Randy Savage vs. Jerry Lawler - Steel Cage Match 12/12/83

I've never been much of a car guy, but a lot of people use car metaphors to describe men or women of stature. The Cadillac of Men, or something along those lines. I'm sure there's more in-depth ones than that, comparing the radiator on a Chevy to the guts of Charles Bronson or something. That's not me, I know cows, not cars. But Jerry Lawler was that car that always got there. It might sputter and spit as it goes over hills, but it always gets to where it's going. It defies its inner-workings and makes mechanics scratch their heads. It's not as pretty as a lot of cars and it's not as fast, but on sheer will it gets the job done.

I tell you all that to tell you this. Randy Savage is a space ship. People wander in to wrestling and see these line-ups of fine automobiles, they take in the craftsmanship and structure, and then they come to the end of this line up of vehicles and there's a big ass shuttle making everyone's eyes widen and say "What the fuck!?". Someone can try to explain to you the intricacies of space travel, the dynamics of leaving an atmosphere and the pageantry of lift-off and no matter how much time you spend trying to understand it is completely beyond your comprehension how it works*.

Lawler and Savage were long-time rivals in the mid-south states. There was a lot of bad blood between the two of them for many years as Lawler was at the forefront of the various Memphis incantations while Savage was running the rival ICW. This was, essentially, an invasion angle. Everybody knew both these guys from the local scene, and both were at the top of their games. To have Savage show up unexpectedly in the small Memphis studio was crazy. With it being Savage, crazy is putting it a little mildly.



The match was set. Savage vs. Lawler inside a steel cage for the Southern Heavyweight Title. Lawler in trunks, Savage in a tiger-striped cape. Savage's warm up is taking jabs at members of the audience through the cage and shouting that "EVERYBODY DIES WHEN I'M DONE, YOU KNOW THAT!". The cage I mentioned is some planks of wood tied together with fencing in between, as sturdy as a reality television show relationship.



Lawler has the upper hand in the beginning of the match, backing Savage into the corner repeatedly and delivering huge body shots followed by a big right to the jaw. Savage exploits Lawler's angle by spitting on him, then getting the upper-hand with a punch out of a headlock. He wears him down with a headlock until the first use of the cage occurs, with Lawler pushing Savage off into the wobbly beams in the middle. Savage, ducks out and starts digging in his tights for something. Savage wrenches in an armbar and takes this moment of rest to inform the crowd, once again "EVERYBODY DIES!". The commentator, Lance Russell says "Savage is just the kind of wild-looking son of a gun you might expect somethin' like that out of".

Savage controls the next little bit, using a foreign object from his tights while in the corner. When the fight goes outside, we get an early top rope axe handle to the floor from Savage. They've improved leaps and bounds since '83, as one would expect of space travel.



Savage manages, somehow, to climb the rickety cage and leap off for his elbow drop. Disaster follows as the first crash of Savage 83 occurs.



Lawler has no pity for him and tries to hit the dreaded (and very much illegal at the time) Piledriver, but the ref absolutely won't allow it, holding Savage's body to prevent him from being lifted, which once again gives Savage the advantage and leads to yet more atmospheric travel as Savage puts about 20 rotations into an airplance spin on Lawler.




As both stumble aimlessly after all those twists, Lawler lands a falling right uppercut that puts both of them on their back. Lawler tries to climb the top of the cage too, but flying cars are still decades away, so he sticks to the ropes.





Savage brutalizes Lawler on the outside, face to cage until finally, the strap comes down.



As Lawler begins to get the best of Savage, the giant French-Canadian Jos LeDuc climbs the cage to beat down Lawler and that's grounds for the disqualification. I know, a disqualification in a cage match sounds unsatisfying, but it was a really fun brawl.

In terms of modern technology, the best, most dependable guy in wrestling was Jerry Lawler and he helped ground all the crazy of Savage and keep it a fun Memphis brawl. Lawler was the working man, Savage was the astronaut. Spaceships were meant to fly.