by Liam Byrne
Hans Schroeder and Bob Owens are the opponents for a team that seemed to form the previous week, Sonny King and Brickhouse Brown. It is Schroeder and Brown up first, with Brown avoiding a cheapshot out of a clean break, before landing two shoulderblocks and kicking his way out of a predicament caused by a hiptoss. Owens is now in and charges his way into two armdrags, with a third administered by King. Brown is soon back in and tries to pin Owens with a hammerlock, only getting a one. An odd spot sees Brown whip Owens into the rope, but tagging out to King instead of doing anything. This does lead to King getting stuck in the heel corner, with Brown just illegally entering the ring to help him out. Brown hits both heels with dropkicks, with a second one for Owens enough for the win. A really messy match considering how short it was.
Following Terry Taylor and Magnum TAs workout session a few weeks back, Butch Reed and Buddy Landell have requested time to showcase their own workout regime. Reed calls out Brickhouse Brown, dubbing himself the original. More words are aimed at Brown, who does head down to the ring after Reed has done some pop-up press-ups. Brown tentatively gets in the ring, with Reed saying he should do some push-ups to show what is made of. This degenerates into an arm wrestle on the canvas, with Landell standing in for Reed as he is worried Brown might try and injure Hacksaw. Brown obviously wins, whilst Sonny King hits the ring just as it looks like Reed is about to launch himself off of the top rope onto Brown.
Adrian Street versus Robert Christy is the next contest, with the whole rigmarole that is the Street introduction. He skips around the ring before engaging with Christy, before rolling his way out of an arm wringer and nailing Christy with a forearm to the face as the jobber looks confused. A splash and an elbowdrop lead to a leglock into a bridge for the pin. Complete domination.
Without a lot of time left (six minutes of the show total by the time the bell rings), we are due a television main event of Ernie Ladd and Krusher Kruschev against Johnny Mantell and Terry Taylor that is TV time remaining. Kruschev goes to the eyes quickly against Mantell, but a reverse on an Irish whip into the corner allows Mantell to hit a flying headscissors, with a second attempt even sloppier than a poor first attempt. Taylor is brought in, scoring a nearfall with a backslide, whilst an armdrag takes down Ladd as he enters the contest. Quick tags allow the faces to target the arm whilst keeping the fresh man in, though Ladd powers Taylor back into the heel corner to turn the tide. Ladd also holds onto Kruschev to block a monkey flip attempt by Taylor in a good piece of teamwork.
Ladd hits an impressive dropkick, but Kruschev misses an elbowdrop moments later to allow Taylor to tag to Mantell. Some quick exchanges see Kruschev hit with a flying forearm by Taylor, Ladd hit the double legdrop on his own partner by mistake, and Mantell pick up the win with a jacknife pin. Sloppy in places, but did get over the frenetic desire for both teams to win within the time limit.
A mixed show that had some good, some not so good. The highlights were Williams/Adams and the contract signing for the tag titles, whilst Brown and King as a team look like a recipe for disaster.
CWA Championship Wrestling 8.9.84
Just as Dave Brown was absent recently, Lance Russell is taking this week off as Brown is left to look after the action by himself. He runs down the card as always, with Jerry Lawler, Randy Savage, Ric Rude, Eddie Gilbert and a ‘rugged tag team’ that don’t get a mention by name all on the bill.
It is the King who is in the ring first, taking on Keith Roberson, a man who seems to no longer be supported by Jimmy Hart. Roberson manages to push Lawler back into the corner twice in a collar and elbow tie up, though both times he offers a clean break. When Lawler pushes Roberson into the same position, he also allows a clean break the first time, but blasts him with a punch the second time as the fans rejoice. Roberson then tries to gain revenge with a punch from a clean break position, only for Lawler to duck and punch him once more. Lawler uses a back suplex to escape a side headlock, but this time when they end up in the corner, Roberson is clever enough to grab a handful of hair to allow him to connect with a punch. However, this just pisses off Lawler who smashes him with several punches and a second rope fistdrop for the win. This is a brilliant encapsulation of what Lawler was able to do; the crowd were loving every minute of it, yet Lawler only threw the odd punch and nothing else. A mastery of getting a lot with very little.
