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90-522: The group was put together in early 2000 by Jimmy Hart . He wanted to give the young talents a chance to tighten their skills in a feud with 3 Count , another young group formed by Hart, on WCW's lower rate program Saturday Night . According to Hart, he also bought the Jung Dragon ring attire and worked with WCW's seamstress to give them their logo. Booker Kevin Sullivan was so impressed with

180-593: A heel by helping The Nasty Boys defeat Team 3D in a tag team match. The alliance, however, was short-lived, as on March 29, 2010, news broke that the Nasty Boys had been released by TNA following an incident at a TNA function with Spike executives present. Hart stayed with the company following the incident, but his role was unknown. Hart was seen on the January 20, 2011, edition of Impact! , when Kurt Angle yelled at him to play his entrance music upon entering

270-459: A 15-year-old girl, though charges were dropped when the alleged victim recanted her story. As a result, the feud between Lawler and Vince McMahon back in the USWA was also abruptly discontinued. Lawler did not face Bret Hart at another pay-per-view until the first In Your House , when he beat Hart after Hakushi and his manager Shinja interfered. This set up a "Kiss My Foot" match at King of

360-584: A beachfront property in Daytona Beach, Florida, and opened “Jimmy Hart’s Hall of Fame Bar and Tiki Deck“, which is a beach bar featuring an abundance of autographed pictures, wrestling paraphernalia, and at times an intercontinental championship belt. On January 4, 2021, he made an appearance on the RAW Legends Night where he was involved in a segment with Hulk Hogan , Drew McIntyre and Sheamus . On January 23, 2023, Hart appeared on WWE Raw

450-422: A brief feud with The Ultimate Warrior , Lawler began feuding with Jake Roberts after making fun of Roberts' real life drug and alcohol problems. The two met in a match at SummerSlam 1996 , which Lawler won. After the match, Lawler poured Jim Beam whiskey down Roberts' throat. Afterwards, he feuded with Mark Henry , which the two meet at In Your House 10: Mind Games which Henry won. In early 1997, Lawler

540-630: A client. He also does a comedic women's wrestling show called Wrestlicious, which can be viewed at Wrestlicious.com. Hart appeared on the WWE Legends' House . Hart has appeared a few times in Hulk Hogan's TV-show Thunder in Paradise . He also sang the intro music for the episode "Deadly Lessons, Pt. 1". Jimmy Hart is a constant on Life for Sale with real estate investor Ben Mallah —the $ 500,000,000 Real Estate Mogul. In 1967, Hart appeared in

630-475: A color commentator in 2008. He made multiple appearances for WrestleMania Axxess during the week leading up to The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania . In May 2006, Hart traveled to The Funking Conservatory, owned by Dory Funk Jr and Marti Funk, to shoot promos with the students. His most notable ones being with Studio Sar Ah when he discusses his move from World Wrestling Entertainment to TNA Wrestling and as well as Wrestlicious . Both promos can be found on

720-906: A feud against The Moondogs . The feud between Jarrett/Lawler and The Moondogs was voted the 1992 PWI Feud of the Year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated . He won the USWA World Tag Team Championship with Jarrett four times and twice with Bill Dundee . Lawler dropped the USWA Unified World Heavyweight for the last time to Dutch Mantel on August 8, 1997, in an All Body Hair match. The promotion closed in November 1997. Lawler began his WWF career in December 1992 as an announcer on Superstars , while still working in USWA. He made his in-ring debut at

810-557: A feud with Tazz. At SummerSlam , Lawler wrestled Tazz in defense of Ross, and defeated him. At Unforgiven , he lost to Tazz in a Leather Strap match. Also, Lawler feuded with Tazz's partner Raven until January 2001. With the creation of the XFL in 2001, Lawler was given the job as an announcer for the new football league. Lawler claims that he never wanted to announce for the XFL (he would admit on-air that he knew and cared almost nothing about

900-550: A match at SummerSlam where the loser (in this case The Mountie) had to spend the night in a New York jail. Late in 1992, Money Inc. regaining the tag team titles from the Natural Disasters led to the Nasty Boys turning on their manager, as he had repeatedly substituted them for Money Inc. in title matches. Hart broke with Money Inc. early in 1993 and turned face when the team attacked Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake . In

990-625: A match between the two at King of the Ring 1994 which Lawler lost. In the fall of 1994, Lawler initiated a feud with Doink the Clown. Lawler popped the balloons carried by Doink's midget sidekick, Dink . After Doink and Dink retaliated, Lawler introduced a midget sidekick of his own, who he named Queasy. In the following weeks, Doink added two more sidekicks, Wink and Pink, while Lawler introduced Sleazy and Cheesy. This led to an elimination match at Survivor Series 1994 , which Lawler's team won. After

