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11/16/82 Mid-South show is just as awesome as the previous week and the gorilla suit incident. Duggan really picked up the character work these past couple weeks. So has DiBiase. They'll hopefully be able to carry things while Matt Borne figures things out.

I am an absolute sucker for Stagger Lee/Midnight Rider/Mr. America-style angles.

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Bill Watts is basically early-era-RAW Vince McMahon and Jim Ross all wrapped up in one on PBP/commentary. Random political jokes and treatises? Check. Random asides about athletes from other sports? Check. 

You'd think that'd make his commentary unlistenable, but it rules. I don't know how he pulls it off. Even when he's exhorting his audience to rally around ol' Ronnie Raygun because his wife from Eastern Europe barely escaped the Reds or whatever, it's somehow almost charming. Of course, he hasn't said that while Tony Atlas is a fine athletic specimen, Watts shouldn't have to seat him at his Waffle House or anything like that yet, which would be much, much less charming. 

I've said it before, but I must reiterate how much fun Mid-South is from week to week. I've seen most of the big matches and angles, but never weekly. I'll have to revisit the Duggan/DiBiase Tuxedo Match in the context of the weeklies. Anyway, I've been bingeing the hell out of this show lately, and while I almost wish that I had to wait a week to see what happens next, I also am pleased to be able to go at my own pace. 

On another note, I like to think that in kayfabe Bourne's "Multiple Doinks" strategy that he used against Crush was because he learned from JYD's "Multiple Stagger Lees" gambit on 11/23/82's show. 

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I'm watching the 1/23/84 MSG Show just in case the US can't defeat Iran on Tuesday

Invader 1 is amazingly good at the "jump in the ring and then jump back out to distract the referee" spot. That's the sort of quick evasion one needs to successfully murder someone and then get acquitted because you're an Island Hero.

Also long hair middle-aged Mr. Fuji is certainly a sight compared to his looks as a manager. There were more fun little spots than you'd really expect from a Fuji/Tiger Chung Lee vs Invaders 20 minute time limit draw. WWF Time Limit Draws are usually worse than that and the lack of time calls mean you lose track of time watching the Invaders do double team leg work for like 3 minutes in a row.

Edit: Boy, do things change quickly for Sgt. Slaughter. He's still a heel that fans call "Gomer" at this time and he's about to become a hot babyface. The height difference between Slaughter and Putski is only slightly less than the height difference between Invader 2 and Tiger Chung Lee. Slaughter just bumps like a lunatic and blades and it's glorious. Putski is "5'7" and Slaughter is reacting as if Putski is shooting him with a shotgun when he touches Slaughter.

edit2: Hulk Hogan’s dad is quite Italian looking and also looks a little bit like Hector Salamanca. Between the Hogan title win and the Piper/Orndorff debut, big things were about to happen

Edited by Cobra Commander
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Watching Mid-South 6/26/1982, in which Bob Roop looks like a washed out country singer that uses his time as a guest commentator to put himself over as Ted Dibiase knocks out his best friend The Junk Yard Dog to win the North American title.

The next segment to fill out "standby time"? a clip of Vince McMahon interviewing a barefoot Andre the Giant.

As SirSmellington notes, a marvelous episode for Bill Watts namedropping people he knows or met recently. And also a legendary heel turn.

Edit: also an episode where Killer Khan's name is spelled Killer Kahn which is way different gimmick... and Buck Robley returns and Ernie Ladd wears a jacket with "Promises Promises" on it (not a reference to the New Wave hit song, obviously)

Edited by Cobra Commander
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Notes from the 4/14/1975 Madison Square Garden Show

Tony Altomare vs Mike Paidousis: Poor Mike had his last name misspelled on the graphics. Paidousis looks like a gym teacher. Altomare is a heel because he's fussy, he cheats, and he yells at random people. Contrary to what Jayce Naccarato said on the McAdam podcast about a 1973 MSG show, I think this NYSAC ref looks more like the owner of a car repair shop than a school custodian. "Normal video" cuts out a few times because let's face it, it's an MSG opening match. Paidousis wins after Altomare’s feet leave the mat on a missed move and then Paidousis pins him by cradling his shoulders to the mat (like if he had powerbombed him and then cradled him, only without the powerbomb)

