Mike Simmerman's great photo features one of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling's tougher teams, John Studd and the Masked Superstar, seen here in this depiction with the voice of "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" Bob Caudle. Mike's attention to detail really works here, including the set in the background and even Bob's head tilted just to the left as he would often do while holding the mic during interviews.
Both Studd and Superstar were bounty hunters for Ric Flair when Flair had the $10,000 bounty on the head of Blackjack Mulligan.
Studd would also wear a mask and take on the persona of Masked Superstar #2.
GATEWAY FLASHBACK Today we revisit one of our favorite articles from the past, just in case you missed it, or perhaps might enjoy it again. (It's kind of like your favorite TV show is in re-runs!)
And apparently, although I can't confirm it having not yet seen it, but Ashley Flair (WWE's Charlotte Flair) mentions this in her new book.
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Ric Flair tells George South: "Today You're Ricky Steamboat" by Dick Bourne Mid-Atlantic Gateway Originally published Dec. 18, 2015
I've written before about all the stories that George South has told me over the many years we've been good friends, and usually I find myself not believing half of them. I mean, come on - - wrestlers tend to tell tall tales, am I right? And George loves to tell a good story. But then someone comes along that was involved in one of those stories and says something that confirms his story and I wind up calling him and confessing - - "You were right!"
Such was the case on a recent episode of the "WOOOO! Nation" podcast, when Ric Flair and co-host Conrad Thompson were taking questions sent in by fans. One question dealt with wrestler Mike Jackson and why he never quite got a break to move up the cards back in the day. Jackson was thought of at the time (and still to this day) as one of the best underneath workers in the business and all the main event guys liked working with him.
But Flair moved on quickly from Jackson and said this, which confirmed part of a story George had told me long ago:
"You know who was actually the best worker back then, was George South .... I got in the ring with him one time and I said, 'Buddy, today you're Ricky Steamboat'. And we tore it down." - Ric Flair, WOOOO! Nation, December 9, 2015
About ten years ago, George told me the story about his November 12, 1988 match with Ric Flair on Superstation WTBS, a match that went nearly 15 minutes, much longer than the usual WTBS TV match at the time. We were making a 22-hour round trip in a rented truck to visit the great Blackjack Mulligan at his home in Florida. That's right, I had 22 hours of listening to George South tell stories with the same Journey CD playing in the background the whole time. (And that part about Journey is a shoot!)
World Championship Wrestling on Superstation WTBS, November 12, 1988
George told me on that trip that before they walked through the curtain that morning in the WTBS studio, Ric had uttered those same words to him: Today you're Ricky Steamboat. Now, I never knew if I really believed that or not. I mean, I knew George loved Ricky Steamboat, and at times thought he was Ricky Steamboat, so it seemed plausible that in the context of the story this was George's wishful thinking. That is until last week when I heard Ric Flair say those very same words.
So having once again called George to acknowledge he had indeed told me the truth, I asked him to tell me whole story again. He quickly reminded me that it was a match Ric didn't want to have to begin with.
"When you got to TV, you found out who would actually work," George told me. "Ric was scheduled to work for the first time in awhile, but he really didn't want to. He had just gotten in from Pittsburgh after being up all night and he had to catch an early plane to Ohio after the taping. That studio was so cold and he didn't want to work and then have to shower and have that wet hair and rush to the airport."
Indeed, a quick review of notes from those Saturday night shows in the fall of 1988 showed that Ric didn't wrestle on any WTBS studio taping that late summer or fall until that Nov. 12th show. He did lots of those classic interviews, but didn't work in the ring.
"He and Dusty sort of got into it right there in front of everyone, and Dusty told him he was going to have to wrestle," George told me. "So Ric threw his bag on a chair and said, 'Well then I want South.'"
I asked George if he remembered who he was originally scheduled to work, or if he remembered who Flair was scheduled to work, but he could not recall. "All I know is Ric changed it and I was now working with him."
George had wrestled Flair on several occasions on different Crockett TV shows going back to 1985, but this time the circumstances were different. Flair was in a horrible mood and George figured he might be in for a tough, stiff, short match.
"Ric got dressed," George told me, "and as we were at the curtain about to go out, he looked at me and said, 'Buddy, today you're Ricky Steamboat."
George's heart skipped a beat. "I about peed in my pants!"
He entered the ring alone during the long break set aside for the "College Football Scoreboard" segment that aired on WTBS during fall Saturday afternoons in those years. Ric didn't follow right away and it seemed like an eternity waiting for him, even though it was only a few minutes. George had time to ponder what was to come.
