I guess it was a means to an end & worked out fine for them, but I have seen lots of old matches from their territory with characters line how HTM described “The Red Shadow” & this did help them earn a little bit of a “Hokey” label.
It's crazy how these guys would wrestle 3 times in one night, 30+ nights in a row. Now these guys in wwe work 10 minute matches and work 5 days and are off for 2 and complain about how gruelling the schedule is.
Kinda half truth These guys traveled a lot (and they exaggerate) but within the same territory. Also the matches had a small fraction of the bumps (sometimes no bumps) than the current guys do and on softer rings. WWE today has hard rings with thick wood under the mat because Vince likes it to look good. They travel all over the nation and world and do as many bumps in one night as HTM Did in 2 months. Chances are HTM spent 24 of those 30 days sleeping in his own bed at home every night. Eddie Guerrero didn't get to do that and died in his hotel room from a heart attack. There's a lot of things to hate about modern WWE but don't blame the wrestlers for being lazy, they work crazy hard and take way more of a beating than the old timers did because there are no true "marks" anymore. You can't make a crowd of 8,000 go wild with a hair pull and a leg drop like you could in the 70s and early 80s
Big Rig Joe: Something else about the modern day men and women. Practically astronomical plunges from the top of a Stepladder into Heaven only knows how many chairs or a couple of tables or the steel ring steps. Imagine Dick Murdoch or Verne Gagne or Penny Banner executing these same lunatic spots just to rev up a sluggish crowd!🤔😮😝🎤🤼♂️B.W.
And I think this is what lead to many of their deaths sadly, working basically till the crack of dawn making red eye flights and only getting 2 to 4 hours of sleep at best and taking copious amount of uppers, downers, and all arounders with alcohol to help kick the pills in.
Wayne Farris struck gold when he became the Honky Tonk Man. When he first went to the WWF as HTM he was a face and remember he starting dancing the women in the audience didn't like him and next time he was a heel.
I was not a wrestling fan at the time but watched Kaufman on SNL and Lettermen and that totally had me sucked in. Lol. Kaufman generated extreme heat from me and I'm sure most people, it looked so good! Like he said it, it was a turning point in history!
A famous angle from Memphis in 1979. HTM and Larry Latham AKA Moondog Spot were working as the Blonde Bombers and the started a crazy ass brawl in the concession stands. Other wrestlers and fans got involved and it was quite a scene. This was 1979 and angles in general were rare at the time. It was very innovative for the time. Everybody who was in the arena and watching on TV thought it was real that night.
As i commented in other videos... Lawler is/was like Dusty Rhodes. A man that did very well for himself by back stabbing other ppl to get ahead. Not to mention, i never heard Honky getting into trouble with 14 year old girls. And is it not surprising that Lawler never done a shoot interview in 21 years. Hmm.
@@drrockkso8882 it's because "the king" is forever jealous that he never won a single title in the Federation while Honky is known as the greatest Intercontinental champ there ever was..
@@drrockkso8882Wow, I guess Jerry really got some serious family issues back in the day. There's this problem with the Honky Tonk Man, & at one time, he had a serious issue with his late son Brian Christopher aka. Grandmaster Sexay
+Jason Downs That's what I always thought. It sounds like a really horrible life except for the very, very top guys. The rest seemed to get screwed much of the time.
Ive heard Triple H and Austin talk of being on the road like 300 days a year and other than raw or smackdown they do alot of non tv shows too. Day after day. Hell on the body and mind and being away from family alot. I could never do what they do. I have alot of respect for them. Me i just drive this damned old truck up and down the road but its nothing compared to what they do
Dude, try hanging out with a Boston Irish family sometime. As Jack Donaghy put it in 30 Rock: "You know what family means to me? Resentment. Guilt. Anger. Easter egg hunts that turn into knife fights."
