wrestling / Video Reviews
Mid-South Wrestling (2.12.1983) Review
Image Credit: WWE/Peacock
Loading...-Originally aired February 12, 1983.
-Your hosts are Boyd Pierce and Bill Watts. Boyd is finally having fun with his wardrobe again, this week wearing a suit that looks like uncut playing cards.
-Bill Watts announces that on March 21, a one-night tournament will be held in New Orleans to determine the new North American Champion. The close-up of the title belt is a riot, it COULDN’T have cost more than $100.
-Reeser Bowden is with Mr. Wrestling II, and we’re still trying to solve the mystery of the threatening letters. Did they just not have a resolution in mind for this when they pulled the trigger on it? Because this has been going on for a while now.
MR. WRESTLING II vs. MIKE BOND
-Bond comes out swinging right away with punches and kicks. II ties him down with a front facelock. II probably should have switched to a singlet around this time. Bond snapmares him and goes for the mask, and Watts can’t believe the jobber would do something that stupid, and sure enough II gets good and mad and knocks him right out with a kneelift to win.
-Hacksaw Duggan announces that he’s entering the tournament for the North American Title because the Louisiana Title isn’t quite enough for a man as dominant as him. He also demands that Paul Boesch bring back the Brass Knuckles Title in Houston because he wants a shot at that one too.
HACKSAW DUGGAN (Louisiana Champion) vs. ART CREWS
-Crews sneaks up on Duggan and rolls him up right away. Duggan kicks out and Crews applies a waistlock to fluster Duggan. Duggan connects with an elbow right between the eyes to take control. Duggan with an aggressive chinlock as Bill Watts lays out an MO for Duggan, saying he got embarrassed by a loss to up-and-coming Chavo Guerrero and he’s been extra ornery since that happened because now he feels like he has something to prove.
-Crews fights back with forearms and hiptosses. Slam by Duggan as Bill Watts explains why the jobber matches are important, because the Junkyard Dog used to compete in Mid-South under a different name and had “the longest losing streak in Mid-South history” until he finally learned enough about wrestling and put it together.
IRON MIKE SHARPE vs. KELLY KINISKI
-Flying headscissors by Iron Mike, which is a crazy visual. Great spot as he keeps the scissors applied on the mat and uses them to prop Kiniski onto his head and then lifts and drops him for a mini-piledriver. Kiniski’s dazed, but he shakes it off and gives Sharpe a backbreaker as Watts tells us that Kiniski’s dad used to be an NWA Champion, but “your dad can’t win matches for you,” so Kelly still has a ladder to climb. Bill gets a little criticism for over-explaining stuff, but I love how nuanced he is about stuff like this. It’s not believable for a rookie to come out and just start kicking asses, no matter who his dad is.
-Kiniski with a chinlock on the Iron one. Sharpe fights out and puts him away with a hard clothesline.
JOE STARK & BUDDY LANDELL vs. SONNY ROGERS & TOM RENESTO, JR.
-Odd match, with Boyd Pierce explaining that the winners of the match will have a chance to face “more experienced” competition later.
-Rogers and Stark go to the mat while Boyd calls the kettle black by busting on Rogers’ colorful tights. Landell tags in and throws dropkicks, and it’s pretty clear from the commentary that he’s the budding star that Watts has his eye on. He works Renesto’s arm, but Renesto punches out, and he and Rogers use quick tags and cut the ring in half pretty well until Landell gets an opening and tags out. All four men end up in the ring and Stark slams Renesto. Rogers bungles breaking the pin and comes off the top rope, landing on his own partner, and Stark gets the pin while Landell clears Rogers from the ring. That was the team I was expecting but not the wrestler I was expecting. Stark’s not even listed on Cagematch.
TAG TEAM TITLE: RAT PACK (Champions) vs. “Mr. USA” TONY ATLAS & ANDRE THE GIANT
-Atlas and Borne start, but Andre tags in behind Borne’s back and stars flinging both opponents around the ring. DiBiase sells a headbutt with his backward roll and flip that probably didn’t help his neck in hindsight. Andre tags Atlas back in because they need someone to be in peril for a while. Borne ties him in a front facelock. Andre makes it back in and cleans house some more. Atlas heads back in with a suplex. Atlas ducks a punch and Borne accidentally sends the referee out to the floor. Hacksaw Duggan shows up and sends Atlas out to the floor with a spear, which leaves Andre alone with three men. DiBiase loads up his glove and whacks Andre with it…but it only kind of dazes Andre, and he applies a bearhug on DiBiase and Borne simultaneously.
-Skandar Akbar and Kamala show up next and Kamala whacks Andre with a 2×4 hard enough for him to break the hold. Kamala connects with another shot and Andre’;s bleeding…and then Kamala slams bloody Andre! Holy damn! II and JYD come to the ring, and the heels finally decide to get out of the town, but Andre can’t even stand up because he’s so beaten up at this point.
JUNKYARD DOG vs. MARTY LUNDE
-JYD headbutts Lunde and applies a chinlock. He chokes Lunde out while Boyd Piece points out the loud “Go Dog Go!” chant from the crowd. I’ll take his word for it because like many territories, it took Mid-South an impossibly long time to figure out you should mike the crowd. Clothesline finishes instead of a Thump, just to change things up a little this week.
-Watts talks to Andre, who’s still bleeding all over the place, and Andre basically threatens to kick Watts’ ass unless he gets a match with Kamala. Watts promises he’ll do what he can, and Andre kicks over a stack of folding chairs in frustration and storms off.
TIM HORNER vs. DON BASS
-Horner ducks a clothesline and catches Bass in a series of flying headscissors. He works the arm until Bass manages to whip him into the turnbuckles to daze him. Horner goes for a backdrop and it gets scary as Bass can BARELY get in the air for it, but they pull it off. Thesz press finishes for Horner right as TV time runs out.
