1985 i was ringside for a 60 minute time limit match between ric flair and magnum. it went 60 minutes. 60 minutes of the most exciting, suspense filled matches i've ever seen.
Magnum T.A. was supposed to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Ric Flair at Starrcade 86. He was injured in the wreck on a Monday Night. They were supposed to start the storyline for the switch the following night at the TV tapings. In an emergency move, Nikita Koloff was turned face and Ronnie Garvin was put in a program with Big Bubba Rogers. Garvin was in a program with Nikita before Magnum's accident.
Despite his solid execution and how over he was with the fans, I never liked the idea of a Magnum championship. One of the reasons it was so hard to take the belt off Flair for a period of time was because of his charisma. Even Dusty, the most over guy in the biz in 84-85, didnt hold it for more than a couple of months. Magnum didn't have that charisma or mike ability. Better choices would have been Butch Reed or Ted Dibiase. Great win here, by the way.
In his auto-biography, Ted said that when he arrived in Georgia in 1980, Austin Idol asked him when he was supposed to win the belt. It had gotten out that Ted was going to beat Harley Race. Butch Reed feuded with Flair in 1982 in Florida. They did the clothes tear-off that Flair had done with Ricky Steamboat in the Mid-Atlantic.
I would imagine it was a combination of bad luck and politics that prevented Dibiase from being World champ. It was never a question of ability or heat/charisma. Too bad no one at all remembers Reed-he had some great battles with Dick Murdoch in late 85 in the Mid-South.
I saw Butch Reed in person for the first time in Nov. 1982 in Augusta, GA. He beat The Super Destroyer (Scott Irwin). He later saved Johnny Rich from a post-match beatdown by Buzz Sawyer, which was the beginning of their brief feud. I saw them wrestle at the next two cards. I saw Reed again seven years later when he teamed with Ron Simmons in Doom.
It is hard to believe that anyone would not remember Butch Reed! He's had runs in Georgia,Florida and a number of other NWA territories and was a major draw at Mid South. Who can forget his classic rivalries with JYD, Jim Duggan and Dick Slater? The man is legendary down here in the old Mid South area.
The WWF/E situation did him very little justice though in my opinion! As for DiBiase,I agree. The National Wrestling Alliance wouldn't have Flair drop the title to someone in a non-NWA territory.
Butch Reed is still alive... you guys are not going to beleive this but he is my employee his real name is Bruce Reed.. you know i didnt have a clue that Reed was a wrestler until someone told me and i asked him..next time he comes in from out of town job that i send him i will take a pic of him and share it here... or subcribe to my page so you can know when his pic is up..
sooplay!. the correct pronunciation. Mid-South ruled. Watts was just too damn arrogant and tried to get too big with the UWF and it bit him in the ass. Wish he would sell his video library to Vince. It would be one helluva DVD
the UWF/MID SOUTH library is already available. google it and check it out!
as far as vince goes,I'M GLAD the watts family didn't sell the library to the WWE,it's already bad enough he has the NWA,AWA and WCCW libraries! call me a old purist,but..........
Would you happen to have a video clip of the first time we saw Magnum TA at a wrestling card after his accident. I believe it was at the Crockett Cup.
The Ross/Watts combo was ok, but I think the Ross/Michael Hayes team was the best for the UWF/Mid-south. Watts' strength was to flesh out the storylines and tie them altogether. This was T.A,'s first title shot, he won the title with JYD as the special ref, Volkoff beats T.A. and Watts strips the title and gives it back to reed who lost to JYD with Dusty as the special ref. You're right, we didn't have much to do in Texas on Saturday afternoon
Are you serious? Watts would have either Boyd Pierce and Jim Ross with him and he'd talk over them constantly. They'd never get a word in over Watts. Why hire annoucers when you won't let them do their jobs?
As for the match Reed was at his prime. Powerhouse athlete who can fight and wrestle. TA was green. He went for an elbow drop that didn't have Reed on the mat. Also his offense didn't look consistent. Fortunately he blossomed in the next 2 years in Mid South and JCP.