@@Millwall77 It lead to nothing. That's the story they both tell nowadays though......I think Wayne/Honky was probably telling the truth....but when Lawler asked him about it later he could say: "Hey brother, I was working to build an angle!" Lol.
This man is in super poor health now and is down on his time. Super sad. Never was compensated financially. I worked on a few of his vehicles a few years back and you’d be surprised how bad off this guy is.
Louisville was the place where February's In Your House was held and in that card Owen lost his last chance to get a final shot at Bret in a number one contenders match to Shawn Michaels
Interesting stuff. How times have changed, that are many good, capable women who can go toe to toe against males. It would have been tough back in those days to travel 500 miles and only get paid 25 or 30 bucks.
Yeah but nobody wants to see men vs Women... its just not right.. NBA... NHL...Even baseball... boxing... UFC... I think its cool when Andy did it but would you pay to see Sasha Banks vs Brock Lesnar in the main event at mania.. ? Hell no... People want to see something realistic.. not even Chyna or Moolah could make it work..
Yeah because its scripted.... toe to toe? Women can't even have a battle royal where they toss someone OVER the top rope... they throw them through the middle rope... just 1 example of how men and women are very very different. IF you want men vs women then protest and let them enter the 205lbs roster...
I could not disagree more. You obviously only know the WWE Lawler where they restricted him. Lawler is one of the best ever. Great brawler, great on the mic and ring psychology and has a ton of historic matches.
@@bthere100I never saw any of Lawler's work during his full-time wrestling days, but during the Attitude Era he would occasionally do a random match here and there and I was always amazed at how good he was in the ring. Especially considering his age (50 at the time) and the fact that he hadn't been an active performer in years.
Two points caught my attention: 1) Lawler was jealous of Farris 2) Lawler didn't like to give the young guys a push In order: 1) Dude you're drunk. Lawler owned the freaking promotion, was a former AWA Champion and was regularly booked in the main event in promotions all around the country and around the world. Dumbass 2) Let's look at the young guys who didn't get a "push" Jeff Jarrett Eddie Gilbert Paul Diamond Pat Tanaka Billy Travis Scott Steiner Ricky Morton Robert Gibson Rock 'n Roll Express Steve Kerin Stan Lane Fabulous Ones Tommy Rich Bobby Eaton Rick Rude Doug Gilbert Wayne Farris (as a part of the Blond Bombers) Lots of jealousy going on here. Got a good idea it's coming from the former HTM.
Christopher was in the WWE, held the World Tag team titles and worked the territories as they were ending. He also had a stint in TNA so respectfully he did very well
I never was a big fan of the Honky Tonk Man. I never could stand that Elvis Impersonator look. I worked with guy who was an Elvis Impersonator as a side job. Couldn't stand him. He thought he was the second coming of Elvis. Absolute joke.
That's such a weird job to be egotistical about. I mean there's some Elvis Impersonators who are genuinely talented singers/performers. But at the same time you're one of literally thousands of guys doing that same act, which consists of copying the original guy who's been dead for almost 50 years. Anyone doing that should have a bit of humility LOL
At the end of the day. Lawler was a shit wrestler, an absolutely terrible one trick pony commentator, and a cringeworthy pervert. He turned up just as the WWF started to turn crap.
The sad part is, if they got along, they'd be an awesome tag team. The heat they could generate between the two of them would be nuclear.
@@gazelliott2414 Can anyone explain this comment?
@@gordonbelle1375 lawler is a pervert
@@gordonbelle1375 Lawler and Honky were cousins but never got along
@@gordonbelle1375 They're first cousins but as 808 said they never got along with each other.
Did anyone else just want to watch one of these HTM videos and end up watching just about all of them? LOL
+Mac888 spectral lol me too. and roddy piper shoots. how long have yall been fans. i started in about 91
Probably the same wen I was 5years old . Sadly nothing good has come out of wrestling for the last ten years . Maybe tonight's draft could be fun .
86 or 87
Its like Jake's coke.... very very addictive...
lol, yep
this goes to show you just how hard the wrestling business is when you're working your way up.
