----The press conference today featured Jerry Lawler coming to the conference first with him stating that due to contract obligations that he would not be able to wrestle at the FedEx Forum on April 27, 2007 vs Hulk Hogan. Lawler apparently then left the building and Hogan was waiting in the limo with the VH1 crew. Hogan then told the crowd that this was all Vince McMahon’s fault and he took it as a personal shot.
----Dave Meltzer also reported the following
“A number of reasons were given, with them claiming it would appear on VH-1 and they didn't want their talent on the network. Of course, that holds no water since several of Hogan's comebacks have also aired using WWE talent on VH-1, including his worked negotiation session with Vince McMahon.
The show will go on with Hogan vs. Paul Wight as the main event. He said he had a premonition it would happen, but Lawler told him he'd leave WWE if they told him not to do it. Wight said "Big Show" was his slave name and now he could be himself.
Hogan is trying to promote it as the match that people should have seen at Wrestlemania. Wight, who has lost 60 pounds since leaving WWE in December, had been in hard training for a prospective non-wrestling sports venture, but had aligned with Hogan and kept himself open if Hogan were to get something in wrestling going.”
----I was also told that Vince McMahon had contacted Corey Maclin about canceling the show and even told him he would pay him his deposit on the building back plus interest. The building deposit was $50,000. Maclin refused, so Vince had nothing else to do, but to remove Lawler from the show.
----So, where does this leave Maclin and company?? Well, they got a huge show in two weeks without the main event that Memphis Wrestling fans wanted to see. Is the new main event something that will draw?? I think with the right build up and that would be with WWE TV, this main event would sell tickets, but I am not sure now. I guess we will see if just the Hogan name can draw a crowd. I personally do not know now if I will even attend the show.
----Something I found funny was that Hogan stating that “Lawler told him he'd leave WWE if they told him not to do it.” WTF?? Lawler would leave a guaranteed job to just work one show?? That is highly unlikely and if anyone thinks Lawler is doing the wrong thing here, then you are stupid. I do think that Lawler should have talked with Vince first, before they booked this show. But, this is typical Memphis Wrestling and Corey Maclin – promoting something before you can even do it.
----It will also be interesting to see if this will affect Jerry Lawler’s role in Memphis Wrestling from this point on. Maclin has pissed off the wrong man in the wrestling biz and as you can tell – he holds a grudge. Vince can probably legally ask Lawler to not wrestle or appear on the Memphis Wrestling TV show. Will it also affect the “Sam’s Town” shows in the future or even this Friday night?? Vince has been good about letting WWE talent work Memphis shows. Will that continue??
----Finally, the card had been released to a lot of the major web sites listing “Giant” Paul Wight, Bill Dundee, Greg Valentine, Brutus Beefcake, “Rock’n’Roll Express” [Ricky and Robert], Brian Christopher, Koko Ware, Abdullah The Butcher, The Barbarian, Jim Cornette and more. As expected, none of the young Memphis Wrestling stars will be featured.
