My World w/ Jeff Jarrett - Shawn Michaels [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Topic today is the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels!

The Midnight Rockers first worked Memphis as defending AWA World Tag Team Champions in the first half of 1987 doing shots while still full-time in the AWA. First, on March 9th, they beat Big Bubba (Fred “Tugboat/Typhoon/Shockmaster” Ottman when he looked like a jacked powerlifter, not Ray Traylor) and Goliath (Bill “Bubba” White, probably best known as Moondog Splat in the co-headliner. Also on that show, which drew 8,000 fans, Jeff beat Pat Tanaka by DQ third from the top while Jerry Lawler and Bam Bam Bigelow beat Austil Idol and Tommy Rich in the main event. They came back on May 4th, the week after the famous Lawler-Idol hair vs. hair cage match, to beat Pat Tanaka and Paul Diamond on DQ in front of 9,000 fans on a show where the other top matches were Jeff losing his first AWA World Heavyweight Title shot against Nick Bockwinkel a main event of Bill Dundee and Rocky Johnson beating Idol and Rich by DQ. Two weeks later, in front of 3,500 fans on May 18th, The Rockers made their last appearance for the next several months, retaining over Paul E. Dangerly’s team of Chick Donovan and “Stretcher” Jack Hart, better known as Barry Horowitz, on a show that also featured Jeff retaining his newly-won Mid-American Title in a rematch against Moondog Spot and a main event of Idol and Rich defeating Dundee and Johnson in a Texas Death Match.

Jeff, chat me up: At this point in time, with the industry constricting so much, how much did it help a territory like yours to still have access to some level of credible outside world champion? And how did specifically booking The Midnight Rockers as tag champs fit into that? In prior years, while Nick Bockwinkel had been the perennial world champ for most of the time that your dad owned the promotion, the AWA World Tag Team Champions were pretty much just used before in 1984 when your dad brought in both The Sheiks (Ken Patera and Jerry Blackwell) and later The Road Warriors.

What were your initial impressions of Shawn and Marty like back then, both at home and Memphis and when you’d see them at AWA TV tapings in Las Vegas?

Over the course of the next several months, Shawn and Marty would leave the AWA for the WWF on almost no notice, get fired from the WWF about 48 hours after they started, and then relocate to Ron Fuller’s Continental Championship Wrestling in Birmingham, Alabama because they felt they had burned their bridge with the AWA. However, that Continental run didn’t end so well for them, either…

Shawn’s book on getting fired in Alabama starting his full-time Memphis run

One day at a [Continental Championship Wrestling] television taping a girl came up to me and asked me for an autograph. She wanted me to put it on the back of her jacket and turned around so that I could sign it. Instead of writing my name though, I wrote in big letters, “I am a dyke.” At the time I thought it was funny. The truth is, everything that I was doing at that time that I said was a joke wasn’t a joke. What I did was cruel and mean, and I’m sorry I did that.

[Ron] Fuller was trying to sell the territory, and one of the guys he was trying to sell it to was at the taping. The girl must have noticed what I wrote and told him because he came over and started reprimanding me. I lost it and started tearing him from one side to the other. I gave him the self-righteous promo about how I was giving up my body and making him all this money and

how he couldn’t even take a joke. I really let him have it and then walked away.

The next day we had a spot show, and Bob Armstrong, who was running it, came up to Marty and me and said, “Hey boys, they told me to let you guys know that they are giving you your two weeks’ notice. They are letting you go.”

“What? Because of what happened yesterday?”

“I don’t know.”

“We don’t need two weeks, we quit now!” And we left. Marty walked with me. I have to give him credit. He stuck with me

Since I had gotten us fired, I decided that this time I would make the calls to get us a new gig. We thought we ought to try Tennessee, so I called Jerry Jarrett, who ran the territory. He said he’d love to have us and even agreed to the $500-a-week guarantee I requested. I felt better. This was the first time I had done the work to get a job and I secured a guarantee. Two weeks later we were up in Nashville working for Jerry, and things were starting to look up. The Nasty Boys were working there, and we ended up moving in with them. It wasn’t pretty, the four of us in a one-bedroom apartment, but they were a lot of fun and they helped me start having a good time again. They also were extremely obnoxious and took a lot of heat off of Marty and me, which was a nice change.

Jeff, do you recall being aware of why The Rockers left Continental when your dad brought them in, either specifically in broad strokes? With how much interacting with the fans at the gimmick tables and things like that were important parts of working in Memphis, do you think it was a risk to bring them in after they got fired by Fuller over the offensive autograph? Or did that have something to do with how Shawn and Marty turn heel pretty soon into their Memphis run?

Week of 10/19/1987 (Observer 10/26)

Observer: Steve Armstrong has already left the area. It was announced he'd separated his shoulder but that wasn't the real reason of course. Tracy Smothers will be gone by the time you read this and they'll be headed to Continental as The Southern Boys tag team. The two were expendable because the Midnight Rockers (Marty Janetty & Shawn Michaels) will start working here full-time on 10/26.

With how well Steve and Tracy fit into the Alabama territory, do you think this was probably for the best for both teams?

Expect the Midnight Rockers to feud with Pat Tanaka & Paul Diamond in Memphis which could be one of the best feuds in the country as far as action is concerned.

Jeff, you spent a lot of your first year or so in the business teaming and then feuding (with Billy Travis as your partner) with Pat Tanaka and Paul Diamond. For fans who only got to see them later on in the WWF, where they had minimal chances to really show what they could do, could you explain just what made them so good at this time? 

Rumors continue to fly about the relationship between this group and the AWA but thus far nothing is official.

Any idea what this is about? There was a pretty healthy amount of crossover in 1987, with the AWA champions appearing more frequently than they had in the previous couple years and you making semi-regular stops at AWA TV tapings in Las Vegas.

Week of 10/26/1987 (Observer 11/2)

Observer: With Tanaka & Diamond gone, the Midnight Rockers, who debuted on 10/24, will feud with the RPMs and probably win the Southern tag team belts within a few weeks.

Week of 11/2/1987 (Observer 11/9)

Observer: A couple of title changes this past week. First off, the Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Janetty) won the Southern tag belts from the RPMs (Mike Davis & Tommy Lane) on 10/26 in Memphis.

Who exactly was booking at this point that the call was made to put the titles on Shawn and Marty so quickly? Was the feeling that with their recent national TV exposure, you had to strike while the iron was hot?

They have a unique gimmick on the 11/2 card in Memphis, a 21 man "War of the Promotions" Battle Royal. Supposedly each group is sending wrestlers in and this way Lawler and Jarrett can prove that Memphis has the best wrestling promotion. They are saying Florida is sending Steve Keirn, the NWA is sending Manny Fernandez (who debuts that night) and Bobby Jaggers, the WWF is sending Jimmy Jack Funk (yes, Jesse Barr is back with the lone ranger mask, claiming to have beaten Hulk Hogan and Junkfood Dog while working for Titan), the AWA is sending The Nasty Boys and the Midnight Rockers while World Class is sending the RPMs.

Hold on, let’s diagram this out a bit: Steve Keirn had genuinely just left Florida, so that was pretty plausible. The same goes for Manny Fernandez, who had last worked for Crockett about a month earlier, working a tour for NJPW in the interim. Bobby Jaggers, though, had been in Memphis for two months and hadn’t worked for Crockett in six. Jimmy Jack Funk was fired by the WWF five months earlier alongside Shawn and Marty, and he definitely never beat Hulk Hogan. The Nasty Boys had been in Memphis for four months and left the AWA in June. The Midnight Rockers, of course, hadn’t worked for the AWA in over five months. And the RPMs had left World Class for Memphis almost three months earlier. Most of the companies being talked about here had TV in Memphis. So…Jeff…how did the fans take this at the time? Did they buy into it? It’s an amusing idea if it was using guys who had all just left those other promotions, but most of them were gone for months. Had fans reacted positively to the claim the prior year that Uncle Elmer and Cousin Junior were representing the WWF, so this was an extension of that?