He kicked ass as the Red Shadow!
You can tell him and Lawler are related. They resemble each other
now that you say that I can see the similarities
They are both wrestling legends....
Yeah, because they're from Tennessee.......😉
They're cousins. That's why
They're both 1st cousins. Both their mothers are sisters.
That's crazy that they would wrestle twice in one night using different gimmicks.
Yeah its insane.
That's why Memphis had more masked wrestlers on a card than anything Mexican Lucha cards would offer. It kept the payroll down.
Pedro Kantor it happens alot in The Indy's
I guess it was a means to an end & worked out fine for them, but I have seen lots of old matches from their territory with characters line how HTM described “The Red Shadow” & this did help them earn a little bit of a “Hokey” label.
The Hardy’s used several gimmick in some shows.
It's crazy how these guys would wrestle 3 times in one night, 30+ nights in a row. Now these guys in wwe work 10 minute matches and work 5 days and are off for 2 and complain about how gruelling the schedule is.
I think those 2 "off" days are them traveling from airport to airport and overseas.
Kinda half truth
These guys traveled a lot (and they exaggerate) but within the same territory. Also the matches had a small fraction of the bumps (sometimes no bumps) than the current guys do and on softer rings.
WWE today has hard rings with thick wood under the mat because Vince likes it to look good. They travel all over the nation and world and do as many bumps in one night as HTM Did in 2 months.
Chances are HTM spent 24 of those 30 days sleeping in his own bed at home every night. Eddie Guerrero didn't get to do that and died in his hotel room from a heart attack.
There's a lot of things to hate about modern WWE but don't blame the wrestlers for being lazy, they work crazy hard and take way more of a beating than the old timers did because there are no true "marks" anymore. You can't make a crowd of 8,000 go wild with a hair pull and a leg drop like you could in the 70s and early 80s
@@bigrigjoe5130 what alot of crap, you can tell you a modern fan with no education of wrestling history
Big Rig Joe: Something else about the modern day men and women. Practically astronomical plunges from the top of a Stepladder into Heaven only knows how many chairs or a couple of tables or the steel ring steps. Imagine Dick Murdoch or Verne Gagne or Penny Banner executing these same lunatic spots just to rev up a sluggish crowd!🤔😮😝🎤🤼♂️B.W.
And I think this is what lead to many of their deaths sadly, working basically till the crack of dawn making red eye flights and only getting 2 to 4 hours of sleep at best and taking copious amount of uppers, downers, and all arounders with alcohol to help kick the pills in.
Wayne Farris struck gold when he became the Honky Tonk Man. When he first went to the WWF as HTM he was a face and remember he starting dancing the women in the audience didn't like him and next time he was a heel.
The Original Sideburns Legend before the ROCK
ambrose burnside
Were they ever a Tag Team ? Jerry The King Lawler and The Honky Tonk Man...
Could you even imagine back in the day...
They could called themselves Kings of the South or the Royal Family
I was not a wrestling fan at the time but watched Kaufman on SNL and Lettermen and that totally had me sucked in. Lol. Kaufman generated extreme heat from me and I'm sure most people, it looked so good! Like he said it, it was a turning point in history!
Tonk is great.
Hey you ,wrestler Elvis!
For first cousins it sounds like they didn't get along or have much of a relationship at all.
Money is thicker than blood 🩸
Anyone else intrigued by the mention of 'the Tupelo concession stand thing'? Like yo...let's hear that story.
A famous angle from Memphis in 1979.
HTM and Larry Latham AKA Moondog Spot were working as the Blonde Bombers and the started a crazy ass brawl in the concession stands.
Other wrestlers and fans got involved and it was quite a scene.
This was 1979 and angles in general were rare at the time. It was very innovative for the time.
Everybody who was in the arena and watching on TV thought it was real that night.
This is some good content.
I knew the was cousin talking to my self that fighting style the had.
