Magnum T.A. had only been in the area a couple of months before he was thrust into the spotlight. Hacksaw Duggan needed a partner to help him battle Ted DiBiase and his new advisor, Skandor Akbar. Magnum had the look and was given the nod as Duggan's partner. In a short time, he and Hacksaw had won the Mid-South Tag-Team Titles by defeating Ted DiBiase & Mr. Olympia. The two men made for an odd mix given that their styles were very different. But, as had been shown in the past with such tandems as JYD & Dick Murdoch and JYD & Mike George and JYD & Mr. Olympia, for that matter, sometimes opposites worked really well together. This was the case for Duggan & T.A. They held the titles from July of 1983 through October of 1983 and even got a victory over a green as grass young team from Georgia known as The Road Warriors. And they were extremely popular with the fans. But, something was still missing from the mix. Duggan had quickly become a superstar and rivaled The Junkyard Dog as the most popular wrestler in the area. But T.A. still hadn't broken through.

Magnum's next big break was kind of a mixed blessing. In October of 1983, Hacksaw Butch Reed said he was going to defend the North American Title against a challenger chosen by the fans. The fans got to choose from Hacksaw Duggan, Crusher Darsow, The Junkyard Dog, and Magnum. Since Reed was involved in a red-hot feud with JYD at the time, and The Dog was by far the most popular wrestler in the area, he was the fans choice. But Reed said he had already given The Dog enough title shots and he would defend the belt against Magnum T.A. instead. The implication was that Reed chose Magnum because he knew he could beat him. This was even stated by the announcers several times. So, Magnum was set to go against the champ. But, matchmaker Grizzly Smith threw Reed a curve by appointing a special referee for the match…none other than The Junkyard Dog.

Magnum gave a good accounting of himself, but as the match wore on you could see he was overmatched by the awesome power of the Hacksaw. But, as was so often the case, T.A. started to mount a comeback. Since Reed was starting to fall behind, he climbed to the top turnbuckle and prepared to come off on an injured Magnum. This would have ended the match on a disqualification. But, JYD stepped in and when Reed refused to come down after The Dog told him to, JYD nailed Reed with a big right hand after Reed launched himself at T.A. Magnum then hit the Belly to Belly suplex on Reed and one three count later, T.A. was the North American Heavyweight Champion. But the reign was short lived. Nikolai Volkoff beat T.A. just two weeks after T.A. had won the belt. Then, the Mid-South executive committee declared that there were several things wrong with the original title switch. First, they ruled that The Junkyard Dog was not a suitable choice for special referee because of his history with Hacksaw Reed. Then, they said that JYD should have disqualified Reed for coming off the top rope. And finally, since JYD was the fan's choice, he should have had the shot, not Magnum. So, they ruled that the original title change was not valid and returned the belt to Reed. Then, instead of Magnum getting another shot, JYD was given the shot instead. JYD faced off against Reed in a TV showdown that saw Dusty Rhodes acting as special referee appointed by the executive committee. Needless to say, with the playing field evened, The Dog knocked off Reed to become the new North American Champion. And Magnum appeared to go back to mid-card obscurity. That was until a masked legend made his return to the area.

Mr. Wrestling II had been a huge star all over the country. He had worked throughout the Southeastern U.S. for many years as Johnny "Rubberman" Walker. And, according to a blurb in an old Apter mag, he had even worked under a mask for a short time in Florida back around 1970 or 1971 as The Grappler. Then, in 1973, there was a promotional war in Georgia. Ray Gunkel broke away from the NWA. All of the Georgia talent of the time went with Gunkel to form a new promotion. The only person that stayed with promoter Paul Jones was Bob Armstrong. The NWA got Eddie Graham's help and managed to get a new Georgia Championship Wrestling promotion up and running with a lot of new talent including Johnny Walker as Mr. Wrestling II. II was a no nonsense kind of wrestler. He was generally a hero, although he did play the heel from time to time, as he did in the mid-Seventies while looking for a shot at then NWA Champ, Jack Brisco. But, he became a much beloved figure in Georgia, and he spent most of his time in the Peach State. Then, in February of 1979, he beat Ernie Ladd for the North American Title in Atlanta. The North American Title was the top belt in Leroy McGuirk's Tri-State area, and it was kind of rare for regional belts to be defended outside of their home area at that time. But, Bill Watts was a part owner in Georgia Championship Wrestling, and he would show up there from time to time, so I suppose it was done as a way to explain the fact that II was going to be leaving Georgia to defend his newly won belt in McGuirk's area. Plus, it was also kind of a talent switch since II went to the Tri-State area, and Ernie Ladd stayed in Georgia. II proved to be every bit as popular in the Tri-State area as he was in Georgia. He had a series of feuds with men like Killer Karl Krupp and Mike George. But, in September of 1979, II dropped the title to Mike George and returned to the Georgia area to join his old tag partner Mr. Wrestling in a war with the Masked Assassins.

II stayed busy in Georgia and Florida until 1982. At this point he returned to the Mid-South area and had a pretty long run here winning both the Mississippi State Title and the Mid-South Tag-Team titles with Tiger Conway, Jr. He engaged in feuds with Kimala and Mr. Olympia, and supported The Junkyard Dog in his war with Ted DiBiase and his Rat Pack. After II & Conway dropped the tag titles in April of 1983, II left the Mid-South area for a time and got involved with the Georgia mat wars again. But, in late 1983, II made his way back to the Mid-South area and in role for which he was perfectly suited. II came back to the Mid-South area to act as Magnum T.A.'s coach. II and T.A. appeared in an interview in which II said he had seen great potential in Magnum and had offered his services as a coach to the young star. II said he was determined to make Magnum, not the greatest wrestler he could be, or the greatest wrestler in the world, but the greatest wrestler of all-time. Those were bold words, and that interview set the stage for one of the best remembered and best executed feuds in wrestling history.

NEXT MONTH:

The training begins in earnest, and jealousy rears its ugly head.