Lawler waits for Piper, gets Tommy Rich instead. Buzz Sawyer on Tommy Rich. WCW, November 1982.

Jerry "The King" Lawler joins Gordon Solie at the start of World Championship Wrestling and looks around for Roddy Piper. After a few times waiting around and continuing to taunt Piper, who apparently was ambushed by Ivan Koloff and Buzz Sawyer, Tommy "Wildfire" Rich comes out and challenges Lawler to wrestle at the Omni. Buzz Sawyer comes out and says he's going to shave Tommy Rich's head. WCW, November 1982.

[@fredbergstrom4866]

Thank goodness for you tube. Watching GCW on Saturday on the Superstation was my favorite time as a wrestling fan

[@glocksNgrippers]

Same here brother!

[@tyronespivey1982]

For me this is why Georgia was the best area!! Great Memories

[@elisathompson-hurt7144]

I think the King's own territory the Memphis USWA/CWA area was the greatest of all time

[@donwilcox728]

Georgia Championship Wrestling, the all star game of professional wrestling every Saturday.

[@billysikes1374]

Your 100% right, The best ever, Loved the rivalries, they played it to a tee

[@jimmyolsen5897]

Florida was better

[@gary6754]

This demonstrates the magic of the Territory system Jerry Lawler from the Memphis territory is on tV for Georgia doing a promo on Roddy Piper who is based in the Carolinas

[@mrknowitalllt1]

that's what made the nwa, THE NWA

[@bramirez3330]

And just a few short years later, the Mid Atlantic stars from the Carolinas took over World Championship Wrestling when Crockett bought the WCW time slot.

[@robertstapleton4394]

Also keep in mind that the Georgia promotion aired on the Atlanta superstation. When I was growing up in Alabama in the seventies, that was the first wrestling promotion I saw. Our television went up to thirteen channels, so options were pretty limited. Years later, Gordon Solie was the announcer on a Birmingham promotion that was carried on a local station, so for me, Gordon Solie's commentary was practically synonymous with pro wrestling.

[@fatdaddyeddiejr]

You're so correct. Buzz Sawyer was a heel in Georgia. Yet when he went to Portland Wrestling to help his brother Brett. Buzz Sawyer was one of the most popular wrestlers in the territory.

[@terryg995]

People want to blame Vince, but Brainless#1 at JCP killed off the territories, Vince just hammered in the final nail.

[@michaelrood2751]

Lawler just such a natural on the mic

[@terryg995]

He ain't no Double A

[@battlestarmarc]

lawler was a great heel. Magic on the microphone.

[@thack57]

Yeah that's why it's so hard to hear him become a cackling fool on the WWE. If a youngster heard this version of The King they wouldn't believe it. He owned that territory for what seemed like forever. He could go "Heel" or he could go "Face" and be equally spot on. Then he comes up to Greenwich, Ct to work for Vince and he starts to sound like Jimmy Hart on Diet Pills. I can only describe it as a Cackle + A Screach.

[@gern7535]

​​@@thack57 Jerry Lawler admitted long ago he wanted to be in show business. He also admitted he wanted to be famous and wealthy. He was already famous and wealthy from owning his own territory in Memphis and Vince gave him the opportunity to become famous throughout the country. Get paid a lot of money and 95% of his time would be spent doing mic work. He was getting older and realized he could become even more famous than he was and make a bigger check without getting bounced around in the ring. His gimmick was what Vince wanted and Lawler gladly accepted and cackled all the way to the bank with it. And here in 2023 you're still talking about him. He obviously succeeded with money and fame in show business like he always wanted.

[@ricg.4435]

Awesome times to be a wrestling fan!

[@MrAtomicDon]

i met Jerry Lawler in the early 2010s. He was low-key, cool and polite. i owned a comic book shop from 2000-2014 and The King entered my store, bought some comics and came off as a genuine dude.

[@TheKingme06]

I met him also...1992 to be exact in Henderson Kentucky..very nice man..one of the best moments in my life..

[@MrAtomicDon]

@@TheKingme06 Thank you, Ronny. i agree. i did not recognize him (He was very much on the down low and maybe 6 feet tall) but, his voice is unmistakable. Ronny's and Donny's always get along. Isn't that simply Marvelous? Add: Danny's.

