wrestling / Video Reviews
Mid-South Wrestling (1.18.1986) Review
Image Credit: WWE/Peacock
Loading...-Cold open: Another look at the finish of the North American Title match.
-Originally aired January 18, 1986.
-Your hosts are Jim Ross & Joel Watts.
-We start off with highlights of a house show in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Secretary of State, William McCuen, gives a special award for their work with handicapped children in the state of Arkansas. A quick Google search determines that this is pretty much the only noble thing that Secretary McKuen ever did while he was in office, and he died while on parole in the middle of a 17-year prison sentence.
-Jim Ross is with Dick Slater & Dark Journey. Dick Slater says he laid down the law to Grizzly Smith, making him the only person to do so, and he is NOT dropping out of the TV Title tournament. He’s here to the very end, and if he wins the finals, he’s not copping to tradition and surrendering one of the belts, he’ll defend both of them.
TV TITLE TOURNAMENT FINALS: JAKE “The Snake” ROBERTS vs. DICK SLATER (North American Champion, with Dark Journey)
-Slater attacks from behind and throws Jake out to the concrete. Dick tries to finish quickly with a handful of tights, or pants, or pajamas, or whatever the hell Jake wears, for a two-count. Neckbreaker by Slater gets two.
-Jake wakes up and gets an atomic drop out of nowhere. Slater fights back and goes for a suplex, but Jake deadweights, keeps his feet on the mat, and DDTs Slater for the three-count to capture the TV Title, and the crowd goes nuts. I will say, I appreciate that they have better audio on the crowd in the new venue. You only got a little bit of it in Irish McNeil.
“Mad Dog” BUZZ SAWYER vs. STEVE DOLL
-This has got to be some kind of record for longevity for Sawyer post-Georgia. Powerslam off the top rope gets an easy victory, but he gets greedy and keeps beating up this poor youngster until Butch Reed makes the save. They stare each other down until Dick Murdoch shows up and knocks Reed out to the floor, and in a rather familiar incident, he gives Reed a brainbuster on the floor and takes off. And I knew this day was coming, but guess what? That’s actually it for Butch Reed in Mid-South…
“Hot Stuff” EDDIE GILBERT (with Oliver Humperdink) vs. TOMMY WRIGHT
-Wright holds his own, flustering Gilbert, and he actually gets a near-fall with a Thesz press. Gilbert panics and goes straight to the Hot Shot to end this before the youngster can go any further.
TERRY TAYLOR vs. HUMUNGOUS (with Terry Taylor)
-Hmm, this match has a “one of these guys is finishing up” odor to it.
-Taylor tries a lock-up, doesn’t work. Tries a right hand, hurt himself on the helmet. Humungous chokes him out. Taylor tries an elbow to the head, but he hurts himself again. Humungous drops the leg and tries to finish, but Taylor pokes him in the eyes. Humperdink tries to interfere, but Humungous knocks his manager off the apron, and the five-arm puts Humungous away cleanly before we can get some kind of anatomy lesson to explain why a punch and an elbow can’t penetrate a hockey mask, but a forearm can.
RICKY GIBSON, BRETT WAYNE SAWYER, & AL PEREZ vs. BROADWAY JOE MALCOLM, J.R. HOGG, & THE NIGHTMARE
-Holy crap, speaking of guys finishing up, Nightmare sure fell from North American Champion, didn’t he?
-Everybody switches off in varying combinations to get their stuff in. Perez slams Hogg to the utter shock of the crowd. Gibson tags in and Hogg gets some token offense. Nightmare tags in and drops an elbow for two. Donnybrook breaks out and Perez manages to get a German suplex on the massive Hogg for a three-count.
TED DIBIASE vs. GUSTAVO MENDOZA
-One nice detail here: DiBiase still has the suspicious glove. I always like it when guys turn face but they still have just a SMIDGE of heel to them.
-Hiptoss and a dropkick by DiBiase…am I dreaming or did DiBiase absolutely never throw a dropkick in the WWF?
-Side headlock by DiBiase while the commentators announce that the Fabulous Ones are on their way to Mid-South, and Joel hints that he’s made a music video, which is probably going to include some shot of them taking an extremely manly bubble bath together and it didn’t occur to anyone in 1986 how it would look.
-Figure four applied by DiBiase, but Murdoch hits the ring for the DQ. DiBiase is up for a fight, but Murdoch’s good friend The Masked Superstar arrives, but DiBiase has a good friend too, and here’s Steve Williams. We have a brawl but we are DESPERATELY OUT OF TIME, by which I mean we cut away from the brawl to watch the music video, which turns out to be pretty good.
