One Year in Memphis – June 7, 1986

Reviews, Shows, TV Shows

RESULTS FROM MAY 26’S SHOW AT THE MID-SOUTH COLISEUM (courtesy of www.memphiswrestlinghistory.com)

Jerry Lawler won Thunderdome

Jerry Lawler/Giant Hillbilly over MOD Squad and JD Costello

Bill Dundee over Buddy Landel

Rip Rogers over Dutch Mantell by DQ

Jeff Jarrett over Tony Falk

Jos LeDuc over Abdul Gadaffi

Hunter/Strong Machine over Billy Travis/Paul Diamond

Danny Fargo over Pat Tanaka

Tojo Yamamoto/Tracy Smothers over Pat Rose/Baron Von Brauner

Lance Russell and Dave Brown opened the show by welcoming us to another week of Championship Wrestling. Brown ran down the list of who we’d be seeing – the Beach Boys, Memphis Vice, Tracy Smothers, Bill Dundee, Jos LeDuc, Paul Diamond, the Canadian Connection, Dutch Mantell, and Jeff Jarrett. Brown added that the last four would be part of an eight-man tag match. Also, we’d see the MOD Squad, Billy Travis, and the Fabulous Ones – Stan Lane and Steve Keirn -would make their return.

After a quick commercial, we came back to see the Beach Boys on their way out to battle Keith Erich and the masked Inferno. The Beach Boys were John Stewart and Van Van Horn.

Van Horn started the match against Erich. Van Horn quickly gained an advantage on Erich and arm dragged him down before starting to work over Erich’s arm. Van Horn tagged Stewart in and after a quick double back elbow Stewart slammed Erich and took him down with a flying head scissors.

Erich raked Stewart’s eyes to give him the opening he needed to tag in the Inferno. Stewart simply took the Inferno down and started cranking on his arm before bring Van Horn back in. Van Horn hit the Inferno with a slam before whipping him across the ring and stopping him with an elbow. Stewart tagged in and the Beach Boys hit a double drop kick for the win at 2:44.

The Boys then headed to the interview set to talk with Russell. Stewart advised that they’d met on Malibu Beach and were now going for tag team titles. Van Horn talked about the beautiful women in Memphis and they headed to the back as we headed to the ring.

The Memphis Vice were making their way to the interview set first. Winston and Bryant promised to send the Beach Boys packing before they went to the ring to face Jerry Garmon and Benny Traylor.

Bryant started against Traylor and Traylor quickly took Bryant down. Bryant returned to his corner for a conference with Winston before returning to the ring to slam Traylor down. Winston came in and suplexed Traylor, then whipped him across the ropes and stopped him with a big boot.

Bryant hit a couple of body slams before Winston came off the second rope for the win at 1:29. It was also extremely noticeable that the ring had been damaged during the first match and the ropes were hanging loosely.

We came back from commercial to see Lance Russell talking about Wednesday night’s show in Evansville. He was almost immediately joined by Jos LeDuc. LeDuc quickly took over the interview and talked about how he’d cut Paul Diamond’s hair. He promised to make Diamond into a man.

Russell was then joined by JD Costello and the MOD Squad. Costello promised to body slam the Hillbilly and then he said that he would drop a fist on Lawler.

The MOD Squad left and in came Bill Dundee. Dundee promised to ruin Landel’s face on Wednesday night.

We came back from commercial to find Russell with Dundee at the interview set. Russell pointed out that Dundee had won his last match with Landel. Dundee showed off his Southern championship belt and then said that the problems between himself and Landel had started because Landel wanted Dundee’s title. Dundee talked about his upcoming match with Landel – a barbed wire match. Dundee reminded Landel that there was no way he could win.

Russell reminded Dundee that JD Costello wouldn’t help him out this time. Dundee said he didn’t need Costello and then headed to the ring to face Tracy Smothers.

The two locked up and Smothers got a quick advantage by taking Dundee down with two arm drags and a dropkick. Dundee left the ring and took a quick walk to review his plan before returning to the match.

