Scott Bowden presents Kentucky Fried Rasslin

The real dirt on the wrestling business: Only fitting that we start off my annual (OK, it’s only the second year in a row, but…) down-to-the-wire recommendations for the rasslin’ fans on your Christmas Chaos shopping list by looking at the new book from “Dirty” Dutch Mantell. I first met Dutch in 1989, my freshman year in college. He was booking Memphis, and had built an angle involving longtime area mid-carder King Cobra and Jerry Lawler, who had recently turned heel for the first time in years. As the main event of Mid-South Coliseum card that Dutch billed as “Christmas Chaos,” Cobra shocked Lawler and the approximately 3,000 fans in attendance by pinning the World Unified champion to win the title. As the crowd popped for the upset, Dutch walked out from the dressing-room area to observe his handiwork. My friend and I, two marks who thought we were smarter to the business than we really were, motioned Mantell to come over, and he obliged. I told him, “You booked a good angle!” Dutch kayfabed me, acting like he had no idea what the hell I was talking about. (In hindsight, I’m surprised he didn’t grab “shoo-baby,” his bullwhip.) A few years ago, I was surprised when Dutch told me that he remembered our initial “conversation,” practically verbatim.

In his new book, Tales From a Dirt Road, Dutch shares his wit and wisdom on a variety of subjects, including the infamous legit street fight between Ernie Ladd and the Brisco Brothers (a great story that will have you convinced Ernie Ladd was the baddest man alive), navigating the treacherous, shark-invested political waters of the rasslin’ business, a showdown with men in white hoods in the South who were definitely not Tim Woods and Johnny Walker, a wild barroom brawl with the Undertaker, trials and tribulations of the wild and wooly JBL, traveling with lunatics like the Iron Sheik and Sid Vicious, and tales of the usual suspects like Jerry Lawler, Bill Dundee,and Buddy Landell. In fact, the chapter titled “The Last Sellout” was inspired by an interview I conducted Dutch earlier this year. When I asked him about the last sellout at the Coliseum–a wild brawl with the Dutchman, the King, the Nature Boy and the Superstar–he told me, “‘The Last Sellout’–man that, would make a great title for a book.” Well, he decided to go with a different book title, but the Last Sellout chapter in Tales From a Dirt Road will give you the lowdown on the one of the last great Memphis angles of all time. (Lawler vs. Idol, Rich drew big money the following year, but they did not sell out.)

Dutch also provides a rare glimpse into the working (arguably, mind you) mind of Vince Russo. Once after a long TNA writing session, a frustrated Russo confessed to Mantell, his writing partner, “Y’know, I just don’t understand this whole babyface vs. heel thing.” An exasperated Dutch replied, “There’s a book you should read.” Russo perked up: “Really, which one?” Mantell deadpanned, “The Bible.” Click the link below to order Dutch’s new offerings of homespun rasslin’ goodness. You won’t be disappointed.

Rasslin’ with history: People frequently ask me what I believe to be the best bouts ever held in the Memphis territory. I can usually rattle off 10 bout, but sometimes it’s difficult because Memphis ran every Monday night at the Mid-South Coliseum during my childhood. So that’s a lot of bouts over my years a fan, which began in the summer of 1977 and lasted through through the period when I became a referee in 1991. Even then, I remained a fan and always will be at heart. (Or as fellow longtime Memphis wrestling fan Dave Millican and I always joke, ”Once a mark, always a mark.”) Certainly, some of my favorites growing up were Jerry Lawler’s bouts with the likes of Bill Dundee, Dutch Mantell, Nick Bockwinkel. For that reason, it might be easier to point to the entire year of 1982–arguably the most wildly entertaining 12 months in the promotion’s history–and say, “Take your pick.”

