Doug Gilbert shoots on Power Pro Wrestling's live show.

On October 23, 1999, "Dangerous" Doug Gilbert and Tommy Rich had chased Brian Christopher and his tag-team partner Spellbinder out of the Memphis Power Pro Wrestling studio after Christopher tore into Gilbert, claiming that he came from a redneck town and only got the nickname "Dangerous" when he accidentally burned his parents trailer to the ground. Christopher then brought up the affair Peggy Gilbert was allegedly having with the local ice cream man, and claimed that he gave her "special long possible". Christopher spoke negatively on Eddie Gilbert before saying that Tommy Gilbert and Doug Gilbert never drew a dime in their life in the wrestling business.

Power Pro Wrestling's Dave Brown interviewed the two men after the attack. Tommy Rich spoke first, speaking out against Christopher claiming that if he hadn't been using steroids, he'd only weigh 130 lbs. Gilbert and Rich were told to be controversial, because the feud was so, which may have been the initial reason why Gilbert's comments got out of hand. Gilbert's controversy began when he confirmed with PPW announcer Dave Brown that there were certain subjects that were too taboo to speak about publicly or within the company's walls, but because Christopher spoke out against Gilbert's family, Gilbert retaliated.

One of those subjects being the fact that Brian Christopher was Jerry Lawler's son, a topic well-known in the locker room, but was never to be discussed on camera.

It's no secret how successful and popular Jerry Lawler has been in the memphis territories over the years and how much pull he has with the territories there. By 1999, Randy Hale's Memphis Power Pro Wrestling, along with Memphis Championship Wrestling, had became developmental territories for the World Wrestling Federation. In fact, Jerry Lawler was the one who recommended Hale to make the deal with the WWF.

Doug Gilbert hated Jerry Lawler and made no secret about it. He thought Lawler had "cheated" his brother and father years earlier, and believed Lawler had made public comments about his brother's, Eddie, death being drug related.

Whether it was his hatred for Lawler or him taking Brian Christopher's comments personally, it didn't matter as anyone and everyone involved with Lawler was a target for Doug Gilbert. After breaking kayfabe and stating Christopher has never been over, then exposing the secret of Lawler and Christopher, he then proceeded to tell the live viewing audience in the studio and at home that PPW's booker Randy Hale is an admitted crack user, even though Dave Brown tried to deny Gilbert's comments.

Gilbert promised to behave on the mic for the rest of his interview, even with pleads from Brown, but he continued his tirade on Lawler anyway. Gilbert reminded the crowd that Lawler raped a 13-year-old, referring to a case where a minor claimed that Lawler statutory raped and sodomized her. The girl later admitted that the story was false, and Lawler was cleared of the charges, though Gilbert failed to mention that part.

Dave Brown had enough and sent the show to an early commercial break, and when it returned, Randy Hales announced that Doug Gilbert was suspended from the company. Randy Hales luck continued to get worse. What was supposed to be the hottest angle of the fall had become an enormous embarrassment to all involved. Business continued to get worse. The Occupational Health and Safety Association evaluated Power Pro-Wrestling and determined that they were severely under-insured, and wanted Channel 5 to pay $100,000 more per year.
Channel 5 wanted Randy Hales to cover this increase, as well as purchase $30,000 worth of new curtains and new bleachers to upgrade the look and comfort of the facilities. Hales, largely due to his relationship with Jerry Lawler falling apart due to the angle, soon had his relationship with the WWF as a developmental territory dissolved. With Power Pro-Wrestling no longer in business, Hales now works as the manager of a Sonic Burger in the Memphis area.

Legal action stemmed from the angle as well. Jerry Lawler strongly considered pressing defamation charges against Doug Gilbert, but Gilbert didn't have any money to sue for so Lawler quietly dropped the suit.
Even Peggy Gilbert got into the action, exploring legal action against Randy Hales over his promotion claiming that she was messing around with the local ice cream man.

The aftermath of Doug Gilbert's outburst may have been the most notable impact of his career. He had gotten himself fired, created a divide between Jerry Lawler and Randy Hales that resulted in two new major promotions sprouting up in Memphis, lended a major hand in the WWF pulling out of PPW and indirectly weakened the relationship between Channel 5 and Randy Hales. Not bad for ten minutes work.

On the Saturday morning following Doug Gilbert's tirade, no mention was made of he, Tommy Rich, or the entire episode that unfolded at WMC-TV studios the week before.

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