Memphis Wrestling (3.29.1980) Review

-Originally aired March 29, 1980.

-Your hosts are Lance Russell and Dave Brown.

-We go to the Mid-South Coliseum for action pitting the Gibsons against the Blonde Bombers. Sgt. Danny Davis attempts to interfere, but he accidentally lays out Larry Latham with his army helmet, and the Gibson brothers score a win by pinfall.

-We get the local promo for the Louisville house show, and Lance mentions that later in the show we’re going to see that Jimmy Valiant isn’t joining him in person because of an incident we’ll see later in the show that left him with an eye injury. I feel bad for the Louisville fans because they get spoiled like this every time there’s an angle in the studio.

RICK MORTON vs. DAVID OSWALD
-It’s to a point where they know they have something with Morton, but they just have no clue what to do with him. Battle for a side headlock, and after several minutes of a side headlock, Oswald throws one punch and suddenly this crowd is riled up and they want him DEAD for hurting Ricky like that. Absolute magic.

-Oswald drops an elbow for a one-count. Morton rears back and connects with a forearm, keeping his dukes up after contact to show he’s ready to fight dirty too, but instead he just leaps over Oswald and sunset flips him for the three-count. Nothing to the match at all, but just a great Ricky Morton moment, as he made stardom look so easy.

SUPERSTAR BILL DUNDEE vs. DENNIS UPTON
-Dundee gets Upton down on the mat and works the arm, driving knees into the elbow. Upton has a funny look for a jobber, probably a legit 6’4″ but not an ounce over 175. Dundee gets the win with a forearm.

-Dennis Condrey and David Schultz come in here to complain about how they’re booked in all these tiny hick towns when they clearly signed a contract on the promise of championship-caliber matches. The only reason anyone can give them for their career flatlining is that they’re too violent and the promotion won’t put them on TV.

-We go to Louisville Gardens to watch the Fireball of Failure again, which is amazing to me. If it was me in charge, I would have aired it once just because I HAD to and then buried the tape and then just had the wrestlers cut promos describing the fireball for the rest of eternity. It was truly awful and for some reason, they keep showing it, and it just takes all the piss out of the angle when you see what it actually looks like.

EXPIRATION OF TIME, SOUTHERN TAG TEAM TITLE: ALI HASSAN & PAUL ELLERING (Champions, with Jimmy Hart) vs. HANDSOME JIMMY VALIANT & KEN LUCAS
-Now this is a potentially good use of the Expiration of Time gimmick, after months of nothing really happening with it. Minus commercials, there’s 20 minutes left in the show.

FALL ONE: Hassan wants a fist fight, but Lucas just drops him with one punch. Knee to the neck by Lucas. Jimmy Valiant tags in to do his Jimmy Valiant stuff, then tags Lucas back in.

-Ellering hesitates in the entry when Hassan tags him in, and Lucas eagerly punches him down. Ellering uses his power to get Lucas into the corner, and Lucas gets overwhelmed by the champs. Legdrop by Hulk Hassan gets two. Ellering elbows Lucas and goes for a slam, but Lucas turns it into a cradle. Ellering makes the rope and Lucas goes back to being in peril.

-Hassan drops an axehandle, and another legdrop gets two. Ellering comes back in, but Lucas has enough energy left to wallop him with one last punch, then makes the hot tag to Valiant. Four-man melee breaks out, and while the referee tries to break it up, Jimmy Hart’s cane makes it in the ring. Valiant gets KOed, and Ellering gets the winning pin. WITH TV TIME STILL REMAINING! WE’RE GONNA HAVE A SECOND FALL! HOLY SHIT!

FALL TWO: Valiant has regained consciousness during the commercial break and he has a fresh supply of piss and vinegar. Heels stall, but Valiant finally slingshots Ellering in the ring to start the match. Ellering wants to be anywhere else and tags Hassan in. Hassan gets knocked around and the heels are a little blindsided by how energetic Jimmy Valiant is after that blow. Blow generally caused energy for lots of wrestlers in the 1980s so it shouldn’t be that shocking.

-Lucas tags in and hammers Hassan until Hassan pops him in the balls. He tags Handsome Jimmy back in. Jimmy avoids a blind charge but Jimmy Hart slips a quick shot with the cane. Valiant exits the ring to go after him, leaving Lucas alone in the ring. Hart blasts Valiant in the eye with some kind of sinister green substance, and Valiant is blind. The referee sees it and calls for the DQ, which ties the match but there’s only five minutes left in the show and Valiant is blind, and a tie favors the champions, so they essentially just won the match by getting themselves disqualified. Crafty.

7.1

The final score: review Good

The 411

You know the great thing about blasting a shit-ton of ink into your opponent's face? There's room for error if your aim is off.