So many of the truly classic Mid-South angles such as Mr. Wrestling II slapping Magnum TA, Bill Watts slapping Jim Cornette, and the best dressed man in Mid-South contest between Ted DiBiase and Hacksaw Duggan came from the mind of the diminutive Australian. It all made for a smashing 1984 at the gate when the promotion faced competition for the first time in the form of the WWF. Mid-South cooled off by the middle of 1985. Some feel that Dundee’s booking utilized too many hot shot angles and burned out the territory, but ultimately Bill booked a fantastic year and a half in Mid-South before heading back to Memphis. The cool down in the summer and early fall of 1985 gave Mid-South time to recharge and come back strong later in the year and to have a huge 1986. 

The Strange Case of Tim Ashley 

Tim Ashley was a young up and coming wrestler in Mid-South back in the summer of 1985. He formed a semi-regular tag team with Steve Constance and also wrestled as a single. Ashley mostly wrestled as a TV jobber, but did not have the look and feel of a career jobber. He seemed more like a youngster who was gaining experience and would go on to bigger things later on. Ashley wouldn’t get a win on TV, but he might win at a house show in the opener or figure a bit more prominently at a small town spot show. Then Tim Ashley stepped into the ring with Nord The Barbarian. During the bout Nord nailed Ashley with one of the stiffest, most vicious looking clotheslines you’ll ever see. Tim Ashley took a nasty bump from this clothesline and was not seen again in Mid-South. There was some backstage controversy over the incident. Ashley felt that Nord had taken unfair liberties or at least behaved in an unprofessional manner with his reckless clothesline. The opinion of Bill Watts was that Tim Ashley should toughen up and accept that things like this were a part of wrestling. Ultimately Tim Ashley walked out on the promotion and learned that hell hath no fury like a promoter scorned. Bill Watts and the entire Mid-South promotion turned its collective wrath towards Ashley, burying him relentlessly for a few weeks with the intensity normally reserved for WWF defectors. I think Ashley retired after this incident. I don’t remember seeing him anyplace else. It’s too bad. He had potential. 

Hey, I didn’t know he was in Mid-South. 

When we think of Mid-South wrestlers we so often think of the DiBiase, JYD, Duggan, and Reed that it’s easy to forget that many other notables passed through the promotion. 

Nick Patrick: Nick Patrick is best known for his refereeing exploits in WCW over the past few years and now with the WWF. Nick was also a capable wrestler in his day as one would expect from the son of Jody Hamilton, better known as one pro wrestling’s great masked heels The Assassin. Nick Patrick showed up in Mid-South rings as a TV jobber for a while in mid 1985. 

Tim Horner: Tim was a solid babyface wrestler who seemed to compete for just about every promotion during his long career. Georgia, Continental, JCP, UWF, WWF, and Smoky Mountain all featured Tim at one point or another. By the time Tim made it to Mid-South he had already been featured with decent pushes in the Mid-Atlantic and Georgia territories. In Georgia he even scored a singles upset of Road Warrior Hawk. For whatever reason, Tim mostly wrestled as a jobber in Mid-South during 1985 and quickly moved on to the Continental territory. 

Mike Graham: Mike Graham was the son of legendary wrestler and Florida promoter Eddie Graham. He began his wrestling career in Florida during the early 1970s and spent virtually his entire career with that promotion. However, Mike did step out on occasion and wrestle in other promotions. Mid-South was one of them as Mike came in for some shots during the summer of 1985. Mike’s most memorable moment in Mid-South came when he took a fireball from General Skandor Akbar, a fireball intended for Cowboy Bill Watts. Graham returned to Florida at this time so this angle provided an explanation for his departure.

Sir Oliver Humperdink: The Red Head normally raised mayhem in Florida and also had a memorable run in the Mid-Atlantic territory. Because of this, his stay in Mid-South during 1985 has been somewhat forgotten. Hump’s stable was largely a collection of brawlers like The Nightmare, Lord Humongous, and later the likes of Nord The Barbarian, and Tarras Bulba. As a change of pace he also managed Eddie Gilbert for a time.  He and Gilbert eventually had a split when Gilbert stole away Bulba to become a manager himself. 

Ed Wiskowski: Ed Wiskowski wrestled on the lower part of the card for Mid-South in 1981 and 1982. Ed was a solid made a name for himself in San Francisco and Portland during the 1970s and 1980s. He gained perhaps his greatest fame in the AWA as Col. DeBeers. In Mid-South he was “Easy” Ed Wiskowski, a hard working straight-ahead wrestler. Ed’s main task was to make the babyfaces look good and he did his job well. During his time in Mid-South Ed faced everyone from Ted DiBiase to Mr. Olympia to Junkyard Dog to Mike George. Ed’s task was a thankless one, but he did it well. 

NEXT MONTH:

What Madison Square Garden was and is the WWF’s Mecca. The equivalent in Mid-South Wrestling was the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. In our next edition we’ll look at some of the classic bouts and spectacular action that took place in that massive stadium.