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1080-460: A million selling record with 1965's " Keep on Dancing ". Before becoming The Gentrys, they were known as just "The Gents." Their production manager told them that if they did not change their name, then they would not succeed in the music industry. Later, after the leader of the group Larry Raspberry left, Hart took over and they had a few minor hits, most notably "Why Should I Cry" and a cover of Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl", but were never able to match

1170-492: A part of the band The Wrestling Boot Band and helped write and sing many of the album's songs. In September 2007, Hart appeared on an episode of The People's Court as a witness for a defendant. Hart is a close friend of Hulk Hogan and is featured on many episodes of Hogan's VH1 reality series , Hogan Knows Best . Hart was also a judge on Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling . Hart also appears in hair restoration advertisements for Medical Hair Restoration, as

1260-609: A reference to Colonel Tom Parker , the manager of Elvis Presley . With Hart in his corner, the Honky Tonk Man captured the Intercontinental Heavyweight Title from Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat on June 2, 1987, and held it until August 1988. During that time, the Honky Tonk Man feuded with Randy Savage and his manager Miss Elizabeth . "The Colonel" moniker stuck with him for years, even after

1350-603: A stable known as the First Family of Wrestling to attack Lawler, which among others included Hulk Hogan , King Kong Bundy , "Ravishing" Rick Rude , "Leaping" Lanny Poffo , Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart , Ox Baker , Kamala , "Macho Man" Randy Savage , "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert , The Iron Sheik and Kevin Sullivan . In 1982, Hart earned national headlines doing a program with comedian and television star Andy Kaufman . Hart, Lawler and Kaufman would continue this feud for over

1440-563: A three-time WCWA World Heavyweight Champion : he unified the titles by defeating Kerry Von Erich at Superclash III , forming the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship , a championship which he held 28 times. He is also known for his feud with comedian Andy Kaufman , and for portraying himself in the 1999 Jim Carrey film about Kaufman, Man on the Moon . In 2007, Lawler was inducted into

1530-648: A wrestler in 1970, and won his first championship in September 1971 by winning a battle royal . He soon won the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship under the managerial service of Sam Bass with partner Jim White . In 1974, Lawler began feuding with Jackie Fargo , who had been his trainer and mentor. This led to a match for the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship . On July 24, 1974, Lawler won

1620-795: A year. Around this time, Hart became known as "the Wimp", a nickname given to him by Lawler and chanted by fans, and was the subject of the song "Wimpbusters," which was sung by Lawler to the tune of " Ghostbusters " by Ray Parker Jr. ; a music video was also made featuring Lawler, announcer Lance Russell , and wrestlers such as Randy Savage , Jimmy Valiant , Dutch Mantel , Tommy Rich , and Rufus R. Jones , along with footage of Lawler beating Hart and his "First Family". In 1981 through 1984, Hart led Austin Idol , Masao Ito, and Gilbert to NWA/AWA International titles. In 1985, Hart's friend Hillbilly Jim recommended him to WWF owner Vince McMahon , who hired him. He

1710-543: Is Shawn Michaels 's entrance theme, "Sexy Boy." In the late 1980s, Hart released a music album (also available on cassette tape) titled Outrageous Conduct . The release consisted of comical songs done in character, such as "Barbra Streisand's Nose" and "Eat Your Heart Out Rick Springfield" (the latter of which would become Hart's solo theme song in WWE). In 1995, Hulk Hogan released the album " Hulk Rules , on Select Records." Hart, as well as Hogan's wife and Brian Knobbs , were

1800-508: Is XXX , the 30th anniversary edition of Monday Night Raw , accompanying Hulk Hogan to open the show. His book, The Mouth of the South , was released on November 18, 2004. Jimmy has also appeared in "Life: for sale", a YouTube series created by Koncrete Inc., which has Benjamin Mallah as its lead. Before wrestling, Hart, as a teenager, was a vocalist in the 60s band The Gentrys , who had

1890-408: Is a fine storyteller and keeps fans well-versed with current storylines, whereas he provides reaction and emotion to liven the commentary. In 2003, Raw's announce team of Lawler and Jim Ross feuded with Sunday Night Heat ' s team of Jonathan Coachman and Al Snow . At Unforgiven , Lawler and Ross lost a match against Coachman and Snow, thus losing their right to do commentary on Raw . In

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1980-589: Is currently signed to WWE in a Legends deal. He is best known for his work in WWE when it was still known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; renamed WWE in 2002) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and used the nickname "the Mouth of the South" (one that was also given to Ted Turner ). Regarded by many to be one of the greatest managers in professional wrestling history, Hart has managed

