wrestling / Video Reviews
Memphis Wrestling (9.24.1983) Review
Image Credit: Memphis Wrestling
Loading...-Originally aired September 24, 1983.
-Your hosts are Lance Russell & Dave Brown.
ROCK & ROLL EXPRESS vs. THE GALAXIAN & JESSE OWENS
-Galaxian throws punches as Ricky Morton. Morton tries a Thesz press but Galaxian actually catches him in the move and slams him. Morton fights back and tags in Robert. Galaxian manages to get Robert in the heel corner and tags in Owens, but Owens ends up in a backbreaker as a fan in the audience delights her friends by flipping off the camera. I bet they talked about that for months afterward, too.
-Express works over the leg of Owens, who escapes and tags in Galaxian. Galaxian rakes the eyes but gets backdropped. Owens tags back in and the leg work pays off, as Morton gets him on the mat, applies a toehold, and bridges with it for the three-count. Actually a good bit of business for a jobber match.
-A Fabulous Ones music video set to “Sharp Dressed Man.” The men get dressed for an evening on the town. Hidden highlight: the shots of them getting dressed establish that yes, they just wear their wrestling tights instead of underwear. The cute story here is that three women see them in blue jeans and completely blow them off, but they put on sparkly top hats and tuxedos and the ladies get humpy.
-The Fabulous Ones stroll out there with the gigantic trophy symbolizing the CWA World Tag Team Title. Ever thought about what a colossal pain in the ass it would be to travel with a giant trophy instead of belts? I bet they hated that part. Anyway, they gave 100%, fans behind them, etc.
-Lance welcomes Dutch Mantell & Koko Ware, who have won the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles from the Grapplers. In terms of hierarchy and prestige, would the CWA World Tag Team Title (a world title from a sub-group) be more important, or the AWA Southern Tag Team Title (a regional title from the big group)? They’re an odd couple, but they made Jimmy Hart’s boys look bad.
DUTCH MANTELL & KOKO WARE (AWA Southern Tag Team Champions) vs. DON DONOVAN & PAT HUTCHINSON
-Dutch works the arm on the Hutchster, Koko tags in and applies a wristlock. Oh yeah, they’re a real odd couple, all right. Donovan, who in my headcanon, was trained by Pat Patterson in the same class as Rad Radford, gets clothelined by Man Mantel. Splash off the turnbuckles by Koko gets the win. They celebrate with a jumping high-five, which is a bit out of character for Dutch.
-Off to the Mid-South Coliseum, where Jimmy Hart is about to interfere during Jerry Lawler’s match with Jesse Ventura, which will give Jesse the win. Lance suspects chicanery is a foot because “Jesse is diddling with his tights.” I AM A WIZARD. Jesse wins.
-Next, Austin Idol puts the International Heavyweight Championship on the line against Stan Hansen. A rare spot for the period. They do a fancy light display for Idol’s entrance, and Stan is so dazzled by the light display that he doesn’t see Idol sneaking in the ring in almost total darkness for a surprise attack. Later in the match, Hansen is going to town on Idol’s leg, so Jerry Lawler comes to his buddy’s aid, which brings out Jesse Ventura, and Idol grabs a chair and it’s a big crazy brawl to close the show.
-And so naturally, that means we have a tag team match this Monday night at…Cook Convention Center? Oh…okay.
-We get pre-recorded rebuttals from Jesse and Stan. Jesse is taking over Jerry’s local talk show because the station management was so impressed with how he manhandled Lawler. He brings in a new ally, Stan Hansen, who’s going to help Jesse fend off Jerry Lawler and Austin Idol. Hansen engages in some wonderful heel hypocrisy here, mocking Lawler for hanging out with a “frilly” guy like Austin Idol while Jesse Ventura stands right net to him wearing a beret and boa.
-The Assassins are out here, demanding that the fans’ signs in the audience should be confiscated because their feelings are hurt, which would be a shoot if a heel demanded that today. Jimmy Hart and Jim Cornette demand satisfaction. The Jimmys offer to put up $5,000 for a return match with the Fabulous Ones and even volunteer to make it a six-man tag with Jimmy Hart as the partner.
THE ASSASSINS (with Jimmy Hart & Jim Cornette) vs. KEN RAPER & ROCKY KING
-Assassins beat the hell out of both jobbers and dump them to the floor, and it’s actually taking me a second to process that, wow, Rocky King jobbed in THIS promotion too? Slingshot splash from the apron by #1 finishes this one with ease.
-We get a highlight reel of Stan Hansen in Japan, with clips of Hansen beating on Terry Funk and Giant Baba.
BRUISE BROTHERS & DENNIS CONDREY vs. MAD DOG BOYD, JIM JAMISON, & KEITH ERIC
-This doesn’t seem to bode well for Boyd in this promotion. Dream Machine elbows him down while Jimmy Hart gloats about how far the former First Family member has fallen.
-Everybody tags and Pork Chop Cash works over Jamison. Condrey whips him into the corner and demands a tag. Condrey with a snap suplex. Bruise Brothers hold Eric on their shoulders and Condrey drives an elbow into him from the turnbuckles to get the pin. Brothers continue causing havoc until Big Red, Plowboy Frasier, Bill Dundee, and Tom Prichard rush to the ring.
EXPIRATION OF TIME: STAN FRAZIER, BIG RED, TOM PRICHARD, & SUPERSTAR BILL DUNDEE vs. BIG LOU WINSTON, THE GALAXIAN, THE DESTROYER, & THE PINK PANTHER
-A reader asked me why I always say “Fall One” in these reviews because they’re always one fall, and it occurred to me that I’ve been recapping the Memphis shows long enough that we’ve drifted a far way from the time when they introduced the concept. So to recap, the idea of the Expiration of Time match in Memphis is that there’s no set number of falls. The guys wrestle as much as TV time will allow, and they can theoretically have multiple falls, with the highest score being deemed the winner when TV time expires. The problem is Memphis never really used this idea to full effect, so it was really usually just guys running out the clock and rarely doing more than one fall. I think they missed out on some fun angles and possibilities by not putting more thought into these.
FALL ONE: Prichard hammers the Galaxian and hiptosses him across the ring. Destroyer tags in and takes a beating from Dundee and Frazier. Winston tags in, eats a dropkick. Panther tags in, takes his beating, and there’s just no flow at all to this match, it’s really just everybody hurrying to get their stuff in before they get the signal. Legdrop by Frazier on the Panther, and Big Red finishes with the Holy Ghost (a splash) for the pin.
