wrestling / Video Reviews
Memphis Wrestling (10.17.1981) Review
Image Credit: Memphis Wrestling
Loading...-Originally aired October 17, 1981.
-Your hosts are Lance Russell & Dave Brown.
$300 CHALLENGE: SUPERSTAR BILL DUNDEE & ROY ROGERS vs. MASA FUCHI & MR. ONITA (with Tojo Yamomoto)
-I love that even the FAKE money in this promotion isn’t very impressive. This is stemming from Tojo’s request for a rematch last week after his men’s unexpected and embarrassing loss. He’s putting up $300 for this rematch, and the winners split the cash. According to Inflation Calculator, this is about $1200 now, for perspective.
-But what’s this? The Japanese team is missing, with Tojo coming out to speculate that they’ve been kidnapped. The camera catches Jimmy Hart crouching underneath the ring and waiting for something. Tojo tries to call off the match, but Lance holds him to the deal. The referee rings the bell with only one team in the ring, with Tojo being spotted some extra time to try to get in touch with his men and figure out where they are. Tojo starts to walk to the back to check assorted couch cushions and make sure the tag team didn’t get wedged between them.
-And then Jimmy Hart comes running out laughing and announcing that he signed Onita and Fuchi away from Tojo AND paid them to take a nice week-long vacation in Las Vegas, instantly costing Tojo the $300.
-We go to house show action from an unspecified location–definitely not Mid-South Coliseum. Jimmy Valiant is defending the Southern Title against the Dream Machine. Dream uses a concealed weapon to KO Jimmy Valiant and win the title. Dutch Mantell shows up to tattle on Dream’s chicanery, and a fight breaks out.
JERRY “The King” LAWLER (with Jerry Calhoun) vs. CHIC DONOVAN (with Jimmy Hart)
-Lawler now has referee Calhoun acting as his manager AND dressed like Jimmy Hart for the role in a cute touch. Hart tries to pick a fight before the bell, but Calhoun chases Jimmy out of the studio, and Chic is all alone now.
-Donovan surprises Lawler early on by throwing some really hard punches, and Lawler is getting fired up. Donovan uses a handful of hair to get Lawler on the mat for a wristlock. Lawler gets as mad as he can get without actually pulling down the strap and unleashes a series of his own rights on Donovan. Donovan fights back and elbows Lawler for two.
-Donovan stomps a mudhole in Lawler and follows with a backdrop. Spinning toehold by Donovan, using the ropes for extra pressure. Lawler gets free and NOW the strap comes down. But he misses the fist drop! Lawler rallies and gets a sunset flip seconds later to get the three-count. Lawler was just solid gold at getting a crowd riled up for him.
-We head to the Mid-South Coliseum with Jerry Lawler battling Sweet Brown Sugar. Jerry Calhoun and Jimmy Hart get into a fight on the floor and the referee heads out there to break it up. Jimmy Hart’s new charge, Stan Lane, heads into the ring, for a surprise attack, but Lane and Sugar bungle an attempted double-team and collide, and Lawler cleans house.
ROBERT GIBSON vs. STAN LANE (with Jimmy Hart)
-Gibson armdrags Lane into an armbar early on. Gibson knocks Lane out to the floor. Lane shakes out the cobwebs and starts doing some arm work of his own back in the ring, but Gibson dropkicks him and clamps on a front facelock. Lane fights out and rams Gibson in the corner, and Jimmy takes a free shot with the cane while the referee is distracted. Awesome bit, the thing that distracts the referee is that the fans are yelling at him for missing a punch, so the referee is arguing with a fan about how it was open-handed; meanwhile Jimmy is interfering!
-Gibson gets fed up with this bullshit and brings Jimmy into the ring to beat on him. Lane sneaks up from behind and Jimmy still has his cane, so it turns into a 2-on-1 assault very quickly until Ricky Gibson shows up to help his brother. And I’ve never heard this logic before, but your official decision: ROBERT loses by disqualification, because he’s the one who brought Jimmy Hart into the ring.
RICKY GIBSON vs. SWEET BROWN SUGAR (with Jimmy Hart)
-Koko/Sugar as a heel reminds me a lot of Pez Whatley. He does an obnoxious dance to celebrate landing on his feet when Gibson attempts some offense. Both men dropkick each other at the same time and collapse on the mat in exhaustion, which makes no sense. You hit the bottom of the other guy’s feet and you’re both out cold?
-Gibson misses a corner charge and Koko backdrops him. Sugar makes use of a concealed weapon and takes some free shots while Gibson is tangled in the ropes. Sugar just keeps beating on him but Gibson surprises him with a sunset flip that looks like he might luck into a victory until Jimmy Hart comes in and attacks Gibson with his cane for the DQ.
-Brother Robert has something to say about that and heads to the ring for a fight, which brings out Stan Lane, Nightmare, and Speed, and it’s a 5-on-2 shitkicking by the First Family.
