THE WRESTLING ANGLE THAT NEVER WAS (JERRY LAWLER VS. NICK WIZ)

Disclaimer: This is an idea that I pitched to one of my friends early in my Congressional campaign during the primary. While we never seriously considered doing the angle, the idea turned out to be pretty good. I didn't mention it while I was running, because it would have been distracting to the campaign. I recall the backlash that occurred when my father, uncle & cousins appeared at the Coliseum with Lawler a few years back.

Needless to say, I'm a big pro wrestling fan. I don't watch it as much I did in the 80s and 90s, but I still follow it. I've written matches for e-feds and created numerous characters. I wrote a screenplay for a pro-wrestling cartoon called the LAWF. One of our angles in the screenplay had a group of wrestlers attempting to take over the league similar to the NWO/WCW in 1996-98.

When I first decided to run for office, many critics denounced me as a "carpetbagger." While there was not a lot I could do about such statements, my friends & I wanted to have some fun with it. Therefore, we decided to write up a proposed angle to Jerry Lawler for the Congressional primary. My friend Nick Wiz was ready to drop everything in LA and head to Memphis for the duration. After writing the angle, I never did anything with it. Needless to say that had I proceeded with the angle, it would have been political suicide. However, it would have been a lot of fun! Please remember the goal here was to be a "heel" or bad guy. It was all for show! Here is the proposed wrestling angle that never was...ENJOY!

-----Original Message-----
From: Joseph S. Ford, Jr. [mailto:jford@legalelements.com]
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 2:27 PM
To: 'nick fury'; 'Nick fury'
Cc: 'justinford2006'; 'bigoak'; 'Big Roob'
Subject: Jerry Lawler vs. Nick Wiz

Nick—

So the campaigning is going GREAT...I did an interview for local channel WPTY, and the interview took place on the same set as the MEMPHIS WRESTLING set. Once I saw that, I wasn’t even worried about my campaign interview. I kept talking about getting on the show. However, WPTY only leases the set to MEMPHIS WRESTLING, so they couldn’t hook anything up.

However, my brother is going to speak with Jerry Lawler about your proposed Andy Kaufman Part 2 angle. Here is what I need from you. I need you to draft up the proposed angle from your perspective since you would be the one directly involved. It doesn’t have to be more than a couple of pages.

Here is how I would book it, but feel free to add your thoughts:

--Sometime around Memorial Day, you show up at the end of a live MEMPHIS WRESTLING event ala Scott Hall when he first appeared solo on WCW at the end of a Nitro. You would introduce yourself to Lawler and basically say that you represent me, and that you are there to right a wrong. Basically, you’ll say that Lawler cost my dad the mayoral election in 1999 and that once I win the Congress seat, we’re shutting down this backwoods wrestling organization and starting LAWF in its place. Lawler will be pissed and demand that I come out. You say that I’m too LA for this league, but I will be appearing soon when they can put on a MAJOR EVENT. For now, Nick Wiz will be controlling MEMPHIS WRESTLING, and is the new man in town.

--Each week, you’ll come out at random times and screw Lawler and his allies in their various matches. You can play up the Kaufman type stuff and say that I will be appearing soon. Over the weeks, the heat builds. I won’t appear live, but I’ll cut a promo or two where it appears that I endorse what you are doing. Certain MEMPHIS WRESTLERS can even jump ship to LAWF. You give them LAWF t-shirts on the promise to take them to the top in wrestling. You can even help them win matches with briefcase shots.

--You can also heckle Lawler from the crowd at WWE Raw events.

--Lawler starts getting pissed at some point and demands that I appear. You say that you will produce me, but only at a major event about 2-3 weeks out from the primary election. The primary election is August 3, 2006.

