Post by Leo on Oct 11, 2024 14:33:53 GMT -5
Mid-South Wrestling Episode 1
Taped at Irish McNeel Sports for Boys Club at the Louisiana State Fairgrounds
Jim Ross welcomes everyone to the program and says fans are going to see a lot of changes. The biggest up front is the change of name from Tri-State Wrestling to Mid-South Wrestling. That relates to another big change as the territory is under the new ownership and leadership of “Cowboy” Bill Watts.
Watts comes out and talks about how he had invested in Tri-State Wrestling after his retirement and has slowly been building up to buy the company and turn it into his vision of what professional wrestling should be.
With the name change, all champions carryover from Tri-State. Magnum TA and Mr. Wrestling II are the Mid-South Tag Team Champions and Jake Roberts is the Mid-South Television Champion.
However, Watts allowed anyone who wanted to leave Mid-South when he took over to do so with no hard feelings. Ted Dibiase, the North American Champion, decided to take that offer. Watts wishes Dibiase all the best elsewhere in the UWA, which Mid-South is now a part of.
What is now the Mid-South North American Championship is vacant and a tournament will be held to crown a new champion. Matches start today and the finals will be at a super show upcoming with more information to be revealed. But it plans to be one of the biggest wrestling shows ever held in this part of the country.
Watts is on commentary with Ross for the rest of the show.
COMMERCIAL
North American Title Tournament
“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan vs. the Grappler
Finish: Grappler dodges the three point stance clothesline and Duggan slams into the near corner. Grappler with a schoolboy rollup from behind. Duggan with a dropkick as they come up. He lifts Grappler in a vertical suplex, holds it all day and then drops it into a power slam.
Winner: Jim Duggan
Time: 8:31
— — — — — —
Duggan then cuts a promo afterward at the commentary position. “Ted DiBiase was a friend of mine. Him, me and Matt Borne were the best of friends. A lot of people called us the Rat Pack. Ted chose to leave. Me and Matt stayed. And we stayed because we know Mid-South Wrestling is the greatest wrestling company there is. I’m honored to have the chance to become the new North American Champion and will serve proudly as champion for all the great fans.”
COMMERCIAL
The Bruise Brothers (Porkchop Cash and Mad Dog Boyd) and Pretty Young Things (Norvell Austin and Koko B. Ware) wrestle to a 15-minute time limit draw.
— — — — — —
“Dr. of Style” Slick comes out and watches the bout. He gets a microphone after the match. “I am here to unify power here in Mid-South Wrestling. And when I say power, I mean black power. I just saw two great black tag teams wrestle a match so even neither one could gain an advantage and a win. Well, I say you two teams shouldn’t be fighting against each other, but against the other white teams here in Mid-South. With me as your manager, the tag team title shots will be plentiful. And these fine, young black gentlemen aren’t the only ones I have an eye on here in Mid-South.”
COMMERCIAL
North American Title Tournament
Kevin Sullivan with Woman vs. Mike George
Finish: George gets a running backbreaker for a two count. He throws Sullivan into the near corner, but eats boot on a charge. Sullivan with a second rope elbow smash to the top of George’s head. Kevin with a body slam and he hangs George in the tree of woe for the running knee attack. He pulls George out of the corner in a Tombstone Piledriver position and nails that.
Winner: Kevin Sullivan
Time: 7:12
Sullivan and Woman go over to the commentary position. “Bill Watts, you have opened a Pandora's Box that will never be closed again. You are allowing my Army of Darkness to get larger and more powerful. We will be the singular force here in Mid-South Wrestling and that will be solidified when I become the new North American Champion.”
COMMERCIAL
Jim Cornette is out and is getting on Bill Watts’ case for letting Magnum TA and Mr. Wrestling II transition to be the Mid-South Tag Team Champions. Hell, they’re not even in the building this week. Everyone knows the Midnight Express of Dennis Condrey and Bobby Eaton should be the champions.
Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin of the Fabulous Freebirds come out. If anyone wants to carve a path to get to the tag team titles, that path goes right through Badstreet USA. Cornette takes exception.
“I’m not blind like the referees here in Mid-South and I’m not stupid like the mouth breathers watching at home. I know that Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin aren’t the Fabulous Frieebirds. It looks like Terry Gordy and Buddy Jack Roberts took Bill Watts up on his offer to leave, just so they could get away from you, Michael Hayes. And who do you get as a replacement, a man who’s begged me to manage him since day one, but I don’t do charity work.”
Hayes tells Cornette to shut his mouth or he’ll shut it for him. Condrey and Eaton then run out and attack the Freebirds from behind. They brawl all around.
COMMERCIAL
North American Title Tournament
“Wildfire” Tommy Rich vs. “Iron” Mike Sharpe
Finish: Sharpe rocks Rich with several forearm shots and plays to the crowd. Rich is up and dropkicks Sharpe in the back. He goes to the floor and Rich does a slingshot splash out onto him. Rich rolls Sharpe back into the ring and does a slingshot senton from the apron back into the ring for the cover.
Winner: Tommy Rich
Time: 8:43
— — — — —
Jake “The Snake” Roberts comes out with the Mid-South Television Title. “Bill Watts, you and I have never gotten along well, but keeping the TV title on me, might be the smartest thing you’ve ever done. I don’t need a title belt to prove that I’m somebody here in the world of professional wrestling, like Mr. Wrestling II and Magnum TA. But, I like having this title and, you know why, because it just means others can’t have it. One might say this puts a target on my back and everyone is gunning for me. Well, you don’t attack a snake from behind. You don’t attack them from the front either. Everyone is hot about being in the North American Title tournament, but everyone should really be coming after me. Actually, now that I think about it, not coming after me is probably the smarter play. But if anyone wants to step into the snake pit, I’m waiting.”
COMMERCIAL
North American Title Tournament
“Big Cat” Ernie Ladd vs. Junkyard Dog
Before the match starts, Slick returns and gets in the ring. He calls the match another example of Bill Watts’ racist booking where two strong, capable black men are being forced to go against each other, when both of them should be moving on in the title tournament. He tells them to call off this match and walk out with him right now. Ladd and JYD look at each other for a second and then deliver a tandem clothesline sending Slick to the floor.
They play to the crowd, but out into the ring comes Iceman King Parsons, Butch Reed and the Bruise Brothers of Mad Dog Boyd and Porkchop Cash. They gang up on Ladd and JYD. The Pretty Young Things of Norvell Austin and Koko B. Ware then come out with chairs to scare off the heels and stand with Ladd and JYD. Slick yells ‘we don’t want this, we don’t want this.’ And he pulls who appears to be his new stable off and to the back.
Bill Watts claims he’s not racist and he’s all for doubling the number of black combatants in the tournament. So, we’re changing it up for next week. Ernie Ladd will take on Butch Reed and Junkyard Dog will get Iceman King Parsons. Ross asks how this reseeding will affect the rest of the tournament and Watts said he’ll figure that out.
COMMERCIAL
To close the show Jim Ross reiterates how next week we’ll get Ernie Ladd vs. Butch Reed and Junkyard Dog vs. Iceman King Parsons in the North American Title Tournament. We’ll also see Michael Hayes vs. Dennis Condrey in a captain’s match. Plus, Magnum TA and Mr. Wrestling II will be in the house along with UWA Universal Champion Rick Rude.
