The SmarK Rant for Mid-South Wrestling – 12.13.84

The SmarK Rant for Mid-South Wrestling – 12.13.84

Originally written 07.29.26

(Dynamite: Non Union Mexican Equivalent Edition is delayed by preparations for a sweet 16 birthday for my daughter. Pray for me. Enjoy some Mid South instead.)

Taped from Shreveport, LA

Your hosts are Jim Ross & Joel Watts

BREAKING NEWS: Ernie Ladd has REFUSED to defend the North American title against either of the Hacksaws, so they’re sticking Brad Armstrong in there instead.

Meanwhile, Buddy Landel interviews Ted Dibiase and makes sure to put himself over as the new TV champion, promising real title matches with top contenders. So first up, he’s offering a title shot against promising newcomer Shawn Michaels. Of course, at the time the idea of SHAWN MICHAELS being a serious contender for a title was hilarious. Also Dibiase notes that the Rock N Roll Express is scheduled to face the Alamo Busters tonight, but he offers the RNR a non-title match tonight so they can prove their worth for a title rematch.

Mid-South TV title: Buddy Landel v. Shawn Michaels

Shawn wearing an MTV half-shirt in a very 1984 moment. Boyd Pierce clarifies that this is a NON-TITLE match because everyone knows Michaels is just a rookie and Buddy can’t make his own title matches. Shawn backdrops Budro and goes to work on the arm. Buddy escapes that, so Shawn hiptosses him and goes back to the armbar, but then Buddy rakes the eyes and slams him into the corkscrew elbow to finish at 2:30. Hopefully young Shawn regroups and maybe, I dunno, goes on to be the one of the biggest stars in the history of wrestling? Who knows.

North American title: Ernie Ladd v. Brad Armstrong

Ernie appears wholly unconcerned here, and he chops Brad down and adds a slam and hiptoss. Ernie with a facelock, but Brad takes him down with a bodypress for two. Brad slugs away and makes a comeback with a monkey flip out of the corner, but he misses another bodypress and Ladd feels like he’s got it under control. Ernie with the big boot and he goes to finish with the splash, but Brad gets the knees up. So Ladd loads up his illegal piece of cord, but the ref is bumped and Brad grabs the cord and strangles Ernie, making it into a chinlock, and the ref drops the arm three times and awards the title to Brad at 3:43, as Ladd gets burned by his own bullshit. That’s actually ice cold on Brad’s part, kudos. I imagine Watts just sees it as “an eye for an eye” and the heel getting what’s coming to him, but that was a big heel move on Brad’s part.

Magnum TA v. Kamala

OK this is probably not gonna go well for TA on the way out. Kamala beats him down in the corner and goes to the dreaded PURPLE NURPLE, really twisting that titty and then lifting him up for the rare and punishing FLYING PURPLE NURPLE as Magnum is just screaming in pain with his nipples getting ripped right from skin. TA fights up and Kamala chops him down again and goes back to molesting Magnum’s pecs before chopping Magnum down again. TA fights back with dropkicks and he’s fired up, but he misses a third one and Kamala puts him away with splashes NOT ONCE, NOT TWICE, BUT THRICE and the ref stops the match at 4:20. Farewell, Magnum, hopefully Crockett works out for you! Butch Reed comes out to make the save and we get into a huge brawl with Reed and the Akbar crew.

Tim Horner v. Dale Veasey

Horner and Veasey trade hammerlocks on the mat to start and Horner works a headlock off that. And then he finishes with the Russian legsweep at 3:40.

Terry Taylor v. Jack Victory

Terry takes him down and works the arm, but Jack beats on him with elbows in the corner until Terry fights back with his own forearms. Terry drops a knee on him and finishes with the Fivearm at 2:34. Joel notes that if you make Terry mad, he’ll bite you. Or even worse, peck your eyes out!

Private Terry Daniels v. Terry Ellis

They’ve been promising Daniels for like a month now so I’m glad he finally made it. Although without Slaughter there’s not much point to the character. Daniels with a backdrop and he drops an elbow on Ellis for two. He drops a knee on Ellis for two and works the arm on the mat and then awkwardly gets some slams, not really seeming to know how to maneuver himself around the ring and get into position. And then he finally puts Ellis away with the cobra clutch at 2:12. This guy has ZERO charisma and I don’t know why they stuck him with Slaughter and let him get any kind of push off his name.

Ted Dibiase & Sheik Hercules v. The Rock N Roll Express

So as noted, a non-title match, but Dibiase is now sporting a sling from the brawl with Butch Reed earlier and he steps away from the match and lets his good friend Steve Williams take his place.

Steve Williams & Sheik Hercules v. The Rock N Roll Express

Herc hits Ricky with a slam, but misses a kneedrop and the RNR go to work on his knee as a result. Over to Doc, but they also take him down and work his leg. But then Ricky wanders too close to the heel corner and they put him down with a cheapshot to take over. Herc with a backbreaker and he puts the boots to Morton. Ricky collides with Williams and it’s a double-down, but it’s hot tag Robert, and they run Hercules into Dibiase. Morton rolls up Herc after a double dropkick and gets the pin at 4:14, so Dibiase rams Ricky into the post and busts him open in the name of sportsmanship, and the heel beatdown is on. And all the babyfaces run down to save as we wrap it up for the week. So the RNR get a title rematch in the near future.

NEXT WEEK: Hacksaw Duggan! Iceman Parsons! And we wrap up 1984 before moving onto 1986.