Memphis Wrestling (10.3.1981) Review

-Originally aired October 3, 1981.

-Your hosts are Lance Russell & Dave Brown. We have the Southern Tag Team Title on the line, with the Gibsons defending against the Nightmare and Speed.

-…Or do we? Rick Gibson comes out here, emotional and all alone. The Gibson boys’ mother is sick; they got a call from Mom’s neighbors, and Rick told his little brother to go to Mom’s house and be with her, and while Robert is tending to Mom, Rick is pledging to honor the title match and defend the belts in a handicap match, because he can whip both guys.

-We head to action in the Mid-South Coliseum, with Bill Dundee battling the Heartbreakers in a no-disqualification loser-leaves-town handicap match. Heartbreakers take full advantage of the rules, double-teaming Dundee and letting manager Chic Donovan interfere on their behalf, but Dundee connects with a bodypress to get the surprise three-count, and the Heartbreakers are done in the territory.

-Jimmy Hart is here to complain that Bill Dundee ran a tag team out of town and shaved Sweet Brown Sugar’s head, but Dundee will never be rid of the First Family. To that end, Chic Donovan is coming out of retirement to become an active wrestler again, and to show he’s serious about destroying Dundee, Donovan will destroy Jimmy Valiant right here on TV!

-We get a house show promo where Jimmy Hart introduces the newest member of the First Family, Stan Lane!

HANDSOME JIMMY VALIANT vs. CHIC DONOVAN (with Jimmy Hart)
-Valiant strolls to the ring in casual wear instead of wrestling gear, and hey, isn’t it weird how “wear” and “gear” don’t rhyme?

-This initially looks to be a forfeit by Valiant, but then, no, he sticks around and the bell sounds, and the commentators deduce that if he’s not even dressed to wrestle, then he must have a really low opinion of Donovan. Actually, that would have been a great idea for a squash match for Don Muraco to do in the WWF during that period where he was eating during his matches.

-Valiant knocks Donovan out to the floor, and Dream Machine immediately hits the ring and attacks Valiant, with Dundee and Rick Gibson making the rescue.

RICK MORTON vs. DREAM MACHINE (with Jimmy Hart)
-Morton crashes on a dropkick and Machine capitalizes with a backdrop. Elbow by Dream Machine misses and Morton dazes him with a kneelift. Machine takes a shot to the throat to try to get the advantage back, but Jimmy Valiant heads back to the ring wielding a chair and gets his revenge for the attach. This week’s card has certainly been brisk.

-Jimmy Hart is here with the challengers for the upcoming title match. He asks if it’s true that Ricky & Robert Gibson’s mother is deaf & mute. Dave says it’s true, so Jimmy instructs his boys to break Ricky’s fingers so he can never talk to his mom again. Damn, that’s a HEEL.

HANDICAP MATCH FOR THE SOUTHERN TAG TEAM TITLE: RICKY GIBSON (Champion) vs. THE NIGHTMARE & SPEED
-Gibson armdrags Speed and clamps on an armbar. Nightmare tags in and ducks a dropkick, as all the guys named Ricky are just having crappy luck this week. Jimmy Hart distracts the referee while Nightmare loads his mask with something and headbutts Gibson all the way to the floor. Gibson crawls back in, dazed and bleeding.

-Decapitator by Nightmare and Speed. They just tee off on Gibson with elbows and axehandles. Gibson desperately fights back, throwing punches while being double-teamed, but with his vision impaired, he accidentally punches the referee, which gets him DQed, but he retains the title.

-Jimmy Hart is FURIOUS that the Gibsons get to keep the belts when Ricky obviously threw that punch on purpose, so he goes into the ring and berates dazed referee Jerry Calhoun about handing down such a bullshit decision. And Calhoun is so sick of Jimmy’s stuff that he knocks Jimmy on his ass and starts beating the hell out of him! Nightmare and Speed retaliate on behalf of their manager, laying out Calhoun with a spike piledriver. Calhoun is DEAD, but Jimmy Hart is so mad that he just beats on Calhoun’s corpse until Eddie Marlin and absolutely every babyface on the roster storm out there to chase the heels away. Gotta say, that is not how I thought this title match was going to go. Good action, though.

7.4

The final score: review Good

The 411

Great angle this week!