[@crittoneida958]

which comics was he into? Is he a Marvel guy or a DC guy?

[@MrAtomicDon]

@@crittoneida958 I think both. He's always been a comic book fan.

[@MegaSammy70]

Jerry Lawler is an accomplished artist..I believe that's how he got into wrestling..He used to draw caricature pictures of the wrestlers and would send them into the wrestling show that they had in Memphis on the weekends,and Lance Russell would show them....If you ever get the time go look at his website and some the work he has done.

[@davelambinus7106]

I was 12 when this happen and lived in Philadelphia, my parents got a satellite 4 months prior to this, and when I found GCW while surfing ... my life changed, and I can't forget SWCW on USA, Tully dad's territory.

[@danlivni2097]

Were you also born in 1970

[@terryg995]

Good memories, he and Gino was it. I hated Gino leaving and Tully going to Central States, but Gino got over in World Class.

[@michaelramsey9442]

BETTER THAN TODAY,S WRESTLING

[@gscrippler9499]

AMEN

[@michaellowry1013]

Old school wrestling will never go out of style

[@shawnpringle3622]

Yep, by 3 million miles !!!!!!

[@dale5495]

Of course it's great their all coked out of 🧠

[@roxannestorm2616]

Yes absolutely

[@danieldeplorable4960]

Love how the crowd is loudly chanting "We want Piper" at the end of Lawler's rant.

[@DrexelWorldNews]

Wrestling totally dropped this element! The hype, the adrenalin, the stamina, the threats, the preaching!!! MORE MORE MORE!!!!!!

[@mitchcumstein5220]

It sucks now !!!!

[@sir-richard4172]

@@mitchcumstein5220 it's beyond suck. It's a Cumstein.

[@andrewbrown2888]

It became OVER produced,too slick and glossy.I like those old school buffoons....

[@robertoliver5347]

They lost all realism and connection with the audience and viewers.

[@glocksNgrippers]

That's right!

[@shaheed5103]

Lawler was GOLD on the mic

[@westernsky9424]

Those TBS Studio Fans Were The Koolest ...soooo Much Energy

[@georgemaranville3305]

From a psychology standpoint this is one of the greatest feuds that never was.

[@terryg995]

Piper saw no money there. And he wasn't gonna let the two Jerry's use him.as a stepping stone to get a shot at the NWA championship.

[@Nick_Naim]

I don't think Tommy Rich became a big star because he had no clue where the camera was.

[@pdbiii8665]

I remember being 7-8 years old and couldn’t wait for wrestling to come on! Tommy Rich was my favorite back then. My Dad took me to the Greensboro Coliseum to watch it one time because I did good on my report card:) Wahoo McDaniel was there and I remember he chopped some guy in the crowd in the nose on the way down to the ring for his match. Lol… Great Times

[@rtenny7]

I never knew Lawler had a run in Georgia....He spoke some truth in this promo ,regarding Johnny Rich.

[@itiswhatitaintanditaintwha1427]

Tommy.

[@Masseydriver]

He made several stops in Georgia, this wasn’t the only one.

[@79chevy901]

The good ole days of wrestling!

[@tomxconn]

Gordon Solie = LEGEND

[@derrickhouston9578]

Gordon Solie, The Dean of announcers. RIP Gordon, you was the best sir.

[@davidfulton179]

Thank your for this! I would love someone to start posting week-by-week episodes of WCW at 6.05 EST every Saturday so I can relive my childhood! TBS was destination TV every weekend afternoon! After a mediocre hour of WWF at 9:00 AM, then fantastic WCCW at 10:30, there was two hours of NWA action on at 3.05 (I was in Los Angeles). And for a good eight months, there was even Polynesian Championship Wresting on later that evening on channel 153! What a golden age when cable TV came to my area! If only the stars had aligned I would have gotten to see Southwest Championship Wrestling on USA before the WWF took over.

[@madmantrader]

wrestling was great back then. Thanks for posting.

[@contour157]

I love this music.. brings back soooo many good memories.

[@tyronespivey1982]

Brian all I can say is I’m grateful

[@venoms5]

You're welcome, Tyrone. Glad you're enjoying the videos. It's a lot of fun posting them so folks can revisit them again. Plus, I'm seeing a lot of stuff I haven't seen since I was a kid, or am seeing first time.