--When the event happens in mid-July, you along with the other LAWF wrestlers come out to huge heat. You get on the mic and start riling up the crowd. Finally, you introduce me and when I come out, I get some huge heel heat. You have an LAWF t-shirt for me to put on, and that is symbolic of me leaving Memphis behind once and for all. After a few moments, I flip the script, throw the LAWF shirt in your face and reveal a Memphis jersey. I grab the mic and hype that I am Memphis 4 Life or something. At that point Lawler suddenly comes out in the ring, and you get your bump (piledriver, table shot, etc.) to a huge applause. Lawler and I shake hands and the event ends.

--From there, you can continue the LAWF angle if you want. If not, then we can then sell our LAWF script. No matter what, we would be a part of wrestling history forever.

Add your thoughts, because I would love to propose this idea to Lawler.

Holla back.

Joe

THE RETURN OF TRENT LOTT...

The Republicans tried to send him out to pasture after his insensitive remarks a few years ago...but he wasn't going out like a silly sucker. Instead, he was rebuilt...bigger...faster... stronger...smarter...with cyborg computer powers...x-ray vision...and the ability to time travel back to the Jim Crow era...et cetera!

Now he's back. Sen. Lott has regained his leadership post in the Senate among the Republicans as the Minority Whip. For the record, Sen. McConnell will be the top-ranking Senate GOP leader.

You can read the full story here: LOTT ANNOUNCES TO THE WORLD: "I'M BACK B*TCHES AND THIS TIME IT'S PERSONAL"

Well he really didn't say it like that, but he was probably thinking it. Like or dislike Sen. Lott, the man is the consummate politician. If you look up politician in a dictionary, you'll likely see Sen. Lott's picture. This move tells me that the Republicans are hoping to take it back to the glory days of 2002.

WHO WILL BE THE NEXT KING OF MEMPHIS?

Now that the latest biggest election ever is over, I feel like I have a hangover. No one is talking about politics. I'm not hearing the rumours and speculations anymore. What gives? If this keeps up, I'm going to have to return to ninja college for an advanced degree in kick-fighting.

On a serious tip, I alluded to this next question in a previous post, but who will be running for Mayor of Memphis next year? That is the $2,000,000.00 question!

I don't recall which blog I read it on, but I recall seeing someone make the point that W.W. might not even run in 2007. If someone can give me the cite, I'll link it here. The blogger further stated that W.W may be delaying an announcement so that he can "annoint" a successor to file in the last days. That would be genius! I had not even considered that possibility, but it would make sense.

I had assumed that W.W. wanted one final political war to cement his legacy forever in the eyes of Memphians. However, if he could put one of his people into the office, the W.W. legacy (good or bad) would be complete without having to battle.

To whomever is considering a mayoral run in 2007, please file ASAP! You should not base your decision on what W.W. does or does not do. If there are no strong candidates in the race, then W.W. will not need to run. However, if there is a strong candidate, then W.W. will likely have to run or risk not having one of his people in the seat. If W.W. waits until the last minute to announce that he IS NOT running, then there will be a race to file down at the Election Commission from scores of candidates. Think of the 2006 9th District Congressional Democratic primary times five!

It will take a lot of effort to defeat W.W., but perhaps the voters do not want to vote him out. W.W. has been in power since 1991, and I do not see him giving it up so easily. I also do not see his base of voters giving it up so easily. In fact a politician like W.W. gets stronger the more odds are stacked against him. 2007 will be a HUGE battle that lesser politicans will not survive.

So who will be the next "King of Memphis?" Here is my analysis of some possible contenders. I don't do odds, because that would be promoting gambling and this site does not promote gambling unless it's a back-alley cards game.

Harold Ford, Jr. -- This is the position that he should be running for, but he has indicated that he is not interested in this battle. While HFJ could beat W.W., W.W. would deliver some serious wounds to young HFJ (even more so than Sen. Corker). I would not completely discount HFJ running despite what he said, because if he truly wants to be the President, he has to realize that you reach that seat through an executive position. If HFJ waits until 2010 to run for Governor, then he's old news and forgotten. There are no other executive positions on the horizon that make sense except for the mayor's seat. Jr's national and international appeal would definitely attract glamour and celebrity to the city. 3/4 term as the Mayor of Memphis (2007-2010), 2 terms as TN governor (2010-2018), and then you're ready for the Presidency in the year 2020. HFJ will not become the President as a CNN sock puppet.

