As the self-proclaimed leader, Duggan liked to call himself the Big Cheese of the Rat Pack. The Rat Pack used all of the typical heel tricks, especially foreign objects and outside interference. Duggan never failed to hit the ring in time to save DiBiase’s and Borne’s Mid-South Tag Team Title. In one of the most famous incidents of Duggan’s Mid-South career, he donned a gorilla suit to interfere in a match. Ted DiBiase and Matt Borne were battling with Junkyard Dog and Mr. Olympia in a high stakes loser leaves town match. Whoever was pinned or submitted to end the match would have to depart Mid-South Wrestling. Throughout the evening a man in a gorilla suit had cavorted at ringside, entertaining the fans. When the crucial moment in the match came, the ruse was revealed. The man in the gorilla suit caused Junkyard Dog to be pinned. Of course the fans went bananas when he was unmasked as Duggan. JYD’s departure led to his sudden reappearance in Mid-South under the mask as Stagger Lee. The Stagger Lee angle and feud with The Rat Pack was one of the biggest in Mid-South history.   

Ted DiBiase and Hacksaw Jim Duggan had a fruitful alliance. When that alliance crumbled, it produced on the greatest feuds in Mid-South history. General Skandor Akbar’s Devastation Incorporated was running roughshod in Mid-South in the early 1980s with such stars as Kamala, King Kong Bundy, and The Missing Link. In 1983, when Akbar looked to DiBiase as a recruit for his evil army, it drove a wedge between DiBiase and Duggan. Hacksaw had cheated his way to many a win, but despite his behavior he was still a patriot. He did not like the evil, anti-American Akbar and wanted no association with him directly or indirectly. DiBiase insisted that his relationship with Akbar was strictly business and did not impact the DiBiase – Duggan partnership. Ted was unconvincing to say the least. A confrontation between Duggan and Akbar ended when Hacksaw tore the clothes off the General’s back! A humiliated Akbar offered DiBiase a hefty payment in exchange for taking out Hacksaw Jim Duggan. DiBiase refused to turn on his “good friend”. However, Ted in fact turned on Duggan at the first opportunity. Now the feud was on. 

By standing up for America, Duggan instantly became one of Mid-South’s greatest heroes. DiBiase was as hated as ever. The brawls between the two brought new meaning to the word intensity. These bouts rarely evoked memories of Dory Funk Jr. vs. Jack Brisco. These were wild, violent affairs. DiBiase relied on allies like Devastation Inc. and Mr. Olympia. Hacksaw could count on Junkyard Dog and Magnum TA as backup although he preferred to face Ted in a one on one bout. In August of 1983, the feud came to a shocking end. Ted vowed to leave Mid-South if he lost to Duggan. Ted had help from the Road Warriors and nearly stole the win, but JYD helped even the odds. Hacksaw Jim Duggan got the 1-2-3 in the middle of the ring and made history. He had expelled Ted DiBiase from Mid-South Wrestling in the biggest win of his career to that point. While Ted headed for Georgia, Hacksaw Jim Duggan stood tall as one of the elite stars of Mid-South Wrestling. 

After DiBiase departed Mid-South, Hacksaw Jim Duggan still had plenty of rivals. He and Hacksaw Butch Reed had the inevitable feud to determine who was the real Hacksaw. Soviet heels Nikolai Volkoff, Krusher Khrushchev, and Boris Zurkhoff all provided challenges. Duggan turned back each of them. General Skandor Akbar’s Devastation Incorporated continued to be a thorn in Duggan’s side. His rivalry with Kamala descended into further violence. In 1985, Akbar burned Duggan with a massive fireball. Duggan’s career was in doubt, although he eventually returned to take revenge. He and Magnum TA held the Mid-South Tag Titles for nearly four months until October 12, 1983 when Reed and Jim Neidhart defeated them for the belts. Duggan took a sabbatical from Mid-South for awhile in 1984, but returned to welcome a reception. A new rivalry with Hercules Hernandez was born. Duggan cost Herc’s manager Jim Cornette his hair by pinning Hercules Hernandez in a big grudge match.  