For the most detailed examination of the year 1982–with a roster than included the Fabulous Ones, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, Terry Taylor, Koko Ware, Bobby Eaton, the Moondogs, Austin Idol, Jacques Rougeau, Jimmy Hart–and what it meant to Memphis wrestling, be sure to pick the new book from Mark James, Memphis Wrestling History Presents: 1982, A Legendary Year From the Golden Era, which includes reprints of every Monday night souvenir program from 1982 along with comments from the men who made Memphis the most entertaining territory in the country in 1982, everyone from Mantell to Jarrett to Dundee to Austin Idol. Click the link below to order. Mark put a lot of work into this book (gathering the programs alone was no small feat), and any Memphis wrestling fans will be delighted with the result. Available by clicking the link below.

Let me tell ya somethin, paly: While Mark James’ book is packed with excellent insider info and anlaysis, Ron Hall’s Sputnik, Masked Men & Midgets is a gorgeous scrapbook of the bygone days of Memphis wrestling, through the ’50s to the ’70s, with pictures you won’t find anywhere, including rare shots of Sputnik Monroe, Jackie Fargo, Don & Al Greene, Tojo Yamamoto, Tommy Rich, Dundee and Lawler.

Hall, a longtime authority on Memphis music and local pop culture in general, also includes a special bonus treat: a bonus CD of songs long out of print by wrestlers like Sputnik Monroe, Jackie Fargo, Len Rossi, and even “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant’s 1978 classic “Son of a Gypsy.” Mercy, daddy! Click the link below to order, brotherjackdaddy.

OK, Define “Top”: Easily the most controversial WWE DVD release in recent memory, the company’s Top 50 Superstars of All Time supposedly attempts to take an NFL-Films-style approach to preserving its history with a countdown of the greatest performers in history. To illustrate just how petty WWE is, Hulk Hogan is number 23 on the list, while Rey Mysterio is number 9.

If Ric Flair had not signed with TNA, he’d likely be number one, especially after his huge retirement send-off; instead, he’s somehow “tied” with Dusty Rhodes at number 17. (Poor Ric–after years of futility in JCP, he still can’t beat Rhodes convincingly.) Shawn Michaels, practically a WWE lifer, is number one–at least that somewhat makes sense. Twenty years ago, I’d never dream that Jerry Lawler would receive such respect on a WWE presentation at number 20. (But even Lawler would be embarrassed to see that he’s one spot ahead of the legendary Lou Thesz.)

Longtime company employees Pat Patterson and Fabulous Moolah are ranked ahead of Buddy Rogers, Jack Brisco and Nick Bockwinkel, which is a joke. And don’t even get me started on the low rankings for Bruno and Backlund. When I initially saw the list, I was more amused than anything–this is pure marketing and political bullshit (Triple Hi is #12)–but you wouldn’t believe how many fans were irate over this.

Even though I completely disagree with the list, I’m intrigued to watch it–much like a trainwreck. Maybe I’ll do a more in-depth look at the list after I’ve seen it, but debating the rankings is about as futile and worthless as discussing WWE Hall of Fame credentials. The release is loaded with clips and matches from the past over three discs, so it’s worth checking out.

I’ll have more gift ideas tomorrow, so check back then, ya stinkin’ rednecks.

More than 28 years after their memorable feud in the Memphis Wrestling territory, Jerry Lawler and “Dirty” Dutch Mantell squared off a week ago at an indie show in Paris, Tenn. The two Tennessee legends may be older, but according to longtime Memphis fan and belt-maker extraodrinaire Dave Millican, Lawler and Mantell’s chemistry was as strong as ever.

“Maybe it wasn’t ’82–no black hat and singlet for Dutch and the King’s old style crown replaced by the style he has in front of him every week on RAW–but none of the little changes in the nostalgia of it all mattered,” says Millican, who first became transfixed by the Memphis mayhem unfolding on his TV screen as a kid around 1976. “It was the best live match I have seen in years. These guys might not have the same look that they had 28 years ago, but they still have the same ability to put a crowd in the palm of their hands.”

