For two guys who spent a decent chunk of time working for Watts, this isn't really a matchup I remember seeing a lot of. On paper it feels like it would work though, and it surely did. They open with the ROUGH N RUGGED Mid-South Wrestling approximation of an indie parity sequence and even Joe Watts being turbo obnoxious didn't detract from it actually being pretty damn cool. I guess there's that old line about Watts wanting his heels to look like competent wrestlers first and foremost, and the first few minutes here established that Slater is no joke, even if deep down he's a redneck cheapshot artist. That DESPICABLE woman by his side would do him no favours either, should he ever want to turn himself onto the righteous path. It's always amusing how Dark Journey was treated as a real terror even though she barely ever did anything. Had Watts ever seen Sherri Martel? Slater brought some really nice offence to this, first with his big swinging neckbreaker and then a great Russian leg sweep when Williams tried to counter a top wristlock. Williams' comeback was nicely built leading to the Oklahoma Stampede and that headbutt sequence where he does the burpees in between. Watts (Joel) was even more screechy than Ross about how athletic the big fella was. In the end Dark Journey does get involved and Ross sounds more southern than I've ever heard him when she digs her FANGERnails in Williams' eyes.
Hacksaw Duggan v Buzz Sawyer (Dog Collar Match) (12/27/85)
Another night, another Hacksaw v Mad Dog CLINIC. Sawyer with a dog collar is about as sure a thing as you'll get and Duggan stumbling around bleeding and getting clobbered by a chain isn't far behind it. Hacksaw was unbelievable in this, first in how he just whomped Sawyer up and down the place. His chain-wrapped punches might be the best ever, the way they seem to be thrown with a little extra weight, which I guess makes sense considering they actually do have extra weight behind them. It's hard to slow down the speed with which you throw an already-worked punch and have it look good, but Duggan was great at it and those shots looked like they'd cave your face in. He was also folding up a length of chain and whipping Sawyer in the shoulder and neck with the thing, never letting Sawyer get too far away from him, sometimes just standing tall and bracing every muscle in his body so that Sawyer couldn't run even when he tried to. Sawyer will always find ways of being the nastiest prick imaginable in a match like this. He whipped Duggan in the knuckles with a length of chain early, then pulled it taut and jabbed it into Duggan's eyes to cut him off. In one particularly gruesome moment he started biting Duggan in the bloody forehead then stepped back, spat some blood in the air, then reached out a hand as if he was trying to catch a chunk of Duggan on its way down. Duggan's comeback was spectacular, finally noticing the blood on his hands and roaring like a Kodiak with every shot Sawyer threw at him. Duggan did that type of roaring comeback - in a very literal sense - better than just about anyone ever and the people were going ballistic. By the end they're both gushing blood and Boesch makes a good point about it feeling like they'd inflicted about an hour's worth of punishment on each other in 10 minutes. What you'll also get in a Buzz Sawyer dog collar match is a great finish, and this one was great and fittingly brutal. Duggan chucks Sawyer over the ropes, but obviously Sawyer is left hung up there by the chain. When Duggan goes to drag him back in again Sawyer reaches down by the side of the apron for a chair, the same chair Duggan had rammed Sawyer into earlier in the match, and Sawyer wings the thing behind him into Duggan's head. What a pairing this is.
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