Mid Atlantic Wrestling 28 November 1981

On this week's show, join Gus as the journey through Mid Atlantic Wrestling continues with the 28 November 1981 show.  This week we see Blackjack Mulligan & Ricky Steamboat together as a tag team, Sgt Slaughter's marine Jim Nelson is in action as is Ninja.  The main event is Old Anderson & Roddy Piper teaming together against Don Kernodle and a pre TL Hopper Tony Anthony.

If you want to watch along you can do so here:

WWE Network https://watch.wwe.com/episode/Mid-Atlantic-Championship-Wrestling-3546
Peacock https://www.peacocktv.com/watch/playback/vod/GMO_00000000387213_01/b8bce38b-ddb6-31c1-a505-691e11c40f1f

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/retrowrestling4
Email:  retroviews@hotmail.com

Transcript

Hello everyone, I’m Gus Edwards and this is the Retro Wrestling Reviews Podcast.  On today’s show we will be looking at the November 28 1981 episode of Mid Atlantic Wrestling.  I’ve had so much feedback on these shows and every show is growing in listenership and I couldn’t be happier.  The success of the podcast is 100% down to you and I want you to know that I really do appreciate you listening.  If you are new to the show, then please look in our archives and listen to some of the other Mid Atlantic shows we have reviewed, and a couple of reminders that we are soon to be adding Mid South and World Class reviews.  Also on Tuesdays we do a bonus episode which reviews an individual show, chosen by our listeners.  If you have a particular show you want reviewed then please get in touch on Twitter @retrowrestling4 or email me at retroreviews@hotmail.com.  This past Tuesday we took a look at Beach Blast 1992 featuring Sting and Cactus Jack, amongst others and this coming Tuesday will be Wrestle War 1989 headlined by an NWA World Championship match between Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair.  

Lets get on with today’s show.

Mid Atlantic Wrestling – 28 November 1981

We open as usual with Bob Caudle and David Crockett at the desk introducing today’s show and letting us know that this week we will see Blackjack Mulligan and Jake Roberts as a tag team, Ole Anderson and Roddy Piper, along with the Ninja and Sgt Slaughter.  

First match is Roberts/Mulligan v Charlie Fulton & Nicolai Volkoff.  This is the first in ring appearance for us for both Blackjack Mulligan and Nicolai Volkoff.  The day before this show aired, Koloff and his partner Chris Markoff lost the Mid Atlantic tag time titles to Johnny Weaver and Jay Youngblood.  Both Mulligan and Volkoff look in great shape here, well in comparison to how they look in about 5-6 years time.  Volkoff and Fulton get no offence at all in this match.  The camera also misses the finish to the match which Bob tells us with Mulligan using the claw on Fulton.

Back from break and Mulligan is at the desk with Caudle.  They talk about all the new talent coming into the area.  The cut to an interview with Sandy Scott from World Wide Wrestling, talking again about the Cadillac that will be up for grabs at some point in the future.  Sgt Slaughter joins them and talks about looking forward to seeing someone like Tommy Rich coming in.  They go to a video of Tommy Rich and it’s the same match as last week against Tony Russo.  Roddy Piper now comes out (all of this is audio over the Rich match), and he is wanting the car.  And now they show the same video of Angelo Mosca which we saw last week.  Its still surreal to see a WWWF match being shown on Mid Atlantic TV with Vince McMahon commentating.  Neither of these matches have made me excited to watch Rich or Mosca.  They then go back to Mulligan who also wants the Cadillac.  They then cut to a clip of a confrontation between Mulligan Jr and Big John Studd.

Back from break and Sgt Slaughter is out for an interview.  Slaughter says because Wahoo McDaniel hasn’t answered his open challenge, then they challenge is now open to everyone.  He also challenges any wrestler, including Wahoo to break his cobra clutch and he will give them $1,000.

To the ring and its Jim Nelson, the Sgt Slaughter protogue against Keith Larsen who is Don Kernolde’s real life brother.  Nelson gets the win with the cobra clutch.  This might be Nelson’s first win on TV as he has been used as a jobber until this partnership with Slaughter.

Back from break and Ricky Steamboat is out for an interview and he is carrying a big bag.  Apparently, this is one of three bags full of mail demanding that Steamboat gets a match with Roddy Piper.  He says its not enough and he needs more.  

To the ring and its Ninja with Jim Holiday against Vinnie Valentino, who I thought was Frank Monte, but I guess not.  Ninja’s face paint looks a bit like the jokers face paint.  Ninja gets the win with an impressive looking headbutt from the top rope.  

Next up is Roddy Piper and Ole Anderson against Don Kernodle and Tony Anthony.  Anthony became a bit of a star in Smokey Mountain Wrestling as the Dirty White Boy and he also had a couple of short runs in WWE as TL Hopper, the wrestling plumber, and also as Uncle Cletus who was with the Godwins in 1997 for a few weeks.  Piper and Ole spend most of the match working over the arm of Anthony.  Anderson gets the submission win with an arm bar.  After the match Piper and Anderson beat down Anthony and Kernodle.  Keith Larsen runs in and is dumped quickly before Steamboat and Jake Roberts run out for the save.  

The show finishes with Steamboat and Roberts at the desk, with a good interview calling out Piper and Ole for their actions and I’m going to play it now.  Even at this early age Jake was a really good promo.

This was a good show, with them only being 40 minutes or so they really fly by.  No matches really stood out that much, but I did enjoy Ole and Piper working over the arm of Tony Anthony and then getting the submission with an arm bar.  That is the type of wrestling that I enjoy, build up to your finish.

Next week we will be back with the 5 December 1981 episode of Mid Atlantic and this show features a tag team match of Ole Anderson and Ray the Crippler Stevens, who was one of the biggest stars of the 70s, against Buddy Landell and Paul Jones.  Also in action is Big John Studd and much more.

This coming Tuesday on our bonus episode, we will be looking at Wrestle War 1989 and a famous match between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat for the NWA World Title, it’s the third and final match of their trilogy.  Also on that show is Sting, Lex Luger, the Great Muta, and much more.  Remember, if you have a show you want to be reviewed then get in touch either on Twitter @retrowrestling4 or email me at retrowrestling@hotmail.com.

I hope you have enjoyed the show this week, if you have then please subscribe, leave a review and tell a friend.  Take care of yourself and I will speak to you soon.