In a time where traditionally strong territories such as St. Louis and Florida and fabled promotions like the AWA and the NWA were faltering due to Vince McMahon, Jr.'s aggressive corporate raider tactics and revolutionary television and marketing strategies, Watts' Mid-South thrived and prospered. When Watts had Mid-South running on all cylinders, he was rivaled only by Jim Crockett, for having the most entertaining promotion.

However, Mid South was not immune to the WWF's talent raids. By 1986, Watts had lost the Junkyard Dog (arguably Mid-South¹s biggest star) and Hacksaw Butch Reed to Titan. However, the man was undaunted. Being a firm believer that bigger is better, Watts decided to one-up McMahon. After all, what is bigger than the world? Well, the universe, of course! With the name change in March of 1986, the Universal Wrestling Federation became the biggest promotion in the galaxy. Obviously, the UWF and Mid-South were the same promotion with a different name. Still, Mid-South/UWF was the territory for me. The action was second to none and the title matches, the commentators, the angles, and the talent were all first-rate.

The commentators especially gave the UWF an edge. Watts' on-camera persona could often be that of a blustery, reactionary redneck, but there was no dismissing the guy as a John Rocker-type goof. He was one of the best color commentators ever. If there was a big time match or an important angle involved, nobody could get it over with more enthusiasm or passion than Watts. A young referee named Jim Ross eventually made his way to the broadcast position and began establishing himself as the best play-by-play man in wrestling. Michael Hayes also added color and humor to the UWF's TV programs.

With Watts in charge of Mid-South/UWF, everybody worked and worked hard. The booking was handled by Watts himself, Frank Dusek and Grizzly Smith (Jake Roberts' infamous dad). Wrestling minds such as Ted DiBiase, Shane Douglas, Michael Hayes, Eddie Gilbert, Ken Mantell, Terry Taylor and Bill Dundee all spent time in Watts' employ. The angles and storylines usually maintained a strong amount of interest. and they fit the talent that was put into them.

Looking at the talent that work for Mid-South/UWF, it is evident that Watts was an expert at evaluating performers. DiBiase, Junkyard Dog, Jake Roberts, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Steve "Dr. Death" Williams, Sting, Taylor, Douglas, the Rock 'n Roll Express, the Midnight Express with Jim Cornette, Rick Steiner, Jack Victory, the Fantastics, Magnum TA, Buddy Landell, Black Bart, Barry "Krusher Kruschev" Darsow, Jim Neidhart, the One Man Gang, Kamala and others put themselves on the wrestling map while working for the promotion. In addition, he established stars like Ernie Ladd, the Freebirds, Eric the Red, Porkchop Cash, Dick Murdoch, Mr. Wrestling #2, the Road Warriors, the Sheepherders, Buzz Sawyer, Dick Slater and Watts' fellow Midnight Rider, Dusty Rhodes. All had memorable moments in the company.

Television programming was an area of strength for Mid-South/UWF. Unlike other promotions which featured poor production values, squash matches and cartoonish, cliched interviews, Mid-South/UWF didn't waste a whole lot of time with talk and the matches were usually high energy. It was one of the few promotions in the country during that time that had a title match on TV almost every week. Often, several defenses would be made on one show. Mid-South/UWF seemed to be a promotion that pioneered the concept that TV was an important place to set up angles and that action usually spoke louder than words. During this time, even the WWF was featuring lots of matches involving their job squad of Mario Mancini, Johnny K-9, the Brooklyn Brawler, etc.

However, Watts' move to being a singular promotion had its drawbacks. Prior to the UWF's declaration of independence in March 1986, Mid-South was still loosely aligned with the NWA. The NWA's number one attraction at the time was none other than the Nature Boy, Ric Flair. Flair in 1986-7 was much like Ali in 1966-7 or Jordan in 1997… the best ever at his game. Flair had memorable feuds with DiBiase and Duggan during the Mid-South era. With Watts' decision to form his truly independent promotion, it meant no more visits from Flair. In addition, the UWF's world champions were interesting selections. Terry Gordy, the first champ, was one of the best wrestlers in the world at the time and a very solid choice. He was followed by The One Man Gang, who fresh off a run in WCCW, seemed okay. But Big Bubba Rogers, in '87, isn't any better than the Big Bossman in '00. Why JimDuggan, a man who is still over in the territory even over a dozen years later, or Dr. Death, possibly the best power wrestler in the world at that time and Watts' protégé, didn't get a world title run is curious. Without knowing the circumstances, it's all just speculation.

Even though the promotion went through a name change, the UWF remained a regional promotion. Watts could not compete with the WWF's media blitz and celebrity glitz or Crockett's cable saturation on TBS. Another factor was Watts himself. By many accounts, Watts was difficult to deal with. When Mid South became the UWF, and eventually was sold to the NWA in April of 1987, Boesch, whose relationship with Watts turned quite bitter at the end, instead of joining up with the NWA, opened the door to negotiations with Vince McMahon, and McMahon closed the surprising deal in record time. The four-month affiliation with Titan proved to be an even more bitter pill to swallow than the last months with Watts. Boesch left the wrestling business before a sell-out crowd of 12,000 in the summer of '87.

Mid-South/UWF tapes have been hard for me to find. Apparently, Watts' ex-wife got the master tapes as part of their divorce settlement! RF Video recently released a four-hour tape compilation of prime Mid-South/UWF footage interspersed with "shoot" interviews and comments from Watts. I've ordered it in the hope of gaining insight into the promotion.

Looking at the talent that came out of the Mid-South area and some of the angles that originated in the area and went on to be copied around the rest of the country, it's clear that Mid-South/UWF was one of the best promotions ever. It's even more impressive when you realize that Mid-South/UWF actually lasted less than seven years total.

Left field angles involving hippies, Russians, and Rookie of the Year imposters. Only in the UWF!