Memphis Wrestling (10.18.1980) Review

-Originally aired October 18, 1980.

-Your hosts are Lance Russell and Dave Brown.

GUY MITCHELL vs. MIKE MERONI
-Mitchell had some fame in the WWF as the third Valiant brother, Gentleman Jerry. Arguably the peak of his fame in that role was coming out of retirement for one night in 1985 to do an eight-second job to Uncle Elmer before the big wedding.

-Boots, boots, and additional boots by Guy. Suplex by Mitchell. Neckbreaker by Mitchell gets the easy three.

-Lance Russell begins to introduce someone for an interview, and Mitchell comes over to gripe that it’s not him. He expects to be interviewed after EVERY victory. He warns Lance that he has a match on next week’s show, he expects to win, and Lance had better carve out a few minutes in the show afterward to talk to him.

-So instead, Lance has words with friendly Welshman Tony Charles, who enjoys fishing in his spare time.

-Austin Idol faces Tommy Rich in the main event in Louisville this Tuesday night! Austin Idol holds up his coveted CWA World Title belt, and the belt looks like a homemade replica that a fan would have made before replica belts existed. The front plate looks like a license plate. Reggie Parks was a godsend to this business.

BOBBY EATON (NWA Mid-American Champion, with Jimmy Hart) vs. CARL FERGIE
-Eaton is the latest heel to be walking around the studio in Jerry Lawler’s crown, which feels more and more like the Undertaker’s urn in the mid-90s as I watch this era of Memphis.

-Fergie (who I think ALSO steals the crown eventually!) shoulderblocks Eaton and works the arm. Fergie works the arm over for a spell. Eaton goes to the eyes but misses a corner charge and ends up in an armbar. Eaton escapes and comes to life with good old fashioned cheating, which Lance calls “The Sputnik Monroe School of Wrestling.” I’ll take that over the Terry Garvin School of Self-Defense.

-Fergie keeps up the fight, so Jimmy Hart gets fed up and trips him from the floor. That looks to finish, but Eaton misses his elbow and Fergie uses the opening to choke Jimmy, but Eaton strikes from behind and comes off the second rope with a knee to finish. Good match, with Fergie getting a bit of shine in there.

-Lance has words with Sonny King. Sonny has signed a new charge, somebody that the fans have seen, but King boasts he’s helped get his mind right. It’s the Magnificent Zulu, who has a hell of a physique and wears red and yellow before it was cool.

MAGNIFICENT ZULU (with Sonny King) vs. TONY BOYLES
-Zulu headbutts Boyles down while Lance & Dave acknowledge Zulu’s past, basically saying he used to be a jobber in Memphis and saying they’re curious to see if it does him any good to be aligned with Sonny.

MIXED TAG: CHIEF THUNDERCLOUD & CHIEF LONE EAGLE vs. JIMMY KENT & COWBOY BUTCH CASSIDY
-The shorter halves of the teams start off. Kent takes advantage of some referee distraction to get some cheap shots. Cassidy capitalizes with a slam and a legdrop. The tall boys tag in and Kent is irate about not being allowed to wrestle Lone Eagle. Kent misses a corner charge and hurts his knee. Thundercloud applies a standing front facelock and Cassidy tries to help his partner by climbing up his back to attack Thundercloud, but since Kent just hurt his knee a moment ago, he buckles under the weight and lands on his face.

-Lone Eagle tags in and Kent retreats to the corner, as the rules say he’s supposed to, and Lone Eagle takes a cheap shot at him, building up some really bad Wrestlemania III-style karma for himself as the fans laugh at his shenanigans. Big guys tag back in and Kent is frustrated, taking it out on Thundercloud with a slam and an elbow for a one-count. Thundercloud whips him into the ropes for a big chop, and that’s enough to put Kent away. Weird out-of-nowhere finish, especially after they seemed to be building to something else entirely.

EXPIRATION OF TIME: TONY CHARLES & SUPERSTAR BILL DUNDEE vs. DR. BILL IRWIN & BOB STEEL
FALL ONE: Charles and Steel start and Charles works the arm. Charles turns it into a nice roll-up but Irwin breaks it with a boot. Everybody tags and Dundee clamps a side headlock on Irwin. Mare gets one. Hiptoss gets another one. Mare gets another one. Bless Dundee, he’s trying to give me more than one fall this week. And even Lance optimistically points out how much time is left in the show and voices hope for a second fall this week.

-Everybody tags again and Irwin & Dundee take turns sneaking in and booting opponents behind the referee’s back. Charles applies a toehold on Steel and Steel desperately tries to tag out but can’t. And then Charles just releases the hold and Steel gets up and locks up with him instead of making the tag that he was begging for. It’s like watching a cat inhabit a wrestler’s body, does he want inside or outside?

-Everybody tags again and Dundee gets backdropped. Steel tries to scoop him up to do something else, but Dundee cradles him and gets the three-count to take the fall.

-Back from commercial….wait for it…TV time is gone.

5.0

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

Nothing remarkable this week.