Lawler and company move from Coliseum in Memphis

By Cedric M. Anderson
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Jerry 'The King' Lawler has been pile-driving his opponents in Memphis for years.

He will get to do it in Mississippi  July 1st.

Corey Maclin, president of Corey Maclin & Associates, Inc. announced Wednesday that Memphis wrestling will be moving from the Mid-South Coliseum to the DeSoto Civic Center.

Corey Maclin & Associates is in an advertising and promotions agency for professional wrestling in the Mid-South.

"We felt the Civic Center is newer, safer and more modern,' Maclin said. "It's not going to cost our fans any more money, but we'll be able to give them more bang for their buck."

The Civic Center is at Church Road and Interstate 55 in Southaven.

Chuck Roberts, the county Convention and Visitor's Bureau's chairman, said the move will add another venue for people in the county.

"We're excited about it," Roberts said. "This gives us an opportunity to get more people in the arena.

"I think this shows that we're continuing to strive to offer a wider variety of entertainment here."

The CVB is the governing body for the Civic Center.

The first major event, "Clash of the Legends II," is scheduled for July 1st.

It will feature a host of big names in Memphis wrestling, including long-time personalities Sputnik Monroe and Billy Wicks.

"This will be our first one here at the Civic Center and hopefully the start of many more to come," Maclin said.

Maclin added he would love to bring a monthly show to the Civic Center for Mid-South wrestling fans.

"We're definitely going to try to do a monthly show, but a lot depends on how well we're doing," Maclin said. "I'm predicting we'll do well."

The move across the state line follows a rocky relationship between Memphis wrestling and the Coliseum.

Lawler said it was becoming "difficult to do business with the Coliseum" in a phone interview Wednesday.

"This won't be the first time we've moved away from the Coliseum," Lawler said. "We were doing shows at the Pipkin Building on the Fairgrounds for a while.

"We had returned to the Coliseum, but with the Grizzlies in Memphis it just became too much of a hassle."

The director of the Coliseum, Steve Fox, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Lawler said he is excited about the move, but saddened that wrestling is reaching its end in Memphis.

"There's a lot of wrestling history in Memphis," Lawler said. "I was there when wrestling first started at the Coliseum. It's kind of sad to see that little bit of history go."

Lawler said even though wrestling is moving beyond Memphis, fans in Memphis are just as excited.

"I was going through a Kentucky Fried Chicken drive-thru line and a guy told me he was excited about the move, even though he lived 10 minutes away from the Coliseum," Lawler said.

"He told me he'd rather go to the Civic Center to watch us."

-- Cedric M. Anderson (901) 333-2013