Pro Wrestling Chronicle

Match # 66: Hacksaw Duggan & Dick Murdoch vs. Kamala & Kareem Muhammad (7/14/85)

Muhammad, who I’ll be calling Kareem from this point forward, is just a fat black guy in US Army camo colors. It’s Mark Henry if he stopped his lifting training or greatly reduced it. Kamala is typical Ugandan Giant Kamala, complete with spear and tribal mask. They are the heels, and with Murdoch and Hacksaw representing Middle America, you can just imagine the racial undertones here. You don’t even have to imagine it if you wanna turn your sound up and catch isolated comments from the crowd.

Speaking of the crowd, any old timer who likes to talk about every night being sold out must have been working in a territory that only played high school gyms. This is about the twelfth time on this set they’ve been in a larger college basketball sized arena (not a gym, but a place seating ten thousand and over). There are anywhere from hundreds to thousands of empty seats in all camera shots. At least Vince McMahon showed Watts how to take wrestling out of smokey VFWs, right?

Heels brawl the faces to the floor with bad punches and slaps. Hacksaw has one hell of a shiner on his eye. He has the crowd going, but I’m not sure why as they get sent back trying to get in the ring a second time. I guess Hacksaw was that big a figure people get into a punch struggle for control of the ring.

Third time is a charm and a crowd pleaser for Duggan and Murdoch. Hacksaw does his stomp and Murdoch does a really silly gig. Think the Mick Foley dance, but not so much done for laughs.

The faces then beat up the heels completely and knock them out of the ring a second time before Hacksaw Duggan gets his hands on Skandor Akbar. People love that because he’s the lead heel manager. I guess this is like the big faces in any promotion beating up monster heels, but it’s the exact reason I never took Kamala seriously as a kid. They wanted me to think this guy was a monster going up against The Undertaker on a major PPV, yet he never beat anyone or made anyone fear him. It’s the same reason I don’t take Umaga seriously. He hasn’t dominated anyone in well over a year, and all he’s got is the monster heel stuff to go on. So I’m not so into the hardcore brawl and the heels selling, but it gets points for being over and well done.

Umaga comes off the top rope to save Akbar. Murdoch saves Hacksaw the trouble for a while but the heels overwhelm him too. Akbar head butts (or uses his stick) on Hacksaw, who sells outside the ring.
Big punch/elbow comeback from the stomping Hacksaw. I know he’s the big face and they all love him, I just don’t care. Only in the big stip match did I ever find him relevant. This is just a heated brawl for the time period.

Two wrestlers jump the rail, though I’m not clear yet who they are. Umaga gets sent into one and they both bump. It’s Dibiase and Williams. Guess that feud just NEVER ends, even after a perfect ending. The faces pinball all the heels around to the fans delight. Apathetic is my name.

DQ win for Hacksaw/Murdoch. A cool clip more than a match to vote on. Won’t finish in my top 100 but it was need top see as a moment in the history of the promotion. Crowd was really happy and that’s the overall point. Murdoch was a legend to these people and gave the already over Hacksaw the rub and a nice memory. 2 ½ and 5/10.
Match Discussion Here