Mid-South Wrestling – May 13th, 1982

May 13, 1982

Your hosts are Boyd Pierce and Bill Watts

Matches tonight include Mr. Olympia vs. One Man Gang and Ernie Ladd & Ted DiBiase vs. Masked Assassin & Bob Roop.

The Grappler vs. Coco Samoa

The Grappler powerslams Samoa after a fast-paced Irish whip sequence. Watts points out how the Grappler’s foot is still hurt as he hits Samoa with a shoulderbreaker. The Grappler works the arm as Watts tells us that is his name because he is a great wrestler. Samoa headbutts The Grappler but misses a corner splash as the Grappler puts him away with an armbreaker (3:24).

Thoughts: Pretty much a squash for The Grappler, who they seem to be re-establishing here in the Territory.

We now get a spotlight on “Precious” Paul Ellering. We are shown a clip of him in the ring with a bunch of kids as he has them do situps while “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John plays. Ellering then does his own situps on a weight bench with help from Jesse Barr & Buddy Landel. Next week, he will be doing pushups. Ellering is now back to show off his physique and strength but this time there is no Iron Sheik to feud with.

One Man Gang w/ Skandor Akbar vs. Mr. Olympia

Olympia fires away then jumps on Gang’s back for a sleeper but gets yanked off. Gang then slams Olympia, who tries to fight back. Gang catches a charging Olympia with a knee smash then flings Olympia off his back. Olympia keeps trying to fight back then finally takes Gang off his feet with a dropkick. Gang kicks out at one but misses a splash as Olympia once again tries a fails to apply the sleeper. Olympia heads up top after avoiding a splash and sends Gang to the floor with a missile dropkick. The referee counts as Akbar runs in to say that Olympia should be disqualified for jumping off of the top rope. Olympia then dropkicks Akbar but Gang comes back in to put Olympia away with a splash (5:13) **.

Thoughts: Solid TV match here. Gang could not afford to lose and Olympia got cheated but did get a lot of shine in the match as it worked out. With Akbar vowing to capture all of the gold in Mid-South I would not be surprised to see these two face off again.

Kim Duk w/ Skandor Akbar vs. Dick Murdoch

WWF fans will recognize Duk as Tiger Chung Lee. Watts tells us that Duk is not a member of Akbar’s stable but rather brought in to put a bounty on Murdoch. Duk works the arm for a bit as Watts raves about Murdoch being a proud representative of the USA. Duk still works the arm as Watts talks about Oklahoma’s Steve Williams becoming a pro wrestler this year. Duk beats on Murdoch, who fights back. Akbar reaches into Murdoch’s bag and grabs his entrenching tool as he heads inside but Murdoch grabs that and chases Akbar away then hits Duk a few times before covering and getting the win (4:22) 1/4*.

Thoughts: This whole match was pretty much Duk working the arm in unimpressive fashion. The gimmick now is that Akbar is bringing in people just to take out Miurdoch.

Billy Starr vs. Iron Mike Sharpe

Starr cheap shots Sharpe after a break but gets hit with a pair of dropkicks. Watts brings up how last week, DiBiase left the broadcast desk to attack One Man Gang & Skandor Akbar and how its due to increased emotions. Sharpe attacks the arm but Starr rakes the eyes and fights back as Watts goes back to raving about Steve Williams. Sharpe tosses Starr into the corner then hits a backdrop before applying a bearhug. Starr breaks with an eye rake but Sharpe ducks a clothesline and gets the win with a backbreaker submission (2:55).

Thoughts: A quick win for Sharpe as he continues to get a micard push on TV.

Clips from last week when DiBiase attacked the One Man Gang and Skandor Akbar after they were cheating in their match.

Bob Roop & The Assassin vs. Ernie Ladd & Ted DiBiase

Ladd slams Roop to start. Assassin tags in and lands as few shots but Ladd puts him in the corner. Roop and DiBiase both tag in and trade holds for a bit. Roop catches DiBiase with a high knee but DiBiase fights back and works the arm. Roop gets worked over by both men before tagging out. Assassin catches DiBiase with a hip toss and a dropkick but DiBiase blocks a second dropkick attempt and tries to put him in a Boston Crab. Roop is back in now but DiBiase hits a shinbreaker then puts on the figure four. Roop tries to turn the hold as Ladd chases Assassin back to the apron but the ref orders him back, allowing the Assassin to break the hold. Ladd comes back in but Roop takes him down low and he falls on top of DiBiase, who is stunned. The Assassin loads his mask but Ladd pushes him away and he hits the referee, who flies outside. DiBiase escapes from a shoulderbreaker then takes Assassin outside and runs him into the post. One Man Gang runs in as DiBiase & Ladd fight him off but amidst the chaos, the Assassin loads his boot and takes DiBiase down as the ref crawls inside and counts to three (5:01) **3/4.

Thoughts: This was tremendous fun to watch. It was pure chaos. A key thing to note here was that Ladd got knocked on top of DiBiase, who also ate the pin. Anyway, after this, you can bet they want to get revenge on Akbar.

The Turk vs. Buddy Landell

Landell lands a few shots but runs into an elbow. Landell comes back with a crossbody for two but The Turk hits him with a gutwrench suplex. Watts runs down next week’s show as The Turk works a front facelock. Landell escapes and uses a headscissors takedown but Turk takes him back down. Landell gets a nearfall with a sunset flip but Turk goes back on the attack. Landell gets another nearfall with a small package as he tries to get the win before the show ends but fails (3:34).

Thoughts: Landell looked good in this standby match to close out the show.

Final Thoughts: I liked this show. The main angles all run through Akbar though but everything we saw here was heated and fun. The midcard is a little uninspired but the top of the card is really strong.

Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Sunday: WWF Boston Garden 6/3/89

Monday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 6/4/89

Tuesday: WWF Prime Time Wrestling 6/5/89

Wednesday: EVOLVE 74 12/10/16

Thursday: RF Video Shoot Interview with Ole Anderson

Friday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 6/10/89

Saturday: Mid-South Wrestling 5/20/82