The Name on the Marquee: Monsters of the Mat Vol. 7

Posted by Adam Nedeff on 12.31.2008

Magnum TA & Ted DiBiase kick it old school!

-Happy 2009 to both of my readers, and just in case anyone's curious, my resolution is to come up with a word other than "solid" to describe things I like.

-Today, we're having more fun from Mid-South with Sgt. Slaughter & Little Sarge in the dentist’s waiting room. Okay, comfy sofa chairs and a window are not good atmosphere for a wrestling tape. If you’re trying to do it on the cheap, it’s not that hard to take a camera down to a locker room and shoot your introductions in front of a row of lockers. Or do what Paul Heyman did to perfection and just hang a banner in Mom’s basement and pipe in some crowd noise.

BRETT SAWYER vs. GESTAPO MENDOZA
-“Evil Cuban” is an ethnic stereotype that wasn’t explored as much as you’d think, looking back at the past 50 years. Sawyer starts with a drop toehold. Mendoza escapes but gets caught again quickly. Mendoza gets a hammerlock and flips Sawyer over his back with it, which looked rather slick. Takedown by Sawyer and Mendoza slips & slides his way over to the ropes and onto the floor for a breather.

-Back in the ring, Sawyer gets another takedown, and then they break cleanly and pause to think of other moves to do. Stall session, but then Sawyer tries to work the arm. Mendoza pulls hair, and Sawyer stops everything to complain about it and stall some more. Mendoza tries to work the leg, but misses an elbowdrop. Sawyer goes back to the arm and we’re already at the five minute mark. Start doing stuff now, guys. Sawyer hears me and starts working the arm. Mendoza fights back and goes to an armbar with one arm and a hammerlock with the other arm. Now that’s pretty neat. Mendoza makes it back to the ropes and Sawyer jaws with the referee. This whole match feels like I’m watching the first minute of several successive matches. They keep warming up and going nowhere with it. Sawyer takes down Mendoza again. Mendoza tries a takedown, but Sawyer falls on top of him for a two-count. Then they circle the ring and eye each other. Sawyer decides to try working the legs now, but Mendoza makes the ropes and they stare at each other and walk around the ring some more.

-Lock-up and Sawyer takes down Mendoza by the leg, holds on top it, and goes off the top rope to work the hamstring. Sawyer drops the knee a few times to work the leg. Mendoza drives Sawyer’s face into the mat a few times to break free. He goes for a suplex and has no trouble doing it despite the punishment to the leg. Splash off the top rope misses, but Mendoza misses and chokes Sawyer over the top rope. Sawyer starts to throw punches to the knee, but Mendoza drops an elbow to keep the advantage. Bodyscissors into a pinning combo gets a couple of two-counts. Brilliant spot sees Sawyer’s shoulders touching the mat, and Mendoza stands up, hangs onto the bodyscissors, and falls backward to hold the top rope for leverage as the referee counts the pin. It gets a two count, plus 10 points for ingenuity in the field of dishonesty. Sawyer begins throwing punches again, but Mendoza drops him with a slam. Splash off the ropes misses, but he recovers as we hit 15 minutes. Mendoza gets an elbow off the top rope for two. Backdrop is countered by a kneelift and Sawyer stays on the offensive with punches and headbutts. Suplex gets a two count. Flying bodypress gets the win for Sawyer. 0 for 1. Okay, there were two spots here that I genuinely liked: the dual hammerlock/armbar, and the bodyscissors pinning combo, so kudos to both guys. Having said that, they had ZERO chemistry and couldn’t figure out where they wanted to take the match, and it just kept going on forever as they tried to find their footing.

TERRY TAYLOR & FANTASTICS vs. JACK VICTORY & SHEEPHERDERS (with Lady Maxine)
-The faces lead the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance, infuriating the Sheepherders, who are still fuming about the Kiwi-American War, which is largely forgotten outside of professional wrestling. Tommy Rogers starts with Butch Miller, who mugs and dances at the fans in response to the “U-S-A” chants. For whatever reason, it amuses me that their act absolutely did not change whether they were heels or faces. With no contact made yet, Victory & Taylor tag in to stall in each other’s general directions for a while. Victory tags Butch back in. Butch ties up Taylor for our first bodily contact, and Jack Victory tags in to capitalize. Elbow by Victory, but Taylor punches back and Victory retreats. Luke tags in and gets caught in the face corner for some double-teaming. Luke fights back, but Fulton dropkicks everything in sight and the faces clear the ring. Back in the ring, Luke punches away at Fulton but misses a charge. Double dropkicks by the Fantastics clear the ring yet again.

