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Mid-South Wrestling (11.23.1985) Review

February 24, 2023 | Posted by Adam Nedeff
Mid-South Wrestling 12-29-84 Hacksaw Jim Duggan Image Credit: WWE
7.9
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Mid-South Wrestling (11.23.1985) Review  

-Originally aired November 23, 1985.

-We open the show with a breaking news bulletin. The Nightmare & Eddie Gilbert have defeated Wendell Cooley & Al Perez for the Tag Team Championship, due to a combination of nefarious tactics and Cooley & Perez’s completely ridiculous pants. I mean, really. Pants. How could they hope to win? And I love how our first glimpse of these guys in the humiliating outfits that they were forced to wear is them losing the belts, so they can’t look cool by overcoming it. Oh, and also, one of the people who caused them to have to switch their look to less practical gear turned babyface last week, so they’re never getting revenge.

-UPDATE: The TV Title brackets were drawn up and we were all set to start the tournament this week, but Dick Murdoch was one of the entrants in the tournament and he’s suspended. Ted DiBiase was also an entrant and his career is FINISHED as of last week.

-Also, last week was one of the goriest matches that we’ve ever eyewitnessed, but Bill Watts stands by it because we’re a wrestling show, we air wrestling matches, and that’s what happens. It’s the same as Joe Theissman shattering his leg on live TV.

-With that, we get an update by phone from Ted DiBiase, who is thankful to be alive, but he has severe injuries and he doesn’t want to die in the ring like his dad, so he’s elected to retire.

-Also, Ric Flair & Dick Slater have both been fined $5,000 for their roles in injuring Butch Reed.

DICK SLATER & BUZZ SAWYER vs. MARK HAWK & BOB WAYNE
-Dark Journey is not at ringside, and they speculate that Dark Journey is being protected by Slater because they know that Hacksaw Jim Duggan’s Girlfriend is in attendance. And she STILL doesn’t have a damn name! It’s ridiculous to hear them calling her “Hacksaw Jim Duggan’s girlfriend” over and over and over again.

-Anyway, the heels beat on Wayne, who wears a tank top as part of his gear, a classic “nothing will come of me” look for jobbers. Sawyer rubs his face in the mat and put him down with something like a Hart Attack. Second-rope elbow by Slater gets the win. Undisputed highlight of the match: Bill Watts punctuating his recap of the angle by suddenly doing an impression of Butch Reed saying the word “heffer.”

JAKE “The Snake” ROBERTS vs. RICKY STARR
-Jake brings his hockey mask to the ring again, but hangs it on the post as a good-luck charm instead of wearing it. Oh, FYI, a lot of wrestlers over at TITAN SPORTS in New York have started doing the DDT lately, but have you noticed that none of them do it as well as Jake?

-Jake dismantles Starr as Watts goes into Public Service Announcement mode and describes various ways that kids can be maimed by the DDT if they don’t know what they’re doing. DDT by a trained professional gets the three-count.

-We get exclusive footage of a locker room brawl between Jim Duggan and Dick Slater. Watts thinks that something will have to give sooner or later, because these men ask no quarter and give none.

THE HACKSAWS vs. “Dr. Death” STEVE WILLIAMS & ROB RICKSTEINER
-This is kind of confusing because Williams seemed to turn face last week as collateral damage from DiBiase’s drama. This is, obviously, Rob Ricksteiner’s first appearance in the company, and it’s amazing how BUILT he is here. His brother went on to be the body guy of the team obviously but Rob is ripped to shreds here.

-Duggan and Reed take turns teeing off on Ricksteiner while Watts puts over Ricksteiner’s college background. Williams tags in and gets an edge, but he misses a second-rope splash and Duggan cleans house. All four men hit the ring, and a double-spear on Ricksteiner gets the three-count. Also, Bill Watts drops in some info that explains the odd booking in the tag team scene: Wendell Cooley very abruptly departed from the territory after losing the Tag Team Championship; however, Al Perez is still on the roster, and in accordance with contractual obligations, he will continue wearing the Silly Pants of Failure for the remainder of the 30 days.

RICKY GIBSON vs. BROADWAY JOE MALCOLM

-Drop toehold, followed by a waistlock takedown while Watts announces that a Junior Heavyweight Title tournament will be established soon because Mid-South is the territory to restore the prestige that Danny Hodge gave that championship.

-Gibson continues with mat wrestling but you know what? Bill Watts has some stuff he wants to get off his chest about TITAN SPORTS, which isn’t wrestling, but rather showbiz. If you want showbiz, fine, but if you want ACTION involving ATHLETES, you need to watch Mid-South Wrestling. Dropkick by Gibson, and a stepover toehold roll-up gets the three-count.

BRUISE BROTHERS vs. LARRY CLARKE & PAUL BROWN

-Let’s get ready to Cosby! I just love that this is the stock music that they landed on for these guys. Chyron guy names him “Pork Chops Cash,” and I have no room whatsoever to shit on people’s typos, but it’s wild to me how completely different the name sounds when you pluralize it. It’s one letter and somehow the name is a thousand times worse for it.

-Mad Dog Boyd pounds away at the jobbers while Bill Watts remarks that he can’t understand half of what they say in their house show promos. Splash gets an easy win. Bill Watts says he likes the way they shuck and jive.

-Oliver Humperdink is here with Eddie Gilbert & Nightmare. Bill Watts wants to know why we haven’t declared a winner in the contest, AND why Gilbert keeps changing the rules, which would seemingly delay the giveaway. Eddie makes a flimsy excuse and Bill Watts isn’t having it. Eddie is now obligated to announce a winner two weeks from now.

And unfortunately, that’s where the Network version of the episode ends, and that’s too bad because there’s actually a payoff to Bill Watts’ anti-Titan Sports ranting this week. Hey everybody, have you noticed that when guys use chairs as weapons in TITAN SPORTS, it’s a wooden chair that breaks cleanly? That’s because the chair is gimmicked! In Mid-South Wrestling, guys injure each other for real, and to prove it, we close the show with a special montage of guys getting legit hurt from blown spots in matches, including the spots that led Snowman and jobber Tim Ashley to quit wrestling, according to Joel Watts’ narration. Wow! I wonder if I should try this at home!

7.9
The final score: review Good
The 411
And while we're at it, I hear that the catering at TITAN SPORTS is supposed to serve their 1968 Chateau Le Blanc slightly chilled, but instead they serve it at room temperature!
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Mid-South Wrestling, Adam Nedeff