Mid-South Wrestling – March 18th, 1982

March 18, 1982

Your hosts are Jim Ross (making his debut) and Boyd Pierce

In action tonight we will see Ted DiBiase defend the North American Heavyweight Title against Paul Orndorff, with Bob Roop barred from building and if he interferes both Roop and Orndorff will be suspended.

Bob Roop interrupts the announcers and says that Grizzly Smith called up saying Orndorff will be getting the title shot and he took it like a man. However, something bad happened to Orndorff as DiBiase beat him in a cage match clean in the middle of the ring and that proved DiBiase was the better man. Roop then said Orndorff feels bad because of that and cannot be on TV with him and will not make it here today. So, Roop now wants the title match. Pierce tells Roop to go ask matchmaker Grizzly Smith because he handles that as Roop keeps stressing Orndorff will not be here because he is embarrassed. This is certainly an interesting development.

Ross tells us that Ernie Ladd underwent surgery after getting attacked by Skandor Akbar’s army as we see footage of the surgery. Ross says the recovery time is quick and that Ladd started his rehab the following day. We are then shown an interview with Ernie Ladd as he says no one puts him down and out while saying do not think this is the end for him because while he might have been a backstabber, he’s never been a coward. Ladd then vows to go back in the past for guys who will align with him and says he is back on the hunt. They’ve now established a feud between Ladd and Akbar, with Ladd promising to bring in reinforcements.

Pierce talks about the One Man Gang as we see the clip of him taking out Ernie Ladd then taking out Dick Murdoch 2/23/82 in Baton Rouge, LA during a house show match. A good way to get Gang over as even more of a threat.

One Man Gang w/ Skandor Akbar vs. Buddy Landel

Gang overpowers Landel as the announcers talk about not knowing anything about Gang’s background then gets the win with a splash (1:28).

Thoughts: A quick win to showcase Gang, someone the promotion is really trying to put over on this show. Gang’s look is so much different here than in the WWF. Here, he had long hair and wore a singlet.

Bob Roop is in the ring for his scheduled match but is worried as he said Orndorff will not be here and asks the ring announcer to help him change the match so he can get a title shot. However, it fails as Killer Karl Kox heads out.

Bob Roop vs. Killer Karl Kox

Roop attacks Kox before the Bell but Kox fights back then the bell finally rings. Kox stays in control then Roop finally fights back. Kox then catches Roop with a fist in a weird spot and hits the brainbuster for the win (2:00).

Thoughts: The story here is that Roop did not want this match because he was angling to take Orndorff’s spot in the North American Heavyweight Title Match and he was distracted as a result. Kox, who just came back into the promotion, also gets a TV win to stay over.

Wild Samoans w/ Skandor Akbar vs. Terry Gibbs & Jesse Barr

Ross said that he heard the Samoans were kingpins and banned from the “Madison Square Garden wrestling area” before putting over their athleticism. Barr leapfrogs Afa and catches him with a dropkick but ends up running into a chop. The Samoans beat on Barr for a bit then Gibbs tags in and lands a few shots but also runs into a chop then Afa hits a Samoan drop for the win (3:43).

Thoughts: Another dominating TV win for the Samoans. As someone who has watched a ton of 80’s WWF programming, it was really something to see Gibbs as a young babyface.

North American Heavyweight Title Match: Bob Roop vs. Ted DiBiase (c)

Pierce tells us that Smith did in fact make this match as Orndorff never showed up and Roop was the #2 challenger. DiBiase takes Roop down as Ross notes how Roop will fare after getting hit with a brainbuster by Kox. The announcers are shocked Orndorff is not here as Ross talks about refereeing one of the first matches DiBiase had ten years ago as DiBiase gets two with a crossbody then works a side headlock. DiBiase starts working the leg and tries for the figure four but Roop rolls outside. DiBiase regains control when Roop heads inside and works a front facelock on the mat. He hits a powerslam after slipping out of a shoulderbreaker then locks on the figure four. Roop reverses the hold then DiBiase turns it back over but Roop recahes the ropes. DiBiase drags Roop in the middle but gets shoved off as DiBiase collides with the ref and sends him to the floor. The One Man Gang and Skandor Akbar run out as Gang keeps smashing DiBiase’s leg against the ring post. Roop then drags DiBiase to the middle and puts on the figure four as the referee is back inside. DiBiase screams in pain and his arm drops twice times as the referee stops the match as Roop is the new champion (7:01) **1/2. DiBiase remains out on the mat as Pierce tells us we will get a standby match next.

Thoughts: I really enjoyed this match and the whole show-long angle about the title shot. Also, having Gang and Akbar help Roop out can lead to a possible alliance.

Tully Blanchard & Mike Boyer vs. Junkyard Dog & Mr. Olympia

JYD hits Blanchard with an atomic drop but Tully fights back. Both guys tag out as Mr. Olympia is in control while Pierce lets us know DiBiase was carried to the back and unable to put weight on his leg. The match breaks down and JYD pins Tully with a powerslam (0:51).

Thoughts: A quick match to kill time. Plus, JYD is over huge and it gives the fans a chance to see him.

Paul Orndorff now enters the building as we head to break. We return as Orndorff says everyone knows when he has a match, he shows up. He then says he had to run six blocks to get here as his car was unable to start and he has a good idea what happened. Orndorff thinks DiBiase was behind this and had a plan for him and was going to congratulate Roop for winning but heard that Roop was telling people he was in the nuthouse. Orndorff then said he looked at the situation and that Roop had something to gain so he went into Roop’s pockets in the dressing room and pulled out a key and something else from his car that prevented it from starting. Pierce signs off as Orndorff screams that Roop will pay for what he did. This was great and it perfectly wrapped up the title shot storyline, which was great from start to finish.

Final Thoughts: I thought this was an excellent show. The show-long storyline with Roop ultimately screwing over Orndorff by messing with his car and getting help from Gang and Akbar to win the title was brilliant stuff. Now, both DiBiase and Orndorff have gripes with Roop and figure to be the top two challenges. They also put over the Gang as a threat and set up the Ladd vs. Akbar feud too. More awesome storylines from the Mid-South promotion.

Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Sunday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 1/8/89

Monday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 1/14/89

Tuesday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 1/15/89

Wednesday: PWG Thirteen 7/29/16

Thursday: Shoot Interview TBD

Friday: WWF 1989 Royal Rumble

Saturday: Mid-South Wrestling 3/25/82