Caught In A Crossfire

There is an interesting situation brewing in one of wrestling's great cities Memphis, Tennessee. For the last few months Jerry Lawler has been teasing a match with Hulk Hogan for Memphis Wrestling, an independent promotion out of that city.

As of last week the match between the two legends appeared to be on with major advertising already planned and the Fed Ex Forum already booked. However, Vince McMahon seems to have put an end to it.

It appears as though McMahon did not want such a high-profile match taking place between one of his employees and Hulk Hogan. The problems between the two parties were exacerbated when WWE pulled Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas and Boogeyman from last night's show for Memphis Wrestling and from this point forward, no WWE contracted talent will be allowed to work for the promotion.

Jerry Lawler seems to have gotten caught in the middle of the latest soap opera between Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon. This is in spite of the fact that Lawler has an announcer's contract with WWE which states that he is allowed to accept independent bookings. Lawler has not made any public statements regarding the fallout of this situation.

The fued between Hogan and McMahon stems from the dispute they had in the lead-up to WrestleMania 23 that saw Hogan not appear at the event. The tension between the two parties has even led to McMahon using the Jillian Hall character as a parody on Brooke Hogan, a blond who thinks she can sing but can't.

I am very surprised that Vince McMahon is going to such lengths as to not allow a match between Hogan and Lawler to take place. It is ridiculous how McMahon, a legitimate billionaire once again, as of this week, is trying to sabotage an event at an INDY show because of his feud with Hogan. It's amazing how all wrestling promoters think the same. No matter how much money they make, promoters still have the mentality of a 1930s "carny".

What Vince should have done was allow Hogan to do the match and then go on to bury The Hulkster for doing independents. Vince could claim that without him, Hogan can't draw and has to sell himself on local Memphis television. Instead, Vince chose to stop the match from happening period. As ridiculous as this situation is, Vince McMahon, to me, comes off as the most petty of all the parties involved. It's so true, some people never grow out of that "indy mentality".

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