Scott Bowden presents Kentucky Fried Rasslin

At last year’s NWA Wrestling Legends Fanfest, Jim Cornette stressed during his Q & A session that WWE didn’t introduce humor to wrestling, maintaining that Jerry Jarrett’s Memphis promotion successfully balanced comedy and serious issues to produce one of the most entertaining wrestling shows in the country. While WWE thinks they’re pushing the envelope with their so-called “humor” and that they’re breaking new ground by injecting funny situations into wrestling, nobody was funnier than Jerry Lawler as a heel in the ’70s, yet the fans still hated his guts, likewise with Jimmy Hart in the early ’80s. And then you had Lance Russell as the straight man between Lawler and Hart during their feud, which Cornette compares to “…Howard Cosell standing between Ali and Frazier.”

Russell’s facial expressions and reactions to the heels’ outrageous claims were indeed priceless, as this clip from 1976 illustrates (but first a word from Mid-South Poison Control):

Like Russell, Georgia Championship Wrestling’s Gordon Solie also had a way of injecting a little subtle humor with his classic deadpan looks when a baddie like the Masked Superstar (Bill Eadie) boasted and bragged. In the clip below, Solie’s flabbergasted reaction to Superstar’s list of top contenders (which includes a few WTBS jobbers) illustrates the sly comedy that is rare in wrestling today. (Incidentally, Eadie’s voice and methodical delivery sound like that of a twisted-yet-intelligent madman, almost like a serial killer…perfect for a mysterious, masked heel.)

Incidentally, for those who think Cornette was merely one of the funniest promo guys ever, check out his serious side when he discusses retirement plans for Dusty Rhodes…strong stuff from the master.

With Jim Cornette on the sidelines, Stan Lane takes over the promo duties for the Midnight Express following a moral victory over the rival Rock ‘n’ Roll Express in 1987. This clip is notable for several reasons: yet another twist on the Dusty Finish (with an official from the back overruling an apparent World title switch), the future Big Boss Man (Ray Traylor, known then as “Big Bubba Rogers”) makes an appearance, Ricky Morton proves he can sell like no other, longtime WWF ref Dick Wohrle (that name certainly rolls off the tongue) makes a somewhat rare NWA/WCW appearance, Lane shows he’s more than capable on the mic in the aftermath…and obnoxious babyface announcer David Crockett goes ballistic (“Noooo!”) at the apparent injustice. (I cannot confirm if Crockett always wore a Ricky Morton T-shirt underneath his button-down.)

Apparently, WWE champion Batista was a hell of a student of wrestling while under the tutelage of Jim Cornette in OVW, the former training ground for World Wrestling Entertainment.

File under WWE champion Batista.