2070-567: The 1993 Royal Rumble when he participated in the namesake match, which was won by Yokozuna . From 1993 to 1995, he feuded with Bret Hart and the rest of the Hart family . The feud began at King of the Ring when Lawler interrupted Hart's victory ceremony and attacked Bret. Lawler claimed that he was the only true king in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and the two were scheduled to wrestle at SummerSlam to settle

2160-655: The AWA International Championship by defeating Austin Idol . On May 30, 1983, Bill Dundee defeated Jerry Lawler for the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship . The feud quickly escalated and on June 6, 1983, the two met in a Loser Leaves Town Match for the title, in which Lawler won. Lawler defeated Ken Patera on July 25 to begin his second reign as the International Champion. Lawler became

2250-699: The Continental Wrestling Association . Lawler—Gulas' biggest star—opted to join Jarrett. The CWA quickly outperformed NWA Mid-America, which ultimately folded in 1981. Lawler was both a co-owner of the CWA and its top star. On November 12, 1979, while working in the CWA, Lawler defeated Superstar Billy Graham to become the CWA World Champion . In 1980, coming off the back end of a feud with The Fabulous Freebirds , his career

2340-484: The Impact! Zone . On March 1, 2011, it was reported that Jimmy Hart had left Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and re-signed with WWE to work on WrestleMania -related projects. Hart has since hosted various house shows . On August 14, 2011, Hart made an appearance at SummerSlam , teasing a managerial position with R-Truth during a backstage segment. On April 10, 2012, Hart made an appearance on SmackDown: Blast from

2430-619: The JAPW Heavyweight Championship in Secaucus, New Jersey . He lost the title a month later to Dan Maff . Also made appearances in Ohio Valley Wrestling , International Wrestling Cartel, and other promotions. On November 11, 2005, he teamed with Brad Armstrong and Jeff Hardy to defeat The Midnight Express and Jim Cornette for CCW A Tribute for Starrcade. On November 7, 2008, a tribute show

2520-575: The Jumping Bomb Angels ( Noriyo Tateno and Itsuki Yamazaki ). Hart was named Pro Wrestling Illustrated ' s Manager of the Year in 1987, an award he won again in 1994. At WrestleMania IV , Hart received a haircut from Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake , after interfering in the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship match between Beefcake and the Honky Tonk Man, helping Honky Tonk Man retain

2610-677: The NWA Mid America Champion on April 12, 1984, when he defeated Randy Savage for the title. He later returned to the United States , where he defeated Bill Dundee on July 29, 1986, to begin a new reign as the AWA International Champion. Lawler feuded with Tommy Rich , Austin Idol, and Paul E. Dangerously throughout early 1987. The animosity began after controversy over an AWA World Championship title shot involving Nick Bockwinkel . During

2700-590: The WWE Hall of Fame . Lawler was born November 29, 1949, in Memphis, Tennessee , where he graduated from Treadwell High School. When he was 19, his father, Jerome Lawler, died. While working in Memphis, Tennessee , as a disc jockey , Lawler's artistic ability attracted the attention of local wrestling promoter Aubrey Griffith. The two made an agreement in which Lawler would give Griffith free publicity in exchange for free wrestling training. Lawler debuted as

2790-614: The AWA, most notably Lawler claiming that he was never paid for the match at Superclash. Lawler continued feuding with Kerry Von Erich in WCCW. He lost to Von Erich in a steel cage match on November 25, 1988. He would defeat Von Erich by disqualification to retain the WCCW heavyweight title. He wrestled Mil Mascaras to a draw on July 28. In 1981, Lawler wrestled for Championship Wrestling From Florida feuding with Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk . In 1985, Lawler traveled to Hawaii , where he won

Jung Dragons - Misplaced Pages Continue

2880-594: The Beach in 1994, Hart managed Hogan to win his first WCW World Heavyweight Title by defeating "the Nature Boy" Ric Flair . At Halloween Havoc in 1995, Hart turned on Hogan to help The Giant . Hart also became the manager of the evil faction , the Dungeon of Doom , created by Kevin Sullivan . During that era, he managed Ric Flair to a 12th world title victory over Macho Man Randy Savage at Starrcade '95 . After

2970-625: The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, Dusty Rhodes , the Legion of Doom , the Nasty Boys, Ted DiBiase, the Mountie, Hulk Hogan, Sting , the nWo Wolfpac , and 3 Count . He also composed the themes for SummerSlam '88 (which was later reused as the theme for many early Royal Rumble events) and WrestleMania VI (which was later used for the seventh , eighth , ninth , and tenth events). One of Hart's most notable compositions

3060-620: The Hart Foundation at WrestleMania V . In 1991, he managed The Nasty Boys to defeat the Hart Foundation for the WWF World Tag Team title at WrestleMania VII , this time using a motorbike helmet as a weapon. When the Nasty Boys lost the title to the Legion of Doom at SummerSlam 1991 , Hart sent The Natural Disasters , a team formed out of Earthquake and his former opponent Typhoon (formerly known as Tugboat), to depose