While Millican still follows the business and is widely regarded as one of the top championship belt makers in the country, his interest in attending live shows has waned in recent years. But with happy memories of those classic ’82 bouts (easily the best matches at the Coliseum that year and, in my opinion, some of the greatest Lawler performances of his career) entrenched in his mind, Millican had to be there last Friday night to see Lawler and Mantell lock up again at the National Guard Armory in Paris.

“There is very little going on in wrestling, sports entertainment, or whatever you want to call any of it these days, that holds my interest. In many cases, I can walk right in the back door of most any wrestling event by making a call, and I still can’t make myself care enough to do it. I don’t mean to be insulting, because I know there are plenty of fine workers out there these days if you look around enough, but I just can’t get interested in anything I have seen recently. The remedy for that? The Dirty Dutchman vs. The King. It was a one-night chance to revisit one of my all-time favorite feuds, as well as visit for a few minutes with two of my favorite wrestlers, whom I have been fortunate to get to know over the years.”

Millican attended the matches with Memphis Wrestling historian Mark James, who also grew up with the magic of those Monday nights at the Mid-South Coliseum with Lawler and Mantell and the rest of Jerry Jarrett’s crew in the late ’70s and throughout the ’80s.

“Mark and I were talking before the match about how we didn’t expect it to be 1982 all over,” Millican says. “We were just glad to get to see them in the same ring again. Dutch was there early, selling books, pictures, posing with any fan that wanted to snap a pic with him, no way he was the heel on this night.. Then he hits the ring at match time and turns on the crowd; suddenly, Dutch has them booing him, calling for Jerry Lawler so he can beat his brains out. Lawler then takes the mic, telling Dutch that people in the area had a lot to be frustrated about these days, not the least of which was the recent flooding, and that he was gonna help them take all of that frustration out on Dutch. It was a great example of men who truly understand their craft. They weren’t lazy and they didn’t phone it in; these guys went at each other like they did almost 30 years ago. They made it easy to suspend disbelief. Dutch even slid out of the ring at one point, pulling Lawler by the feet into the post, bringing back memories of what Austin Idol and Tommy Rich did to the King during their feud. The best compliment I can give it is that if they were doing it again next weekend, I would make the long drive again and buy a ticket to see it.”

In the end, Lawler got the win; however, Dutch points “that egg-sucking dog had to use a chain.” Smells like a no-disqualification grudge rematch to me.

File under Jerry Lawler vs. Dutch Mantell.

In the final part of our interview, Dutch dishes on everything from Andy Kaufman to “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant to the infamous Last Sellout for Memphis Wrestling at the Mid-South Coliseum.

SCOTT BOWDEN: In your book, you tell the story of how “Stone Cold” Steve Austin got his name from you. When the Austin character began to evolve into this kind of “stone cold” outlaw only interested in titles and making paydays–to hell with making friends–I instantly thought of you and your Lone Wolf character in Memphis. Did you see a lot of yourself in Stone Cold?

DUTCH MANTELL: Well, I saw how he talked, and he’s just the type of guy that’s not gonna have a lot of close friends anyway. Hell, he would speak his mind in the dressing room, things like that. And I probably gave him, not necessarily the template for Stone Cold, because I think it was basically him anyway, but I think I fostered that belief that he could open up his options with that kind of character.

BOWDEN: Can you elaborate on that?

MANTELL: Well, say you’re a straight-up babyface. And we’ve got 20 guys in the territory, taking it back 20 to 20 years ago. With 20, then we probably have 10 good guys and 10 bad guys–funny how it always seemed to break down that way, ain’t it? [laughs] So if you’re a good guy, you only had 10 guys you could work with.  But, if you were a ‘tweener, then you got 19 other guys to work with. If you were the only one there who was a ‘tweener, you were in a unique position to make money. Again, I may have put that idea in Austin’s head, but he took it and ran with it, like a lot of my University of Dutch alumni. That character, in many ways, was Austin. He told the story recently on Fox News about how I gave him the name

BOWDEN: But he didn’t mention your name, did he?

MANTELL: Hell no. He’s probably afraid I’m gonna get over!

