RIP “Hacksaw” Butch Reed

On the 5th day of Black History Month, the wrestling world lost a legend. Butch Reed passed away at the age of 66 after suffering 2 heart attacks back-to-back. Reed made a name, for himself in various territories around the country. His most notable stops were in Bill Watts Mid-South, the WWF and WCW.

Reed played football for the Kansas City Chiefs after college before he moved into professional wrestling. His big break came while working for Bill Watts in Mid-South. In that territory he go to head to head with guys like Jim Duggan whom he feuded with over the moniker “Hacksaw”, JYD and Magnum TA. While working singles or tags Reed was a fixture and got the attention of New York.
In 1986 Reed made his way up to the WWF. There he was part of the first Royal Rumble and was part of the first Survivor Series main event. Managed by Slick, he dyed his hair blonde and went by “The Natural” Butch Reed. While in the WWF he had matches with Koko B. Ware, Ricky Steamboat and a memorable match against Randy Savage at Wrestlemania 4.
In 1988 Butch picked the “Hacksaw” back up and made his way to Jim Crockett Promotions. There he found old rival Junkyard Dog and they feuded. He had a few singles matches but had the most successful time of his career when he was paired with Ron Simmons. They formed the tag team “Doom” first managed by Woman (Nancy Benoit) and then by Theodore (Teddy) R. Long. They first worked under mask then were unmasked in a match against the Steiners. There was no real secret who was under the mask as Reed and Simmons were the only black dudes who were swole like that on the roster.

Feuding with the Steiners and Road Warriors, Doom was a staple in the WCW tag team picture in the late 80s and early 90s. They eventually won the tag team titles and held them for 281 straight days. After Reed’s time with Simmons, they engaged win a brief feud and then Reed left WCW in 1992. From then on, he wrestled on the indie circuit until he retired in 2013. We lost Reed to 2 heart attacks that he had in a short time. His impact on wrestling will never be forgotten and especially for black wrestling fans.

Written By
Keith B. Holt
Follow on Twitter @Kholtjr
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