3150-499: The Hart Foundation. Ax used Hart's megaphone as a foreign object to strike Bret in the head and secure the victory. In 1989, Hart brought Dino Bravo into his stable after the departure of Frenchy Martin . Then at a push-up contest between the Ultimate Warrior and Bravo, Hart and Bravo invited a large 460-pound man from the audience – later known as Earthquake – into the ring to sit on the contestants' backs. Predictably

3240-461: The Honky Tonk Man departed the company in early 1991. At WrestleMania III , Hart was involved in three matches and took some incredible bumps during the show. His first appearance was with "Adorable" Adrian Adonis who fought Rowdy Roddy Piper . Then came the six-man tag match, pitting the Hart Foundation and Danny Davis against the Bulldogs and Tito Santana. Jimmy Hart's third appearance on the show

3330-513: The Intercontinental Heavyweight Title to Tito Santana , Hart briefly co-managed the Dream Team (Valentine and Beefcake), until he was phased out and gave full control to "Luscious Johnny" Valiant . At WrestleMania, Hart also managed King Kong Bundy as he defeated S.D. Jones . Hart later traded Bundy's contract to Bobby "the Brain" Heenan for The Missing Link and Adrian Adonis . He helped

3420-605: The International Wrestling Cartel and with Maryland Championship Wrestling , where he held the promotion's world title after defeating The Bruiser on November 2. He would return to WWF after a nine-month absence. On March 31, 2002, he reunited with his son, Brian , to defeat David Flair and Jim Cornette at the Tojo Yamamoto Memorial Show. On November 8, 2003, in a match refereed by Mick Foley , Lawler defeated Al Snow for

3510-460: The Jung Dragons before Yang was rehired in 2006 under the ring name Jimmy Wang Yang. Hayashi returned to Japan and has since become a staple of All Japan Pro Wrestling 's junior heavyweight division while Leia retired from wrestling in 2002. Jimmy Hart James Ray Hart (born January 1, 1944) is an American professional wrestling manager , executive, composer, and musician. He

3600-465: The King " Lawler , is an American color commentator and professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Prior to joining the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1992, he wrestled in numerous territories , winning many championships , including multiple World Heavyweight Championships, throughout his career. Lawler is a one-time AWA World Heavyweight Champion and

3690-591: The Love Sponge by disqualification at a house show. On November 15, he wrestled WCW Monday Nitro losing to Norman Smiley in a Hardcore match. Jimmy Hart was also the first Strapmaster for the Yapapi Indian strap match in which Hulk Hogan defeated Ric Flair on March 19, 2000, at the Uncensored PPV. At Spring Stampede in 2000, Hart faced radio personality Mancow . The two had a rematch later in

Jung Dragons - Misplaced Pages Continue

3780-492: The Moon ; the film revealed that Lawler's feud with Kaufman had been staged. Lawler later claimed that not only was his entire feud with Kaufman staged, but also the two were actually very good friends. In 1988, Lawler feuded with Dutch Mantel . In 1989, the CWA merged with World Class Championship Wrestling to form the United States Wrestling Association . On March 7, 1983, Lawler won

3870-840: The NWA Polynesian Pacific title on January 25, 1986, defeating Lars Anderson . He dropped the title to Tui Selinga on March 26 in Honolulu, Hawaii. In March 1989, he wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling . He lost to IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tatsumi Fujinami on March 16, 1989. In 1989, Lawler made his debut in the Memphis brand United States Wrestling Association , where he won the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship 28 times from 1989 until its doors closed in 1997. While champion, he feuded with The Soultaker , Jimmy Valiant , Kamala , Eddie Gilbert , and Jeff Jarrett . In 1992, Lawler teamed with Jeff Jarrett in

3960-675: The Past, where he managed the team of Heath Slater and Tyson Kidd , but ended up getting the mandible claw from Mick Foley . As of April 30, 2014, Hart was part-owner of "Hogan's Beach", a wrestling-themed tiki-bar in Tampa, Florida. As of April 2014, Hart was a regular cast member on the WWE Network original reality show Legends' House . Hart appeared on the August 11 edition of Raw for Hogan's birthday celebration. In April 2017, Hart purchased

4050-466: The Ring 1995 , which Bret won. As a result, Lawler was forced to kiss Bret's feet. The feud took one final turn when Lawler introduced his " dentist " Isaac Yankem, D.D.S. . After Hart defeated Yankem by disqualification , however, the feud quickly disappeared. Following the end of his legal troubles which kept him out of Survivor Series 1993, Lawler eventually returned to the WWF at WrestleMania X , which