BOWDEN: Or expect a royalty check. I heard Jim Cornette once say that “The best wrestling personalities are the guys who basically are their true selves on camera…but with the volume turned way up.”

MANTELL: Well, he should know. He’s one of ‘em.

BOWDEN: Yes. He sure seems like an extension of that. 

MANTELL: The only exception to that rule, I think, would be Handsome Jimmy.  Because Handsome Jimmy in the dressing room, he doesn’t say anything, man.  He was always whispering the whole time.  But, then, he gets out there, and he’s so high energy. And I’m guessing that may be his real persona, but he just goes out on camera and turns it on and way up. But I do think if you keep a guy’s character to more or less who he is, you’re probably better off in the long run.  Look at Savage. ‘Cause that has to be more than his character, because he wouldn’t be able to keep it up 24 hours a day like he does.  I think that has to be kind of the way he really is. 

BOWDEN: Dave Brown told me that Valiant was remarkable in that it he would be a normal, soft-spoken guy and then he’d walk through the curtain and “explode.”

MANTELL: Yeh, he would!

BOWDEN: And he really was the one guy whom Jarrett could count on to carry the territory on the babyface side when Lawler was hurt.

MANTELL: He was a guy that got your attention.

BOWDEN: Do you find that that’s there a dearth of entertaining, distinguishable characters in the business today?

MANTELL: Absolutely. Back in the day, we had characters, man.  Now, not so much. You don’t have Abdullah the Butchers.  You don’t have the Brodys, and you don’t have the Stan Hansens, and you don’t have the Lawlers or the Flair in his prime. You know, the Hacksaw Duggans, the LeDucs, even the Kimalas. What you’ve got now is, more or less, a clone factory. So many of the guys look exactly the same. They mostly wear short trunks and the boots and they’ve got good bodies, they’re about 5’10” or whatever they are. I don’t care if they’re black, white or Asian or Puerto Rican–they somehow manage to still all look the same…almost like sophomores in college. You don’t have many of those big, wild son of a bitches coming through that screen at you. Used to be, it was a comic book come to life.

BOWDEN: Funny you should say that because when I was a kid, my two favorite things were wrestling and comic books. And to me, they were so closely connected. Look at the Memphis heels in ’81 battling Lawler: You, LeDuc, Austin Idol, Ron Bass, Crusher Blackwell, Valiant, Dream Machine, Kevin Sullivan, Killer Karl Krupp, Tojo and the Funks. It was almost like a villains gallery from Marvel Comics or DC. With the weasel Jimmy Hart–the Joker–in their corner.

MANTELL: Absolutely. You’ve got Hart and his men against Lawler, guys like Handsome Jimmy and LeDuc. I always loved how LeDuc was always like, “I’m not crazy! I’m not crazy!” Then Valiant: “Woo, Mercy, daddy!” The Dream Machine: “Bawlin,’ squalin,’ climbing the wallin, hometown jubilee!” To a kid, man, that’s entertaining. But you’ve gotta get those kids paying attention to it.  If they’re excited, they’ll make their parents bring them and they’ll buy your stuff.  And that what Vince is so good at doing–reeling them in from the cradle to the grave.

BOWDEN: You were with Watts and still occassionaly making shots with Jarrett when McMahon started expanding his circus tent nationwide and picking off local talent. What did you think about it at the time?

MANTELL: That he was putting together an all-star team. He picked up Hogan from Minneapolis, and off he went.

BOWDEN: Taking Junkyard Dog obviously hurt Watts, and he never seemed to get over it, always trying to create a new African-American star.

MANTELL: And Jim Duggan, Butch Reed, Jake Roberts. Eventually, he got Dusty. So, when you’re watching in different parts of the country, say in Louisiana, fans say, “Oh, there’s JYD.”  Then “Look–Jim Duggan!” Well, now McMahon has a built-in local connection, especially in Mid-South. He took the top-tier guys from virtually every promotion. And then the promotion would try to fill it with second-tier guys, and the people picked up on it.

