Pro Wrestling vol. 30: Best of Mid-South Wrestling 1983-1987 (Ted DiBiase, Jim Duggan, Butch Reed)

Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 30:

The Best of Mid-South Wrestling/Houston Wrestling 1983-1987

Objective:  Break up the Greatest Match Ever Project (hosted at gwe.freeforums.project.net) into more manageable chunks to help me build my Top 100 List for the project.

Motivation: Contribute to the discussion around these matches to enrich my own understanding of pro wrestling and give a fresh perspective for old matches and even hopefully discover great pro wrestling matches that have been hidden by the sands of time.

Subject: This thirtieth volume of Pro Wrestling Love is the conclusion of the Top 12 countdown of the best matches to take place in Mid-South Wrestling between 1983-1987. The time period is set because this was the peak of the territorial era in regards to footage. Footage before 1983 in regards to American wrestling is a dicey proposition. There are some gaps after 1983, but for the most part from 1983 on we have everything. The countdown ends in 1987 when Jim Crockett buys out the Universal Wrestling Federation from Bill Watts and then ultimately shuts it down at Starrcade 1987. You can revisit past Pro Wrestling Love Volumes at ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com. You can check out the full version of these reviews in ProWrestlingOnly.com by going to the forums and finding the folders associated with the date of the match.

Contact Info: @superstarsleeze on Twitter, Instagram & ProWrestlingOnly.com.

Top Six Matches of Mid-South Wrestling 1983-1987

#6.  Mid-South North American Champion Dick Murdoch vs Butch Reed - 10/14/85

I watched this way back when with the September match, but never got around to writing a review for this. I remember liking this as much as the September match and I liked that a whole lot.

First 15 minutes: Reed's TV title is only on the line for the first 15 minutes. I don't know why Watts insisted or who insisted Reed work holds. He is not as good as everyone else at it. He would be great as a power wrestler. They trade side headlocks early with good struggle. A battle over a top wristlock leads to Reed grabbing an armbar. This would be the hold du jour. Reed's arm work is good, but not great like Murdoch's in the previous encounter. I did like this way better than the headlock Flair match. Murdoch's facial expressions and struggle make this a lot better. He is looking for the ropes and really sells the pain once it is released. He is trying to combat Reed with big elbows to the top of the head. Everytime they lock up, Reed punches the bad arm and Capn Redneck is getting pissed! 5 minute time call and Murdoch avoids the punch and grabs a small package. I love that spot. Reed grabs the arm and this all makes sense. Reed is trying to wait out the 15 minute time period while setting himself up to win the North American Title later. Really smart strategy. Murdoch finally makes in roads with elbows to the top of the head, but Reed sits out of the front facelock to grab a hammerlock. Murdoch backs Reed into the corner and reigns down heavy blows while selling the bad arm. Reed is discombobulated. Atomic drop. Only one minute remains! Murdoch cant get the pin, big punch in the side headlock. He is whacking Reed in the back of the head. Feigns brainbuster for another small package. They standoff and Murdoch resigns himself to not winning the TV Title. If the match ended here as a draw, I would say this was easily great. Reed dominated with arm work, Murdoch sold and fought back and they worked to a strong finish. The match does not end here. Murdoch has a bad wing and it is not just his title on the line.

Last 15 Minutes: Holy Shit! This was what I am talking about! World-Class Selling throughout. For limb psychology marks like myself, it does not get better than Murdoch working the leg in response to Reed working the arm. It is an absolute war of attrition. Before the dueling limb psychology there is a really fun tit for tat piece of psychology I got to point out. Murdoch had been really clobbering Reed and up until that point Reed had restrained himself. On a criss cross, Reed popped him one good. Murdoch's selling is I don't know I don't have words to describe it. Perfect. That what it is. It is perfect. Watch this match for that one moment. Mrudoch gets his receipt on the next criss cross and Reed sells great like a babyface should. Murdoch uses the bottom rope to stomp Reed before finally zeroing in on his target, Reed's leg to take away his power. Reed is incredible selling this. He is trying to fight back in the corner, but he looks helpless. Love this. Murdoch grabs a toehold and Reed starts to kick at the bad arm. Oh Fuck Yes! Reed starts yanking at the bad arm and Murdoch collapses in pain. Reed collapses with a knee on Murdoch's bad arm and then sells his own knee. Another time, he kneelifts Murdoch and Murdoch sells his face so well while Reed has to sell his knee. This is why I love pro wrestling! Reed attacking the arm and Murdoch is attacking the leg each trying their best to gain the advantage. Murdoch applies the figure-4 and I actually feel like this could be the finish because of the selling! Reed breaks it with raw power and uses the ropes to hold himself up to kick Murdoch away. Murdoch hits a knecrusher for two. Reed hoists him up for a powerslam, but bumps the ref. Murdoch gets an O'Connor Roll, but no ref, now Reed gets his own and wins the CHAMPIONSHIP! The crowd goes insane for this!!! Murdoch shows his respect for the new champ.

The last 15 minutes were wrestled at a ***** level. I thought finish was just slightly weak and the first 15 minutes while they set up last 15 minutes well just weren't there.  A definite must watch. Every aspiring wrestler NEEDS to watch the last 15 minutes of this.

#5. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich - 4/28/85

This match is just lean and mean. Flair is at his best when he goes long so he can flesh out his narrative. There are plenty of times even at 20-25 minutes where he feels rushed. However, that is not the case here. Here his spot calling was pitch perfect. This is stripped down Ric Flair at its finest.

How stripped down are talking? At the five minute mark, Flair is already getting heat and there was barely any shine (Flair Flop off a Discus Punch, glorious). It is on! Ref hooks Kerry's arm and Flair hits his short knee. He throws Kerry to the outside. Kerry is such a great Flair opponent, combining the power of Luger, likeability of Sting and selling of Steamboat (on this night he was that damn good). If he had Windham's offense, Good Lord that just would have not been fair. Flair rips into him on the floor, Kerry's selling is Godly and then plays a little King of the Mountain. Love Kerry trying to pull himself up on ropes, missing the desperation dropkick and then selling the ribs. The Flair sleeper complete with arm drop is the climax of this segment before Kerry falls into turnbuckles ramming Flair's head. Love Flair grabbing his jaw after this.

I love how lean Kerry's comeback is at this point. Discus punch->Comeback started. Press Slam->Highspot. Stomach claw->False finish. You just ride such a high during that segment.

Kerry has Flair down, but cant get cover. He gives up to hit a splash, but eats knees to injured midsection. AWESOME! Flair tosses him out to get a breather. Now we get the sunset flip and backslide fun, which is a rush. Flair Flip to the outside. Flair looks discombobulated, but he grabs Kerry's ankle and wrenches it across the apron. He goes up top and I thought this would be the best set up ever for the press slam, but he actually hits a axehandle!!! Flair misses knee drop and it is into the figure-4! Great setup. They have done a great job generating excitement with neither man really in control, but everything feeling organic. Kerry is clearly coming from underneath, but is getting big time false finishes.

Flair makes the ropes and Kerry stays on the leg. Kerry goes to elbow the leg, but Flair moves and he hurts his mid-section. WOW! Flair punches to midsection. BIG BOY CHOPS! Flair selling the leg, before an elbow drop for two. Butterfly suplex, love that move for two. Two great Flair heat segments, love it. Flair hits rapid fire punches in the corner and Kerry collapses in the corner. Knee to the injured midsection. It is the press slam off the top that is the transition to the comeback (Flair did take a long time). Flair Flip runs across apron off the top into IRON CLAW~! FUCKING AWESOME! I POPPED LIKE A MADMAN FOR THAT!

Flair hiptosses Kerry outside the ring and that's a pretty big bump as Flair brings him in the hardway with a vertical suplex. Flair is in full desperation, don't fuck around mode and applies the figure-4. Kerry sells like a million bucks. Kerry powers out because he is ALL MAN! Flair big chop and it is a slugfest! Lots of movement leads to a Kerry sleeper. They stick with the sleeper and it is a pretty convincing finish with the armdrops, but Flair gets his foot on ropes. Kerry is incensed punching Flair on the ropes throwing the ref away. Flair using the ropes to hold him up throws a big chop. Flair sends Kerry into the ref, here we go. Kerry gets a cross body and sleeper, but no ref and Flair drops him balls first on the top rope. Kerry get his foot on the rope to protect him (very Mid-South Flair finish), but a very strong 80s finish.