4140-655: The Studio Sar Ah fan page on Facebook and as well as YouTube. Hart continues to work at the school and shoot promos. On January 19, 2010, Hart announced that his all-female wrestling promotion Wrestlicious would be premiering on MavTV and BiteTV on March 1, 2010. He wrestled at Pro Wrestling Guerrilla 's Kurt RussellReunion II: The Reunioning in a battle royal won by Roddy Piper . On January 12, 2012, he wrestled at PWS WrestleReunion VI in battle royal won by The Godfather . Hart currently appears at various professional wrestling conventions and autograph signings around

4230-459: The USWA. There, Lawler played the babyface to his hometown Memphis audience, whereas McMahon (who had always played face in the WWF) was being portrayed as a smug heel intent on dethroning Lawler as the king of professional wrestling. As part of the cross-promotion, McMahon, Bret and Owen Hart , Giant González , Tatanka , and "Macho Man" Randy Savage would begin appearing on USWA television to further

4320-721: The United States. He is a staple at all of the Wrestlereunion shows, and also does various appearances as part of the VOC Nation wrestling radio program in Philadelphia on 1360 WNJC. Hart is a regular guest on the VOC Wrestling Nation radio program on WNJC. In October 2003 Hart made his debut for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), hyping a match between Hulk Hogan and Jeff Jarrett , which

4410-631: The WWF and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). In interviews and commentary, he referred to the promotion as "Extremely Crappy Wrestling". His frequent insults toward ECW eventually led to the promotion "invading" Monday Night Raw in February 1997. He wrestled in two matches. The first on July 19 at Heat Wave 1997 in a steel cage match with Rob Van Dam and Sabu in a no contest against Rick Rude , The Sandman , and Tommy Dreamer . He wrestled against Dreamer at ECW's Hardcore Heaven pay-per-view in August, which Dreamer won. During his absence from

4500-413: The WWF for the first time and left the announce position, to which Lawler began praising McMahon's name on commentary as part of his own heel persona, much to the chagrin of Jim Ross . It was McMahon's departure from the commentary team which led to the strong on-screen chemistry between Lawler and Ross in subsequent years. This played a key role in a change of Lawler's character; although he still supported

4590-466: The WWF, Lawler made appearances on the independent circuit in both Australia and the States, as well as joining the fledgling Xcitement Wrestling Federation (XWF) promotion alongside WCW veteran Tony Schiavone as a color commentator. On October 26, 2001, he appeared on WWA The Inception as a commentator alongside Jeremy Borash, as well as wrestling in a battle royal. He also made appearances with

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4680-601: The XWF, part of the upstart Memphis Wrestling promotion. Hart would wrestle for Memphis Wrestling from 2003 to 2005. He lost to Jimmy Valiant in a Loser Eats Dog Food match on August 2, 2003. In 2007, Hart appeared at the PMG Clash of Legends . On November 7, 2008, Hart appeared at the Jerry "The King" Lawler 35th anniversary event. He also made a few appearances with Florida Championship Wrestling , WWE's developmental territory, as

4770-459: The aftermath of the Alliance's loss at the previous night's Survivor Series . As he had been before his departure, Lawler once again became color commentator on Raw and pay-per-view events alongside Jim Ross and SmackDown! with Michael Cole , until the brands were separated and Lawler became exclusive to Raw . Lawler stated that his well-worked chemistry with Jim Ross has been a result of their different styles; according to Lawler, Jim Ross

4860-464: The belt and the title of "King of Wrestling." During 1975, Lawler teamed with a variety of partners such as Mr Wrestling II, Don Greene, and Bob Orton, Jr . He won the NWA Macon Tag Team Championship twice during this period. While Lawler began his career as a heel , he became a face after splitting from Bass at the end of 1974. In 1977, promoter Jerry Jarrett broke away from Nick Gulas' NWA Mid-America promotion and formed his own promotion,

4950-591: The belt. Hogan would defeat the 505 lb (229 kg) new champion in a short match. At King of the Ring , Hart was in Hogan's corner as he lost the WWF World Heavyweight Title back to Yokozuna. This appearance was Hart's last in the WWF, as he, Beefcake and Hogan all departed the company. Following their departure from the WWF, Hogan and Hart briefly toured Mexico. After their return, Hart wrote music and occasionally appeared on Hogan's television show, Thunder in Paradise . Hogan then had Hart manage him when they went to World Championship Wrestling (WCW). At Bash at

5040-418: The course of the match, Lawler delivered two piledrivers to Kaufman, the second after the bell rang, sending him to the hospital and nearly breaking his neck. On July 29, Lawler slapped Kaufman in the face on an episode of Late Night with David Letterman . Kaufman responded by shouting profanities and throwing his coffee at Lawler. Years later, Lawler appeared as himself in the Kaufman biopic Man on

