Finally, the oil-based economies in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana were in an overwhelming slump. A fair portion of the UWF’s fanbase worked in the petroleum industry and no longer had the disposable income needed to attend wrestling matches.

To counter the aforementioned talent defections, Bill Watts worked out an agreement with Jim Crockett Promotions. Initially Crockett sent Watts two wrestlers; eventual UWF champ Big Bubba and Barry Windham. As the summer of 1987 progressed, more of Crockett’s wrestlers would appear on UWF shows.

Did any of this matter to the Freebirds? Probably not. The ‘Birds continued their feud with Skandor Akbar and the nasty group of thugs known as Devastation, Inc.  At the Superdome Extravaganza on June 13 in New Orleans, the guys had a victorious evening as Buddy Roberts downed hippie jobber Mike Boyette and the team of Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy downed the Devastation duo of the Terminator and the Enforcer. However, the card was another poor draw, with only 3,500 in attendance. In addition, the Freebirds were nowhere near the main event.

 On June 20, the Freebirds participated in another supercard, the Western States Heritage Title Tournament, at the Summit in Houston. The UWF had begun to run shows there after the split between Paul Boesch and Bill Watts. The brand name of Houston Wrestling still belonged to Boesch, and the fans loyalty was hard to break with Boesch now aligned with Vince McMahon and the WWF.  With eleven matches including the tournament, a battle royal and appearances by Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes, this show intended to prove that the UWF was the best wrestling in Houston. The Freebirds did not fare well in the tournament, with both Buddy Roberts and Terry Gordy exiting in the first round. Pez Whatley defeated Roberts and Gordy battled Rick Steiner to a wild double disqualification. In what was a real treat, Michael Hayes and Flair, wrestling’s best two heels at the time, had an entertaining match with Flair emerging victorious. Barry Windham emerged from the tournament as the inaugural Western States champ, and the Freebirds were once again denied a championship.

Terry Gordy was not taking the ‘Birds inability to regain titles in stride. During a televised match between Steve Cox and Devastation dude the Viking, Gordy ran in and dispatched both the Vike and Skandor Akbar. Before a contest involving jobbers Marcus Hawk and Ron Sexton, an angry Bam Bam stormed the ring and destroyed both guys. Gordy also fought Big Bubba Rogers in an unscheduled brawl on UWF TV. The two big men were slugging each other when Michael Hayes got involved. Hayes was taken out by a vicious clawhold from the Terminator, one of Akbar’s apparently endless supply of Devastation members. One of the bloodiest bouts I’ve seen pitted Gordy against new Devastation inductee Black Bart in a taped fist match. This battle rivals the most grotesque bloodfest ECW could come up with as Bart was totally destroyed and reduced to a sickening mess. I think stuff like this was meant to be the build-up to a point where would Gordy snap and go crazy (I mean, crazier than usual), but the angle never reached fruition.

The influx of Crockett’s wrestlers effectively kept the Freebirds out of the main event picture. The top billing on the promotion’s cards during the summer of 1987 belonged to Dr. Death Steve Williams, Barry Windham, Dick Murdoch, and others who weren’t a part of the ‘Bird fraternity. On July 24 in Houston, Buddy Roberts defeated the Terminator. In what was an unlikely pairing and a good illustration of how Crockett’s promotion and the UWF were now virtually indistinguishable, the four-man tag team of Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy and the Rock and Roll Express wrestled Big Bubba Rogers, Eddie Gilbert, and the Midnight Express to a double disqualification. I remember that card specifically because of the ten matches held five ended in a disqualification, including a double DQ match between Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes The night, while purported to be a type of interpromotional supercard, instead provided several examples of the infamous “Dusty Finish” in action.

On August 1, the UWF held another Superdome Extravaganza. On this card, the Freebirds were the focus. The promotion billed the main event a sort of ultimate confrontation between the ‘Birds and Devastation Inc. Terry Gordy pinned the turncoat Angel of Death in one of the preliminary bouts. In the main event, the Freebirds faced Black Bart, Bubba Rogers and the Terminator in a steel cage first blood elimination match. Wow,  too many nouns and about three gimmick matches for the price of one contest. Buddy Roberts was the first man eliminated, closely followed by the Terminator. Michael Hayes and Black Bart exited simultaneously, leaving Gordy and Rogers. Gordy emerged as the sole survivor, defeating the man who had thwarted his attempts at regaining the UWF’s World Heavyweight title. It is somewhat fitting that the Freebirds topped the card and emerged victorious on the UWF’s last Extravaganza.

Well, that’s it for this time. I will finally finish up the Freebirds UWF saga next month and add some other stuff. Heck, it’s the holiday season. Maybe a Christmas special edition of UWF Kayfabe Memories is in order. Did Bill Watts ever wear a Santa Claus suit? Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings. Stop by the UWF message board here sometime.

NEXT MONTH: 

Freebirds, memories, and miscellaneous matters. I might even take some phone calls.