The Forgotten Match
Memphis Wrestling owner, Corey Maclin, wanted to do a big marque match in Memphis in April 2007. His idea was to team up with Hulk Hogan as he still had star power to make this a huge event for Maclin. Hogan was in because like every other decision in Hogan’s career it was motivated by what was in it for him also known as money. Hogan had history in the Memphis territory early in his career working for Jerry Jerrett’s CWA and that was part of nostalgia that Maclin was hoping to capitalize on. So, who would Hogan face in this big Memphis show? Well, the king of Memphis of course, Jerry “The King” Lawler.
Like Hogan, Lawler saw this as a big draw event, and he was eager to sign on for the event. So, PMG Clash of Legends was to be headlined by Hogan vs Lawler. Looking to again capitalize on Memphis Wrestling history, Maclin booked the legendary Mid-South Coliseum. However, one major hurdle would be thrown in its way; the Mid-South Coliseum was forced to close in late 2005, due to failure to comply with disabled accessibility regulations.
So, Maclin had to find a replacement venue and the logical choice was the FedExForum but like many buildings that WWE runs there is either formal or informal agreements that gives WWE first rights to the building that would allow them to bump any wrestling show and replace it with a WWE show. Well, the operators of the FedExForum contacted WWE, to ensure that WWE did not object to an alternative professional wrestling promotion staging an event there. The operators were not going to burn a bridge with a recurring client for a one-off event. WWE did not object to the event taking place.
So, Maclin had his building, but he was about to lose his main event. Hogan was currently filming a reality show, Hogan Knows Best, for VH1, which is owned by CBS/Viacom. Footage from this clash event was likely going to be featured on the reality show. Well, the problem was that Lawler had WWE contract, that despite WWE themselves not opposing the match formally, because WWE aired on NBC Universal networks, it prohibited any performer from appearing on a competitor’s network. So, Lawler would not be allowed to wrestle at the event, WWE offered to refund Maclin’s deposit on the rental of the FedExForum, but he declined WWE’s offer. Whether it was really the TV contract issue, or this match was generating too much attention and WWE wanted to squash it is certainly a possibility and could definitely be debated because they could have easily not included footage of Lawler on the reality show. So, the TV contract thing was likely an out.
So, Hogan went to the well once again and contacted the recently WWE departed, Paul Wight, to be the replacement. The thought being that they could capitalize on the 20th anniversary of the iconic Wrestlemania 3 match, where Hogan faced Andre. Wight was flattered that Hogan wanted this match with him and although he was burned out by WWE’s schedule and wanted time off, a one-off match with his idol with a big payday was something that Wight was interested in.
