Review for WWE: Legends of Mid-South Wrestling

MId South Wrestling is one of those wrestling territories that generated some of the greatest talents that ever came into the business. It's surprising when people talk about places like ECW and WCCW with such awe that only the true hardcore wrasslin' fans know that if you want to talk real old skool you are talking Mid South and this three disk set makes me hope that this is just the first of many sets to come from WWE about the promotion.

The set focuses on a number of prominent stars including Ted Dibiase, Junkyard Dog, Magnum TA, Midnight Express and Rock and Roll Express and many more. Each one is given the time to show just why they were so important and this made the set feel a lot more fluid than sme. It is true, that it is the same formula of blurb intro, match, blurb intro match etc. but it works well in this set though I do wish that seeing as very few people would even know what Mid South Wrestling was that there would be more than less than ten minutes to explain it. What makes the DVD more enjoyable than a lot of them is that it takes the time to explain just how different the business was back in the 70s and 80s, talking about the travelling, the booking of certain people, how heels and faces had to be separate according to the iron fist ruling of promoter Cowboy Bill Watts. Watts is one of those guys who you either love or hate and this set proved that in regards to booking, ideas, promoting and how to get someone 'over' there was no one better.

It is also one of the few DVD sets where I can honestly say that I have not seen every match on here ad infinitum to the point where I skip through most of it. There is a great mix of matches and so you can't say that it is the same type or the same style and because of the era the matches feel more real. When you get to the matches it is surprising the number of people who went through the territory such as Hacksaw Jim Duggan (before he went to WWE and became just a comedy act), Dusty Rhodes, Jake Roberts, Andre the Giant, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair amongst others. Though it is true that is probably only maybe a few matches that I could pick out and say I will watch that one again, it is also true that I enjoyed all of them.

Highlights include a wonderfully overbooked Coal Miner's Glove Steel Cage Tuxedo Loser Leaves Town Match between Ted Dibiase and Jim Duggan. I mean could they have added any more stipulations to the match? Despite that, the match is wonderful and definitely a joy to watch. Magnum TA and Mr Wrestling II against The Midnight Express is a great tag match as is the wonderfully perfect matches between The Midnight Express and the Rock and Roll Express which is almost a textbook look at how to book a perfect tag match. Also fascinating is an early match between Shawn Michaels and Ted Dibiase which was nice almost reminiscent of the 123 Kid moment in the WWE.

An NWA World Championship match between Ric Flair and Terry Taylor is pretty good and makes you understand why people thought that Taylor could be the next Flair... and you wonder how he ever fell so low to be the Red Rooster years later?? The match is even more fascinating when you hear the story Taylor says beforehand and then watch the match. Ric Flair also wrestles Ted Dibiase in one of the bloodiest matches I have ever seen.

Another fascinating moment was the appearance of Muhammed Ali who acted as a ring enforcer in the match between Jake Roberts and The Snowman. Of course I can't end without mentioning the appearance of The Bladerunners. Who? Well they were a tag team consisting of wrestlers who went on to be Sting and The Ultimate Warrior. Granted the match is two minutes of slams and punching, but really what would you expect from the Warrior?

It is actually difficult to think of any negatives when it comes to this set. The promotion is shown in such a positive light that the only thing they skip over is why Bill Watts sold to Ted Turner to become part of the NWA. I hope that they do cover this in a second set as the 'invasion' of NWA by the UWF was almost a test run for the nWo invasion in the mid 90s.

Legends of Mid-South Wrestling is a great set. There is nothing bad on here, nothing that I would skip and certainly nothing that I am not glad I didn't watch. It is true that it is doubtful that you will want to watch it more than once, but there are a number of matches are worth a second or third watch and anytime you can watch old skool Ric Flair in his prime is a good time in my book. If you are a fan of wrestling and the old ways of the business then this is definitely something you will enjoy.