[1985-03-08-Houston Wrestling] Ted DiBiase vs Jim Duggan (No DQ, Taped Fists)

[Superstar Sleeze]

Mid-South North American Champion Ted DiBiase vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan - Mid-South 3/8/85 No DQ

 

Jim Duggan looks like Rihanna at the end of Bitch Better Have My Money. They beat the living fuck outta each other in this battle like they owe each other some cash money. DiBiase had returned to the territory from an extended stay in Georgia and All Japan. Hooking up with Dr. Death and Skandor Akbar to exact revenge against his former partner in crime and the man who banished him from Mid-South, Hacksaw Jim Duggan! DiBiase & Dr. Death had jumped Duggan to kickstart the feud on TV in the fall of 1984 and DiBiase defeated Brad Armstrong to win the North American Championship. It all came to a head in this No DQ Bloodbath. I loved the beginning with Ted making sure everything was legal only to immediately throw the powder in Hacksaw's face and once blinded he was easy pickins to busted open on the outside. The best part of this was Duggan's incredible performance throughout. He was always staggering and always swinging at DiBiase. DiBiase was kicking the shit out of him, but you always felt like Duggan had something left. When Duggan caught coming off the top (patented DiBiase somersault bump) and suplex, the crowd came unglued. You could feel DiBiase shit his pants as Duggan stomped around. The fists were flying and it looked awesome. Hacksaw got into this three point stance and hit his wedgebuster, which should have claimed his first North American title, but Skandor Akbar hit him with the cane. A shitty head collision followed which also wiped out the ref. Dr. Death handed Ted DiBiase the lethal loaded black glove and DiBiase had the presence of mind to sock Duggan. DiBiase was perfectly good on offense knowing how to work the cut and cheat his ass off, but this was Duggan through and through modulating his selling perfectly and really building to the match to crescendo. I have this under the first Buzz Sawyer brawl and the second Magnum/DiBiase bloodbath, but still a bitchin' match. ****1/4

 

Now if there was just some way Duggan got HIS hands on that coal miner glove and keep that infernal Skandor Akbar & Dr. Death out of the ring and come to think of it I just wished Duggan could banish DiBiase all over again and you know this fucking DiBiase thinks his shit don't stink, but if you are ugly on the inside like DiBiase then you are ugly on the outside so I know Duggan would look better in a tuxedo. If there was just a way to combine all these facets of the feud into one match....hmmmmmmmm....

[shoe]

This was tremendous. First off the promos were great and added a lot of gravitas. This was a tremendous brawl. Dibiase cheats at the go with powder. Ted busts open Duggan and he's a bleeding . Dibiase is all after that cut. Those fistdrops are a thing of beauty. Duggan is great with his selling. The glass eye selling combined with the blood was pretty great. Duggan's comeback was epic. The wedgebuster was nasty. Great stuff. 4 1/4*

[JKWebb]

I could feel every emotion and every ounce of pain Jim Duggan was going through. What an incredible performance from him. I also loved the way DiBiase started the match with the confirmation and follow-up powder to the eyes. These guys had one hell of a brawl here. I truly loved it. I was absolutely glued to every moment. Around ****1/2 for me.

[paul sosnowski]

I have seen this before, but holy shit....I don't know if I have ever seen a more perfect match that lasts less than eight minutes!!!

[cactus]

I watched this as I thought it would be essential viewing before I watch the famous cage match that they have a few weeks after this, but this was a great match in it's own right! Dibiase and Duggan are nothing like the WWF cartoon characters they would wrestle as in a few years time. They actually act like real people here, even if Dibiase is still a smug rich dude. 

This match only goes eight minutes, but they make every second count. Before the bell rings, Dibiase checks with the referee that there's no way to get disqualified and as soon as he gets clarification, he blinds Duggan with the dreaded white powder. Most of this match is a bloodied Duggan fighting from underneath, but he's sells Dibiase's punches so we'll that it's hard to fault this. The finish involves a ref bump, interference from Steve Williams and Dibiase breaking out a coal miner's glove to steal the win, which brilliantly leads into their next match. 

★★★★

[EnviousStupid]

I had to watch through all of the Duggan/DiBiase feud after seeing their incredible blowoff later in 1985 for the first time, which led me to another goddamn classic between the two. This is easily the best work I've seen from DiBiase, coming across more vicious and urgent than I can ever recall, while still maintaining that core chickenshit heel nature at every point in the match. It makes him such a great foil for Hacksaw, who looks like one of the all-time babyface territory aces around this time. He's certainly limited in what he can do, but the booking and compact match structure is able to accentuate the positives in his game. Moreover, Duggan might have shown the best example of punching blind, throwing straight jabs while falling backwards that immediately grabbed my attention. A fascinating level of detail to something that in hindsight, was only a tune-up for the big gimmick match down the road. It's sub-10 minutes and still delivers some incredibly compelling pro wrestling.