Mid-South #25 Page #2

As Jim Ross began the ring introductions, Landel entered the ring and said he needed to talk to his "main man."   Landel and Reed conferred in the corner for a minute, before Reed began shouting, incensed at the idea that he needed Akbar's backing to truly become "the man" in Mid-South. 
"What? I AM the man, boy! Don't you know who I am? Don't you know I ran that greasy Dog out of here? Don't you know I done beat that Master G into polio? After he broke my leg, how I came back and whipped the hell out of him?"   Buddy tried to reassure Reed, telling him he was only thinking of their careers and commending Reed for improving so much "since I taught you everything I know."   This last comment infuriated the brickhouse, who informed Landel that the only reason he let Landel hang around was because "I just tolerated you and feel sorry for you! You just like a parasite, boy! Now get out of here - I gotta beat somebody up!"   Landel, however, had one more trick up his sleeve - literally. He took off the watch and offered it to Reed - an apparent signing bonus for hooking up with Akbar's Devastation Inc.    Reed was not impressed, as he grabbed the watch and shook it towards the crowd, which was growing uncertain as to how to react to him. 

"So this is what it is! This is what the Rolex watch is about! You gonna deliver me to Skandor Akbar?," Reed asked.  The big Hacksaw then answered his own question by slamming the watch to the ground and stomping on it, declaring that was what he thought of Landel, Akbar and the offer.  

Landel snapped and shoved Reed, who responded by nailing his longtime partner. Landel flew back and ended up face down and sprawled vertically along the ring ropes.  Akbar himself now came to the ring, flanked by Hercules and DiBiase. Akbar apologized for sending Landel to talk to him instead of making the offer himself.   Akbar told Reed to "sign with the General, and you won't have to worry about anything, because I intend to dominate Mid-South."   

Reed told Akbar he didn't need him or his "blood-sucker money, because I AM the man. Butch Reed, the hacksaw, the brickhouse, stands alone. I am the only man in Mid-South. I done beat up everybody around here."

Akbar tried another tack: "You're either with us, or you're against us." 

Reed said, "Well, then, Skandor Akbar, I guess I'm against you," and began throwing punches at Akbar and his henchmen.   The trio, joined by a now-revived Landel, overcame Reed, only to be chased off by a man who had opposed Reed since Reed's debut in Mid-South - "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan.  The beauty of this was that Reed's "I don't need any friends" arrogance that spawned his heel turn in 1982 (see last month) was the very thing that sparked his face turn. His character basically stayed the same throughout. 
Duggan and Reed formed a tag-team thaty took on various combinations of DiBiase, Hercules and Steve "Dr. Death" Williams.  Reed also polished off Buddy Landel in a series of singles matches. The second time time around the horn, Landel introduced a stipulation - the loser had to shine the winner's shoes. The angle was heavy with racial implications (Landel: "Shine my shoes, boy"), but the slur-uttering Landel ended up in the humiliating position of shining shoes by the time the matches were over.
The jewel of Akbar's stable soon returned, however, and Reed found himself having a much tougher time with Kamala than he'd had with Landel.   Reed began wearing warpaint that mirrored the Ugandan giant's visage, and once slammed Kamala off of the top rope, causing the Ugandan warrior to run in fear for the first time in anyone's memory. 

Eventually, however, Reed found himself on the losing end of things. One key match against Kamala ended with interference from The Barbarian, Akbar's newest charge. A subsequent feud ended with Reed losing his specialty match, the "ghetto street fight," in all the major Mid-South towns.   Soon after, Reed was gone, with little fanfare. He hadn't completed his quest to rid the area of Akbar. He had failed to fully replace JYD in the hearts and minds of fans, but he showed a fiery attitude and powerful athleticism that made him one of Mid-South's most popular superstars. Reed headed to the AWA, for a forgettable stint as Jimmy Garvin's bodyguard.   For his part, Watts tried to install the Snowman as the next big African-American superhero, but that move failed miserably.  

Reed was not gone for good. In fact, he'd be back within a couple of months of his Spring 1985 departure. When he returned, he was challenging not Akbar, but history. But that's another story (and ironically, one that ends with an even more ignominious exit by Reed) for another time.

 NEXT MONTH:   

We'll take a look at the reign of terror of a dominant set of Mid-South tag-team champions, champs who found themselves at the center of a great deal of action in Mid-South - the "Rat Pack" duo of Matt Borne and Ted DiBiase.

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