Week of 11/9/1987 (Observer 11/16)

Observer: The 11/9 Memphis show has [...] the Midnight Rockers defend[ing] the tag title[s] against the RPMs who will put up a diamond earring.

What kind of stipulation is THAT?

Observer: It appears right now that any negotiations for Jerry Jarrett to buy the AWA have fallen through, however this group is still trying to work on getting its tape on ESPN.

We’re gonna do a whole show about 1987 next week, so we can save detailed discussion for then, but…uh…what?

Week of 11/16/1987 (Observer 11/23)

Observer: The AWA is in pretty heavy turmoil. Lots of dates have been canceled and at last report, only two cards are officially on the books for December, traditionally one of the best months of the year for wrestling in the Midwest. For the wrestlers who aren't on weekly guarantees it means there is no way they can survive the month. I've heard lots of stories on guys quitting, coming back, quitting and whatever. [...] But the hottest AWA story, which makes complete sense for both sides, is that the Midnight Rockers are negotiating to return in January. Last we heard was the Rockers wouldn't be back in the AWA until hell freezed over (which I guess I should have figured was January all along).

Why are The Rockers looking to leave? Well…

Observer: Don't have a complete report on the 11/9 Memphis show but heard the gate was something like $5,800 (about 1,200 fans because they cut GA tickets to $3). Bobby Jaggers beat Jerry Lawler in a taped fist match for the Southern title when Nate the Rat (a new manager, seems pretty green to me) interfered; Jeff Jarrett regained the Mid American title from Jimmy Jack Funk and in a match with the title belts up against a diamond ring, the Midnight Rockers once again beat the RPMs. 

Let’s go back to Shawn’s book before we talk about this more…

More from Shawn’s book

Our five-hundred-dollar guarantee ended up lasting only a few weeks, but we didn’t really care. What were we going to do? Leave, and go where? We figured whatever we were going to make, we were going to make. My spark was back, and I just wanted to have fun and work. And I did, running around with the Nasty Boys and Jeff Jarrett.

Just how much were the houses bottoming out around this time that your dad would have had to walk back the $500/week guarantee he had promised to both Shawn and Marty? And once that happened, how soon did you find out that they were trying to leave to go back to Verne?

Off the clock, though, how much did you enjoy your time hanging out with The Midnight Rockers and The Nasty Boys?

Week of 12/14/1987 (Observer 12/21)

Observer: Although the Rockers have a big reputation for being great workers, all reports I got of them here stated they did almost nothing. I had thought, after seeing them in Alabama, that they thought they were "too good" for the area so it didn't work, but the folks in Memphis are blaming it on the Rockers admittedly wild lifestyle which doesn't afford them any sleep. They had to be turned heel because the fans weren't going for them anyway for two reasons (they came off as too cocky on interviews, but moreso, no team of that type can get over in this area because they come off as copies of the Fabs. I hope someone understands the psychology of that (the folks who think Lex Luger will be the next Hulk Hogan--there won't be another Hulk Hogan-level star in this business for 20 years but the next major draw will be someone totally unlike Hogan).

Observer: The Midnight Rockers, who remain Southern tag champs, turned heel on 12/12 and are managed by Mark Goleen. (Correct spelling is Mark Gullen, though it’s pronounced goo-leen.)

Is it true that fans weren’t taking to Shawn and Marty as babyfaces and that’s why they turned? If so, why do you think it was a problem in Memphis and to an extent Alabama, but not in the AWA?

Do you believe in the wisdom that only the first “rock ‘n’ roll” tag team in a given territory could get over and that’s part of why Shawn and Marty needed to turn? Or do you think that theory is exaggerated a bit?

Do you agree that Shawn and Marty’s partying was affecting their in-ring work?

What did you make of Mark as a manager? For fans of this era, he was probably most well-known for his run as The Beast in Dallas, teaming with Terry Garvin Simms as Beauty and The Beast. His gimmick was nothing like that at this point, though: He was basically a new manager with a unique promo style who had been a session musician by day and had recently graduated from Bill Dundee’s wrestling school.

In a bit of trivia, Mark played a notable role in one of Jeff’s most memorable matches: A year later, when Jeff wrestler Dutch Mantel at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts while Walter Mays’ orchestra played, Mark was the drummer who got involved in the match.

As for Shawn and Marty’s turn, let’s go back to Shawn’s book…

Shawn’s book: One of the really neat things Marty and I were able to do there was turn heel. We had never done that before, and we asked Jerry Lawler, who ran the Memphis part of the territory, if we could. He liked the idea and we ran a program where we turned on a team called the Rock ’n’ Roll RPM’s, Mike Davis & Tommy Lane. The fans were great in Memphis, and they took to hating us right away. We played cocky young heels. We had to keep our characters within reason, and what else would the Rockers be as heels? We weren’t going to be angry brutes. No one would buy that. But we were young and cocky, and our gimmick fit perfectly. We ended up winning the titles there and even had the chance to work against the Rock ’n’ Roll Express when they came in for a bit. That was a blast. It was very neat to work with the guys who had helped nurture me in this business.

Marty and I loved working as heels, and we were really good at it. We liked bumping all over the place, cutting heel promos, being sarcastic, and expanding our repertoire. When you are a heel, you have a lot of freedom in and out of the ring. You are able to do and say all the things that you can’t say as a babyface. You can have a bad day—heck, you’re encouraged to have a bad day. You don’t have to sign all the autographs, and you can tell people to get lost. What’s the worst that can happen? I say no to an autograph and make somebody mad? I’m a heel. I’m supposed to. Being a heel was like being set free.

In the ring, it changes your psychology because you can be more aggressive. It gives you the option of trying different moves because you are a different character. If you switch back to babyface, you can keep the new moves and mannerisms you developed. It really allows you to grow as a performer. I know I got a lot better.

How do you think Shawn and Marty did as first-time heels?

Jeff, what do you personally prefer about being a heel? How much of an adjustment was it for you when you first turned in 1993, having no idea it would become the role you were best-known for after starting as such a classical babyface?

More from Shawn’s book

While Marty and I were growing together in the ring, the first cracks were appearing in our relationship outside it. We had spent nearly every single day together for the past couple of years, which is rare for a tag team. Most married couples don’t spend as much time together as Marty and I did. We didn’t have many problems for the most part because we were so similar, living to party and wrestle, but about this time some tension was surfacing. It wasn’t like we were fighting all the time. It was simply that it was no longer fun to be around each other all the time.

In Memphis, we worked live morning TVs, and one night before one of the shows, we stayed out a bit too late. When it was time for our match, we were not of sound mind. We went out and worked but were awful. We were stumbling around, and we started arguing. Then we came over and cut some kind of brutal promo. Missy Hyatt was doing the commentary, and she actually said, “Looks like the Midnight Rockers were out a little later than midnight last night.”

Coming to the ring while not of sound mind is a big no-no. The guys you are working with have to be able to trust you not to hurt them. What we did was wrong, but we weren’t the first ones to do it. In that company at that time, it happened. The attitude was, “If I can deliver in the ring, then don’t tell me what to do in my personal life.”

Word starting spreading that Marty and I were doing well as heels, and it wasn’t long before Verne Gagne ended up calling Jerry and asking if we could come up to Minneapolis and work a few shows there. Jerry was fine with it, so we started traveling back and forth between Minneapolis and Tennessee.

