In Tulsa on May 13, 1984, Magnum T.A.. defeated Mr. Wrestling 2 to capture the North American title, a title T.A. would hold onto for just over five months.  After defeating 2 in a series of rematches, T.A. would also meet and defeat 2’s new protégé, Mr. Wrestling “2”, as 2 became known as “Mr. Wrestling.”  T.A. would also meet and defeat such challengers as Butch Reed, and Ted DiBiase.  T.A. finally rose to the status predicted of him early on in his Mid-South tenure, and was a popular babyface his entire time in Mid-South. 

The Return of the Dog

After leaving Mid-South due to the stipulations of his title match with Mr. Wrestling 2, JYD toured the Georgia and Mid-Atlantic areas before returning under a mask as Stagger Lee for the legendary tag series with Bill Watts against the Midnight Express.  Shortly after the series concluded, JYD returned to wage war against his enemies, chiefly Butch Reed. 

In an encounter at the Superdome in New Orleans, JYD avenged an earlier loss to Reed in a “ghetto street fight” match that was brutal for both men.  JYD would also enlist the aid of Sonny King in fighting Reed, and Ernie Ladd, who had returned to Mid-South seeking to end JYD’s career.  However, Dog’s love affair with Mid-South fans would soon be coming to an end. 

The Emergence of Ricky, Robert, and Terry

After the Midnight Express won the Mid-South tag belts in March, fans quickly began to clamor for a showdown between the Expresses, as Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson quickly vaunted to the top of the list as far as the fan’s hearts were concerned.  In May, Ricky and Robert beat Dennis Condrey and Bobby Eaton for the belts in Shreveport, only to lose them three weeks later in the same town.  The two would again war for the titles as the second quarter of 1984 would come to a close, including a brutal Superdome showdown in June that would see Jim Cornette sneak and connive his team to a controversial victory over Ricky and Robert. 

After Terry Taylor established himself as a babyface, he quickly rose up the ranks in Mid-South until he was in the finals of the Mid-South TV title tournament against Krusher Khruschev.  Taylor would lose that final match due to interference from Butch Reed, starting a brutal feud between the two.  Fans would cheer wildly for the much smaller Taylor, admiring his guts in taking on a man who outweighed him by 50 pounds.  Although Taylor wouldn’t garner the TV title in May, he would finally vanquish Khruschev at the June 1984 Superdome show, gaining his first taste of Mid-South gold in the process. 

Looking Forward

By the end of June 1984, the new stars of Mid-South had been firmly established.  Magnum T.A. was riding high as the North American champion.  Jim Cornette and the Midnight Express seemingly had a death grip on the tag belts.  Terry Taylor was the tv champion, and the Rock-n-Roll Express had captured the hearts of every teenage girl in the territory.  Things couldn’t have been better…           

NEXT MONTH:

We will focus on the third quarter of 1984, which features the departure of a legend, the return of a hated man, and much more.