Mid-South was also one of the few shows to give marquee matches weekly, during a time when most promotions were doing all-squash formats.  Live shows were still must-see events, because they kept stipulation matches special, limiting them to the live shows. Also, Mid-South would often match guys who were not in a house show program, making for a good match that still left the issues unsettled in the more heated feuds.

One factor of Bill Watts' success whose importance cannot be overstated is that Mid-South had the best announcer in wrestling - Bill Watts himself. Don't get me wrong. I loved Gordon Solie, too, and appreciated the seriousness he brought to his broadcasts, but no one could touch Watts when it came to imparting the emotion, gravity and seriousness of any situation.

It's no accident that Jim Ross, groomed under the big Cowboy, went on to become one of the most revered announcers ever. 

It's easy to look back now and see the political incorrectness in some of Watts' comments. Saying the Guerreros were "not what most people think of when they think of Mexicans, because they're not itinerant farmers or day laborers" would certainly not be tolerated today, and rightfully so. Still, his analysis of the wrestlers, the conflicts and the angles made every live event a can't-miss night at the matches and helped to make every wrestler a viable competitor.

Watts aside, Mid-South had great champions: Ted DiBiase, Junkyard Dog, Mr. Wrestling II, Magnum T.A., Mr. Olympia, Ernie Ladd, and so many others. It's been home to great angles: The best-dressed man in Mid-South, the Last Stampede, the dissolution of the Rat Pack, the desecration of Mr. Wrestling II's masks, and so many others.

I will try to do justice to them all, and I welcome your feedback. Email me with questions, praise, gripes or other comments at here.  Please bear with me as I try to sort out all these memories and talk about some of my favorite moments, feuds, wrestlers and matches - the stuff that made Mid-South the best and its fans the luckiest fans in wrestling for years.

NEXT MONTH:

A look at the Mid-South stint(s) of one of the most awesome and underrated (by some) superstars in Mid-South history - "Hacksaw" Butch Reed.