Hogan vs Lawler not going to happen

Mr.Nice Guy

It seems the WWE aren't too pleased with the plans for Jerry Lawler to face off against Hulk Hogan in Memphis. They have forced Lawler to pull out of the event and the main event will now be Paul "Big Show" Wight vs Hogan.

Here's PWinsider's Mike Johnson reporting on the press conference:

Lawler discussed the match with Hogan from 20 years ago, saying it ended with a disqualification but there were times Lawler had him on the ropes. He said Hogan went on to become one of the biggest stars in wrestling history, so when Memphis Wrestling showed the match again on tape, it would be edited to show Lawler in control.

Lawler said they expected it to be the biggest event in the history of Memphis Wrestling, but "as most people know" Lawler works for World Wrestling Entertainment announcing every Monday. He said this past Monday, he was called into the office and asked if he was going to wrestle Hogan in Memphis. He told them that he was and they said that was a problem. Lawler noted that the business is fun, but there's a not so fun side of it and that's the business side of it. He noted that he was under contract to WWE while Hogan is under contract to VH-1 for his reality show.

He said that there is a problem with any NBC/Universal talent (which WWE stars fall under) appearing on VH-1. He noted that Hogan cannot pull out of his deal with VH-1 because one of the major reasons the show was being done was to have footage for the reality show. Lawler reiterated that he cannot appear on VH-1, so he's going to have to "bow out of the match". Lawler said that he wishes it could happen but because of contracts and business reasons, he cannot appear and wrestle Hogan.

Lawler announced that there would still be a show on 4/27 in Memphis with Hulk Hogan wrestling. Lawler said that Hogan was looking forward to walking out of Memphis having beaten Jerry Lawler and walking out with a smile on his face for VH-1 cameras and Lawler was looking forward to stopping that. Lawler said Cory Macklin has pulled a miracle out of his hat and Hogan's visit won't be as pleasant as Hogan likely hoped it would be, but "the show must go on." Lawler said that he won't be involved but the show will be bigger and better.

I feel bad for Lawler. What a way to treat a guy they've just inducted into their Hall of Fame. I don't buy the bullsh*t about contractual technicalities because Vince McMahon himself appeared on an episode of Hogan's show on VH-1 before. Hogan made that point himself at the conference:

Hogan said that one of his concerns was wrestling Jerry Lawler and asked Jerry if it was going to be OK He said that Lawler promised him that even if he was fired, he wrestle. This week, WWE came to Lawler with a bunch of reasons as to why he couldn't appear, including their intellectual properties, that they wouldn't send talent to Memphis anymore, and also that they didn't want Lawler appearing on VH-1. Hogan noted that in recent years, lots of WWE stars including Vince McMahon have appeared on VH-1 and said that he feels its a personal thing. He said that he feels bad Lawler doesn't want to participate because WWE is his main source of employment.

Hogan noted that perhaps WWE and Vince McMahon feel that Hogan, at 53, can be a threat to them and perhaps they are right. He joked that WWE supports Memphis Wrestling until he comes along, and says perhaps Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton can explain to him what discrimination is all about.

I'm sure they will still draw very well but Hogan vs Lawler was the match Memphis have been hyping up for ages. It seems to me the WWE are trying to get one over on Hogan but the guy who's getting shafted here is Jerry Lawler.

When it comes to business Vince McMahon can be a right arsehole.

fatal

hogan was only going to have this match to prove to vince that he could still pull a crowd......

Vince135792003

When I heard about it, I half expected Hogan to pull out last minute if ticket sales weren't good. Instead Lawler gets forced out.

Just another chapter in the Vince-Hogan relationship or feud depending on the year.

Fozzy

I was sayin to my mate last night that I didn't think the match would happen. Although, I was convinced that Hogan would pull out, I never suspected WWE would have somethin to do with it. I agree that it's a bit **** of them to not let Lawler wrestle like that. It's not as if people watch Raw to see him anyway

Mr.Nice Guy

More on the issue from PWInsider:

The fallout from Hulk Hogan's appearance in Memphis Wrestling continued over the last 24 hours as World Wrestling Entertainment has yanked talent scheduled to work Memphis house shows this weekend including Boogeyman, Shelton Benjamin, and Charlie Haas. Memphis TV had already advertised all three for the events, so they'll either have to scramble to re-edit TV or make announcements at the events. I've heard from one reliable source that in response to WWE pulling talent, Cory Macklin is trying to set up discussions with TNA to begin using TNA talent on his events, although whether they've even spoken yet, much less put together a deal, I haven't confirmed.

