wrestling / Video Reviews
Mid-South Wrestling (4.23.1983) Review
Image Credit: WWE/Peacock
Loading...-We open with the local station promo. Really interesting one too, with match footage shot at a TV taping from a hard camera set-up that I’ve never seen before. It’s like they had one camera set up specifically for shooting local promos.
-Originally aired April 23, 1983.
-Your hosts are Boyd Pierce and Bill Watts. Bill Watts promises us that after six damn weeks, we really seriously no-fooling will have a midget match this week.
-We go back to last week, when Skandar Akbar’s tag team, managed by Skandar Akbar, won the Mid-South Tag Team Title under the tutelage of Skandar Akbar.
MR. OLYMPIA (with Ted DiBiase and Skandar Akbar) vs. MIKE JACKSON
-They’re miking the crowd better now, which is one of the only real knocks I had about the way this show was produced. For the longest time, unless the JYD was in the ring, it sounded like they were in a total void, even when you could see the fans reacting.
-Jackson gets his token offense but misses a bodypress. Press slam by Olympia, followed by a backbreaker. Watts talks about Hacksaw’s refusal to do business with Akbar and says he’s impressed that, even though Hacksaw is a Rat Pack guy to his core, he has some sort of principles. Piledriver by Olympia, and the sleeper is academic for Mr. Olympia.
HACKSAW BUTCH REED vs. TONY ZANE
-Boyd Pierce notes that Reed and Zane have similar physiques, answering the question of whether or not the Mid-South Wrestling commentators had a monitor to work with. Zane tries a full nelson right away and muscles out of it. Dropkick and a snapmare by Reed, and Zane gets out of there to recuperate. Watts says that Reed came to Mid-South because he wants the opportunities and recognition that his friend Junkyard Dog is getting, so Butch Reed is turning heel at some point.
-Chinlock by Reed. Zane hammers out but Reed hammers back and throws another dropkick. Reed throws punches, hands, soupbones, and 30 other euphemisms for punches. Flying tackle by Reed gets the three count.
TIGER CONWAY JR. vs. FRANK LAVERT
-Whip and flip by Conway. Armdrag by Conway into a side headlock. Watts notes that LaVert “is not able to get a handle on Conway,” which is Wattsese for “This jobber SUCKS.” Forearm off the second rope by Conway, and a Frankensteiner that LaVert could barely get off the ground for finishes.
MR. WRESTLING II vs. BLACK NINJA (with Skandar Akbar)
-Side headlock by II. Ninja takes a yank at the mask and II slugs him right in the gut. Ninja has a funny “I shouldn’t have done that” reaction to that, too. Ninja starts throwing chops, but gets greedy and takes another tug at the mask, and II just goes nuts on him with punches, and Ninja is dazed. He tries to get away from II at one point and II just yanks him down and holds on for dear life with a front facelock.
-Ninja throws kicks, but II fires back with “American ingenuity” (punches). Hard kick by Ninja gets two and Akbar goes up to the apron for no reason. Ninja goes for a backdrop, but II counters it with a kneelift, then brings Akbar in and kneelifts him. Kamala runs to the ring and II is like “You want some of this?!” and kneelifts him too. II heads over to Ninja’s prone body to pin him, but Kamala heads back in to break the pin with a splash. II gets out of the way and Kamala splashes Ninja. Kamala gets to his feet and II kneelifts Kamala three times and knocks him out to the floor. Ninja gets to his feet and II kneelifts him twice, and since all of the attempted interference has failed, the referee hasn’t bothered calling for the bell, so II goes for the pin and gets the three-count. Kamala tries to attack after the bell and now Tiger Conway hits the ring and dropkicks him over the top rope! Good little match with a great finish.
-Even Bill Watts acknowledges that he’s been touting this match for a ridiculously long time and it’s overdue.
LONE EAGLE & COWBOY LANG vs. IVAN THE TERRIBLE & LITTLE TOKYO
-Referee is officiating the match on his knees, so you know zaniness is about to ensue. Ivan goes for an atomic drop, but Eagle hangs onto him for a side headlock. Tokyo runs in and Eagle turns the hold into double flying headscissors.
-Everybody tags and Lang goes for a criss-cross, but Tokyo just stands in place and watches, then laughs at Lang when he notices. Lang throws a dropkick and Tokyo sells it like Greg Valentine. Heels are arguing with the referee a lot as Lang applies an arm wringer. Tokyo grabs for the rope and the referee does the NWA rope-kicking spot, but Tokyo releases his arm before he throws the kick, so the referee kicks at air and does a flying bump. Womp womp!
-Heels work over Lang in their corner, but he escapes and tags. Referee gets steamrolled by all four guys during a pinfall-reversal sequence. Finish is bungled as Tokyo tries to slingshot Eagle into a backdrop by his partner, and Eagle lands in the general vicinity of Ivan’s body and Ivan happens to fall over near where Eagle is and gets pinned by him. Eh. Referee looked like he was having fun being a stooge in there.
KING KONG BUNDY vs. RANDY BARBER
-Bundy hammers away on Barber. Avalanche, slam, and the big splash for five.
WILD BILL IRWIN & RIP ROGERS vs. ART CREWS & TIM HORNER
-Horner and Rogers criss-cross and Bill Watts announces a change in policy. No more stopping the match at TV time. If the show ends in mid-match, they’ll finish it anyway for the fans in attendance.
-Horner applies side headlocks on both opponents. Irwin wears really odd-looking boots that I think are supposed to look like something cowboys used to wear, but they look like something a stripper would use in her act. Crews dropkicks Irwin, but Irwin gets out of the way and pounds him down. Crews tags out and Horner tries to clean house, but Irwin is just like “the hell with this” and tags out. TV time runs out as Horner trades punches with Rogers. I don’t really get Irwin, they welcomed him back as this guy who started in Mid-South as a jobber and supposedly went off to become a star, and now that he’s back, he’s still just a jobber.
