A Tribute To Tojo Yamamoto
As a kid, I was a wrestling fan (still am a fan) and basically grew up watching Memphis wrestling almost every week while we lived in the Mississippi Delta. In the Mid-70’s we moved to south Mississippi so the only times I got to see Memphis wrestling was when we would make the long drive to Memphis to see my Grandparents. My Granddaddy took me to the matches both in the studio from time to time and also on occasion in the old Mid-South Coliseum. When my Grandparents retired and moved to the Florida Panhandle, he’d take me to the house shows Southeastern Championship Wrestling had in Panama City, Florida.
Needless to say, Memphis wrestling holds a special place in my heart and still does. When I started college in the early 80’s, I was delighted that the cable system in Starkville carried the Memphis TV stations so I got to watch Memphis wrestling each weekend. I thought Lance Russell was the second best announcer (following the Dean of wrestling announcers, Gordon Solie) and his co-host, Dave Brown (who was also and still is doing weather at WMC-TV in Memphis) complimented Russell brilliantly. I grew up watching Jerry Lawler, “Superstar” Bill Dundee, Jerry Jarret, Jackie Fargo, Sputnik Monroe and a whole host of talented people on those shows. Today I was on YouTube watching old video from that era and came across a wonderful tribute to Tojo Yamamoto. The average wrestling fan probably isn’t familiar with that name but if you watched Memphis wrestling and wrestling in Texas in the 70’s and 80’s, you would be quite familiar with him. He could work a crowd like few men could and get them to hate him within mere moments of appearing from the dressing room. As a kid, I booed him a lot but as I grew older and learned more of the non-kayfabe side of the business, I discovered how much he did to achieve success in the ring. Reading stories online from wrestlers who knew him and worked with him, I discovered how beloved this man was and how he helped so many in the business. This video tribute was from a Nashville television station and was produced with great respect for him. It is nice that it contains a mix of kayfabe and non-kayfabe. It’s hard to believe that it’s been sixteen years since Tojo Yamamoto left this world. There are many excellent memories of his work on YouTube and I encourage all wrestling fans to take the time to watch them.
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August 17th, 2008 at 7:32 am
Thanks for the reference to Memphis! Dave Brown and Jerry “the King” Lawler represent Memphis well. You left out “John Ford” who now serving time in prison represents Memphis in a different way!