When they came out of the break and back on air, Ric came through the curtain and entered the ring wearing one of his beautiful white robes. He removed the "Big Gold" NWA world heavyweight title belt and handed it to his manager James J. Dillon at ringside. George told me he thought to himself, "OK, buddy, here we go," and then they locked up.
But George wasn't prepared for what happened next.
"Ric started calling all these spots," George told me, "and I was going a hundred miles an hour. I was having the time of my life, but I was rushing."
Indeed, Ric was giving a great deal to George early on. George was reversing holds, working a lot of drop-downs, trading chops, and even throwing drop-kicks.
Suddenly, he was aware that he wasn't pacing himself. And there was no finish in sight.
"I got so blowed up in there," George said. "I was really hurting."
I asked George if he and Ric had discussed the match before hand. "No, not at all," he told me. "Back in those days, he called it in the ring. I didn't know anything. And I didn't know if we were going 2 minutes or 20 minutes. I was just going so fast. Ric did this every night, but I didn't!"
Given that Ric didn't want to work to begin with, it was surprising the match was going the way it was. "Honestly, I think he was doing it just to tick Dusty off," George told me. He laughed as he thought back on it. "He was so annoyed with Dusty, I think he would have let me win the NWA belt just to get back at him."
"Dusty
was hollering at me 'What are you doing?' and I said, you know, I'm not
gong to beat a guy like George South in one minute. Sorry."
- Ric Flair, WOOOO! Nation, December 9, 2015
George thought he might have a chance to rest when they went to a commercial break during the match, but no such luck. "Ric just kept going," he said.
By the time they were back from commercial, they were over eight minutes into the match, with still no end in sight.
"If there ever was a clinic in pro-wrestling, we're watching it. The world champion Nature Boy Ric Flair against George South, showing us a variety of moves during the break." - Tony Schiavone, World Championship Wrestling, November 12, 1988
Back in those days, unlike today, commercial breaks during matches were relatively rare except in longer main event matches. The fact Ric went two segments with George made the match seem all the more special. Ric was calling all the signature spots that he would normally do with main event guys like Harley Race, Sting, Lex Luger, and yes, certainly with Ricky Steamboat.
"He had me shoot him out of the corner and he did his flip into the turnbuckles," George said." I couldn't believe what was happening. Then he went to the top turnbuckle and told me to throw him off. Brother, I was about to die in there! I think he just flipped off the turnbuckle himself!"
When George finally threw Ric from the top, Ric's feet hit the lights, and debris fell into the ring. It was a surreal moment for George, and Ric kept giving him a comeback.
Finally, Ric called for the finish. He lifted George high in the air and held him for a few moments before delivering the vertical suplex.
"Now, we go to school!" Flair shouted, as he applied the figure four leglock. It didn't take long for George to submit.
George lay prone on the mat, exhausted. As TV aired the instant replay of the figure four, Ric hopped out of the ring to do a ringside post-match interview with David Crockett.
Referee Teddy Long knelt down on one knee beside George. They were right behind Flair, who would soon be joined in the interview segment by Barry Windham and J.J. Dillon.
"I thought Teddy was checking on me, making sure I was OK. So I whispered, 'I'm OK, Teddy.' He said right back to me, 'Brother, you've got to get out of this ring! I've got to get you out of the shot.' I could barely move, so he just rolled me like a big log out of the ring."
David Crockett prepares to interview Ric Flair after the match.
Teddy Long tries to usher George South out of the ring behind them.
If you carefully watch this back on tape, you can see this happening. "Oh, it's funny now," George said, "but it wasn't funny then. I had never been so blowed up in all my life."
To make matters worse, George observed that Ric was barely breathing hard. "He was just so in shape, it was amazing. You couldn't blow him up. He was what he said he was - - a 60-minute man."
Still exhausted, George made his way back to the dressing room and then collapsed on his hands and knees and crawled to his chair.
"Kevin Sullivan was sitting in a chair right inside the door watching the monitor," George said. "He just looked down at me crawling on the floor and laughed. Not so much laughing to be mean, just laughing as if to say 'brother, we have all been there.' I don't think there was a wrestler in that locker room who hadn't been blown up at one time or another by Ric Flair."
George looks back on that match with fondness. It is without a doubt the longest and most competitive match he ever had on TV, and it is a memory he will hang on to forever. Nice to know Ric remembers it, too, some 28 years later.
