Hello all and welcome to a trip down Mid-South memory lane. My name is Zack Monday and I will be going through the available Mid-South Wrestling archives and reviewing the shows in chronological order. I am a passionate wrestling fan of all styles, but I have little first hand experience with Mid-South and look forward to expanding my knowledge of the squared circle and sharing the thrills, spills and chills that I come across.
Mid-South Wrestling
December 12th 1981
From The Mid-South Coliseum
Boyd Pierce and special guest Ernie Ladd on commentary. Pierce is hyping up the “Dream match” gimmick, encouraging fans to send in their “Dream Cards” to the Mid-South office.
1) 1 fall, 10 minutes: The Monk vs Bryan Blair
Winner @3:02: Blair after Monk kicked out after a Dropkick, only for Blair to follow with a Back Body Drop, before pulling him back up and sending him into the ropes, using an Abdominal Stretch to then snap over into a bridge for the pin.
Good grappling work, Blair is over as football playing stud with a great look. Nice innovative finish.
2) 1 fall, 10 minutes: Tom Renesto Jr. vs King Cobra
Winner @3:32: Cobra after knocking Renesto down with a punch, sending him for a Back Body Drop for a 2 count and then using a Leaping Headbutt to knock him down for the 3.
3) 1 fall, 10 minutes: “Polish Prince” Ed Wiskowski vs Jim Garvin
Winner @5:25: Wiskowski after a Jumping Knee rocked Garvin into the ropes, which allowed Ed to use a lifting Guillotine across the top rope and then a NICE LOOKING Rib Breaker to get the 3 count.
Good power struggle with the bigger Ed getting fed up with Garvin’s quicker tactics and putting an end to it.
Footage from last week is shown, The Junkyard Dog is taking on Terry Orndorff, when Paul Orndorff gets involved, soon followed by a second, yellow-maked man (Bob Orton Jr.) getting involved and subsequently thrown over the top, which the Referee caught to Disqualify JYD.
4) 1 fall, 10 minutes Tag match: Jerry Novak & Aaron Holt vs The Junkyard Dog & Mike George
Winner @ 1 minute: JYD & George after knocking Holt down with double shoulder blocks, which staggered Holt against the ropes and into The Big Thump Powerslam from JYD, who held on for the 3.
5) 1 fall, 10 minutes: The Iron Sheik w/General Skandor Akbar vs Buddy Ryan
Winner @2:28: Sheik after punching and stomping to keep Ryan down, Suplexing Buddy around the ring, but pulling up on pinfall attempts at the advice of Akbar. Sheik finally dumped Ryan with a KILLER German Suplex and covered for the 3.
DOMINANT SHEIK
6) 1 fall, 10 minutes Little Girls & Big Men Mixed Tag match: Diamond Lil & Rick Ferrara vs Barbie Doll & Tony Charles
My first real taste of a Mid-South show and I was pleasantly surprised to see these little women work hard and not be made into a sideshow. Also, first time I have watched a little women & big men mixed tag match. CHECK IT OUT
Winners @5:10: Doll & Charles after Doll and Lil crisscrossed on the ropes, until Doll stopped in her tracks and took Lil down with a Back Body Drop, before hitting the ropes and using a Seated Splash to keep her down for the 3.
7) 1 fall, remaining TV Time Non-Title match: North American Heavyweight Champion Ted DiBiase vs Paul Orndorff
This was tight and right, brief but so smart. DiBiase and Orndorff are so slick on the mat and with the intricacies that make something like a reversed Figure Four seem like a career ender. DiBiase’s firing up sequence is great and so smooth.
Match ended with the TV Time (6:56) when Orndorff turned over DiBiase’s Figure Four and punished him in the hold, the fans chanted “go Ted go” and he refused to give up, just inches from the bottom rope, as the time limit expired.
Good, compact episode, nothing blow away, go out of your way to see, but the Mixed Tag, Sheik’s German Suplex and the main event struggle of two future Hall of Famers are worth checking out. I am looking forward to seeing the progression of this company and I am happy with the WWE Network for uploading some of the older episodes.