This week’s episode of Jerry Lawler’s Dinner With The King podcast featured Lawler paying tribute to Lance Russell, the “Voice of Memphis Wrestling” who passed away earlier this week at 91 years old.

The episode of opened with a tribute to Lance:

Here are some highlights from this week:

Lawler on Russell’s effect on his career and life:

“You know, a lot of times when a loved one or a great, close friend passes away, you are left with the feeling that I never really got to say goodbye or I never really got to tell the person how I felt about them.

But I’m happy in the fact that over the years, I did have several opportunities to tell Lance how much I thought I thought of him, how much I loved him, how important he was to me. Without Lance, there would be no me. And I knew that, and I had the opportunity to say that to Lance Russell. I loved Lance Russell. There’ll never be another person like him.”

Should Lance Russell be in the WWE Hall of Fame?

“I think he’s certainly deserving. Even though he didn’t ever work for the WWE, hey, WWE is putting a lot of people in the Hall of Fame that didn’t necessarily work for them. Which I think is a great thing. Even though it’s called the WWE Hall of Fame, they are opening their arms a little further; it’s more of a wrestling hall of fame. At least in my eyes, he’s the greatest wrestling commentator ever.”

The episode closed with Jerry Lawler saying goodbye to Lance Russell:

We are saddened to report that legendary wrestling announcer Lance Russell has passed away. He was 91. Russell was the voice of Memphis wrestling for decades.

His family confirmed the news on Tuesday morning:

Hey All, wanted to share the sad news that dad passed away this morning. You all have been a blessing in this difficult time. Thank You!!!

— Lance Russell (@MemphisLance) October 3, 2017

WWE Hall of Famers Jerry “The King” Jerry, who credits Russell for starting his wrestling career, spoke to Commercial Appeal by phone this morning and revealed that Russell fell, broke a hip and died early Tuesday.  “It’s like losing my father again,” he said.

Visit WWE.com for more on the life and career of Lance Russell.

The wrestling world remembers The Voice of Memphis Wrestling:

My dear friend and greatest wrestling commentator ever, Lance Russell passed away this morning. I would have never been without him. R.I.P. pic.twitter.com/bD4AlK5dsF

— Jerry Lawler (@JerryLawler) October 3, 2017

Horrible weekend for all of us. @MemphisLance Russell has passed at 91. Memphis icon–sport's nicest man–best at what he did–friend.#RIP

— Jim Cornette (@TheJimCornette) October 3, 2017

Every TV station, paper in Memphis reporting on the passing of @MemphisLance who hosted highest rated TV show in town for 40 years.#ICON

— Jim Cornette (@TheJimCornette) October 3, 2017

RIP Lance Russell…professional wrestling voice of my childhood and very instrumental in my early career… … https://t.co/QWScdDuu8c

— Jeff Jarrett (@RealJeffJarrett) October 3, 2017

Love you #LanceRussell…

…RIP @MemphisLance…

…say hi to Jan…. pic.twitter.com/52hV5YcH3U

— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) October 3, 2017

There are people far more qualified than I to pay tribute to @MemphisLance, but I must pay my respects. RIP #LanceRussell pic.twitter.com/gTKeYmA3Cz

— Paul Heyman (@HeymanHustle) October 3, 2017

https://twitter.com/thewadekeller/status/915251209669419010

https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/915202761607798788

https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/915204047073955842

https://twitter.com/ebischoff/status/915214624961683456

Very sorry to hear of the passing of Lance Russell.I met him a few times and he was always a lovely gentleman.Having and hearing him call a few of my bouts in MCW in 2000 was a real treat.

— William Regal (@RealKingRegal) October 3, 2017

https://twitter.com/lancestorm/status/915208844640370688

Heartfelt condolences to the family & friends of the legendary Lance Russell. One of the all-time great wrestling announcers. #Memphis icon. pic.twitter.com/lpXpKzL8xh

— NWALegends.com (@NWALegends) October 3, 2017

Last night saw one of the more hyped southern independent shows f the year, as Bert Prentice’s USA Champioship Wrestling (formerly Music City and NWA Worldwide when he had syndicated TV) ran a show dubbed an All-Star Tribute to Lance Russell. To salute the 89 year old legendary announcer, he put together a show at he Oman Arena (formerly the Jackson Coliseum), which used to be a regular stop in the Jerry Lawler/Jerry Jarrett territory based out of Memphis.

Besides the tribute to Russell in the city where he started announcing wrestling, the big attraction was the main event: Terry Funk, at 71 years old and wrestling for the first time in over 10 months, returned to face his greatest rival in the area, Jerry lawler. It was the first match between the two in just over four years.

