Good as this feud was, Dillon-Murdoch was even better. These two had an obvious chemistry from the first minute they stepped into the ring together. Their feud was built around a series of tournaments, with the winners in various towns to face NWA champ Jack Brisco on his next swing through the area. Both Dillon and Murdoch dispatched an impressive array of opponents over several weeks. Dillon downed Pat O'Connor, the Viking, Ricky Romero, Alex Perez, and Nick Kozak. Murdoch beat Killer Karl Krupp, Pat O'Connor, and Dory Funk Jr. Dillon and Murdoch were paired in the Amarillo semi-finals. As Murdoch stepped into the ring, Dillon Pearl Harbored him and ran for the dressing room. Murdoch recovered and went looking for his cowardly opponent. Both men were disqualified, losing the chance for a shot at Brisco. Terry Funk eventually won the Amarillo tourney. Murdoch, the Funk Brothers, Nick Kozak, and Les Thornton staged a public workout in which they demonstrated a new counter to the figure-four leglock, the finisher used by both Brisco and Dillon. The counter, which involved turning onto one's belly, is familiar to anyone who watched Ric Flair's title defenses a decade later. Though it had been used in other territories before, it was new for us.

Brisco held Terry to a one-hour draw, but was carried out on a stretcher because Terry used the figure-four counter on him. Murdoch got his shot in Lubbock, where he had beat Dillon in the finals of a separate tournament. Murdoch too made use of the counter, but Brisco again escaped with his title in a draw.

Murdoch caught up to Dillon again at the Sports Arena, with NWA president Sam Muchnik threatening fines and suspensions to get Dillon in the ring. Nothing was settled except that Dillon's cowardice required special measures. Yet another meeting found the two in a Russian chain match. This time Dillon couldn't escape.

Murdoch's jackhammer right hand, one of the most credible worked punches in the business, was already famous. In this match he wrapped his fist in a chain and drilled Dillon repeatedly in the face. Though it had started as a competitive match, its ending played more like a ritual execution, as Murdoch's metaled fist tore Dillon's face to bloody tatters. The aftermath was "a hairline fracture of the jaw" for Dillon. The feud was unusual in that Dillon, the heel, not only played the underdog all along, but also received brutal beatings even in the early going.

Dillon, now on the sidelines nursing his injury, put a bounty on Murdoch's head. Cyclone Negro came in on Christmas to collect it. "All I want for Christmas is a little bit of broken bone," Dillon said on TV. The scene at the Sports Arena was surreal, with Santa Claus handing out candy before the bloody match erupted. Murdoch won, but took a pounding along the way. His victory left Dillon no recourse but to fight his own battles.

In the blow-off match, Dillon worked on Murdoch's legs, setting up the figure four. When Murdoch used the counter, Dillon reversed it by illegally using the ropes. Though this sequence has since grown predictable through overuse, it was fresh then, and it infuriated the crowd. But the fans went home happy, because in the end Dillon lay in center ring unconscious, Murdoch's brainbuster having settled the matter seemingly for good.

NEXT MONTH:

Dillon returns, Abdullah attacks, Andre gets mad, Race gets hurt, and Junior takes a hand.

Comments? Email me: ggrice@pressenter.com