Call me a Flair mark. Call me a Kerry mark. I don't care the fact this was only #49 on Mid-South Set means Im calling YOU CRAZY!!! This was FANTASTIC! Ric Flair at his absolute best. Flair is pretty restrained in this by his standards. He works more on top than usual. Kerry killed it in the selling department. The spot calling was incredible. Just everything flowed perfectly. Flair ripped into Kerry when necessary. Kerry worked so well from underneath. When he was making his comeback, everything felt tenuous, but at the same time credible. Those claw attempts/figure-4 were home runs shots, but he didn't have enough to really chip into Flair's lead, he needed to a big bomb to close this out because his midsection was giving out on him. You see Flair really feel in control here when he usually does not. It is only a brief part in the middle does he feel frantic and the end when it does look like Kerry has him beat. I really liked that finish. Just did not feel like ***** when I was watching it, cant put my finger on it, but this is a classic right up there with Hawaii & Texas 8/82 matches.

#4. Mid-South North American Champion Dick Murdoch vs Butch Reed - 9/22/85

I would conjecture that this was to give Reed more practice in the classic NWA World Championship style as he already had one match against Flair and would have a couple more. It would establish Reed as the lead championship material babyface whereas Duggan was the brawling, blue collar babyface. Reed is able to convey not only brute strength in this match, but a great amount of technique, stamina and also some great verbal selling. On the flip side, there is always talk that Murdoch would have been NWA World Championship if it had not been his propensity for comedy and lightheartedness in his match. This series with Reed gives us an inkling of what it would have been like if Captain Redneck was The Man.What a great reign it would have been! I had watched a good amount of Murdoch before this and liked him, but this match totally sold me on him. He is an absolute torture master. Then when it comes to selling he is just so spot on. I don't know how to explain it, but it is exactly what I think you should do. It is the perfect blend of entertainment and conveying pain.

This is nominally face vs face at the beginning, but Murdoch will be playing de facto heel. They do tit for tat armdrags to establish face vs face. We get the long Reed side headlock, which is custom for Reed in his matches with Flair. Murdoch is right there with Ole & Arn for best at working the arm just incredible at making everything look painful (wristlock while stomping on head and ribs) and takes his time. Reed uses power tries for pin and then goes right back to the headlock. We get that sequence for a bit and it is very logical and very entertaining. I think it was great to have Reed creating the movement. The match is getting more and more heated with them both working hard. It crescendos to both men cocking their fists and the ref intervening to stop this classical match from getting out of hand. Perfect tease. Reed takes a powder from all the arm work and he psyches himself up, which is a really cool spot. The ref tries to cool him down. I love we get a collar and elbow tie up this late into the match. It is a nice reset without forgetting the past. He levels Murdoch with a forearm and classic Murdoch face down selling. Perfect. Murdoch elbows the top of head to get to a hammerlock bearhug with nasty punches to the ribs. Murdoch throws out classical wrestling and just starts throwing nasty strikes to Reed that causes him to slump into the ring. In a criss cross sequence, Reed finally clock Murdoch and Capn Redneck is reeling. Murdoch drags him to the outside and slams him on the concrete. They tease the countout finish. Piledriver, knee drop, Murdoch is pouring it on, but only gets two after each. The selling in this match is amazing. With each men selling this war of attrition and trying to fight through the pain. Reed was great at selling the face, being doubled over and then fighting through all that finally kicks some ass in a great comeback. Murdoch does his great job selling with his weak windmill punches. Murdoch tries to fight from his ass, awesome! Reed just starts to choke him. It is breaking loose in Tulsa! I hope it is Tulsa! They start trading punches and atomic drops and Reed's final atomic drop was a DOUBLE HOT nearfall! Dicky Murdoch rolls to the outside. Reed is exhausted and they both collapse from all this fighting! Reed applies the figure-4, hey now you cant say Flair made him do that spot! 

Murdoch is in the ropes and Reed is relentless and the ref is trying to get Butch to back off. Of course, this causes Reed to eat a boot. Now Reed is fighting from his back and punching the bad knee. Wow! Murdoch tries a bodyslam, but his knee is so fucked they both topple over the top rope. Double countout. Badass classical American title match. Reed shoves ref as he is trying to give Murdoch the belt. I smell rematch.  He punches Murdoch and throws him into the belt. He decks ref. It gets scrappy and they finally break it up. Butch promo and this becomes a wicked brawl. I loved this match. Awesome selling, really built well to Reed's comeback and Murdoch is excellent at all facets of wrestling. 

#3. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan vs "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer - 11/11/85

"Kiss my fucking ass!" - Hacksaw Jim Duggan to Buzz Sawyer in the post-match fracas from Hell.

Hacksaw Duggan is for real! His run in Mid-South should go down as one of the best "everyman" brawler types in the history of Mid-South. The DiBiase matches are exceptional, but you can point to them being propped up by the angle the matches with Mad Dog Buzz Sawyer are just unadulterated violence. At this time, Dicky Slater & Buzz Sawyer were the lead heels in the Mid-South territory soon to be Universal Wrestling Federation and Duggan and Butch Reed were among the lead faces. While Slater & Reed were feuding over the North American title, Duggan was left to face Dicky's gatekeeper, the crazed Mad Dog.

THIS IS A BLOODBATH! Duggan jumpstarts the match with fists of fury that sends Buzz packing. I love the Duggan Superman pose juxtaposed with his goofy ass face. Duggan obliterates Sawyer's face into the guardrail and busts him WIDE open. Buzz does his best Chris Webber is asking for a timeout, but there are NO TIMEOUTS in wrestling, you fool! Hacksaw continues the onslaught of punches to the head. The ref takes pity of the pathetic bloody heap that is Buzz Sawyer and tries to hold Hacksaw back. Ruh roh! Buzz tries to claw Duggan;s eye out and then kicks him in the balls. Hacksaw takes an equally wicked bump into the barricade and now he is busted WIDE open too. Buzz slams a table on him! I love this raucous mayhem. There is no real story other than two guys kicking the absolute shit out of one another. Hacksaw is trying to mount a comeback, but does not have much in the tank. When Hacksaw stops Sawyer from slamming his head into the turnbuckles, this feels like the most important thing in the world given the amount of effort both men are putting in. Hacksaw wins out and hits a back elbow. WEDGEBUSTER~! The Mad Dog heads for the hills and the crowd is on his case. Buzz ain't yellah; he races back into the ring and blasts Duggan. The ref throws this chaos out. Buzz wants to maim the hero of Mid-South with a piledriver , but Hacksaw reverses and kicks ass. The wrestlers come to break it up, but they are just getting started. Duggan breaks free and jumps Buzz in a crazy moment! Crowd is chanting bullshit. This is incredible! We see Buzz get dragged back to with his friends and he is moaning and groaning. Then Hacksaw is coming to the back and Buzz breaks free again. Holy shit an absolutely nuts brawl breaks out again! Hacksaw is screaming kiss my fucking ass as Buzz Sawyer is left wailing. The whole shebang is the epitome of pro wrestling. All the stars in the world for this! Hacksaw Duggan is my hero! HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! 

#2. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Terry Taylor - 6/1/85

My recollection is that this a contender for one of the best matches of the 1980s and is one of my all-time favorite Flair matches lets see how it holds up.

First Twenty Minutes: Fuck yeah, this holds up. Incredible opening twenty minutes. I love how Flair always starts off clean against Taylor before working himself up into a lather. I think he underestimates Taylor and thinks he can take him by conventional means only to realize he is in for one helluva fight. I love Taylor's body language in this. He is confident and you believe in him to become the world champion. Taylor grabs a couple headscissors early out of a Flair headlock. Flair is bit annoyed, but he goes back to his strategy of taking it to the mat. Taylor rides a hammerlock. There a ton of little details to watch for in this match. Flair is selling the arm and pulls the ropes to try to loosen it up. Watch closely you will watch Taylor try to pick up that arm, but cant quite find an opening until Flair forces his hand by coming in with a collar elbow tie up trying a suplex attempt, but Taylor blocks twice before Flair gives up. Flair takes him down twice with drop toeholds, but both times cant hold Taylor. Taylor/Flair now work a side headlock sequence that blows the Reed one outta the water. Tons of interesting stuff. Taylor cranking to stop Flair from getting a knee crusher. Flair tries movement to gain an advantage, but on the second attempt Taylor does not even humor him and drops down into a headlock when Flair drops down. Smart, conservative wrestling. Taylor wrenches the front facelock and I love how Flair goes for a suplex and Taylor wrenches hard and the way Flair hollers and then falls it is just so perfect. These are the things that make him better than everyone else. Flair drives Taylor into the corner three times and finally forces a break. Now tempers flare and a fire fight breaks out. Taylor to his credit does not back down. He goes blow for blow with the heavy-handed Flair in just a great sequence. I love Flair feigning with the left only drop low into the midsection with the right. Just a great spot. He throws Taylor out and he rushes back in the ring. Vero's Hero is here to fight, muthafucka! They fire off into the corner, love how Flair bullies him in the crowd only for Taylor to rifle back. The ref interferes and hooks Taylor's arm and Flair nails that short knee to the family jewels of Vero's Hero. With that the twenty minute mark is reached and the Nature Boy is finally in control. I loved, loved how they built into this fight. You see Flair goads him into this. He knows that in the chaos there will be opportunities to sneak in a cheapshot. He got Taylor off his smart, conservative gameplan and he is reaping the benefits. I am so excited for the next twenty minutes!

