By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Dot Net reader Jeff Wyatt attended the Jerry Lawler 50th Anniversary Celebration event on Saturday in Jackson, Tennessee at The Ballpark and sent the following report.
-Bert Prentice and USA Championship Wrestling promoted the show.
-Many legends were there doing meet and greets including: Kane, Rock & Roll Express, Jim Ross, Jimmy Hart, Sgt. Slaughter, Lex Luger, Arn Anderson, Scott Steiner, Koko B Ware, Bobby Eaton, and Barry Windham.
-On the scoreboard tron, they showed several video tributes from Cleveland Browns players as well as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Ric Flair.
-The night started with a 10 bell salute to Road Warrior Animal, who was scheduled to attend this event prior his tragic death.
-I met Arn Anderson who was extremely nice to me. I also met Bobby Eaton and he was such a great guy. I asked him if there was anybody he wished he could’ve wrestled and I mentioned Bret Hart as a personal dream match with him. He complimented Bret’s work and also mentioned how Brad Armstrong was one of his favorite people to work with.
-There were nine matches featuring USA Championship wrestling stars. James Ellsworth wrestled (he won), The Boogeyman, Dr. Tom Prichard, and Tony Atlas wrestled as well.
-Miranda Gordy, daughter of Terry Gordy, fought NWA Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa to a double count-out, which led to them having to be separated from each other several times. This was match of night for me. Thunder Rosa is the real deal. She carries herself with a believable intensity and as a star. AEW needs to find a way to sign her. The sky is the limit for her. I met her afterward and she was extremely nice and easy to talk to. Countless little girls wanted to meet her.
-The main event was a ThunderDome Cage match featuring Jerry “The King” Lawler and The Rock and Roll Express managed by Jimmy Hart against “Wildfire” Tommy Rich, “Dangerous” Doug Gilbert, and “Loverboy” Matt Riviera. Memphis Legend Dave Brown was the ring announcer while Memphis legends Jerry Calhoun and Downtown Bruno were referees for the main event.
-I expected a six-man tornado match but it was a regular six-man tag in the cage. The cage wasn’t really used until the final minute of the match. You could tell Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson intentionally limited their time in the ring so the King could shine. Lawler got the win. After the match, he threw a fireball in Riviera’s face.
-Overall, a fun night seeing the legends along with some good matches and a worthy, well deserved tribute to the King.
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