5130-420: The demise of the Dungeon of Doom in July 1997, Hart was written off television for a few months and then Hart returned in October 1997 to only manage The Faces of Fear , then in 1998, Hart recreated The First Family . After the demise of the First Family, Hart was placed in charge of booking TBS 's WCW Saturday Night show prior to the program's cancellation. Hart wrestled on April 18, 1999, to defeat Bubba

5220-405: The dispute. At the event, however, Lawler came to the ring on crutches and claimed that he could not wrestle because of injuries suffered in a car accident. Hart faced Lawler's "court jester", Doink the Clown instead, and beat him by submission . Lawler then attacked Hart, revealing that he was not injured. Hart defeated Lawler by submission but refused to release the Sharpshooter . As a result,

5310-484: The feud, the trio defeated Lawler in a steel cage match and cut his hair, which caused a riot in the Mid-South Coliseum . Lawler won the AWA World Heavyweight Championship from Curt Hennig on May 9, 1988. During his reign, Lawler feuded with World Class Championship Wrestling 's Champion Kerry Von Erich . He defeated Von Erich on December 15, 1988, at Superclash III to unify the two titles. Soon after, Lawler's issues with Verne Gagne led to his departure from

5400-424: The feud. While the program continued in the USWA, the feud between Lawler and McMahon would not be acknowledged on WWF television. The Hart family ( Bret , Owen , Bruce , and Keith ) was scheduled to face a team captained by Lawler in an elimination match at Survivor Series . However, Shawn Michaels had to take Lawler's place because Lawler was facing legal troubles. He was indicted for raping and sodomizing

5490-426: The film It's a Bikini World as a member of The Gentrys . In 2010, Hart appeared in the Insane Clown Posse 's film Big Money Rustlas . In 2011, Hart appeared as himself in the Canadian movie Monster Brawl . Hart played the announcer to a wrestling tournament of eight classic monsters who fight to the death. Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "

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5580-435: The following week and expressed gratitude to Hart for his uncharacteristically heroic actions. He managed both Beefcake and Hogan who at WrestleMania IX lost to Money Inc by disqualification. Later in the show, Hart for the first time would be the manager of the WWF World Heavyweight Champion when Hogan accepted an impromptu challenge by Mr. Fuji , the manager of the new champion Yokozuna who had just defeated Bret Hart for

5670-418: The group that he immediately put them on WCW's prime program, Nitro . The Jung Dragons made their pay-per-view debut at New Blood Rising , losing a ladder match against 3 Count. From there, they participated in various tag team match types at Mayhem , Starrcade , Sin , and SuperBrawl Revenge and added a manager in Leia Meow. While the Dragons only scored one victory throughout these major events,

5760-649: The heels, he showed a sense of right and wrong, and would condemn actions of heels when they went too far. Lawler during this period would continue commentating and rarely wrestled for the WWF. He wrestled between 1999 and 2001 mainly in house shows. On June 22, 2000, he made an appearance on SmackDown! teaming with The Kat to defeat Dean Malenko and Terri Runnels . This would be the first time in two years he wrestled on WWF television. A week later, he defeated Malenko on Raw. He would turn face by 2000 (while wrestling). This began when Lawler surprisingly attacked Tazz when Tazz started bullying Jim Ross, thus beginning

5850-426: The large man was planted in the audience by Hart and Bravo and they eventually teamed up against the Warrior. In 1990, Hart groomed Earthquake to be the man to beat Hulk Hogan . Hart continued his war with his former tag team, the Hart Foundation. In 1990, he combined his protégés Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine into the short-lived team of Rhythm and Blues , though they had teamed previously as themselves when facing

5940-440: The latter to establish his "Adorable Adrian" gimmick. Hart also managed Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart. 1985 also marked the appearance of the legendary Bret "Hitman" Hart . Jimmy Hart teamed him up with Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart to form the Hart Foundation . On January 26, 1987, Hart guided the Hart Foundation to the WWF World Tag Team Title , which they won from the British Bulldogs . Disgraced-referee-turned-wrestler Danny Davis also

6030-465: The likes of Andy Kaufman , The Honky Tonk Man , Bret Hart (no relation) and Jim Neidhart ( The Hart Foundation ), Greg "the Hammer" Valentine , Jerry "the King" Lawler , "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase , Irwin R. Schyster , The Mountie , The Natural Disasters , Dino Bravo , the Nasty Boys , The Giant , and Hulk Hogan . He was briefly the AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion in 1981. Before becoming involved with professional wrestling, Hart