Final Twenty Minutes: They don't relent for one second in this match. Flair punches Taylor right in the face and I love Taylor grabs his face and sells it. Flair is incensed and is choking Taylor. He grabs an arm and they work a good armabr sequence. Flair uses the ropes and hair to control Taylor. Flair goes for chops in the corner, but loses control and is sent flying into the opposite the turnbuckle. Flair tries to get a suplex quickly, but Taylor drops down the back and it is a sleeper. Taylor actually gets a suplex in before eating knees. Taylor don't quit. He is up and rocking Flair with rights until the Flair Flop. This portion feels like an up and down the court basketball game as they start throwing out nearfalls until Flair thumbs him in the eye to finally stymie Taylor. Flair, who clearly realizes he is starting to get in over his head, applies the Figure-4 hoping to end the match. Taylor reverses the pressure. Flair is still nominally in control as Taylor is selling the leg, but misses the kneedrop and he ends up in the figure-4. Flair pushes Taylor off on the second attempt. He thinks now is the time, it is the time to fly. RUH ROH! He sure does go flying. Taylor is on fire with the punches and general intensity. Taylor rattles off nearfalls again, crossbody, backslide. Flair grabs a sleeper on a criss cross, but cant hold Taylor who drops down and kicks him off into the ref. So when Taylor gets another backslide there is no ref. Flair rakes the eyes and throws Taylor over the ropes. He needs to get the ref to count him out! Doesn't work out. Flair suplexes him back in and a big elbow to Taylor he is trying to get up only gets two. Taylor slugs it out with Flair just throwing bomb after bomb. Flair flops on his face. Taylor just needs that one big move. O'Connor Roll will this be it...Flair reverses he has the tights...1, 2, 3!

Incredible match. I think what I like the most about is the intensity of both combatants. You really believed that this match was the most important thing in the world. The sense of urgency was very high throughout the match and never relented. Taylor was really awesome in this. He was firing off some great shots. The back half once Taylor made his initial comeback was Flair cheating like a muthafucka to win the match. Eye thumb sets up the first figure-4, but Taylor persevered through that. Then the rake of the eyes and throwing him over the top rope. Taylor survived and overcame. However, you could tell he just did not have much left in the tank and Flair yanked the tights to win. It was a war of attrition and they fought like hell. It is matches like this that are the reasons I love pro wrestling.

#1. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan vs Ted DiBiase - 3/22/85

Tuxedo, Coal Miner's Glove, Loser Leaves Town Steel Cage Match 

Mid-South Match of the Year, 1985

Believe the hype! This is one of the best matches of 80s and a perfect culmination of their intense, bloody feud. Clearly, the cage was needed to keep DiBiase's running buddies out and so DiBiase would have nowhere to run. After all the blood that was spilled, Mid-South was just not big enough for the two of them thus loser leaves town. DiBiase was famous for his loaded glove so they upped the ante with a coal miner's glove hanging from a pole in the corner this would actually be DiBiase's downfall. The one odd stipulation is the fact they wrestled this match in tuxedos. Definitely seek out the video package they play before this match to get you up to speed and see how the Best Dressed in Mid-South becomes an essential part in this feud.

It is hard to come by definitive, feel-good blowoffs in the 80s and in wrestling in general, but on this night you not only get a great match you get a great ending to a historic rivalry. DiBiase really elevated his game in this match by upping the chickenshit factor and also getting even nastier. Duggan was wrestling at already high level, but now DiBiase was meeting him there and they were making magic together. DiBiase stalling at the beginning then trying a sneak attack only get caught by Duggan jabs and then the horror of realizing he was trapped inside the cage with this lunatic. I thought going into this that I was going to have trouble taking Duggan seriously as a number one face, but au contaire I am disappointed Duggan did not last longer in a lead face role because he is an excellent, bleeding, asskicking babyface brawler from Hell. DiBiase manages to pull Duggan into the cage head first and bust him open. Duggan's blood flowing like a bloody Niagara Falls (thanks Steel Panther) on his pristine white tuxedo. This is where we see DiBiase strategy go awry. He is constantly angling for the Coal Miner's Glove, which puts his back to his opponent thus he is in a prone position for Duggan to yank him down. The first couple times DiBiase is able to work the cut and claw away to stymie Duggan. Duggan gains a head of steam and DiBiase is in tatters being slammed into the cage. Duggan retrieves the glove! DiBiase has one last trick and it is powder. DiBiase wins possession of the glove, but try as he might, he just can't hit Duggan with it. Duggan is able to slam DiBiase's hand into the post, gains possession of glove and SMOKES DIBIASE RIGHT IN THE HEAD! 1-2-3

Awesome, awesome brawl! The fact it had such a great finish puts it over matches like Flair/Kerry and Bock/Martel #2. It is tighter than Savage/Garvin. The only that comes close is Duggan/Sawyer, which is another bitchin' Mid-South brawl, but that lacks a finish. As of right now, this is the best match of the 80s, I have watched so far. Both wrestlers delivered all time great performances in their respective roles and have great chemistry with each other. Like I said earlier, in wrestling it is hard to come by awesome blowoffs and so when you see one it is extra special.

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 29: Best of Mid-South Wrestling 1983-1987 (Ric Flair, Ted DiBiase, Butch Reed)

Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 29:

The Best of Mid-South Wrestling/Houston Wrestling 1983-1987

Objective:  Break up the Greatest Match Ever Project (hosted at gwe.freeforums.project.net) into more manageable chunks to help me build my Top 100 List for the project.

Motivation: Contribute to the discussion around these matches to enrich my own understanding of pro wrestling and give a fresh perspective for old matches and even hopefully discover great pro wrestling matches that have been hidden by the sands of time.

Subject: This twenty-ninth volume of Pro Wrestling Love is the beginning of the Top 12 countdown of the best matches to take place in Mid-South Wrestling between 1983-1987. The time period is set because this was the peak of the territorial era in regards to footage. Footage before 1983 in regards to American wrestling is a dicey proposition. There are some gaps after 1983, but for the most part from 1983 on we have everything. The countdown ends in 1987 when Jim Crockett buys out the Universal Wrestling Federation from Bill Watts and then ultimately shuts it down at Starrcade 1987. You can revisit past Pro Wrestling Love Volumes at ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com. You can check out the full version of these reviews in ProWrestlingOnly.com by going to the forums and finding the folders associated with the date of the match.

Contact Info: @superstarsleeze on Twitter, Instagram & ProWrestlingOnly.com.

Does this picture scream Mid-South Wrestling or What?

Honorable Mentions

The Fantastics vs The Guerreros – Houston 10/12/84

The Fabulous Ones vs The Guerreros – Houston 1/24/86

The Guerreros were a staple of Paul Boesch’s Houston Wrestling. Houston Wrestling much like St. Louis was a single city territory. For history buffs, think of it as a Free City of the Holy Roman Empire or the District of Columbia is another apt analogy. For this time period, Houston Wrestling would book talent mostly from Bill Watts’ Mid-South territory. Notable exceptions included Jose Lothario and Hector & Chavo Guerrero. Hector & Chavo Guerrero appealed to significant Mexican/Latin community in Houston and showed great versality working as heels against The Fantastics and babyfaces against the Fabulous Ones. Heel Fabulous Ones are a real treat you got to watch Lane & Keirn as heat-seekers. The Fabs vs. Guerreros is my pick for the best Mid-South/Houston Wrestling match of 1986.

Mid-South Tag Team Champions Rock N Roll Express vs Midnight Express - Houston 5/11/84

Mid-South Tag Team Champions Rock N Roll Express vs Midnight Express – 5/23/84

Hacksaw Duggan & Rock N Roll Express vs Ernie Ladd & Midnight Express – 6/8/84

Midnight Express vs Rock N Roll Express – 6/30/85

The Rock N Rolls & Midnights are like Tom & Jerry of pro wrestling. You cant say one name without the other. It all got started in Mid-South. These three matches exemplify their classic take on the Southern Tag style and why they are considered the two greatest tag teams of all time. The Houston 5/11/84 match comes our way from NWA classics and features a hilarious shine built around hair pulling psychology. 