Dundee pulled Smothers down by the hair and stomped him to end Smothers’s momentum. Dundee hammered Smothers with punches and a clothesline before covering for a two count.

Smothers started fighting back and Dundee’s fists soon put a stop to that, then added to the punishment by locking Smothers in a facelock. Dundee began choking Smothers only for Smothers to start landing punches that soon put Dundee down for a two.

Smelling victory, Smothers continued hammering Dundee but telegraphed a backdrop and got pinned at 2:46 with Dundee hanging on to two handfuls of tights.

Dundee collected his belt and glared at Russell before returning to the back.

We then headed backstage with Russell for a rundown on Wednesday night’s show.

We came back to find the promised 8-man tag match getting ready with Jos LeDuc, Paul Diamond, Dutch Mantell, and Jeff Jarrett vs. Baron Von Brauner, Pat Rose, Danny Fargo, and the Hunter. Problems may have been evident from the start as LeDuc took a moment to come out from the back and join his partners in the ring.

Fargo started the match against Jeff Jarrett. The two locked up and Jarrett backed Fargo into two of the four corners. Unfortunately, the third was Fargo’s own corner and Pat Rose tagged in. Rose and Jarrett began grappling into Jarrett’s corner, where Paul Diamond tagged in.

Diamond took Rose down and began working the arm before Dutch Mantell came in. Mantell put him down and covered for a 1 count. Mantell tagged LeDuc in and Rose began spending much more time on the canvas as the Canadian lumberjack hammered him down.

LeDuc leveled Rose and brought Jarrett in. Rose back dropped Rose and Jarrett took him down while holding on to his leg. The two locked up again and Fargo tagged in. Fargo taunted Mantell and Diamond tagged in.

Diamond put Fargo down and tried to drop an elbow. Fargo escaped and tagged the Hunter in. The Hunter started throwing fists and Diamond,was in trouble. He tagged LeDuc in and the trouble was over as LeDuc began overpowering the Hunter.

LeDuc trapped the Hunter in a bear hug that the Hunter only escaped by biting LeDuc’s forehead. LeDuc brought Mantell in who sent the Hunter across the ring with an atomic drop. The Hunter brought Von Brauner in and Mantell brought LeDuc in. LeDuc put Von Brauner down and Mantell tagged in for the cover and win at 4:35.

The Canadian Connection (LeDuc and Diamond) headed to the interview set where Russell was waiting. Diamond talked about how he looked forward to being LeDuc’s partner and LeDuc said that he would make Diamond into a real Canadian. LeDuc asked for a chair and an extension cord as he plugged in a set of electric clippers.

A stagehand brought the chair and LeDuc told Diamond to have a seat. Diamond didn’t like the idea and asked what difference his hair would make. LeDuc told Diamond that his appearance put a fear into his opponents that Diamond’s “sissy hair” didn’t.

Diamond finally had a seat and LeDuc said he was only going to trim his hair. When LeDuc started the trimmers, Diamond jumped to his feet and said he’d look like an idiot with his hair gone. LeDuc told him that the haircut could mean the difference between a win or a loss.

Diamond said down again and jumped back up when LeDuc prepared to start trimming. Diamond then told LeDuc that if didn’t want his hair cut. Diamond then said that if being LeDuc’s partner meant that his hair would be cut, that he was finished with the team but hoped that he and LeDuc could still be friends.

A mad look crossed LeDuc’s face as Diamond walked away and he attacked Diamond from behind, even ramming Diamond’s head into the ring post. LeDuc then dragged the bloody Diamond back to the interview set as Russell began protesting.

JD Costello and the MOD Squad then showed up. Costello commandeered the microphone and the MOD Squad held the studio doors closed as the laughing LeDuc chopped away at Diamond’s hair. Costello was of course very careful to praise everything that LeDuc was doing.

Russell demanded that LeDuc stop while LeDuc told him that Diamond would look like a true Canadian. Costello handed Leduc a pair of scissors as Rip Rogers, Danny Fargo, and a couple of other heels joined the MOD Squad in keeping the doors closed.