Listen as Ric Flair talks about George South on WOOOOO! Nation. December 9, 2015
You can probably find the whole match if you do a little searching on YouTube. Otherwise, enjoy this one-minute music video of a few highlights from the match.
by Andy McDaniel Special to the Mid-Atlantic Gateway
It is without a doubt that most lifetime professional wrestling fans have a favorite arena where they went to the matches. For Mid-Atlantic fans, there are many to pick from. While I was blessed to travel and have been to Greensboro, Charlotte, Asheville, and many others, for me, my all-time favorite place to witness the matches was Charleston County Hall. It was must-see and if it were at all possible, it was the place to be on Friday nights at 8:15.
Mr. Henry Marcus, the promoter, was known to be near the door and the entering fans would hear his famous words, “hold your own ticket.” The last matches held in the historic building was nearly 20 years ago. I had the honor of promoting that final show. As I have been reflecting on the upcoming 20th anniversary of the final wrestling show ever held at County Hall, I have been thinking of the history of the events that were held there.
I started going in 1974, but long before that, the biggest stars in pro wrestling would make the journey to the home of the Battery and the place where the Civil War started, Charleston, SC. In my current place in life, I serve as a minister. I love words, and often key in on certain ones when I am searching for a message. As I am thinking about all the big stars that came through County Hall, I can say I was there, the night the biggest star -- and I mean literally, the “biggest” star -- entered the hallowed Hall. Yes, I was there the night Andre the Giant came to town. It was the first time seeing him in person and as a young kid, I was in total awe. He looked way bigger in person than he did on TV. It was one of those moments you just don’t forget.
Andre was in town to face the dastardly Masked Superstar. The card was announced during the "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" television program when they aired the local promos, and I knew I wanted to be there if there was any way possible. I mean this was Andre the Giant. I had seen the posters, read the magazines, but now for a chance to see him in person, wow, I couldn’t wait.
The Masked Superstar has been running over everyone and now he would face an opponent that would not be so easy to dispatch, the undefeated Giant. I had seen Superstar in other battles against Mighty Igor, Blackjack Mulligan and many top stars of the area, but never did I imagine they would bring in Andre the Giant to try and bring justice. Superstar was certainly no small guy, but when Andre entered the ring it was just awesome. When he walked under the balcony on the way to the ring, he reached up to touch the hands of the fans leaning over the railing. He was sporting the big hair, often seen in his pictures, and that night, he left a larger than life impression with this young fan.
The match was back and forth between these two, but I was blown away when Superstar locked in his famous “Cobra hold” on Andre. Such did not seem possible, but he did it and Andre went to the mat. The referee continued to check the arm to see if it would drop for the third time, but Andre kept holding on. As the hold seemed to be wearing down the giant, the fans began to rally and it would not be long before he made his way back to his feet and broke the hold. After a few more exchanges, Andre hit the headbutt and made the pin much to the joy of the crowd. It was something to see, that is for sure.
Later in life, I met Andre at the Center Stage Theater in Atlanta, GA. This was near the end of his life and he was not in great shape, but he was still that legendary figure, the one I saw in person, all those years before in Charleston. In 1997, Superstar would work the main event of the very first wrestling show I ever promoted and was nothing but a class act to me. I also got to be the ring announcer, one night, for a match between Superstar and my dear friend George South.
I am so grateful for all the things I have been able to be a part of in wrestling. The memories are almost too many to count. I was blessed to see so many of my pro wrestling heroes come to County Hall, but I will always remember the night Andre and the Masked Superstar came to town in one “giant” showdown.
Oh, there is the time Masked Superstar faced Rufus R “Freight Train” Jones, but that’s another story with one really funny twist.
George "Yiorgio" Pantas recently interviewed James J. Dillon for "The Flagship", a military newspaper in eastern Virginia. The interview took place a few days before a VCW show in Suffolk, VA. We posted the first two parts earlier and now post a link to the third and final installment.
PART THREE includes JJ's podcast co-host Rich Bocchini in on the conversation and the discussion centers around JJ's new podcast, "The JJ Dillon Show" on the MLW Radio Network.
If you missed the earlier installments, you can check those out here: PART ONEPART TWO
Check out the final part of the interview with the Leader of the Four Horsemen as he discusses how his podcast came about.
by Dick Bourne Mid-Atlantic Gateway Photographs by Mike Simmerman
One of the most brutal and bloody feuds of 1979-1980 in the Mid-Atlantic area was between "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair.