Mid-South Tag Champs Magnum TA & Mr. Wrestling II vs. Midnight Express Houston 1/27/84

Midnight Express vs Bill Watts & Stagger Lee – 4/22/84

Mid-South Tag Team Champions Midnight Express vs Fantastics – 8/9/84
Midnight Express vs Fantastics - Houston 8/31/84

One key difference between the Eaton & Condrey team vs Eaton & Lane team as that Eaton & Condrey team was treated as a main event act. One of my all-time favorite matches from Mid-South was Bill Watts stepping back in the ring with the Junkyard Dog under hood as a Stagger Lee. The MX and Jim Cornette were so red-hot they were programmed with Mid-South two biggest babyface stars. This is classic “Walking Tall” Bill Watts match. I want to include a Midnights vs. Fans match because they were so good together whether it was in Mid-South, World Class or Crockett. The Houston matches come our way thanks to NWA Classics. The first match is a great asskicker from Magnum & Wrestling II and the second Fantastics is a fun Southern style popcorn tag. 

“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan vs Ted DiBiase – Houston Street Fight 7/29/83

Mid-South North American Champion Ted DiBiase vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan – No DQ 3/8/85

Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs Mad Dog Buzz Sawyer – Dog Collar Match 12/27/85

The breakout star for me in watching all this Mid-South footage was “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. He was not the goofy, American flag waving dope coming out to circus music from my childhood watching Monday Night Nitro. He was an asskicking everyman that reminded me a lot of Bruno Sammartino. Duggan with his Irish last name and lack of Southern accent had a very Northern feel to his character. It was blue collar and urban. To me Duggan represented the answer to a superhero like Hulk Hogan, a Southern folk hero like the American Dream or a pretty boy like Ricky Martel, he could be a new path something very distinct, gritty and realistic. Two of the matches listed here are from the two different DiBiase feuds. The more famous feud is the 1985 one but don’t sleep on the 1983 one either. My other favorite Duggan feud is against the “Mad Dog” Buzz Sawyer and it came to a bloody conclusion in this Dog Collar match.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Terry Taylor – 4/28/85

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Wahoo McDaniel – 7/26/85

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Ted DiBiase – 11/6/85

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Jake “The Snake” Roberts – 11/24/85

Ric Flair was great before 1985, but it was in 1985 that Ric Flair truly put himself head and shoulders above everyone else in the GOAT conversation. I am sure if we had more footage of Flair pre-85 the statement could have been made earlier, but Mid-South is big part of why we got to see so much Flair in 1985. There will be two more Terry Taylor matches that make this countdown. The match against Wahoo is a classic shootout at the OK Corral reminiscent of Flair’d firefights against Ronnie Garvin. I am by no means a Jake The Snake fan but besides his 1986 work against Ricky Steamboat this is his best match. The match against DiBiase is up there with Lawler vs Flair 1982 and Lawler vs Dundee 1985 as the greatest TV angle of all time and just misses the cut of making the top 12.

Ted DiBiase vs. Dick Murdoch – 12/31/85

This is the conclusion of that great TV angle as you see Cap’n Redneck Dicky Murdoch was pretty pissed that DiBiase was getting the title match against Flair instead of him. Murdoch pulverized DiBiase turning DiBiase babyface in the process. DiBiase wrestled the match against Flair with a massive bandage around his head from the beating from Murdoch and thus DiBiase ultimately came up short as Murdoch brainbustered him on the concrete. Now DiBiase was out for blood against Cap’n Redneck. This is match is a great brawl and I love the finish. DiBiase might be the fan favorite but he is not totally reformed and he blasts Murdoch with the trademark loaded glove to get the win and some sweet, sweet revenge.

#12. UWF Western States Heritage Champion Barry Windham vs Dick Murdoch – 7/11/87

Crockett has already purchased the UWF at this point and this was during brief run where they tried to keep it as a separate entity sending over Windham to anchor the babyface side. I think they missed a big opportunity of having Windham in the Garvin slot. I love the Flair/Garvin series especially 87 and am a Garvin fan, but they could have really built to the future with a Windham victory there. I have seen this match a bunch of times and loved it. I saved it for last because I thought it had a legitimate shot as the best Mid-South match. To my surprise, I don't even have this in my top 5. There has been that much great shit in Mid-South. That's not indictment on this match, which is still fantastic just goes to show you how stacked Mid-South was.

If you like punching, this match is for you. I think that's strength of this match and why it finished so high in the original poll. Flair matches can be polarizing. A good punch is a great unifier of all wrestling fans. These two are the best punchers in the business and so this match had that in spades. The first fifteen minutes are characterized by dueling arm work. Murdoch is the God King of arm work even moreso than the Andersons. He just tortures his opponent and he has so many holds at his disposal. On the flip side, he is so good at selling arm work with his face and his body. My complaint is that it was a little too easy for them to get in and out of arm holds here. I liked how Murdoch set up his arm holds with elbows to the face and yanking the arm against the apron and other nasty ways. Whereas Windham used speed and movement to set up his like a dropkick or a crossbody. The match picks up half way through when Murdoch backs him into the corner and pops him one. Watch Windham sell this. Perfect. Just simple perfection. Really gets this over as a big turning point in the match. Windham hits a spinning neckbreaker to even the playing field. Murdoch sells this a bit over the top, but I love over the top. I really enjoyed it and you all need to watch it. Windham has such a beautiful punch and he is looking to get his receipt. Murdoch ends up on the outside and Windham hits the atomic drop that sends him into the post. Murdoch rakes the eyes, but on the suplex back into the ring Windham falls on top. I love from his knees Murdoch pops Windhams in the face with a punch. Great shit! The slugfests that ensue should be legendary. They are just going blow for blow with incredible selling on each punch. They are holding each other up and punching each other. Murdoch's missed windmill punches is the classic spot I always remember (that and Terry Taylor dubbing himself Vero's Hero on commentary) with Windham cleaning his clock after that bit of fun . Murdoch tries to get up on the top rope, but he looks like a beached whale, lol. Windham press slams him off and figure-4 time. You can say Flair forced him to do that spot now! 

The finish stretch is Hot Stuff (Murdoch's manager) distracting the ref and Murdoch busting Windham open with the mic whilst in the figure-4. Murdoch tries to put Windham away, but Windham keeps attacking the leg all the while the time limit is about to expire. Belt shot by Murdoch! Kneecrusher by Windham! Spinning Toehold and Figure-4! He makes it to the ropes. BRAINBUSTAH~! But Gilbert has the ref distracted as the time limit expires. Well that is just poor managing right there.

The middle portion of this is simply awesome. Great punches and selling. Exactly what you want from these two. Thought the beginning (too easy to get in and out of arm holds) and finish (shoehorning the leg stuff and manager stuff. It felt like a detour from something that was awesome to something I have seen before) just weren't there with the rest of the match. I wish we had every Dick Murdoch match ever. He is fucking incredible.

#11. Chavo Guerrero vs Mr. Olympia – Houston 6/24/83

Mid-South Match of the Year, 1983

Chavo Classic had all the tools on offense. He shows off his ability to fly (dropkicks, plancha), submissions (upside down surfboard and a lucha submission), hot strikes and suplexes (German). He is ripshit because Olympia/Akbar put him on the shelf for two months. He starts off hot with punches and three dropkicks to send Olympia to outside. This is match of levels and is incredibly well-executed. Olympia never really fully takes control, but slowly earns his heat segment. He takes advantage of each mistake by breaking Chavo's momentum with a trip to outside or sapping his energy with a chinlock. In fact most of Olympia's offense in this is a chinlock. Normally, I would dislike that but it makes logical sense because how hot Chavo is and the need to cool him off to set up your own moves, We see that each chinlock takes more of its toll at first Chavo is able to resume control, but it as the match wears on Olympia's offense is more sustained. Olympia's first major opening is when Chavo was yanking him by the mask into the turnbuckles and on the third one he sent Chavo in hard into the turnbuckles. He followed up with his first big offense of the match a kneedrop and backbreaker neither negotiated the fall. Now instead of going back to the chinlock, he Irish Whips Chavo this is dumb because Chavo feeds off movement this allows Chavo to hit a crossbody, yank him out by the mask and then a plancha. This was perfect face wrestling and plays right into the movement vs power story. Chavo loses it in the corner with strikes and when the ref pulls him off Olympia loads the boot and dropkicks him to the floor. Olympia cant get the win again so it is back to the sleeper. They tease the three arm drops and Chavo powers up to a big pop and drives Olympia into the corner. Olympia misses the top rope elbow. Big rush by Chavo ends in a German suplex for the win! He wants to take the mask off so he gives him another. Almost gets the mask and here is Akbar and now DiBiase. Hell beatdown commences until the save,

I loved Chavo's fire in this and commitment to always fighting back. He played the perfect vengeful face. He did a great job mixing up his stuff. Olympia gave a a really simple, but effective performance. I didnt mention this but he was great bumping for Chavo. Match of Olympia/Stubbs career and maybe the best Chavo match on tape.