Duggan eventually found a new opponent in “Doctor Death” Steve Williams. It was a natural rivalry. Both were robust, tough brawlers and both had college football backgrounds at Southern Methodist and Oklahoma respectively. When Doc attacked Duggan in the fall of 1984 while wearing his full football uniform; jersey, pads, helmet, and all! It led to a series of football helmet matches between the two enemies. One of those matches led to the return of a familiar face. As Doc waited in the ring at the Irish MacNeil Boys Club for a televised football helmet match, Duggan was no where to be found. Suddenly Ted DiBiase walked into Mid-South Wrestling for the first time in more than a year! He audaciously claimed that Duggan had tried to sucker punch him and that he had knocked out Duggan with one punch. Later on Duggan bruised and bloody, his clothes torn staggered in a disoriented state. He explained that some thugs had jumped him from behind and held him while DiBiase hit him with a blackjack. In the epitome of silent heat, the crowd sat in shock as Duggan was helped to the hospital. The second chapter of this great feud had begun. 

Naturally it all led to more exciting brawls and matches. Duggan the everyman of Mid-South knew how to get the crowd on his side. The evil DiBiase knew just what to say to enrage the crowds at the arenas and watching at home on television. Ted went to great lengths to claim that Duggan was nothing more than an ignorant piece of trash, while he was a man of class and taste. Duggan refuted this by insisting that he was the one with class. Of course this angered Ted to no end. Now the two rivals who were used to hitting each other with wooden boards and loaded gloves were wearing tuxedos as each attempted to outclass the other. It led to Ted sucker punching Hacksaw in a “Best Dressed Man in Mid-South Wrestling” contest. This had to be settled. The two rivals went to war in a unique series of matches. The bouts combined all of the following stipulations tuxedos, glove on a pole, no disqualification, and steel cage. These bouts went all over the Mid-South area in March and April of 1985. Bouts in Houston and New Orleans stood out in particular for their violence and excitement. Hacksaw Jim Duggan came out as the winner in these encounters and left no doubt that he was the victor in this exciting feud.    

Amazingly, despite his long tenure in Mid-South, Hacksaw Jim Duggan never held the North American Title until the late winter and spring of 1986, just before the promotion transformed itself into the UWF.  Dick Slater held that title and the Mid-South TV title simultaneously. Slater’s biggest rival was Duggan. In a somewhat strange angle, Slater gave the Mid-South TV title to his friend and tag team partner Buzz Sawyer. When Duggan earned a shot at the North American Title, the sneaky Slater wanted no part of him and was tricked by Bill Watts into letting Buzz Sawyer defend the belt in his place. Duggan had truly come into his own as singles wrestler and defeated Sawyer to capture Mid-South Wrestling’s richest prize. Slater asked Sawyer to give him back the TV Title and was turned down flat. Duggan’s title win was not exactly orthodox, but he quickly legitimized his title reign by defeating Dick Slater in a long series of matches around the Mid-South territory. Hacksaw’s most significant win came on April 19, 1986 at the Superdome as a special attraction at the Jim Crockett Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament.  

Besides Slater, Hacksaw Jim Duggan put his North American Title on the line against many of the top stars of Mid-South during his reign as champion. Kortsia Korchenko, Buzz Sawyer, and old rival Kamala all went down against Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Although the promotion changed its name to the UWF in March, the Mid-South Era officially passed into history on Friday, May 30, 1986. On that night Hacksaw Jim Duggan retired the North American Heavyweight Title as an undefeated champion. Duggan continued to star in the newly renamed promotion. In early 1987 he left for the WWF where he enjoyed a prosperous career. Hacksaw moved on to WCW in 1994 and, if a bit past his prime, continued to enjoy the love of the fans and make an impact on the wrestling scene. His valiant battle against cancer and eventual return to the ring inspired many. The fact that Duggan continued to be a part of WCW nearly to the end of the AOL-Time Warner era is a testament to his popularity and longevity. However, no one can deny that the greatest years and matches of Hacksaw Jim Duggan came in the rings of Mid-South Wrestling. 

NEXT MONTH:  

They cheated. They interfered. They laid down bounties. They took credit that they didn’t always deserve. They doled out blame that belonged on their own doorstep. They made threats and were never quiet or modest about the way they did it. And we wrestling fans wouldn’t have it any other way. Next time we’ll look at the men behind the wrestlers, the managers of Mid-South Wrestling.