Mid-South Tag Titles: Ted DiBiase & “Dr. Death” Steve Williams vs. The Rock n Roll Express (Robert Gibson & Ricky Morton) (6/1/85)

 

This match had a different element than their others I have watched so far as Bill Dundee is the special referee and does the babyface referee gimmick that you would expect against Doc & Ted. Doc & Ted really looked good here both taking the RnR offense and dishing out their own and likewise the RnR as both teams looked on top of their game here. Terrible ref bump though as Dundee was out of place when Morton was supposed to hit him by mistake with a 180 splash off the middle rope and Morton basically landed on Dundee’s feet but Dundee bumped for it then it got better as Dundee got up trying to play referee again and Morton hit a dropkick square to the face. The finish wasn’t as screwy as far as the loaded objects go as while Dundee was down, Doc loaded up the brace while Gibson had him in the corner and was irish whipped right into Morton with a clothesline to win the match. The same psychology was used in this one as the Houston match with the back work but I think that the overall match was better than the Houston one but I need to rewatch it and compare. Their TV match from 6/19/85 was different than any of these since it was shorter and was more compacted and it was probably the best out of the three I’ve watched so far but still this was a strong match that could be disc worthy and is a definite maybe.

 

NWA World Heavyweight Title: Ric Flair © vs. Terry Taylor (6/1/85)

 

Taylor has called this match probably the greatest match of his career and he is probably right as Flair was one of his mentors and he was trying to show him that he could hang with him every move. I really liked Taylor’s neckwork that lasted a good while early in the match as he was really cinching in on his front chancery making it look like he was twisting Flair’s neck especially when Flair gave him a suplex as a counter to get him off, Taylor hung on and rolled over for a pinfall attempt. Great chop exchange where Taylor was looking like current HBK with the chop offense that led to the Flair Flop and the Dome started rocking as Taylor was feeling it. Taylor looked even more like HBK a few minutes later with the chops/punches combo before Carl Fergie blocked a punch and Flair got a cheap shot in which cued up the Flair control section of the match. Flair went with the Anderson arm psychology here and using any cheap trick he could to maintain his dominance meaning feet on the ropes, grabbing tights, and pulling hair to take him down that was really getting the crowd agitated. Taylor gets the advantage back and starts using the babyface formula for Flair (sleeper hold and backslide) before Flair takes his legs out for his cradle with the feet on the ropes that usually works but not this time.

 

Great heat for the figure-four when it finally gets locked in especially for the reversal and it really kicks in from here with nearfalls and Taylor using his own version of the figure-four. More good back and forth action before the predictable ref bump as when Flair had Taylor in his own sleeper, Taylor pushed Flair back into the ref knocking him to the floor. Taylor uses a backslide again while the ref’s on the floor and it’s amazing how over the backslide was in a Flair match since the loss to Kerry because it seemed like every face used that against him for like the next 5 years and it was over to the fans because they knew that’s how Flair lost the title one time showing you that yes non-finishers can mean something in matches. Flair chunks Taylor over the top rope while the ref’s on the floor but surprisingly no screwiness in that unlike when Flair went to World Class when that was used constantly against him. Taylor makes a comeback with more punches and chops with the punches looking really good before the finish that was identical to the win over Kerry in All-Japan as Flair reversed the O’Connor Roll and held the tights for the 3 count. This was a really strong match and both men looked great especially Flair and it just amazed me how much Taylor’s offense in this looked like current HBK. Taylor was right this was the best match I’ve ever seen him in and a definite DVD pick for me.

 

Mid-South Tag Titles: Wendell Cooley & Al Perez © vs. Eddie Gilbert & The Nightmare (11/11/85)

 

Cooley & Perez were still in their RnR Express gear which really looked gay on them and coming out to “The Heat Is On” made it gayer and there was a sissy chant that got started by some of the male fans in the front rows which was great. The match started off slow early with the Nightmare being once again slow and plodding but it picked up once Gilbert got in there to bump and sell for Cooley & Perez who worked together pretty good and did the “let’s switch in and out like the heels” fine too. They worked on Gilbert’s left arm forever it seemed and Gilbert totally made it work with his screaming to the ref. Gilbert & Nightmare worked well together also as Nightmare got better as the match went on and it helped that Perez was making him look good. The thing about Cooley & Perez was they got over pretty good as a team because they were different than the RnR Express & The Fantastics but once they got saddled wearing the RnR gear it was like their heat was not nearly as much as it was before. The match changed as when Cooley was thrown to the ropes by Gilbert, Nightmare pulled the top rope down and Cooley landed on the floor neck first hence when Cooley came back to the ring, the neckwork started. Gilbert was great here being dick as he was paintbrushing Cooley on the back of his head and strutting around getting huge heat before hitting an awesome Hot Shot for the three count. I liked this one and it’s a solid maybe for me.

