Hello! Back with more Mid South wrestling! This time we're looking at Butch Reed & the Midnight Express.  Hope you find something you want to watch!

Hacksaw Duggan & Magnum T.A. vs. Hacksaw Butch Reed & Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart (10/13/83) - Very good TV episode title match with a clean finish. It was all action and Reed & Anvil were looking like a team ahead of their time with their athleticism. Again, really good stuff!

Jim Neidhart & Butch Reed vs Magnum TA & Mr Wrestling 2 (12/02/83) - Good match and I like both teams. This was a little slow but I'm still happy with the match. There's a lot of sleeper hold work but I'll take that over Figure Four work. The sleeper work makes sense when the guys can't make the tag and it was that type of match. Nothing fancy or special but a good bout. It's a lead in match to Mr. Wrestling II & Magnum T.A. vs. Butch Reed & Jim Neidhart (Cage Match) (12/25/83) but I wasn't able to find it. That one has gotten a lot of praise. If you're able to find it, watch it.

Butch Reed vs Jim Neidhart (01/27/84)- Oh yeah this is great stuff especially with the post match. Former partners collide and Neidhart is a bloody mess but the man is a living tank. Even Butch can't contain the big man. 

Butch Reed vs. Jim Neidhart (02/10/84) - Upgraded "No Disqualification" version of the previous match. Hard hitting, bloody, awesome wrestling. I really like their chemistry. 

Hacksaw Butch Reed vs. Jim Neidhart (02/24/84) - First off, the ring doesn't look stable...it's like they didn't tighten something on the frame. When Neidhart goes up to get the football helmet (off the pole) the the ring looks like a rhombus for a second! Ohhh I get it...there's one spot that I think they loosened the ring for..I think. It's cheesy but its 1984 and it works and this is another great match! A great trio of bloody matches with this gimmick match being the culmination. And the stuff afterwards is quality as well. 

It's a wonder why the WWE didn't include one of the Butch vs Neidhart matches on their set. But I guess they figured neither were big enough names to sell DVDs but I thought each match would have been perfect for a comp like this - short in length, intense and actually resembles more contemporary wrestling with moves and spots people would recognize...thus more accessible. I don't think you need any background to include the football helmet on a pole bout. It's under 10 minutes and is full of great action and tells a simple story. All of these are recommended viewing. Butch Reed is a must see wrestler for me going forward.

MIDNIGHT EXPRESS

Midnight Express vs. Rock n Roll Express (05/11/84) - This one is Houston but I'm watching it since the WWE DVD only has gimmick matches between the two teams. This was good stuff and in a way a comedy match that the fans are freaking out over There's some good wrestling but most of this is shenanigans from the Midnights. Just premium chicken shit, ref distracting, double teaming, cheating heel work. But there's so much of it with the ref running around as much as the wrestlers that it's hard to take it seriously. Again, it's a bit of comedy wrestling. That said these guys worked the crowd like the all time greats that they are. Absolute rapid fire yet organic pro wrestling...

*The Rock N’ Roll Express vs. The Midnight Express (05/23/84) - This is a really good match. I felt like both teams were gelling and the no DQ rule makes it legal to go off the top rope and over the top etc. Cheap finish but there's more to be had with these teams. WWE actually included the post match interview and another segment setting up the match below so we actually have some context.

*The Rock N’ Roll Express vs. The Midnight Express (Jim Cornette in a Straight Jacket & in a cherry picker - October 1984) - This was a good match but for whatever reason it didn't hit me. In some ways, taking Cornette out of the equation diminished the quality. It was neat from a gimmick perspective that Cornette was physically out of contact but, they didn't bother to change the body of the match up. The Midnights dominated Ricky, and Robert come in with the hot tag and the finish was soon behind. I think that if things had been more even then it would have made the Midnights more in peril and made the ending (which was pretty awesome) be even more impactful. What do I know though? 

Midnight Express vs The Fantastics (1984?): This is Houston as is the next. However the below match is included in the DVDVR best of Mid South '80's list so this one is fair game in my opinion. It's a straight match so I'll compare it to the first match with the Rock'n'roll Express. I think that I liked the layout of this one a little better. I liked Fulton's work with Cornette after the opening shine segment. Then they move to Tommy Rogers getting beat down. It didn't seem to go on as long and I think that really kept the match moving along and then they went to the finish. The finish was kinda weak but dammit it worked on the crowd! Fun match

The Fantastics & Hacksaw Duggan vs. Midnight Express & Jim Cornette (07/20/1984): If you ever wonder about how physically big you had to be a wrestler (or in Mid South) compare the size of the Fantastics who are 5'10 & 5'9" and jacked to the other guys in this match. I think I like the Fantastics vs the Midnight Express better...at least in '84. This was a great match and the stuff with Cornette is entertaining...until the cheap 80's finish. It felt very 80's in the sense that it felt nonsensical and it didn't contribute to anything and ended it on a sour note.

I liked the Midnight Express stuff but I wasn't blown away. Perhaps I'm used to their stuff in JCP/NWA/WCW and with Stan Lane instead of Dennis Condrey. Or it's just that 1984 is pretty much the very beginning of their work. Same with the Rock'n'Rolls. I think part of it is that I'm just too removed from it to appreciate the style. I think that they turned tag wrestling in the US on its head. The couple matches on the DVD were a selling point and for me, they didn't live up to my expectations. Here I actually appreciate the work Cornette does as a manager more than what Eaton or Condrey are doing... which is a testament to Jim Cornette as a talent. I think the TV segments are all fantastic. All that said, these were some fun matches and definitely a good mix of action & angles. Too many of the finishes were "80's finishes" and not many (any?) were terribly satisfying if you're rooting for the baby face team. Again, I think their later work in the Mid Atlantic region & NWA/WCW was more my preference.

All in all, this is a fantastic project. Every year I try to look at the 80's. I had no idea awhile ago that I would get into this as much as I have. It was just another DVD that I wanted to watch and move on from. If you're a fan of 80's & 90's puro then I think that this project will interest you as well as it has me. There are a lot of guys you may recognize from NJPW & AJPW and this sounded like an interesting project to expand upon. Additionally the stuff so far on the WWE is not a very good representation. It captures some of it but there's much better stuff they could have included. In fact, I would have suggested have quantity over quality. The significant matches included require too much backstory or just don't have good work in some cases. Another detail that took me a few matches to realize, WWE have dubbed in Jim Ross doing commentary. This is modern day (as of the DVD release) Jim Ross as he is more gravel throated than his younger days in Mid South. I don't like them trying to trick the viewers. Be upfront about the commentary or give the option to turn it off or use the old commentary. It's shit like this that keeps me away from them as a fan...it's duplicitous... and that's the tip of the shitberg.

I'm working on watch Mid South 1985 pretty in depth and those should be my next Mid South posts. In the meantime, I'm going to get back to some Japanese wrestling 🙂 But there should be more Mid South shortly if you've been interested!

Thanks for reading folks!