The SmarK Rant for Mid-South Wrestling – 01.15.83

The SmarK Rant for Mid-South Wrestling – 01.15.83

Taped from Shreveport, LA

Your hosts are Boyd Pierce & Mr. Wrestling II

Kevin Von Erich v. Mike Bond

Kevin is very young here and he takes Bond down with a pair of headscissors. Bond wants a test of strength and Kevin dropkicks him instead and then takes him down with a bodyscissors but lands in the ropes. Bond gets all pissed and tries to fight back, but Kevin slugs him down and backdrops him before finishing with a big splash at 3:13. Nothing special from Kevin here.

Iron Mike Sharpe v. Yoshi Yatsu

Oddly, this is Bob Roop doing commentary solo as this show seems to be an assembling of leftover matches. Sharpe goes for the arm and takes him down, but Yatsu beats him down in the corner and hits him with a backbreaker for two, barely able to get Mike up for the move. Mike comes back and runs him into the corner and hits an Erik Watts dropkick, but misses an elbow and Yatsu suplexes him for two. Yatsu chops him down for two but Sharpe comes back with a clothesline and pins him at 3:34.

Mr. Wrestling II v. Hiro Matsuda

Roop is on commentary again as they trade takedowns as Roop talks about how most promotions would make people pay for this kind of match instead of airing it for free on TV. Matsuda goes to a nerve pinch and keeps Wrestling II down with that, but II chops him in the face to escape. II punches him RIGHT IN THE BREAD BASKET for two, and the kneelift finishes at 4:30.

Buddy Landel & Tim Horner v. Kamala & The Great Kabuki

This show has been weirdly lacking in any kind of angles or promos thus far and is just match-match-match, which is odd for a Watts show. Gary Hart is visiting the territory with Kabuki, and he tells Skandor Akbar that he’s willing to do business because he loves money, but every time Akbar calls on Hart to provide manpower, the payoff is gonna get bigger and bigger. Or else. That’s a deal with the devil if I’ve ever heard one. The babyfaces manage to work Kabuki’s arm in the corner, but he chops poor Buddy down to take over and goes to nerve pinch. Buddy comes back with a backdrop, but goes up and misses a crossbody. So Kamala finally comes into the match, charged up like the Ultimate Warrior after standing on the apron for 4 minutes, and he hits Buddy with a pair of splashes and pins him at 4:02. I dunno, Kabuki was supposed to be a deadly warrior and he looked pretty lethargic out there.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan v. Bruno Sammartino Jr.

They go to the mat and trade some amateur takedowns, but Duggan gets frustrated and gets to the ropes. Bruno Jr. hits him with an armdrag and Duggan bails. Back in, Bruno with the slam and he misses a legdrop, allowing Duggan to take over with a backdrop. He tosses Sammartino and hits him with the running headbutt to knock him off the apron again, and takes the countout win at 5:24. What, Bruno’s kid couldn’t do a clean job here? David looked REALLY green and shitty here.

Gino Hernandez v. Chavo Guerrero

They trade wristlock takedowns as Mr. Wrestling explains the backstory from Houston TV that led to this one. They trade hammerlocks on the mat and Gino beats on him with elbows as Wrestling II goes on about how whoever loses is gonna be embarrassed and might not be around for a while. Is that code for something? They trade chops in the corner and Chavo whips him into the other corner for a Flair Flip and we take a break. Back with Chavo putting him in a bow and arrow hold and he turns it into a bridging facelock. Gino puts him down for two and goes to a chinlock, but Chavo runs him into the turnbuckles to break and hits a huge monkey flip and a hip attack for two. Chavo with a sunset flip for two, but Gino reverses a slam for two. Chavo with a flying forearm, but the ref is bumped and it’s a double down as Chavo bumps to the floor. Gino grabs a chair from Skandor Akbar, but Chavo dropkicks it back in his face and then waffles him with it, revives the ref, and pins Gino at 9:55. Really good match here, that felt way ahead of its time. ***1/4

This was a WEIRD episode of Mid-South, feeling like a filler week more than anything with a bunch of matches all seemingly outside of continuity and no angle advancement of any kind.