The two battled over the United States Heavyweight championship. Flair had voluntarily forfeited the title in August of 1979 after he and Blackjack Mulligan won the NWA World tag team titles from Paul Jones and Baron Von Rachke. The NWA put the title up in a one-night tournament in Charlotte on September 1 of that same year. The man who came out on top of that night's single elimination tournament was Superfly Snuka.
Bob Caulde interviews "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers manager of the U.S. Heavyweight Champion Jimmy Snuka
Snuka had been one of the area's most popular combatants for some time, but had recently developed a more vicious style in the ring after taking on "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers as his manager in July. By the time the tournament rolled around on 9/1, Snuka was a full-fledged member of the "heel" brigade. He defeated "Mr. Wrestling" Tim Woods and Jim Brunzell on his way to the finals where he defeated the odds-on favorite Ricky Steamboat for the title.
Meanwhile, Flair and Mulligan had lost the NWA World tag titles back to Jones and Raschke, and Ric was hungry once again to regain the U.S. championship, a title he had held on several occasions over the last two and a half years. In late 1979, Buddy Rogers sold the contracts of his wrestlers to Gene Anderson, now in his furst stint guiding the careers of others after a succesful in-ring career as part of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew with brothers Lars and Ole Anderson.
Flair and Snuka headlined cards for months as Flair fought in vain to regain the title. Finally on April 20 in Greensboro, NC, Flair took the measure of the Fiji islander and reclaimed the title for a fourth time.
Years later, Snuka still held fond memories of that time in his career and his time with the U.S. championship belt. I wrote about that in an earlier post: Jimmy Snuka Remembers the U.S. Championship Belt.
Mike Simmerman's photographs of his action figures rekindle some of the images from that classic rivalry in Mid-Atlantic area.
When autumn arrives as it has recently in 2017, people embrace the change of seasons from summer to fall in many different ways. Some folks love the colorful foliage, others anticipate the beginning of college and professional football seasons and still others can’t wait for the cooler temperatures. Many also look forward to hunting season just around the corner, as did a top flight Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling star in 1976…he was just “hunting” championship belts!
In that wrestling sense, I always think back during this time of year to an interview on the set of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television on September 8, 1976 when announcer Bob Caudle was talking to Tiger Conway, “Mr. Wrestling” Tim Woods and Dino Bravo at ringside. It was then that Woods gave his take on the change of seasons to fall that’s always stuck with me.
After Caudle and Tiger Conway had talked a bit, Bob turned his attention to Woods saying, “By the way Tim, speaking of all the belts around the area as Tiger was, with Blackjack Mulligan and Mosca and Ric Flair…there’s a lot of them around and several would fit nicely around that waist of yours.” Woods concurred, “I think any of them would or Dino Bravo’s either. You know, it’s fall and I can’t think of a better time to just declare open season on all the belts!”
Tim then followed up, “You know…Flair, Mosca, Mulligan; they all can be beat. They’ve all been riding high and I think they’re all, well, I just think they’re all in for a fall. I think they’ve all been underestimating a lot of the people they’ve been encountering and I think that Dino or I would love to upset any of them.” Caudle then engaged Bravo, “Dino, actually, you don’t mind doing a little singles wrestling then?” Bravo responded, “That’s what I want right now; we’re gonna wrestle as a team but if I ever get a chance at a championship match at either Flair, Mosca or Mulligan I am ready. We’re ready to wear any type of belt.”
By September of 1976 the team of Woods and Bravo had been unable to regain the NWA World Tag Team Titles they captured in the spring of the bicentennial year and lost back to Gene and Ole Anderson in late June. The Anderson’s were about to leave the Mid-Atlantic area for Georgia, in turn leaving Woods and Bravo to turn their attention elsewhere.
Woods made good on his promise to declare open season on the area’s belts as he defeated Angelo Mosca in Greensboro, North Carolina for the Mid-Atlantic Television Championship on October 16, 1976 and then he and Bravo captured the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championships on November 3, 1976 in the finals of a month-long TV tournament in the WRAL TV studios in Raleigh, North Carolina. Bravo would also make a major run at Blackjack Mulligan’s United States Heavyweight Title, but that would have to wait until early 1977.
So every year when fall rolls around, I still think of Tim Woods using the autumn of 1976 to proclaim it as his open season on all the belts of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, and making good on his proclamation by acing two of those coveted titles in short order. I really can’t honestly remember if the autumn foliage of 1976 was vivid or how quickly the temperatures dropped, but the hunting season of Mid-Atlantic titles that fall by Tim Woods was simply outstanding!
