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Mid-South Memories Edition 2

Posted: Aug 4th 2009 By: mikeiles

Hello, rasslin? fans, and welcome to another edition of Mid-South Memories. We got the introductions out of the way last time Mid-South Memories Edition 1, and now, as promised, let?s dive right into my picks for Top 10 Mid-South Moments.

Before I begin my actual list, a few qualifiers. First, this list is limited to the timeframe of Mid-South shows currently available here at www.universalwrestling.com. Right now, that?s from late 1981 to the last show of 1985, which was also the last at the Irish McNeil Boy?s Club, in Shreveport, LA. Second, this is not necessarily the 10 moments that led to the most box office, or Hall of Fame-type history; they?re simply my favorites. And with Mid-South, I have enough favorites that I could come back in a week and give you a completely different list. Finally, these are all moments from the Mid-South TV shows; while www.universalwrestling.com has a fantastic selection of house-show matches available, I wanted to stick to the television program, for consistency.

With that, let?s start with No. 10, a moment that didn?t seem very momentous, at the time, but one that was also that rarest of things in pro wrestling ? an unplanned moment, and one that defined an unbelievable athlete. It was a summer 1985 tag match pitting top villains Ted DiBiase and Steve ?Dr. Death? Williams versus Brad Armstrong and Brickhouse Brown. Even though the latter team boasted a former North American champion (Armstrong) and a guy who had flirted with main-event status more than once, this was essentially a squash match, as Armstrong and Brown were both on the way out.

The two were on their way out of this match, as well, when Williams whipped Armstrong into the ropes and hit him with a clothesline, coming back. Did I say ?hit?? Make that ?hammered.? Williams, legitimately one of the strongest men in wrestling history, clothes lined Armstrong so hard that Armstrong?s 225-pound body spun around, causing his elbow to fly into Dr. Death?s eye.

Doc, as he was known, was bloodied and briefly staggered, but continued the match, which he and DiBiase shortly won. Because Williams was a ?heel,? or bad guy, Mid-South never publicized this, out of concern over a villain getting sympathy for an injury. But, as the wrestling magazines of the era covered in gruesome detail, Armstrong?s inadvertent elbow caused Steve Williams to receive 108 stitches, about a third of which reportedly were in his eyeball.

Steve Williams received some medical advice, as well as stitches. The advice? Don?t wrestle for at least six months. That night, Steve Williams and Ted DiBiase defeated The Fantastics (Tommy Rogers and Bobby Fulton) at a live Mid-South event in Oklahoma.

See the DiBiase/Doc vs. Brown/Armstrong match on Mid-South Vol. 89, click here for: Mid-South Wrestling Volume 089 DVD.

Longtime fans knew that Steve ?Dr. Death? Williams was as tough as they came, and as great an athlete as ever graced the squared circle. A football standout and four-time All-American in wrestling at the University of Oklahoma, Doc debuted in Mid-South in 1982. At first, he only worked as a pro wrestler part of the year, while fulfilling athletic commitments at OU (and later, in the USFL) the rest of the year.

However, by 1984, Doc had decided to go full-time as a pro wrestler, and not long thereafter, he had become a heel, a bad guy. ?Cowboy? Bill Watts? prot?g? even formed a team with one of the fiercest villains in Mid-South history, a year later, and the team of DiBiase and Doctor Death cut a violent swath through many a TV and arena match. The pair even won the Mid-South tag belts twice (the second time, they were even good guys!), first on May 3, 1985, from the Rock & Roll Express, in Houston (I was there ? 10th row, only guy in my section rooting for DiBiase & Doc, getting pelted by pizza and beer tossed by irate fans). You can catch that title win on Mid-South Vol. 87, click here: Mid-South Wrestling Volume 087 DVD. And I have to point out that the pair rarely wrestled against each other, but one such TV match happened in 1983, albeit in a tag match, and it?s on Mid-South Vol. 42, click here for: Mid-South Wrestling Volume 042 DVD.

But whether he was a good guy or a bad guy, there can be no doubt, he was a tough guy ? the toughest pro wrestling has ever seen.

And the thing that made this painful moment one of Mid-South?s most memorable was that toughness. Dr. Death?s attitude, toughness, his no-frills style of roughhouse wrestling, the best of technique and brawling, embodied what Mid-South was all about. The Junkyard Dog was Mid-South?s longest-reigning hero, but Steve Williams embodied the spirit of Mid-South better than any other performer. You can also catch four separate Dr. Death matches on the House Show DVD Vol. 2, click here for: House Show Volume 002 DVD, and you can always trust that while he was never the most polished performer, Doc always came out with unrivaled guts, intensity and fire, determined to make sure every fan watching would remember Dr. Death.

I also recommend Steve?s bio, ?How Dr. Death Became Dr. Life,? which has plenty of Mid-South info and Steve Williams? own inspiring story, in which he takes on cancer with the same courage he showed on the playing field, or in the ring.

OK, rasslin? fans, we?ll be back next week with Mid-South Moment No. 9, which will lead us into Parts Unknown, the hometown of so many masked wrestling greats. Got a favorite masked man? Want to tell me your favorite Mid-South Moment? E-Mail those thoughts to me at: loadedglove@universalwrestling.com

Tags: MSW, Ted DiBiase, Steve Williams, Brad Armstrong, Brickhouse Brown, Fantastics, Tommy Rogers, Bobby Fulton, Bill Watts, Rock-N-Roll Express, Junkyard Dog