When we walked back into the AWA offices, Greg had that half smile on his face that says, “I bet you wish you weren’t so cocky when you left now.” However, he didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. Greg had been in the business long enough to know that you never say never. There were no ill feelings. We both needed each other now.

We got over real quick again in the AWA. We worked as babyfaces there and heels in Tennessee. You could do that then, because neither area saw the other’s television. We started taking more and more trips to Minneapolis, and before long, we were back working full-time in the AWA. We beat Randy Rose & Dennis Condrey on December 27, 1987, to win our second AWA tag team titles. It was good to get the titles, and it gave us a lot of confidence. We knew we were good and we were doing well, outside of the world of WWE. After all that had happened, this was verification that we were now back. 

Week of 12/28/1987 (Observer 1/4)

Observer: The AWA show on Christmas night in Minneapolis drew 1,800 to see the return of the Midnight Rockers. [...] The best match on the card, and an excellent match saw the Midnight Express retain their AWA tag belts going to a 30:00 draw with the Midnight Rockers. [...] The Rockers were supposed to just come in for five or six dates at the end of this year and return to Memphis as heels, but from the talk I've heard, it appears the Rockers ultimate destination is here full-time, if there is a here in 1988.

What is your understanding of Shawn and Marty’s arrangement with your dad and Verne at the time to split time between the two territories?

Week of 1/11/1988 (Observer 1/18)

Observer: I'm told Shawn Michaels is making a great heel, except it's no act.

Would you say that’s an accurate assessment of 1988 Shawn Michaels?

Week of 1/18/1987 (Observer 1/25)

Observer: Well, the AWA has done it again with another title switch based not on planning but on necessity after-the-fact. The Midnight Rockers are now the AWA tag team champions. The explanation is that in the match on 12/27 in Las Vegas (which ended with a double pin, but the referee of record giving the Express the victory), that Stanley Blackburn, upon reviewing the tapes, overruled the referee and has declared the Rockers the tag team champions. The actual story is that The Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey & Randy Rose) have quit the AWA. On TV this weekend in Minneapolis, announcer Larry Nelson said ''we heard a rumor they got hurt'' to explain why they are no longer around. Actually Rose wasn't making any money up there and wanted a guarantee to keep commuting from Georgia. At the same time, Condrey, who was on a guarantee, had his guarantee cut by Verne, and Condrey simply quit on the spot. There was talk of them coming back to drop the title right in the ring and then leave, but Verne apparently didn't want to use them anymore. I don't know where Paul E. Dangerously stands in this situation as I've heard stories that he's both still with them and not with them, but do know he wasn't at their most recent TV taping this past Friday. The Rockers are still wrestling in the CWA, not the AWA, but everyone expects that to change in a short time.

They announced the Rockers as AWA tag champs [in Memphis], so apparently the Southern tag belts will be up in a tournament shortly. 

Did Shawn and Marty getting the AWA belts, when that wasn’t originally the plan, something that threw a monkey wrench into the plans for them in Memphis, like restricting that they could do jobs?

Mark Guleen, the manager who supposedly swayed the Rockers to turn heel, has already been disposed of. He was pretty bad. The only manager they've got right now is Nate the Rat, who is mainly a comedy figure who manages jobbers. 

Why was Mark gone so quickly? Just the wrong role, since he was a Dundee guy who Bill used later in Continental and who your dad used later in both Memphis and Dallas?

Week of 1/25/1988

There’s nothing about it in the Observer, but at least going by what Cagematch.net says, your first match with Shawn was this week, a singles match on January 30th at the Nashville Fairgrounds that went to a draw. Do you remember anything about this match? And regardless, since you did work tags with Shawn in the coming weeks, what were your impressions of him in the ring based on your earliest matches with him in general?

Week of 2/1/1988 (Observer 2/8)

Observer: They are holding a tournament for the Southern tag belts on 2/1 with the winners to get a shot at the Midnight Rockers' AWA belts later that night. The Rockers had to vacate the Southern tag belts upon winning the AWA straps.

If the Midnight Rockers had to vacate the southern titles immediately upon winning the AWA titles, why give the brand-new southern champs a chance to have to do the same thing by giving them an AWA title shot the night they won the southern titles?

Week of 2/8/1988 (Observer 2/15)

Observer: Gary Young & Max Payne won the tournament on 2/1 to capture the Southern tag team titles although I'm not sure who they beat in the finals. That means they would have wrestled the Midnight Rockers in a rare heel vs. heel main event later on the show.

Young and Payne were a bit of an odd couple; how did they end up together?

Week of 2/15/1988 (Observer 2/22)

Observer: The big news as far as the AWA goes is that they are ''restructuring the company." I'm not sure what that exactly means, other than after the card this coming Sunday in Las Vegas, the AWA will be closing down for about a month and will re-open in late March with a new outlook on life. I believe Verne Gagne will be doing the booking once again as it seems he's tired of people making decisions that are costing him money and he'd instead like to make those same decisions. From what I'm told, the only wrestler who will be getting paid during the month off will be Curt Hennig, so expect Verne to farm him out to other circuits (besides Memphis, who can he even send him to?) and I'm guessing the Midnight Rockers will work steady around Memphis and feud with the Rock'n'Roll Express. I don't know what will happen to the rest of the crew but I assume some will be forced to either go to new areas if they can find work in wrestling, or forced to take jobs outside of the wrestling business to make ends meet.

Week of 2/22/1988 (Observer 2/29)

Observer: The AWA tag team title is held up in this territory only between the Rock & Roll Express and the Midnight Rockers. The 2/15 card in Memphis, which drew an $11,000 house, ended with a referee bump, a second ref coming in and the two referees counted simultaneous pins on each side. They repeated the same ending on 2/16 in Louisville (which drew 3,000 fans--about triple the norm) and probably the next night in Evansville as well and the title will be decided in rematches in these same cities this week.

Observer: No word yet on the 2/20 tapings in Las Vegas other than the Rock & Roll Express was scheduled to debut as babyfaces at the card, which makes little sense since they have a natural feud with the Midnight Rockers if they were heels and the Express was always booed when they appeared in the Twin Cities for Crockett.

Well…let’s go to the late notes in the Observer (remember, kids, Dave used a typewriter at the time, so he had to add the late breaking news on the last page or two of the newsletter):

Observer: The Rock & Roll Express didn't appear at the AWA taping in Las Vegas however Pat Tanaka & Paul Diamond did, and won a non-title match from the Midnight Rockers. Also Curt Hennig pinned Jerry Lawler to keep the AWA title on the card on 2/19.

Week of 2/29/1988 (Observer 3/7)

Observer: Complete results of the 2/22 Memphis card which drew 4,500 [...] [T]he finale saw the Midnight Rockers ''regain'' the AWA tag team titles (which were held up in this territory) by beating the Rock & Roll Express in a good match which ended when Manny Fernandez returned and attacked Ricky Morton and caused him to lose. Fernandez was supposed to get a shot at Max Pain's CWA title on the card, but it was announced that Fernandez was a no-show even though he really was there to add emphasis to his heel turn later in the card.

Given the state of the business and some of the bad houses a few months earlier, do you think this show drawing fairly well with the Rockers on top shows that they were developing some real drawing power in Memphis, or do you attribute it more to Ricky and Robert coming home to take out the “copycats” who came after them?

