On Episode #17 of the Retro Wrestling Re-View Power Pro Wrestling Podcast, Gene Jackson is away again, which means King BT takes the wheel from 304 Studios in Jonesboro, Arkansas along with “the Texas Bunch”, Robb Helt and Scottie Wince. And with no Gene, no Intern Benny, no Producer Smokey, and no Duke producing the show, BT warns everybody right off the bat that nobody knows what the hell is going to happen, and SPOILER ALERT….He’s not wrong!
This week’s Power Pro episode from August 8, 1998 keeps the Randy Hales/Jerry Lawler power struggle rolling, only now the whole thing has turned into kidnappings, chaos, ref bumps, weird match layouts, stripped down embarrassment, and Dave Brown somehow being the only adult in the room. Lawler still insists he’s in charge, Randy keeps reminding everyone whose name is on the paychecks, Stacey gets dragged into another mess, Brandon Baxter remains Tojo Baxter-Moto, and by the end of it all, Robb is about ready to tap out on the entire show.
The real MVP of the episode is Dave Brown. With no Corey Maclin around, Dave has to carry all the confusion, all the Lawler/Randy nonsense, all the format problems, and all the live TV weirdness. Robb, BT, and Scottie all keep coming back to the same point: Dave is so good that he can make even this mess feel like a wrestling show.
Episode #17 is chaotic, sloppy, funny, frustrating, and somehow still very Memphis. It’s not the best Power Pro episode by any stretch, but it gives the crew plenty to work with: fake kidnappings, ambulance callbacks, Tojo Baxter-Moto, Streak confusion, Tony Falk nostalgia, Dave Brown greatness, and Randy Hales getting way too close to naked on Saturday morning television.
That’s Power Pro Wrestling.
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