[@WRESTLEHOUSE]

Those Were The Days!!!

[@michaellowry1013]

Tbs Atlanta studio was the best wrestling ever

[@terryg995]

Did you go to a TV tapings on channel two WSB?

[@michaellowry1013]

@@terryg995 no they were seen on tv

[@patricksullivan2261]

Lawler and Rich were old hands at working with one another at this point, Rich had worked the Tennessee territory extensively before going to Georgia and he worked with Lawler a ton back in the day. Sadly this is one of the last times Lawler ventured out of the territory for longer then a show here and there for the next few years because Memphis was about to get hotter then a two dollar pistol. They were doing such good business in the mid-80s that Lawler, who by then owned a share of the territory, would have been cutting his own throat by going somewhere else. I do remember he lost a loser leaves town match to Bill Dundee so he could work in Hawaii for what was probably an extended vacation.

[@toddlee2571]

Lawler was a wrestling wunderkind in the late '60s/early '70s and Rich was mid-south wrestling's wunderkind of the mid-'70s and they had some epic matches in Memphis over the next two decades. Too bad the program between Piper and Lawler never panned out. It was to span both territories much like the Lawler program with Kerry Von Erich did years later. Both Lawler and Piper were masterful heels and it would have been a symposium on how to draw heat if nothing else.

[@freakdaddy5150]

There was only one Buzz Sawyer. He was so intense.

[@billnelson8517]

That's what great wrestling ability combined with a ton of coke will do lol! 😂

[@guyinacoffeeshop2239]

@@billnelson8517 and some loratabs

[@fatdaddyeddiejr]

I loved Buzz Sawyer when he came to Portland Wrestling to help his brother Brett fight Rip Oliver and his clan. Buzz was one of the most popular wrestlers in Portland Wrestling.

[@Sargebri]

This is almost a prelude to what would happen during the feud between Lawler and Kerry Von Erich. He was a heel in Texas while he was still a face in Memphis. Also, the same would happen years later with the Memphis/WWF feud in the early 90's.

[@miketustin4075]

Like Brody a heel in awa but loved in Texas

[@Sargebri]

@@miketustin4075 Or Flair during 1984 when he was a face as champion in Mid Atlantic, but on the road he was a major heel.

[@AtlChris]

More than any feud that didn't happen, I hate that this one didn't. Piper was so amazing during his time in GCW and Lawler was a great, great heel.

[@davidmeltzer1871]

1962-I love that music

[@miketustin4075]

Tommy Rich as a baby face against Lawler the heel and Ole Hansen and the big cat as fan favorites wow! Sadly never saw this period

[@MrDoneboy]

The greatest era of tv wrestling!

[@michaellowry1013]

Awesome studio wrestling the best

[@GregasaurausRex]

Johnny Rich went by the name David Haskins in Memphis. I remember Tommy Rich acting tough in Memphis against Lawler about a couple of years earlier when Lawler was in a leg cast at the announcer's desk at the tv studio.

[@GregasaurausRex]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnXdeZWbbMh3pMk

[@alanunseld4942]

went by roy rogers too

[@chrischar9428]

David Haskins was Davey rich not Johnny rich

[@isaacbraxton1731]

@@chrischar9428 David did a Rich cousin in Knoxville but he wasn't Johnny Rich

[@chrischar9428]

@@isaacbraxton1731 you replied to wrong person

[@jabrockobiden9434]

They shouldve brought this up for their 1994 match.

[@jamesblevins7115]

6:05 TBS was the absolute best wrestling program in history. To bad the crap they push now ain't worth wasting your time on.

[@tomxconn]

Exactly. Tired of sitcom reruns all day

[@peteartussee1202]

Damn I miss GCW. Buzz Sawyer was my favorite. Best days ever

[@martindoll5204]

Gordon Solie could sell an Angle without saying a word

[@olepirate3882]

The real WCW 💯

[@bobbylincoln7869]

Wow this is great thanks brian

[@chucklayman4922]

That voice started our every Thursday night at 6:05 pm on superstation wtbs In atlanta w my mamaw and papaw watchin every Thursday. GOD BLESS GORDON SOLEIL.