El Olympico vs Greg Valentine: Greg Valentine is making his debut at Madison Square Garden. El Olympico is still not allowed to wear a full mask so he looks like a Hungarian Water Polo player wearing a mask with his face visible. Greg Valentine is leaning hard into looking like his dad, like Hank Williams Jr before he fell of a mountain and got his own look. Johnny Valentine was still working at this time (this is 5 months before the plane crash). Greg does his best at hitting Olympico hard enough that it's picked up on the mics. Olympico does some hitting back which looked good. Valentine had some good old time arm work of putting one foot on Olympico's wrist and stomping his shoulder (he mixed it up by also stepping on the wrist and punching Olympico's shoulder). Valentine wins with an elbow drop after he elbowsmashed Olympico down to the mat. We got some instant replay in 1975, folks. Vince has a budget.

Waldo Von Erich vs Chief Jay Strongbow: You see, you can tell that Waldo is a Nazi because he repurposed a biker helmet to look like a stormtrooper helmet. Waldo Von Erich is the champion of all Germany, which is pretty impressive when you consider he probably couldn't work his gimmick in East Germany. Waldo wins in 39 seconds by whipping Strongbow over the top turnbuckle to the floor in the greatest Jay Strongbow match i've ever seen. People at ringside are pissed off at what happened.

Little Tokyo and Lord Littlebrook vs Little Louie and Sonny Boy Hayes: People are pissed, bring out the midgets. Louie and Hayes are apparently the Midget Tag Team champions but this is a non-title 2 out of 3 falls match. I didn't pay a lot of attention to this match but you gotta love serious sportscaster Vince calling midget spots. First fall goes to the rudos after some undetected cheating. The tag rope looks very long for this match. The ref spanks Little Tokyo during the second fall. Tecnicos win the second fall after heel miscommunication. Why the fuck is this 2 out of 3 falls. They do midget/ref spots in every fucking fall. People were really a lot more easily entertained back in the 1970s when lead was in everything. The heels win the 3rd and final fall. Considering the WWWF's fan engagement approach, it's surprising they couldn't find a midget to call "Little Italy". This match lasted almost 19 minutes.

Spiros Arion vs Bruno Sammartino: This is a Greek Death Match. So the only way to win this one is by submission (no time limit! no pinfalls! no Coke! only Pepsi!). As you'd expect, the crowd is ready for this one. I'd say that Spiros Arion facially/hair-wise looks like Greek Don Muraco (this isn't a body comp). Freddie Blassie shows up, gets booed and departs because WWWF Managers had a great gig at live events of not getting stabbed at ringside. From what I recall reading, this feud might not have fostered understanding between NYC Italians and Greeks. There's some good ol fashioned punching to start this one off as this is worked in the style of dudes fighting in an alley. Arion breaks the bearhug by just low-blowing Bruno (off camera), which seems like a good way to break up a bearhug in a no DQ match. You see, the tag rope for the midget match was really long because it was used in a spot for this match. After 13ish minutes of interethnic street violence, Arion missed a top rope move and Bruno beat him with a half crab. After the win, there was some extra shitkicking followed by Bruno doing a cage match mercy spot by not curbstomping Arion into the apron. You see, sometimes you gotta work the match like the competitors bribed an offduty police officer to allow them to fight each other in a garage.

Edouard Carpentier vs Big Joe Nova: Big Joe Nova is built like a guy who was kicked off his high school football team in a move that decimated their offensive line. On checking, this was Carpentier's first MSG match since 1968 and his last MSG match. He's 48 at this time and doing his flip spots in-between moves. By this point in his career, Carpentier works like he's selling a workout plan for middle-aged people. Nova does a flip into the corner so it's always impressive to get a fat boy's feet off the canvas in 1975. Carpentier cannonballs Nova a few times for the win before going off to be the Montreal distributor of Jack LaLanne products.