#10. Terry Taylor vs Chris Adams – 5/3/87

UWF Match of the Year, 1987

Vero's Hero puts in one of the best performances of his career as the entire match is one long, simmering heel turn. I noticed something was up almost immediately when did not shake the Gentleman's hand. Also, Taylor did a great job early on showing how insecure he felt. He would try something and nothing would stick. While Adams was always one step ahead of Taylor, whether it was taking him over with a headlock or double wristlock or powering him down off a leapfrog sequence. We saw Taylor try to pick up the tempo, slow it down by going into ropes or the outside or counterwrestling, but at each step Adams was a head of Taylor. I thought the way Taylor sold was much more like a heel would where he looked like he was being wimp whereas a face would fight through the pain. You could really feel the insecurity in Taylor's mind and that insecurity led him to start taking shortcuts. Like a kneelift to the Gentleman when he gave him a clean break or a closed fist. The closed fist started sending off the alarm bells in JR's & TA's heads especially as the ref confronts Terry Taylor. It is clear that Taylor favorite heel was Ric Flair, who he worked with closely in 1985. There were a lot of moments in this where Taylor looked like Flair, but not moreso than late in the match by the way he begged off. As good as Taylor was at slowly ramping up his heelishness, I thought Adams wrestled as the consummate babyface. His scientific wrestling was both exciting as it was pure. I loved his hope spots being pinning combinations. This was nowhere near Flair/Steamboat, but in a lot of ways it felt like that. By Adams wrestling so pure, it really highlighted Taylor's heelishness. Taylor bumrushed him with a headbutt into the midsection and finally Adams realizes that Taylor is being a prick and he headbutted Taylor into the midsection and here comes the heavy blows like punches and clotheslines. I love how Adams is now throwing it back in Taylor's face. Adams collides with the ref on a criss cross sequence. In the previous Adams/Taylor matches they have helped each other into the ring. This time TERRY TAYLOR PILEDROVE ADAMS ON THE CONCRETE! As a nice touch, Taylor plays dead and the ref counts both men down. Of course, Taylor is able to get back up and win by the countout. At the beginning of the match, Terry Taylor was cheered and by the end he is resoundingly booed. Taylor cements his heel turn in his post-match promo. I loved the story this told of Taylor's insecurities leading to him joining the dark side. I don't know if you could do a heel turn just based on how someone's tactics changed in a match. I loved the simplicity of the times. Taylor and Adams both delivered excellent performances.

#9. North American Heavyweight Champion Magnum TA vs Ted DiBiase – Tulsa 5/27/84

Mid-South Match of the Year, 1984

I have to say I was a bit skeptical that on the exact same day albeit different arena they would be able to even match the awesomeness of the earlier OKC match, but boy was I wrong. Not only did they match it, they topped it with an even better blood-soaked brawl. The first match was a great bloody sprint, but this was a dramatic spectacle. They played to Magnum's greatest strength, his selling and it just ensnared you and never let you go. I got to say, I loved the beginning of this, where DiBiase went to pearl harbor Mags, but Magnum was wise to his games and beat him to the punch. Since they were working a different arena, I did not expect them to actually learn from match to match. So I was very impressed. Did they show these matches on TV and thus they needed to show inter-match progression?

The early portion of the match is all Magnum, but DiBiase is making him earn it. The match really busts open (pun fully intended) when DiBiase sends Magnum crashing to the floor reopening the cut. DiBiase working the cut on the floor with Magnum's screams of agony and the fans enraged was a perfect confluence of pro wrestling. DiBiase clawing at the cut and Magnum just making you believe this is most painful thing is the difference between the last match being great and this being a classic. In the ring, Ted is on point it is all fist and elbow drops to the head. Magnum is peppering in hope spots, but can string anything together as Ted stymies him immediately. DiBiase applies the sleeper and just when it looks like we will have a new champion, Magnum in a last ditch effort sends DiBiase flying over the ropes. DiBiase tries to rebound with a piledriver, but Mags back drops out of it. He pulls himself by the ropes. I love it, Ted is modulating the strength of his punches with them getting progressively weaker as he is more exhausted! Magnum is coming alive! He sees the blood. Run Ted Run! The collide in the center of the ring. I have this to be a way more common spot in the 80s than in anytime since and it was definitely a clue the finish is coming. DiBiase wants to get this over with and loads the glove. Wild swing and Mags hits the atomic drop and Ted bounces off the ropes into a Belly 2 Belly! I loved that setup for the Belly 2 Belly. Best Mid-South match yet and just everything you want from bloody brawl. Ted was vicious during the heat segment and backpedaling on Magnum's offense. Magnum is a really, really good seller and knows how to connect with audience during a comeback.

#8. Butch Reed vs Buzz Sawyer – Dog Collar Match 12/31/85

Think about the roster Mid-South had at this time on the heel side you had Dick Slater, Dick Murdoch and Buzz Sawyer, which is pretty great. Then get a load of the babyface side: Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Ted DiBiase, Butch Reed and Jake Roberts. That is bonkers deep. Reed is looking for revenge on Sawyer. Sawyer wants a Dog Collar match and Reed is like you are playing right into my hand, sucka. Reed gets his No DQ match. I watched this six months ago and thought it was every bit as good as the Duggan Dog Collar match and still think so. It is just violence and hatred personified. I really like how such small mistakes can have such devastating consequences in a match like this. For instance, by missing one punch at the beginning, Sawyer gets his ass beat for the next five minutes and is bleeding like a stuck pig. Reed is great at hollering and really playing up how he much he enjoy beating Sawyer up. I loved the chain pressed against the cut. The same thing applied to Reed when he missed a fist drop now Sawyer could take over on him and really do a number on him and bust him open. It was a total war of attrition. I loved that Dog Bark Sawyer did. One of his chain whips sounded brutal on Reed's head. It was scary and crazy. Both men are exhausted and Reed bowls him over, but cant stand himself. Sawyer and rips off his Dog Collar and ties Reed to the bottom rope. Reed comes out of his funk and realizes his plight, but it is too late the Mad Dog sneak attacks. Then in one of the most brutal finishes of all time Sawyer goes to bulldog Reed, but because he is tied to the bottom rope he is yanked back violently to the ground. OUCH! 1-2-3, Buzz Sawyer wins. Slater and Sawyer look to double team Reed, but Duggan saves only to be clothesline brutally by the chain right before his North American heavyweight title match with Dicky Slater.

Awesome, awesome violent spectacle. Sawyer was totally out of control and Reed was awesome as the avenging babyface. What an insane finish! Easy top 10 Mid-South match of all time.

#7. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Terry Taylor – Houston 5/3/85  

Fantastic match! I love how this is the more fleshed out version of the 4/28 match, just with 10 extra minutes & some better Flair spot calling they take a great match and make it a total classic. I really like Flair for his high-energy take on wrestling that is not to say go-go-go or working too fast, but everything is energetic. This may be his best low-energy performance. Now low-energy Flair is pretty much everyone else's normal energy level. This match was a great example of Flair gradualism.

The shine was better than the previous match because there was a little more struggle, Flair got in some more control and Flair argued with the ref. All these things made the shine seem more consequential. Again, Flair did not get over as a bumping machine, but rather established himself as good, but then Taylor started to get the better of him. Flair does the handshake and goes for amateur takedowns, but this does not lead to the heat instead they work a great headlock sequence with Flair trying everything he can to get out of it so Taylor has to struggle to keep it on. Flair is getting pissed starts throwing hiptosses, but he gets blocked after a couple. He starts shoving Taylor, but Taylor will NOT be intimidated! Flair crowds in the corner and looks like he is ready to take over. PSYCH! Taylor comes roaring back with punches. However, the ref tries to stop the punching and Flair gets a knee to family jewels of Vero's Hero. Now, finally Flair finally takes over. Flair had to do so much to get to the heat segment and Taylor looked world class by overcoming him at every turn. Really great extended shine even if it was not a typical one.

