Last Week: Bob Orton Jr. successfully retained the Mississippi Heavyweight Title against a very game Jim Garvin. Terry Orndorff defeated the Junkyard Dog with the help of Paul Orndorff and a loaded mask. This victory allows him to continue wrestling in Mid-South. Bob Roop also claims that he has helped Paul Orndorff develop a can't miss counter for the Figure-Four Leglock of Ted Dibiase.

Hosts are Boyd Pierce and Ernie Ladd

from the Irish McNiel Boys Club (Shreveport, LA)

the Monk vs. Brian Blair

Match History: This is a rematch from last week's tag match that ended the show.

Blair gets a schoolboy but the Monk grabs the ropes. Monk gets a headlock but Blair takes him down with a drop toe hold. Blair grabs a half nelson before breaking it up. Monk gets a headlock takedown but Blair gets him with a head scissors. Blair works the head scissors and then grabs a quick covers for two. Blair grabs a headlock but the Monk escapes using the hair. Monk grabs the arm. Monk gets in a kick but Blair responds with a stiff forearm and goes to town on the Monk. Blair uses a bodyslam and hits a legdrop for one. Blair hits a dropkick for two. Backdrop followed by an abdominal stretch into a roll up for the three count. Nice little opener there.

WINNER: Brian Blair

Tom Renesto Jr. vs. King Cobra

Match History: This is Renesto's first appearance for these reviews so I have no comments. King Cobra is trying to rebound from a loss last week to the Iron Sheik.

Cobra grabs a headlock. Renesto sends him into the ropes and Cobra catches him with a backdrop. They really ran the ropes there. Cobra gets an arm drag and turns it into an armlock. Renesto escapes in the ropes. Cobra catches him with a couple of shoulderblocks and then hits a couple of dropkicks. Cobra gets an armdrag and goes back to the armlock. Cobra drops a couple of knees to the shoulders. Renesto fights to his feet but Cobra gets another armdrag and works the arm. Renesto gets a bodyslam but then runs into a bodyslam from Cobra. Cobra goes for a dropkick but Renesto manages to dodge. Renesto hits a few punches but then gets a boot to the face when he goes for a backdrop. Cobra hits a punch and then a backdrop for two. Cobra hits a headbutt and gets the three count. High energy match there. King Cobra plays the fiery underdog fairly well.

WINNER: King Cobra

Ed Wiskowski vs. Jim Garvin

Match History: Both men are looking to rebound from tough losses last week. Wiskowski lost to North American Heavyweight Champion Ted Dibiase in a hard fought bout. Jim Garvin went for one too many headlock float overs and lost his chance to win the Mississippi Heavyweight Title from Bob Orton Jr.

Ed gets a headlock to start and really works the hold. Garvin tries to power out but Ed is just too strong. Ed trips him up but Garvin grabs an hammerlock on the way down. Garvin drops a couple of knees to the back. Ed escapes the hold with an elbow and follows it up with a shoulderblock. Ed runs into a drop toe hold from Garvin who follows up with a headlock. Ed goes back to the hammerlock and works the hold on the mat. Garvin does a kind of indian deathlock on the arm. Ed gets to his feet and lifts Garvin into a tree of woe. Ed stomps him until the ref breaks it up. Ed drops several forearms to the back as Garvin tries to fight to his feet. Garvin starts to fight back with punches. Garvin whips Ed into the corner and hits a big forearm for a two count. Garvin grabs a sleeper and Ed escapes by running into the ropes causing Garvin to crash to the floor. Ed goes to slam Garvin into the ring but Garvin rolls him up for two. Ed hits a big knee and drops him onto the top rope. Ed hits a gutbuster to get the win. I'd give that match a solid **. Pretty good back and forth action with both guys playing their roles well. Seeing this Ed Wiskowski guy makes me wonder why Vince never made a big play for him down the road. He's that big man type that he loves.

WINNER: Ed Wiskowski

We're back with Boyd Pierce and Ernie Ladd. They recap the JYD/Orndorff match last week. Looking at it now and hearing it the mystery man that took Terry's place is Bob Orton Jr. That's what I get for watching the awful quality DVD I got from another source instead of the awesome quality ones from Mrs. Watts' site. That wasn't a shill, I've had awful luck getting good quality footage. Ladd enjoys seeing the JYD lose.

Jerry Novak and Aaron Holt vs. Junkyard Dog and Mike George

Match History: JYD and George are I believe the Mid-South Tag Team Champions here. JYD of course lost to Terry Orndorff and failed to chase him out of Mid-South on last week's show. Jerry Novak teamed with the Monk against Brian Blair and Frank Monte in a match where the ending wasn't shown.

Novak and George start us off. They hammer away at each other to start and things just break apart in the ring. JYD and George ram Novak and Holt into each other. Holt gets a double shoulderblock and JYD gets the Big Thump for the three count. Well that was indeed pretty short. NEXT!!!

WINNERS: Junkyard Dog and Mike George

Iron Sheik vs. Buddy Ryan

Match History: Ryan is making his first appearance as far as these reviews go. The Iron Sheik got a win last week over the King Cobra and is looking to win his second match in a row this week.

Sheik pummels Ryan to start off the match. Sheik hits a knee and stomps on Ryan. Sheik hits a vertical suplex and follows it up with a big elbow drop. Double underhook suplex gets two as the Sheik refuses to pin him. Sheik further punishes Ryan with stomps and punches. Overhead belly to belly suplex gets a one because the Sheik again refuses to pin the man. Overhead belly to back suplex and the Sheik finally covers for the three count. This was a nothing match. It was just to set up the Iron Sheik as a monster heel.

