The SmarK 24/7 Rant for Championship Wrestling From Florida – January 1 1983
– Man, they’re really jumping around with these shows, aren’t they? A reader messaged me on Facebook of all places to tell me to check this one out, so why not?
– Hosted by Gordon Solie
– So Dusty Rhodes has just lost a loser-leaves-Florida match to Kevin Sullivan, but a mysterious figure rides around a campfire as the show opens. Very mysterious indeed.
– Let us take you back to the cage match between Sullivan and Rhodes, as Kevin pulls out an international object and draws some blood. However, Santa Claus appears at ringside and hands something else to Sullivan, which wins the match for him. Solie compares this to the betrayal of Julius Caesar by Brutus, but it’s closer to the betrayal of Hulk Hogan by Brutus Beefcake for my liking. Santa turns out to Jake Roberts, which seems like it’s begging to give some kid nightmares if he reaches into Santa’s bag.
– Barry Windham v. Randy Barber. Holy cow, Barber actually has some hair here. Being a jobber must be stressful. Windham takes him down and works the arm with an armbar, and stays on that. Windham is looking more like Kendall at this point, before all the drugs and bloating and stuff. Barber comes back with a slam, but misses an elbow, and that pretty much does it for his offense, as Windham forearms him down and drops a knee for two. Lariat finishes at 2:07. Call it 1/2*
– Barry stops by the desk to cut a promo about Dusty Rhodes, talking about his loss as though he’s dead. Geez, it’s only a 60 day suspension. Solie brings it back to Windham, showing us a clip of Ric Flair looking for some competition against local jobbers and then picking a fight with Windham at the broadcast desk instead. So Windham takes him up on some amateur wrestling and of course dominates. Flair throws chops in frustration, so Windham hits him with a lariat and pins him. This segues to Bill Apter presenting Windham with the Most Improved Wrestler award for 1982.
– Out in the wild, the mysterious Midnight Rider cuts a promo about how he won’t get caught. I just wish I could place that voice and figure out his identity!
– Jake Roberts v. Burrhead Jones. For a minute I thought they said “Furhead”, which would be just as silly. Jake blitzes him and slams him to set up a flying clothesline, and the kneelift finishes at 0:45 in the pre-DDT days. DUD
– Terry Allen v. Mike Jackson. Allen was little more than a midcarder at this point, although he would gain much greater fame as Magnum TA in the year or so after this. Allen controls with a wristlock and keeps Jackson on the mat, then hiptosses him out of a criss-cross. Jackson actually goes on offense with a headlock takedown and works on that, then hits him with a cheapshot to the kidneys to block Allen’s reversal. Allen comes back with a slam for two, but Jackson gets a small package for two. Back to the headlock and Jackson follows up with a dropkick, but Allen catches him on a second attempt and turns it over into a Boston Crab. Jackson reverses to a pinning combo for two, but Allen reverses that for the pin at 3:54. Good little match! **
– Bill Apter returns and presents JJ Dillon with the Manager of the Year award for 1982. Did he threaten to hit him with his shoe until he won the award or something?
– Angelo Mosca v. Raul Matta. Mosca just kills the poor guy, pounding him down and slamming him, then tossing him upside-down into the corner and hammering him with a forearm to finish at 1:11. 1/4* Mosca continues beating the crap out of the jobber with his football helmet, but Ernie Ladd chases him off.
– Ron Bass & Rufus R Jones v. Jerry Grey & The Destroyer. I don’t believe that the Destroyer is Remo Williams under a mask, but they should avoid getting into any prolonged martial arts sequences with him just in case. Bass and Jones trade off on the Destroyer’s arm, but he manages to escape and brings in Grey. Bass quickly overpowers him and Jones comes in with a less-than-graceful shoulderblock and slams him. Bass works on a facelock, so it’s Destroyer time again. He tries a headlock on Bass, but Jones pounds him down and Bass adds an elbow. More power from Jones as he keeps knocking him down and gets the pin at 3:54. Bleh. 1/4*
You got the Midnight Rider, Magnum TA and Jake Roberts as Santa Claus here, what more do you need?