Week of 3/7/1988 (Observer 3/14)

Observer: Lots of departures again. Manny Fernandez is gone again, this time fired for missing a few shows. The Samoans quit just before they probably would have won the Southern tag team titles. Bill Dundee has left for Knoxville where he'll be a babyface. And Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson are gone as well while Steve Keirn, who wrestled Eddie Gilbert in the 2/29 headliner, isn't coming back this week either. The line-up for 3/7 included 15 matches with lots of guys wrestling twice. The key matches are singles matches with Jeff Jarrett against Shawn Michaels, Marty Janetty vs. Billy Travis plus a tag match later in the card with Michaels & Janetty defending the AWA tag belts against Jarrett & Travis with no time limit and no DQ (the 2/29 match between the two teams ended when the Rockers used a chain to pin Travis), Eddie Gilbert vs. Ken Wayne, The Bruise Brothers defend the Southern tag belts against Gary Young & Max "Pain Killer" Pain, Sputnik Monroe vs. Billy Wicks (and you thought I was making that up) plus Tommy Gilbert vs. Eddie Marlin in a lumberjack strap match. The 2/29 card drew around 3,500 which was fairly good since Jerry Lawler wasn't on the card. This probably won't do as well, which will probably force Lawler to return by the following week although nothing is certain about anything. 

Well, it looks like Shawn and Marty left, too, but what exactly happened here isn’t explained in the Observer or Shawn’s book. However, a few weeks later, there’s this about Shawn and Marty in the AWA section of the Observer:

Week of 3/28/1988 (Observer 4/4)

Observer: Tanaka & Diamond got the belts apparently because the promotion wanted them off the Midnight Rockers who wanted a $500 weekly guarantee to stay, although the Rockers haven't left yet.

Shawn’s book: We had heard that Verne had given Curt Hennig a guarantee. We reasoned that we had been with Verne awhile, were consistent, and deserved a guarantee too. We needed something to keep us happy. So we went in to Verne and asked for a guarantee. We figured, what’s the worst he can do, turn us down? And then what? We’ll be where we are now. We told him we were the most over guys he had and that we deserved a guarantee. He proceeded to tell us how we were young punks who would never draw a dime. We got in a big huff about this and decided to quit. We didn’t have anything lined up but figured we could go to Japan and work. Wrestlers made a good living there, and with our style, we thought we would do well in Japan. It was risky to quit without a job, but we were fed up with the AWA, and nothing positive was going to come by staying there. Our time there had run its course.

Unbeknownst to us, Pat Patterson had been going to Vince and asking if he would bring us back. Pat told Vince how we had turned heel and done a great job. He thought things would be different if we were given a second chance. I think he worked on Vince for a while. Something Pat said must have worked, because shortly after we quit the AWA, Vince called and told us, “I’m bringing you back. I’m getting a ton of heat for it, and if you do absolutely anything wrong, you will be gone forever.” He let us know that we were on double, double secret probation.

Did any of this AWA drama tie into why Shawn and Marty also left Memphis? Or, is it because they found out they had a shot to go back to the WWF? Or something else? After they finish out their AWA notice in mid-April, they just work a handful of indie dates before starting at WWF TV tapings at the end of May and starting on the road full-time with the WWF in July.

Overall, how would you grade the Midnight Rockers’ stint in Memphis?

Before the USWA and WWF start working together, you have one more encounter with Shawn: On January 8th, 1991, The Rockers beat Jeff Jarrett and Naoki Sano on an SWS show in Nagoya, Japan. What was it like doing a babyface match with The Rockers, particularly in such a unique setting, as a non-WWF guy facing a WWF team on a WWF partner promotion’s show in Japan?

Younger listeners not familiar with older Japanese wrestling might not be familiar with Naoki Sano, who was Jushin Thunder Liger’s top rival in NJPW and widely considered one of the top 5 or 10 wrestlers in the world before jumping to SWS. What were your impressions of him on that SWS tour?

Week of 8/10/1992 (Torch 8/13)

Torch: In the most bizarre incident of the week, during the live USWA show in Memphis on Saturday, Jeff Jarrett talked about the WWF being in town the next night. He said he did not appreciate the WWF coming into "his territory." Jarrett then claimed he would attend the WWF show "because he is not afraid of them" and promised to cause commotion. This seemed at first to be just another strange live Jarrett interview where he went off on a tangent. Not so. According to our correspondent, Jarrett sat in the second row Sunday night in Memphis at the Pyramid for the WWF show.

After one of the matches, Jarrett got out of his chair and climbed over the security railing.

Jarrett was not making threatening movements, he just wanted the house mic, so as security scurried toward him, the ring announcer told security to let Jarrett say what he wanted. Jarrett repeated his complaints about the WWF being in town, the "USWA's town,” and said he was not scared of the WWF wrestlers. Then he said he would like a shot at their Intercontinental Champ Bret Hart, who was there that night. Jarrett then returned to his seat. Later, after Hart pinned Kamala in his title defense. Hart grabbed the microphone and accepted Jarrett's challenge and said he'd wrestle him next time he was in town.

Monday night I reached Lawler at home after he returned from the USWA Mid-South Coliseum card. Lawler claimed he knew nothing of the incident. When questioned whether Jarrett worked this out with the WWF ahead of time, Lawler still claimed total ignorance. Likely there was a one-time deal struck between Jarrett and the WWF to have Jarrett challenge and later wrestle Hart. Other options are: 1) This was unplanned, but the WWF went along with it and there might be no Jarrett vs. Hart match, or 2) There is a lot more to the USWA-WWF relationship than is known yet. We should have details in next week's Torch.

Week of 8/17/1992 (Torch 8/20)

Torch: A working relationship has been established between the WWF and USWA. As reported in the Torch last week, Jeff Jarrett jumped the ring barrier at a WWF event Aug. 9 and challenged Bret Hart to a title match. Hart, after defeating Kamala, accepted the challenge and a match was set for October 31 between the two. Aug. 1 in Nashville, Tenn. at the WWF television tapings, both Jeff Jarrett and his father Jerry Jarrett, owner of Jarrett Promotions and the USWA, met with WWF officials. The reports coming out of the taping from several sources report that USWA wrestlers will regularly appear on WWF events in Tennessee and surrounding areas. In exchange, the name-value generated from wrestlers appearing on the USWA programs in Memphis and other markets will help boost WWF gates and save the WWF travel expenses by flying in less talent.

Other aspects of the working relationship rumored, but not confirmed, range from the WWF using the USWA as a full-fledged minor-league affiliate feeder system to Jarrett buying into the WWF. Whatever the extent of the agreement, it is nonetheless an unprecedented move for the WWF. The most likely compromise amidst all of the rumors and speculation is there will be some revenue sharing on the part of the WWF when USWA wrestlers are on WWF shows and the USWA TV program, still higher rated than the WWF, will be used to promote the WWF house shows in the area.

However, the next two WWF shows at the Pyramid are canceled, so Jeff ends up getting his Intercontinental Title shot  at a USWA show at the Mid-South Coliseum…

Week of 3/29/1993 (Observer 4/5)

Observer: Shawn Michaels will have his first and only pre-WM match after his shoulder separation on 3/29 in Memphis defending the Intercontinental title against Jarrett. It'll be the first time a WWF title is at stake on a USWA show.

Week of 4/5/1993 (Observer 4/12)

Observer: Shawn Michaels was in for two dates, pinning Jeff Jarrett due to interference from Christopher in Memphis and getting DQ'd in an Intercontinental title vs. USWA title match on 3/30 in Louisville against Jerry Lawler. Crowds were back to normal in all cities this past week after the big burst that using the WWF headliners caused.

With the caveat that you and Shawn obviously had great chemistry, was there any degree of disappointment that you had in missing out on that Bret Hart match?

Why do you think the bigger houses from the WWF talent didn’t last longer?

