Mid-South Wrestling – June 16th, 1983

June 16, 1983

Your hosts are Boyd Pierce and Bill Watts

This week’s main event is Tito Santana vs. King Kong Bundy. Also in action are Boris Zurkhov & Mr. Olympia, Mr. Wrestling II, Magnum TA, and Tim Horner

Denny Alberts vs. Mr. Wrestling II

Alberts ducks out to escape from a front facelock. Mr. Wrestling then grounds Alberts with a headscissors before working the arm. Alberts grabs a headlock but Mr. Wrestling reverses then the two slug it out in the ropes. Mr. Wrestling takes control then puts Alberts away with the power knee lift (4:12).

Thoughts: Too long and dull for a squash match. Mr. Wrestling remains overpushed and with Duggan taking off as a babyface and newcomer Magnum TA getting over its even tougher to care about him. Mr. Wrestling II is too slow and old to be presented as he is in the ring.

King Kong Bundy vs. Tito Santana

Bundy shoves Tito into the corner after a lockup. Tito then uses his speed to frustrate Bundy as he runs him into the corner. Tito grabs a side headlock but Bundy ends up running him over. Tito fights back and stuns Bundy with a dropkick as the crowd gets on Bundy’s case. Tito stuns Bundy again but gets caught in the corner. Bundy hammers away then steps on the back of Tito’s neck. He hits Tito with a backbreaker but misses a splash then Tito uses a pair of elbow drops for a nearfall. Tito starts kicking Bundy’s legs then takes him down. Bundy fights off the leg lock then Tito knocks him back down after a few dropkicks. Bundy ducks a splash as Tito bounces off of the ropes. Tito lands a few shots and charges but Bundy sends him over the top rope with a back drop for the DQ (7:05) **1/4. Bundy then heads outside and piledrives Tito on the floor.

Thoughts: This was a solid TV match as Bundy piledrives another person on the floor. Bundy is still being built up for a big feud.

We see a replay from last week where Butch Reed turned on the Junkyard Dog. Watts says JYD is disappointed but that he will lay down for anyone before introducing the “Atomic Dog” music video for the JYD. Its tremendous.

“Hacksaw” Butch Reed vs. Tim Horner

Horner fires away to start but Reed decks him with a forearm smash. Horner fights back but Reed cuts him off then uses a boot scrape. The crowd chants for JYD as Reed dumps Horner throat-first across the top rope. Horner fights back and stuns Reed with a forearm but misses a charge in the corner as Reed regains control. Watts talks about Ted DiBiase being behind Reed’s change of attitude as Reed hits a few press slams before covering for the win (3:57) *1/2.

Thoughts: Decent action in this one. The push of Reed as a heel is starting off quite well.

Mr. Olympia & Boris Zurkhov w/ Skandor Akbar vs. Art Crews & George Weingeroff

Olympia and Weingeroff go back-and-forth to start. Weingeroff gets a one count after an atomic drop then tags out. Crews works the arm of Zurkhov then Weingeroff tags in and gets kneed in the gut. The champs stay in control until Crews hits a pair of dropkicks. The match breaks down then Zurkhov hits an neckbreaker and sets up for a knee drop. Weingeroff breaks up the knee drop but Olympia loads his boot on the outside and dropkicks Crews as he was about to slam Zurkhov, who covers for the win (3:34) *.

Thoughts: I like Mr. Olympia but Zurkhov has been a complete dud in this role. He looks terrible in the ring and nothing like a threat. Olympia works better teamed with a more dynamic personality, not someone far less dynamic than himself.

Rip Rogers vs. Magnum TA

Buddy Nichols has now replaced Watts on commentary. Magnum works the arm to start as Nichols puts over Magnum for being personable and possessing the tools to go a long way in wrestling. Magnum takes Rogers over with a hip toss then uses a back drop but misses an elbow drop. Magnum fights back then hits Rogers with an atomic drop for the win (1:28).

Thoughts: Magnum is over with the fans. I will say that the atomic drop is lame as a finisher, even by 1983 standards.

We are shown footage of Mil Mascaras vs. Kendo Nagasaki from Houston. Mascaras will be on Mid-South TV next week. Mascaras won and received a great ovation to build up for his debut.

Final Thoughts: Not much of a show this week. The main goal was to establish some of the newer acts and they did so through squash matches. There were not any major segments unless you count the “Atomic Dog” video package. The Tito/Bundy match was fine but the rest of the action was forgettable.

Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Sunday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 3/9/91

Monday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 3/10/91

Tuesday: WWF Prime Time Wrestling 3/11/91

Wednesday: WWF Madison Square Garden 3/15/91

Thursday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 3/16/91

Friday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 3/17/91

Saturday: Mid-South Wrestling 6/23/83