Mixed Tag Team Match:
Diamond Lil and Rick Ferrara vs. Barbie Doll and Tony Charles

Match History: Tony Charles came up short, no pun intended, against Paul Orndorff. This is an extra special mixed tag as it not only features women but MIDGET WOMEN!!! Just shoot me now.

Lil and Doll start us off. Lil gets a couple of chops on the ropes. Doll tosses her off and Lil complains to the ref. Doll gets a single leg takedown and applies a step over toehold. Doll gets the same move again but Lil kicks her out of the ring. Charles helps her to the apron and Lil tosses her back in. Lil hits a couple of monkey flips until Doll catches her with a punch and tags Charles in. Wow, that wasn't totally awful. Color me surprised. Ferrera comes in. Ferrara gets an armdrag and works over the arm. Charles gets a head scissors and works the hold on the mat. Ferrara escapes and gets a quick cover for two. Charles gets a couple of armdrags but then Ferrara gets a head scissors. Charles slips out of the hold and grabs a headlock. Ferrara sends Charles into the ropes and takes him down and into a Boston Crab. Charles powers out and gets a one count. Midgets tag in. Lil gets a couple of chops. Doll fights back as this turned real crappy. Doll throws Lil into the corner and covers for two. They run the ropes pretty well as Doll gets a backdrop and a butt splash for the three count. Yeah, that wasn't very good at all. I'll give the midgets credit. They were better trained than most of the current WWE divas are.

WINNERS: Barbie Doll and Tony Charles

Main Event:
Non-Title Match:
Ted Dibiase © vs. Paul Orndorff

Match History: Ted Dibiase won the North American Heavyweight Title from Paul Orndorff on 11/01/81. So this rivalry has been going on for quite awhile. Orndorff has offered $1,000 to anyone that can injure Dibiase. Basically all of last week's episode existed to build up this match with both men getting wins and Bob Roop on commentary claiming that Orndorff has a can't miss counter for the Figure-Four Leglock. So let's see if Orndorff can get a win and actually counter the hold.

Orndorff grabs a headlock but Dibiase throws him into the ropes. Orndorff hits a shoulderblock and then rolls Dibiase up for two. Dibiase gets a headlock but Orndorff throws him into the ropes. Orndorff gets a punch to the stomach. They run the ropes and Dibiase counters a sunset flip for a two count. Dibiase gets a hammerlock and really works the hold. Orndorff gets an overhead slam but Dibiase gets him in a head scissors. Orndorff slips out but Dibiase catches him with a drop toe hold. Dibiase gets a hammerlock and drops several knees on the arm. Orndorff fights to his feet and escapes with elbows to the face. Dibiase counters an irish whip and then Orndorff escapes a slam attempt. Dibiase gets a waistlock but Orndorff runs into the corner smashing Dibiase face first into the top turnbuckle. Orndorff hits a couple of kness to the head and then stomps and drops knees on the fallen Dibiase. Dibiase counters an irish whip and hits a dropkick. Dibiase hits a couple of forearms and then hits a knee lift. Dibiase hits a powerslam and then applies the Figure-Four Leglock. Orndorff turns the hold. Dibiase fights the pain for like a minute and a half until time runs out. The show ends with the match over and the ref trying to make Orndorff break the hold. Now that was a great match for only being ten minutes. It was fast and furious until the end with the Figure-Four spot and that was all about the drama of can Dibiase hold on until the match is over. I'd easily give that match ***1/4.

TIME LIMIT DRAW

Next Week:

Tom Renesto Jr. vs. Brian Blair
Paul Ellering vs. Don Serrano
Junk Yard Dog vs. Mike Boyer
Paul Orndorff & Bob Orton Jr. vs. Carlos Zapata & The Monk
Bob Roop vs. Mike George
Ed Wiscowski vs. Mike Bond
The Iron Shiek vs. "Precious" Paul Ellering in the $1000.00 Persian Club Challenge
The Iron Shiek vs. Frank Monte

Final Thoughts:

Week 2 brings with it another solid show from Mid-South capped off with a great main event match. Also remember that we're talking about 1981 wrestling television here. Seeing that kind of quality in a tv main event was pretty unheard of. The only real downer was the mixed tag match but at least it was short and missing the usual nonsense that those matches feature. And it was short. I can't say that enough. Ernie Ladd also made for a great guest commentator but that's what I expected from him. Join me next week for another exciting edition of Mid-South Wrestling.

MIDGET WOMEN?! Damn, Mid-South really DID rule.

Golly, 1,000 bucks if you take out DiBiase?! I mean, don't dig into your bank account or anything, Orndorff! I still say a smart wrestler should've learned the figure four counter from Roop, then waited about 6 or 7 years until DiBiase became the "Million Dollar Man". DiBiase would definitely have been worth more than a $1,000 bounty at that point.

Oh wait...this was Mid-SOUTH. As is, Mississippi, Alabama, etc. $1,000 bucks would've seemed like 8 million bucks back then. In fact, if you think about, it's surprising that the Mid-South fans didn't try to maim DiBiase! 1,000 sure woulda' bought ya' a buncha' old tires, Cletus.

$1000 seemed to be the magic number back then as the Iron Sheik's Persian Club challenge is for $1000 too.