Mid-South Wrestling – July 29th, 1982

July 29, 1982

Your hosts are Boyd Pierce and Bill Watts

This week, Killer Khan defends the Louisiana Heavyweight Title against Iron Mike Sharpe. Also in action are “Dr. Death” Steve Williams and the One Man Gang in a handicapped match.

Before the show, Watts talks about a barbecue at his house and how his wife came from Estonia and got to see all of her family who escaped from WWII and also puts over Ronald Reagan.

Watts then lets us know that the Junkyard Dog refuses to wrestle on TV unless he gets a match against Ted DiBiase but he will be available for interviews. However, DiBiase refuses to wrestle JYD on TV as this is a new turn in the JYD/DiBiase feud.

Billy Starr vs. Mr. Olympia

Olympia gets the best of Starr to start as the latter is complaining of non-existent hairpulls. Watts says Mr. Olympia told him JYD has nothing to worry about when it comes to trust as he catches Starr with a dropkick. Starr uses a chop to the throat to take control of the match. He hits a few falling headbutts as that barely gets a two count. Starr hits a slam and targets the back but misses a diving headbutt from the middle rope as Olympia fights back. Olympia then floats over in the corner and puts Starr away with a sleeper (3:24). Olympia then drops a fist after the win.

Thoughts: Olympia looked good here. Note how Watts made it a point to say how Olympia told him that JYD can trust him and has nothing to worry about. That will be something to remember going forward.

Mike Bond vs. “Dr. Death” Steve Williams

Williams overpowers Bond to start as Watts talks about his own children’s athletic accomplishments. Bond tries to wrestle with him on the mat then reaches the ropes. Watts said being an amateur wrestler gives you the basics to succeed as a pro as opposed to others without experience as Williams applies a bearhug. Watts talks about going to someone else’s barbecue and the people in attendance as Williams runs through Bond a few times then puts him away with the Oklahoma Stampede (3:37).

Thoughts: Williams got a better reaction than in the past. He’s still very green but has a great presence as Watts was in his glory on commentary talking about his children and all the people he knows.

One Man Gang w/ Skandor Akbar vs. Joe Stark & David Price

Stark bounces off of Gang as Watts notes Akbar is wearing a neck collar due to Iron Mike Sharpe hitting him with a piledriver. Price tags in as Gang beats him down in the corner as Watts tells us Ted DiBiase got himself a new tag team partner in Jim Duggan. Gang stays in control until he puts Price away with a piledriver (2:19).

Thoughts: They really put Gang over strong here as it seems a singles push is in line.

Watts talks about Akbar using his pull to reinstate the piledriver as we see a replay from last week where Iron Mike Sharpe ended up hitting Akbar with that move when Akbar tried to interfere. Watts then says Akbar wants Killer Khan to get revenge for the attack.

Louisiana Heavyweight Title Match: Killer Khan (c) w/ Skandor Akbar vs. Iron Mike Sharpe

They start out fighting over a lockup that ends in a stalemate. Khan works a headlock as Sharpe tries to break as a “USA” chant breaks out. Khan hammers away after yanking Sharpe down by the hair. He hits several stomps then chokes Sharpe out but misses a corner charge. Sharpe fights back then uses a bearhug. Khan breaks out with a hip toss but misses an elbow drop as both men are down. Sharpe rams Khan into the corner and uses a few shoulder thrusts but ends up running into a thrust kick. Khan then hits a slam but misses a knee drop from the middle rope. Sharpe then goes for the piledriver but Akbar runs in and tosses down the referee for attacking Sharpe for the DQ (6:11) *1/2. Sharpe fights back and tosses Khan outside before hitting Akbar with the piledriver. Sharpe then covers Akbar and takes the title belt as the crowd cheers.

Thoughts: The match wasn’t anything special but the finish was hot and the fans were into Akbar getting hit with the piledriver. Looks like a Khan vs. Sharpe feud is now in the works. Sharpe was not the greatest babyface but he did get over in attacking Akbar, although most people would in that situation.

Hangman Harris vs. Rick McCord

Harris beats on McCord to start. He gets two with a suplex then applies a chinlock. McCord fights back and hits a pair of dropkicks but runs into a clothesine and Harris uses the Hangman hold for the win (2:43).

Thoughts: Harris was dull and not very good in the ring. The crowd was quiet for this match.

Ted DiBiase & Hacksaw Duggan vs. Jesse Barr & Vinnie Romeo

Barr hits Duggan with a bridging German suplex for two. He then hits a gutwrench as DiBiase tags in but Barr blocks a sunset flip for a nearfall. Watts lets us know that we will get a taped interview from Dick Murdoch in Japan next week a DiBiase takes control of the match. He catches Barr with a slam then tags out as Romeo tries to beat on Duggan but that fails. Duggan slams Romeo and hits a knee drop as the heels stay in control until DiBiase puts on the figure four and gets the win as Duggan knocks Barr through the ropes (2:45).

Thoughts: They got over the DiBiase & Duggan pairing well enough here. The last 30 seconds or so were exciting and Duggan is also someone in line for a push in Mid-South.

Watts talks about the finish of last week’s standby match between Buck Robley and Ted DiBiase as Robley almost won with the sleeper but the show went off of the air.

The Assassin vs. Buck Robley

Robley works the arm to start. The Assassin comes back with an elbow smash for two then uses a side headlock on the mat. DiBiase appears at ringside and takes a seat as The Assassin stays in control of the match. He hits Robley with a backbreaker for a nearfall then Robley ducks an attack and locks on a sleeper. He jumps on The Assassin’s back as The Assassin charges to the ropes and the ref gets knocked to the floor. DiBiase comes in and hits Robley then has The Assassin hold up Robley so he can hit him with the loaded glove but Robley ducks and The Assassin gets hit instead. Robley loads his brace as DiBiase tries to wake up The Assassin then DiBiase shoves The Assassin so he gets whacked by Robley. DiBiase flees as Robley is the last one standing as Watts tells us that The Assassin has also left as the show ends (4:17) *.

Thoughts: Another wild ending as Robley outsmarted the heels and chased them away. You have to think that at some point, DiBiase and others will beat Robley down and at that point others will come to Robley’s aid, including JYD.

Final Thoughts: The action was forgettable but they got over a few storylines here and set things up going forward so it was a decent show overall. The big news was JYD refusing to wrestle on TV, they noted he would wrestle at the arenas though, until he got a match signed against DiBiase so it appears TV is going to build up to that match and it should be exciting to watch it all unfold.

Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Sunday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 10/14/89

Monday: WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event 10/14/89

Tuesday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 10/15/89

Wednesday: wXw 2017 16 Carat Gold, Night Two

Thursday: RF Video Shoot Interview with Lance Storm, Volume 1

Friday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 10/21/89

Sunday: Mid-South Wrestling 8/5/82