In regard to Jerry Lawler being pulled, the story making the rounds is that WWE TV Producer Kevin Dunn, who would be Lawler's superior in the company as he has an announcer's deal (as opposed to a wrestler's contract), contacted him and told him he wasn't allowed to appear on the show. Dunn then allegedly called Lawler back looking to see if they could get Macklin to shut the show down, offering to reimburse his deposit on the Fedex Forum. Macklin declined that request as there were sponsorships set up, tickets printed, T-shirts, advertising and other avenues already in motion. The feeling on Macklin's part was said to be that if they called off the show, they may as well have put a bullet into the head of Memphis Wrestling as a company altogether because they were promising something grand and had to deliver.

There's a lot of heat on Jerry Lawler in the Memphis area because all along, he stated he would be able to do the match. Hogan had his concerns about the situation since he and Vince McMahon are no longer on good terms. According to one source, Lawler's feelings were to go ahead and worry about being forgiven later as opposed to asking permission and being shot down. When Lawler was finally pulled by WWE, those involved with the press conference expected Lawler to explain that WWE pulled him, but once he got to the mic, he instead used the VH-1 contractual issues as a reason to babyface himself and WWE.

Lawler then left the dais as soon as Hulk Hogan arrived, as Hogan turned the issue into WWE vs. himself with WWE painted as the heel and Lawler wanted no part of that.

The reason there are so many upset with Lawler is that the "Hogan Knows Best" VH-1 reality series had nothing to do with the cancellation. VH-1 isn't involved with the production of the Memphis Wrestling event, which is being promoted by Cory Macklin and his backers. Lawler was told he wouldn't need to sign a VH-1 release and not everything involving the show would have been filmed. When he got to the podium (and to be fair, he was put in a bad position by WWE), Lawler tried to babyface everyone, using VH-1 as his reason to tapdance out of the situation.

The true situation was that WWE didn't want anyone involved with their company involved in any way with a Hulk Hogan project and Lawler ended up the fall guy because of it, burning (at least for the short term, because he always bounces back) some of his goodwill in the local Memphis community. Even if VH-1 wasn't a factor, Lawler would have been yanked from the show. There's no plans for him to appear in any other segment of the 4/27 event at all.

At this point, it remains to be seen whether Lawler will even remain involved with Memphis Wrestling, a product that he's been the face of, for decades, in his home city.

Lawler must be fuming about the way they're treating him.

Minto

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

Lawler must be fuming about the way they're treating him.

I'd say he is. But you have to see where WWE (Vince) is coming from. Lawler/Hogan is a great idea and why should WWE let one of their stars help Hogan prove he can draw outside of WWE. But tbh, if he couldn't really do it in WCW he has no chance in Memphis. I actually support Vince on this one, the only downside is that WWE have lost an unofficial training ground.

Vince135792003

Minto wrote:

But tbh, if he couldn't really do it in WCW he has no chance in Memphis. .

Hogan drew in WCW. He drew big. They just kept him and a half a dozen others at the top too long and thats what killed the company and his drawing power for them.

J.R.HARTLEY

jesus first they change his inductor at the HOF now this, **** em jerry get out if you can

Minto

Vince135792003 wrote:

Hogan drew in WCW. He drew big. They just kept him and a half a dozen others at the top too long and thats what killed the company and his drawing power for them.

Yea, but he never drew like he did when he was with the wwf (no smart animal joke, please). He probably could have if WCW booked larger arenas.

Vince135792003

Minto wrote:

Yea, but he never drew like he did when he was with the wwf .

But I mean who has besides Austin and possibly The Rock in the late 1990's early 2000. So your setting a high mark there!

Hogan (and he had a major down side to him in WCW in the end) was so key in their growth and was a major draw. He re-invented his character and it worked fantastically, for a period.

Charlie

Minto wrote:

Yea, but he never drew like he did when he was with the wwf (no smart animal joke, please). He probably could have if WCW booked larger arenas.

The red n' yellow Hogan was getting stale by '93 and the WWF knew this. Thats why they pushed the Ultimate Warrior and Lex Luger, so to find a successor to Hogan. Therefore, by '93/'94 the red n' yellow Hogan would never have drawn aswel as he did during the 80's, regardless of whether he was with WWF or WCW. By '93/'94 I don't think Vince McMahon could have had Hogan draw like he did in the 80's.