Big Bob Duncum vs Victor Rivera: We got a Grand Wizard sighting. It's one fall or to curfew. Duncum is knocked over some dudes at ringside. Hidden foreign object shots. Maybe we need the return of "the heel is hitting the face with an object out of the view of the ref" spots. The ref in this match (who was also in the Bruno match) looks like someone who yells at high school students who were skipping class to smoke. We got a draw due to the curfew, as they avoid paying the union members overtime once again. Although to be fair, it took 16 minutes to reach the curfew so it was a bit of a mercy killing.

There was a Valiants vs Manuel Soto & Pete Sanchez match that wasn't included in this Old School episode.

Edited by Cobra Commander
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I watched a lot of these shows for our old podcast Titans Of Wrestling, and they're great. Waldo Von Erich is the best. Most evil Germans were Counts, Barons, or something more WW1. They were trying to hide their true feelings behind aristocracy. Not Waldo. Waldo was the Fraz Leibklin of the WWWF.

One of my favorite matches is Bruno vs. Waldo. It's a fucking brawl where Bruno beats the shit out of Waldo, Waldo bloodies Bruno with a foreign object, which just enrages Bruno. Bloody Bruno then defeats fascism by beating the living shit out of a nazi.

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I knew some of the basic premise for Arion/Bruno from a wrestling magazine I read in like 1998 that decided to do a retro piece on Spiros Arion vs Bruno Sammartino in 1998 for some reason.

So I get the sense that 70s Bruno is probably worked closer to a video on the fightporn subreddit than some modern workrate match. Bruno and Arion aren't gonna do alternating chest slaps. They'll work it closer to a 70s Worldstar video.

I guess that Bruno can't bleed every month butt the lack of blood in the big final Greek Death Match was sorta surprising. Also, a Greek death match was essentially an I Quit match without the ref carrying a mic?

Anyways, I don't know if Greg Valentine was being billed as Johnny's brother in the WWWF like he was in other areas (they used the "covering up a teen pregnancy" method to make Johnny seem slightly younger). Greg probably would have thrived a little more than you'd think in this modern era where people were willing to get hit loudly. Like Greg Valentine vs Gunther would basically be two guys trying to make the other bleed from the chest.

And naturally, Waldo Von Erich getting a countout win over Jay Strongbow in under a minute was their way to build to a Waldo Von Erich/Bruno match on the next Garden show.

This card isn't on the Network and it's probably not on YouTube but..

Quote

WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - May 19, 1975 (24,553, which included several thousand in the Felt Forum)
Televised on HBO - featured Vince McMahon on commentary:
SD Jones defeated Johnny Rodz
Haystacks Calhoun defeated Jack Evans & Hans Schroeder at 6:08 in a handicap match
Baron Mikel Scicluna defeated Bill White at 10:16
The Wolfman defeated Mike Paidousis at 4:58
Bobby Duncum defeated Dean Ho at 7:14
Waldo Von Erich defeated WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino at 21:19 when the match was stopped due to blood
Dominic DeNucci defeated Johnny Valiant
Victor Rivera defeated Greg Valentine
Chief Jay Strongbow fought Jimmy Valiant to a 20-minute time-limit draw
Spiros Arion defeated Tony Garea at 11:24
Ivan Putski pinned Butcher Vachon at 5:07 with the Polish Hammer

 

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After listening to the Titans episode for the MSG card I watched (episode 42: https://soundcloud.com/prowrestlingonly/titans-of-wrestling-42-wwwf-at-madison-square-garden-april-14-1975 ). I think the Janitor comp for the opening match referee came up. The episode didn't get to talk about a 20 minute midgets match though.

The 70s shows are a little bit of a window into life as New York City teetered on the verge of bankruptcy. Like it would be a little off for the main events to not be gritty punchfests in that setting.

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18 minutes ago, Cobra Commander said:

After listening to the Titans episode for the MSG card I watched (episode 42: https://soundcloud.com/prowrestlingonly/titans-of-wrestling-42-wwwf-at-madison-square-garden-april-14-1975 ). I think the Janitor comp for the opening match referee came up. The episode didn't get to talk about a 20 minute midgets match though.