Finally the haircut ended as Billy Travis, Jeff Jarrett, David Haskins, and Tracy Smothers broke in. LeDuc held them at bay with his scissors before leaving. We headed to commercial as they carried the unconscious Paul Diamond out of the studio.

We came back to see the MOD Squad on the way to the ring to face Billy Travis and David Haskins. Basher and Travis started the match as Travis tried to hold his own against Basher’s strength. A Travis arm drag took Basher down, although he escaped and tagged Spike in.

Spike wound up arm dragged and then Haskins tagged in. Haskins cranked on Spike’s arm but got backed into the Squad’s corner where Basher tagged in and we had a double team.

Basher hit a second-rope leg drop and brought Spike in. Spike slammed Haskins and dropped a leg of his own before jawing with the crowd. Spike cut off a potential tag and pitched Haskins out of the ring. Basher followed and rolled him back in.

Haskins was pitched again and slammed on the studio floor by Basher as Costello joined Russell and Brown on commentary. Travis eased his partner back in and Spike tagged Basher in. Basher hit a suplex, dropped a couple of elbows, and started choking him. Basher slammed him and tagged in Spike.

Spike hit a backbreaker and brought Basher in. Basher stopped Haskins from a tag and bounced his head off a turnbuckle. Spike tagged back in and the Squad hit an improvised Doomsday Device for the win at 4:33.

We then joined Russell, who was backstage with a cap-wearing Paul Diamond. Diamond insisted that he was already a man before he pulled off his cap to reveal his closely-cut hair.

Lawler and the Hillbilly then joined Russell where Russell told them what Costello had said earlier. Lawler then promised that he and the Hillbilly would be looking forward to taking Costello apart. The Hillbilly even promised that if Costello could slam him he’d give him $1,000.

Buddy Landel then came in. Landel said that he was looking forward to the match because the wire might keep Dundee from running away from him.

We headed back to the studio, where the Fabulous Ones were making their return. The fans swarmed Lane and Keirn as they circled the ring. They entered the ring to face Abdul Gadaffi and Strong Machine.

Lane started against Strong Machine. Lane got a quick advantage and took the Machine down. The Machine reversed the takedown with a hair pull and tagged in Gadaffi. Lane quickly gained control of Gadaffi and bounced him off the turnbuckle before tagging Keirn in.

Keirn slammed Gadaffi down and followed it up with a head butt. Gadaffi brought the Machine back in and Keirn wasn’t slowed down in the least. Lane came back in to continue the assault and he shoulder blocked the Machine down before trapping him in a headlock.

Keirn came back in and took the Machine over, putting him back in the headlock. A hair pull helped the Machine escape and Keirn took him down before Lane came back in. The Fabs each grabbed a leg and made a wish before Keirn came back in to work on the Machine’s leg.

The Fabs kept making quick tags and kept the Machine trapped in the ring. Finally Gadaffi came in and slammed Lane. He dropped an elbow and covered for a twon count. Lane hit a super kick and tagged Keirn in. Keirn went after the Machine while Lane brawled with Gadaffi. The Fabs took Gadaffi down with a double clothesline for the win at 4:01.

Randy Hales came out to talk about a change in the card and Diamond headed to commentary. Diamond bashed LeDuc for his humiliation and he promised to take LeDuc apart because he wasn’t afraid of him.

We came back from our last commercial for Russell and Brown to discuss Diamond’s unwanted haircut, as well as the return of the Fabulous Ones. Brown gave a quick rundown of the show and Russell closed us out by saying goodbye for another week.

FULL CARD FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S SHOW AT THE EVANSVILLE COLISEUM

Barbed Wire Match
Southern Heavyweight title
Bill Dundee vs. Buddy Landel

Handicap Match
MOD Squad & JD Costello vs. Jerry Lawler/Giant Hillbilly

Jos LeDuc vs. Paul Diamond

Beach Boys vs. the Nightmares

Jeff Jarrett vs. Hunter Eagle

Strong Machine vs. Tojo Yamamoto

Baron Von Brauner vs. Diesel Dan Styles