Some Mid-South Coliseum CHAOS!

Tommy Rich & Eddie Gilbert v Pretty Young Things (Falls Count Anywhere) (Memphis, 5/14/84)

I hadn't watched this since the DVDVR Memphis project in 2008. If it even made the set anyway. I'm guessing it did because it's probably a top 20 Memphis match of the decade. The first half is more of a traditional tag match than a full scale riot, but there are still moments where it spills to the floor and things get wild, like when Koko punches Eddie Gilbert in the willy. Koko smashes a piece of wood over Gilbert's neck and then later uses half of it to stab him in the throat! Gilbert is on the canvas trying to get up and Koko is just fucking obliterating him with some of the greatest punches you've ever seen. At least two people got heaved over the announce table and metal rods are used as weapons and Eddie Gilbert uses the steps as a trampette to fling himself at Koko. The back half turns into a FULL free-for-all rather than just a partial one and they all brawl around ringside and up the stands and then eventually the Mid-South Coliseum stage. Rich and Norvell Austin make it up there first while Gilbert and Koko fight in the bleachers and Koko takes a Puerto Rico-style bump over one of the safety railings. He was like 18 feet in the fuckin air! Or at least six. Gilbert fully torpedoing himself at Koko's nuts with a diving headbutt was some phenomenal revenge and then he just chucks him off the stage. Norvell tries to piledrive Rich and the people react like a legit murder is about to occur and when Rich reverses it the place erupts. And then Rich throws Austin off the stage as well. You don't even care so much that the match gets thrown out in the end, particularly because Jerry Calhoun got clobbered often enough that he probably wouldn't have been able to count a fall anyway. I'd have thrown the thing out too, Jerry. This was tremendous.