In this Mid-South Wrestling 3/13/82 review, Mr. Olympia squares off with Bob Roop, Ted DiBiase joins the commentary booth, and much more.
Let’s jump in.
- Show:Â Mid-South Wrestling
- Date:Â March 13, 1982
RINGSIDE: Boyd Pierce with special guest commentator Ted DiBiase. The latter shares an update on Dick Murdoch, Mike George, and Ernie Ladd’s injuries at the hands of Skandor Akbar’s army.
Billy Ash and Jesse Tanner vs. Buddy Landell and Jesse Barr
As noted in the previous episode (REVIEW), lots of new and returning faces in Mid-South for this round of tapings. This is our first look at Landell in the rewatch series. Barr got the surprise standby match win over Tanner on last week’s show, and now he gets paired with Landell. DiBiase is no Bill Watts on commentary, but who is? The action breaks down with all four men in the ring, and Landell hits the suplex on Tanner for the win. (SQUASH)
VIDEO: Replay of the recent match between Dusty Rhodes and Ed Wiskowski. If you missed it, Dusty scored the victory.
The Grappler vs. Frank Monte
Hopefully our guy Monte has scouted the loaded boot. DiBiase makes it clear he can’t be an unbiased commentator in this one due to Grappler’s underhanded tactics. Monte gets a burst of offense in, but Grappler quickly counters with a shoulder breaker to regain momentum. Then Grappler destroys the shoulder some more to notch the win. (SQUASH)
Don Serrano vs. “Killer” Karl Kox
It is incredible how over Kox is with the Mid-South fans. They love the guy. DiBiase, like Watts, does remind us Kox isn’t playing with a full deck. One of the quicker squashes we’ve seen thus far, as he hits the brainbuster for the victory. (SQUASH)
Bob Orton Jr. vs. Iron Mike Sharpe
Sharpe had an impressive squash of his own in his return a week ago. Once again, if you only saw his WWF stuff, his Mid-South run is worth a watch. His presence stands out more than it did in the land of cartoon characters. Sharpe locks in the bearhug, but Orton battles back and hits a big bodyslam.
Orton is terrific as the heel in this match, and he sells Sharpe’s power offense like a gem. Just when Orton gets going, Sharpe posts him and beats him down from there before locking in the backbreaker for the win. (**, Okay)
RINGSIDE: Boyd hypes DiBiase’s North American title defense for next week. Then we see Reeser Bowden with Paul Orndorff and Bob Roop. They still don’t know which of them will be DiBiase’s opponent. And then they push a conspiracy of Mid-South barring the non-opponent from the ring. Great stuff from both men. DiBiase says he didn’t ask for any stipulation and wants a fair fight.
Paul Orndorff vs. Tony Torres
Orndorff has become one of my wrestling favorites just by watching his run in Mid-South and the WWF Wrestling Challenge reviews I’m doing. Boyd notes Orndorff likes to punish his opponents, and he does just that to Torres for a bit. Torres tries to go after Orndorff’s knee, but the latter throws him down “like a sack of cement” as Boyd puts it. Orndorff hits the powerslam for the easy victory. (SQUASH)
Bob Roop vs. Mr. Olympia
A non-title match, so Olympia will be keeping his Mississippi Heavyweight title no matter what. Good back and forth early on, and they work at a methodical pace until Orndorff makes his way to ringside. DiBiase better not leave the commentator booth or he’ll get fined like Dusty.
The fans start going wild, and the reason is that Kox comes out to run Orndorff to the back. Again, they love the Kox. He stays at ringside as Olympia gets a few near falls. Roop keeps trying to retreat, and DiBiase is loving it. Olympia hits a body press, but Roop kicks out at two. Several more near falls with Roop managing to hold on for the time limit draw. This was fun. (***, Recommended)
BLAKE’S TAKE ON MID-SOUTH WRESTLING 3/13/82
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
Thoughts: This was a great sell for the North American title match on next week’s episode, with DiBiase, Orndorff, and Roop all playing their roles nicely. You also had a very good main event with Olympia involved, so this is an easy thumbs up.
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