https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LDFi88Q30c The least elegant of ways to describe the Memphis territory is as a meat grinder, where largely unproven talents developed their skills and were paid minimal money with maximum expectations demanded of their in-ring output. If you could succeed in Memphis you could succeed anywhere, which is why every major name from Hulk Hogan to Shawn Michaels (and many, many more) cut their proverbial teeth there. It's oftentimes fun to go back and watch the early promos of wrestling greats when they were in Memphis, because it's the first time many of them had ever been put in a position where they were depended upon to be a major drawing attraction. The Undertaker as an ex-con who wants Jerry Lawler's Southern Heavyweight Championship? Okay? I guess that's believable. Consider that eighteen months after cutting this promo, he was main eventing in Japan. Amazing.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.