The 70s shows are a little bit of a window into life as New York City teetered on the verge of bankruptcy. Like it would be a little off for the main events to not be gritty punchfests in that setting.

We used to joke all the time on Titans that the crowd looked like the cast of Barney Miller.

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1 minute ago, Johnny Sorrow said:

We used to joke all the time on Titans that the crowd looked like the cast of Barney Miller.

once they allow children to attend MSG shows in 1978, does the crowd change a little to be more of a "Morris Buttermaker hanging out with Kelly Leak to fulfill community service" crowd?

Looking at the cards for the summer of 1975 which had untelevised cards with matches like..

Quote

WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - July 12, 1975 (20,312)
Manuel Soto defeated Mike Paidousis at 8:19
Baron Mikel Scicluna fought Pete Sanchez to a draw

(...)

WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino fought George Steele to a curfew draw at 46:11

WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - August 9, 1975 (22,090; sell out)
Chief Jay Strongbow fought Waldo Von Erich to a 20-minute time-limit draw
(...)

Bugsy McGraw defeated Tony Garea at 6:11

(...)

Andre the Giant & Verne Gagne defeated Johnny & Jimmy Valiant at 17:45
WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated George Steele at 17:28

WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - September 6, 1975 (20,092)
Mike Graham defeated Tony Altimore at 9:45
(...)

WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated Bugsy McGraw & Capt. Lou Albano in a handicap match at 18:23

(...)

Francisco Flores & Andre the Giant fought WWWF Tag Team Champions Blackjack Mulligan & Blackjack Lanza to a draw

so Jay Strongbow's long awaited revenge on Waldo Von Erich was a time limit draw?

and they managed time so badly that Bruno and George Steele had to go 46 minutes in 1975 to reach the curfew. If they had televised that match, they would have to burn it on principle.

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Watching a Prime Time Wrestling episode from December 1987 where color commentator Nick Bockwinkel on a Bulldogs/Bolsheviks match points out a logical flaw in the Dynamite diving headbutt. But yeah, you don't need to listen to Bockwinkel doing commentary for long to figure out this is a weird fit for the WWF.

One could only imagine the weird crews that would be possible in recent years if they kept alternating heel color commentators to test out people who weren't working at ringside at any particular moment

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Early '80s Gino Hernandez has to have the single-worst second-rope elbowdrop I've ever seen. Terrible. Why did he choose to leap off the ropes backwards like that? 

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presumably someone was doing it like Bret Hart before Bret because that's the non-awkward way to do a second rope elbow drop in my POV.

Another spot that I associate with Bret Hart is the whole "teasing you're gonna kick a dude in the balls but stomping his stomach" spot.

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15 hours ago, Cobra Commander said:

Watching a Prime Time Wrestling episode from December 1987 where color commentator Nick Bockwinkel on a Bulldogs/Bolsheviks match points out a logical flaw in the Dynamite diving headbutt. But yeah, you don't need to listen to Bockwinkel doing commentary for long to figure out this is a weird fit for the WWF.

One could only imagine the weird crews that would be possible in recent years if they kept alternating heel color commentators to test out people who weren't working at ringside at any particular moment

Yeah, I just heard him on commentary with Craig DeGeorge. Talk about a weird duo. Bock certainly falls into the "tell you how to make a wristwatch" category.

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Smelly's end-of-1982 Mid-South Trends:

TRENDING UP

  • Ted DiBiase - He's come into his own a bit. Started the year as a bland, dull babyface, and ended up being a decent stooging, ducking, cheating heel. Feels more big time with Duggan and Bourne backing him up. Going from clean-shaven to a five 'o clock shadow to a full beard to match the heel turn was a nice touch. 
  • Mr. Olympia - This guy fuckin' rules so hard. Great worker, great look, can take a beating with sympathy and his offensive flurries on comebacks are great. I think he's setting up for a heel turn in '83, so we'll see if his work translates. I have never seen Jerry Stubbs without the mask and will make it a wrestling-watching priority to do so in the next month or two. 
  • JYD - Seriously one of the best babyfaces ever. I could watch this guy eat up pinballing heels all day. The Thump is a great finish, too. 
  • Kamala - Younger, slightly faster and more agile Kamala is actually pretty fun. I saw dude take a wild bump to the floor that I didn't know he ever had in him. 
  • Bob Roop - Bob Roop is great. Kurt Angle wishes he was one-tenth of the greatness of Bob Roop. I would like to watch more Bob Roop. 

