This month we will start taking a look at the year of 1981 in Southwest Championship Wrestling. Top heels in the company at the time were Tully Blanchard, Dick Slater, "Gorgeous" Gino Hernandez and "Continental Lover" Eddie Mansfield. Top faces were "Raging Bull" Manny Fernandez, Wahoo McDaniel, Terry Funk, Dory Funk, Jr and Bruiser Brody. AWA champion Nick Bockwinkel also made a few visits to the area and defended the belt against Manny Fernandez. Tully Blanchard brought the Syrian madman, the original Sheik, in for a short run to help him in his feud with the Funk's and Wahoo.

Midcard heels in the company were Moon Mulligan and Tank Patton, who made a pretty good tag team, and Col. Buck Robley. Midcard fan favorites were Ivan Putski, "Cowboy" Scott Casey, Bobby Duncum, Sr., Chavo Guerrerro, Sr. and Tiger Conway, Jr. Others who made appearances in SWCW in 1981 where Terry Allen (Magnum TA), Ray Hernandez (who would go on to become Hercules Hernandez), Tom Prichard, Kelly Kiniski, Sweet Brown Sugar (Skip Young) and Larry Lane.

The main feuds in the area were between the Dynamic Duo, Tully Blanchard and Gino Hernandez, and Terry Funk and Wahoo McDaniel. Blanchard and Hernandez put Funk out of action for a while when they attacked him and Tully used a claw hammer to try to rip his ear off. Wahoo and Terry teamed up and battled Gino and Tully until Terry's injury, then Manny Fernandez stepped in to help Wahoo and team up with him to go against the Dynamic Duo.

Manny and Dick Slater feuded over the Southwest heavyweight title for most of 1981. Dick Slater was allied with Gino and Tully and would often team with either one of them in tag team matches. For the most part of 1981, the Dynamic Duo held the areas tag team titles. Tank Patton and Tiger Conway, Jr feuded over the Southwest Brass Knucks title.