Superstar Sleeze Posted July 2, 2015 Report Share Posted July 2, 2015 Ted DiBiase vs Hacksaw Jim Duggan – Mid-South, Houston 3/22/85 - Loser Leaves Town, Tuxedo Cage with Coal Miner's Glove On A Pole Match Believe the hype! This is one of the best matches of 80s and a perfect culmination of their intense, bloody feud. Clearly, the cage was needed to keep DiBiase's running buddies out and so DiBiase would have nowhere to run. After all the blood that was spilled, Mid-South was just not big enough for the two of them thus loser leaves town. DiBiase was famous for his loaded glove so they upped the ante with a coal miner's glove hanging from a pole in the corner this would actually be DiBiase's downfall. The one odd stipulation is the fact they wrestled this match in tuxedos. Definitely seek out the video package they play before this match to get you up to speed and see how the Best Dressed in Mid-South becomes an essential part in this feud. It is hard to come by definitive, feel-good blowoffs in the 80s and in wrestling in general, but on this night you not only get a great match you get a great ending to a historic rivalry. DiBiase really elevated his game in this match by upping the chickenshit factor and also getting even nastier. Duggan was wrestling at already high level, but now DiBiase was meeting him there and they were making magic together. DiBiase stalling at the beginning then trying a sneak attack only get caught by Duggan jabs and then the horror of realizing he was trapped inside the cage with this lunatic. I thought going into this that I was going to have trouble taking Duggan seriously as a number one face, but au contaire I am disappointed Duggan did not last longer in a lead face role because he is an excellent, bleeding, asskicking babyface brawler from Hell. DiBiase manages to pull Duggan into the cage head first and bust him open. Duggan's blood flowing like a bloody Niagara Falls (thanks Steel Panther) on his pristine white tuxedo. This is where we see DiBiase strategy go awry. He is constantly angling for the Coal Miner's Glove, which puts his back to his opponent thus he is in a prone position for Duggan to yank him down. The first couple times DiBiase is able to work the cut and claw away to stymie Duggan. Duggan gains a head of steam and DiBiase is in tatters being slammed into the cage. Duggan retrieves the glove! DiBiase has one last trick and it is powder. DiBiase wins possession of the glove, but try as he might, he just can't hit Duggan with it. Duggan is able to slam DiBiase's hand into the post, gains possession of glove and SMOKES DIBIASE RIGHT IN THE HEAD! 1-2-3 Awesome, awesome brawl! The fact it had such a great finish puts it over matches like Flair/Kerry and Bock/Martel #2. It is tighter than Savage/Garvin. The only that comes close is Duggan/Sawyer, which is another bitchin' Mid-South brawl, but that lacks a finish. As of right now, this is the best match of the 80s, I have watched so far. Both wrestlers delivered all time great performances in their respective roles and have great chemistry with each other. Like I said earlier, in wrestling it is hard to come by awesome blowoffs and so when you see one it is extra special. ***** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe Posted July 2, 2015 Report Share Posted July 2, 2015 Jim Ross is wrong. That's Sam Houston Coliseum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goc Posted July 2, 2015 Report Share Posted July 2, 2015 DiBiase stalling at the beginning then trying a sneak attack only get caught by Duggan jabs and then the horror of realizing he was trapped inside the cage with this lunatic. This right here just tells the entire story of the feud and why the Cage is there. It's one of the few wrestling sequences that are just burned into my brain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted July 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2015 Jim Ross is wrong. That's Sam Houston Coliseum Thanks Pete! Goc, Yes! I loved how each little gimmick was established and paid off in this match. That is the key thing that pushed this into ***** territory for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microstatistics Posted November 2, 2016 Report Share Posted November 2, 2016 I never really got the high praise for the match. I mean it has some great character work and is great blowoff but all time brawl? One of the best of the 80s? Not even close. I've seen dozens of Lucha brawls that are better in terms of brawling, violence, structure, etc etc. That said it is very good. *** 1/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul sosnowski Posted March 18, 2017 Report Share Posted March 18, 2017 Yea....there were two cage matches. March 22, 1985 was in Houston and was a Coal Miner's Glove Cage Match (NWA On Demand). The more famous match with the tuxedos was March 30th in New Orleans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe Posted June 15, 2017 Report Share Posted June 15, 2017 Yea....there were two cage matches. March 22, 1985 was in Houston and was a Coal Miner's Glove Cage Match (NWA On Demand). The more famous match with the tuxedos was March 30th in New Orleans Both matches had tuxedos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul sosnowski Posted June 15, 2017 Report Share Posted June 15, 2017 I'm still confused....it looks like there is no so match on NWA On Demand now... The one on the WWE Mid South set also looks like Houston... Does the 3/30 New Orleans match exist on video? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe Posted June 17, 2017 Report Share Posted June 17, 2017 No, it doesn't exist on video from New Orleans. On NWA on Demand in moving websites a few of the matches haven't been uploaded that were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickH Posted June 25, 2017 Report Share Posted June 25, 2017 No, it doesn't exist on video from New Orleans. On NWA on Demand in moving websites a few of the matches haven't been uploaded that were. Match just got uploaded again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul sosnowski Posted June 25, 2017 Report Share Posted June 25, 2017 Thanks, I have the Houston match, seen it many times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKWebb Posted August 1, 2017 Report Share Posted August 1, 2017 Believe the hype indeed. I'm watching a ton of mid-south right now, but I've seen this many times at this point. It's one of my favorite matches of all-time, and I agree it's one of the best matches from the 80's without question. The layout of this match is so perfect. They really build the anticipation well. I love towards the end when Duggan finally has the glove, Ted hits him with the powder. You can hear the crowd start to groan and moan... they know what's coming... they've seen this before... a heel cheats to win... but, nope... We get my personal favorite punch ever delivered in a match as the finish, and the crowd goes nuts for Duggan! I also recommend watching the build to the match prior to watching it. ***** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Rock Posted August 1, 2017 Report Share Posted August 1, 2017 I love these intense brawls where the fists just fly with abandon. Also loved the little things, like DiBiase pulling Duggan's jacket and shirt over his head to prevent him from seeing and punching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactus Posted June 13, 2020 Report Share Posted June 13, 2020 This felt very similar to their taped fists match from a few weeks before this, although that's not a bad thing. The stipulation might feel like a Vince Russo wet dream, but they make this work. As soon as I saw Duggan enter the cage in his white tuxedo, I knew he was going to bleed buckets. Dibiase is the king of stalling and giving just enough back to make you yearn for him to get a proper ass kicking. This doesn't quite live up to the hype for me, but it's worth seeing to show you that Jim Duggan isn't just a patriotic simpleton who walks around with a 2x4. ★★★★ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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