As i commented in other videos... Lawler is/was like Dusty Rhodes. A man that did very well for himself by back stabbing other ppl to get ahead.
Not to mention, i never heard Honky getting into trouble with 14 year old girls. And is it not surprising that Lawler never done a shoot interview in 21 years. Hmm.
형, 지금도 멋져서 감사해요.
OMG...how am I just now learning that Honky Tonk Man and Jerry Lawler are cousins?!?
They fucking hate each other in real life so neither one of them ever mentions the fact that they're related LOL.
@@drrockkso8882 it's because "the king" is forever jealous that he never won a single title in the Federation while Honky is known as the greatest Intercontinental champ there ever was..
@@drrockkso8882Wow, I guess Jerry really got some serious family issues back in the day. There's this problem with the Honky Tonk Man, & at one time, he had a serious issue with his late son Brian Christopher aka. Grandmaster Sexay
Geez, listening to all this driving and these spaced out bookings makes wrestling a horrible life choice.
+Jason Downs That's what I always thought. It sounds like a really horrible life except for the very, very top guys. The rest seemed to get screwed much of the time.
+Chris J totally, unless you're somebody like Rock or Hogan, it sounds like a truckers life.
Ive heard Triple H and Austin talk of being on the road like 300 days a year and other than raw or smackdown they do alot of non tv shows too. Day after day. Hell on the body and mind and being away from family alot. I could never do what they do. I have alot of respect for them. Me i just drive this damned old truck up and down the road but its nothing compared to what they do
It didn't sound fun then. It doesn't sound fun now that they're working nearly every day.
Grandmaster sexay was a VERY underrated talent
And now he's dead
The Undertaker Sadly...such a loss of talent
I agree i think he is elvis twin
Honky Tonk was a cool heel.
His Elvis gimmick was great.
Great interview.
he kinda looks like ace venturas grandfather
I wonder if they stay in contact and if they are on good terms
Family should be the closest, but in the South, they are ALWAYS the worst of enemies. Jealousy and being money hungry reign. Craziness.
Dude, try hanging out with a Boston Irish family sometime. As Jack Donaghy put it in 30 Rock: "You know what family means to me? Resentment. Guilt. Anger. Easter egg hunts that turn into knife fights."
@@drrockkso8882 lol, yep, sounds the same.
He and Jerry look so much alike. They need to squash their beef. They are family
They got on better terms after Lawler's near-fatal heart attack on 'Raw'.
never let your personal feelings take precedence over making money..my motto
I didn't know Honky Tonk was Jerry Lawler's cousin
Yep. Their mothers were sisters.
Not surprising. They fucking hate each other in real life so they almost never worked together or even acknowledged their relation.
Him & Jerry are blood cousins.
Yes
@1:47 "the intern" lol
the reason lawler did this is because they knew he would go to the wwe or wcw or nwa and make their money someday
I could’ve swore for the longest time Jerry Lawler and Honky Tonk Man were the same person
Talk about a cut throat business...
Which interview with HTM is it that he calls lawler "Chester the molester"
A turning point in history for booking Andy vs. women? lol
Well, not sure if many guys would do it but heck why not. lol
It is quite common now and ton of women capable of hanging with men
This was all a work!
Oh yea, in what way? What did it lead to? Working for...what?
@@Millwall77 It lead to nothing. That's the story they both tell nowadays though......I think Wayne/Honky was probably telling the truth....but when Lawler asked him about it later he could say: "Hey brother, I was working to build an angle!" Lol.
Andy Kauffman,H.o.f.!
This man is in super poor health now and is down on his time. Super sad. Never was compensated financially. I worked on a few of his vehicles a few years back and you’d be surprised how bad off this guy is.
Huh?
384 Miles from Louisville to Memphis...
Louisville was the place where February's In Your House was held and in that card Owen lost his last chance to get a final shot at Bret in a number one contenders match to Shawn Michaels
Interesting stuff. How times have changed, that are many good, capable women who can go toe to toe against males. It would have been tough back in those days to travel 500 miles and only get paid 25 or 30 bucks.
