Barnett Mid-South 8.2

UWF Heavyweight Title: One Man Gang © vs. “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert (4/5/87)

Gilbert comes out with his arm wrapped up saying that he injured the arm the night before and couldn’t wrestle for 24 hours and that he had 2 hours left to go. Gang wins by forfeit.

Sunshine cuts a promo in the ring which brings out Missy Hyatt to join her, which is funny considering their past. Nicola Roberts comes out and goes after Missy but Sunshine KOs her with the loaded purse. Dark Journey would come out to make the save as bad porn music starts playing.

Chris Adams is cutting a promo about alcohol being terrible when Hot Stuff International jumps him and leaves him laying.

#1 Contender Match for the UWF Heavyweight Title: “Gentleman” Chris Adams vs. Terry Taylor (4/19/87)

Well this should be interesting. Very even match until Taylor “tripped” over Adams who was on the mat and fell to the floor between the ropes. Taylor gets back in the ring and shakes hands with Adams and sorta surprisingly it goes back to a scientific match that Adams seemed to get the best of Taylor on every move. Taylor would get a nearfall on Adams after the break with a double-arm suplex but Adams would get an inside cradle out of a suplex attempt by Taylor for a nearfall. It starts to get physical here with Taylor missing a kneedrop and Adams going to work on it. Adams goes for a figure-four but Taylor grabs the ropes. Taylor started hitting Adams with elbows but got caught in a backslide for a nearfall. Adams would reverse another Taylor suplex into one of his own but Taylor would deliver a headbutt that took both men down. Adams would hit a backdrop suplex hold for another nearfall before catching Taylor with a forearm and a backdrop out of the corner. Adams hit a Million-Dollar Kneelift then a quasi Jackhammer for another nearfall. Both men would hit a clothesline near the ropes that would send Adams to the floor on Jim Ross’ lap. Taylor then rolled out to the floor and rolled Adams in the ring by the time Taylor made it back in the ring he was counted out. Taylor was very upset after the match. That was a cute ending to a very good match.

#1 Contender Match for the UWF Heavyweight Title: Terry Taylor vs. “Gentleman” Chris Adams (5/3/87)

Real good even action to start the match before a commercial break and it continues when we come back. Adams would get the first big spot of the match with a crucifix for a nearfall then got another nearfall when Taylor went for a leapfrog but Adams caught him in the air for a falling powerslam. Taylor would start getting aggressive here using knees and elbows but Adams would once again get the advantage with a grounded headlock before going to another commercial break. Taylor would come back though with a nice backdrop suplex followed up with a diving kneedrop for a nearfall. Adams would get a sunset flip though for another nearfall but Taylor would use his elbows to keep the advantage. They would trade a couple of more nearfalls before Taylor was backdropped out of a corner by Adams but Adams let him up before getting caught with more elbows and knees. Adams though would get a backdrop suplex then hit his Million-Dollar Kneelift sending Taylor to the floor. The action would go back in the ring with Adams going back to his grounded headlock but it would turn into Taylor jacking Adams jaw. Adams would reverse a Taylor suplex into a sleeper hold before going to a 3rd commercial break. Taylor is back to working over on Adams again hitting a bodyslam but missing a diving elbow drop. Adams gets nearfalls with a backslide and an inside cradle but Taylor caught him with a stiff forearm on the way back up. We have a slugfest now with both men using various strikes but Adams would hit a jumping clothesline and a falling headbutt. Taylor would go back to the floor but came back in the ring where he would headbutt Adams hurting himself at the same time. Adams would reverse a bodyslam into a schoolboy for another nearfall before Taylor hit Adams with a clothesline for a nearfall. Taylor climbs up to the top rope and Adams press slams him off before going to work on Taylor. Adams hits a backdrop suplex for another nearfall then goes for a suplex but Taylor gets to the ropes and catches Adams with a double karate thrust sending him to the mat. Adams would hit Carl Fergie on a very contrived looking ref bump running the ropes sending Adams to the floor. Taylor would go to Adams then kicked him and hit a piledriver on the floor turning heel then playing possum laying out in the ring and wins by countout. This was a really solid match and a definite nomination.

Taylor does a great interview after the match where he says that he totally accepts his victory with Magnum & Ross being appalled. Gilbert shows up and tells Ross to get off Taylor’s back and tells Taylor that he wants to be a manager. Taylor tells Gilbert that he doesn’t need anybody but Gilbert says that he will be there when he does.