IDLING

  • Hacksaw Jim Duggan - He had the Gorilla Suit Incident, which was amazing, and he's a really good visual heavy for DiBiase. Thing is, he is a shit worker and no matter how much Watts tries to get the spear over as a move, it sucks. No, Duggan barely flicking a guy's forehead with his fingers does not look devastating whatsoever.
  • Mr. Wrestling II - I know the guy is older at this point, but I do not get it at all. Sweet kneelift, but everything else about him comes off second-rate. His popularity must be a Gulf States thing. Still, the crowd loves this guy, so I'm willing to see more and be open-minded.
  • One Man Gang - His run here was short and felt underwhelming. He's clearly an interesting talent, but he's still putting it together. I know he comes back at one point in a year or two and really takes off, though. Excited to see him grow as a worker (and wondering what I should see of his from between 1983 and 1985 both stateside and in Japan to get a fuller sense of his progression).
  • Matt Borne - One of those guys who is so clearly talented, but he's very awkward on the mic and is still finding his way. Having him mostly tag with DiBiase is probably the way to go. I just watched a bunch of Borne Doink squashes and see the glimmer of talent as well as the fine form on the Bombs Away/Whoopee Cushion already. Anyway, it's the same with him as with the Portland stuff I've seen him in; clearly, he's going to be very good, but you can tell his inexperience in things like being in the right place for a key spot or cutting an effective heel promo. 
  • The Grappler - At one point, there is one too many Grapplers. I enjoyed the first one being a shitbrick, but add a second Grappler and they're just an ineffective job tag team that doesn't really do much, and that's a shame. 

TRENDING DOWN

  • Paul Ellering - I knew he did a whole Superstar Billy Graham thing before he tore his knee up one too many times and switched to managing, but I didn't comprehend how bad, how excremental, how unwatchable it was until watching through this year. My God. Dude shaved his head and picked up a WSJ and immediately became about a trillion times cooler. 
  • Buck Robley - Here's another guy at the end of his career who I should be nicer about, but mannnnnn the yellow t-shirt, the shitty sleeper, the brace he uses as a weapon...why does anybody cheer this man as a babyface? I appreciate that he was apparently instrumental in helping some talented guys get their breaks, but IDK, man, I liked him less and less as the year went on and thought that if they'd have had Dick Murdoch or Karl Kox in his spot for the bulk of the year instead, things would have been better. 
  • Boyd Pierce - He's better than heel Michael Cole, but only because he talks far less than heel Michael Cole did. 

EXCITED TO SEE MORE OF

  • Dr. Death Steve Williams - Obviously going to be fucking great at pro wrestling even as a green college student wrestling in the football off-season. Clearly is thinking through what he's doing as he's doing it, and still is compelling. 
  • Marty Lunde - I wonder if he's always an enhancement guy in Mid-South or if he gets a tiny push? Anyway, you can already see the natural heel coming through in his work, his bumping, his selling. 
  • Buddy Landell and Tim Horner - Both are clearly talented workers who are putting it together each week. 
  • Everyone in Trending Up + Borne and OMG - This is a nice core the company would have if they could keep it together with any consistency. 
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2 hours ago, SirSmellingtonofCascadia said:

Smelly's end-of-1982 Mid-South Trends:

