Where Wrestling's Regional History Lives!
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Where Wrestling's Regional History Lives! |
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- Jason Hess Greetings, Kayfabe fans, and welcome to another
installment of Houston Wrestling at Kayfabe
Memories! A
very special Holiday greeting to all of you, and
may the joy of this season and what it
represents be real and vivid to each of you;
especially during this time in the life of our
country. As
we end a very turbulent year in professional
wrestling, our country, and our world, I would
like to take a look back at a somewhat turbulent
time for Houston Wrestling, 1983. 1983:
The Last Great Year for Territories ????? Many places and territories during 1983 were on
fire, so to speak.
The AWA never had a better year, as top
draw Hulk Hogan led the Minnesota based
promotion to its largest box office successes in
company history.
World Class Championship Wrestling had
its coming out party as the Freebird-Von Erich
war drew constant sellouts and record breaking
attendance marks throughout the year.
Jim Crockett Promotions had a banner year
as well, drawing huge gates around the horn (and
not just for Starrcade either), and having top
talent grace its rings. Mid-South Wrestling had its share of success in
1983 as well.
Some of the best crowds Bill Watts ever
drew happened in 1983, especially for the big
Superdome shows.
But by the end of 1983, crowds were down
across the area, especially Houston.
Why did crowds drop, especially during a
year that saw many territories peak?
What did Bill Watts and Paul Boesch do to
stop the downward trend, and were they
successful?
Who was the top drawing card of 1983 in
Houston? Lots
of questions, and a few answers.
Downward
Spiral: Although it was the largest city that Mid-South
regularly ran, Houston was like most towns in
that the majority of their matches came as a
result of the Mid-South television program.
Like most other territories, feuds were
begun from what happened on the television show,
with house shows occasionally providing more
fuel to the fire.
Many times the house show footage would
come from places like the Municipal Auditorium
in New Orleans, or the Convention Center in
Tulsa. Some
did come from Houston, such as footage that made
the Ted DiBiase-Hacksaw Duggan feud so hot in
1983. When
a feud would run its course, or have the blow
off, there would be a small lull in the action
as the cards were re-shuffled for new feuds.
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