March 1982

Much like the Dory/Terry match from All Japan, I liked this, but I can see why it might not be some people's cup of tea: it was a slow and methodical match, with solid limb work and a lot on emphasis on them struggling to get from a hold to the next one. Dory was more rational and less mobile, but Robinson spiced this up with good selling and initiatives. It looked like everything was done for a reason, which is a good thing. Robinson working on Dory's leg was definitely the best part of it, while Dory's armwork was more restholds than anything else at times. The 30 minutes didn't fly, but they did a good job at keeping the stalemate alive until the latest parts of the co…

Lucas with the early shine. Starts working the headlock. A nasty punch to the gut by Sweetan gives him the advantage. I'm loving Sweetan using illegal punches. Even better is Ken Lucas revenge cheap shot punches. Sweetan is really good at getting heat with the little cheats. Lucas working the leg. Crowd getting into the leg work. The work here isn't dynamic, but is smart. I loved the banana peel finish that led to Sweetan's win. 2 1/2*

I loved how the grappling led to this awesome rope running high spot. Morton is looking good early. The Grappler is awesome in shining him up. Grappler suckers Morton into a test of strength/knuckle lock. Morton reverses it in a great spot. Again Grappler making Morton look like a million bucks. Grappler takes a bump on his shoulder and Morton starts working it. Grappler uses leverage to get Morton tossed to the outside. Grappler begins a straight up rudo tactic. He gives Morton a little bit of a run, then cuts him off. They build to a hot finish. Grappler loads the boot and the rest is history. 3 1/2*

Aired on Japanese TV

Finals of the Cadillac Tournament

Both guys throwing bombs to start. These guys are brawling all over the Sportatorium. This is a lot of fun. I like how McGraw combines the brawling with some comedy. Lothario's mounted punches are nasty. He showed good fire. I also loved the finish as a way to put heat on the heel. 3 1/4*

This is pretty much a Slater squash match.

I liked this. It was 2 big beefy guys just punchin,kicking , and eye rakes.I liked the bring it tough guy from both guys. A total ball room fight feel. This was heel vs heel. Though the crowd was behind Ivan the Terrible. They did what was needed to have a compelling match. 2 3/4*

From Blanchard's Southwest Championship Wrestling

Southern Heavyweight Champion “Dirty” Dutch Mantell vs Jerry “The King” Lawler March 27, 1982 TV Studio Memphis, TN Loser Leaves Town 80S wrestling TV was filled with squashes and promos that were used to set up the big house shows later in the week. Memphis liked to fuck with this mold every once in a while to whet the appetite of the fans. The newly crowned Southern Heavyweight Champion is out with Lance Russel to conduct an interview. He is still hot under collar about Lawler’s disrespectful last week. He has beaten David Price a 100x and if Lawler thinks Dutch is not in his league then he will have no problem accepting a Loser Leaves Town match for the ti…

: DiBiase is a guy who I like as a brawler, but have never really rated as a technical title match guy. This is really the first time I have seen him perform at the level of an NWA champion in an NWA champion style match (this wasn't for a title, but was very much in that style.) We get some solid matwork early, with Ted working a bunch of different variations of a hammerlock, and Tenryu putting on a tight front face lock. Much of the match is contested on the mat, but we get some big stand up sections including DiBiase taking a big spill to the floor and eating a really nice looking Tenryu tope. Tenryu also unloads with some great looking sumo thrusts which send DiBiase …

I believe this is the first Curt Hennig match from Portland we have on tape. It was slightly over a year into Curt's professional career and he already looks like a finished product with incredible grace of movement, timing and crispness. This was a great match followed by a great angle and has me very excited to see the rest of Curt's run in Portland and his feud with Buddy Rose. Watch the tape long enough to see Rose's killer promo afterwards. ****

Southern Heavyweight Champion Jerry “The King” Lawler vs “Dirty” Dutch Mantell March 22, 1982 Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, TN No Disqualification I first watched this days after Jerry Lawler's heart attack and the blog can be found here: http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2012/09/hey-yo-one-of-unique-facets-of-weekly.html I blamed poor video quality for being a bit more lukewarm on the match. I would say my real issue was a lack of familiarity with the style. I find that I need to watch a handful of matches of a particular wrestler or style before I can really sink my teeth into the match. So I tend to underrate the first matches I watch of a wrestler…

Early round match from the 1982 Champion Carnival

We get a really nice tie up to start. Then we get some big bombs thrown. They mix in highspots and Slater controls with a headlock. This has a real Mid-Atlantic wrestling style feel to it, along with the hard hitting style of Texas wrestling. All the stuff looks snug and tight. The execution of moves has been great. Slater gers caught in the ropes. This sets up up the heat . Sweetan posts Slater's arm on the post. Sweetan goes after the arm. Slater still showing fire. A hair pull puts out the fire. Sweetan's arm work is basic, but nasty. Everything is really effective. Slater selling the arm big. Duggan is out, Gino is out. Spike piledriver on Slater. Tommy Rich for the s…

WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Adrian Adonis - Landover 3/28/82 Lumberjack Match If the first match Adonis complimented Backlund well, in this match Adonis took it over and just went balls to wall in this action-packed sprint. This was totally in Adonis' bump 'n' run wheelhouse. They did a great job establishing the stipulation early with Adonis finding himself in all sorts of precarious positions with the babyface lumberjacks much to the crowd's enjoyments. Adonis gets his bearings and rakes Backlund's eyes and sends him to the heel side. They just run a ton of high end offense. Adonis is busting out missile dropkicks! BACKLUND PILEDRIVER~! i love Backlund …

March 29, 1982 Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, TN Barbed Wire Match Dutch Mantell defends the AWA Southern Heavyweight Title Interesting reaction at the beginning as there are clearly Mantell fans in the audience and they are vocal. I had been reading that Mantell was not treated as a true heel and many fans agreed with his stance even though he did employ nefarious tactics. Heels fans in 1982??? Shades of gray booking??? Just more proof that Memphis was way ahead of its time. The barbed wire is not around he ropes ala Funk/Sabu, but rather around the outside the ring in order to keep Dutch in the ring and prevent him from getting chair…

Early round match from the 1982 Champion Carnival. (Airdate 4/3)

Available on 1982 NJPW Dvd Set (4/9 & 4/16). Or PM me

Toguchi is also known as Tiger Chung Lee and Kim Duk. PM me if you want this

This wasn't the best version of Finlay vs Davey Boy in their prime, but still a damn solid match and a fun attraction. Lots and lots crispy matwork without any shenanigans, Finlay was at his best when he worked on the opponent's arm. More strikes and moves that you would see in a normal Joint Promotions match of that era, so that made it more digestible and well. I liked the continuous selling, apart from a few instances, plus the way they sold their exhaustion (even though they were probably really tired by the end), but the 35+ minutes lacked any major drama spots and kind of dragged at times ***1/2