6120-412: The match at No Way Out . The next night, Lawler teamed with the APA ( Bradshaw and Faarooq ) as they defeated Right to Censor members Bull Buchanan , The Goodfather and Val Venis on Raw. This would be Lawler's last WWF match. After No Way Out, The Kat was released by the WWF and Lawler quit the company in protest. In 1997, Lawler became heavily involved in the working relationship between

6210-430: The match, however, Lawler's team turned on him, joining with Doink's team to attack Lawler. In late 1994 and early 1995, Lawler wrestled briefly in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) while still continuing to commentate sporadically for the WWF. During his absences, Shawn Michaels filled in for him as color commentator on Monday Night Raw . He defeated Tony Anthony for the promotion's top title in January 1995. Lawler

6300-466: The new champions. When the Disasters failed, Hart formed a new team in early 1992: Money Inc. , composed of Hart's protégé I.R.S. and "the Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase . Money, Inc. defeated the L.O.D. Their title win led to the split between Hart and the Natural Disasters, who as faces feuded with Money Inc. and exchanged the tag team titles twice in 1992. Their biggest match came at WrestleMania VIII when Money Inc. retained their titles by leaving

6390-428: The referee reversed the decision and awarded the title of "Undisputed King of the World Wrestling Federation" to Lawler. The two would continue to work throughout the fall on the house show circuit, including in steel cages. Simultaneously, in a form of cross-promotion, Lawler engaged in a bitter feud with Vince McMahon (who at the time was never advertised as the actual owner of the World Wrestling Federation) back in

6480-593: The ring and forcing a count-out. In 1991, Hart had also brought in The Mountie , who had a short reign as Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion in early 1992 after defeating Bret Hart on January 17, then losing it just two days later to Rowdy Roddy Piper at the Royal Rumble . A few months earlier, The Mountie feuded with the Big Boss Man over who was the "law and order" in the WWF. Their feud culminated in

6570-616: The sport), but that he agreed to it after McMahon and Kevin Dunn asked him. In February 2001, Lawler's then-wife Stacy "the Kat" Carter was involved in a storyline where Right to Censor (RTC), a group of wrestlers purportedly wanting to rein in the vulgarity of the "Attitude Era," during which she demanded equal time for the "right for nudity". RTC's leader Steven Richards offered a match with Lawler at No Way Out. If Lawler won, Kat got naked and if Richards won, Kat became RTC property. Richards won

6660-417: The stable remained relatively popular up until the closure of WCW in 2001. By late 2000, both the Jung Dragons and 3 Count had begun falling apart. Jamie-San departed from the Jung Dragons, during which he unmasked and was renamed to Jamie Knoble, and formed a tag team with ex-3 Count member Evan Karagias . The two competed with the remaining members of 3 Count and the Jung Dragons. Finally, in early 2001, WCW

6750-454: The storyline, Hart, conscious of Beefcake's extensive facial injuries from a real-life parasailing accident three years prior which required extensive re-constructive surgery to Beefcake's face and all but ended his full-time career, felt that his team went too far, and tried to stop them. Hart even went so far as to cover an unconscious Beefcake with his own body to stop them from doing more harm. Beefcake's long time friend Hulk Hogan came out

6840-508: The success of "Keep on Dancing." Hart and the band were successful in the Memphis area nightclub circuit. The group was under contract to Stax Records at the time of its bankruptcy, and Stax could not properly promote them. During his years in the professional wrestling business, Hart composed many theme songs for wrestlers in the WWF and WCW. Some of the wrestlers for whom he composed music were Honky Tonk Man, Jimmy Snuka , Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake , The Rockers, The Hart Foundation, Crush,

6930-563: The title by getting disqualified. When the Hart Foundation fired Hart as manager (and turned face) in 1988, Hart managed The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers to feud with his former team; the angle was that Hart still retained the managerial rights to his former team and gave a portion of it to the Rougeaus, giving them the right to appear at ringside whenever the Hart Foundation wrestled. At SummerSlam 1988 , Hart accompanied Demolition and Mr. Fuji to help retain their WWF Tag Team title against

7020-580: The year at Mayhem . In February 2001, Hart joined WCW's booking committee. After the sale of WCW to the then rival WWF, Hart and a close consortium of wrestlers and investors decided to create a wrestling organization—the Xcitement Wrestling Federation (XWF)—that would replace WCW as well as take wrestling back to early 1990s style of fun, family-oriented entertainment with minimal story lines and more solid wrestling. In 2002, Hart restarted his feud with Jerry Lawler by buying, for

7110-485: Was a member of rock band The Gentrys , best known for their 1965 top five Billboard Hot 100 hit, " Keep on Dancing ". Jimmy Hart was born in Jackson, Mississippi. He was brought into wrestling by Jerry "the King" Lawler , who knew of Hart because both had attended Memphis Treadwell High School. Having been asked to sing back-up with Lawler, Hart later became Lawler's manager. After splitting from Lawler, Hart created