Gas was .32 a gallon. A good steak dinner was 4.50 and a hotel room was 6 bucks s night.
+Robert Smith And people were paid significantly less. It's all relative.
Yeah but nobody wants to see men vs Women... its just not right.. NBA... NHL...Even baseball... boxing... UFC... I think its cool when Andy did it but would you pay to see Sasha Banks vs Brock Lesnar in the main event at mania.. ? Hell no... People want to see something realistic.. not even Chyna or Moolah could make it work..
Yeah because its scripted.... toe to toe? Women can't even have a battle royal where they toss someone OVER the top rope... they throw them through the middle rope... just 1 example of how men and women are very very different. IF you want men vs women then protest and let them enter the 205lbs roster...
They are talking about way before the 90's, man.
I mean, I heard Jerry didn't even get with his kids.
King was always a better commentator than a wrestler just my opinion.
I could not disagree more. You obviously only know the WWE Lawler where they restricted him. Lawler is one of the best ever. Great brawler, great on the mic and ring psychology and has a ton of historic matches.
@@bthere100I never saw any of Lawler's work during his full-time wrestling days, but during the Attitude Era he would occasionally do a random match here and there and I was always amazed at how good he was in the ring. Especially considering his age (50 at the time) and the fact that he hadn't been an active performer in years.
Two points caught my attention:
1) Lawler was jealous of Farris
2) Lawler didn't like to give the young guys a push
In order:
1) Dude you're drunk. Lawler owned the freaking promotion, was a former AWA Champion and was regularly booked in the main event in promotions all around the country and around the world. Dumbass
2) Let's look at the young guys who didn't get a "push"
Jeff Jarrett
Eddie Gilbert
Paul Diamond
Pat Tanaka
Billy Travis
Scott Steiner
Ricky Morton
Robert Gibson
Rock 'n Roll Express
Steve Kerin
Stan Lane
Fabulous Ones
Tommy Rich
Bobby Eaton
Rick Rude
Doug Gilbert
Wayne Farris (as a part of the Blond Bombers)
Lots of jealousy going on here. Got a good idea it's coming from the former HTM.
their moms were sisters.
punk rock
punk rock wayne ferris
did he say $25-$35 a night?????
$30 on a good night???
$25 or $30 for all that traveling and a couple matches a night?
Gas was 25cent a gallon likely
@@sirjohnahayfalcon Because you needed 10 gallons to get out of your driveway lot back then.
called paying your dues
That wouldn’t pay for food or hotel.
Four guys sharing a car and hotel room. Made that $30 last.
So apparently all this was a worked shoot from honky tonk
seriously?🤣
Jerry was old skew
Christphoher never made it big ..so Lawler didn't favor his son
Christopher was in the WWE, held the World Tag team titles and worked the territories as they were ending. He also had a stint in TNA so respectfully he did very well
Baron Michel Sicluna was much better than HTM
Lawler is a liar wayne never liked him
They got on better terms after Lawler's near-fatal heart attack on 'Raw'.
I never was a big fan of the Honky Tonk Man. I never could stand that Elvis Impersonator look. I worked with guy who was an Elvis Impersonator as a side job. Couldn't stand him. He thought he was the second coming of Elvis. Absolute joke.
That's such a weird job to be egotistical about. I mean there's some Elvis Impersonators who are genuinely talented singers/performers. But at the same time you're one of literally thousands of guys doing that same act, which consists of copying the original guy who's been dead for almost 50 years. Anyone doing that should have a bit of humility LOL
At the end of the day. Lawler was a shit wrestler, an absolutely terrible one trick pony commentator, and a cringeworthy pervert. He turned up just as the WWF started to turn crap.
Sorry, Wayne, you just didn't excite the masses as much as Jerry