wrestling / Video Reviews
Memphis Wrestling (9.5.1981) Review
Image Credit: Memphis Wrestling
Loading...-Originally aired September 5, 1981.
-Your hosts are Lance Russell and Dave Brown.
-A music video set recapping the Jerry Lawler/Jimmy Hart feud. Cute, as the song is initially “Great Balls of Fire” and it’s clips of Jimmy Hart actually getting the better of Lawler over and over again. Then the music switches to “Good Night Sweetheart” and Lawler is now dominating in the clips.
TV TITLE TOURNAMENT: BUGSY MCGRAW (with Chic Donovan) vs. DAVID PRICE
-Bugsy pounds down Price and beats on his chest and screams to celebrate. Weird to see big goofball McGraw as a heel, which I know he was for much of his career. I enjoyed the hell out of his comedy babyface run in JCP and I’m surprised that he didn’t have a much longer run doing opening-match crowd pleasers.
-Elbow drop by McGraw gets the win and advances in the tournament for a chance at the title that still doesn’t have a physical belt.
-We go to the Mid-South Coliseum to watch the Nightmares battling Koko Ware and Roy Rogers. Pier sixer breaks out and Koko gets distracted by Jimmy Hart while the referee is trying to separate everyone else. Nightmare loads up a mask, headbutts Koko cold, and gets the pin. Post-match, the Gibsons show up wanting a fight and they get one.
-Ricky Morton & Eddie Gilbert are here. They’ve had tremendous success as tag team partners lately and they’re in it together for the long haul, pledges Eddie. Well, don’t look too far ahead on that calendar, Eddie.
RICKY MORTON & EDDIE GILBERT vs. THE HEARTBREAKERS (with Chic Donovan)
-Morton & Gilbert work over Ricky Sartor’s arm. Joseph Cagle tags in and gets pinballed between Rock & Stuff. Sartor tags back in and runs into a dropkick.
-Gilbert gets Cagle on the mat and applies side headlock. Cagle gets free and they exchange a nice sequence of moves that ends with Gilbert getting right back to where he was and applying the side headlock.
-Heels finally get control in a meaningful way, getting Eddie into their corner and working him over. Hot tag to Ricky Morton, who cleans house, and a big kneelift gives Ricky the three-count. Match was fine, but neither team really stood out.
Back to Mid-South Coliseum, where Bugsy McGraw gets a screwy tainted win over Steve Keirn after Chic Donovan slips into the ring and beats Keirn over the head with a crutch.
KOKO WARE vs. DREAM MACHINE
-Koko takes Machine down, Machine gets back up and drives Dusty-style elbows and punches into Koko. I like to imagine Dream Machine’s father was a plumber who always wore a mask at work for no particular reason.
-Machine throws Koko to the concrete, then brings him back in and drops the leg for two. Powerslam by Dream finally puts Koko away. This was like a textbook 1989 WWF Koko match, where he got all of his stuff in before the heel just took over and finished him off.
EXPIRATION OF TIME: ROY ROGERS & GIBSON BROTHERS vs. MASA FUCHI, MR. ONITA, & TOJO YAMOMOTO
-FALL ONE: Babyfaces take turns teeing off on Onita, with Rick getting a two-count from a slam. Tojo tags in, which is a surprising amount of enthusiasm from a heel manager. Robert slams him down for two.
-Fuchi manages to work Roy Rogers’ leg for a moment before Roy manages to tag Robert Gibson back in. Roy Rogers tags back in and gets himself into trouble, with the heels taking turns chopping and choking him. Roy manages to throw a big chop to knock Tojo over. And the bell sounds moments later to close this one out.
