Upon their rise to prominence, the Fabulous Freebirds were unlike any tag team Georgia fans had seen before. Collectively, Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, and Buddy Roberts formed a dastardly rulebreaking trio that wreaked havoc on Georgia babyfaces. Unique among tag teams, the ‘Birds interchanged their three members to play mind games with opponents. At this time, the actual wrestling Freebirds were Gordy and Roberts, as Hayes was nursing a legitimate neck injury. They arrived on Thanksgiving Night 1980 at the Omni. A match was all set to take place between the Masked Assassins and Mr. Wrestling I & II. However, the strains of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Freebird went out over the Omni’s public announce system. Hayes, Gordy and Roberts came down the aisle to make it a three-way match for the Georgia tag team titles. 15 years before the "three way dance" became a common pro wrestling occurrence, it happened in the Omni. The arrogant, brutal Freebirds came out the winners, and were also crowned the inaugural National tag team champions (a title that would be regularly defended as the top Georgia tag team title for about 5 years). 

Having made their first appearance on Georgia Championship Wrestling only a week prior, they were already in the main events throughout the area. Kevin Sullivan was an early victim of the Freebirds. Week after week, the Freebirds would assault Sullivan on national television. Finally, Sullivan found a partner to face the tag team champs. It turned out to be a surprise. Austin Idol, for years a hated Georgia grappler, had turned babyface in Georgia a few months earlier in 1980. While a heel, Idol had feuded heavily with Sullivan. So fans were surprised when this team formed, but the Idol-Sullivan combo was the first true test the Freebirds would face while in Georgia. Sullivan and Idol racked up a couple victories against Roberts and Gordy, but they were non-title matches. Finally, Michael Hayes had enough. Sullivan and Idol would get their title match, but first they must pass a test: Sullivan must team with a wrestler chosen by the Freebirds, and the ad hoc team must beat the ‘Birds to get the title shot.