Flair throws Taylor around with a butterfly suplex and blasts him with chops. Taylor was really good at selling. Again, Flair shows how great he is working the arm and Taylor meets him with an inspired selling performance. Even on a shouldertackle with the bad arm, Taylor sells his bad arm. Taylor starts firing away with punches as Flair tries to grab the hair. Again, Flair shows a great sense of gradualism. Taylor has to overcome a Flair sleeper and an attempted Flair piledriver before Taylor finally gets his own sleeper. It is not one move, but a collection of spots that transitions you to full control. I love that! Throughout the finish stretch, you feel like most men are spent. Flair loves the cheapshots low to the abdomen while Taylor is selling his ass off and trying for whatever hope spot he can like all the Flair staples: sunset flip, bridge into backslide, slam him off the top rope. Flair loves the ropes in Houston. Saves him on the sleeper and a suplex. Is there anyone better at selling discombobulated down a finish run than Flair. They knock heads with Flair falling on top. Taylor gets his feet on ropes, but Flair pulls them off to win the match!

I feel like this is exemplary in the how they gradually they build throughout the match. Nothing is abrupt. Everything is earned by attrition and effort. To me this match is representative of the greatness of Flair spot calling because of his ability to layer a match with his spots that is meaningful in every way. Also throughout the match (it is documented in the matches with the Von Erichs) he is constantly struggling and making the babyfaces earn their controls. It is not a typical high energy, bump-a-thon by Flair until late in the game so it makes it different enough for diehard Flair fans like myself to see something unique. Love this match!

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 11: Best of All Japan Pro Wrestling 1980-1984 (Jumbo Tsuruta, Stan Hansen, Terry Funk)

Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Today at Mass, they formally invested our Pastor and in the process the Bishop said how he was pushing for women to have a stronger voice in the Church. I gotta say that this is a long time coming in the Roman Catholic Church. I have been a big proponent of this. The Catholic Church can change and I hope this will come to fruition.

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 11:

The Greatest Matches of All Japan Pro Wrestling 1980-1984

Objective:  Break up the Greatest Match Ever Project (hosted at gwe.freeforums.project.net) into more manageable chunks to help me build my Top 100 List for the project.

Motivation: Contribute to the discussion around these matches to enrich my own understanding of pro wrestling and give a fresh perspective for old matches and even hopefully discover great pro wrestling matches that have been hidden by the sands of time.

Subject: This eleventh volume of Pro Wrestling Love begins the Top 12 countdown of the best matches to take place in All Japan Pro Wrestling from 1980-1984. The ending date makes sense as that was the last year All Japan used their booking paradigm of bringing in gaijin World Champions from the NWA & AWA to defend against their major stars (i.e. Jumbo Tsuruta, Giant Baba and Genichiro Tenryu). In 1985, there was a paradigm shift to native vs native feuds with the invasion of New Japan pro wrestler, Riki Choshu. This was also in part necessitated by American World Champions not making the trip over to Japan as frequently (Crockett needed Flair for their national expansion and AWA was in its downward spiral). The beginning date is more out of convenience as it is both the beginning of the decade and the start of DVDVR All Japan 80s project. That project was used as a source of recommendations for the matches I watched to determine the best matches to take place in All Japan between 1980-1984.   You can revisit past Pro Wrestling Love Volumes at ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com. You can check out the full version of these reviews in ProWrestlingOnly.com by going to the forums and finding the folders associated with the date of the match.

The Pillars of All Japan Pro Wrestling

DVDVR hosted a best of All Japan in 1980s project. I have leveraged that project and its rankings to watch key matches from All Japan in the 80s. I finished up my first half of the 80s run a year ago, but never got around to post my final thoughts. With the impetus of the Greatest Match Ever Project, I am getting it out now.

It actually makes good sense to look at All Japan between 1980-1984 because in 1985 the booking paradigm shifts once Choshu invades and the gaijin talent dries up. The booking from 1980-84 focused around two major things.

1. Foreign world champions coming overseas to defend their championships. This would be Ric Flair & Harley Race from the NWA and Nick Bockwinkel & Rick Martel from the AWA. They would usually defend against AJPW Ace Jumbo Tsuruta and occasionally Genichiro Tenryu.

2. Stan Hansen. The resident monster gaijin that jumped from New Japan to All Japan in a shocking angle in late 1981 was positioned against the top two babyfaces of All Japan those being Giant Baba and Terry Funk.

Who were the main characters of All Japan 1980-84:

1. Giant Baba - Founder, Owner and booker of All Japan. He was the historic top star of the promotion but by 1980 was getting up there in years. He was the PWF World Heavyweight Champion during this time, the top singles title in All Japan. He fought feature bouts against the top monster gaijin, Stan Hansen. He is a weird looking dude with really skinny arms, a very boxy torso, a Giant head and is really tall. Somehow he makes it all work.

2. Jumbo Tsuruta - Baba's understudy in the 70s blossomed into the Ace of All Japan in the early 80s. He started taking the World Championship Title Challenges from Baba as Baba was winding down. He started the decade as the United National Champion (tertiary title) but was promoted to International Heavyweight Champion as Dory Funk Jr was winding down. He has an amateur background. He is strong on the mat and an excellent bomb thrower down the stretch (suplexes, an excellent bodyslam, High Knee and Boston Crab). He can be dry at times, but when he raises his arm, the crowd in Budokan goes wild. Jumbo has a one of the greatest victories in All Japan history when he defeats Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship and successfully ends the tour as the Champion.

3. Genichiro Tenryu - Jumbo's understudy. You don't see too much of him during this time period. When Jumbo graduates to International Champion, Tenryu picks up the United National Belt. He does have an excellent match with Ted DiBiase around this timeframe for that title. Tenryu does not really make a splash until the Choshu feud in 1985. He has a sumo background. He is stoic badass that can become really violent. He is raw and hard hitting. No one has a better contemptuous stare than Tenryu.

4. Terry & Dory Funk - Terry Funk did the impossible he became a beloved babyface in Japan. Since the 1950s, Americans were brought in as evil foreigners for the native Japanese to vanquish. Terry Funk started that way but ended becoming a hero to the Japanese people. Crowds had huge banners for Terry Funk and he even had cheerleaders! Whereas Jumbo was positioned a top, technical challenger for the championship, Terry Funk was the heart & soul of All Japan. He was where the emotion was. This led to many violent, brutal masterpieces with the top monster heel of All Japan, Stan Hansen. Terry Funk was an extraordinary babyface seller in All Japan and a great brawler.

5. Stan Hansen - The man who made All Japan run. A violent tour de force. A bull in the China Shop. In one of my reviews below, I state in a choice between fighting Stan Hansen and the Bear in the Revenant, I may just pick the Bear. Stan Hansen is a terrorizing, overwhelming monster. He is underrated seller. When Stan Hansen sells for you, it means something.

6. "Nature Boy" Ric Flair - Flair wins his first championship in 1981 from Dusty Rhodes. Most fans are familiar with his title victory against Harley Race at the first Starrcade in November of 1983. Most of what we know of Flair's first title reign comes from his matches in Japan. He has a excellent trilogy with Jumbo Tsuruta. Flair is very over in Japan and is definitely treated as a major special attraction. Flair is more understated in Japan than he is America. There are still a smattering of Woos and a strut here and there, but he is much more focused on amateur style wrestling, which he is good at and then those classic hot finish stretches that Ric Flair is known for.

I watched 31 matches from this era. So I may not have liked a certain as much as you and we can discuss or maybe I overlooked a match.

Honorable Mentions

PWF World Heavyweight Champion Stan Hansen vs Giant Baba - AJPW 7/31/84

Hansen vs Baba always scares me because Baba looks to frail and gangly and I think Hansen will murder him in the ring. Despite my concerns, it always works out to be a great match.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW 10/9/81 

Two Out Of Three Falls

The weakest of their classic three match series, but this is still a dandy and sets the table for the next two.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Kerry Von Erich vs Ric Flair - AJPW 5/24/84

Two Out of Three Falls

All good things must come to an end and so does Kerry Von Erich's World Championship reign. It is Flair vs Kerry maybe the greatest in-ring rivalry in the history of American Pro Wrestling. 

Stan Hansen vs Terry Funk - AJPW 9/11/82
The opening salvo in their vicious, violent rivalry. If I have to choose between fighting the Bear in the Revenant and Stan Hansen, I may just choose the Bear.

