Mid-South Wrestling (6.16.1984) Review

-Originally aired June 16, 1984.

-Your hosts are Boyd Pierce and Jim Ross.

NORTH AMERICAN TITLE: MAGNUM T.A. (Champion) vs. KILLER KHAN
-We start off with a house show bout from Oklahoma City Myriad, and presumably this match aired on the OCM Cable Network like all of the house shows there. Khan has the edge early, driving a thumb into the skull from the second rope. TA fights back with punches straight into the throat.

-We jump ahead to a lacerated Magnum taking chops and boots right to the forehead wound from Khan. Khan bites the wound, and in hindsight it really is amazing how long that spot survived before everyone finally collectively decided it was a bad idea.

-TA throws more forearms to stay alive, but Khan just shakes it all off and chops him down. TA falls out to the floor, and bonus points to the camera for zooming in right on a concerned child who runs from his seat to get a better look. Back in, Khan goes for a backbreaker, but TA swings his legs to turn it into flying headscissors, which surprises the hell out of Khan, and before he knows what to do, Magnum follows it immediately with the belly-to-belly and pins Khan clean as a sheet. Good drama even in short form.

-WWE Network doesn’t want to pay for “My Way” so instead they dub in a “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” knockoff sung by a Frank Sinatra sound-alike, recapping Magnum’s feud with Mr. Wrestling II and his rise to the North American Title.

TERRY TAYLOR vs. BARRY ORTON
-Barry is from Las Vegas, but not “The Fabulous Las Vegas” so he’s still trying to find himself at this point. Ring announcer has evidently been spoken to since the last taping because he was trying to wing it last week and it just had the wrong tone. He’s much better this go-round.

-Taylor works the wrist, and unlike the WWF, Mid-South is telling us straight up about Orton’s family connections. Orton gets some offense in and it turns into a fist fight, but Taylor wins that in decisive fashion, not just countering a punch but actually just absolutely WINNING the fist fight, and the five-arm finishes for Taylor.

TV TITLE: KRUSHER KRUSCHEV vs. BUDDY WEST
-Krusher grabs the mic and DEMANDS his missing TV Title medal, and he threatens to hold up the show if Dr. Death doesn’t return it by the end of the show.

-Krusher beats on West while the crowd half-focuses on the match and focuses on the entrance area, clearly anticipating that something will happen this week. Krusher punches and chokes West out, and the body vice ends it.

-Krusher goes to the commentary table to demand the medal, apparently suspecting Boyd Pierce of thievery for some reason, but as he jaws with the commentators, Dr. Death hits the ring, drapes the medal over the post, and demands that Krusher get it. He charges but Williams just beats the red off Krusher. Krusher tries to run for the medal and just get out of there, but Williams uses an amateur takedown to get him away from the corner. Krusher tries to go for the eyes and whips Williams, but Williams clotheslines him and slams him. Krusher’s tank is clearly almost empty at this point, so Williams assumes a three-point stance and just tackles him and tackles him until Krusher just gives up and walks away, allowing Williams to keep the medal.

SONNY KING vs. PETE MARTIN
-King works the arm and gets a nice backdrop on Martin. Martin manages to get himself up to the second rope for a diving headbutt, but he crashes, and a headbutt by King gets the win.

“Nature Boy” BUDDY LANDELL vs. MARK RAGIN
-I’m honestly fascinated by whatever the Mark Ragin story is at this point, because they clearly had BIG plans for him, and those plans lasted exactly one week. And JR reminds us that his TV debut was against Landell and he basically just stops short of saying they’re giving the win back.

-So Ragin misses a dropkick and stomps away at Ragin. Slam and a big elbow fini–uh, Ragin kicks out and two and clearly wasn’t supposed to. Landell clamps on a sleeper hold and is trying to talk to Ragin about something while JR and Boyd both express surprise that the elbow wasn’t the finish. Ragin won’t go down in the sleeper, so Landell dishes out some rapid fire offense and hooks BOTH legs, cinching up for the pin while Ragin makes it a point to shake his legs and look like he’s still trying to kick out, but he keeps his shoulders down for the three this time.

HACKSAW JIM DUGGAN vs. PAT ROSE
-Rose gets heaved across the ring. He tries to fight back but Duggan just pounds on him. He goes for a corner charge, but Rose moves and Duggan crashes full-weight into the post, and he sells the HELL out of it while Rose looks like he’s about to get the upset of a lifetime and tries to finish this. Duggan throws a kick and clotheslines Rose down to stop that. Spear finishes, and Duggan looks like a star AND a badass for making that comeback.

NON-TITLE: MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (Tag Team Champions, with Jim Cornette) vs. MR. WRESTLING & JAY YOUNGBLOOD
-So forgotten in all the face turn/heel turn/II/III business is that Mr. Wrestling actually does have some unfinished business with the Midnight Express, so he gets a non-title match this week.

-Youngblood starts with Bobby Eaton, leapfrogging and chopping him down. Condrey tags in and complains about the illegal karate. Mister tags in with a hard right hand, and the fans hate the Express so much that they’re quick to forgive Mister for all of his bullshit from the past few months. Condrey gets his arm worked over by both opponents, as they make frequent tags and work well together, so it would appear at first that Mr. Wrestling has seen the light…but whoops, Condrey ducks at one point and Youngblood accidentally whacks Mr. Wrestling. Mister responds by slapping Youngblood, and Youngblood is so insulted that he walks off and leaves Mister Wrestling by himself.

-Crowd has no idea how to react to that and frankly I can’t either. Mister Wrestling fights off both members off the Express and the commentators give him props for hanging in there, but 2 on 1 is more than he can take, and the Express overwhelms him while the commentators pain about the shenanigans seconds after tsk-tsking him for slapping Youngblood, who walked out on his partner. Like…there’s nobody to cheer for right now. This is a frustrating angle.

-Condrey gets Mr. Wrestling on the mat and pull out a belt, and they start whipping him like they did months back, but Sonny King comes to Mr. Wrestling’s rescue and snatches the belt. Buddy Landell shows up and helps the Express whip King while Mr. Wrestling writhes on the floor. Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Terry Taylor storm in to clear the ring, and I’m all for a fun chaotic finish, but…like…I don’t know how to feel about any of the principal characters. That sucks.

7.2

The final score: review Good

The 411

The main event was an absolute flop with really unclear intentions, but the rest of the show worked for me.