-It set Magnum TA on a collision course with the North American title, and a breakthrough to stardom.

            -It made Terry Taylor an instant mega-face by taking the lashes in TA’s place. 

That next week on television, Jim Cornette was going to throw a party for “his boys” at his rich mother’s expense.  Cornette had cake and champagne, but told Jim Ross that only his guys and him could party.  As Condrey and Eaton went around to the crowd at the Irish McNeil Boys Club and “showed these people how to party,” Cornette was all alone.  In a reprise of an angle done in Memphis, and the short-lived Memphis-Georgia hybrid, Morton and Gibson came out and shoved Cornette’s face into the cake. 

What made this even more special was the way in which Boyd Pierce, Bill Watts, and Jim Ross sold this.  They were all laughing hysterically, especially Pierce, glad that the obnoxious Cornette got what he wanted.  Cornette was livid, even more so when Bill Watts replayed the incident later on in the broadcast.  He warned Watts not to show it again and repeatedly shoved his finger into Watts’ face, talking about Watts’ family.  Watts told Cornette that he was not going to resort to violence, but to not talk about his family.  Cornette grabbed Watts, a foolish mistake to be sure.  Finally, Watts had enough, and slapped Cornette, and Cornette sold it like he had been shot. 

Cornette promised revenge, and got it in such a way that even lead heel Butch Reed would claim no involvement in.  As Watts was interviewing Reed, Cornette and the Midnight Express attacked Watts, leaving him laying in a puddle of blood outside the ring.  Watts declared revenge, and one in no ordinary way. 

Watts would want to team with area star Junkyard Dog, but Dog was gone, suffering the “effects” of a loser leaves town match dropped to Mr. Wrestling 2 in New Orleans.  So, Watts resorted to JYD’s longtime friend, the man who used to “steal JYD’s milk money,” Stagger Lee.  Watts and Lee then wanted the Midnight Express in a match.   

But Cornette wouldn’t make it so easy.  Since his team were the champions, they would request a clause in the contract.  If the Midnight Express won, then Cornette would gain control of Mid-South for 6 months.  Watts agreed with the added stipulation that if he and Lee won, Cornette would have to wear a dress.  The match was on.

            -12,000 in Houston.

            -23,000 in New Orleans

            -over 10,000 in Oklahoma City

            -8,000 in Tulsa 

In short, record turnaway crowds in nearly every city Mid-South showed the match to ticket buying fans.  The Watts-Lee/ Cornette-Midnight Express angle would go down as the most lucrative angle in Mid-South history.  And at the end……………………

            -Cornette and the Midnight Express STILL were the champions, retaining heat.

            -Stagger Lee was again seen as the “altar ego” of JYD, priming fans for a JYD return.

            -Watts was seen as the “man” once again.

            -There was a ready-made feud with the Rock-n-Roll Express for the MX.

            -Mid-South made seven figures with the control of Mid-South vs. Cornette wearing a dress match making it’s run across the territory.   

NEXT MONTH:

We will focus on the second quarter of 1984, including one of Mid-South’s rising stars, becoming a bonafide superstar in his own right, the return of JYD, and the continued rise of the Rock-n-Roll Express, Terry Taylor, and much more.