[@Votedjt2024]

I am really huge fan of memphis wrestling cwa memphis wrestling and uswa memphis wrestling and power pro wrestling memphis long time ago and i am really huge fan of Jerry the king Lawler is my favorite wrestler all time

[@nizzasmith3518]

Dam i wanted to see the whole episode

[@lesliefine2984]

Tommy rich was so over

[@needsaride15126]

Golden age of Wrestling. What a card.

[@libertarianrevolution7026]

If the Lawler vs Piper feud had really gotten going the trash talk would have been epic.

[@gerarpope6581]

That was good build up. So who won the match up? Lawler or Rich?

[@kingsports1113]

The king

[@PeasantWithaPitchfork]

Ah the memories of Georgia rassling. Good times.

[@shanhowe973]

Two of th greatest of all time priod!!

[@tonyd7601]

Lawler didn't look like mich he could go. His fued with Brett Hart and Terry Funk were awesome.

[@jeremyb5468]

Man wrestling was way cooler back then it sux now kinda

[@grant1739]

People were easier to impress then

[@terryg995]

they had clear lines of heels and babyfaces, Jerry was neither. Today they are all just gray.

[@Aaron-by3ke]

So did Lawler and Piper have their match in 1982 or did we have to wait until 1994 when they had their brief WWF feud?

[@larrylipshitz9430]

Man when that music hit it took me back to my childhood

[@ttwarrior1]

what if memphis joined the nwa and piper stayed and not go to the wwf

[@terryg995]

Memphis was loosely aligned with AWA and NWA. Hell, nobody but that jackass got a shot at Flair or Harley but him.

[@MRKJ408]

Lawyer almost lost character 😂

[@michaelfalkner1186]

Was this after Ole fired Piper, or before?

[@isaacbraxton1731]

Before

[@terryg995]

No, Piper was free agent, he wrestled back and forth between MACW, PNW and GCW during this time. I'm not sure when or if Ole fired him he was too hit back then.

[@alexbaker2615]

So much better than WWE!

[@formallyknownasjojoemc3174]

I'd like to have met Lawlers barber. His haircut rocks! Lol

[@danieldeplorable4960]

During the 2nd segment, it sounded like Lawler threatened to beat up Gordon Solie.

[@EricHendrickson-rm3xm]

I Remember This Episode I had just gotten a Satalite Dish

[@mixhaelamikovich]

King of rasslin

[@michaellowry1013]

Studio wrestling only the best up close look at the wrestling boots they wear is my favorite. Only the best

[@billysikes1374]

Gordon Solie, 🐐

[@harshtruth5003]

Wasn't piper fired by ole at this point?

[@georgemaranville3305]

Too much sniff sniff snort snort.

[@terryg995]

No, he was touring PNW and MACW

[@MegaSammy70]

I always heard Piper got fired because he and Tommy Rich showed up late for a wrestling show....I don't believe anything happened to Rich as he was the biggest star that they had at that time in GCW.

[@terryg995]

@@MegaSammy70 I can''t say who was bigger, but Piper was also wrestlingup in PNW at the same time and MACW. He had a full schedule. I don't be;ieve he got fired because he was with all three before he went to the WWF. Tommy Rich proved he couldn't carry the ball that's why flair got the nod.

[@terryg995]

Exactly, Piper was the hottest thing outside Flair, he had it built in that he could wrestle in PNW for Owens at the sane time. When you didn't see him at GCW or MACW, he was in Portland.

[@TheLeebo1962]

did Lawler ever, at any time, hold a title anywhere but Memphis, where he was protected?

[@armandop9082]

He beat Kerry Von Erich in awa/wccw unification match

[@TheLeebo1962]

@@armandop9082 when the AWA and WCCW were on their last legs.

[@armandop9082]

@TheLeebo1962 agree it was over by then, wwf had taken all the talent and Vince was on mission to dominate.

[@tiberiumsunwars1487]

when did it go from georgia to wcw? Then when they took it back from vince it was taken over by crocket?

[@venoms5]

In August of 1982.

[@thomascoker7703]

Before then they were doing FL Championship Wrestling from Jacksonville. Both programs had the same feel. Wrasslin...not Wrestling.

[@ivanwesley8182]

Nice haircut 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@guyinacoffeeshop2239]

You could tell Lawler had good commentary presence. I didnt know he ever wrestled outside of Memphis in the 80s.

