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The Name on the Marquee: Mid-South Wrestling (1.16.1982)

July 15, 2018 | Posted by Adam Nedeff
Mid-South Wrestling Image Credit: WWE/Peacock
4.7
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The Name on the Marquee: Mid-South Wrestling (1.16.1982)  

-Unfortunately, the next episode after the year in review is lost to history, so we jump a little further ahead into the new year…

-Originally aired on January 16, 1982.

-Your hosts are Boyd Pierce & Bill Watts. Boyd sets the bar high, promising one of the all-time greatest cards ever on Mid-South TV. We have A DREAM MATCH this week based on the 100,000 pieces of mail that fans sent to their local stations: Andre the Giant, Junkyard Dog, and Dusty Rhodes vs. Ernie Ladd and the Wild Samoans, DAMN that is a main event for TV. Also, apparently we missed a crazy angle last week, as Bill Watts mentions that Paul Orndorff won the North American Title, then lost it less than 60 seconds later as a result of some wacky stipulation.

BRIAN BLAIR vs. THE MAN KNOWN ONLY AS THE MONK

-Amateur takedown, and he rides The Monk and applies a hold that Bill calls “a banana split,” hooking one leg while hanging onto a waistlock. Side headlock by Blair. Monk breaks free and suplexes Blair, but Blair gets fired up with forearms and slams. Dropkick by Blair gets a one count. Abdominal stretch into a roll-up gets three for Blair. Pretty colorless match.

DREAM MATCH! ANDRE THE GIANT, DUSTY RHODES, & JUNKYARD DOG vs. ERNIE LADD & THE SAMOAN WARRIORS

-Dusty and Afa start. Afa throws headbutts, and Dusty noggin-knocks Afa with JYD and dazes him. JYD and Andre double-team Sika, and Andre takes on both Samoans at once. Fans are demanding that Ernie Ladd tag in, but Ernie is trying to avoid it. Andre sends Afa into the ropes and butt-rams him, and Ernie finally reluctantly tags in and takes a big chop. Side headlock takedown from Andre, as he’s still healthy enough at this stage of his career to do actual manuevers. He gets caught in the corner and falls victim to a 3-on-1 attack, but Andre just walks forward with Sika hanging onto him and tags out. Dream works the leg on Ernie Ladd while Bill Watts namedrops all of the other major promoters who are trying to book Dusty Rhodes for matches.

-JYD tags in and headbutts Ladd. Ladd’s had enough and tags Afa, leaving him to suffer Andre’s wrath. Big boot nearly finishes, but a brawl erupts. Samoans do some teamwork and bodyslam Andre together, and the crowd goes SILENT when they see that. Another donnybrook breaks out. Samoans are cleared from the ring. Dusty and JYD backdrop Ladd into position, and Andre splashes Ernie off the turnbuckles and pins him to take this one. Funny, as Andre genuinely wanted to do it from the second rope, but it became clear that the turnbuckle might not hold and he just had to jump off the bottom rope. But a really fun, all-action match that made me want more.

MR. OLYMPIA vs. ZAPATA

-Olympia leapfrogs and dropkicks Zapata as Watts seems to be throwing inside jokes at somebody, saying Zapata reminds him of a man known only as “The Welcher” in Jackson, Mississippi. Olympia stays on the arm but Zapata comes to life with blows to the ribs. Olympia comes back with a dropkick and you can hear Watts’ wheels spinning like crazy as he tries to sidestep the way that it clearly missed. Zapata bungles a clothesline spot and Olympia’s just done with this and puts him away with a sleeper.

ED WISKOWSKI vs. TOMMY WRIGHT

-Wiskowski attacks as Pierce makes it a point to tell us which wrestler is wearing which color tights. There’s another thing wrestling lacks now–operating on the assumption that someone might be watching for the first time. Pierce makes it a point to tell us Watts left because of an early flight for a business meeting, which feels like some sort of groundwork being laid for an angle. Backbreaker by Wiskowski finishes.

DICK MURDOCH vs. BOB ROOP

-Roop demanded this match last week. Murdoch lands a big right hand and Roop just looks completely dismayed that he’d use a closed fist. Murdoch starts shuffling his feet like Ali to taunt Roop. Roop gets fed up and applies a wristlock to get Murdoch on the mat. Roop stays on the arm, but the referee catches him pulling the hair and forces a break. Roop is smart, so he releases for a split second and re-applies instantly, so technically it’s a new hold. They slug it out and Murdoch tries to finish with a brainbuster, but Orndorff wanders to the ring and trips him. Murdoch gets distracted and Roop sneaks up for a roll-up, but surprise, Murdoch kicks out of that and Roop & Orndorff collide on the apron. Orndorff just gets fed up and attacks for the DQ, but Ted DiBiase runs in and makes the save. Pretty sluggish.

-Ernie Ladd shows up and complains that the dream match was a ripoff and Andre the Giant broke every rule in the book. And any man who’s a friend of the Junkyard Dog or “Dirty Rhodes” should consider this a warning. Ernie Ladd is going to injure any man who’s a friend of the Dog, and he’s going to prove it!

FRANK MONTE & JESSE BARR & RICK FERRERA & JERRY NOVAK
-Actually…nope. Ernie Ladd is so desperate to make a point about this that he bought Ferrera & Novak’s contracts and he’s sending the Samoans in there for this match, so that’s what we have.

SAMOAN WARRIORS (with Ernie Ladd) vs. FRANK MONTE & JESSE BARR

-Afa and Sika (or Sica, which is the spelling that Mid-South uses and it looks completely weird) just destroy the jobbers in two minutes and walk off calmly. Weird angle, as neither jobber was established as “JYD’s friend” and it was a pretty typical squash, they didn’t leave on a stretcher or anything.

MIKE GEORGE vs. BOB ORTON, JR.
-Orton lights into George with elbows to the head. George comes back with rights. Orton hastily tries to finish with a piledriver, but George backdrops out and atomic drops Orton. Russian legsweep gets three, clean as a sheet in under a minute. Did Orton look at Bill Watts wrong that day?

-Samoans and Ernie Ladd show up and attack George, and George is JYD’s regular tag partner so THAT totally makes sense…but JYD and Dusty Rhodes come charging out to make the save.

-Dusty promises to take care of some business and bite people until they run to the Golden Gate Bridge!

4.7
The final score: review Poor
The 411
For star power, the dream match is worth a look, but everyone else was wrestling this week like they came to the building straight from a buffet.
legend

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Mid-South Wrestling, Adam Nedeff