The Junk Yard Dog | WrestleZone Forums

Now it's time to offer a slightly different perspective -- that of someone who grew up in Houston, TX, watching Mid-South (later UWF) Championship Wrestling. As a kid, The Junkyard Dog was ridiculously popular in the region. It really was an anomaly, because it was a pretty racist environment. Still, JYD was someone it seemed everyone could rally around/behind.

During that era, he held tons of regional titles, the top championships in Mid-South. He feuded with all the top heels, going over most every one. I'd give you an idea of who his contemporaries were, but you would only remember those individuals as they eventually came to be seen through the lenses of the WWF (now WWE).

For fans of Mid-South, we were very excited when our local boy jumped to "the big time." WWF definitely knew they had something good in JYD, which is why they allowed him to become a top name in the company, but the argument was he "didn't need a title to get over." That's true. He was definitely over with fans. And he had an incredible early run in WWF.

It was after that first year or so that people like me started to be turned off by him. I remembered JYD as a legit tough guy. He kicked serious ass in Houston. Then he got to the WWF, and they turned him into a cartoon. Literally AND figuratively. Next thing you know, he's barking and wearing chains and "funky dancing" to "Grab Them Cakes."

I was embarrassed for him. Seriously. And I was only like 12 years old. But even a 12-year-old knows when someone is being made into a fool!

The worst part is that I watched WWF do that to a whole string of my Mid-South favorites! One-by-one, Vince McMahon bought out the top talent from my hometown wrestling company, turning each into ridiculous caricatures and reducing each to shadows of their former selves.

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan -- who shared top face/tough guy duties with JYD in Mid-South -- came in pretty close to his basic character. Then, before long, he was also a tool being used to sell styrofoam 2x4s.

Kamala was a killing machine in the Mid-South. Though he got a great build-up against Hogan, afterward, he couldn't figure out which side his opponents had to be on to get the pinfall.

One Man Gang mowed through the competition in the South. He was unstoppable. Even Duggan couldn't secure a solid victory over him. When he went north, after a fairly impressive run, he became the soul-dancing, Akeem the African Dream. I wanted to curl up and die.

Butch Reed, Dick Slater, Terry Taylor... One after another, the Mid-South's best were destroyed by the WWF. It was horrible to watch! Each time, I would get my hopes up, then they would be dashed.

The only one who came to WWF, got a makeover & succeeded in a way that was NOT humiliating was "Million-Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. In Mid-South, he was hard-working, evil -- and occasionally good -- but also a tough guy. He is so incredible on the mic, though, he gave 110% to his new identity and became a legend.

Junk Yard Dog, though, didn't fair as well. Sure, the kids loved him. He sold merchandise. He had some impressive victories -- like winning a Cadillac in some giant battle royal. He had some good feuds. But when it comes down to it, the reason people don't talk about him is the WWF didn't give him anything truly memorable to distinguish his tenure in the company.

JYD came to WWF in an era where titles changed hands FAR less often than they do today. It made the reigns mean something. And, if the industry were still like that, people would discuss him. Unfortunately, it's not.

Today, nearly everyone on WWE's roster is a former champ of some sort. Everyone gets rewarded, even if only briefly, during their time in the company. JYD wasn't so fortunate. For the most part, popularity is great, but it's fleeting. It's achievement people recall, and where the WWE is concerned, he didn't have much to claim.