#1 Contender Match for the UWF Heavyweight Title: “Dr. Death” Steve Williams vs. “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert (5/17/87)

WTF they join this in progress. Doc hits a running tackle that sends Gilbert flying to the floor. Eddie was a bumping machine here for Doc who was on fire here himself. Murdoch being at ringside also adds a good touch to this match. Gilbert does whatever he can to keep out of the Stampede and to just keep Doc off of him in general. Funny part on commentary here was that Jim Ross was talking about how DiBiase had fallen out of the Top 10 because he didn’t want to face Doc. Gilbert would get the advantage and tried to weaken Doc with a reverse chinlock then a sleeper but Doc would fight back as a molten crowd in Tulsa gets behind him sounding like 1986 all over again. Gilbert would come off the top rope with a cross body block but Doc would reverse it for the pinfall. Murdoch then attacked Doc after the match with a steel chair and jumped off the top rope two times on Doc’s left arm that was sandwiched in the chair. Murdoch would then kill the jobbers with the chair along with keeping the attack on Doc before other faces made the save. This was the best match on UWF TV in months with a money angle and a definite nomination.

UWF Tag Titles: Rick Steiner & Sting © vs. The Lightning Express (Brad Armstrong & Tim Horner) (5/17/87)

LX used their speed and quickness to keep the champs off their feet early on in the match and Hot Stuff was complaining about the partial referee (his dad Tommy.) Armstrong would miss a shoulderblock into the corner leading to the champs taking control but that would change on a bad looking spot by Sting as he jumped on the second rope trying to hit a back elbow but fell off the ropes and flat on his ass. The action would be back and forth until a double collision with Horner and Steiner then Gilbert hitting Horner from the apron as his dad had his back turned. LX would go back to their gameplan at the beginning keeping the champs on the mat but Horner tried to take a shot at Hot Stuff leading to Sting jumping him from behind. Horner takes a good beating here especially from Steiner but would kick out of every pin attempt. Armstrong would get the hot tag and he was on fire leading up to the 4-way brawl. Sting was pounding on Armstrong in the corner while Gilbert plans to hit Armstrong with a foreign object but Armstrong reversed and Sting got nailed instead. This is the start of the Sting face turn. Very good match and a nomination.

Terry Taylor vs. Steve Cox (5/16/87)

Taylor is great at being a dick heel and Cox didn’t look half bad here. Taylor wins with the figure-four but won’t break it so he gets DQed.

John Ayers gets into it with Gilbert & Taylor basically threatening them.

#4 vs. #6 Contender Match for the UWF Heavyweight Title: Terry Taylor vs. Sting (5/31/87)

Hot Stuff is the special referee for this match, which is a very interesting thing here. Sting gets on the mic before the match and says that Gilbert cost them the titles by making a mistake and wants a new referee because he doesn’t want any more mistakes in his matches. Tommy Gilbert comes out and kicks Eddie out of the ring and Carl Fergie becomes the referee. Sting is the fan favorite here and uses his power to keep the advantage on Taylor early in the match but also shows his improvement as a wrestler getting an inside cradle for a nearfall. Taylor would go to the floor to regroup and when Sting tries to go after him, he gets tripped up and Taylor wraps his left leg around the ringpost. Taylor starts working on the leg and goes for the figure-four but Sting kicks him away. Sting would fight back quickly though and hits a clothesline at the commercial break. Taylor would try for the figure-four again but Sting would kick him off again this time sending him back to the floor with Sting rolling him back in. Taylor would try to suplex Sting but Sting counters with a sleeper. Sting would show his inexperience trying to stay in position for a backdrop too long and Taylor catches him with a swinging neckbreaker. Taylor tries to piledrive him but Sting counters with a backdrop. Sting then starts hitting Taylor with knees before a press slam for a nearfall. Sting would leapfrog Taylor and he would knock into Carl Fergie before getting clotheslined and Gilbert shows up giving him his boot as Sting rolls Fergie in the ring. Taylor then nails Sting with the boot and gets the victory. Sting grabs Gilbert by the hair after the match and starts beating his ass before Taylor shows up and takes him out. It’s 2-on-1 before Chris Adams shows up with a steel chair running them off and would form a bond with Sting. This was a really good showcase match for Sting and kicks his babyface turn in high gear. I liked this one a lot and I’m going to throw it on the block as a low-end nomination.

Ross interviews Gilbert & Taylor who finalize their partnership.

Hacksaw Duggan vs. Buzz Sawyer (11/24/85)

This is JIP about 5 minutes into the match and that sucks because these two have some really solid matches against each other. This one had double juice and looked great ending in a double countout in a wild brawl that kept on going after the bell. I think that we need to throw this on as an extra.