No matter the feelings about his life….or his death…one can not deny the impact Gino Hernandez had on Houston Wrestling from a beginning that was less than stellar. 

Is He Crazy….or Is He Always That Way? 

Jim Duggan was the son of a police chief in Glens Falls, New York.  He played football at SMU, and played pro football briefly.  Duggan wrestled in the preliminaries for the old WWWF and had some brief shots for Fritz Von Erich in Dallas.  By the time he came to the Mid-South and Houston areas in 1982, Duggan was NOT a national star.  By the time he left the Mid-South area, Duggan was one of the most popular stars in all of wrestling. 

Duggan originally was a member of the “Rat Pack” heel squad with Ted Dibiase and Matt Borne.  One of the craziest angles as a heel that he was involved in was when Duggan dressed up in a gorilla suit to help Dibiase and Borne win in a Mid-South Tag Team Title Match.  For a short while, he was even nicknamed “Crazy” Jim Duggan.  When Skandor Akbar joined up with Dibiase, Duggan didn’t like it because even though he was a “bad guy,” at least he was an “American” bad guy.  Duggan quickly took to the fans across the Mid-South region, and in particular, Houston.   

Over the next three years, Duggan headlined numerous cards at the Sam Houston Coliseum.  Some of his most notable feuds include:

 -The war with Nikolai Volkoff and “Russian turncoat” Krusher Khruschev. 

 -The football matches with Steve “Dr. Death” Williams. 

 -The feud with Jim Cornette and Hercules Hernandez. 

 -His memorable multi-stipulation match with Ted Dibiase in 1985. 

 -His tag team of the “Hacksaw’s” with Butch Reed against Akbar’s Army. 

 -His brutal war with “Mad Dog” Buzz Sawyer.

 -His battles with Dick Slater.

 -His legendary UWF title tournament brawl with the One Man Gang (which saw Duggan legitimately injured when his head was rammed into the ring post by the Gang.)

 -His simultaneous war with the Freebirds and the Gang over the UWF title. 

Duggan was one of Houston’s most popular stars ever.  His start was sketchy, but by the time he left Houston on a regular basis in January 1987, he was THE babyface of the UWF.  While not achieving the status of “Number One Babyface” in the WWF for his 6 year plus stay in Titan-land, he remained a very popular figure for the company.   

Fast Forward:  While there are a ton of examples of “rags to riches” stories regarding wrestlers who started out slow but ended up superstars, I wanted to feature two of my favorites who I was able to see blossom in front of my (very young at the time) eyes.  I did not mean to slight anyone who was a preliminary wrestler that became more famous.  Quite frankly, Houston Wrestling was always blessed with tons of talent, many who started in the “prelims” who would later come back to headline the venerable Sam Houston Coliseum.  My hat is off to all who wrestled at the Coliseum, and for the way they entertained and impacted thousands and thousands of fans. 

Next Month:  See below. 

Writer’s Note:  I have been writing for Kayfabe Memories for a while now…..over two years to be exact.  While I haven’t hit a “home run” with every column, Vince Fahey gave me a chance to share some wonderful memories about one of the greatest wrestling shows and promotions around.  For that, and for his patience and persistence in putting together one of the finest websites around, I am thankful.   

However, for the past six months, I’ve felt a tug to change gears.  My “wrestling well” had begun to go dry as it regarded Houston.  While I am somewhat familiar with the great 1970’s action of Houston, I am not as familiar with it as others.  Quite frankly, my lack of 70’s knowledge left a huge historical gap in covering the history of this great promotion and its stars.  I am more familiar with other areas and territories in the Kayfabe family.  So….. 

Starting next month, you will have the privilege of hearing from a woman who has a wealth of knowledge about Houston Wrestling, and a woman who can do exponentially better than me in conveying the action and drama of Houston Wrestling.  Rhiannon will become the new Houston author, and I hope like me, you can’t wait to hear from her.  She has a slew of stories and memories that I can’t wait to feast my eyes on.   

As for me, I will switch gears and begin to take a look at differing features regarding Mid-South Wrestling.  I’ll look forward to seeing you all over there. 

Thanks for two wonderful years, and hopefully many more!! 

Godspeed, 

Jason