone who actually thought we'd get this match has an IQ under ten, but this was a great segment nonetheless. Even though Lawler knows perfectly well that the sprained ankle is a ruse on Embry's part, he still has to turn his back to make sure Prichard doesn't jump him, thus leaving him wide open for Embry's crutch shot. I'm not sure I cared for Lawler's Superman comeback, but the alternative was a lengthy beatdown from Embry and Prichard, and I've seen enough of those to last a lifetime in this feud. Embry leads Lawler on a merry chase to end the segment and predictably gets counted out.

 

Nothing's settled here, of course, but at least Lawler carries the day again, which seemingly narrows the score in this feud to Texas 50,000, Tennessee 3. We know that Lawler's coming out on top in this somehow or other, so the question becomes: How long can Embry avoid the inevitable, and what happens to him once it comes? I don't think he's a good fit at all for one of the Big Two, so Memphis looks like his best bet going forward, even after he jobs to Lawler.

 

Kudos to Dave and Michael for their professionalism throughout all this chaos. Memphis TV lost something that it hasn't regained when Lance left for WCW, but Dave's become a hell of a host and play-by-play man, and Michael's much better here than he is as the play-by-play man for the Dallas side. They know how to express outrage at Embry's actions and still allow him to get over, which is tougher than you would think for a couple of face-leaning announcers. I really can't imagine JR or Gino thriving in an environment like this as opposed to the pre-taped, tightly controlled environments of the Big Two, and they're a couple of play-by-play legends, Hell, Gordon Solie tried it for a few shows back around '84 or so, and he sounded way out of place next to Lance. (I think most of them were PWUSA cards, but I seem to remember Gordon making at least one appearance at Channel 5.)

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  • 2 years later...
  • GSR changed the title to [1991-06-22-USWA-Memphis TV] Jerry Lawler vs Eric Embry

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