Week of 10/18/1993 (Observer 10/25)

Observer: Brian Christopher seems to be in the midst of a face turn. It started on television 10/16 when Eddie Marlin came out for an interview talking about how much he hated Vince McMahon and the WWF. Marlin said that all week McMahon has been sending him faxes with photos of Randy Savage with the unified belt and they ended up challenging each other to a "Survivor Series" match in Memphis where McMahon would send Doink the Clown & Shawn Michaels (despite this contradicting the WWF television angle where Michaels isn't even in the company) & Koko Ware (who hasn't worked for WWF in several months) against any three of his guys and he picked Jerry Lawler & Jeff Jarrett and said he wanted to pick a third man who would have the best chance of beating the WWF guys because he hated McMahon so much so he picked Christopher to be the partner. Christopher did an interview saying he hated the WWF also and told Lawler & Jarrett not to blow it for them. The match saw Lawler pin Michaels to win the first fall, but Ware pinned Lawler in the second, then Doink pinned Jarrett after Ware hit him with a chain which left Christopher against Doink & Ware. Christopher pinned Doink after he ducked and Ware hit Doink with a chain, leaving Christopher vs. Ware. Michaels tried to interfere, but it backfired and Christopher got the win. After the match the three heels were all beating on Christopher until Lawler & Jarrett made the save, but afterwards Christopher walked away from Lawler & Jarrett.

Was Shawn booked through the WWF here, since they’re already teasing his return from his suspension/sabbatical/whatever it was after he failed a drug test for steroids, or had he arranged these appearances himself?

Most speculation is that with Lawler working a regular schedule shortly in WWF and Jarrett going in full-time, that they need a top babyface who will be there all the time and Christopher will be that one. Lawler & Jarrett will still be able to work regularly in Memphis because WWF only runs Monday nights every third week for television and is off on Mondays the other two weeks, however they won't be able to work the weekend spot shows, Nashville, etc. as frequently.

How important was it to Brian turning babyface was this leg of the USWA vs. WWF feud with Michaels and Doink?

Outside of the Royal Rumble match, Jeff and Shawn don’t cross paths again until…

Week of 11/28/1994 (Observer 12/5)

Observer, from Dave’s Survivor Series review: 1. The Bad Guys (Razor Ramon & 1-2-3 Kid & Davey Boy Smith & Head Shrinkers) beat The Teamsters (Shawn Michaels & Diesel & Owen Hart & Jim Neidhart & Jeff Jarrett) in 21:45. In the first fall, they opened by teasing the angle where Fatu can't wrestle in boots. The timing in early spots with Sionne (Barbarian) and Jarrett and Kid and Neidhart wasn't good. The first good wrestling was a quick spot with Hart and Smith. Michaels, who really couldn't work because he's supposed to be out at least another month with his broken hand, and Diesel, never tagged in for the first 13:00. Finally Diesel tagged in and immediately jackknifed Fatu in 13:31 for the first fall. Diesel then jackknifed Kid in :42 for the second fall. He then jackknifed Sionne in :31 for the third fall. Diesel wanted to tag out but Michaels told him to stay in. After a boot to the face of Smith sent Smith outside the ring, Jarrett and Hart beat up on Smith in a weird count out finish in 1:14. This left 5-on-Ramon, who was allowed to look competitive against Diesel before Diesel hit the jackknife again. Michaels then wanted to tag in, and had Diesel hold Ramon for the superkick and naturally Ramon ducked. The two started arguing, Diesel chased Michaels out of the ring and the building, throwing around his partners on the floor and at 5:47 it was ruled a five-way count out leaving Ramon as the sole survivor. After the match Michaels threw the tag belt on the ground and drove off making it clear he would have nothing to do with Diesel again. Good angle, wrestling was below par, finish with the five-way count out was horrible. *1/2

From your ringside seat, how well did you think the Diesel turn was executed?

This leads to Jeff being kind of linked to Shawn on screen, which in turn leads to this:

Week of 1/16/1993 (Torch 1/21 & Observer 1/23)

Torch: Jeff Jarrett replaced Bob Backlund on the New York swing this weekend in the title matches against Diesel, proving the WWF does have minimum match quality standards in world title matches. The change was announced on cable and New York syndicated shows. The storyline said Michaels asked Backlund to step down for Jarrett in order to pull a switch on Diesel similar to when Diesel replaced Bret Hart at Madison Square Garden when he, Backlund, lost the title. In reality, the Backlund-Diesel matches had been so bad, management feared they were killing Diesel's heat in arenas, so rather than damage Diesel in New York, they put him in with someone who can take bumps for him and doesn't just mat wrestle. Backlund will remain in the WWF, but not in a main event position. His next series will be with Adam Bomb. Jarrett, meanwhile, lost to Diesel all four nights this weekend.

Observer: Bob Backlund has been totally phased down as expected, but a few weeks early. Don't know the story behind it, but Backlund is still with the company and is booked in prelims still as a heel with Adam Bomb in February (although I still think they may do some unfinished business working him around the horn with Bret Hart). At the shows this past weekend at Madison Square Garden (5,400 paying $119,954), Meadowlands (4,500) and Nassau Coliseum (7,500 in the building, but $117,761 house indicates closer to 6,000 paid), all were headlined by Diesel vs. Backlund and Backlund was replaced by Jeff Jarrett which was acknowledged on the weekend television. They did a Nick Bockwinkel-like nonsensical explanation that Shawn Michaels had gone to Jack Tunney and gotten the match switched. Even though Diesel-Backlund was drawing pretty bad elsewhere, it's not like putting him in with a "cold" opponent, and it being Jarrett as a headliner, was going to sell anymore tickets so my feeling is that someone, either Diesel or the office, realized the matches were bad which doesn't help the Diesel project getting off the ground, and that Backlund is just so hard to work with. Funny thing is, the switched the match in New York which is the one place Backlund's history means something and where he got incredible heel reactions at the last shows. Although MSG was down, the Nassau and Meadowlands crowds were up from the last few tours.

Were Wade’s report and Dave’s guess about the reasoning behind the switch correct?

Was it bittersweet at all getting your first shot at being a major market, world title level WWF headliner under these circumstances? As a last-minute substitute during the implementation of the famously bad idea where they ran full weekends in the same market with the same lineup at each arena, splitting the crowd between the different arenas?

You don’t have to give specifics if you don’t want to, but even with business being down, where did these stand among your biggest house show payoffs up to this point in your career?

Observer: Next house show tour will be billed as "In High Gear" and mainly be headlined by Razor & Diesel vs. Jarrett & Michaels. 3/19 at Madison Square Garden is Bret Hart & Davey Boy Smith vs. Lawler & mystery partner and Ramon-Diesel vs. Jarrett-Michaels.

Being that you were booked on top in tags for the returns, did that assuage any disappointment you may have had over the iffy houses?

Week of 3/20/1995 (Torch 3/25 & Observer 3/27)

Torch: In one of the bigger money-drawing house shows in U.S. wrestling over the past few years, the WWF drew an estimated 18,000 (just hundreds short of a sellout) Sunday afternoon, Mar. 19 at Madison Square Garden. The comps were no more than usual when the WWF was drawing 10-12,000 for its MSG house shows, so given MSG's price structure, the gate was in the $250,000 range. The near sellout was an unexpected surprise for the WWF and has raised morale behind the scenes, which wasn't necessarily suffering to begin with given the increased pay-per-view schedule that should increase overall revenue and profit this year compared to last. The success of the MSG show can be attributed partially to the Wrestlemania hype that has penetrated the New York Market due to Lawrence Taylor's involvement. MSG is where Diesel won the WWF Title and continues to be the arena where he has the strongest following. With Diesel and Michaels on top in the tag match, it's a strong sign for their current drawing power in that market.