Mike Simmerman's impressive, nostalgic collection of MACW early 80s action figures.
It's Action Figures Friday, so I thought we'd take a look at Mike Simmerman's throw-back collection of action figures, focusing on the late 1970s and early 1980s in the Mid-Atlantic area. Many of these were specifically customized to represent wrestlers who have never had an official figure, or their figure came well after their stint in the Mid-Atlantic area.
I hope I get all these right:
On the floor, L-R; Paul Jones, Masked Superstar, Johnny Weaver, Gene Anderson, Ole Anderson, Blackjack Mulligan, Wahoo McDaniel, Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Jimmy Valiant.
In the ring, L-R: The Iron Sheik, Ken Patera, Ivan Koloff, Bobo Brazil, Nikita Koloff, Dick Slater, Greg Valentine, Johnny Valentine, Sgt. Slaughter, Bob Caudle, Ernie Ladd, John Studd, Jack Brisco, Buddy Rogers, Mr. Wrestling Tim Woods, Baron Von Raschke, Jay Youngblood, Ricky Steamboat, Jimmy Snuka (on back turnbuckle.)
The belts on the floor, L-R: Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight championship, NWA World tag team championships, NWA World Heavyweight championship, and three different versions of the U.S. championship.
Every year when the calendar flips over to the month of October, I think back to October 4, 1975 when Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling was changed forever by the plane crash in Wilmington, North Carolina that ended the career of the great Johnny Valentine. After that horrible tragedy, the name “Valentine” was heard very little on Mid-Atlantic Wrestling television. But that changed abruptly about a year later on the Mid-Atlantic TV show that was taped on September 15, 1976 where Greg Valentine, the splitting image of Johnny, was shown shattering wooden boards with his elbow drop being assisted by Mike Pappas in a taped segment from Florida with commentator Gordon Solie.
But it was the next Mid-Atlantic Wrestling television show taped on September 22, 1976 that saw the first live appearance of Greg Valentine in Jim Crockett Promotions at the WRAL studios in Raleigh, North Carolina. Announcer Bob Caudle stated, “Fans right now we welcome another great wrestling star to the Mid-Atlantic area, Greg Valentine, a star in his own right in many sections of the county but you’ve never been in this section Greg.” Valentine responded in the same gravelly voice so reminiscent of Johnny, “Well, I’ve been doing a lot of campaigning in California, Florida; I come here for one reason and that’s to put a championship belt back into the Valentine family. My brother asked me to come here, and that’s why I’m here.”
The younger Valentine, who was actually Johnny’s son and not his brother, continued, “The competition looks tough, but I don’t think the competition is too tough for me, because I’ve been all over the world. As you know and as you’ve seen last week, the tape that I sent in showing how strong my elbow is…I’ve nicknamed it the ‘bionic elbow’ or the ‘brainbuster’ because that’s exactly what it is. It’s the hardest elbow in professional wrestling. The only other person in the whole wide world that can use the elbow smash like I do is my brother, Johnny Valentine.”
Greg then began sizing up the competition he would be facing in Jim Crockett Promotions saying, “And I intend to get the Mid-Atlantic championship or the United States championship, I don’t care which. I intend to beat wrestlers like Wahoo McDaniel, Dusty Rhodes, Paul Jones, Mr. Wrestling, Dino Bravo…these are just stepping stones for me in my quest for the championship.” Caudle then countered, “Ah, you know that’s no small order Greg when you call off names like that and you talk about defeating ‘em; it’s a pretty large order for any man.”
Valentine confidently retorted, “I’m sure it is, but I’m not your average man. I’m Greg Valentine; when you say the name Valentine you think of a champion and that’s exactly what we are…champions.” Caudle concurred, “True, Johnny Valentine the champ for a long, long time and now it’s going to be what, the champ Greg Valentine, right?” Greg concluded, “That’s right, I didn’t come here to Carolina to make any friends or to influence people in any way, just to get the championship belt around the waist of the champion and that’s me.”
This first interview would begin a nearly eight year association with Jim Crockett Promotions for Greg Valentine. Greg would become a championship fixture in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling during his multiple stints in the Mid-Atlantic area, just as he promised in his very first television interview in the Crockett territory. But what I remember most about Valentine’s Day, September 22, 1976, was that a year removed from that terrible plane crash, it sure was good having a Valentine back on my TV screen.
