Jerry Lawler vs Austin Idol (CWA - 4/27/1987)

The post match is really cool and all but I wouldn't call it an all time angle, even if the crowd goes berzerk. The cage with the space around the outside is pretty cool, Lawler and Idol have a really good match before all the wackiness and head shaving. I love Jerry Lawler comebacks I love the sound of the memphis ring when he hits a punch.

***3/4 Thirded

This is the famous Steel Cage where their hairs are at stake. We must go back from the beginning with the rivalry between Lawler and Tommy Ritch, and later with the inclusion of Austin Idol in the equation. During that rivalry Austin Idol attacked Jerry Lawler to help Tommy Ritch and later they teamed up to defeat the King of Memphis, he chose to have the help of Bam Bam Bigelow. The feud ended up centered on Lawler and Idol, both left us great promos with the help of a very young Paul E Dangerously (Paul Heyman). Jerry Lawler says that the championship is important but his revenge against Austin Idol is even more so (that promo is from a real leader of a promotion), although it is true that he cares that the title comes back where it belongs. Idol's response is to retain the title after using a baseball bat. The rivalry continues and in an agreed chain match, Jerry tricks his rival and ties him with the ropes to collect his revenge, that leads us to Hair vs Hair inside a Steel Cage. Lawler's promo is very important in which he sells the importance of this type of match, he says that it is a very dangerous stipulation since you might lose your hair and suffer the greatest humiliation of your life. And when you get up every morning and look yourself at the mirror, you remember that you are not the best.

More than a Steel Cage as we know it today, it is like a Hell in a Cell with no roof. The fight begins and Austin Idol takes the microphone to say that in the contract it was stipulated that Paul E could be inside the cell, he keeps talking and talking until Jerry Lawler gets tired and begins to walk him through the ring while cleaning the cell with his forehead and bites Idol's eye until it bleeds. I have seen it more times but it still seems to me one of the most violent things there is, biting your rival's eye until it bleeds is the greatest representation of hatred and anger towards a person. After this section Austin Idol takes advantage with a punch and crushes Lawler, I always like Jerry's punches but those of Austin Idol do not fall short, also, the way Lawler sells them is incredible, each punch is more important than any other possible movement. While dominating, Austin Idol acts perfectly like a heel and throws a phrase like: "I will shave him". I really like how the cell has a meaning throughout the match, it not only serves to prevent one of the two from escaping but it also serves to damage the rival and that's what both do. Another aspect that I adore is the importance of missed shots, each shot that a fighter fails can also be definitive and take advantage of the other to achieve victory, it is very evident every time Lawler or Idol jump from the third rope and they fail their hit. I think it is not necessary to comment much on Lawler's selling and the drama that he adds to the match, and that drama grows when Idol applies a piledriver to the referee, from that moment on Jerry Lawler virtually wins the match up to three times: Two with a small package and another with its piledriver, the problem is that the referee is unable to apply the three count. That's when one of the rivalry's co-stars enters: Tommy Ritch. He helps his partner to destroy Jerry Lawler while Paul E enjoys it and the audience gets very angry, between the two they hit Lawler again against the corner post with their legs spread as they had already done in a weekly show. Finally, after several attacks and piledrivers, they manage to defeat the King of Memphis and end up shaving his head.

Austin Idol, Tommy Ritch and Paul E are celebrating backstage, Lance Russell goes to interview them and tells them that it is one of the dirtiest things he has seen during all the years he has been in the wrestling world. This rivalry has also reminded me of why Lance Russell is my favorite commentator. To sum up, this match is outrageous, it is a perfectly compact story with a very surprising ending. Best of all, it leaves you with that bad body that stays with you when a story, be it in the form of a movie, series, wrestling or in real life, doesn't end well. I think there is no greater praise for the role of all these actors. Definitely one of my favorite matches and now that I've seen it a third time it seems even better than before.

*****

This is the best mens match of all time.