 

Hacksaw Duggan vs. Buzz Sawyer (11/11/85)

 

Coming in, I expect nothing but a brawl considering the angles leading up and it delivered. Duggan was on fire early in the match and Buzz bladed about 2 minutes in hitting a nice gusher and I loved Duggan yelling at the referee to “GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME” as he threw Buzz into the security railing. Duggan just kept on beating the hell out of Buzz until he went for the “injured” eye and punched him right in the balls sending Duggan to the floor. Buzz biting on Duggan’s head was awesome as he kept doing it off and on for a couple of minutes before Duggan returned the favor and with Buzz that wasn’t the safest thing to do and then really punted Buzz in his sack before hitting a great looking spear knocking Buzz to the floor. Buzz got up and was like fuck this bullshit and started walking out of the building for the countout finish, which surprised me because since this match was so filled with hate on Duggan’s part, he just stood there. Well I got my answer as Buzz sprinted back in the ring after the bell and jumped Duggan from behind just throwing him down headfirst on the mat then working on the “injured” eye. Duggan got another comeback though and kept beating the shit out of Buzz and any referee that got in the way before the locker room cleared to pull him off leading to a huge pull-apart. They finally got out of the ring but they met each other in the back of the building leading to another brawl with Nick Patrick wearing his Cris Collinsworth jersey shirt trying to pull Duggan off while he yells “I’M GOING TO KICK YOUR FUCKING ASS” was fantastic. This was a tremendous brawl and I got it as a DVD pick right now.

Mid-South Tag Titles: Ted DiBiase & “Dr. Death” Steve Williams vs. The Rock n Roll Express (Robert Gibson & Ricky Morton) (6/1/85)

 

Morton does a big time blade job, and there is some fun interactions here and there, but there is so much great Rock and Rolls on this set already, I don't think this on that level, I am saying no.

 

Rest of disc wouldn't work, so I need someone to send me another copy

Mid-South Tag Titles: Ted DiBiase & “Dr. Death” Steve Williams vs. The Rock n Roll Express (Robert Gibson & Ricky Morton) (6/1/85)

 

Fun but well below disc level.

 

NWA World Heavyweight Title: Ric Flair © vs. Terry Taylor (6/1/85)

 

this feels like the least of the three Taylor v Flair matches I've seen. For most of Midsouth I've prefered brawling Taylor to technical Taylor. But that has been with Taylor taking huge bumps and brawling back from below. Against Flair I way prefer technical Taylor as Taylor isn't as good brawling from above...

 

Alot of this is worked similar to the Reed v Flair match I watched recently (no Dq). Taylor controling with front chancery into brawling exchange into fatigued near fall exchange..... really mirrors the Reed match but Taylor as brawler just isn't as good as Reed as brawler and this match was really dissapointing.

 

Mid-South Tag Titles: Wendell Cooley & Al Perez © vs. Eddie Gilbert & The Nightmare (11/11/85)

 

I enjoyed this as it was going on but holy shit this went on forever and never really felt like it was going anywhere untill the big Cooley bump and then had a really anticlimactic finish.

 

This is an easy no vote for me.

 

Hacksaw Duggan vs. Buzz Sawyer (11/11/85)

 

HOLY SHIT. This was on from begining to end. I loved the count out finish as strategy to get Duggan's back turned. Duggan driving Sawyer headfirst into every ring baricade and then just pounding him was great. All the barrier exchanges were nicely done. In a fed filled with refs taking bumps the Duggan punch to the ref wa one of most believable "wrestler does something that takes out ref" spots. This makes a set easily.

NWA World Heavyweight Title: Ric Flair © vs. Terry Taylor (6/1/85)

 

I think I liked this a little more then Tom did, the other two matches between the two had something special which set them apart. This felt much more like a Flair by the numbers match, which is always good, but less interesting. Taylor having current HBK's offense is not a compliment, but I think this is easily the least of the three. Still a yes vote, but lets see about pruning

 

Mid-South Tag Titles: Wendell Cooley & Al Perez © vs. Eddie Gilbert & The Nightmare (11/11/85)

 

Was there a no show or something, because this felt like it went an hour. Not a high end match for either team

 

Hacksaw Duggan vs. Buzz Sawyer (11/11/85)

 

This felt like possibly the best brawl in a promotion full of insane brawls, bloody violent out of control and awesome. On the set for sure, and in my top 10