Carol Chumney -- I heard that she will be running against W.W. While stranger things have happened, I do not see Memphis electing a female mayor in 2007. It would probably make the most sense considering the way the office has been run lately, but I do not see it happening. If there are 20+ candidates in the race, then she may be able to pull it off especially if she has an excited base. She will get a lot of the progressive voters -- but will it be enough?

Jerry Lawler -- If you can't get out of a Chris Masters' Master Lock on Monday Night Raw, then how can you be the Mayor?

Rickey Peete -- This is the dark horse in the race. While he has been convicted of crimes, that is not necessarily to his detriment. D.C. voters elected Marion Berry after he got caught with the crack pipes. He has proven that he can raise a lot of money, so he could battle with W.W. However, Peete & W.W. are aligned in the same cliques, so he would not likely go directly against W.W. However, he could be W.W.'s potential "annointee."

Deidre Malone -- I believe it was the LWC who first stated she might be running. Now I hear she is not interested. However, she would be the PERFECT person for W.W. to hand the mayoral seat if he wants to annoint the mayor. I don't hear many negatives about her as a politician, and she is good around people. She has also remained scandal-free as far as I can tell. A W.W. endorsement for the seat could surprisingly put her in power.

Myron Lowery -- No chance in my opinion. He barely beat Sir Isaac for the City Council in 2003. Next.

Ed Stanton III -- He fought hard in the Congressional primary finishing in 5th place, and acquired many supporters. He has the Fed Ex money behind him, so that is always a consideration. As a former Assistant City Attorney, he can point to experience in the municipal government. One of my good friends always says, "only a young person will be beat Willie." I agree. If someone does defeat W.W., he/she will likely be under the age of 40. Is Ed Stanton ready to be the mayor?

Marvell Mitchell/Ron Redwing -- Like Ed Stanton, they competed well in the Congressional primary. Redwing alienated some people with racial comments, but he had thousands of supporters. Mitchell has money which will be a MAJOR factor in this race. However, do enough people know them?

Jerry West -- I am a huge NBA fan, so I would love to see the Logo as Mayor. A longshot, but if West could pull it off, then perhaps the Grizzlies could win their 1st playoff game.

Nikki Tinker -- Great showing in the Congressional race. Unfortunately, there are no bronze and silver medals in politics. I do not see her having much of a chance to win the mayor's race. W.W. would dissect her being from Alabama like the prize-fighter he dreams of becoming. However, if Ms. Tinker could get Oprah to walk the stump with her (or even do a live show somewhere in Memphis with Ms. Tinker), then we may be addressing her in October 2007 as Mayor Tinker.

Joe Ford Sr. -- The current County Commissioner Chairman and 2nd place finisher to W.W. in 1999. Many people want Joe Sr. to run. People LOVE rematches and this would be a biggest political rematch in recent Memphis politics. I agree with them. However with the Jake and HFJ losses last week, many say that the Ford machine is finished. However, Ophelia was the one Ford winner last week -- and she won with over 70% of the votes. She's from the original generation of Fords just like Joe Sr. Jake and HFJ are from the next generation, so they're more like sequels. And except for the movie Aliens, people typically do not like sequels. If Joe Sr. can put together a solid campaign team, he could beat W.W., because Joe Sr. has a lot of cross-over appeal to whites and Republicans. Any candidate will need cross-over appeal to defeat W.W.

Feel free to add any other potential candidates to this list and I'll analyze his/her respective chances to be KING OF MEMPHIS.

(**UPDATE** - Thanks to the Wintermute who informed me that this was originally discussed on 55-40 at WILLIE STAY OR GO.)