He didn't talk over them. Boyd was the host, but there was always a "guest" commentator. It was usually Bill Watts, and in later years it was Jim Ross. Then they went to the Joel/Ross and Boyd/Watts teams. But Boyd hardly ever did commentary, no matter who the "guest" was. And Ross almost never commentated alongside Bill Watts.
When the DDT,belly to belly, Bulldog meant something
batonrougevoodoo 1 year ago
@batonrougevoodoo All too true
mangamegs 1 year ago
One thing Watts was really stupid about was saying "so and so would never submit." All that does is kill every single submission hold.
meekrob 1 year ago
the work rate here is incredible.. 2 -days guys couldn't hang..
mello39 1 year ago
Magnum was a early version of what Steve Austin would become. The badass good guy who had a edge to him unlike the do-gooder Cena.
RSXemperor 1 year ago
1985 i was ringside for a 60 minute time limit match between ric flair and magnum. it went 60 minutes. 60 minutes of the most exciting, suspense filled matches i've ever seen.
japanpro1 1 year ago
Wasn't this the match where Magnum won that Big Ass Belt?
Baltimoreman78 2 years ago
nope
mcfrs 2 years ago
@Baltimoreman78 No joke. The old North American title belt was huge!!!!!!!! Christian's ECW belt was massive as well.
DVROFFMAN 2 years ago
Wow, Magnum was lightening quick.
Great match.
Rorshach1004 2 years ago 3
Magnum T.A. was supposed to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Ric Flair at Starrcade 86. He was injured in the wreck on a Monday Night. They were supposed to start the storyline for the switch the following night at the TV tapings. In an emergency move, Nikita Koloff was turned face and Ronnie Garvin was put in a program with Big Bubba Rogers. Garvin was in a program with Nikita before Magnum's accident.
mkl62 2 years ago
Despite his solid execution and how over he was with the fans, I never liked the idea of a Magnum championship. One of the reasons it was so hard to take the belt off Flair for a period of time was because of his charisma. Even Dusty, the most over guy in the biz in 84-85, didnt hold it for more than a couple of months. Magnum didn't have that charisma or mike ability. Better choices would have been Butch Reed or Ted Dibiase. Great win here, by the way.
miamiderek1 2 years ago
In his auto-biography, Ted said that when he arrived in Georgia in 1980, Austin Idol asked him when he was supposed to win the belt. It had gotten out that Ted was going to beat Harley Race. Butch Reed feuded with Flair in 1982 in Florida. They did the clothes tear-off that Flair had done with Ricky Steamboat in the Mid-Atlantic.
mkl62 2 years ago
I would imagine it was a combination of bad luck and politics that prevented Dibiase from being World champ. It was never a question of ability or heat/charisma. Too bad no one at all remembers Reed-he had some great battles with Dick Murdoch in late 85 in the Mid-South.
miamiderek1 2 years ago
I saw Butch Reed in person for the first time in Nov. 1982 in Augusta, GA. He beat The Super Destroyer (Scott Irwin). He later saved Johnny Rich from a post-match beatdown by Buzz Sawyer, which was the beginning of their brief feud. I saw them wrestle at the next two cards. I saw Reed again seven years later when he teamed with Ron Simmons in Doom.
mkl62 2 years ago
It is hard to believe that anyone would not remember Butch Reed! He's had runs in Georgia,Florida and a number of other NWA territories and was a major draw at Mid South. Who can forget his classic rivalries with JYD, Jim Duggan and Dick Slater? The man is legendary down here in the old Mid South area.
The WWF/E situation did him very little justice though in my opinion! As for DiBiase,I agree. The National Wrestling Alliance wouldn't have Flair drop the title to someone in a non-NWA territory.
soln4suhreborn 2 years ago 2
Hey Watts!
