Mid-South Wrestling – March 10th, 1983
By Brian Bayless on 5th November 2017
March 10, 1983
Your hosts are Boyd Pierce and Bill Watts
This week we will see Matt Borne & Ted DiBiase vs. Mr. Wrestling II & Tiger Conway Jr. Also in action are Kendo Nagasaki, Mr. Olympia, and more.
We are shown the final few minutes of the Iron Sheik vs. Mr. Wrestling II match from Houston. Mr. Wrestling II wins with the power knee lift after Sheik ducked his head for a back drop. The action shown was solid.
“The Black Ninja” Kendo Nagasaki vs. Ron Ellis
Nagasaki bets Ellis down then kicks him in the face. He works a nerve hold and after that stomps away and stays in control until he gets the win with a thrust kick (1:48). After the match we see Skandor Akbar watching from the far corner.
Thoughts: They are building up Nagasaki for a match against the Junkyard Dog. It also appears that Akbar is interested in his services to continue is war against JYD and others in the Territory.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan joins the booth. He then tells us that Chavo Guerrero is using his win over him to springboard his career. Duggan also says that Chavo is a little “wet behind the ears” if we know what he means then we are shown the end of their match from 12/8/82 where Chavo got the surprise win. Duggan is back at the desk and says he lost because of the fact he hit the post and had to fly all night to get to the building. We are then shown the clip of Duggan vs. Tony Atlas where he won after outside interference from the Rat Pack as Duggan says he hopes Chavo watched that to see what he is getting into in their rematch. Duggan then says the Rat Pack keeps an eye on each other. Duggan did a fine job when speaking as he put over himself and the Rat Pack, stressing how they keep an eye on each other. This is something to keep an eye on down the road.
Back from commercial, we see a suitcase on the desk containing ripped masked and dolls that were used to taunt Mr. Wrestling II as Watts says this will be addressed after the next match.
Matt Borne & Ted DiBiase vs. Tiger Conway Jr. & Mr. Wrestling II
This is a non-title match. Watts mentions how during the break their was an altercation between Mr. Wrestling II and Mr. Olympia. Conway starts off by getting the best of Borne in a fast-paced sequence. He slams Borne then works a front facelock as Watts lets us know that the midgets will be here in two weeks and the Super Destroyer and King Kong Bundy will be arriving shortly as DiBiase is now in the ring. DiBiase runs over Conway then Mr. Wrestling II tags in and runs wild. Conway is in now and fights off both men. He struggles with Borne then hits a suplex and tags out as Mr. Wrestling II runs wild on DiBiase. Borne cheap shots DiBiase then comes off the top with a sit-d0wn splash behind the referee’s back. He then goes after Conway and they end up outside as DiBiase covers but only gets two. DiBiase tries to load his glove but the ref is right on him. DiBiase misses a fist drop then Borne grabs a chair as the match completely breaks down. The ref is knocked outside as Mr. Wrestling hits DiBiase with a power knee lift so Conway rolls the ref inside as Mr. Wrestling II gets the win (8:09) **1/2.
Thoughts: The action was solid and the end was chaotic but man did the champs look like chumps here. Then again, this was more about getting over Mr. Wrestling II for the following segment.
Mr. Wrestling II & Tiger Conway Jr. are at the table with the suitcase. Mr. Wrestling says the suitcase knocked over in the locker room and he saw all of the stuff used to taunt him inside. He asked Mr. Olympia if it was his as the suitcase was next to him but Mr. Olympia refused to answer if it was his as Watts goes through the content. Mr. Wrestling does not want to believe it belongs to Mr. Olympia but the evidence is overwhelming. We are then shown the altercation that took place during the break as Mr. Wrestling has the suitcase and is yelling at Olympia, who is backing away. They end up ringside as Mr. Wrestling throws the suitcase at Mr. Olympia then is restrained by Conway, Art Crews, and Tim Horner. After that we are back at the desk as Watts talks about Olympia taking Mr. Wrestling’s place when he was hurt in the Loser Leaves for 60 days match and that we should wait to hear from Olympia himself before jumping to any conclusions. Really good segment here. For weeks we have seen how someone has been fucking with Mr. Wrestling II’s belongings. And he is incredibly protective of his mask and goes nuts whenever someone messes with it or himself. And having the returning Mr. Olympia get accused of this in the way it happened is certainly intriguing.
Mr. Olympia vs. Marty Lunde
Olympia slams Lunde and hammers away as Watts says he will try to hear from him after the match. Olympia stays in control then puts Lunde away with a sleeper (1:36).
Thoughts: Olympia destroyed Lunde and was more aggressive than usual.
After the match, Watts asks Olympia if it his is suitcase. Olympia claims to have no idea what is going on and that he has been gone for sixty days. He then warns Mr. Wrestling if he keeps coming after him he’ll fight back as Watts brings up how Olympia might be falsely accused and recalls how Bob Roop set up Paul Orndorff over a year ago. Another great segment to cast doubt as to whether or not Olympia was set up in this scenario.
Kelly Kiniski & Ron Kessler vs. Art Crews & Tim Horner
Crews works over the arm of Kiniski then takes him over with a hip toss. He goes back to the arm as next week we’ll see the Super Destroyer, King Kong Bundy, Tim Brooks, and Chavo Guerrero vs. Nick Bockwinkel. Horner tags in and trades pinfalls with Kiniski until the show goes off the air (2:10).
Thoughts: Kessler did nothing here but the other three guys have been getting chances in these stand-by matches for the past few months now, with Horner standing out the most.
Final Thoughts: The company is still building up to the fallout of the North American Title Tournament but this show has been better than the past few weeks. The Mr. Wrestling II/Mr. Olympia stuff was excellent and they also showed Akbar’s interest in Nagasaki. Duggan also got a chance to put himself over and how the Rat Pack always looks out for themselves. Overall, a fun show focused on storylines.
Here is my schedule for the next several days:
Sunday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 9/1/90
Monday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 9/2/90
Tuesday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 9/8/90
Wednesday: wXw World Tag Team League 2017, Night One
Thursday: Highspots Shoot Interview with Lance Russell
Friday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 9/9/90
Saturday: Mid-South Wrestling 3/17/83