Observer: 3/19 New York Madison Square Garden (WWF - 15,000/heavily papered): [...] Diesel & Razor Ramon b Jeff Jarrett & Shawn Michaels-DQ ***3/4

Torch: Diesel & Razor Ramon beat Jeff Jarrett & Shawn Michaels in what was rated at four stars by Torch correspondent Mike Omansky. There were over a dozen key interferences by Roadie during the match that lasted over a half hour which featured: incredible bumps by Michaels, excellent exchanges by Ramon with both heels, and two good powerhouse comebacks by Diesel. There were several endings to the match. After about a half hour, Ramon put Jarrett in the Razor's Edge while Michaels distracted the referee. Roadie then jumped in, attacked Ramon's leg, and Jarrett tossed him out. The ref came back and counted Ramon out. Diesel wanted the match to continue. The ref ruled Ramon couldn't participate, but that the match would continue two-on-one. The second ending came when the heels beat on Diesel, who finally made a comeback, tossed Michaels out of the ring, and five minutes later powerbombed Jarrett. Roadie leaped, dragged Jarrett out, and Jarrett left the arena followed by Michaels who was counted out. The referee then ruled that, although Jarrett was counted out, the match would continue as a one-on-one match with Diesel vs. Michaels and Michaels had 10 seconds to get back to the ring. Michaels ran back in and the two began battling. Michaels dominated briefly and then Diesel took over. At this point, Sid, who had not appeared previously, interfered and the ref rang the bell for a DQ. Undertaker then ran in to make the save. Diesel won this third segment of the bout via DQ.

Everyone who called the Torch regarding the show said it was one of the best shows in the area in a couple of years.

This is probably more along the lines of what you envisioned when you first thought about headlining MSG, is it not?

How much do you think the WrestleMania publicity helped the house? What about the decision finally being made after almost a year to stop doing those ridiculous triple-headers with the Nassau Coliseum and the Meadowlands?

Based on what you remember about your payoff, how much accuracy was there to Dave’s report of the crowd being heavily papered?

What was it like teaming with Shawn in headlining tag team matches as heels compared to wrestling him in matches where he was the heel and you were the babyface?

The night after WrestleMania, Shawn turns when his bodyguard, Sid, attacks him and makes the save. So that means he’s firmly entrenched as a babyface when…

Week of 6/26/1995 (Torch 7/1 & Observer 7/3)

Torch, from Wade’s Raw review: Shawn Michaels made a grand entrance as the guest color commentator on Raw. […] Savio Vega beat Jeff Jarrett via DQ when Roadie interfered so Jarrett retained the IC Title. Vega took early advantage. When Roadie tried to interfere, Vegas sent him flying to the announcing table at ringside. Michaels yanked on Roadie's hair, which caused Roadie to scream at Michaels. After Roadie interfered, Michaels cleaned the ring of both heels. After a commercial break, Michaels was dancing on the announcing table with the crowd in the palm of his hand as Roadie and Jarrett stormed back into the ring. As Raw went off the air, Jarrett had the house mic in his hand.

Observer: All that we know of right now for the In Your House II PPV show on 7/23 in Nashville is that it will have Diesel vs. Sid in what was advertised on television as a lumberjack match although there have been rumors it may be changed to a cage match, for the title, on top. They'll also have Jeff Jarrett defending (and probably losing) the IC title to Shawn Michaels in what should be the show-stealer, Bret Hart vs. Hakushi and Bam Bam Bigelow vs. King Kong Bundy.

Do you think it was too much of a foregone conclusion that you were losing the title at In Your House? And even if it was, does that matter? Or does an obvious outcome just show that the outcome is the logical one?

Torch: Jeff Jarrett is the only heel in the latest catalog with merchandise, which could be a sign that he, not Roadie, is turning babyface. Roadie's ability to take heelish bumps might be a strong attribute if he were to stay heel.

With what we’re about to get into with how the planned split fit into the Michaels match, there’s a whole show we’ve done on that which everyone can check out in the archives, so we don’t go too in-depth into that side of it here. Having said that: Roadie was going to be the babyface when you split. That was always the plan. Do you have any idea how or why you ended up being the only heel with merch in the Summer 1995 catalog? You had a single t-shirt in a spread of merchandise for several different wrestlers (and a Monday Night Raw shirt), with Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels, and Adam Bomb each having multiple items. You joined Bob Holly and the 1-2-3 Kid in each having one item.

Week of 7/24/1995 (Torch 7/29 & Observer 7/31)

Before we get into the PPV, there’s this:

Observer: Jeff Jarrett and the Heavenly Bodies worked three shows this past week for Jimmy Deo's Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling and did jobs to the locals in the title picture. It's really interesting to see the WWF not care about their stars doing jobs for locals on the local bar shows. Jarrett first won the U.S. title from Jim Powers on 7/20 in Reading, PA but lost the title 7/22 in Wind Gap, PA. Bodies lost to promoter Deo & Max Crimson, billed as Assault and Battery with Lou Albano as their manager, on the first night, then won the tag titles on their second night (7/21 in Gilbertsville, PA) before losing the tag titles the third night in. Crowds were around 100-200 each night. On the first night, Damien Kane, who promotes rival All-Star Wrestling Federation shows in Reading, show up at the Silo Night club where the show was being held. PCW promoter Blane DeSantis at the 6/1 show when saying that Jarrett and the Bodies would appear said that unlike at Damien Kane's shows, when he advertises someone they show up. Kane and Jimmy Deo had a confrontation with DeSantis and security asking Kane to leave the bar. Kane said he was here to defend his honor and if they had anything to say, he was here to defend himself. Kane apparently said he'd leave if they gave him a good reason to. Ten minutes later, three police officers arrived and tried to throw Kane out and he initially resisted and ended up getting maced and then left peacefully. They had to clear the bar out for a few minutes because of the mace. DeSantis apologized to the crowd over what happened and over having to delay the beginning of the show.

During the period where it was actively something that indie promoters could patronize in the second half of the ‘90s, how often would you say you get booked for outside indie dates via the WWF’s third-party bookings department? Did you enjoy the opportunities like these to work smaller shows? Was it a strange feeling to be working three smallish indie shows three nights in a row and then work the PPV the night after the third show?

As for the PPV, we did a whole show about Jeff and Roadie quitting, so let’s focus on the match for now…

Observer, from Dave’s PPV review: My own opinion of In Your House II on 7/23 from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium was that it was an easy thumbs up, although I was a little surprised at the response here. I've seen plenty of better WWF and WCW PPV shows that didn't get anywhere near the level of positive response this show got. I'm not sure if it's an indication of decreasing expectations and thus one outstanding match, three better than average and two bad matches constitutes an excellent show nowadays, or simply that people vary their responses based on the price tag, and since this show was $14.95, less is expected than for other shows. A lot of people thought this was the best PPV of the year, but to me Royal Rumble and both UFC shows were a lot better. Shawn Michaels and Jeff Jarrett was easily the best worked PPV match thus far in 1995 and except for the Eddy Guerrero-Dean Malenko ECW match, as good as any singles match I've seen in the United States, but that speaks more for the quality of matches WWF and WCW have been delivering because it is no better than many matches every week on international television.

