Booking Memphis Wrestling with Jerry Jarrett

Our guest this week is Jeanie Clarke. She and Jerry catch up to talk about the famous USWA Dallas feud where she teamed with future husband Steve Austin against ex-husband Chris Adams and his then wife Toni Adams. Jeanie is full of great insights and stories about that feud, as well as being married to Steve Austin when he was perhaps the hottest star in the history of the business. Follow her on Twitter at @ClarkeJeanie and buy her book, "Through the Shattered Glass", at Amazon.com!

Memphis production genius Mike Shields joins us to talk about numerous innovations and contributions to pro wrestling from his career. We discuss wrestling's first ever music video, shooting the Tupelo Concession Stand Brawl, the first ever Hulk Hogan promotional video, and being responsible for Eric Bischoff getting his position running WCW. This is priceless wrestling history, Mike has never done an interview before, but agreed to join Jerry Jarrett to talk about their history together.

A great episode this week as we discuss the very beginnings of the career of Hulk Hogan, perhaps the greatest draw in pro wrestling history, and some of the lesser known contributions that Jerry Jarrett made to the start of his career. To help us out, we're proud to have on former great Memphis heel manager and Memphis wrestling expert - Scott Bowden! Listen to his podcast, Kentucky Fried Wrestling, at KFRpod.com!

We're proud to have Memphis wrestling mainstay Randy Hales as our very first ever guest on the show. This episode is at times hilarious and at times very emotional. Hear why Jerry Jarrett and Randy didn't talk for 25 years, and why they've reconnected in the last month and are good friends once again. And plenty of classic behind the scenes Memphis wrestling stories as well!

This week we do another Booking 101-inspired show, with fascinating insight into the creative process that made Memphis the special territory that it was. The conversation goes into Jerry's time mentoring Bill Dundee and Dutch Mantell and the success they had on their own, and why Jimmy Hart was so successful and integral to the territory for so many years. If you're a Memphis fan, you will want to hear this discussion to understand why it was so great.

We bring back a concept from a very popular show that we did previously - Memphis Quick Hits! Sean fires names from Memphis history at Jerry Jarrett, and Jerry responds with the first thoughts or stories that come to his mind. Hear his views on people like Jimmy Hart, Jim Cornette, The Freebirds, Eric Embry, Terry Taylor, Robert Fuller, Buddy Wayne, Sonny King, and many more!

Charles Williams of ProWrestlingOnly.com joins us this week and we have a wide-ranging discussion with Jerry Jarrett on a great variety of subjects. We talk about the end of Paul Heyman's run in Memphis, Jerry's love for Randy Savage, the success of AJ Styles and how long it took for Jerry to recognize his potential, him wrestling the first scaffold match, and being brought in by WCW as a consultant and asked to choose between Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo as the future leader of the company.

In this episode, Jerry Jarrett pays tribute to Brian Lawler and gives his thoughts on the tragedy that occurred. Then, as a balance to our infamous Slappy awards, and to bring some happiness to a sad time, Jerry hands out his Superstar Awards. This is a tribute to the people who Jerry feels most helped him become so successful in the wrestling business.

This week we dive into a few well-known Memphis "controversies", and get the real story on what happened from Jerry Jarrett himself. In fact, one of these stories caused Jerry to call Jerry Lawler on the day of recording to make sure the record was set straight! We talk about the infamous Apter mag article claiming Lawler had defeated Andre the Giant on behalf of all smaller people, causing some heat in the NWA. Also, hear the details on supposed incidents involving Harley Race and the Sheik!

We will get to the Superstar awards, but instead of doing lists two weeks in a row, we shake things up again this week Memphis-style. We thought it would be fun to bring on a lifelong Memphis fan, Scott Mason, and let him ask Jerry Jarrett anything he can think of for an hour. Listen to some great stories on The Fabulous Ones, Lance Russell, Eric Embry, Eddie Gilbert, Austin Idol, SuperClash 3 and much more. Also, you have to hear how Joe Namath affected Jerry's fashion style for a time, trust us.

It's time for Jerry Jarrett's Slappy Awards! This episode is hilarious but also at times very emotional. Here is Jerry's list of the top people in wrestling who he had some, well, unpleasant or unusual business dealings with during his career. This is not meant to be mean-spirited, its more of a vehicle for us to hear some hilarious stories, as well as some cautionary tales. Yes, you probably guessed that Dixie Carter was on the list, but wait until you hear the story of how Ric Flair ended up here.

This is a great episode, as one of the most successful promoters in the history of the business gives his top tips to everyone trying to promote pro wrestling in 2018. And, as always with Jerry and Sean, we veer into some other topics. Hear about Vince McMahon telling Jerry 25 years ago that he wished he could have generic replaceable wrestlers, and how 25 years later Vince has now accomplished that. How did TNA fail by trying so often to be WWE-lite. And so much more.

This a fun wide-ranging show full of fascinating topics. We start with the premise of doing a Booking 101 series - a collection of shows where one of the all-time brilliant bookers in wrestling history passes down his knowledge to younger generations. We start with a discussion of why Memphis TV was so special, but we really get into the heart of Jerry Jarrett as an artist and writer. It's a deep episode that Memphis fans will love, as we try to get to what was really at the core of our favorite wrestling.

In the spirit of Memphis TV, we do a fast paced show called Memphis Quick Hits - Sean throws about 25 names from Memphis history at Jerry Jarrett and he responds with the first story that comes to mind. Hear some gems - what did Lou Thesz do to lose Jerry's respect for a time, why does Jerry consider Randy Savage the most honorable main he ever came across in the wrestling business, and hear about Jerry holding Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson on his lap as his dad worked Memphis in the late 70's.

In this episode we go into great detail on Jerry Jarrett's long relationship with the McMahon family and WWE. Hear about how Vince McMahon Sr was a key part of Jerry's early success, how Vince McMahon Jr called in a favor Jerry had made to Vince Sr a decade earlier for help, how Jerry pushed for smaller wrestlers like Bret Hart to get pushed, and finally how Jerry created the Mr. McMahon character and produced the very first Mr. McMahon interviews. A great episode documenting important wrestling history.