Mid-South TV 1/6/83 + 1/13/83

Mid-South TV 1/6/83
Announcers: Boyd Pierce and Bill Watts

1) Steve “Dr. Death” Williams vs. Tom Renesto Jr. – 2
2) Dick Murdoch vs. Marty Lunde – 4
3) Kamala vs. Art Crews – 1
4) The Great Kabuki vs. Tim Horner – 2
5) Ted DiBiase & Matt Borne vs. David Sammartino & Buddy Landell – 3
6) Mr. Wrestling #2 vs. Gino Hernandez – 3

Episode starts off with a good interview from Mr. Wrestling #2 and then footage of Tony Atlas doing bench presses of 500 and 550 pounds. First bout wasn’t much. Renesto was pretty sloppy looking and Doc took care of him in a brief skirmish. Lunde, the future Arn Anderson, showed flashes of what would soon make him a bonafide legend. He attacked Murdoch before the bell and got some good offense in before Murdoch killed him with a dropkick. Really interesting to see Arn as a jobber. Crews was destroyed in less than a minute by Kamala. Kabuki squash was sort of sloppy. Horner simply sold some moves by just bending over and giving a grimace. Liked the sidekick followed by what Watts called a “karate delivery” on commentary. Landell with dark hair? Doesn’t even look like the same guy! Two long time territorial stars lock up in the main event. Gino looked like a child taking his first dive into a swimming pool when he attempted his finisher. MW2 looked like he had some skills but was just sort of coasting. Dug the kneelift from MW2 to finish.

Mid-South TV 1/13/83
Announcers: Boyd Pierce and Mr. Wrestling #2

1) Kevin Von Erich vs. Mike Bond – 2
2) Iron Mike Sharpe vs. Yoshi Yatsu – 3
3) Mr. Wrestling #2 vs. Hiro Matsuda – 2
4) Tim Horner & Buddy Landell vs. Kamala & The Great Kabuki – 2
5) Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. David Sammartino – 3
6) Chavo Guerrero vs. Gino Hernandez – 4

Bond looked really bad and clumsy, just selling Von Erich’s offense like he was bumbling around in the during a power outage trying to find a flashlight. Sharpe completely sandbagged Yatsu on a simple scoop slam in a screwed up spot. Pretty hard hitting little match, complete difference from anything else on the program. Just two big bulls wailing on each other in a four minute bout. Matsuda’s strikes had a bit of force behind them but MW2 just wasn’t selling. Again, much like the previous MW2 bout, it just seemed like he was coasting. Horner and Landell just just a brief bit of offense in again the wild tandem of Kabuki and Kamala. Dug the before its time enziguri from Kabuki. Not really much to the match though. Biggest thing I noticed out of the Duggan/Sammartino bout is how much David tries to be like his dad. His punches and offense look almost exactly the same. Lots of punches and kicks in this one. Liked the mat work that started off the main event. Chavo had a pretty nice belly-to-belly suplex. Gino wouldn’t really peak until he made it to World Class. Good little finishing segment with a ref bump and Gino taking a chair shot.