Lance Russell (1926-2017)

Real Name - Lance Russell

Lifespan - 3/18/1926 - 10/3/2017

Dayton, OH

Occupational Background - Disc Jockey, Programming Executive

Promotional Background - Nashville(`57-`77), Memphis(`77-`89), WCW(`89-`92), USWA(`92-`97), SMW(`95)

Peak Years - 1970s

Place in History - Some of the greatest pro-wrestling announcers like Gordon Solie, Kent Walton, Atsuo Shiono and Jim Ross had the benefit of explaining storylines that were logical and believable, calling action that was athletic and realistic within its context and interacting with personalities that were intriguing and sometimes strange, but not outright cartoons.  Lance Russell often had the unenviable task of taking the outrageous angles, wild matches and often unbelievable characters  and selling it to the fans as a worthwhile product that they would tune in to watch or pay to see live.  Pro-wrestling in that corner of the world is almost inseparable from the straightforward play-by-play calls of Lance Russell with his homespun style in his distinctly accented voice.  While working for a station out of Jackson in the 1950s, Russell was approached by the Nick Gulas and Roy Welch operation based out of Nashville.  He had grown up a wrestling fan in his native Ohio and took to it.  Several years in, he was paired with his long-time partner Dave Brown and the two became a fixture over the next three decades.  Russell had several different careers prior to and during his long tenure working for Nick Gulas and later Jerry Jarrett.  Most significantly, he was a station manager at WHBQ in Memphis and was crucial when Jarrett broke away from Gulas in 1977.  Russell brokered the move to WMC with himself, Dave Brown (who was a popular weatherman) and Jarrett’s wrestling as being key in turning the smaller NBC affiliate into the city’s top station.  Pro-wrestling ran on the station for nearly twenty years and enjoyed some spectacular years with Jerry Lawler, Jimmy Hart and others as its stars.  The show was essentially traditional studio wrestling, however it holds up better than any of its contemporaries in large part because of Lance Russell.  There were times when he was targeted by heels verbally and even physically, but his role was primarily that of an untouchable mediator.  Rather than denigrating the talent and trying to get himself over, Lance became a local hero by being a trustworthy and dignified voice among the wild and wooly action.  Memphis wrestling was such an institution in the area that it was able to remain long after the WWF and WCW went national and presented better production values.  Lance Russell even spent a few years calling action in WCW before returning to Memphis in the last days of the USWA.  Pro-wrestling in that region was so entrenched in the culture and Lance Russell and his calls are so tightly interwoven with that legacy that he will forever be remembered by several generations as the pro-wrestling announcer and not just one of the greats.