BOWDEN: Oh, yeah, the fans could smell it a mile away. You know, George Wells is not exactly a substitute for Junkyard Dog. I think one reason why Jarrett was able to fend McMahonn off longer than others is because Lawler didn’t go in ’84, ’85, or ’86. Vince would promote in Memphis and draw half of what Jarrett was doing. It wasn’t until the late ’80s, maybe 1990 that McMahon started drawing here. Then he reached his deal with the Jarretts and eventually secured the services of Lawler as a talent. In fact, in 1986, Jarrett booked what would be the infamous last sellout of the Mid-South Coliseum: you and Lawler against Dundee and Landell.

MANTELL: Yep.

BOWDEN: That TV was one of the best of shows of the era, in my opinion. That’s what a wrestling show should be: riveting drama, with a heated, personal issue involving parties whom the people believe in. And that show sold tickets, in this case, all 11,365-plus of ‘em.

MANTELL: Yeah, Landell and Dundee beat up Jeff Jarrett and then they tried to take out Jerry Jarrett’s eye–his only good eye. And I came out of the shower, with the shampoo in my hair, to make the save and I said, ‘Let’s call Lawler.”

BOWDEN: That’s one of those little details I miss–the guy running out of the shower to make the save. Anyway, yeah, it had to be a strong scenario like that because Lawler had dropped a loser-leaves-town bout–they couldn’t just bring him back.

MANTELL: Yeah, finally, Eddie Marlin said something like, ‘I don’t give a damn–let’s call him.’

BOWDEN: Right, because that was Eddie’s grandchild and son-in-law who had just been beaten up by those thugs.

MANTELL: So he said, ‘I’m breaking the stipulation–by God, let ‘em sue me!’ A old man got mad. ‘I’ll deal with the lawsuit later. Right now, you’re gettin’ your ass kicked!’

BOWDEN: And that was right after Jarrett had done a tearful promo because he was unable to defend his own son. Man, that reasonated with the fans. After the sellout, you came back with more huge crowds in the 9,000 range, including a legendary bout that tape traders everywhere covet a complete copy: the hour-long-plus Texas Death Match that went 26 falls. Amazing.

MANTELL: That one’s a hidden gem. Toward the end, I made it obvious that I was letting them pin me. In the post-match interview, Lance asked me what that was about, and I chalked it up to strategy, ‘Well, I let ‘em pin me at that point, so I could get the 30-second rest period between falls. Remember, falls don’t count. It was a matter of survival.’ Made sense.

BOWDEN: Jarrett had some big crowds after that feud–Lawler vs. Idol and Rich, and the AWA title win over Hennig–but your deal with Lawler, Dundee and Landell was the last sellout at the Mid-South Coliseum.

MANTELL: The last one…end of an era. We sold out the Coliseum several times in the early ’80s…sold out Louisville…you couldn’t sell out Lexington ’cause it seated about 20,000 but we filled up one side of it with 10,000 people…had people turned away in Nashville. At one time, the wrestlers were the most over celebrities of any kind in Memphis–and we didn’t even know it. We didn’t even know how over we were because we were always on the road.

BOWDEN: That’s true. I can’t help but think of the merchandising money you guys could have made. When I was a kid, I wanted more than T-shirts and pictures, but that’s all you had. Hell, I used to convert my “Star Trek” and “Star Wars” action figures into Memphis wrestlers. I asked my mom once if Jerry Lawler would ever have an action figure and she said, ‘Like that’ll ever happen.’ Man, was she wrong.

MANTELL: Yeah, that’s Vince did. He knew there was a market out there. Lawler was good at that, too, with his shirts and records, but most of us didn’t see it.

BOWDEN: Speaking of celebrities, another guy who packed ‘em in, but never quite sold out the Coliseum was Andy Kaufman. You’ve got a great chapter in your book about Kaufman and his feud with Foxie. It was only recently that Lawler told me those initial bouts with females from the audience were shoots [unscripted].