[@simonboccanegra3811]

Yes, he'd pop up here and there. Atlanta. Florida (there was a Memphis/Florida crossover involving heels managed by JJ Dillon, and Lawler fought members of Dillon's stable). Chicago. Texas. The Andy Kaufman incident made Lawler a hot property, so there were angles with wrestlers "challenging" him for brutalizing that little guy. Sometimes he'd be an obnoxious heel in the other territories, sometimes a face. He was equally good playing it either way.

[@terryg995]

10+ years in the business he should have perfected somethingcause it sure wasn't wrestling science.

[@madbrowniac7871]

The journeys that Jerry Lawler made to Chicago and by extension The AWA in pursuit of dethroning Nick Bockwinkel established him as a very credible option to become The World Champ there eventually. In 1988 in his hometown of Memphis as an 18 year veteran Jerry Lawler finally achieved his dream of becoming AWA Champ. By dethroning Curt Hennig who himself had depended upon the nefarious assistance of Larry Zbyszko to dethrone Nick Bockwinkel in San Francisco.🤔😂🎤🎼🎸🤼‍♂️B.W.

[@henrycrawford2697]

crunch hardtack

[@rockinyouallnight]

Methlab Fire Rich sabotaged Roddy, then Ole fired Roddy and Lawler went back to Memphis to bitch about it. The rest is history.

[@Chief_Of_Sinners]

Piper Nivens?

[@kingsports1113]

Where Piper

[@MrJohngrissom]

Jerry is not the king Jesus Christ is the king.

[@user-rc1qq9pn7k]

When wrestling was great no soap opera WWE bs

[@timothyflanagan8211]

Thought in 82 wcw was the nwa

[@dannyhaywood9999]

The only thing worse than making Roddy Piper mad is making Jerry The King Lawler mad. Well also Bob Armstrong and Ric Flair too.

[@terryg995]

This was back in the day when Lawler was trying to get a run as NWA Champion. The NWA board and NWA fans outside of Memphis knew rhat nobody outside Memphis liked Lawler. Instead Piper shut down this angle quick by showing up in Memphis and laying him out for real.

[@patricksullivan2261]

Unh hunh. That is very interesting and how impressive that absolutely no one else in wrestling has ever told this story. You must have a real inside track on information.

[@terryg995]

@@patricksullivan2261 I never said I saw it. It happened in real life at one of the Memphis untelevised "dark" matches in '82. Piper came back from Portland and confronted him and shut down that angle real quick. Ans as far as that goes Tully Blanchard laid him out in San Antonio. So yes, you boy has a glass jaw.

[@patricksullivan2261]

@@terryg995 unh hunh. It happened and no one but me can attest to this. Look Lawler was no shooter but neither was Tully Blanchard. And by all accounts Roddy and Jerry got along just fine. You are preaching something that never happened. Let it go.

[@terryg995]

@@patricksullivan2261 I attest to nothing. Piper has enough shoots here attesting that he and Jerry were not friends. Tully was a FYI. Funny how he showed up on GCW tapings two weeks running and never again. I could attribute that to Piper shutting him down or simply that nobody liked him outside of Memphis. Take your choice

[@andrewatuahene3234]

Man Jerry Lawler can talk he always had that gift off gab.

[@davidfulton179]

How good was Lawler on WCW? Of course he literally and figuratively owned his own territory, but wow was he perfect for GCW an WCW! I think the aborted Flair/Lawler feud that floppeding in Memphis would have been gangbusters in Georgia.

[@TheZom1965]

I think Ole fired Piper for doing cocaine. Piper and Lawler never did happen that I know of.

[@rockinyouallnight]

Ole fired Piper because Tommy sabotaged Roddy by causing him to miss a booking. Piper & Lawler never took place until '94.

[@jabrockobiden9434]

Wrestlers are such soyboys now compared to these men.

[@mattraspo9912]

Tommy Rich sounds a lot like Stone Cold

[@mmmadog]

Never cared for Lawler but when he and Cole had their feud with Lawler dumping BBQ sauce on Cole and the very next day their on TV buddy buddy I pretty much stopped watching wrestling.

[@simonmadi1177]

Why? Did you think it was real? It's scripted, like the matches.

[@vivahernando1]

Wrassle

[@markyancey8035]

Lawyer sucked

[@tommyjones7387]

Pay attention wwe. This is how wrestling support to be.