7200-478: Was also his first appearance as a commentator on a WWF pay-per-view. During the main event of the night, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper served as special guest referee for the second WWF World Heavyweight Championship match. During this Lawler began making disparaging remarks about him. Lawler would continue to berate Piper on later episodes of Monday Night Raw , including bringing a skinny kid into the ring dressed as Piper and forcing him to kiss his feet. This ultimately led to

7290-454: Was eventually scrapped as Hogan decided to return to WWE instead. On June 19, 2005, at Slammiversary pay-per-view, The Naturals were assisted in a title defense against Team Canada by Hart, who ran to ringside and threw his megaphone to Chase Stevens , who hit Petey Williams with it and pinned him. Hart acted as the manager of The Naturals until October 3, 2005. On February 14, 2010, at Against All Odds , Hart made his return to TNA as

7380-527: Was held for Lawler called Lawler 35 - A Tribute Fit For The King. it was held in Nashville. In the main event match, he defeated Sid Vicious . On March 16, 2012, he defeated Tommy Dreamer at Wrestle War 2012. On November 19, 2001, after a nine-month hiatus from the company, Lawler returned to the WWF. He was reintroduced by Vince McMahon on Raw as the replacement for color commentator (and Alliance member) Paul Heyman , who had been (kayfabe) fired in

7470-427: Was involved in a working relationship between the WWF and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). In June, Lawler entered the King of the Ring tournament for the first time and advanced to the semi-final round where he was defeated by Mankind . By the fall, the WWF introduced a new "light-heavyweight division" to compete with World Championship Wrestling (WCW)'s cruiserweight division. Lawler's son, Brian Christopher ,

7560-594: Was managed by Jimmy Hart. In 1985, Hart took the Funk Family under his wing. The Funks included Terry and Hoss Funk , as well as their kayfabe brother Jimmy Jack Funk . Hart wrestled on house shows with the Funks. On July 12, 1986, Hart won a battle royal to receive $ 50,000 at Madison Square Garden . When The Honky Tonk Man turned heel, Hart became his manager. In this position, Hart was nicknamed "the Colonel" in

7650-595: Was nicknamed "the Mouth of the South" due to his loose-lipped style, often augmented by his trademark megaphone, which he used to instruct and encourage his protégés, to discourage and annoy opponents and announcers (especially Gorilla Monsoon ) and also as a weapon. Hart's first acquisition in the WWF was Greg "the Hammer" Valentine , then the Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion , whom Hart managed at WrestleMania . After Valentine lost

7740-415: Was one of the major superstars in the division, although the WWF played up an angle where both Lawler and Christopher would deny their family relationship, even though the two would aid each other in matches and so on. USWA folded in November of that year. By 1998, Lawler rarely wrestled in the WWF and focused on commentary. Despite their feud in the USWA in 1993, by 1998, Vince McMahon had turned heel in

7830-707: Was purchased by top competitor World Wrestling Federation , ultimately ending the Jung Dragons. Following the closure of WCW, Jamie-San and Yang went on to work for World Wrestling Entertainment (the former World Wrestling Federation) as Jamie Noble and Akio, respectively. Noble won the Cruiserweight Championship shortly after his WWE debut and Akio found partial success as an ally of Tajiri before both were released in 2004 and 2005, respectively. After being released, Noble competed in Ring of Honor before being rehired in 2005, while Yang and Hayashi reformed

7920-501: Was put on hold due to a broken leg suffered in a game of touch football, but he returned to the ring after several months. In 1982, Lawler began a notorious feud with comedian Andy Kaufman . At the time, Kaufman wrestled women as part of his skits and had declared himself the Intergender Heavyweight Champion. On April 5, Lawler, who had taken exception to the skits, wrestled Kaufman in Memphis. During

8010-409: Was the last SMW Heavyweight Champion defeating Brad Armstrong on Boxing Day 1995. The promotion closed its doors on December 30. By 1996, Lawler wrestled occasionally on WWF Superstars where he would take on jobbers while holding a microphone in the ring to, essentially, "do the commentary on (his) very own matches" while occasionally serving as the official cornerman for Isaac Yankem D.D.S. After

8100-534: Was when The Honky Tonk Man fought Jake "the Snake" Roberts who had rock legend Alice Cooper in his corner. Following that match, Hart was left alone in the ring where Roberts and Cooper teamed up to terrorise him with Roberts' pet snake Damien. Also in 1987, Hart managed the WWF Women's Tag Team champions Judy Martin and Leilani Kai , known as The Glamour Girls . Martin and Kai mostly feuded with Japanese team

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