The Cowboy  & The Giant

#12. PWF World Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba vs Stan Hansen - AJPW 2/4/82

Huge fight feel to this one! Hansen had just debuted for the company about two months ago in one of the all-time great angles and instantly was the biggest gaijin star in the company. This is just the natural progression. I still have to mention Baba's body. It is so weird. The giant head and boxy torso with those weirdly skinny arms. He looks so fragile and I was scared with him going up against Hansen. This was a more reserved Hansen. But Hansen at 75% is still going to hit you fucking hard he is just not flying all over the place. He was also more willing to bump for Baba. The story of the match was simple: Baba wanted to take out the Lariat arm of Hansen and Hansen wanted to ground the Giant and set up for The Lariat. Opening Shine was great with Baba nailing some big boots and then a Russian Legsweep. Hansen did a great job making Baba feel like a Giant and so he kept him on the ground. He was working the leg in hopes of taking out his base. Baba was fucking awesome working the arm. He got Hansen into his really nasty predicaments. Baba also loved using the big overhand chop as the equalizer. Loved the finish run with them running all over the place with Hansen finally nailing the Lariat. Baba just gets steamrolled. The crowd lets out an audible gasp. The crowd was super into this. Baba was so over. They were popping for him. The brawl outside the ring post-Lariat was great as Hansen first overwhelms Baba and they go to double countout. He is nailing young boys with Lariats and then Baba sends him packing.

Just a huge Clash of the Titans feel that does not overstay its welcome. Really sensible story with two huge, larger than life characters. I loved the tension of the Lariat. It was this cloud of impending doom that loomed over the match. When would it happen? BAM! He nails it. Really great big time match. ****1/4

#11. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW 6/8/82

All Japan Match of the Year, 1982

I love All Japan in the early 80s. It feels like an all-star promotion with the all the stars of Japan, NWA and AWA come together and compete. Jumbo vs Flair has the biggest fight feel of them all. It really feels like the best of America against the best of Japan. Flair is decked out in his coolest robe and the way Jumbo rips off his jacket, you know he is jacked for this one. GAME TIME!

Jumbo brings the offense to Flair. Working NWA-style holds, headlocks, wristlocks and surfboard. The early sleeper gets a pop. Flair is working his usual style. Trying to go on the mat, create movement, but nothing works. He starts to try go toe to toe with Jumbo. There were some really  big meaty exchanges in this. I love the sound of flesh on flesh. Flair tries after the sleeper to bring it to Jumbo with hard shots, but Jumbo is game for a fight. Jumbo fires up and climaxes with a HIGH KNEE! First big nearfall of the match. Flair tries to use the short headbutt to stall Jumbo's momentum. He is able to hit a couple kneedrops and a chinlock to stall out Jumbo. But in the fire fight, Flair loses control, Jumbo in showing he can chop with the best of them. BUTTERFLY SUPLEX! Only two! Boston Crab! Abdominal Stretch! HIGH CROSSBODY! 1-2-NO! Huge pop! Flair heads to the hills. That felt like a basketball game where someone goes on a 12-4 run. Jumbo was just firing and Flair was overwhelmed. Flair uses the outside to break momentum. You see when Flair gets back in he goes for a test of strength. That's psychology! You are 15 minutes into a match and going back to a tie up. That shows poise. He knows he needs to slow it down. It is just laughable that people don't think Flair has psychology when he is a top 5 Ring General ever. Period.

Flair gets his own ab stretch, but Jumbo hiptosses out. MISSILE DROPKICK! 1-2-NO! Flair is desperate goes for a suplex, but get reversed by Jumbo into his own. Flair avoids the elbow and immediately goes for the Figure-4. People are always like why doesn't Flair work the leg. Well the Figure-4 is a home run shot. If he applies it, he will win. He sets it up when he is in control. In a match he is being totally overwhelmed and nothing is going his way, you bet his ass he is going for the figure-4. So that's ends up in an inside cradle, but once he gets the kneecrusher, now he is working the leg because now he has the time and is control. Flair had gotten offense but it was always short-lived because he never was able to really connect with a game-changer. Jumbo was ready for a fight. The kneecrusher represented the first  time he made a significant in-road. Big Tsuruta chant for when he is in the figure-4. Big pop for him turning it over. Jumbo is really good in the figure-4. Sells it well and really adds to drama. Flair gets a back suplex, but kick out. Flair goes up top, this is not going to end well...WATCH OUT BELOW! 1-2-NO! TOP ROPE CROSSBODY! Jumbo applies the figure-4 to a MASSIVE POP! It does not matter if it is Greensboro, North Carolina or Tokyo, Japan that spot is OVER LIKE ROVER!

I thought that was a really good climax to the match. I thought either Jumbo needed to one up it with a Back Drop Driver or something big or they needed to go home. It took them a little while to go home. Flair got some really good punches in when they were both on the mat. Flair throws Jumbo out so I was thinking here comes the countout finish. Flair suplexes him back in, which did not feel like an earned highspot for Flair. It kinda feels like the match is going backwards into a Flair heat segment with the elbow and then sleeper. So big chops and strikes late that I dig. Feels like a war of attrition. Whip into buckles and Flair Flop...Crowd pops! Love it. PILEDRIVER! 1-2-Foot on the ropes! Jumbo high knees sends Flair crashing out to the floor. Jumbo is feeling the strain. WICKED ENZIGUIRI! Jumbo falls out too. Piledriver on the floor.  Jumbo into the post. Tease Double countout! It being All Japan, I totally bite. Jumbo tries for a deadweight German, but Flair falls on top. Both shoudlers are down. DRAW! Jumbo tries to sell he won, but crowd is too smart. They know both men's shoudlers were down and there is no pop.

I thought first 3/4s was really good classic NWA style championship match. Flair trying a bunch of stuff but getting thwarted. Lots of good fire fights that Jumbo would win and led to big high spots like the Knee and then Butterfly suplex. That big Jumbo's offense run in the middle of the match was double hot. Flair was a master of bringing it up and down. Cooled it off a bit then went back to a Jumbo highspot of a missile dropkick and that's when Flair got so desperate that he finally got the figure-4. The dueling figure-4s was so over. You could feel Jumbo was getting his energy sapped from trying to win this match. Flair will tax you that way. Liked the chops late and the Piledriver. The high knee and that enziguiri was great. I think a double countout would have been better than the double pin. I thought they should have went to the finish quicker they lost some momentum because the crowd was molten for a good 15 minute stretch from the first high knee to the Jumbo figure-4. Flair really knows how to make a classic happen and let his opponent shine. ****1/2

#10. NWA United National Champion Ted DiBiase vs Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 10/23/83

DiBiase comes in wearing a robe saying "Italian Stallion". I never once thought of DiBiase as an Italian American even though DiBiase is clearly an Italian last name. Just strikes me too much as a country boy.

Jumbo vacated this championship in June 1983 as he graduated to the International Heavyweight Championship. DiBiase was awarded the title via forfeit because Jerry Lawler failed to appear for the match. The announcers namedrop Lawler at least twice during the match. This was DiBiase first title defense as champion. At the time, Tenryu had never won a major singles championship in All Japan.

Match totally snuck up on me. Tenryu had disappointed in his previous pre-Choshu outings. I like DiBiase a lot in brawls in Mid-South; I have never seen much out of Technical ted. I loved this! Tenryu was a beast on the arm and I thought DiBiase sold the hell out of his arm. I really thought the arm work was tight. DiBiase let Tenryu know he was there, but Tenryu was definitely in charge. There was a great exchange where DiBiase went for a spinning toehold and Tenryu monkey flipped him into a pinning predicament. DiBiase would definitely try roughhousing to get out of this jam, but Tenryu was not afraid to throws hands with Ted. Ted was able to get some offense started with a lariat and then his big powerslam. Tenryu sent him out of the ring and SUICIDE DIVE! WOW! MARK OUT CITY! Tenryu totally wiped him out. Been loving this match, strong arm work, everything is snug. Tenryu is in control in the biggest match of his life. Reverse Tenryu elbow gets two! Back to the arm. You feel like Tenryu is wrestling the match of his career to this point. DiBiase is selling really well. Up against the ropes, DiBiase chops Tenryu and throws him out. Great typical heel tactics by DiBiase using the outside to his advantage. Big suplex by DiBiase. Could be swinging his way. Tenryu holds ropes and DiBiase crashes & burns on dropkick attempt. I love how Tenryu is grabbing him by the head and really taking control. Piledriver NO SHOULDERBREAKER ON BAD ARM! AWESOME! Octopus stretch by Tenryu! Awkward position so they both collapse on each other. Feels like this will be a short lived title reign for DiBiase. I think this match set the record for most small packages. Crossbody by Tenryu, floatover by DiBiase, I bit hard on that nearfall. DiBiase throws him out and PILEDRIVER on the floor! Bit on that near countout finish! ENZIGUIRI! CROWD GOES WILD! DiBiase rolls out the ring at the last second. Tenryu is left reaching for him inside the ring. So frustratingly close. They end up on the outside hit a suplex, but it is a double countout. It felt like they left nothing in the ring in this match and the double countout finish feels totally credible.

