The Dramatic Start to Memphis Wrestling in January 1980: The Gibson Brothers and the Masked Assassin

The story of Memphis wrestling in the first week of 1980 began with a bang on New Year's Day inside the Midsouth Coliseum. Despite the holiday falling on a Tuesday, Memphis upheld its tradition of hosting a major wrestling event on January 1st. This event set the tone for the wrestling scene in Memphis for the weeks to come.

New Year's Day Showdown: The Gibson Brothers vs. The Masked Assassins

On January 1st, the Gibson brothers, Ricky and Robert, stepped into the ring to challenge the Masked Assassins for the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles. The Gibsons had been gaining momentum throughout the winter, and the crowd was firmly behind them. The Masked Assassins were the established heel team in the territory, known for their size, experience, and the mystery surrounding their masks.

The match delivered exactly what Memphis fans expected: the Gibsons fought from underneath, built their comeback, and finally broke through. When the bell rang, Ricky and Robert Gibson were crowned the new Southern Tag Team Champions. This victory was the first major moment of 1980 in Memphis wrestling and set the tone for the storylines that followed.

The Fallout and New Stipulation

January 2nd was not a show day, but it was the day the fallout from the New Year's Day match began. The Masked Assassins immediately demanded a rematch, claiming their loss was a fluke and insisting they had been cheated. Memphis Booking embraced this complaint and created a new stipulation for the next Coliseum card.

The stipulation was that the Gibsons would have to unmask the Assassins to retain the titles. If they failed to remove the masks, they would lose the belts even without being pinned. This was classic Memphis storytelling: the babyfaces (the Gibsons) had one clean victory, and the heels (the Assassins) needed a loophole. The mask provided the perfect way to tilt the odds back in the Assassins' favor.

Behind the scenes, the next steps of the angle were already being shaped. The rematch was set for January 7th, and the unmasking storyline was now in motion.

January 7th Rematch and Results

The newspaper ad for January 7th promoted a full card headlined by a six-man tag team attraction featuring Jerry Lawler, Jimmy Valiant, and Jimmy Hart. However, the most important match of the night was the Southern Tag Team Title rematch between the Gibsons and the Assassins, operating under the new stipulation.

Here are the results from January 7th, 1980, at the Midsouth Coliseum:

• Jerry Bryant defeated Bub Smith.
• Buddy Wayne defeated Jerry Barber.
• Assassin number one and Assassin number two defeated Ricky Gibson and Robert Gibson to regain the championships.
• Sunny King defeated Paul Ellering.