WWE: WrestleMania 30 - Home Of Mid-South Wrestling

When most wrestling fans think of New Orleans these days, they think of WrestleMania 30, coming up on April 6 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. What many younger fans may not realize is that New Orleans was one of the hottest cities in the old Mid-South territory back in the early '80s, with Ted DiBiase, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Junkyard Dog, King Kong Bundy, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Kamala, Steve "Dr. Death" Williams, and announcer Jim Ross being among the prominent names who left an indelible mark on professional wrestling. With athletic, bruising matches orchestrated by no-nonsense promoter "Cowboy" Bill Watt, Mid-South garnered national attention for its evocative storytelling and Superdome Extravaganzas, featuring the Road Warriors, the Midnight Express, the Von Erichs, Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, and Andre the Giant. In recent years, WWE purchased the Mid-South Wrestling video library -- more than 1,200 hours of TV programming from the '70s and '80s -- after years of negotiations. A huge fan of the Mid-South territory, I too have an extensive collection of tapes from this era, from small house shows to jam-packed events at the Superdome, showcasing everyone from Shawn Michaels, Sting, and the Ultimate Warrior to the Freebirds, Butch Reed, and "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd. That's why this past fall, just before WWE released Legends of Mid-South on DVD and Blu-ray, I caught up with Ted DiBiase, one of the major heels and legends of the Mid-South era, along with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, one of the territory's biggest babyfaces, to shed some light on memorable feuds and unforgettable characters of the Deep South.

"It was one of the best territories," said Ted DiBiase, who kicked off his wrestling career in 1975 and spent his formative years in Mid-South. "I mean, even today when you talk to wrestling fans, it's like Mid-South has its own following in a similar way to ECW in the '90s. Bill Watts, who has mellowed out somewhat over the years, he was kind of like a Vince Lombardi in that you learned from him through fear and intimidation. But he was very good."Like ECW, the Mid-South territory was revolutionary, said DiBiase: "There was a Super Bowl a few years back where the New Orleans Saints played the Indianapolis Colts, and the battle cry was 'Who dat?' And the NFL was going to try and license 'Who dat?' as their own intellectual property, and tell everybody you can't use 'Who dat?' And of course that went over like a proverbial fart in church because 'Who dat' has been around a long, long time down in New Orleans. And of the first places the 'Who dat?' chant took place was when I turned on the Junkyard Dog. We did that angle where I loaded the glove and knocked him out to retain the North American title. And the battle was on." DiBiase vividly recalls walking into New Orleans' Civic Auditorium to face Junkyard Dog during that feud: "It was packed and the crowd stood on their feet and started chanting 'Who dat?' So anyways, I'm not certain but I sure would like to take credit for that. I'd like to investigate it actually because I can't remember ever hearing it before that. I'd love to claim that 'Who dat?' came from that match between me and Dog." Junkyard Dog was a pioneer and legend in New Orleans, where he blazed a trail as the first black superstar in a predominantly white -- and often racist -- business. "He was actually the best man at my wedding when Melanie and I got married, so our friendship was pretty strong," said DiBiase. "The Dog was not a great technical wrestler -- there were a few moves that he did. But I'll tell ya what, when it comes to charisma and what we call the 'it' factor, well, he had it. When you talk about a guy with charisma and a guy who can pick up that microphone and appeal to everybody, black, white, you name it, and of course everybody saw that in him." New Orleans became the home of wrestling's most adored African-American idol of the '80s after Junkyard Dog broke down color barriers to become the first black wrestler to be made the top star of his promotion, DiBiase explained. "He's one of those guys who left his mark on the business," said DiBiase. "I tell these guys that are coming up that wrestling is a form of entertainment, but it's also sports entertainment. And if there's an area where, if you're going to be lacking in something, you could actually be lacking somewhat in your athletic ability. And you can make up for it if you have a whole lot of character. "Because that's where it sits, on the characters, and JYD had so much character and there were certain things he did well. And as a wrestler when I wrestled him, I took the things that he did best and utilized it in the matches we had." It was also in Mid-South where Ted DiBiase formed a long-lasting friendship with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, who inducted DiBiase into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2011. "I think it was in '81, when I first went to Atlanta and wrestled Jim for the first time. Jim had just gotten out of a run in pro football, he was a heel and fresh out and it was Tommy Rich and I had him in a tag match with somebody in what we call a spot show," said DiBiase. "I remember I locked up with Jim and it was like locking up with a vice grip, and I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, did anybody tell this guy this is a work?' We went into the corner and the referee calls for a break, and it was funny, I didn't do anything else. I just walked over and tagged Tommy and he looked at me and I said, 'He's all yours, pal.' Jim and I laugh about that now." DiBiase was delighted when Duggan relocated full-time to Mid-South Wrestling: "Oh my gosh, we were partners, we were enemies, and then we were partners again. He was one of the most colorful characters I think our business has ever had. And on top of that, Jim is a real good guy. Like JYD, he's a big-hearted guy." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC2Z9qN0_Rg Jim Duggan first broke into the business in Dallas and was discovered by Fritz Von Erich, having already had a strong football career and a brief stint in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, but the Mid-South territory will always hold a special place in the heart of ol' Hacksaw. "That was where I got my first break," said Duggan. "That was a great time, I had been in the business for quite a while before I got there, but my heyday really was down in Mid-South." Shortly after Duggan arrived in Mid-South in '82, promoter Bill Watts put Duggan, DiBiase and Matt Borne together in a faction known as The Rat Pack. "We'd have matches in small towns like Louisiana or east Texas that were very lively, to say the least," said Duggan. "Those days, the business was a much tougher, rougher type of business, and the fans would sometimes be right there in the ring with you. It was very dangerous, especially for The Rat Pack. "If there was a hot finish, and all the heels would have to stay right 'til the end, many times you'd have to fight your way back from the ring into the dressing room. And we'd all wait and walk out to our cars together because people would be outside waiting for you, back in the day. They were pretty rough as they'd throw stuff at you, cuss and swear, flick their cigarettes at you. It was a very different business than the sports entertainment one of today." Like DiBiase, Duggan spent his formative years in Mid-South. "Any time you work with a guy like Ted, a second-generation wrestler, they're usually a little more polished and understand the business a little bit. And I was still quite green at that time," said Duggan. "And to have the opportunity to work with Teddy and learn from him was a great spot to be in. We had a lot of fun and became good friends, and to this day are still great buddies." DiBiase agreed, he and Duggan had great in-ring chemistry during their bloody feud in Mid-South, along with a great friendship behind-the-scenes. "Jim and I could go in a match and be wrestling each other, the people would be screaming for him, booing me, and when we're up there of course it's business. We worked really well together, and when things click between two wrestlers, you can be in the midst of business but at the same time we'd be telling jokes," DiBiase said with a laugh. "I remember one time I got one of my front teeth knocked out, and so I got a partial where they have the deal where they have the thing that slips in and out. And of course, you know anybody else with any sense would never go into the ring with that thing. They would take it out for the match, but I guess I was too vain to be seen with one of my front teeth missing, right? So I wore the thing and Jim gave me this move where you pick the guy up and drop him -- we used to call it an ass bump or a turd stomper. And he comes down and it's like my backside hits his knee, then I vaulted myself over the top rope and onto the floor. But when I did it, that partial came flying out of my mouth. "It was almost like, 'Oh my gosh, where is it?' Jim says, 'Hey, did you lose something?' Jim grabs me and he's got me in a headlock and it looks like he's mauling me or poking me in the eyes, but basically he's helping me put my thing back in my mouth. Gosh it was funny, and it was such a great time to be in Mid-South. It was such a hotbed at that time." Duggan agreed: "It was a who's who that came through there, and people still talk about Mid-South. From Magnum T.A., Jake the Snake, Barry Darsow, name after name after name -- Shawn Michaels, Rick Morton and Robert Gibson. It was just a great training ground for all of us because it was a tough territory and you might wrestle nine times a week and travel 2,500 to 3,000 miles. But we were all young guys and looking back at it, it was a lot of fun." Fans remember, some of Duggan's most memorable feuds in Mid-South were against the likes of big brawlers like One Man Gang, Kamala, and Lord Humongous. "I always felt like I could pretty much work with anybody, but as a babyface I always felt it was an advantage to work with a bigger heel," said Duggan. "When you're in there with a big guy, it's a lot easier to get sympathy compared to when you're out there with a smaller guy and the crowds like, 'Come on Hacksaw! Get up and kick his ass!'" Then there were Duggan's classic battles with "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer, that eventually culminated in a violent and bloody dog-collar chain match in Houston. "Buzz Sawyer and I, you could say, weren't really good friends," he said. "Buzz and I had a few things go down in the dressing room over the years, so yeah, when Buzz and I loaded it up in the ring it was pretty live, and a lot of folks remember those matches because of how snug we wrestled. Buzz, I really didn't like the guy, but I have to say I kind of respected him." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5460WPcGJM Duggan is grateful for the friends he's had in the business -- Terry Gordy, Steve "Dr. Death" Williams, and Gino Hernandez -- along with Ted DiBiase, who inducted him into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2011. "I wrestled Teddy in the early '80s all the way up to 2000," said Duggan. "We had hundreds of matches over the years. I couldn't have asked for a better guy to induct me. I mean, of all the people I've wrestled in the world, Teddy and I wrestled each other more than anyone else. We just always seem to pair up well together, whether it was down in Mid-South or at WrestleMania with Andre in his corner. Ted and I always paired up well." Still active on the independent scene, fans often ask Duggan if he'll ever retire, he said: "I still really enjoy being in the ring and I genuinely really love the business. And a lot of guys like Goldberg, Ultimate Warrior, guys like that, I think they just used the business as a stepping stone. "But I've always loved being in there, whether it was in Mid-South, WrestleMania, or the small shows today. I like to joke, I'll probably have a walker made out of 2x4s." DiBiase said when he makes appearances at indie shows and meet-and-greets these days, many of the fans want to hear about the territories, and the legendary Mid-South era. "Most of the new guys coming into the company today, they don't have any place to go, to learn skills and learn our business because all the territories are gone," said DiBiase. "So it's almost like they're trying to learn right before your eyes, but it takes time. "It was in the territories that I learned how to utilize the strengths of my opponents to build a great match around it, night after night. And that's what made territories like Mid-South so great."