----Photos have been posted and you can link them from the main page. There are two pages of photos that were taken from a video that was posted on www.appealtv.com. The caps were done by Aaron Pegg. The pic posted gives you a look at the crowd. I believe that is Brutus Beefcake in the pic and I was told he was in fantastic shape.
THE AFTERMATH
----After any big show, there are going to always be some kind of controversy; right?? I am talking to more people that were at the event last night and the attendance figure is a bit lo
wer than I initially reported. My “eye in the sky” Randy Dailey was not actually counting one by one the people and he was making an educated guess. The best I can figure, there were around 4,500 people in the building. There were 1000 freebies as advertising given out, so we are looking at around 3,200 paid counting friends and family getting in free. I would like to state that I am still making a guess, because I have not received an official word. I have heard from about three sources that the promotion is actually saying, “We do not know how many people were in there.” So, that should tell you it was a lot less than what I reported. If it was a sellout, then the media would have been given a quick number along with the gate.----So, now we got a gate of around $151, 200, which is $100,000 less than I originally reported. I was told the building and security was in the $75,000 range. Talent without Hulk Hogan was in the $30,000 range – that is with hotel and airfares. You got to believe they spent $20,000 on advertising, so after all of that, then they probably did break even. It was not the huge success that they were expecting. The idea that they only had 9 days to promote Hogan vs Wight after Lawler pulled out must have hurt them. Lawler pulling out hurt them also – many of the fans wanted to see Hogan vs Lawler.
----Lots of questions to ask coming out of it also. Will Lawler be at TV tapings next Saturday?? I am being told he will be at TV along with the regular crew. It was also written about by columnist Axeman on http://www.hollywoodjimmy.com/ that he had been told the very same thing. A lot of the crew were surprised that Ricky Morton/Kid Kash were given the tag straps. One guy said, “So, are they going to pay them to come in all the time now??”
----Here is something that I have not touched on much. Jimmy Hart, Hulk Hogan and Corey Maclin are very upset with Jerry Lawler. I talked closely with two guys from the crew of the show on Thursday night and they were very resentful towards Lawler for pulling out of the show. There was a meeting where Lawler, Hart, Hogan and Maclin were all present with Lawler saying, “Fuck Vince McMahon, I will do what I want to do.” And when it came to Vince stepping in, then Lawler turned his back on them. That is their feelings. I have stressed that I understand why Lawler made the decision he made. But, if you look at it from the other point of view – Lawler hurt them. And, by second examination of the gate, then they may even be more resentful now.
----Even though, it was not what I originally reported, I still think this show was a success for Memphis Wrestling. Not what he should have been, but Corey Maclin, cast and crew should be awarded for their efforts. This show will go down as the largest gate ever for Memphis Wrestling and be talked about for months to come.
