wrestling / Video Reviews
Memphis Wrestling (1.2.1982) Review
Image Credit: Memphis Wrestling/YouTube
Loading...-Originally aired January 2, 1982.
-Your hosts are Lance Russell & Dave Brown.
MIDNIGHT EXPRESS vs. RICK MORTON & TOM MALEY
-Norvell Austin remains on manager duty while Rose & Condrey do the wrestling this week.
-Dennis Condrey starts with Morton. Morton seizes the arm and gets to work. Maley tags in and applies a hammerlock. Express gets control, but Maley escapes and tags to a good-sized pop from the studio audience.
-Rose and Morton criss-cross, and Rose manages to get a blind tag, and Condrey sneaks in and gives Morton a shot from behind, but Morton stays alive. Samoan drop by Rose gets another two-count, and this crowd has been surprised twice by what looked like sure finishes. Maley tags in, and Condrey powerslams him, and THERE is your finish. That turned out to be a pretty exciting match, with the jobbers looking capable of a miracle a few times there.
JIMMY HART(!) vs. DENNIS UPTON
-Apparently this is supposed to be Sweet Brown Sugar’s match, but Jimmy Hart strolled in with full wrestling gear and said that Sugar is taking the day off.
-Jimmy ducks and dodges a whole lot to start, then celebrates like he’s won the match after connecting with an open-handed wuss slap to the ear. Jimmy retreats to the floor to antagonize the audience for a bit, and Upton gets so tired of waiting for him that he lies on the mat to give Jimmy a free shot. Jimmy takes the bait and goes for a legdrop, but Upton rolls out of the way.
-Jimmy applies a standing side headlock. Upton breaks it easily but accidentally whips Jimmy into the referee, and with the referee out cold, the Iranian Assassin heads in for a surprise attack, knocks Upton cold, and sprawls Jimmy Hart on top for a three-count.
-We go to footage from Mid-South Coliseum with Jimmy Hart again in action, this time against Bill Dundee. Hart produces a handful of powder and blinds Dundee to take control, but the moment Dundee comes back to life, the Assassins show up. Steve Kiern shows up, but gets a fireball to the face, while Dundee gets beaten down with a chain.
-Complication: Since Hart is such a wimp, Dundee signed for two matches tonight, so Super Destroyer comes in to fight a battered and bleeding Dundee. A big elbow by Destroyer gets three as we clarify a stipulation for THIS match–two falls need to be won in 10 minutes. So we still have more to go.
-Dundee staggers out to the floor for a breather as the second fall starts with just under 7 minutes still on the clock. Dundee can barely function and Destroyer is just toying with him and taunting him. Bearhug by Destroyer, but Dundee won’t say die. He gets loose and staggers to the floor for another rest as we get the two-minute warning. Dundee goes back in but immediately exits, blatantly trying to run out the clock, and NOW Destroyer is frustrated and actually giving chase to Dundee, who keeps managing to escape.
-Destroyer gets Dundee on his shoulders for an attempted powerslam, but Dundee punches his way out and squirms to the floor right as the clock hits zero, and Destroyer fails to get his second pin. Good drama through the whole thing.
ASSASSINS (with Jimmy Hart) vs. ROY ROGERS & DAVID PRICE
-Jimmy has a ring attendant bring out something special. This is a “managers have to sit down” territory, and Jimmy now has a custom-painted folding chair with his name across the back.
-Cuban Assassin gets caught in a side headlock by Rogers. Cuban elbows him down and tags in the Iranian Assassin. Iranian gets popped by a dropkick from Price. Iranian throws punches, Rogers tags in and throws his own punches, irking Hart.
-Assassins resort to double-teaming with a pair of knees on Rogers. Price tags back in and takes on both opponents, but Jimmy Hart trips him from the floor, and Iranian follows that with a clothesline for a tainted three.
EXPIRATION OF TIME: DUTCH MANTELL & SUPERSTAR BILL DUNDEE vs. NIGHTMARE & SPEED (with Jimmy Hart)
-Jerry Lawler drops by for guest commentary, and what happens next is great. Jimmy Hart grabs the studio security guard spontaneously and orders him to keep an eye on Lawler. And the security guard IMMEDIATELY slips into character and puts on a tough-guy act while facing Lawler.
FALL ONE: Dundee backdrops Speed and Speed retreats to the floor for a break. Lawler meanwhile gives us an injury update and says he’ll be back in the ring some time this month. Nightmare tags in and gets knocked around, and Speed accidentally elbows his partner twice while trying to help.
-Mantell tags in and charges like he’s going for a clothesline, but then sidesteps Nightmare and runs out to the floor, sending Jimmy Hart running for his life.
-Dundee tags back in and trades holds with Nightmare. Nightmare takes shots to the back and that’s enough to get control. Attempted double-team backfires, and when Nightmare and Speed get into an argument about who’s at fault, and Dundee sneaks over and noggin-knocks them, pinning the not-legal man for the win as Jimmy throws a fit.
