Jerry Lawler's son, Brian Christopher, to be posthumously honored at AEW show in Southaven

A “Legends of Memphis Wrestling” tribute scheduled for All Elite Wrestling’s upcoming Southaven show will honor the late Brian Christopher Lawler and other well-known pro wrestlers with a Memphis connection.

Lawler, son of WWE Hall of Famer and Memphis wrestling icon Jerry "The King" Lawler, died in 2018. He wrestled in the WWE as Grandmaster Sexay, part of the Too Cool tag team with Scotty 2 Hotty.

AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes said Lawler's Memphis roots, popularity and "the amount of smiles that guy put on faces" made him a well-deserved honoree.

Others to be honored at the Landers Center show on Wednesday include:

"Macho Man" Randy Savage,

Angelo Poffo,

Lance Russell,

"Hot Stuff" Eddie and Tommy Gilbert,

Austin Idol, Dave Brown,

The Rock 'n' Roll Express

and "Handsome" Jimmy Valiant.

"If you're young and you're in the audience and you don't know these guys, look them up," Rhodes said. "You'll be glad that you did."

Matt and Nick Jackson, executive vice presidents for AEW who also wrestle as tag team The Young Bucks, said the tribute was CEO Tony Khan's idea, as Khan has a keen sense of Memphis’ importance to pro wrestling history.

“I think the idea is Tony (Khan) wanted to do a 10-bell salute for all of the fallen brothers,” said Matt Jackson, who added they are still putting together the segment’s specifics.

Prolific tag team The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express and former WWF star Lanny Poffo, the brother of the late Randy Savage, will be at the show, Matt Jackson said.

Memphis was a prominent locale in pro wrestling's territorial days. The Continental Wrestling Association, headed by Jerry Lawler and Jerry Jarrett in the late 1970s and 1980s, regularly performed at the Mid-South Coliseum.

"It would have been great to have 'The King,' but obviously he's working elsewhere," Matt Jackson said, referring to Jerry Lawler working for WWE.

In July, Jerry Lawler filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Hardeman County, Sheriff John Doolen and others regarding his son's death. Brian Lawler was found hanging in his isolated cell at the Hardeman County Correctional Facility, east of Memphis.

The lawsuit: Jerry Lawler files wrongful death suit in son Brian's death

Young Bucks: Patience for AEW a virtue

In an interview with The Commercial Appeal, Matt and Nick Jackson reflected on their past decade wrestling together and being a year into AEW's founding.

Ten years ago, the Young Bucks were “pretty much just no-names trying to make it in the world of professional wrestling,” Nick Jackson said.

They were just getting their feet wet in wrestling promotion TNA as Jeremy Buck and Max Buck of the tag team “Generation Me.”

“I think at the time, there was not a big picture plan,” Matt Jackson said. “We really loved wrestling, and we wanted to support ourselves and our families through wrestling. Whether that meant (wrestling in) TNA, Japan or WWE, it didn’t matter.”

Matt Jackson said once the “Bullet Club” faction they were a part of exploded in popularity, the brothers realized they could carve out a less traditional path to success. The road eventually led to them helping form the upstart All Elite Wrestling, founded in January 2018.

“I knew working hard would get us somewhere, but I couldn’t tell you we’d be doing what we’d be doing now — it’s surreal,” Nick Jackson said.

The brothers both said the first year of AEW taught them the importance of patience and keeping their vision of AEW intact — which is to be an alternative to pro wrestling outside of WWE.

AEW has only had a regular prime-time show only since October, but the growth it has accomplished and the television deals it has secured give the promotion “a lot of confidence going into 2020,” Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes said.

“If we stay healthy and the company keeps going and going, then it’s a better future for all of wrestling,” Nick Jackson said.

Matt Jackson said that pro wrestling fans need to be patient with AEW as well. Some storylines will take time to develop and pay off, and verdicts on AEW’s future shouldn’t be made on a week-by-week basis, he said.

“We want long-term, nuanced stories, and sometimes you have to struggle and suffer a little bit to get to the climax of the story,” Matt Jackson said. “Wrestling fans are just so used to getting exactly what they need at the snap of a finger now.”

Olive Branch native among AEW stars

Marko Stunt, a native of Olive Branch and graduate of DeSoto County’s Lewisburg High School, is part of AEW’s “Jurassic Express” team with fellow wrestlers Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus.

“It’s funny how well we work out, you know?” Stunt said of his team. “I didn’t expect it to work out as well as it did.”

The high-flying, 23-year-old Stunt caught Cody Rhodes’ eye, and Rhodes invited him to wrestle at the “All In” Battle Royale in 2018 outside Chicago.

“I think that night is what solidified my role in AEW, or at least part of it,” Stunt said.

AEW shows are heavily interactive and attendees may be able to meet and take pictures with the wrestlers on hand, Matt Jackson said. Cody Rhodes touted the variety of wrestling styles seen on AEW, from his "more Memphis-style, sports-centric" approach to the Young Bucks' West Coast, fourth-wall-poking flair.

“If you want to see something fresh, if you want to see something different, come see us,” Stunt said.

Tickets for AEW Dynamite's 6:30 p.m. Landers Center show are available at aewtix.com. It also airs on TNT.

Max Garland covers FedEx, logistics and health care for The Commercial Appeal. Reach him at max.garland@commercialappeal.com or 901-529-2651 and on Twitter @MaxGarlandTypes.