wrestling / Video Reviews
Mid-South Power Pro Wrestling (1.19.1986) Review
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-Originally aired January 19, 1986.
-Your host is Jim Ross.
-We recap the key moments from this past week on Mid-South Wrestling–Jake Roberts is the new TV Champion, Dick Murdoch busts Butch Reed’s brain so hard that he leaves the promotion forever, Terry Taylor defeats Humungous to wrap up the big man’s run in the company, and Ted DiBiase & Dick Murdoch get into a fistfight until the Masked Superstar shows up.
“Mr. Unpredictable” DICK SLATER (with Dark Journey) vs. STEVE DOLL
-Flashing back a whole 2 1/2 months to early November for this segment.
-But first, here’s Hacksaw Butch Reed to rip Dark Journey a new one for hanging out with a white man. So this is happening. He knows Dick Slater has $25,000 from Ric Flair, so he turns his back and offers Slater a free shot if he has the guts. Slater looks unnerved by the intensity on display, and probably also the racism. He insists that he gave Ric Flair his money back because he didn’t want to be involved in such a sketchy deal. This is huge if true, because that would mean that at some point in Ric Flair’s 50-year career, he saved $25,000.
-Reed leaves and Slater beats down Doll right quick, and a Samoan drop gets three.
THE FABULOUS ONES (Southern Tag Team Champions) vs. PHIL ROSE & THE SPOILER
-Strange choice of a match, because it’s from Memphis and the Fabulous Ones, who are getting a heel push in Mid-South, are super-duper babyfaces here. The Spoiler is NOT Don Jardine, we can say that for sure.
-Steve Kiern takes on both jobbers by himself as a non-stop “Go Steve Go” chant from the studio audience is your soundtrack for this match. Double elbow on Rose gets the three-count as a heel manager whom I have not been introduced to yet comes out to complain about them.
BOB SWEETAN vs. BUZZ SAWYER
-Again, going pretty far back into the video archives for this match, which is a TEXTBOOK “big meaty men slapping meat” match on paper.
-They slug it out to start before going to the corner and trading chops, so we’re already getting incredibly literal about slapping that meat. Sawyer gets Sweetan on the mat and applies a chinlock. Sweetan gets back to his feet, but Sawyer surprises everyone by just powerslamming him out of nowhere for a clean three. Weird, it was just getting going.
HACKSAW JIM DUGGAN & “Dr. Death” STEVE WILLIAMS vs. ONE MAN GANG & KING KONG BUNDY
-Now THIS is gonna be some damn meat slapping! We’re flashing back to 1983 in Houston for this one, and King Kong Bundy is main-eventing in the WWF at this point as the show airs, if you need a hint about the outcome of this match.
-Katy’s door is thoroughly unbarred as all four men trade punches at the very start. Williams and Bundy lock up while Joel Watts speculates that Bundy is actually at a disadvantage because he doesn’t have the work ethic of his opponents. Williams tackles Bundy and Bundy shows some really unexpected agility in his sell of it, throwing a high-jumping tantrum after he bounces up from the mat.
-Williams sticks with the tackles because they’re working, and Bundy gets out of there as soon as he tumbles back into his corner. We come back from commercial with One Man Gang putting up his dukes against Duggan, and Duggan is game for that, slugging Gang down and snapmaring him into a chinlock. Yes, a guy that size took a snapmare. Gang is a pretty underrated big man.
-Bundy tags back in and they trade punches, with Duggan easily winning that battle again and leaving Bundy dazed. Williams tags in and Bundy pounds him down to take control. Fat guys overwhelm him, but Gang goes for the kill and Williams kicks out so hard that Gang lands on top of the referee. We get a NICE version of a ref bump for this, with Rick Ferrera only sorta-kinda dazed by it, but while he shakes the cobwebs off, the heels double-team Williams until Ferrera has recovered. You see, it doesn’t have to be a coma that magically ends the moment the heel uses a weapon. This was short and sweet, the referee was out of it for ten seconds and the heels just took full advantage of that ten seconds.
-Slam and an elbow by Bundy for the two-count. Bundy goes for the corner splash, but Doc moves, Bundy crashes and tags out in a hurry. Gang maintains control until the hot tag is finally made. Duggan dominates until he misses a corner charge. Dr. Death tags in and gets stuck fighting both men until Duggan comes in to save his partner. One Man Gang gets wiped out by something off-camera. Doc manages to get Bundy in the air and Stampedes him.
-But it turns out there’s confusion about who the legal man is, and it turns out the referee has figured out that it’s not Bundy, so he won’t count the pin. One Man Gang takes advantage of the confusion with a surprise attack and hoists Williams in the air, but Duggan spears Gang, so he collapses and Williams lands on top for three. Bill Watts got guys to deliver.
