wrestling / TV Reports
Memphis Wrestling (6.6.1981) Review
Image Credit: Memphis Wrestling
Loading...-Originally aired June 6, 1981.
-Your hosts are Lance Russell & Dave Brown.
-Lance Russell confronts Kevin Sullivan about his questionable choice of opponents since winning the TV Title. He stands by his previous assertion that he wants to foster young talent, and the only way to do that is to give TV Title shots to inexperienced rookies.
TV TITLE: KEVIN SULLIVAN (Champion, with Jimmy Hart) vs. TIM LEONARD
-Dutch Mantell comes out and has a seat at the commentary table, promising not to make trouble. Leonard throws a dropkick and goes for the pin immediately, getting a one-count. Leonard switches to a roll-up for another two. He simply wants to win this thing. Nothing else matters.
-Sullivan has some luck with striking blows, but Leonard surprises him with a backslide. Sullivan tries a bodyslam but Leonard turns it into a cradle. Sullivan is completely confused because Leonard isn’t trying to do anything except get a pin and Kevin doesn’t know how to counter that.
-With Sullivan kicking out over and over, Leonard tries to wear him down with a side headlock. They trade arm work and Leonard gets the advantage. Leonard goes back to the side headlock, but Sullivan backs him into the corner and wallops him with a punch. Back suplex by Sullivan gets three to retain, but overall the match was a disaster for him. But he and Jimmy celebrate anyway.
-Post-match, Dutch dares Sullivan to get back in there and defend it against an actual challenger. The way Sullivan sees it, losing a title moves Dutch to the bottom of the list and he has to wait until absolutely everybody else has had a chance. Dutch keeps pushing him and pushing him until Sullivan surprises everyone in the building by announcing, “Okay, fine, next week, I’ll defend the TV Title against Jerry Lawler!” And Dutch admits that he really doesn’t have anything to say back to that and says he’ll be here next week to watch Kevin defend his title against an actual opponent.
-Jimmy Hart is here to address the $1000 fine for Wayne Ferris’ interference. I feel like the original angle got bungled because now the gist of the angle is that “a masked man interfered” and we suspect it’s Wayne Ferris, when the actual match that this is built off of was one that Wayne was not only legally in as a participant, but he had his bare face visible through the whole thing. I bet the internet was all over them for screwing this up back in 1981.
-So anyway, Jimmy Hart either pays a $1000 fine or he brings out the guy who really did interfere instead of Wayne Ferris, and if Eddie Marlin isn’t convinced, it’s a $2000 fine. So Jimmy Hart introduces his good friend The Destroyer, a silent man in a yellow mask who definitely has Wayne Ferris’ eyes and body type, but he’s clearly a different guy. Eddie Marlin, unable to prove he’s a different guy, just looks annoyed and announces that The Destroyer is suspended, which means Wayne Ferris is free to wrestle and doesn’t have to pay a fine.
-Roy Rogers comes out and says it’s obviously Wayne Ferris and dares him to put his mask on the line in a wrestling match right now. Destroyer takes the bait and climbs in the ring, and every babyface in the building instantly storms the ring and holds him to the mat. The mask gets ripped off, and yes, it’s Wayne Ferris, and Wayne is now suspended AND on the hook for $2000.
-Chic Donovan is here and cuts this weird “Ken Patera doing an impression of Bing Crosby” promo, and YES he needs a manager.
CHIC DONOVAN vs. CHIEF THUNDER CLOUD
-Chic works the arm. Thunder Cloud flips him over. Chic tries a side headlock and uses the hair to get him on the mat. Donovan throws a Wattskick, and the figure four gets the submission.
-Off to the Louisville Gardens. It’s Bill Dundee & Dream Machine against Kevin Sullivan & Wayne Ferris. Pier sixer erupts and Jimmy Hart runs in and goes nutzo on the faces with his cane. But Jerry Lawler comes to the rescue and gets the cane. That brings out the Nightmares to give the heels the advantage again. The brawl spills into the decidedly unsold-out stands They brawl all over the empty section of seats, which is a cool visual on the one hand, but on the other hand, if I was a promoter, I would never, ever air anything with this many empty seats visible. It’s three full sections and it’s a BAD look.
EXPIRATION OF TIME: THE NIGHTMARES (with Jimmy Hart) vs. ROY ROGERS & KOKO WARE
-Wayne Ferris, who’s now suspended, gets in the ring. Jimmy Hart explains that one of the Nightmares has the flu, and gosh, he hates to do this, but Wayne Ferris HAS to take his place, even though he’s supposed to be suspended.
-So Dream Machine arrives and says something to Roy Rogers, and all of a sudden, Roy Rogers suffers from a serious stomach cramp and decides he has to sit this match out, so Dream Machine will take over for him.
-Back from the break, Jimmy Hart is so mad about having his bluff called that Wayne Ferris is gone, and it’s going to be the two teams who were originally announced.
-FALL ONE: Commentators bust on #1 for his miraculous recovery. The Nightmares trade off on Roy Rogers and fare pretty well with him. Double legdrop gets only two, and Lance seems incredibly surprised at the kickout. Hot tag to Koko, who cleans house with the best dropkicks in the world. Jimmy trips Koko from the floor, and an elbow gives the Nightmares the fall and the win because, yup, we’re out of time, who could have predicted that.