Lawler goes and joins Brown post-match to talk Ric Rude. Interference from Rude at the Coliseum cost Lawler his Southern Heavyweight Title (alongside the opportunity to win a new Cadillac in a tournament)) against King Kong Bundy, so Lawler had asked Eddie Marlin for a match on the show today. However, Lawler says that Marlin is seeing dollar signs only, so wouldn’t allow it, but Lawler promises that any place Rude or Bundy are wrestling, they’ll have to wrestle the King as he will be there.
We get the first mention on Memphis television of Pro Wrestling USA, with a shill for the taping at the Mid-South Coliseum. Dirty White Boys, Eddie Gilbert, Dutch Mantell, Mr Saito, The Rock and Roll Express, Larry Zbyszko, Dory Funk Jr., Butch Reed, Tony Atlas, Tommy Rich, Jerry Lawler, Nick Bockwinkel, Harley Race, Ken Mantell, The Fabulous Ones and the Road Warriors are all reeled off as being a part of the taping in what is an exciting prospect on paper, but one that would fail miserably in practice.
After a music video that mixes footage of Randy Savage in the ring, in the Coliseum and out in the wild, he is in the building to take on Randy Johnson. No Angelo or Lanny Poffo this week, but I doubt they are needed if we’re being honest. Savage instantly shoulder charges him into the ropes, before strikes and a stomp to the back of the head have Johnson in a lot of trouble. A gutwrench suplex leads to his trademark elbowdrop, though off of the second rope so as not to get disqualified. However, the referee doesn’t disqualify him moments later after a double axehandle from the top to the floor. After pulling him up from the three count before, a second second rope elbowdrop is enough for the win. Dynamic domination by the Macho Man.
Following some self-inflicted chair shots, Savage joins Brown for some words about the Jerry ‘The Queen’ Lawler and Ric Rude situation. Savage tells Brown and the fans to disregard everything Lawler said, as it will be the Macho Man who will take out Rude, King Kong Bundy, and Jimmy Hart. Savage is sitting somewhere in the middle of the face/heel divide all of a sudden, seemingly coming off the back of a defeat to Bundy in the tournament at the Coliseum. Still, it opens up some new match combinations that freshen up the card.
Ric Rude is up next, but before he can fight Keith Eric, Jerry Lawler is out with a proposition. Either Eric can walk out and allow him to fight Rude, or the King will just kick both of their arses in order to get at Rude. Eric does indeed stand down, whilst Rude goes against the pleas of his manager to start the match with Lawler. Several punches have Rude rolling to the floor, whilst Hart continues to come over to Brown in order to complain about this not being a sanctioned contest. Some more punches and a fistdrop have Rude once again heading outside the ring, before offering a handshake upon his return. Lawler has none of that, kicking him in the stomach and slapping him around the face, sending Rude back to the outside.
Rude now begins to get on the mic, asking if it is because of the windshield: if it is, he will just pay for a new one. He gets back in with his hand out, though this time it is a suplex that Lawler greets him with. Hart then distracts the referee, allowing Rude to hit a piledriver and a swinging neckbreaker to completely turn the tide. Rude lands a second one, though Lawler completely no-sells it, punches Rude several times and hits the second rope fistdrop. King Kong Bundy hits the ring to cause the disqualification, whilst the Dirty White Boys are summoned to block the locker room. A chair gets introduced, busting Lawler open, whilst outside of the ring the Dirty White Boys are beating up a murderers’ row of jobbers. Following the words from earlier, it isn’t surprising that the person who does manage to break through is Randy Savage. Former enemies now become allies as Lawler and Savage run the First Family off in a heated match and segment.
Following a commercial break, Jimmy Hart is back out again, but this time with Eddie Gilbert. As Gilbert is the International Heavyweight Champion, he says that he gets to choose and decides that he wants to hear the pre-taped words from the ‘country bumpkin’ Tommy Rich first. Rich is thankful to the fans for all the support, even though he wasn’t able to win the Cadillac (beating Gilbert in the first round, losing to King Kong Bundy in the next). The segment is edited in a way that it cuts out the bulk of what Rich says, but he finishes by saying he is coming after the belt, as well as Hart, on Monday night. Gilbert and Hart openly mock Rich’s words, with Gilbert professing that there has never been a day in his life where Rich has been the better man than him. Hart makes it clear that if Rich goes anywhere near him, he’ll feel the whole force of the First Family.
