Hacksaw and the Mad Dog!

Buzz Sawyer v Hacksaw Duggan (Coal Miner's Glove Match) (Houston Wrestling, 12/13/85)

I think this was a new piece of footage we got from the NWA Houston drop. Or maybe we always had it and it just never made the Mid-South 80s set. Either way I'd never seen it before and shockingly enough it was another fun entry in the Duggan/Sawyer feud. We get a nice start with Sawyer playing chikenshit, begging off right as Duggan leaves his feet for a big double punch. Sawyer's begging off and pleading for mercy is always something to be wary of because you know he could turn around and bite you in the leg if you hesitate for more than a second. Sure enough Duggan tries to climb for the glove early and Sawyer bites him in the leg. They brawl to the floor and Sawyer rams Duggan into the barricade, then whacks him a few times with a chair. To be honest the chair shots didn't look great, but the IDEA is right, Duggan sells them like they mattered, and I guess not erasing someone's brain cells with reckless chair shots is something to be commended, not scoffed at? Probably? These matches in Mid-South and Houston where something was hanging up a pole were always a fucking ordeal because the wrestlers had to climb the thing military style and any item attached was UP there, which became more difficult to reach the sweatier they got. They definitely captured the sense of desperation and how much that glove could swing the tide though, especially Sawyer who was just about pulling Duggan's trunks off every time Duggan climbed the thing. There was one point where Duggan almost reached it and Sawyer grabbed a leg, Duggan wound up spun around facing inside the ring while still scaling the pole, then when he tried to kick Sawyer away Sawyer yanked Duggan's leg into the pole for a crotch shot. I mean it was pretty innovative as far as crotch shots go. Sawyer biting Duggan's head to create his own climbing opening was such an awesome Buzz Sawyer thing to do. More people need to incorporate biting into their offence today. I loved the finish. Duggan finally manages to climb up and retrieve the glove, but Dick Slater has come down and chucks Sawyer his dog collar chain. Sawyer tries to whip Duggan with it while Duggan struggles to actually get the glove on properly, then finally he does, catches the chain as Sawyer swings it at him, and yanks Sawyer into a big gloved punch. The post-match with Sawyer and Slater wrapping the chain around Duggan's throat was like a Pacho Herrera-orchestrated cartel hit. I bet I still think the dog collar match is amazing.