MSW TV 12/3/1981

Written by: Bob Colling

MSW TV
Date: 12/3/1981
From: Shreveport, Lousiana

Matches:
1.) Bob Roop defeated Buddy Landell
2.) Paul Orndorff defeated Tony Charles
3.) North American Heavyweight Champion Ted DiBiase defeated Ed Wiskoski in a non-title match
4.) Mid-South Mississippi Champion Bob Orton Jr. defeated Jim Garvin to retain the title
5.) Terry Orndorff defeated Junkyard Dog by disqualification
6.) Iron Sheik defeated King Cobra
7.) Brian Blair & Frank Monte fought Jerry Novak & The Monk to a time limit draw.

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Boyd Pierce and Bob Ropp are on commentary and they rundown some of the bigger matches scheduled to take place. Ropp notes that he has forgotten more about wrestling than others have ever learned.

2.) The Ropp/Landell match had happened a few weeks prior to this show. Landell is sporting brown hair instead of his trademark blonde that I’m accustomed to. Roop won the match rather easily with a shoulder breaker.

3.) Paul Orndorff has a bounty out on Ted DiBiase for $1,000, which Roop thinks is a worthy cause. During this match they also hype up a Dream Match series coming to the program for the first taping in 1982. Orndorff won the squash match with a suplex from the apron back into the ring.

4.) DiBiase appears to be a top baby face for the UWF at this time. Bob Roop says he feels like he should be slapping DiBiase around since he has that feeling every time he sees DiBiase. DiBiase rolls through a middle rope cross body and pins Wiskoski.

5.) Garvin backs Orton against the ropes but neither man does anything. Garvin decks Orton with a right hand but Orton drops to a knee. Orton arm drags Garvin and focuses his attack on the left arm on the canvas. Orton is kicked away into the ropes and they have a standoff. Garvin hip tosses Orton before controlling the champ with a headlock. Garvin springboards out of the corner to keep Orton down with a headlock. Orton gets out and tries for a dropkick but Garvin avoids it and goes back to the headlock. Orton kicks his way out of the hold and punches Garvin down to his knee before dropping Garvin to the canvas. Orton gets a near fall after a standing fist drop. Orton gets sent chest first into the corner and Garvin hammers away on Orton with right hands. Garvin backdrops Orton for a one count. Garvin attempts a springboard out of the corner with a headlock but Orton counters with a back suplex. Orton comes off the middle rope with a forearm shot. Orton spikes Garvin with a piledriver for the win. (*1/2. The headlock by Garvin was pretty boring, but the finishing sequence was decent and I’m always in favor of a clean finish, especially for a heel which seems really rare.)

6.) Terry Orndorff has agreed to leave the UWF if he can’t beat Junkyard Dog tonight. Orndorff puts a mask on prior to the match saying that he thinks he can beat JYD with the mask on. JYD does not trust Orndorff or the mask and has the referee check him. The referee claims that the mask is clean and we’ve got a special challenge match. Orndorff rolls to the floor as soon as the bell sounds. Orndorff decks JYD when the referee is out of position and manages to scoop slam JYD but misses an elbow drop. JYD connects with a falling headbutt and a series of headbutt strikes to stagger Orndorff. JYD ties Orndorff up in the ropes but here comes Paul Orndorff. Paul and JYD trade strikes but JYD hits a powerslam. Terry gets something in his mask and JYD goes for a headbutt and knocks himself out. Mike George tried to get in there but was knocked out too. Bob Orton Jr. comes out to replace Terry Orndorff and is tossed over the top to the floor. That causes a disqualification to give the match to Terry. This was simply some angle advancement.

7.) Iron Sheik also won his squash match very easily winning after an elbow drop out of the corner.

8.) The tag team match to close the program ends in a time limit draw as the show comes to a close. I don’t really recall a time when a show purposely ended on a match like this. I like the idea since it doesn’t make it a certainly that a match would end between the timeframe of a show.

Final Thoughts:
It’s September 2017 and I can honestly say this is the first time I’ve watched a full Mid-South Wrestling show. I liked the action and it has a competitive feel to it. The production is high quality it seems like and I didn’t regret spending 45 minutes watching this show. I’m excited to get through the first few shows here and to see what they developed with their first TV taping in 1982.

Thanks for reading.