There's an Evening Haze Settling Over Mid-South, Starlight by the Edge of the Creek

Terry Gordy v Dr. Death (9/15/86)

In some ways this was one big Williams revenge segment. It still manages to feel like an actual contest, which I suppose is pretty impressive in its own right, but there's no doubt this is about Williams coming back from a previous Freebirds mugging and making Gordy pay for it. He takes the majority of the match, really wailing on Gordy and bumping him around the place. At one point he just starts biting Gordy's forehead and makes like he has to spit out a chunk of flesh, which was pretty gruesome. My main take on this feud is that it was two big hosses beating each other up, but this was more one big hoss beating up the other, while the "other" in the scenario is trying to hold on and not lose his title. There was plenty to like about it, but I'd say it's the weakest of the series (that either made the set or has been unearthed on NWA Classics).


Terry Gordy v One Man Gang (9/21/86)

Was Gordy blading his head after opponents chomp on him a regular Gordy spot around this time? Because he does it again here and I can get behind that sort of grisly behaviour. I've really come around to Gang over the last few years as a super fun fat dude. He's a guy that, practically on a match-to-match basis, will take one completely ridiculous bump where I'm not sure if it's actually intentional or he's just fallen through the ropes and almost hurt himself. The ring ropes breaking in the middle of matches was a running joke going through the Mid-South footage, but this felt like an occasion where you could actually buy it happening. Meaty, bloody slugfest. Obviously I enjoyed it.


Terry Gordy v Dr. Death (9/28/86)

One thing about this feud, they managed to change it pretty exceptional from match to match. None of the matches that made the Mid-South set struck me as being transcendent the way the Texas Death Match that got put up on NWA Classics did, but they're all good and all let you look at both guys in different lights. This had Williams selling a busted up arm (courtesy of a pre-match double team by Gordy and Hayes) the whole match while Gordy worked it over, and it was pretty fantastic. Williams barely ever uses the bandaged arm and much of his offence is brutal looking short headbutts, usually from his knees, usually right to Gordy's cheekbone. There are a couple points where Gordy will sit around in an arm hold and not really do anything with it, but it's a minor quibble.


Mid-South Project