Wrestling: The Best Feuds in the NWA in the 1980s

Nothing really speaks to the true essence of what professional wrestling was in the 1980s like Jim Crockett Promotions and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.

If you look at the talent roster of the decade (even dipping into the late 1970s), there is no doubt the foundations for professional wrestling in the 1990s and even to some extent today, were created in the back roads of North Carolina.

But it wasn't just Crockett that set the tone for what wrestling came to be. There was the AWA and WWF (now the WWE) to contend with. The NWA had promotions in regions all across the country.

Each had their own heels and faces and national superstars who would make an appearance off and on to the delight of fans.

Promotions like World Class Championship Wrestling, Mid-South Wrestling and Missouri Championship Wrestling that also boasted some of the best talents anywhere.

Remember, there was no IWC back then. There was no cable or what cable is now. Local promotions would use television on Saturdays and then matches at the local armory or sportatorium.

And with these local operations came some of the best feuds ever in wrestling. Forget Rock/Austin. Forget Sting/Flair. Forget Cena/Punk. These were real feuds.

Wrestlers that did not like each other, and it showed in their craft. Wrestlers that allowed the work to come home with them.

And when feuds are that rich, it means that fans and promoters were treated some of the best the business had to offer.

Tully Blanchard vs. Magnum TA

The "I Quit Match" between Tully Blanchard and Magnum T.A. at Starrcade 1985 is considered one of the bloodiest, best matches ever.

With the United States Heavyweight Title on the line, Blanchard and Magnum gave everyone one hell of a show.

It was the first of its kind. The first time a wrestler took the microphone and announced that he quit, and it was used to determine the winner. The match also had a cage around the ring.

With Blanchard's valet/manager Baby Doll outside of the ring, Magnum used a piece of wood with a nail in it to cut Blanchard's forehead.

At that point, Blanchard screamed, "YES! YES!" into the microphone, and Magnum won the U.S. Championship.

The Freebirds vs. the Von Erichs

Anyone who was in Texas or the wrestling scene in the mid 1980s knew the Freebirds and the Von Erichs hated each other.

On one side was the Freebirds from Backstreet, Atlanta, GA and on the other was the golden boys of Texas, the Von Erichs, who through their father, the great Fritz Von Erich, had built a dynasty in the Dallas area.

Whether it was David, Kerry, Kevin or Mike, it did not matter. All three of the "enemies," Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy or Buddy Roberts, would jump at the chance to make the famed family a little less pretty.

The feud was so heinous that when David died in Japan, Michael Hayes said he was sorry to hear about his death, but it would not change the fact that the Freebirds would be coming after the rest of the family.

Tommy Rich vs. Buzz Sawyer

It may be one of the best feuds that many never knew about.

Shame on them.

For almost two years, Tommy Rich and Buzz Sawyer battled nightly to the delight of fans across the south.

The feud almost killed both of them.

Whether in the ring, in the parking lot or in a bar, it did not matter.

Rich, the young former world title holder, and Sawyer, the unpredictable savage, had a true hatred that made this battle as real as it could be.

Roddy Piper vs. Greg Valentine

The infamous "Dog Collar" match at Starrcade 1983.

The match was so dramatic with Valentine beating Piper so badly and injuring his ear that medical staff had to come into the ring to stop the fight.

Pipe and Valentine had great careers long before they were in the WWF. This just proves how important the NWA was to establishing wrestlers who went on to furthering their superstar status.

Jerry Lawler and Austin Idol

Many times these men could be seen wrestling together in tag matches. But truth be told, they could not stand each other in and out of the ring.

Lawler was the "King" of wrestling in the Memphis territory that he helped start with Jackie Fargo and Jerry Jarrett.

Idol was a brash blond who thought his "Idol Mania" would take the country by storm.

He even claimed Hulk Hogan stole his idea.

The Rock & Roll Express vs. the Midnight Express

Both tag teams were in Bill Watts' promotion when Ric Flair and others convinced them to come to Charlotte.

The idea was the best thing for tag team wrestling. Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson were a great undersized duo that could sell and make money.

The Midnight Express were great wrestlers with a manager, Jim Cornette, that would not shut up. His tennis racket-wielding antics were worth the price of admission.

Both teams held the world tag titles and battled each other for years within the promotion.

Dusty Rhodes vs. Tully Blanchard

There seems to be a theme here. The Horsemen involved in a feud with Dusty Rhodes or his friends.

Rhodes and Blanchard feuded across the southern states in a battle for the World Television Title. Finally, the battle came to a head when the two met at the Great American Bash in 1985.

The stipulation was if Rhodes won, he had the services of Baby Doll for 30 days.

True to form, Rhodes won and took the girl as well.

Sgt. Slaughter and Don Kernodle vs. Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood

This is another of those, "Before They were in the WWF" feuds.

Sgt. Slaughter and Pvt. Don Kernodle held the world tag titles. Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood former a pretty good tag team duo that challenged the two "Military Men" across the south.

Back and fourth they would exchange titles until finally Sandy Scott, the then booker for Jim Crockett Promotions put an end to all the fighting when he decided the battle would be waged in a steel cage.

Both sides were not crazy about the idea.

Steamboat and Youngblood won the battle but in the end Slaughter and Kernodle won the right to a rematch, in a steel cage again.

Dusty Rhodes vs. Ric Flair

You knew it would come down to this. Right?

Flair and Rhodes are responsible for some of the best wrestling ever in the business. And some of their antics are true to form today.

Without them, we would not see Nikita Koloff or Magnum TA or the formation of the Four Horsemen.

Rhodes battled Flair and made him better. Flair did the same for Rhodes.

Rhodes mind was a festering science project of sorts, as he created War Games, Starrcade, Bunkhouse Stampede and other great events.

Both bled like no other wrestlers, and both gave their all in the ring for the business and each other.