The SmarK Rant for Mid-South Wrestling – 10.02.82

The SmarK Rant for Mid-South Wrestling – 10.02.82

Taped from Shreveport, LA

Your hosts are Boyd Pierce & Cowboy Bill Watts

AWA World champion Nick Bockwinkel v. Junkyard Dog

We’re off to Houston on September 24 for this one, no time limit to a finish. And Bobby Heenan is barred from ringside. They slug it out and Dog runs him into the turnbuckles, but Bockwinkel grabs a headlock and then chokes him out on the ropes. They slug it out and clothesline each other for a double down, and Dog heads to the apron, allowing Nick to get more cheapshots until Dog fights back with a headbutt. Back in the ring, Dog elbows him down and hits the Thump, but Bockwinkel won’t stay down and so Dog headbutts him and hits another Thump for the clean pin at 3:33. Holy cow, I thought that was edited, but the ring announcer calls it the same time, so that was the entire match and Dog basically squashed the AWA World champion like an enhancement guy!

Col. Buck Robley v. Gen. Skandor Akbar

Akbar’s crew is barred from ringside (and gone from the territory) and I’m always amused that they make sure to announce that Akbar is the former North American champion every time he gets into the ring. Robley works the arm, but Akbar hits him with a rabbit punch to the ribs and goes to a facelock. Robley reverses that to a cradle for two. Akbar pounds away with forearms, but Buck fires back and gets the sleeper, at which point THE MONGOLIAN STOMPER debuts as Akbar’s new goon and attacks Robley for the DQ at 2:40. And then he hangs Robley off the ropes with the dreaded cobra sleeper and all the babyface jobbers have to rush the ring and save. You all know how I love me some Archie Gouldie.

Kamala v. Tim Horner

Another debuting monster, with Kamala in his original and much scarier form, as he lays out Horner with chops and a back elbow before hurling him with a two handed choke. Kamala with a slam and the big splash to finish at 0:58. Tremendous squash to start him out.

The Grapplers v. Vinnie Romeo & Jesse Barr

Barr runs wild with slams on the Grapplers and a dropkick, but he misses a blind charge and gets double-teamed in the corner. Meanwhile, Cowboy is already speculating that Kamala is here to go after Junkyard Dog because that’s where the money is. #1 works on the arm and switches with #2, but Barr fights back and brings Romeo in for a quick run. He throws dropkicks on the Grapplers, but misses a charge on #2 and #1 comes in with an armbar takedown and submits him with a Fujiwara armbar at 4:00.

Mississippi champion Mr. Olympia v. Hangman Harris

Olympia has regained the title from Killer Khan, although we never saw the original title switch a couple of weeks before this. Olympia dropkicks Harris for two and snapmares him for two, then gets another dropkick for two. Small package gets two. Harris slams and drops a fist, but he puts his head down and Olympia catches him with an atomic drop for two. Meanwhile Cowboy relates the story of how Mid-South alerted Mr. Wrestling II to the faker by sending a telegram to his post office box. Geez, it’s 1982, not the old West. Missile dropkick and sleeper finish at 3:00.

Meanwhile, Tony Atlas does a promo from Houston on his way back to the Mid-South territory, and he does a jive-talking recap of a conversation he had with Junkyard Dog about how Dog needs help whupping all the bad guys in the area. This was rather more energetic than I’m used to hearing from Atlas.

North American champion Ted Dibase v. Mike Bond

Bond takes him down with an armbar and Dibiase is AGHAST that someone would dare treat him that way. Bond gets another takedown for two as Watts has a fascinating explanation of Dibiase’s epic heel turn, noting that Dibiase was the victim of heel dirty tactics for years but he learned exactly how to cheat and betray from all of those heels and now he’s the one using those tactics against the babyfaces. That’s actually a very nuanced and interesting character turn for 1982. Powerslam gets two on Bond and he follows with a backdrop and kneedrop for two. Another powerslam finishes at 3:00.

Ted Dibiase is still in the ring and won’t leave until he gets to settle his beef with Junkyard Dog and Mr. Olympia. The show cut off last week before it could show him destroying JYD, and yet Dog keeps getting title shots! So then Wrestling II comes out for his match, and Dibiase cuts a bitter promo on him too, feeling betrayed that Wrestling II was his friend in Atlanta but now he’s turned on Dibiase like everyone else and tried to screw him out of the title. II notes that there’s no anchor around Dibiase’s leg so LET’S GET IT ON.

North American champion Ted Dibiase v. Mr. Wrestling II

Dibiase decides to run away immediately and think it over and Watts is all about letting guys settle things themselves without authority figures interfering. IN FACT, he notes, if prisons put guys in the ring with boxing gloves and let them slug it out to settle things like men, then it would probably solve prison overcrowding and reduce street crime. Well there’s a campaign pitch that would probably go over well today. Wrestling II works the arm in the ring, and Cowboy has a novel idea; The cameras are gonna keep rolling and we’ll just see the finish of the match NEXT WEEK, as the show comes to an end at 3:49 shown here.

I’m assuming we’re building to the Thanksgiving supercard at the Superdome with JYD facing Dibiase for the North American title and they’re doing a hell of a job of getting there.