I am so surprised this did not do well in All Japan voting. It has two really well liked and respected stars having a balls out match. Tons of action and no dull moments. There was limb psychology for those that like that. Great selling from DiBiase. Hard hitting. BIG Finish run. You had the story of Tenryu going for his first major title pouring it on at the end and hits his signature enziguiri only for DiBiase to roll out of the ring at the last second. There were some things that I would have liked. A really big transition for DiBiase, some real big momentum shifts and a nearfall or two more for him. That's stuff that I like, usually that stuff doesn't bother others. Would really like to know why people are low on this match because I thought this was great. ****1/2

#9. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody vs Dory & Terry Funk - AJPW 4/20/83

Just a scant six days after the classic Hansen/Funk singles match, this awesome tag gets lost in the shadow of the EPIC Terry Funk Retirement Tag, which may be the match of the decade. Definitely one of Brody's best individual performances and one of his best matches. He still did not sell or bump. But at least his offense looked really good here. The first half of the match is four pros executing the tag formula really well, but once Dory tags out to Terry...IT IS FUCKING ON! Terry goes apeshit on Brody's knee. Nailing Hansen. The knee work on Brody is so damn exciting and urgent. Terry holding the leg while Dory came crashing down is great. Terry taking off Brody's boot and wailing on his knee with it was AWESOME! Funk sends Hansen packing to the outside. As he is struggling with him, Brody comes from behind with a big knee. Hansen and Brody are just wailing on Terry with some wicked stiff shots but Terry takes it like a man and never goes down. Little things like that are lost today. Funk is selling, but he never leaves his feet. It is such a powerful moment. The ending is wild with the Monsters double teaming Terry, Dory trying to save, but this ends with the Spike Piledriver on Terry. So Dory has had enough now. Now the Monsters can isolate Dory. Going to set him up for the Western Lariat, but at the last second, Terry tackles Hansen's knees and they roll to the outside and they get tangled up in streamers. It was wild. Funk and Brody brawl in the ring and the ref counts everyone out for a double countout. The match was totally fine with the monsters dominating early and a pretty good heat segment on Dory. Holy shit, what an ending. Terry losing his mind on Brody. Brody crashing down on him. The way he stood up to the monsters only to be overwhelmed and felled by the Spike Piledriver. Then saving his brother from certain DOOM. Really amazing finishing stretch. ****1/2

JUMBO WINS THE BIG ONE!

#8. AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel vs Jumbo Tsuruta -
AJPW Budokan 2/23/84 Special Guest Referee Terry Funk

It had been almost four years since Giant Baba had won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Harley Race. While Jumbo had been challenging for the NWA World Title since the mid-70s, the pressure must have been mounting for him to follow in Baba's foot steps and finally win the big one. All Japan, NWA and AWA were booked in a tough position where the American promotions did not want to a Japanese wrestler representing them, but All Japan needed to prove to their fan base their ace was a legitimate world class pro wrestler. In 1984, it was high time for Jumbo Tsuruta to avoid the choker label and he did just that by pinning Nick Bockwinkel to win the AWA World Heavyweight Championship. He did Baba one better by actually finishing the tour with his reign intact and actually defending the championship in America. You see Baba spent a ton of money to cement Jumbo's status as the man by buying him this reign. In return, Verne got actually what he needed a gaijin transitional champion to go from ace heel Nick Bockwinkel to his prospective new hot babyface act, Rick Martel. Baba would use a similar model of gaijin (Hansen, Doc and Gordy) to transition titles among the natives. It was a win-win for everyone involved and of course the big winners were the Japanese faithful that were able to see their hero win the World Heavyweight Championship from Bockwinkel after being thwarted repeatedly by cheap finishes.

The match starts with Bockwinkel trying to end the match early with a surprise cross body, but only gets two. Bockwinkel works an extensive arm work segment that is just awesome. Bockwinkel is wrenching Jumbo's arm in all directions, applying pressure with his head and knees (THAT IS A LEGAL KNEE TO THE HEAD, Terry Funk yells, which makes me chuckle). Jumbo is always struggling, teasing escapes, but Bock uses a multitude of nefarious tactics to keep him down. One of my favorite spots of the match was Bock's super slick double wristlock takedown into a rolling short arm scissors just really strong work there. Another fun spot was Jumbo trying to show Funk that he keeps getting pulled down by the hair only to be pulled down by the hair again. Jumbo finally is able to string some offense together in the form of an enziguiri into a high knee, but only gets one. Bock retreats and tries to go back to the arm, but Jumbo is rolling now with two piledrivers and a Thesz Press. The action is so hot and heavy that it spills to the outside. Bock unloads with heavy blows on the outside. Hey there is the 80s spot the head to head collision, but really does not lead anywhere in this match. I can't say I am a fan of that spot. Jumbo is throwing closed fists and ignoring Funk's admonishments. Jumbo will not be denied tonight and the crowd is pumped. Bockwinkel goes back to a top wristlock to get a nearfall, but Jumbo counters with a Russian Legsweep. Nice! It is bombs away from Jumbo with a variety of suplexes and he has the champion on the ropes literally as he has to use the ropes to break Jumbo's Boston Crab. The Japanese fans have seen this story before and usually it does not end well for their boy. Bockwinkel shoves Jumbo into Funk and if I was a fan I would be smelling screwjob and Bockwinkel hits two piledrivers and a bodyslam, but nothing doing. As usual, Bockwinkel chucks his opponent to the outside to buy himself some time. When it comes time to bring him in the hardway, Jumbo floats over and BACK DROP DRIVER! 1-2-3! Jumbo wins the World Title!

This was an interesting story as you get the sense that Bockwinkel clearly sees Jumbo as a massive threat to his title reign. He tries to win quickly with a  cross body from there he dictates the pace and tries to take Jumbo out via arm work. He is keeping Jumbo grounded and we find out why later in the match. Bockwinkel does not have a prayer in a bomb throwing match. Once Jumbo is able to break free of the arm work and establish himself, he just starts throwing everything at Bockwinkel to finally win the championship. The tease all the usual screwjob finishes (double countout, ref bump), but this time the fans get to home happy with Jumbo Tsuruta winning the AWA World Title. Jumbo's long term selling could have been better. Bockwinkel was awesome in this, cocky in control and desperate on defense. The feel good ending elevates the great work in this to a classic match in my eyes. ****1/2

#7. AWA World Heavyweight Champion Rick Martel vs Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW 7/31/84

OUI OUI RICKY MARTEL! How I missed you! This is the championship rematch as Martel defeated Jumbo for the AWA Championship in Minnesota in May of 84. Now Jumbo has home field advantage.  We are nearing the end of Jumbo's role as the defender of Japan against the foreign champions, but he has one more classic in this style for us. Jumbo is ridiculously over in this match and throughout the match. I liked the champion vs challenger dynamic early in the match. Jumbo is way more offensively minded. Martel is willing to grind it out with toeholds and barring the arm. Jumbo is playing for keeps hitting big suplexes for nearfalls and dropkicks that send Martel flying. Martel realizes he is in a war and hits a reverse crossbody for two. He pounces on the back. Both are masters of the Boston Crab. They do a nice symmetry of each powering out of the other's Boston Crab. We get Martel's finish run which is comprised of a piledriver and a tenacious sleeper. I loved the roll through and hold by Martel. Real nice. The transition to Jumbos' finish run is great because its gradual. First he heaves Martel up out of the sleeper into a backdrop driver. Martel still has some energy so he goes for a tope rope crossbody but Jumbo rolls through. MARTEL IS PISSED AT HIMSELF! I love that fire. Being pinned off your own offensive move is very frustrating and he just won the World Championship from Jumbo two months ago so to lose that way would be the worst. He lets the anger get the best of him and misses a dropkick. The crowd comes alive! They have been biting on nearfalls, but they think Jumbo can do it again and win the AWA Championship for the second time! You never would hear such a big pop for a missed dropkick. Jumbo signals to the crowd. TWO Jumping knees for two! Tope Rope Crossbody! Gutwrench suplex! Jumbo off the ropes...hotshot?...nope airplane spin and they both fall over the ropes. Martel prevents Jumbo from returning to the ring and it is a double countout.

I don't mind the double countout finish but the airplane spin was kinda lame and it felt very pedestrian for otherwise awesome championship match. Jumbo having defeated Bock for the title in Japan in February did wonders for this match because everybody believed it could happen again. Loved Jumbo's aggressive strategy to throw bombs. Martel as the champion was trying to wear down with holds and the sleeper proved to be his best weapon. Thought the gradual finish stretch starting the backdrop driver then Martel getting pissed at himself for almost costing himself the match and then Jumbo's bombs was a great way to end it. I have their Sept 85 AWA match just a smidge higher, but this was an awesome bomb-throwing championship match. ****1/2