4. Michaels (Michael Hickenbottom) pinned Jarrett in 20:01 to win the IC title. Lots of stalling early but every spot was perfectly timed. At one point Michaels sidestepped Jarrett who went over the top onto Roadie and Michaels did a plancha on them both. The early part of the match was really more AAA style Lucha Libre than American pro wrestling and the latter few minutes was basic last few minutes of a 1980s Ric Flair match. Jarrett backdropped Michaels over the top rope and got near falls with a face first suplex and a DDT. Roadie's first interference was choking Michaels on the ropes. Jarrett went to legdrop Michaels, who moved, and hit Roadie instead and Michaels hit a rolling reverse for a near fall. Michaels took an incredible Ray Stevens flip into the corner and over the top bump and Roadie clotheslined him off the apron. Jarrett did a crossbody and Michaels rolled through for a near fall. Jarrett also used a crucifix and an excellent dropkick. Jarrett used the sleeper which Michaels broke with a back suplex. Michaels used a flying clothesline and a flying forearm and a double ax off the top for near falls. He did a great Randy Savage elbow off the top (a lot better than Savage does) and crotched Jarrett on the post. Michaels went to the top but Roadie shook the ropes and Michaels crotched himself. Jarrett used a superplex and went for the figure four but Michaels got a near fall with an inside cradle. After a kneebreaker, Jarrett went for the figure four again, but Michaels kicked him off into the ref. Michaels signalled for the superkick but Roadie clipped him. Jarrett used a crossbody off the top for a near fall. Jarrett signalled for Roadie to trip Michaels as he whipped him into the ropes but Michaels reversed it and Jarrett was tripped. As he got up, Michaels hit him with the superkick for the pin. After a celebration with Michaels in the dressing room, they went back to the ring presumably for the Jarrett/Roadie split, but it didn't happen and later Hendricks did a stand-up babbling about a phantom split. ****1/2

Torch, from Wade’s PPV review: This is a notch above the two strong WCW matches at the Great American Bash (Pillman vs. Wright, Flair vs. Savage) and a definite match of the year candidate in the U.S. Jarrett moved his rep up a notch with this one. Michaels further solidified his rep as being the best worker in the U.S. Had the match gone three minutes longer after the ref bump, it would have been a quarter star higher. (****1/4)

Torch, from Chris Zavisa’s PPV review: Michaels vs. Jarrett was an extremely entertaining four-and-a-quarter star bout that had the potential to really let it rip. I thought Jarrett ran out of steam at the end and the match seemed to drop noticeably after the ref bump. But otherwise, it was one tremendous contest. Michaels took the best bump of the night, one worthy of Cactus Jack, getting backdropped over the top rope and landing on his back and side on the floor.

Jeff, where do you rank this among the greatest matches of your career, at least on the national stage?

The newsletter readers and writers always seemed to like your work better as a babyface, so why do you think it took this match for them to fully appreciate what you could do as a heel, just the right dance partner?

Then there’s what came AFTER the match…

Observer: The biggest story revolving around the WWF In Your House II show was just minutes after being involved in the two best matches on the show, Jeff Jarrett and The Roadie (Brian James) quit the promotion. Details as to why are sketchy as press time although it is known they were unhappy about the angle which had been a major source of discussion over the past few weeks. Originally during the In Your House PPV show, when Jarrett was lip synching a concert of the song, there was to be a screw-up revealing Roadie as the singer, and between that and the screw-up in the IC title match, it would start the feud with them meeting at SummerSlam. There was a lot of talk, largely based on how well the video was received, that doing a turn this early was premature. As it was, they did the turn or at least were booked to do it later in the show during the match where Jarrett lost the IC title to Shawn Michaels with an attempt at interference by Roadie backfiring and leading to the finish. Jarrett and Roadie were supposed to do a break-up after the match, but didn't do it. Instead they went backstage and had Dok Hendricks (Michael Seitz) in his lone appearance talk about the break-up happening backstage and a fight without it actually taking place. Jarrett and Roadie both simply walked out of the building that night in the middle of the show. There are plenty of rumors as to why the two would leave together since Jarrett, mainly from the video, was actually starting to show some charisma after a lengthy megapush had for the most part been unsuccessful. There are also rumors with Jarrett's father Jerry working as a consultant to WCW that somehow there's a connection there, and WCW is said to be interested in Jarrett but there is a not so small matter of Jarrett's WWF contract to overcome. Roadie, who was being given his first career break after being a jobber with WCW and SMW as Brian Armstrong, from the looks of things seemed to be walking away just as his career was getting ready to take off. At the live Raw show 7/24 in Louisville, they didn't give a strong impression that both were gone but Vince McMahon did give away that Jarrett was lip synching the previous night and left the impression Roadie was singing, and said that Jarrett would never sing again on a WWF show.

How far in advance did you know you were quitting right after the match with Shawn? How important was it to you to give such a great, show-stealing performance on the way out? When Chet Coppeck interviewed you on NewSport Talk a few days earlier, you said some things that seemed to foreshadow the walkout, talking about how burnt out you were from the road schedule.

Ideally, how do you think the Roadie storyline should have gone? Even if it was dragged out longer, as it should have been, there’s still the issue that the feud starts with him immediately getting the better of you. And it’s not like 1995 WWF was a place where you could have gotten your heat back and pivoted the storyline with a really violent beatdown angle.

How strange is it looking back at how what are generally considered your two most memorable WWF PPV matches, this one and the Chyna match, were under such trying circumstances?

If you’re listening and thinking to yourself, “well, the show must be over, Jeff and Shawn never had a match together after this,” then you would be WRONG! That’s because we’ve got a riot to talk about…

Week of 12/9/1997 (Torch 12/20 & Observer 12/22)

Observer: And yet a third problem, which may at least for the time being be the most serious of all, occurred both at house shows on 12/14 in Memphis and 12/15 in Little Rock, when, due to actions and decisions that appeared at least to people at the show to be by Michaels, the main event didn't take place at either show, resulting in a near riot in Memphis and a full-blown riot in Little Rock. In Memphis, the scheduled main event of Jerry Lawler & Jeff Jarrett vs. Michaels & Helmsley never took place. Before a crowd of 5,078 fans at the Pyramid, Michaels, came out for his once per week scheduled arena match and was met with so much garbage thrown his way that he simply refused to wrestle and the show ended without the match ever taking place. As it was described to us, the show itself was poor and the crowd, many of whom had been drinking heavily, were getting unruly even before the main event.

Torch: Everyone was on edge leading up to the main event for a variety of reasons. Michaels’s fuse was especially short because before the match Lawler put up a fuss about doing a job to him in the tag match, even though after the match Lawler, Jarrett, and Brian Christopher were booked to clear the ring of DX and end the show on an up note. Ironically, Lawler used to always tell wrestlers in the Memphis circuit when he was champion, “If you can’t lose to the champion, who can you lose to?” Lawler pulled a Bret Hart or a Pierre Lafitte by not wanting to job “in front of his hometown fans.”

Undertaker wrestled the last match before intermission in Memphis. When he returned from the back, his ring outfit was soaked with spit. Fans were not just throwing debris at wrestlers, but they took to spitting at them as they walked to and from the ring. Security didn’t do anything about it, thinking it was part of the show. That upset the wrestlers even more. Fans had started throwing garbage at Henry Godwinn, who stood at ringside for the semi-final. When he got backstage afterward, he was so upset he began kicking at chairs in frustration with the lack of order in the arena. When Michaels, Hunter, and Chyna came to the ring for their match, Hunter did some heel mic work. Michaels followed with heel comments of his own. As fans began tossing bottles and cups at the ring, Michaels said, “We’re leaving.” They left, and at first it appeared to be part of an angle.

Observer: Michaels was hit with a few cokes, and a large wad of tobacco juice nailed Helmsley in the face, at which point Michaels grabbed the house mic and said,"Well, that just cost you your main event," and walked out of the ring with Helmsley and Chyna. When the crowd realized what had happened, they got even more unruly. There was an attempt by Dude Love, who was at the event but couldn't wrestle due to fractured ribs, to get the crowd to chant "HBK" to get Michaels to change his mind and wrestle but he refused to come back out.

Torch: Dude Love eventually came out and introduced Lawler & Jarrett, who hadn’t come out yet. He also said DX would not come back out if fans didn’t stop throwing things at the ring. As they talked, some debris continued to be thrown into the ring. Dude said, “Maybe if we all close our eyes and make a wish, DX will be back in the ring.” The road agents were running back and forth from the ring to the locker room, making it appear as if what was happening wasn’t a planned angle at all. In reality, as Dude was trying to calm the fans, Michaels and Hunter had already changed into street clothes. Management was behind Michaels and Hunter totally and agreed the situation was unsafe.