-Back in the ring, Luke gets a side headlock, but Taylor counters to a wristlock. Luke attacks the eyes and drops Taylor with a pair of shoulderblocks. He tries to follow up, but he gets monkey-flipped for his trouble and the faces clear the ring again. Back in the ring, Fulton gets a side headlock, but Luke takes advantage of a distracted referee by shoving him into the New Zealand flagpole. Victory & Butch ram him into a chair as we get one of the first glimpses ever of Angry Jim Ross on commentary. Bloody Bobby Fulton is back in the ring and Luke pounds away. Another distraction leads to another chairshot from Butch. Fulton tries to fight back, but the blood loss is messing him up literally and figuratively and Jack Victory tags in with an elbow off the ropes. Headlock gives Fulton an opportunity to tease making it to the ropes, but Victory knocks Rogers off the ropes. Heels triple-team Fulton in the corner, but Fulton rolls away from an elbow. Butch makes it into the ring before the tag can be made, and a fist off the ropes gets two. Jack Victory tags in, and Fulton has had enough and starts biting just to see if that does anything. Luke makes it into the ring and a double-shoulderblock wipes out both men. Fulton finally makes the tag and Rogers is a house of fantastic fire. Abdominal stretch (off the ropes, which I always think looks better for some reason) is broken up by heel interference. Taylor tags in and gets a sleeperhold locked in. But that gets broken up and it turns into Taylor & Luke inside, everybody else brawling on the floor. Taylor drops Luke with a forearm, but there’s no referee to count the pin. Jack Victory tries to attack from the top rope, but gets pushed off. The referee gives up and calls for the bell and a DDQ. Sure, it’s a non-finish, but it sure was fun to watch. 1 for 2.

MAGNUM T.A. vs. TED DIBIASE
-There’s no commentary to help me out here, but this is obviously a title match. Not sure it’s for the Mid-South North American Title, although that seems to make the most sense. DiBiase gets caught off-guard by a punch from Magnum to start. Magnum knocks him over with a shoulderblock, but DiBiase is ready for him on the next charge with a slam. DiBiase takes control with chops, but an Irish whip is reversed into a backdrop by TA and a pair of dropkicks sends DiBiase to the floor. Back in the ring, another Irish whip is reversed to another backdrop, and DiBiase calls for a time-out. When he doesn’t get one, he goes for a cheap kick, but Magnum catches him and punches him. DiBiase decides to take a breather from that. Must have worked because back in the ring, he takes control and sends Magnum to the floor. DiBiase follows him out and slams him on the concrete, then rams him into the post back-first. Back in the ring, elbow off the top rope topples TA and DiBiase shows his poetic side with his own backdrop. Backbreaker gets a two-count. Ted goes for a bearhug, and by golly, he’s been working the back this whole time, so I am more than okay with this bearhug. Magnum almost comes back, but before he can, DiBiase rams him back-first into the turnbuckles. DiBiase goes to the second rope and drops a knee to the back. Bodyslam and a rear chinlock to keep working the back. The early 80s were a simpler time, and it amazes me how many simple, different ways DiBiase is able to drive home the point that, yes, he’s trying to injure this gentleman’s back. He goes to the top rope but gets caught with a punch to the stomach, and we get treated to DiBiase’s trademark sell off that. Magnum lights into him with punches, but a single knee drops Magnum for two. Double-shoulderblock gives us what’s actually the first real breather of the match.

-The action goes back to the floor and Ted is clearly the superior man out there. He dominates and sends Magnum back in once he’s nice and busted open. Once inside, he drops him with a fist and does it again just for fun. Turnbuckle shot and then Ted stomps a gradual mudhole. Magnum gets an inside cradle out of nowhere for two, and now he’s just pissing Ted off. Backdrop gets two. Magnum fights out of a piledriver with a backdrop. DiBiase tries to come back but Magnum is ready for him and DiBiase starts to beg off. Magnum is all over him with punches, then Irish whips him so hard that the top turnbuckle and rope fall off. Ted grabs the turnbuckle to try to take advantage, but Magnum snatches it away and knocks him over with the exposed metal for two. DiBiase stunguns Magnum on the middle rope as the ring crew frantically tries to finish the repair. Bodyslam by DiBiase, but a fistdrop from the second rope misses. Belly-to-belly suplex finishes things to give Magnum whatever title he was fighting for. Great example of old school wrestling. 2 for 3.

Sarge ends the tape by telling me that control is being returned to me. I in turn, will utilize this control to ask you to look at Game Show Utopia.

The 411: Two hot matches this time around; not only that, but a good variety of styles at work here, so in only one hour, they covered the "something for everybody" element nicely. Recommended.

Final Score:  6.6   [ Average ]