TRENDING UP

  • Ted DiBiase - He's come into his own a bit. Started the year as a bland, dull babyface, and ended up being a decent stooging, ducking, cheating heel. Feels more big time with Duggan and Bourne backing him up. Going from clean-shaven to a five 'o clock shadow to a full beard to match the heel turn was a nice touch. 
  • Mr. Olympia - This guy fuckin' rules so hard. Great worker, great look, can take a beating with sympathy and his offensive flurries on comebacks are great. I think he's setting up for a heel turn in '83, so we'll see if his work translates. I have never seen Jerry Stubbs without the mask and will make it a wrestling-watching priority to do so in the next month or two. 
  • JYD - Seriously one of the best babyfaces ever. I could watch this guy eat up pinballing heels all day. The Thump is a great finish, too. 
  • Kamala - Younger, slightly faster and more agile Kamala is actually pretty fun. I saw dude take a wild bump to the floor that I didn't know he ever had in him. 
  • Bob Roop - Bob Roop is great. Kurt Angle wishes he was one-tenth of the greatness of Bob Roop. I would like to watch more Bob Roop. 

IDLING

  • Hacksaw Jim Duggan - He had the Gorilla Suit Incident, which was amazing, and he's a really good visual heavy for DiBiase. Thing is, he is a shit worker and no matter how much Watts tries to get the spear over as a move, it sucks. No, Duggan barely flicking a guy's forehead with his fingers does not look devastating whatsoever.
  • Mr. Wrestling II - I know the guy is older at this point, but I do not get it at all. Sweet kneelift, but everything else about him comes off second-rate. His popularity must be a Gulf States thing. Still, the crowd loves this guy, so I'm willing to see more and be open-minded.
  • One Man Gang - His run here was short and felt underwhelming. He's clearly an interesting talent, but he's still putting it together. I know he comes back at one point in a year or two and really takes off, though. Excited to see him grow as a worker (and wondering what I should see of his from between 1983 and 1985 both stateside and in Japan to get a fuller sense of his progression).
  • Matt Borne - One of those guys who is so clearly talented, but he's very awkward on the mic and is still finding his way. Having him mostly tag with DiBiase is probably the way to go. I just watched a bunch of Borne Doink squashes and see the glimmer of talent as well as the fine form on the Bombs Away/Whoopee Cushion already. Anyway, it's the same with him as with the Portland stuff I've seen him in; clearly, he's going to be very good, but you can tell his inexperience in things like being in the right place for a key spot or cutting an effective heel promo. 
  • The Grappler - At one point, there is one too many Grapplers. I enjoyed the first one being a shitbrick, but add a second Grappler and they're just an ineffective job tag team that doesn't really do much, and that's a shame. 

TRENDING DOWN

  • Paul Ellering - I knew he did a whole Superstar Billy Graham thing before he tore his knee up one too many times and switched to managing, but I didn't comprehend how bad, how excremental, how unwatchable it was until watching through this year. My God. Dude shaved his head and picked up a WSJ and immediately became about a trillion times cooler. 
  • Buck Robley - Here's another guy at the end of his career who I should be nicer about, but mannnnnn the yellow t-shirt, the shitty sleeper, the brace he uses as a weapon...why does anybody cheer this man as a babyface? I appreciate that he was apparently instrumental in helping some talented guys get their breaks, but IDK, man, I liked him less and less as the year went on and thought that if they'd have had Dick Murdoch or Karl Kox in his spot for the bulk of the year instead, things would have been better. 
  • Boyd Pierce - He's better than heel Michael Cole, but only because he talks far less than heel Michael Cole did. 

EXCITED TO SEE MORE OF

  • Dr. Death Steve Williams - Obviously going to be fucking great at pro wrestling even as a green college student wrestling in the football off-season. Clearly is thinking through what he's doing as he's doing it, and still is compelling. 
  • Marty Lunde - I wonder if he's always an enhancement guy in Mid-South or if he gets a tiny push? Anyway, you can already see the natural heel coming through in his work, his bumping, his selling. 
  • Buddy Landell and Tim Horner - Both are clearly talented workers who are putting it together each week. 
  • Everyone in Trending Up + Borne and OMG - This is a nice core the company would have if they could keep it together with any consistency. 

