Sunday 16 February 2020

I Got My New Boots Covered in Red Dirt, My "Don't Mess with Mid-South" T-Shirt

Ric Flair v Wahoo McDaniel (7/12/85)

Alright, so, I think the actual date for this is 7/26. I watched it last year after two Flair/Wahoo matches dropped via the Houston footage, and at the time I thought this was the one that didn't make the Mid-South set (as the footage wasn't available), but no, it's the one that did make it. So there's another Flair/Wahoo that's new and the date on that is actually 7/12. I think. It doesn't really matter anyway because it's not like anybody's using this stupid blog as a historical resource, so I'll just stick with the 7/12 date since that's what it's listed as on the set. Either way I'll copy and paste what I said about it last year. This was pretty great when they were lacing into each other. The arena isn't mic'd up too well so you don't always get to hear the thwack on strikes, but some of these Wahoo chops are audible regardless. Flair has great chops, he always has, but he can't swing that knife edge like Wahoo and he's never had anything close to the overhand, so for once he's basically outmatched. And that was kind of the story. Flair will try and go toe to toe, but not only does it never end well for him, it never even approaches level footing. He'll throw one chop, maybe two at a push, and Wahoo will shred him. Flair simply can't hang. So I guess he decides he'll use the ropes at every opportunity and just cheat his way to victory. Maybe it was deliberate on the wrestlers' part, maybe it was a story they were actively telling, maybe I'm just projecting, but Flair's best friend in this match was the ring rope and if not for that he'd have been fucked. He wasn't only using it to cheat either. There were a few points where Wahoo dropped him with a chop or a tomahawk and Flair only escaped by draping a foot over the rope. Late on he tried to take it to the floor, but that backfired as well and it was him who wound up with a bloody forehead. Still, the ropes weren't going anywhere and they were always there to bail him out. Flair winning via dodgy pinfall with his feet on the ropes wasn't exactly a rarity, but I don't remember it ever being built to quite like that. Maybe that "build" was coincidental. It probably was, honestly. Either way it worked and overall this was good stuff.


Ted DiBiase & Dr. Death v Jake Roberts & The Barbarian (7/14/85)

I think Jake and Barbarian are still technically heels at this point, but people are so nuts for the DDT that in a heel v heel match you can bet the team with Roberts ends up as de facto babyface. They still walked that line though, being more than happy to play the same games had that been a Rock n Roll Express or Fantastics across the ring. All of the early stuff ruled. There are a hundred million ways to incorporate a DDT tease into simple spots and this crowd bit on even a sniff of one. Jake and DiBiase are tentative to start because I guess they both know what depth the other is willing to stoop to, so they fake each other out with a few punches, Ted goes for a kick to the gut, Jake catches it and spins him around, and the place just erupts when he tries to grab him for that DDT. A bit later Jake is in there with Williams, sees an opening for the DDT, and everybody loses it the second he makes an attempt. It was absurdly over. Jake was also really fun working the apron, shit talking Williams and DiBiase, ruffling Williams' hair when he got close, always skulking about like a menace on the peripheries. Loved the big transition into the heel workover. Up to that point Jake and Barbarian had been far superior as a unit bending the rules to their advantage. Then Jake holds Williams so Barbarian can take a swing, but maybe this time they've bit off more than they can chew as the ref ejects Barbarian and Jake turns around into DiBiase's loaded glove. Jake is such an awesome face in peril here. We get plenty of nasty offence targeting the cut, like Williams grating the sole of his foot over it, some forehead biting and DiBiase hitting his killer fist drop, but Jake's sell of the blood loss is really tremendous. At one point he sort of staggered onto the apron, then got tangled up in the ropes as Williams and DiBiase clobbered away on his bloody forehead. Odds were never going to be good on a clean finish, but the brawl after the ref gets bumped went on longer than I remembered and felt really chaotic. You had Jake battering guys with a cowboy boot, Williams battering guys with a loaded cast, and of course the pop for the DDT was crazy. I think this is the last time we see heel Jake on the set and it was a heck of a swansong.


Mid-South Project

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