Mid-South Wrestling (8.17.1985) Review

-Originally aired August 17, 1985.

-Your hosts are Jim Ross & Joel Watts.

-We watch the closing moments of the loser-leaves-town match from the Superdome. Akbar interferes and injures Duggan, leaving Watts alone with Kamala and Zambui. Duggan recovers in time to prevent the attempted fireball. Again with the fireballs. The heels are cleared from the ring and Watts gets his big moment, beating the hell out of Akbar with his own riding crop and choking him out. Masked man comes to the ring and knocks Watts out with a savate kick, and Kamala re-enters the ring and splashes Watts for the three-count. Watts loses in the Superdome for the first time ever, and must leave his own company for 90 days.

-So we get words from Akbar, who makes a proper introduction of the masked man, El Corsario, a member of El Flan, an anti-American terrorist organization from Puerto Rico, as well as a delicious caramel dessert. Corsario quickly turns around and offers a silent correction, pointing out that his gi is embroidered with El Faln, not El Flan. Oh yeah, he he wears a karate gi. An evil Puerto Rican karate gi. Suddenly it’s a hundred times funnier finding out that this is Savio Vega, the FIRST time he did an evil ninja gimmick.

-Also, Oliver Humperdink is none too happy about Dick Murdoch winning the North American Title.

-El Corsario breaks boards to show off his karate chops, referring both to the literal move and to his aptitude for the martial arts.

EL CORSARIO (with Skandar Akbar) vs. MARK RAGIN
-Corsario chops Ragin. Ragin chops back, but a superkick knocks him out for the three-count.

-We go to the Superdome for cage match highlights, DiBiase & Williams vs. Jake & Barbarian, guest referee Bob Sweetan. Sweetan gets bumped and DiBiase uses a handful of powder to blind Jake. Jake, blinded, DDTs his own partner, Barbarian, and then DiBiase busts Jake open with the loaded glove. Williams loads up his arm brace and takes shots with that. Jake and Barbarian make a miracle comeback from all of that, but then Sweetan turns heel and knocks out Jake and Barbarian with a loaded boot. Geez, it’s not even Mardi Gras and everybody in New Orleans is loaded at this show. Champs retain the title.

-We get post-match words from the evil threesome. Ted DiBiase explains that he’s leaving Mid-South for one month to make some sweet, sweet Japan money, but he’ll be damned if Jake and Barbarian are gonna try something screwy to win the belts while he’s gone, so Bob Sweetan, who looks like a canned ham whose mother was a cigarette, will be a proxy Tag Team Champion for the next 30 days.

BRUISER BOB SWEETAN & “Dr. Death” STEVE WILLIAMS vs. MIKE NICHOLS & DALE WILLIAMS
-Sweetan is one of the very few unanimously-disliked figures I’m aware of in professional wrestling. Nobody has a nice word to say about him. He’s been called a locker room bully, a locker room thief, and it came out in court some years after this match that he and Grizzly Smith had a lot in common. He managed to get himself deported in 2000 over child support non-payments. Also, this run in Mid-South apparently brought about the end of his marriage, as he lucked into a 2-for-1 deal by finding a ring rat who was also a drug dealer, and he left his family for her. The scandal sent shockwaves through the industry at the time, because nobody could believe that there were TWO women who’d want to have sex with this guy.

-Dr. Death won the match at some point, but who cares? The important thing is fuck Bob Sweetan. Oh, and both men are “rugged” and “double-tough” if you’re playing Mid-South Commentary Bingo.

THE NIGHTMARE (with Oliver Humperdink) vs. AL PEREZ
-Perez manages to ram Nightmare in the corner. Nightmare tries to work the arm, but Perez manages to reverse it and surprises everyone with his showing so far. Hammerlock by Perez as JR touts his bright future. JR only has the knob on the crystal ball set to the “three years or so” setting, though. Perez connects with a running forearm and dazes Nightmare. Right hands and a hiptoss by Perez. Nightmare grabs a weapon from Humperdink and loads up the mask–wow, everyone here really IS loaded! Perez is opened up by a headbutt, and rather than go for the kill, Nightmare just keeps attacking the wounded Perez’s forehead. Perez makes a comeback, so Humperdink trips him from the floor, and the referee has had enough and calls for the bell, giving Perez a DQ win. And then Perez clears the ring afterward, so even for a DQ, it’s a pretty solid win for Perez.

HUMUNGOUS (with Oliver Humperdink) vs. PAT ROSE
-Humungous throws Rose around the ring, then takes him out with the shinni no make.

MIXED TAG MATCH: SUPERSTAR BILL DUNDEE & LITTLE TOKYO vs. WENDELL COOLEY & LITTLE COCO
-I don’t see why this has to be mixed-tag rules if Bill Dundee is involved. (rim shot)

-Dundee applies a standing front facelock. Coco comes in and climbs his partner to slap Dundee in the face. They do the spot again, with Tokyo trying to do the same thing, but Dundee can’t handle the wait, so he crashes and smashes his face on the mat. So Dundee tags out and the little guys do their thing until the referee gets bumped. Yes, this company will even have a ref bump in THIS kind of match…and Little Tokyo and Dundee gang up on Coco until The Fantastics run in and knock Dundee out cold, then drag Coco’s body on top as the referee revives, so Coco gets the winning pin over Dundee! Okay, that’s a good payoff, I’ll allow it.

“Hot Stuff” EDDIE GILBERT vs. BRODIE CHASE
-Gilbert gets a waistlock takedown on Chase, and a knee from the second rope finishes. I usually trust this promotion to have a plan, but I really do have the distinct impression that they don’t know what the hell to do with Eddie Gilbert right this second.

-And we close the show with a Jake/Barbarian music video.

-Bill Dundee demands justice as we start to fade to black. He outs Joel Watts as having an executive position in the company, and he demands that Joel Watts do something in his official capacity.

DUNDEE: Are you going to let that decision stand?!
JOEL:….Yes.

7.8

The final score: review Good

The 411

Eventful and generally fun week.