It is Duggan not Doggan.
jb0609 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Butch Reed is still alive... you guys are not going to beleive this but he is my employee his real name is Bruce Reed.. you know i didnt have a clue that Reed was a wrestler until someone told me and i asked him..next time he comes in from out of town job that i send him i will take a pic of him and share it here... or subcribe to my page so you can know when his pic is up..
elmonte18 2 years ago
sooplay!. the correct pronunciation. Mid-South ruled. Watts was just too damn arrogant and tried to get too big with the UWF and it bit him in the ass. Wish he would sell his video library to Vince. It would be one helluva DVD
markbuffalo 3 years ago
the UWF/MID SOUTH library is already available. google it and check it out!
as far as vince goes,I'M GLAD the watts family didn't sell the library to the WWE,it's already bad enough he has the NWA,AWA and WCCW libraries! call me a old purist,but..........
soln4suhreborn 3 years ago 6
real classic stuff here
batistalosttakerwon 3 years ago
classic match thanx
y2jbrock 3 years ago
I wonder if Vince was relieved when he got the news about Magnum?
okrabay 3 years ago
Butch Reed is a powerhouse
gemini19662007 3 years ago
You got that right because this is better than the trash that they show today
gemini19662007 3 years ago 3
WOW! Mid-South Wrestling. This was Wrestling folks. Sure miss those days.
CadillacL 4 years ago 5
yes sir! to me the best days were 85 - 87
nwauwf 3 years ago
84-86 for me
mamacornettesmoney 3 years ago
Butch Reed, without a doubt, was one of the strongest in wrestling back then.
ia74me 4 years ago 3
Butch Reed looked much better there than he was in WWF. He could hardly move in the WWF.
skinwalkerxxx 4 years ago 2
I grew up on mid south wrestling thanks for the upload
picklemeat1 4 years ago 2
Magnum TA was one of the greats...and one of the great tragedies.
asz420 4 years ago
a suplea?? suplex?? lol. i love how some call the suplex the suplea.
yogaman1919 4 years ago 2
This was the best of pro wrestling, use to watch this every Sat and Sun when I was a kid. Magnum TA was a hometown boy from Chesapeake Va.
3497dingo3497 4 years ago
Wow, Butch Reed was da bomb in his prime! He definitely looked like a world beater in this match!
Junkay2 4 years ago 3
Would you happen to have a video clip of the first time we saw Magnum TA at a wrestling card after his accident. I believe it was at the Crockett Cup.
DawnYz 5 years ago
Oh how I miss the good ol days of wrestling
vince33mich 5 years ago
I agree with you 100%. This was wrestling at it's very best. Not like the soap opera wrestling we have today.
DawnYz 5 years ago 2
The Ross/Watts combo was ok, but I think the Ross/Michael Hayes team was the best for the UWF/Mid-south. Watts' strength was to flesh out the storylines and tie them altogether. This was T.A,'s first title shot, he won the title with JYD as the special ref, Volkoff beats T.A. and Watts strips the title and gives it back to reed who lost to JYD with Dusty as the special ref. You're right, we didn't have much to do in Texas on Saturday afternoon
krushvelvet67 5 years ago
Are you serious? Watts would have either Boyd Pierce and Jim Ross with him and he'd talk over them constantly. They'd never get a word in over Watts. Why hire annoucers when you won't let them do their jobs?
As for the match Reed was at his prime. Powerhouse athlete who can fight and wrestle. TA was green. He went for an elbow drop that didn't have Reed on the mat. Also his offense didn't look consistent. Fortunately he blossomed in the next 2 years in Mid South and JCP.
VolumedMusicMan 5 years ago
He didn't talk over them. Boyd was the host, but there was always a "guest" commentator. It was usually Bill Watts, and in later years it was Jim Ross. Then they went to the Joel/Ross and Boyd/Watts teams. But Boyd hardly ever did commentary, no matter who the "guest" was. And Ross almost never commentated alongside Bill Watts.
BoogieKnight75 5 years ago 3
Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Michael Cole need to look at this and see what wrestling commentary is SUPPOSED to sound like.
illwauk 5 years ago 3
agreed!
mfbinc 4 years ago
yeah, instead of Vince feeding lines 2 the announcers, he should let them do their own on the fly.
Dre7Guevara 2 years ago
@illwauk jim ross doesnt need any pointers. he's 2nd only to gordon solie imo.
but the other 2 fellas, i agree
TheBigBadWoIf 11 months ago