The referee eventually came back out and said that due to “unsportsmanlike conduct by the crowd,” DX was refusing to return, and therefore declared Lawler and Jarrett the winners via forfeit. A full cup of beer was then thrown into the ring and hit Lawler in the head. Some fights in the crowd broke out as some fans were upset with those fans who threw things, costing everyone the main event match they paid to see. Security had to separate some of the fans. Fans were upset with the WWF and other fans as they left.

Observer: Finally Lawler tried to apologize to the crowd, but the crowd pelted the home town hero with debris after chanting for Lawler and Jarrett to wrestle each other and Lawler responding by saying that since he didn't have a contract to wrestle Jarrett that match "couldn't" take place. That combined with no refunds being offered when some fans began demanding them at the box office made the mood of the fans even worse with the general feeling leaving the building among many fans according to our reports is the WWF had killed the city for themselves and fans swearing that they'd stick with WCW. Of course with the big promotions running so infrequently in specific markets, usually the fans forget a bad show by the time the next show comes to town. However, WBII, the Memphis area television station that broadcasts the syndicated show in the market, received more than 130 complaining phone calls from fans that attended the house show by early the next morning due to the main event fiasco, and in addition that morning, another group of fans who attended the show were picketing the television station from the start of business until noon, claiming to be in protest against the tactics of the WWF. Based on the report we had of the incident, the fans actions could not be blamed strictly or even largely on Michaels inciting them as much as a few fans being drunk and out of control. However, this situation came close to happening in other cities where Michaels' gimmick is to incite the audience into throwing things at him, including in at least a one recent case by saying things like he's heard the fans in (insert city) have terrible aim, thereby making himself the target for every object every idiot has nearby. It was Michaels who decided to walk out when the fans were so unruly. The WWF backed Michaels up in Memphis claiming WWF officials were the ones who decided to end the show early for the safety of all concerned, although that decision actually made the arena even more unsafe because it only made the fans behavior worse. They blamed the problem on local security that didn't search fans as they entered the arena as they routinely had done for other wrestling events in the city, and that allowed fans to bring bottles of alcohol into the building with them resulting in several drunk and unruly fans who had empty bottles in their possession. The reports the WWF received from the agents on the road were the fans were throwing empty bottles, and there were internet reports saying Michaels was hit with a bottle or with flying ice, although several live sources have denied Michaels was hit with either a bottle or ice. The throwing of things began to get out of hand in the previous match between Shamrock and Phineas Godwinn, with Henry Godwinns' antics at ringside starting fans in the mood to pelt the ring, and when Michaels and Helmsley came out for their main event, they might as well had painted bullseyes on their faces.

Torch: On the WWF 900 line, Ross said the decision for DX not to return to the ring was a decision by management backstage, and not a refusal to return to the ring by Michaels and Hunter. He said the debris thrown at the wrestlers reached dangerous levels, although eyewitness reports said it didn’t seem quite that excessive. Ross said: “The WWF made the right decision. The safety of the performers and the fans comes first. It’s sad a certain small segment of ignorant drunks ruined the show for everybody else.”

The next day local television affiliates in Memphis were bombarded with calls complaining about the situation. When the box office refused to offer refunds, a group of several dozen fans protested outside of the television news station.

Observer: Little Rock was even worse. According to several reports, the undercard for the show at the Barton Coliseum was terrible and even the densest marks were getting restless about the poor quality of the matches, in particular a terrible match with Kane vs. Chainz and an Undertaker vs. Rocky Maivia casket match that only lasted two minutes due to Undertaker being injured and having high blood pressure. In addition, fans were upset because the card that was taking place was completely different than the line-up that was advertised with no explanations given. [...] Michaels and Helmsley came to the ring and began riling up the crowd that was already mad about the poor undercard. Naturally they became target practice again, and when a piece of paper hit Michaels, he told the crowd that they had just lost their main event and walked out with Helmsley and Chyna. Fans, thinking it was just part of the act, didn't react right away. After several minutes, DX failed to come back in the ring, no opponent for Helmsley appeared, and the ring announcer said that they had refused to come out and the show was over. At this point, a real riot started, with chairs and whiskey bottles being thrown everywhere including at police trying to get the crowd out of the building. The situation got so bad that the police had to spray the building with tear gas to get the fans outside. Several fans tried to get refunds and were unsuccessful and at that point a second riot took place in the parking lot before the police broke it up. At least one fan was rushed to the hospital but there didn't appear to be any serious injuries to fans either night. This incident was so out of hand it was reported on the news later that night with at least one report giving the impression that the WWF wouldn't be allowed back in the city although with this all happening at deadline it is really too soon to figure out how this is going to unfold locally. The reports from this event live pointed the finger directly at Michaels for the problem starting, although the behavior of the fans was the actual real problem but unlike in Memphis, the real problems didn't occur until the fans realized that they weren't going to see the main event and that DX walking out wasn't simply part of the show to get heat.

Torch: Then the unruliness escalated to virtual riot proportions. Fans began throwing chairs and objects and lit firecrackers, not just plastic cups and food. Fights broke out in the crowd. Police had to separate scuffles and arrest several fans for disorder drunken conduct. As DX returned to the back, Hunter got nailed in the face with a glass bottle. According to WWF publicist Jay Andronico, Hunter’s eye was badly swollen the next day. Fans began chanting, “WCW, WCW.”

Adam Duvall, a fan who attended the show, said the fighting continued for nearly 30 minutes. “I went to Marilyn Manson a few weeks back and there was all this talk going into the show that he was going to eat children on stage and hand out drugs,” he says. “But compared to the WWF show, the Manson concert was totally organized and safe.” Duvall says part of the problem was security didn’t check fans as they entered the arena for objects. “At Manson, they lifted everyone’s shirts and checked their bags,” he says.

Observer: Crowds pelting Michaels with garbage have become commonplace since he made his latest heel turn, but these were the first situations where a show ended abruptly and a main event never took place, although situations beforehand with Michaels and at some WCW house shows on the West Coast a few months ago threatened to get to this level and ECW was having fan problems on almost a regular basis of late and came close on a few occasions from nearly having a show stopped on them before the main event.

The actions of the wrestlers have encouraged fans throwing objects so even though it is a minority of fans, some if not most drunk and engaged in mob mentality, that are ruining things and making conditions dangerous for the rest of the fans and the wrestlers. The fact is Michaels' act encourages it, and in Little Rock, basically caused the riot by walking out. Supposedly the difference between a professional top heel is they can rile the crowd up to a certain point, but calm them down before things get out of control. That fine line is easier to write about than totally control, but if the WWF hasn't gotten the message that the DX act at least on the road shows needs to be toned down, then whatever happens is being asked for at this point because Memphis was a warning. Actually there were many warnings before Memphis that clearly have been ignored by the WWF. Little Rock was no longer a warning. Little Rock was caused by ignoring warnings.

Jeff, you were on both shows, so you can speak to a lot of this, but you had a front row seat to the shenanigans in Memphis. First things first, what the heck do you remember about what happened with the fans at these two shows?

At this point, you’ve been wrestling for national TV promotions for about four years. Was this the most heated and unruly fan behavior you had seen at a WWF or WCW show? Or was this happening more often than was talked about?

Do you think both major promotions had been encouraging this too much between the constant trash showers on Shawn for the previous month or two and WCW’s constant glorification of throwing trash and fans hitting the ring?

How frustrating was it to not get your big planned homecoming main event?

Overall, how would you assess the working relationship that you had with Shawn Michaels in Memphis, the AWA, and the WWF?

Where does he stand among the best wrestlers you’ve ever been in the ring with?