Glass Hand Disolving: The Rat Pack

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Ted DiBiase & Matt Borne vs Junkyard Dog & Mr. Olympia (Mid-South 10/30/1982)

The face team hits the ring, and it's on with Dog and Olympia taking the upper hand. The Rat Pack rolls to the outside to regroup, and when they get back in the ring, order has been restored. JYD and DiBiase are obviously two of the bigger stars in the territory, and Watts really puts this over on commentary and a bit of dick measuring contest to see who the top guy really, truly is. Borne, and to a greater extent, Mr. Olympia hold up their end of things, as proxies and as individuals, but this is not a match about Matt Borne or Jerry Stubbs. Most of this is JYD and Mr. Olympia kicking ass, I'd say Mr. Olympia really comes off as an ass kicker in this match, really taking it to DiBiase. The Rat Pack eventually isolates Stubbs and work him over for a bit. As you might expect, eventually the Dog gets in, takes over, and takes it to The Rat Pack, until Jim Duggar comes out in a Gorilla Suit, turning the tide, allowing DiBiase to hit JYD with a foreign object and The Rat Pack get the win. 

Ted DiBiase & Matt Borne vs King Cobra & Tim Horner (Mid-South 11/20/1982)

Tim Horner comes out hot, but DiBiase is just too much for him after an initial frenzy. Borne gets tagged in and gets caught on the top rope by the referee. After a bit, King Cobra tags in and throws a bunch of drop kicks. DiBiase tags back in, but can't get much of an advantage, and Horner and Cobra take over with good offense and quick tags, until DiBiase hits a back suplex, tags in Borne, and The Rat Pack take control. King Cobra gets worked over for a bit, until he finally tags in Horner. Horner has good looking offense; he's the standout here, but he can't handle DiBiase, and eventually, the Rat Pack is too much, Borne hits a slam, and it is over. 

Ted DiBiase & Matt Borne vs Mike Sharp & Mr. Olympia (Mid-South 12/4/1982)

Mr. Olympia and DiBiase start off with a quick pace, arm drags, reversals, criss-crosses. DiBiase wants nothing of it and bails to the outside to calm things down. Olympia tags in Sharp so that he can get a taste of the action. Sharp takes over with some good offense, and Borne runs in and eats a back body drop for his efforts. Olympia is back in, and on offense, until DiBiase gets the tag, and it quickly becomes Borne and Sharp. Borne gets Sharp in the corner, and he and DiBiase do a bit of underhanded double teaming. Rat Pack is in control for a bit here, working over sharp, making quick tags, until Sharp hits a knee lift and tags Olympia back in. Olympia is on fire, revisiting the pace from the beginning of the match. A double shoulder block has both men down, Borne teases coming in, Sharp rushes in to cut that off, but the ref sees Sharp and has to handle that. While that is happening, Borne hits a top-rope senton, and The Rat Pack gets the win.

Ted DiBiase & Matt Borne vs Tim Horner & Buddy Landell (Mid-South 12/11/1982)

Horner starts with strong offense against Borne, tags in Landell, who also has a strong showing, and eventually, Borne has had enough and bails to the outside. DiBiase comes in, looking to take care of business, but Landell is up to the test, and when Horner takes over, he's too much for DiBiase, and both of The Rat Pack have to regroup. Borne is still taking quite a bit of offense, but while Landell has him up for an atomic drop, Borne can tag in DiBiase, who blindsides Landell, and DiBiase takes over. Borne hets tagged in and grinds down Landell, mostly with a front-face lock. DiBiade gets in and continues the assault. Buddy gets to the corner somehow, tags in Horner, who is on fire, but Borne plays the referee, causing him to corner Landell, and Borne hits Horner with a top rope senton, DiBiase applies a figure-four for good measure, and The Rat Pack wins. 

Jim Duggan & Matt Borne vs Tiger Conway Jr. & Mr. Wrestling II (Mid-South 3/26/1983)

This is one of the few Rat Pack matches that isn't Borne and DiBiase, so it is a different look than we've seen so far, and this is toward the end of the Rat Pack as a going concern. Wrestling & Conway are new tag team champions, but the titles aren't on the line. This has a lot of action, Conway's portion a bit more energetic, but Wrestling II is certainly game too. Things are pretty even for most of this, but at some point, it devolved into a bit of a brawl. The Rat Pack tries to double-team Mr. Wrestling II, but it backfires. Wrestling II takes control and hits a round of knee lifts before eventually pinning Borne. 

Verdict

I liked all of these matches, to varying degrees. I think that for the setting they were in, and the time they were given, the matches are generally very good. DiBiase is good, but I'd say Borne stands out a bit more in these matches. I don't really see an all-time great team here, and shockingly I think Money Inc. was a better team.

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