Here are the results for the card (thanks to ProWrestling.net), which also included Russell and long-time broadcast partner Dave Brown interviewing the legends in attendance between matches:

1. Alex Taylor defeated Kevin Zion.
2. Daniel Eads defeated Nathan Starr
3. L T Falk and his father Tony Falk defeated Johnny Dotson and Derrick King (w/ Lucky Pierre in their corner)
4. Danny Dollar defeated “The New Nature Boy” Kevin White
5. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express defeated Rude and Poker Face with the double dropkick
6. The Natural Chase Stevens & Thorn defeated The Young Lions
7. Matt Starr defeated USA Heavyweight Champion Matt Boyce to win the ttle.
8. Jerry Lawler defeated Terry Funk by disqualification when Funk attacked the referee. Lawler threw a fireball at Funk after the match, which you can see in the video embedded at the top of the article.

– NXT Diva Jasmin Areebi is now going by the name Aaliyah. She appeared in a segment at the NXT live event on Thursday night in Cocoa Beach. Areebi was in the news this summer after some of her old controversial social media posts resurfaced. WWE and Areebi claimed that the posts were made by someone else.

– Legendary Memphis wrestling announcer Lance Russell and Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Dan Murphy will be the guests on next week’s “Ross Report” podcast, which drops on Tuesday evening at PodcastOne.com.

– Below is this week’s Top 10 SmackDown Moments video.

• Paul Heyman Seems To Think A CM Punk Return To WWE Isn’t Out Of The Question …

– As noted, Jerry Lawler worked a match at the “Pro Wrestling Night” themed NBA game between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 31st. Reuniting for the announcing of the match were Memphis Wrestling legends Lance Russell and Dave Brown, who are considered one of the best pro wrestling announcing teams in history.

Lawler, Ric Flair and Maverick, a local wrestler, did backstage promos and vignettes throughout the game and Lawler eventually worked a match.

There were 18,000 fans in attendance at the FedEx Forum in Memphis that night, and despite Lawler’s lengthy history in the city, it was said to be the largest crowd Lawler has ever worked a match in front of in that city.

As part of Memphis Wrestling night, the first 3,000 fans that showed up received replica championship belts. They also promoted the WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view, which will be held in the same arena on February 22nd.

You can check out photos of Lawler and Flair at the event by clicking here.

– Speaking of replica belts, as noted, Triple H sent the NFL’s New England Patriots some replica titles for the team to use during their Super Bowl victory parade. Stephanie McMahon recently tweeted the following photo of the team holding the belts in the air during the parade.

Celebrating #SB49 Champions @Patriots with a #WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt http://t.co/fwO26Ge8Is via @forthewin @USAToday

— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) February 4, 2015

• VIDEO: Young Girl KOs Older Man, Claiming To Be Ex-UFC Fighter, With Vicious Punch

(Partial Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

– Randy Orton is advertised to appear on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in Denver, Colorado. Despite the fact that he’s advertised, his status for the show remains a question mark, as he has been advertised for several shows lately, including RAW, SmackDown and pay-per-view shows, but has been pulled to delay his return for creative reasons.

– WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry Lawler will be working a wrestling match on Saturday night in Memphis, Tennessee. Legendary wrestling announcing duo Lance Russell and Dave Brown will be reuniting to call the match, which is scheduled to take place during halftime of the Memphis Grizzlies vs. Oklahoma City Thunder NBA game for Memphis Wrestling Night.

• Vince McMahon FURIOUS Over Mistake During Royal Rumble + Chris Jericho TURNS DOWN WWE Offer!

(Partial Credit: F4WOnline.com)

– Memphis wrestling legend Lance Russell was backstage at Monday’s RAW. Prior to the start of the show, Jerry Lawler, who worked closely with Russell throughout much of his career, brought him out in front of the crowd for a quick segment.

– For whatever this is worth, during part one of the WWE 2K15 roster reveal after RAW on the WWE Network on Monday night, the reaction to CM Punk was muted on the broadcast. Steve Austin and Renee Young, who hosted the event, would reveal various Superstars as being part of the game, each of which would get varying reactions from the fans in attendance, however when Punk was shown, there was absolutely no reaction.

– Legendary Memphis wrestling announcer Lance Russell will be in attendance at Monday’s RAW and is rumored to appear before the live crowd to introduce fellow Memphis legend Jerry Lawler before the cameras start rolling. Lawler, however, reportedly wants to walk out to the announcing table with Russell.

– Below are some recent WWE attendance figures:

September 12th in White Plains, NY drew 3,400 fans
September 13th in Springfield, MA drew 4,500 fans
September 13th in Jackson, MS drew 4,500 fans
September 14th in Boston drew 4,500 fans
September 14th in Monroe, LA drew 4,800 fans
September 15th in Lafayette, LA for RAW drew 7,000 fans
September 16th in Biloxi, MS for SmackDown drew 3,500 fans