The SmarK Rant for Mid-South Wrestling – 08.14.82

The SmarK Rant for Mid-South Wrestling – 08.14.82

Now I’m scared to check Cagematch for career history stuff and match results because I’m worried I’m gonna get yelled at.

Taped from Shreveport, LA

Your hosts are Boyd Pierce & Bob Roop, who is wearing a SUIT. What kind of a fancy-pants wrestling show is this, anyway? Bob rages against JYD being named “The People’s Champion” by Houston fans, which he thinks is stupid because what kind of a wrestler would ever be called “The People’s Champion”?

Meanwhile, in Houston, Junkyard Dog is facing Nick Bockwinkel, but we can’t actually see the match because JYD is still refusing to wrestle on TV, so we just get the entrance. Although Bockwinkel’s AWA World title is not on the line here, JYD’s “People’s Champion” crown is definitely on the line, and if the Dog wins he gets 5:00 with Bobby Heenan. And yes they have a real crown gimmick and everything. Apparently Dog was considered the uncrowned King of Wrestling, so a committee decided to make him a crown and crown him. The math checks out! Anyway, Boyd notes that Dog won the match and got his 5:00 with Bobby, and Bob Roop thinks that’s also a bunch of crap. Man what a Grumpy Gus this guy is.

Ted Dibiase & Hacksaw Jim Duggan v. Mike Bond & Jesse Barr

Dibiase ducks an elbow from Barr and slams him to take over, and it’s over to Duggan (who takes “more of a basic approach” in Roop’s words, and yes that’s certainly an apt description) and the heels take turns beating on Barr with forearms. Dibiase with a hiptoss, but he misses an elbow and Barr goes to work on the arm with some double-teams in the corner. Duggan comes in and clobbers Barr, and just drops a NASTY knee on Barr’s back while Jesse is on his hands and knees. And they double-team Bond with a spear from Duggan into the figure-four from Dibiase to finish at 3:16. God Duggan was like a crazed blunt instrument at this point. I’m kind of into it, not gonna lie.

Iron Mike Sharpe v. Tug Taylor

Tug was definitely more svelte than I remember seeing him in Global years later. Tug goes for a full nelson to start and Sharpe powers out of that, being Canada’s Strongest Athlete and all. Sharpe grabs a headlock and throws a decent dropkick for two while Roop runs down Mike’s championship pedigree. Hope he didn’t go to Cagematch for that. Or maybe he did and that’s why he’s so miserable this week. Sharpe takes him down and goes to a top wristlock, but Taylor fights out of that. Tug gets some offense with the clobbering forearms, but Sharpe hits him RIGHT IN THE BREAD BASKET as Vince would say, and finishes with a piledriver at 5:07.

Dick Murdoch v. Hangman Harris

Apparently this is from back in May in order to get us hyped for Dick’s impending return. Murdoch takes him down with an armdrag and works the arm to start and then beats him down with elbows and goes to a chinlock. Harris comes back with a backdrop and drops Murdoch on the top rope, which allows Akbar to steal Murdoch’s bag of gear. But he swings at Murdoch and hits the Hangman instead, which allows Murdoch to finish with the brainbuster at 4:35.

Precious Paul Ellering v. Billy The Star Child Starr

Precious Paul uses a flying headscissors and takes Starr down with a headlock, and then dropkicks him and takes him down again with another headscissors. This is not the guy that I would picture managing the Road Warriors a few years later. Starr comes back and beats on Paul with forearms in the corner, but he runs right into a very snug high knee. Yeah that looked like some miscommunication. Ellering tosses him out of the corner and follows with a suplex for two and then finishes with a Rude Awakening at 4:35.

Killer Khan v. Tommy Saxon

Obviously Khan’s death prompted me to go back to these again. Khan puts the boots to Saxon and chokes him out on the ropes before putting the boots to him and chopping him down. Saxon tries to fight up, so Khan smashes his face into the mat repeatedly and then slams him before finishing with the flying kneedrop at 2:30.

Mr. Olympia v. Vinnie Romeo

Romeo gets some quick offense, but Olympia rolls him up for two while Ted Dibiase takes over on color commentary and accuses Olympia of riding on JYD’s coattails. Romeo tries a hiptoss, and Olympia reverses into an abdominal stretch and rolls him up for two. Olympia works the arm and Romeo slugs out of that and gets all offended while Duggan stands behind Dibiase at the desk like a bodyguard and occasionally butts into commentary with an angry rant. Olympia with a dropkick and he goes up and finishes with a bodypress at 4:00.

Next week: JYD returns and will either face Ted Dibiase for the North American title, or else he’ll defend the tag team titles against Dibiase and Duggan! Also KEVIN VON ERICH will debut in Mid-South and you may have heard about him lately here in 2024.