Gilbert heads straight into the ring to take on Jim Jamison, who breaks cleanly on an opening exchange as Hart says hello on Gilbert’s behalf to all the fat and ugly girls out there that he doesn’t need hanging around him anymore. Jamison continues to offer up clean breaks, only to get sucked punched by Gilbert. A slam and a kneedrop have Gilbert in control enough to jaw with the crowd, though this does allow some brief offense by Jamison as he lands a couple of punches. This barely halts Gilbert as he uses a back body drop and a turnbuckle smash to regain control. Once again, Gilbert steps out of the ring to deal with the crowd, almost getting punched in the back of the head upon exiting. Back in the ring, Gilbert lands a perfect suplex, but isn’t in a rush to go for the pin. Punches, stomps and chokes follow as Gilbert is taking his time to destroy Jamison. A back elbow sends Jamison out of the ring, leading to a stiff DDT on the floor! Finally, Gilbert pins Jamison with one foot in a brutal squash.
No-one seems willing to wait tonight as Jerry Lawler and Randy Savage are out again, with the King saying they don’t have to wait until Monday night to get things sorted. As Lawler is laying down the challenge, Savage is smacking himself with a chair. Lawler makes it clear that they both don’t like each other, but they hate the guts of the First Family. Savage keeps repeating that they are in the twilight zone right now, whilst also calling Bundy ‘slow’ and Rude ‘dumb’. Noting that Hart has a yellow streak, Lawler accepts that they will wait for Monday, but that Hart and his guys should be counting down the hours as that is all they have left.
We get a promo video for the Dirty White Boys, which has them standing around a lot of cars, the rebel flag and doing some general mugging for the camera. Memphis are presenting the Dirty White Boys as the West Coast Champions, with one of them telling Brown that Hart had promised them a shot at the tag team belts. Their opponents are David Johnson and Mark Reagan, which says a lot about how far Reagan has fallen once again. Johnson is the first sacrificial lamb for his team, as he is pounced upon by one of the Boys, with no distinction being given between which one is which (one being Tony Anthony, the other Len Denton). DWB #1 – or Anthony – is tagged in and continues the beat down with a slam, whilst the team are using quick tags to keep the fresh man in. DWB #2 hits a slam and a legdrop before picking him up out of the pin.
A mistake is made as they send Johnson to tag, but both Boys get thrown with body slams by a fired up Reagan. The second Johnson is tagged back in, he is smothered once more and dragged over to the heel corner. DWB #1 chooses to pick Johnson out of the pin this time, following a kneedrop, which allows DWB #2 to hit a slam on the floor to their unfortunate opponent. DWB #2 uses a snapmare to put Johnson on the met for some more right hands to the face, whilst an effective looking powerslam again has DWB #1 pulling Johnson up at two. The crowd are calling for Reagan, and he jumps in, only to get sent out by the referee. Frustration continues to boil within him though, and he does hit two dropkicks after another illegal entry. A double Russian legsweep gives the Dirty White Boys a win in a squash was pretty much heel brawler tag team 101.
We get one more return to the action from earlier as Jimmy Hart, King Kong Bundy and Ric Rude are back out, with Rude wiping down Brown’s shoulders to mop up the tears that fell from Lawler’s chubby cheeks, and his front for the saliva and spit that comes out of Savage’s mouth. Rude even has a dig at Brown, saying that Savage only looks good next to him as even Rude’s dead grandmother would. Bundy is up against Savage at the Coliseum on Monday, and dubs him Norman Bates, promising the squash the psycho and retain his gold.
An action packed episode of Memphis that really revolved around the Macho Man face turn. As was said earlier, we didn’t really get a reason outside of Bundy beating Savage – not that this was touched upon – so it feels a little odd and out of nowhere, but it does freshen up the dynamics and should make for some good television/Coliseum shows in the near future.
