The SmarK Rant for Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling – 01.08.83

The SmarK Rant for Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling – 01.08.83

I had already done Mid-South 01.08.83 previously, so after this one we’re all synced up again.

Taped from Charlotte, NC

Your host is Bob Caudle

Mike Rotundo v. Ken Timbs

We’re joined in progress with Timbs working Mike over in the corner and he adds a necksnap, and then goes to work on Mike’s arm and adds a legsweep for two. Mike tries a comeback in the corner, but Timbs cuts him off, so they criss-cross and Timbs lands in an airplane spin and gets pinned at 2:52.

Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle join Bob and they’re complaining about lack of competition again, as Slaughter brags about Don’s new $300 coat and $50 shirt. That’s $350! Holy cow!

Red Dog Lane, Dory Funk Jr. & Greg Valentine v. Cowboy Bob Orton, Dick Slater & Jerry Brisco

I’m not familiar with Mr. Lane but I’m assuming he’s here to do the job for the heels. Slater, new to the territory but a longtime tag partner of Orton, chases Lane off to start. The heels demand Brisco and Dick tags him in for a showdown with Dory. Jerry takes him down with armdrags and brings Slater back into the ring, but Dory wants no part of Slater and exits the ring. So Orton comes in and trades shots with the Hammer, allowing Slater to tag in again, so Valentine runs away from him as all the heels are really terrified of Slater for some reason. Over to Red Dog Lane, and the babyfaces triple-team him in their corner and Brisco works on the legs. Now the heels want nothing to do with him, short-arming Lane on the tag attempts and letting him fend for himself. Finally Dory decides to come in and he beats on Orton with forearms, but Orton puts him down with a back elbow and it’s a double down. But then Dick Slater comes in and viciously turns on Orton while he’s out, joining up with the heels as we’ve been SWERVED and the match is thrown out at 7:11. Oh that’s clever! No wonder the heels didn’t want to fight him. Roddy Piper returns to the show to make the save, luckily.

Oliver Humperdink joins Bob, bragging about running Jimmy Valiant out of town. So we get footage of One Man Gang destroying him at a house show while Humperdink cackles. Then Greg Valentine, the US champion, joins us and he’s got threats for Barry Windham down in Florida. So I guess he’s not Blackjack Mulligan Jr anymore. Valentine thinks that Dick Slater “saw the light” and decided to turn against Roddy Piper’s group, although he himself had no personal knowledge of Slater’s decision beforehand.

Jay Youngblood v. Ricky Harris

Apparently Ricky isn’t doing very well these days and is probably nearing the end. Roddy Piper joins us on commentary, and he talks about needing to return to the show to save his friend Bob Orton from getting hurt by the heels. Jay puts Harris down with a nasty chop and drops a leg on him while Piper dubs the tag champions “Ol’ Chin and No-Hair”. Piper also thinks the Slater turn was a setup, and clarifies that he’ll be around to watch the backs of his friends and not be, you know, sitting on the toilet or whatever. Jay tries a chinlock, but Harris slugs out of it and adds a neckbreaker. But then Youngblood chops him down again and finishes with the tomahawk chop at 5:08.

Jerry Brisco and Bob Orton join Bob, and Jerry admits that they probably should have known the turn was coming. And then Steamboat & Youngblood tell the tag champs that they should take their threats to the bank.

Don Kernodle v. Johnny Weaver

Weaver slams Don and works a headlock on the mat, but Kernodle drops elbows on him while Bob accuses Slaughter & Kernodle of ducking Steamboat & Youngblood. To be fair, they defended the tag titles against that team a million times and the babyfaces couldn’t get the job done. Weaver and Kernodle collide for a double down, although it’s probably because Johnny was falling down drunk, and Kernodle is up first and works him over in the corner. Johnny with a bulldog, but Kernodle catches him on the rebound with the cobra clutch. Johnny flips him out of the corner and takes him down, but Kernodle hangs onto it and won’t let go, finally putting Weaver down, but then Ricky Steamboat runs in and Kernodle chases him away and tears off Steamboat’s coat. Kernodle shreds the coat in the middle of the ring to spite Steamboat. But a cackling Steamboat reveals that Kernodle foolishly tore up his very own $300 coat! So, of course, Kernodle is irate and tosses Weaver over the top rope, drawing a DQ at 6:07. This brings out an enraged Slaughter, demanding to know who let Steamboat into the locker room to steal the coat in the first place after he bought it for Kernodle. And then he stops and goes “Why did you tear up your own coat, anyway?” Kernodle: “I DON’T KNOW WHY!” Oh man this was GREAT. Dory Funk was cooking with this episode.

Jerry Brisco joins Bob and he thinks that the challengers have Slaughter’s team rattled now, and the Brisco Brothers are again pre-emptively challenging Steamboat & Youngblood for when they win the titles. I love the little bits of foreshadowing.

Tommy Gilbert v. Ben Alexander

Roddy Piper joins us again, laughing his ass off at Slaughter & Kernodle looking like complete clowns in the previous segment. Gilbert with a facelock on the mat while Piper speculates that next Steamboat will paint their car a different color and trick them into smashing up their own limo. Bob tries to steer Piper back to the match and he goes “Ah, the heck with that, I just want to see the coat getting torn up again!” Bob: “Good slam there.” Piper: “Very nice. And the great thing is that neither one of them is wearing jackets.” And then Piper can’t focus on the match anymore and just decides to leave, drawing a round of applause from the audience just for being himself. Anyway, the match carries on with Gilbert working a leglock. Alexander hits him with a hiptoss, but Tommy finishes with a kneelift at 5:44.

And we wrap it up with the House of Humperdink, featuring new member Dick Slater, who introduces himself to the area as a really violent person who doesn’t tell anyone when he’s coming or going. Man it’s clear who HE influenced with his promos. It rhymes with “Jon Moxley”.

This was a BANGER of an episode. That jacket angle was just simple and great.