Spotlight: Mid South Wrestling - 1985 - Part 3

Greetings true believers! We're talking about more Mid South wrestling from 40 years ago! This is great stuff so, let's dive in!

July & August 1985

Ted DiBiase vs Terry Taylor (07/04 ep.#304) 1st match on episode, impromptu match...DiBiase legit slaps Taylor in the mouth!! Hahaha oh shoot ? We get a real spirited back & forth match and we get a winner too.

Dutch Mantell vs Terry Taylor (07/11 ep.#305) 1st match on the episode. Way to open the show...they know what they're doing! Pretty Boy Taylor vs Dirty Dutch. This was a very good bout for the TV title. These guys really gelled. I could have watched another 3-4 minutes of what these two were doing. Dug the finish too!

Jake the Snake vs Ted DiBiase 07/28/85 #42 - wrestle fest '85 - Oh yeah, this was great. Jake is going for the DDT early to end this but Ted keeps slipping out. Eventually the dastardly DiBiase takes over and makes Roberts pay. Just timeless stuff here. Excellent pacing and what a finish even when you think it might go sour. Two of my favorite heels from my childhood.

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Butch Reed vs Dutch Mantell (07/28/85 Wrestlefest '85) - Tough act to follow Jake & Ted. This was still a fun match but there wasn't anything too memorable.

Hector & Chavo Guerrero vs. Ted DiBiase & Dr. Death Steve Williams (1985/07/26) - I like that this starts with Ted jaw jacking with a fan. Like c'mon dude...who would win a fight? You or the big dude in the steel cage & the championship belt? Anyhow Ted & Dr. Death... such a badass team. Hector has bleached blonde hair! The Bros. dominate early on but here comes the beating...this was very good stuff! Not fancy but super entertaining! Too bad about the finish but it keeps their heat! I am pissed 40 years later ?

Butch Reed vs Ted DiBiase (07/25 ep.#307) 2nd match on this episode looks like Reed vs Tom Prichard but Ted comes out...Impromptu match! This would be a main event normally and damn! they wrestle this like a TV main event. Two greats put on a show. I loved this! Excellent pacing, teases, the outcome was always in doubt - Great match!

Butch Reed vs Dutch Mantell (08/01 ep.#308) - The rematch from Wrestlefest sorta - instead we get a fantastic segment where Mantell is looking to hurt Butch and collect some $$ from Ric Flair. So Dutch jumps Reed with his whip and Chaos ensues!!! It's a couple minutes but is so much more memorable than their match!

Butch Reed vs Ric Flair (08/09/85 #24) - It's a long match and am hesitant about watching another long Flair match. I want to mention this in case you're interested but, I'm not watching it. They have more matches coming up...

Jim Duggan vs One Man Gang (08/29 ep.#312) - Hacksaw Duggan has been feuding with Skandor Akbar and Kimala after the battle with DiBiase ended earlier in 1985 (see my blog post on that).  I'm not interested in this feud & Duggan goes onto better stuff in a couple months but I wanted to represent him. He's still active in Mid South. One Man Gang seems like a good opponent for him ? O.M.G has been hired solely to hurt our hero. The match itself is OK but the post match is what you want! A chain gets involved and things get interesting!

Butch Reed has been a great "new" wrestler for me. I'm so glad I finally got to see his work. And Ted DiBiase is definitely the front runner for my 2025 Best Wrestler Watched. More Mid South to come! Thanks for reading folks!!!