The last two months of the Freebirds' UWF tenure were uneventful. As a whole, the promotion had clearly undergone a major change from the vital, can't miss excitement of the 1986-early 1987 heyday to an unsure holding pattern in the fall of '87. The  combination of the exodus of established Mid South/UWF grapplers to the WWF, the influx of new talent, and Jim Crockett Promotions' takeover of the promotion  created a company which was undergoing a lot of changes. The 'Birds, who typified the energy and excitement of the UWF's glory days, were now lost in the shuffle. Buddy Roberts was matched up against The Enforcer on some August cards and then moved to a rather nondescript mid-card feud with Shaska Whatley. Michael Hayes tagged with Shane Douglas (?!?) against Black Bart and the Terminator on some of the same shows. I have a really hard time seeing Douglas as a Freebird, even on a substitute basis. Terry Gordy was altogether absent. I guess he was on one of his Japanese tours.

When Jim Crockett's buyout of Bill Watts became public in September 1987, Crockett said that he would run an interpromotional  feud between the two groups, with title unification matches for all the belts. Crockett also said that all the UWF wrestlers would have  jobs in his company. I thought that was terrific. Imagine a clash between the Freebirds and the Four Horsemen, circa 1987! Ric Flair and Michael Hayes, trash talking their way through great promos. The dirtiest player in the game versus the dude from Badstreet, USA. Armani and hairspray versus Levis and longhair. Gordy and Roberts against Anderson and Blanchard. Flair trying to sweet talk Sunshine, only to get his face slapped-just as Dark Journey backhanded Hayes-for his trouble. Or, how about Sting, Rick Steiner, Eddie Gilbert, Dr. Death and Devastation Inc. forming an unholy alliance with the 'Birds against Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff and the Horsemen. Great stuff, right?

Unfortunately, the UWF/JCP feud turned out to be as vastly disappointing as the recent WCW/ECW alliance vs. the WWF "Invasion" angle. Whether it was Crockett, his bookerman Dusty Rhodes, or some combination of forces, the UWF invasion angle was a totally blown opportunity.  Nikita Koloff beat Terry Taylor on November 26, 1987 in Chicago to unify the NWA and UWF Television titles. That was the first and only unification bout and, to my memory, the sole representation of the promotion vs. promotion feud. UWF Heavyweight champion "Dr. Death" Steve Williams was not used for a long time until Crockett brought him in as a member of the Varsity Club. I hope that whoever made that decision didn't get a big pay raise. Williams toured Japan raising hell with Terry Gordy as bad ass gaijin during this some of this down time, I believe.

In any event, none of the Freebirds, save for Michael Hayes, ever seemed to make appearances for Crockett after the merger. Hayes teamed up with future Freebird Jim Garvin for a brief feud with Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard before he departed. It has been said that the Freebirds may have been a little too wild and crazy for the promotion. Their "real life" personas weren't that far removed from their ring incarnations. The Freebirds returned to World Class Championship Wrestling and picked up their feud with the Von Erichs as though it had never been interrupted.  The 'Birds injected a much-needed jolt of adrenaline into a promotion reeling from tragic deaths, talent defections and declining attendance.

Even though the UWF had folded, some of the promotion's talent was featured in action with the Freebirds in World Class. The Freebirds were flying high again for awhile, but Terry Gordy and Michael Hayes had a falling out, resulting in Hayes aligning himself with-gulp-the Von Erichs! Gordy and Buddy Roberts replaced P.S. with fellow UWF refugee Iceman King Parsons, emerged as the "New Freebirds" and won the World Class Six-Man Tag belts on January 4, 1988.

During his estrangement from his Freebird brothers, Michael Hayes embarked on a solo career and formed alliances with other wrestlers. In 1988, he teamed with  Steve Cox, who debuted in the UWF, to win the World Class Tag Team titles twice. Ironically, the Hayes/Cox tandem defeated the Samoan Swat Team both times, who were managed by none other than Buddy Roberts.

Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy reunited once again in the NWA in 1989, but Buddy Roberts was nowhere in sight. A true Freebird squad had to have three guys, so Budy Jack was replaced by "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin. Garvin was a capable wrestler, but the old "Freebird fantasia" was obviously slipping away. Bradstreet (Brad Armstrong), Diamond Dallas Page, Sir Oliver Humperdinck and some character named Little Richard Marley all spent time as pseudo-'Birds. It was like seeing a classic rock band down to one or two of its original members. The name was the same, but the magic was gone.       

Many of you may know what has become of the original Freebird trio. Michael Hayes works as a color commentator for the WWF. He also is involved in various behind-the-scenes work for the promotion. Buddy Roberts has battled throat cancer and other health problems since his retirement. And, of course, Terry Gordy passed away earlier this year.  Still, as Willie Nelson once sang, let's remember the good times for they are smaller in number and easier to recall. Gordy, Hayes, and Roberts were the original three-man team in wrestling. That alone would make them pioneers.

However, the Freebirds backed up their innovative approach by becoming the top team in every territory they wrestled in. There was never any sense of nod-and-a-wink kayfabe breaking going on with Gordy, Hayes and Roberts. They could be goofy and menacing at alternate turns (if you don't believe me on the goofy part, take a look at some of their still photos on the 'Net). They could inspire hatred yet commanded respect. In the UWF, they had terrific mic skills, always worked hard in the ring, were capable of extreme violence and always got a reaction, either pro or con, from the fans. You didn't have to imagine them on a road trip listening to Thin Lizzy, Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top while draining a 12 pack; that's the way they lived.

In that regard, the Freebirds were the first to make rock and roll a real part of wrestling. None of that pre-fab MTV/WWF, Lauper & Hogan nonsense for them.  The UWF, with Joel Watts providing some suprisingly good production values, supplied the guys with the support to be wrestling's quintessential rock and rollers. Hey, how many wrestlers do you know that both covered Thin Lizzy ("The Boys are Back in Town") AND named a member after one of its songs ("Angel of Death")?

Well, that's it for the UWF Freebird saga. The mention of music is a segue to the audience participation part of this Holiday edition. Our webmaster Vince "KM" Fahey has asked me to compile a list of songs for a UWF-themed CD and you can help. I have a general idea of the songs I would like to link to certain wrestlers and/or groups, but I would really like to have some input from you, the wonderful readers. So, I am going to list everybody I can think of and would like you to provide some tunes. The nominees are:

The Freebirds
Hacksaw Jim Duggan
The One Man Gang
Big Bubba Rogers
"Dr. Death" Steve Williams
Buzz Sawyer
Terry Taylor
Savannah Jack
Eddie Gilbert (either with Missy Hyatt and Hot Stuff, Inc. or not)
Missy Hyatt (see above)
Shane Douglas
Chavo Guerrero
Jack Victory
The Blade Runners
Sting
Kamala
Rick Steiner
Ted DiBiase
Koko Ware
Iceman Parsons
Buddy Landel
Angel of Death (I think I've already got this one, but what the heck?)
Hollywood John Tatum
Jeff Gaylord
Missing Link
Devastation, Inc. (either individuals or as a group)
Chris Adams
The Whatley Brothers
The Jive Tones
Eddie Gilbert's Russians
Gary Young
Steve Cox
Dark Journey
Sunshine
Mike Boyette
Jim Ross
Joel Watts
And, of course, the man from Bixby, OK, Bill Watts.

Please feel free to e-mail me at CL11@swt.edu with your suggestions. I am a weekend disc jockey at a local station, so to send in your requests and you may be a part of history (as Miles Davis' "Solea" swells in the background).

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read my ramblings. My own feelings about Christmas are explained by Linus' soliloquy in "A Charlie Brown Christmas." As far as my feelings about New Year's Eve, just don't call the house before 11 A.M. Central time on January 1. I hope that everyone's year has been a healthy and happy one. Take time to say a prayer for all those affected by the terrible acts of September 11. Remember our military as they serve our country. Please enjoy your holidays, and make sure you take time to tell the people in your life that you love them.

NEXT MONTH:

A trip to the Sam Houston Coliseum in the Kayfabe Memories Wayback Machine.