- Jason Hess

Hello and welcome to the latest installment of Houston Wrestling here at Kayfabe Memories.  As one could know from a regular reading of the excellent Mid-South and UWF monthly columns, angles were always hot and heavy around Mid-South wrestling, and consequently, Houston, Texas.  Cards at the Sam Houston Coliseum would always have some interesting main events to be sure.   

This month, we will take a look at what quite possibly was the most unique main event ever in Houston.  But to give the main event justice, we have to look at bit at the feud that led up to it.  This feud is perhaps for purposes of discussing the 1980’s one of the greatest in Mid-South history.  It went on for parts of three years, and saw twists and turns unlike one would think, especially considering the personalities involved.   

Rewind:

In the long history of Houston Wrestling, there have been many colorful characters, such as Irish Danny McShain, Bull Curry, Whiskers Savage, and others.  But one would be hard pressed to find two more colorful wrestlers than Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and “The Big Cheese” Ted DiBiase.  Both of these men at one time were members of one of the best heel cliques around in the 1980’s, the Rat Pack.  The Rat Pack dissolved in 1983 due to a side alliance between DiBiase and Skandor Akbar.  Duggan eventually turned face due to the idea that DiBiase was aligning himself with a foreigner.  

The two men would proceed to tear up the Mid-South region with their subsequent matches, and in the late summer of 1983 during a televised match, Duggan defeated DiBiase in a loser leaves town match to kick him out of Mid-South for good……seemingly. 

The feud laid dormant for a little over a year as Duggan stayed in Mid-South (besides some small forays into Florida to work as a heel with Kevin Sullivan in his war with Dusty Rhodes), and DiBiase ventured into World Championship Wrestling.  But, in a characteristic twist of booking that made Mid-South so hot in 1984, DiBiase would return in a most interesting way.  Duggan was feuding with Steve Williams, and was scheduled to face him in a televised football helmet match.  Duggan never came to the ring, and the crowd was shocked to see DiBiase go to the ring instead.  DiBiase’s promo would set the stage for a new chapter in their war.  He claimed that Duggan was going to cheap shot him, but that he had gotten the best of him.