MANTELL: Oh, yeah, the people hated him. Andy was the ultimate heel. I think the angle between him and Lawler was one of the greatest of all time. And I found out later that Kaufman had such a respect for the wrestling business. You got celebrities now who are involved who couldn’t care less about it. Kaufman didn’t even cash his checks.

BOWDEN: That’s right. And Lawler told me that was one of the perplexing things in the beginning: ‘What do you pay a guy who stars on the top-rated comedy on TV?’ Jerry also told me that Kaufman always called him ‘Mr. Lawler’ as well.

MANTELL: A lot of respect for this business. That’s what won him over to me. He was kind of aloof, quiet in the dressing room. I realize now that he was probably in awe of us. He was really watching us and how we interacted…he was fascinated by us just as much as we were by him…probably more so. Great guy. He loved doing it. In comedy clubs, he’s performing in front of 100 people or so…and here he’s in front of 10,000.

BOWDEN: And they all want to kill him because of his performance! I think he felt that wrestling was theatre as its finest.

MANTELL: He was great at it. I had a lot of respect for Andy.

BOWDEN: The beauty of it is that had Andy done an angle in New York with Vince McMahon Sr. like he wanted, it wouldn’t have gotten over nearly as strong as it did in the South: Looking down on us rednecks beacause ’I'm from Hollywood.’

MANTELL: Probably not.

BOWDEN: Dutch, I could talk Memphis wrestling all day, but tell me about your new wrestling school–the University of Dutch.

MANTELL: Well, I’ve heard so many guys ask me how to get in the business. They tell me this or that wrestling school ripped them off. These guys are giving ‘em good money for a down payment and then they close up or take off. Or they get into a class and it’s just a bunch of guys standing in the ring with no instruction. I hate that. If you’re gonna take somebody’s money, then teach them something. I’ve got two classes: one for beginners and the other for guys who’ve been in this for a while . The second format is more of a seminar for guys who have been wrestling on the independent scene two, five, even 10 years. Well, that window is rapidly shutting because this is a young man’s business. I take these guys who have been working a while, evaluate them and tell them what they need to do to up their game. Try this gimmick, try this character–look different. Stand out. Find out what’s in your personality that makes you unique. I cover presence, timing, psychology, character, gimmicks–you name it. These are important things they’re not gonna learn on the independent circuit.

BOWDEN: Sounds like skills and aspects of their craft they might hone in past in the territories, but they don’t exist today.

MANTELL: That’s exactly right. And you didn’t just learn in the ring back then. Y’know, I’d take Austin, Kane or Undertaker on the road with me and that’s where the schooling really started–in the car. That’s where mine started. Guys today don’t get that. They have nowhere to go to get that. So I give them that opportunity. There are some good schools out there: Harley Race runs one, Booker T, Lance Storm. Mine will be open this May. And if you’re gonna learn, you might as well learn from one of the best.

BOWDEN: Dutch, I hope you enjoyed this as much I did.

MANTELL: Oh, I did. Y’know, a lot of times when people interview me, they’re not familiar with the Memphis territory, which I find astounding. I had a story recently on my blog about how Bubba Ray Dudley told me recently that he finally saw some Memphis stuff and he was blown away. I think a lot of people are just now discovering Memphis through YouTube.

BOWDEN: Hard to believe that a guy from ECW had never seen Memphis.

MANTELL: Hey, that’s where it all started. I respect all the hard work of those guys, but ECW was Memphis all over again. And ECW didn’t draw anywhere near as well as Memphis did. Heck, collectively, Memphis would put nearly 40,000 fans in the building a month, whereas Madison Square Garden did 20,ooo people a month. It’s like Jim Cornette says, ‘Heck, if you missed Memphis, you missed the heart of this business.’”

BOWDEN: Amen.

For more information on the University of Dutch–now open for enrollment–check out The World According to Dutch, where you’ll also find ordering instructions for Dutch’s must-read book of the same.