However, with the nWo, WCW drew a buttload of cash with Hogan. That era of the WCW turned a company that was hemrogening money, to one that was worth 400-500 million. I think during its height, WCW drew as much money as possible out of Hogan and the nWo that they could have. The fact that that figure wasn't as much what Hogan drew in the 80's is academic, as like I said, I don't think anyone (including Vince) could have reached those numbers again. The 80's represented a certain climate for the wrestling product where it was something totally fresh and interetsing, and Vince happened to pounce on that. The 90's were different. Whilst we had the attitude boom of the late 90's, the money that was drawn during that period was largely off of an audience that was sick and tired of the 80's style of over the top gimmicks and unrealistic storylines.

Back to Lawler, I feel really bad for him. I posted in the HOF thread how in an interview he sounded notably pissed with the way WWE was treating his induction (i.e they didn't give a flying fook what Lawler wanted, it was more about what was good for WWE) and now this happens. Its semi-understandable that Vince would pull this stunt and maybe Lawler should have realised that. I only wonder though that if Lawler had of been a bit more savy, he would have scheduled the fight a week or two before Mania and could have used the HOF induction as leverage.

Vince135792003

charlie mchugh wrote:

if Lawler had of been a bit more savy, he would have scheduled the fight a week or two before Mani and could have used the HOF induction as leverage.

I don't think Lawler has leverage though in any sense. And I think if he had done what you said, I'm not sure he'd be announcing Raw too long after. Vince holds all the cards.


The Hogan post you made is spot on I think.

Charlie

Vince135792003 wrote:

I don't think Lawler has leverage though in any sense. And I think if he had done what you said, I'm not sure he'd be announcing Raw too long after. Vince holds all the cards.

Possibly, but WWE would have looked incredibly silly firing a person a night or so after Mania, just after they inducted them into the HOF, with a possible Matt Hardy-esque reaction by the fans.

I think in many ways the wrestling business is somewhat poker-esque, what you an demand or get away with depends on the strength of your position within the company at that present time. Unless you do something to Vince which would incredibly hurt him (like pooping his daughters cherry ala Savage, if the rumours are to be believed) then he will only bury you or not bring you back if he thinks it won't adversly affect his business, I mean look at Hogan, after all the **** they've been through they still could setup all his recent appearances and I bet you that they will still do business after this heat on Hogan dies down.

In situations other than these (ones which could hurt his product) than what you can get, can demand and, get away with depends on who you are and how strong your position is within the product, I mean look at the crap Randy Orton gets away with, Michaels in his youth, etc. The point I am trying to make is that the reason Vince probably pulled Lawler was that he knew he could, that Lawler had no real pull at the time, and that it wouldn't damage his product. Had the fight been scheduled for just before Mania then Lawler would have been in a stronger position, and Vince could have possibly realised that scoring cheap points against Hogan isn't worth pissing off someone who has been named to be inducted to the HOF, with the risk that they disappear before that can happen.

It is very difficult to know but its just my read on the situation and on a bigger level, the politics that take place in wrestling.

Vince135792003

I don't think it wouldn't have mattered when this match might have occurred but thats just an opinion and I can see yours and I'd agree with it if it was anybody else but Hogan.

Vince and him go the extra mile it seems to get at each other and the King was just collateral damage.

Charlie

The thing that I find strange about the whole thing is that I think this Memphis match makes Hogan look real weak in terms of his stature in the business.

I know that the Big Show is going to fight him now, but, I assume that by pulling Lawler from the show, the ultimate goal of the the WWE was that Hogan wouldn't wrestle. But why? I know if I was a casual fan and saw a clip of Hogan wrestling in some Memphis Bingo Hall that holds less than 1000 people I would think gees the Hulkster has fallen on hard times somewhat and that without the WWE he is nothing.

I think by having Hogan wrestle this much it actually puts the WWW over to the casual fan.

Vince135792003

A few pictures of the event with Hogan and the Big Show. There was roughly 5500 at it.

oneofakind32

Wo looks like it really bombed!!
That wont work in Hogan's favour when hes trying to squeez more cash out of vince for his next run. If there is one!

Vince135792003

Apparently the WWE struggle to do well there too. It does look bad though when you see an indoor arena a quarter full.