In 1982, a Memphis crowd witnessed one of television's biggest stars stand across the ring from their hometown hero. What they saw wasn’t much, no top rope Spanish flies or flaming tables, there were no long rest holds or armbars. Instead, a cocky heel finally feeling the full wrath of Memphis pride. That cocky heel was Andy Kaufman, the shining star of Taxi and Saturday Night Live, and along with his opponent Jerry ‘the King’ Lawler they had crafted a simple story which had engaged a territory and a nation. The feud led to the two men making an appearance on David Letterman which garnered not only mainstream publicity, but another way for both performers to prolong their tale of Hollywood vs Memphis.
In today’s professional wrestling world where storylines are hot shotted, and matches don’t get a real satisfying pay off could a similar story be recreated today? Professional wrestling can learn a lot from Kaufman vs Lawler particularly how to continue stories while keeping an audience engaged through pure emotion. Blending audience participation and intriguing booking are things that can be hard to find in modern wrestling, making this feud a very beneficial template for an everchanging business.
Andy Kaufman Understood Pro Wrestling
Andy Kaufman was an enigma that broke the mould within the entertainment industry. Describing himself not as a comedian but a ‘song and dance man’. He transcended societal opinion about comedy and performance art forever. Jerry Lawler is the King of Memphis wrestling. A wrestling legend who's wars with Eddie Gilbert and Nick Bockwinkel have ingrained themselves into Memphis culture. Both men attempted to get the wrestling and entertainment world talking through a feud back in 1982.
The story of Kaufman’s start in wrestling is an interesting one. The star began by wrestling women at live performances. Even strutting round the Saturday Night Live stage with Lorne Michaels and co looking on in shock and intrigue. A peacocking Kaufman walked around the ring goading the audience and even turning down the challenge of a pregnant member of the crowd. Antics like these led to him crowning himself the Intergender Heavyweight champion, adding another layer to his wrestling persona. While the world turned its nose up at his antics the cogs began turning in a very creative mind.
Memphis Meets Hollywood
Kaufman and Lawler devised a plan which would see the SNL alum cut scathing promos on the local Memphis crowds. A sarcastic Kaufman would gleefully explain to an irate working-class Memphis continuate how to use soap or the value of toilet paper. All the while he continues to wrestler women on a card which was headlined main evented by the the King of Memphis, Jerry Lawler. This led to the defender of Memphis sticking up for his people, challenging a red-faced Kaufman to his first tussle with someone of his own gender. Two illegal piledrivers later and a rivalry was imprinted into Memphis folklore.
Wrestling Babyfaces Should Be Conquering Heroes
With current wrestling story’s there is a real urgency for progression, most of the time at the sake of real storytelling. Society currently is faster paced, in your face and wanting resolution as quickly as possible. Therefore, so is wrestling. Less of a build to pay off for fans, and when that build does occur story a rivalry will be gracelessly dragged to another monthly special. In the wide selection of promotions that fans have available to them now the Kaufman and Lawler feud can be very profitable. WWE could take note of the long-term booking of a cocky heel not getting his comeuppance until a crowd is at its fever pitch. Even New Japan can see how classic heel and babyface roles can be intriguing while at the same time be engaging to a western audience.
Andy Kaufman was a man who loved professional wrestling and the opportunity to bring audience emotion to the forefront of his art. By bringing his tales of Hollywood to the Memphis territory he incited the hatred of the people, therefore heaping even more adulation on Lawler. While the landscapes of pro wrestling a vastly dissimilar in 1982 and 2021, storytelling can still be as simple with small changes made to update a classic rivalry for a current audience. Complete immersion in character and story allows the audience to forget what they are seeing is predetermined. Something which this feud had in abundance. Both men left the feud having achieved reactions they needed and leaving behind lessons that the business has learnt from and can continue to learn from in the coming years.
