Watts knew this, and he decided to get a piece of the Freebird action as an active participant. Despite his retirement as a full-time grappler, Watts would make special appearances when an angle warranted it. In 1986, he was part of the super hot Russian Invasion of the UWF. Eddie Gilbert had turned “traitor,” recruited fellow Commie sympathizer Krusher Kruschev, and imported a genuine Rooskie in Korstia Korchenko.

Watts’ ultra American promos during the Russian feud would have made Rush Limbaugh or Ted Nugent proud. His jingoism knew no borders-he walked over the line and would scuff at it with his boots! But unlike the cynical, slickly marketed patriotism of the WWF and Hulk Hogan’s “Real American,” there was no doubting Watts.  His beliefs, however conservative, were heartfelt and authentic. In Reagan-era America, Watts provided a prideful and valiant-if rather reactionary-hero for the UWF fans.

As the angle was winding down, Watts had a match with Sting, who was then a member of Gilbert’s Hot Stuff International. As a stipulation, a Watts victory would insure a five-minute “match” with Gilbert. Watts laid a bloody beating on Gilbert, which seemed to signify the end of their feud. It may have ended one battle, but another war was straight ahead for the Cowboy. The Freebirds stormed the ring, and Gordy slapped his Oriental Spike on Watts, rendering him unconscious.

Anybody who knew Bill Watts understood that retribution would be required. During a TV title bout between Roberts and Terry Taylor, Michael Hayes ran in to help his partner, but Watts joined the fracas and laid the smack down on all three Freebirds. The Freebirds retaliated by attacking Watts again. For one match, Watts seconded Taylor against Roberts. Watts brought a baseball bat-his “Freebird Wing Clipper”- along as an equalizer.

These incidents led to a series of 6-man tag matches. On one occasion, the Freebirds faced the trio of Watts, Taylor and Chavo Guerrero. Another time, the ‘Birds were pitted against Watts, Taylor and Hacksaw Jim Duggan in an elimination bout. In what was a “Dream Team” match up in 1986, Hayes and company faced Watts, Ted DiBiase and Steve “Dr. Death” Williams.

The only problem with these matches was television. Since most shows of the era ended with a truncated main event due to television time running out, it was frustrating not to see these battles reach a conclusion.  However, the UWF commentary elevated the angle to Greek mythology standards. Jim Ross was equally adept at describing action and putting over angles. Watts and his right wing populism comprised a wrestling version of Sheriff Buford Pusser from “Walking Tall.” And Hayes was around for just the right mixture of humor and menace.

Pardon me for getting a little ahead of myself in terms of chronology.  The UWF did not have a World, or in its case, a Universal Heavyweight Champion as of May 1986, despite the name change having occurred in March of the same year. The promotion held the inaugural UWF Title Tournament on May 30, 1986 in Houston, TX at the Sam Houston Coliseum before a sell out crowd. I plan to do a full story regarding that night for a future installment, but it will suffice for now to do a summary of what may be the best card of wrestling that I have had the pleasure of attending.

All three Freebirds were involved in the tournament. In addition, all of the top line talent of the promotion was “invited” to participate. Chavo Guerrero, Buzz and Brett Sawyer, Jack Victory, Blade Runners Sting and Rock, Kamala, Rick Steiner, Terry Taylor, Koko B. Ware-quite a line-up! However, I guessed that the prohibitive favorites would be Hacksaw Duggan, Ted DiBiase, Steve Williams and Terry Gordy. With eight first round matches, it figured to be a long night. One Freebird went down when Hacksaw Duggan defeated Buddy Roberts in the first round. Another was eliminated when Michael Hayes and Terry Taylor battled to a time limit draw. That left Terry Gordy to defend the Freebird name.

Gordy would not disappoint. He easily downed Koko Ware in the opening round. He then faced Ted DiBiase, and with a little help from his friends, Gordy got the pin and moved on to go against Dr.Death in the semifinals. I didn’t figure that Gordy could win back-to-back matches against two of the world’s best wrestlers, but he did just that, defeating Williams to advance to the championship final against Hacksaw Duggan.

A strange twist waited in the title bout. Duggan had retired the Mid South North American Title-the top belt in the old promotion-before the UWF name change/national move. This made Duggan the favorite to win the new title. However, the One-Man Gang had another idea. Despite being newly arrived to the UWF from a successful stint in World Class Championship Wrestling, the Gang literally made an unforgettable first impression.

The old Coliseum ring that had long bolts that attached the turnbuckle hooks. These ran through the ringposts, leaving a large bolt exposed on the outside of the post. The Gang prior to the title contest attacked Duggan. Gang slammed Duggan’s head into one of the aforementioned bolts and darn near impaled his skull. Duggan began to bleed uncontrollably. Live, it looked worse than the infamous bloody beatdown Dick Murdoch and Ric Flair laid on Ted DiBiase. On the Houston Wrestling television program, they replayed the nasty shot ad nauseum. Kayfabe Memories messageboard contributor Weaselsuit has stated that Duggan’s “skull was dented from this incident, and the wound ended up getting BADLY infected.”

Duggan was undeniably legitimately injured, but he still went on with the title match against Gordy. Despite getting in a surprising amount of offense considering his condition, Duggan was just too weakened to put up much of a fight. Gordy took the pin and became wrestling’s first universal champion, winning four bouts in one night.

The Freebirds had reached the top. Gordy was the UWF’s top champion. Roberts was in the midst of his best years as a wrestler. And Michael Hayes was seemingly in the middle of everything, be it as part of the Freebird team, as a mouthpiece for the ‘Birds intentions, as an announcer, or as the all-purpose hell raiser he could be.  Like a live rendition of “Freebird,” there was still more to come.

Well, that’s it for now.  Stop on by the UWF message board here at Kayfabe Memories sometime.  I hope that everyone honored Mom on Mother’s Day and will stop to remember those who have served our country on Memorial Day. Until then, try to buy at least one B.B. King CD. I saw the man this past Saturday and found out that even though he’s 75 years old, he’s STILL the King of the Blues.  “Even a blind man can tell when he’s walkin’ in the sun.”

NEXT MONTH: 

More Freebird adventures in mayhem.