In this Mid-South Wrestling 4/3/82 review, Ernie Ladd sends a message to Skandor Akbar, Tully Blanchard and Wayne Ferris team up against The Junkyard Dog and Mr. Olympia, and much more.
Let’s jump in.
- Show:Â Mid-South Wrestling
- Date:Â April 3, 1982
RINGSIDE: Boyd Pierce welcomes Bill Watts back to the commentary booth. Watts hypes the action and recaps the story behind Bob Roop winning the North American title from Ted DiBiase (REVIEW). As always, Watts is terrific with the attention to detail, including why Mid-South can’t reverse the decision of the match.
VIDEO: Highlights from the finish of Roop vs. DiBiase.
RINGSIDE: Watts plays up the tension between the babyfaces and Skandor Akbar’s stable, then transitions to explaining how Paul Orndoff realized Roop duped him to take his spot in the title match.
VIDEO: Highlights from Orndorff hauling off on Roop before his scheduled match with Buddy Landell.
Bob Roop vs. Coco Samoa
A non-title match for Roop. Coco has seemingly been placed in the opener spot several times since his journey to Mid-South, and it works well given his style and energy. Another solid outing for him in this match, as he takes the fight to Roop. And as usual, Roop sells the offense like a pro.
Watts calling a suplex a “supleigh” never gets old. I laugh every time. Just when Coco seems to have it won with a flying cross body, Roop reverses it and pins him for the win. Solid work from both men. (Recommended)
Mike Boyer vs. Paul Orndorff
Any match that starts with a CRISS CROSS gets a thumbs up from yours truly. Boyer tries to get some offense going, but Orndorff’s strength wins out as he counters to hits the powerslam for the victory. It’s worth noting that Watts mentions DiBiase won’t need surgery on his leg, so there’s some storyline advancement.
IN THE RING: Reeser Bowden with Skandor Akbar. Bowden reveals “Killer” Karl Kox has missed his recent bookings, and the fans are pointing the finger at Akbar. His response? “He could have had a stroke or got sick or had a heart attack.” That escalated quickly. Akbar also lets it slip he could’ve gotten beat up at a truck stop on his way to Dallas. Akbar notes Kox using a weapon last week, and his army will take aim at the Mississippi and Louisiana Heavyweight titles and warns wrestlers not to team with The Junkyard Dog.
The Samoans (w/Skandor Akbar) vs. Buddy Landell and Jesse Barr
Something tells me the champs will come back with a vengeance in this non-title match after losing to JYD and Kox last week. I just realized Barr is Jimmy Jack Funk, who has been a regular in the WWF Wrestling Challenge rewatch series I’m doing. Landell takes one of the biggest backdrops we’ve seen in Mid-South, so that’s a highlight of this match. It’s Afa and Sika getting the job done for the easy win.
One Man Gang (w/Skandor Akbar) vs. Rick Ferrara
If Terry Gibbs was at a size disadvantage on the previous episode, Ferrera is at a huge size disadvantage in this one. Poor Rick. Give him credit for raking the eyes to get out of Gang’s bearhug, but Gang squashes him for the quick victory.
IN THE RING: Reeser Bowdown with a clean-shaven Ernie Ladd. He teases a mystery partner to go up against Akbar’s army in two weeks, though he admits JYD hung up on him after offering him $10,000 to be his partner.
Tully Blanchard and Wayne Ferris vs. The Junkyard Dog and Mr. Olympia
HONKY HAS ARRIVED. He’s sporting bleached blonde hair, which will be quite a visual for those who only saw him with the jet black hair in the WWF. Watts adds more detail on why JYD would hang up on Ladd given their history, and again, it’s a small tidbit that makes a big difference.
Tully and Ferris work well as a team, and both showed a lot of great charisma with their in-ring mannerisms. The referee gets occupied with Tully, which allows Olympia to hit a dropkick off the top before JYD hits the Big Thump for the victory. (Recommended)
Ron Cheatham vs. Iron Mike Sharpe
Sharpe better make quick work of Cheatham since they’re up against the run time. Watts does a nice job pushing Sharpe as a gentle giant who needs to pick up the aggression. He does so by locking in the backbreaker for the win.
BLAKE’S TAKE ON MID-SOUTH WRESTLING 4/3/82
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
Thoughts: Another quality episode of Mid-South Wrestling. Watts always adds so much detail to the ongoing storylines, and it really gives fans that extra something to get invested in. A few solid matches, Ladd’s return, and the Tully/Ferris duo combine for an entertaining show.
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