MACW World Wide Wrestling 8.9.84
Having been showcased in singles competition last week, it is time for us to see Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda team up for the first time on Mid Atlantic television as they face Jeff Sword and Doug Vines. It is Rotunda and Vines who begin the contest, though within the opening minute Rotunda has been out and back in as the faces hit axehandles off the top onto Sword’s arm. Vines also gets immediately isolated and hit with a double dropkick, whilst a slam from Windham is then followed up by a double back elbow as they are showcasing their slick tag team manoeuvres. Windham sends Vines flying across the ring with a back body drop and a hiptoss, but he has to be careful as he almost gets caught in the jobber corner. Rotunda lands three dropkicks in a row, taking out both of the opponents, before Windham hits his lariat on Sword for the win. Definitely a better match with them teaming rather than the singles squashes we saw last week.
Tully Blanchard is with David Crockett as they discuss the big match on the show this week: Angelo Mosca Jr. defending the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title against Ron Bass. As Blanchard begins to run down his thoughts on both men, we do get some split screen footage of both wrestlers preparing for the contest, which does make it feel like a big deal in terms of its presentation. Blanchard offers Mosca Jr. credit where credit is due, but as Bass has a weight advantage, more years under his belt, and JJ Dillon in his corner, Blanchard tips Bass to win. We join Dillon and Bass (with Black Bart also in the room) as the manager gives his charge some advice, whilst Johnny Weaver joins Mosca Jr. moments later as the champion talks about his nerves going into the contest.
As Bass is on the card, so is his team mate Black Bart as he takes on Mike Fever. We cut into the midst of the action as Bart is ramming Fever head first into the turnbuckle before pitching him through the middle rope and to ringside. Fever gets no break as he gets sent head first into the apron and the guard rail, with Bart then hitting a big slam on the concrete floor. Bart continues to brutalise Fever as Crockett mentions that Bart and Bass are already the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champions, though in all reality the titles have been out of commission for a year. Chokes and bites have Fever reeling, whilst Bart hits a leg drop and pulls Fever up at two just to continue to toy with him. Instead, it is a running powerslam that Bass deems enough to finish off Fever in a dominant display that did what it needed to do in establishing Bass as a bruiser.
After some shilling which includes a spoiler as JJ Dillon is announced as the manager of the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion before talking up a Bass title defense against Rotunda, as well as Tully Blanchard giving Barry Windham a chance in the limelight apparently, it is the Zambuie Express who are up next. Mark Fleming and Brett Hart are the sacrificial lambs this week as they get initially smothered by the Express, before Hart ends up taking a brief beating at ringside. To give Hart credit, he attempts to fight back several times, but rakes to the face and no nonsense strikes halt him every time. The Express keep Hart in their corner until they decide to force the tag and begin a beatdown on Fleming. A slam is followed by a double headbutt, though Elijah Akeem decides to add to the misery of Fleming with an elbowdrop for the three count. Standard Zambuie fare.
Prior to the Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Title match, we get a promo with Dusty Rhodes, Bar
ry Windham and Mike Rotunda, with The American Dream talking about getting involved in the United States Heavyweight Title Tournament before throwing over to the two newcomers. Windham and Rotunda are due to challenge Ivan Koloff and Don Kernodle for the belts in time, but they also real off The Zambuie Express and the Wahoo McDaniel/Tully Blanchard connection as other potential teams they want to wrestle.
The effective main event of the show is next as Angelo Mosca Jr. defends the Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Title against Ron Bass. Bass instantly makes the strength advantage pay by blasting Mosca Jr. with several big elbows to the back of the head, yet Mosca Jr. telegraphs a back body drop and ends up sending Bass to ringside following a dropkick that has the crowd fired up. Whatever Dillon tells him doesn’t help initially as Mosca Jr. hits a crossbody for two and begins to control the match on the mat with a side headlock. Bass sends Mosca Jr. into the ropes for a hiptoss, though a follow up elbowdrop misses and just lets the champion go straight back into the side headlock. A similar things happens seconds later as Bass ends up missing a charge into the corner and finds himself in a side headlock once more.
Mosca Jr. almost retains the gold with a roll-up before re-applying the side headlock, with a brief interruption due to a hair pull only seeing the move slapped straight back on. Mosca Jr. does switch it up after avoiding a punch, using a full nelson instead, but Bass gets to the ropes pretty easily. There’s no need to worry for side headlock fans as Mosca Jr. is back to it seconds after the break. A punch breaks the hold this time, yet Bass cannot build any momentum as Mosca Jr. applies a sleeper that has to be stopped via rope break. As Bass woozily heads to ringside, the show goes to a commercial break.