1982 JYD and Kamala were absolute revelations to me when I started my Mid-South watch last year, and I strongly recommend checking out their highlights from this year to anyone. 

1982 JYD was an incredible force of charisma and still very athletic at this stage of his career, to the point where I firmly believe the 1982 version of JYD would be a huge star in 2022 without much tweaking at all.

1982 Kamala is incredible to watch too and the combination of speed and size here is some of the absolute scariest shit on the planet. 

I think you're being a bit harsh on Duggan and Boyd Pierce, but I agree that Paul Ellering during this time frame is some absolute cringe wrestling television and I have no idea why anyone thought he should be a babyface. 

Fast-forwarding to where I am at in my current watch point of 1985, if anyone out there is looking for a highly entertaining stand-alone episode of wrestling television, the February 14th, 1985 episode of Mid-South Wrestling may be a new all-time favorite for me. In the span of 45 minutes you get:

-the first of the Hacksaw Duggan/Ted DiBiase "Best Dressed Man" contests leading into the Tuxedo Cage blowoffs.

-Butch Reed vs Kamala in a hard-hitting battle that ends in one of the wildest multi-man brawls in a territory known for them while tying together multiple feud threads seamlessly.

-a helluva sprint between Jake Roberts and Brad Armstrong with a particularly venomous pre-match promo from Jake.

-damn great tag team wrestling between the Rock N Roll Express and The Guerrero (Hector and Chavo) in a feud that honestly deserves to be much better remembered than it is.

And you also get the debut of The Dirty White Boys against baby Shawn Michaels teaming with Tim Horner.

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1 hour ago, clintthecrippler said:

1982 JYD and Kamala were absolute revelations to me when I started my Mid-South watch last year, and I strongly recommend checking out their highlights from this year to anyone. 

1982 JYD was an incredible force of charisma and still very athletic at this stage of his career, to the point where I firmly believe the 1982 version of JYD would be a huge star in 2022 without much tweaking at all.

1982 Kamala is incredible to watch too and the combination of speed and size here is some of the absolute scariest shit on the planet. 

I think you're being a bit harsh on Duggan and Boyd Pierce, but I agree that Paul Ellering during this time frame is some absolute cringe wrestling television and I have no idea why anyone thought he should be a babyface. 

Fast-forwarding to where I am at in my current watch point of 1985, if anyone out there is looking for a highly entertaining stand-alone episode of wrestling television, the February 14th, 1985 episode of Mid-South Wrestling may be a new all-time favorite for me. In the span of 45 minutes you get:

-the first of the Hacksaw Duggan/Ted DiBiase "Best Dressed Man" contests leading into the Tuxedo Cage blowoffs.

-Butch Reed vs Kamala in a hard-hitting battle that ends in one of the wildest multi-man brawls in a territory known for them while tying together multiple feud threads seamlessly.

-a helluva sprint between Jake Roberts and Brad Armstrong with a particularly venomous pre-match promo from Jake.

-damn great tag team wrestling between the Rock N Roll Express and The Guerrero (Hector and Chavo) in a feud that honestly deserves to be much better remembered than it is.

And you also get the debut of The Dirty White Boys against baby Shawn Michaels teaming with Tim Horner.

I accept that I may be too harsh on Duggan, and I accept that I am a Boyd Pierce hater to near-irrationality. Your critiques of my feelings in that regard are fair, tbh. 

I am very excited for '84, and I'm also as excited to see '83 build toward that year. 

12 minutes ago, Johnny Sorrow said:

Boyd Pierce was terrible, but his suits save him. 

Say this about the man, but no one rocks a loud suit and a bolo tie as well as he does. 

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18 hours ago, clintthecrippler said:

And you also get the debut of The Dirty White Boys against baby Shawn Michaels teaming with Tim Horner.

I was reading your post lazily and at first I thought that you meant that The Dirty White Boys were wrestling in 82 Mid South and looked it up on cagematch and behold, Tony Anthony and Len Denton were teaming under their Grapplers gimmick in the fall of 82 in Mid South and they had their TV debut as team against Tim Horner was well (teaming with Johnny Rich).

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