WWE News: Jerry Lawler Returns To The Ring In Attempt To Save Mid-South Coliseum

Lawler, along with other legends of the ring like Bill Dundee, took part in an event titled “Roundhouse Revival.” According to the event’s Facebook page, the event was “aimed at celebrating the Mid-South Coliseum with music, wrestling and basketball and gathering reuse ideas from the public.”

Lawler and Dundee, who were longtime rivals in their Memphis wrestling days, tag-teamed to take on masked wrestlers called the Coliseum Crushers. According to reports, Jerry Lawler spent most of the match in the ring, to the delight of the fans looking on. In the end, Lawler and Dundee were victorious following Jerry’s signature second rope fist drop.

The legendary Mid-South Coliseum, which closed it’s doors in 2006, was the sight of many historic wrestling events over the years. The building, built in 1963, housed a world famous encounter between Jerry Lawler and Andy Kaufman in April 1982. During the confrontation, Lawler gave Kaufman his signature piledriver two times, resulting in Kaufman being taken away from the arena in an ambulance. Three months later, Jerry Lawler and Andy Kaufman (wearing a brace on his neck) were invited to appear on NBC’s Late Night With David Letterman and resolve their differences, resulting in one of the most memorable segments during Letterman’s early years on NBC when Lawler slapped Kaufman.

All in all, Jerry Lawler headlined hundreds of wrestling shows at the Mid-South Coliseum over the years. Outside of the famous Kaufman encounter, easily the most notorious headlining match Jerry took part in at the venue was a 1981 “empty arena match” against Terry Funk.

The Mid-South Coliseum hosted several other famous entertainment events, including concerts by Memphis’ own Elvis Presley (his As Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis album was recorded there in 1974), two concerts by The Beatles on their final U.S. tour in 1966, a portion of a David Copperfield television special in 2001, and many professional and college basketball games.

Nobody else headlined the Coliseum as many times as Lawler, though, and the effort to save the arena from demolition is something near and dear to his heart. The city of Memphis has proposed tearing down the facility and building a new sports complex on the site (at a cost of $33 million), while opponents argue that renovating the facility would be cheaper ($30 million).

One of the reasons for Saturday’s event that featured Lawler was to brainstorm ideas for how the Coliseum could be used moving forward. According to My Fox Memphis, ideas included using the site for outdoor concerts, local sports tournaments, or even converting the venue into a pro wrestling hall of fame.

As the city of Memphis continues to debate whether to demolish the building or save it, public meetings have been scheduled for June 1 and June 2 in front of the Mid-South Coliseum to garner further ideas on the future of the location.