Mid-Atlantic TV: March 27, 1982

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
on the WWE Network

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
TV Summaries & Reviews
by David Taub
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

This is a review of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling as it appeared on the WWE Network. Results are included for the week (Monday-Sunday of the given week) as available. Please email with any corrections, typos, results, other details at 1davidtaub@gmail.com. Follow @TaubGVWire

For links to all available summaries, visit our TV Summary Index.


Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Original broadcast: 3/27/82
(taped 3/24/82 at WPCQ-TV studios in Charlotte)
WWE Network feed.  [How to watch this show on the WWE Network.]


Bob Caudle opens the show, joined by NWA representative Sandy Scott.
Scott says the NWA World tag team tournament is wrapping up. Scott also fines Slaughter $500 for last week’s attack on TV against Jake Roberts. Scott says Ric Flair is returning to the area soon, and Caudle and Scott talk about the Flair vs. Slaughter feud.

Taped comments from the Mid-Atlantic studio from Flair. He has a blue/yellow plaid jacket and sunglasses. Flair talks about Ole jumping him in New Orleans. Flair wants tag or six-man against Ole, Slaughter and Piper. He says he can team with Steamboat, Jake Roberts and Jay Youngblood. Flair vows revenge. Woo!

Sgt. Slaughter joins Caudle and Scott at the desk. He ridicules Flair for not being their live. Slaughter says his fine is worth it and promises more. Scott warns him he risks being stripped of the United States championship.

Match 1
Jake Roberts & Blackjack Mulligan Jr. d. Pretty Boy Fergie & Mike Miller.
Sonny Fargo is the referee for this, and all matches this hour (in a mustard yellow shirt/pants combo and a big black belt). Scott sticks around for commentary. Austin Idol is back out filming the match, but Scott says its legal. Caudle notes its upsetting other wrestlers. Roberts finishes off Miller with the running knee lift.

— Interview w/Bob Caudle: Blackjack Mulligan Jr. & Jake Roberts
Mulligan talks about Slaughter, and he has his eyes on him. He also complains about Idol. Roberts joins in (presumably after catching his breath) and echoes his partner’s words.

[Break]

Caudle introduces a video of Jimmy Valiant, his arrival at the airport (on a Delta), interspersed with some Memphis highlights. He is greeted by fans, who then ride away in motorcycles (Valiant is wearing a king’s crown, maybe this is Memphis after all). [WWE edit on Valiant’s music]

Match 2
Jimmy Valiant d. Bill White
The WWE Network overdub drowns out everything else. Valiant presents Caudle a white rose before the match. Short match ended by an elbow drop and dancing. “Lay Down Sally” is the message on his trunks.

[Break]

Match 3
Ron Ritchie -time limit draw- David Patterson
Scott still at the mic with Caudle. Talk about the NWA tag tournament, Slaughter’s fine, and some about the ongoing match. We get the bell at 10-minues, no winner. It is a draw.

— Interview w/Bob Caudle: Austin Idol; Ivan Koloff; Ole Anderson & Sgt. Slaughter
Caudle asks him about filming ringside. Idol says people are jealous of him. Ivan Koloff comes in, wondering why Jimmy Valiant hasn’t been suspended for eye gouging and roughhousing. Ole Anderson & Sgt. Slaughter come in, putting the badmouth on Flair, Roberts and Steamboat.

[Break]

Match 4
Jack Brisco d. Steve Sybert
Caudle introduces the match from the magic blue screen and gets a little lost. Roddy Piper walks out in the middle of the match, joining the commentary and offers faux praise. Brisco wins after a few minutes with a Figure Four Leglock submission.

[Break]

Match 5
Pvt. Nelson & Pvt. Kernodle d. Mike George & Tony Anthony
Caudle introduces the team as “Sgt. Slaughter’s Privates.” Insert your juvenile humor joke. It seems as if the small push for Mike George is over, although he was protected. Slaughter offers comments with Caudle & Scott. The Privates win with the two-man clothesline on Anthony as Kernodle makes the pin. Slaughter enters the ring, and Mike George goes after him.

Sarge and the Privates triple team George, before Jake Roberts comes after him. A melee breaks out with Jack Brisco and Blackjack Mulligan Jr. joining in as well.

— Interview w/Bob Caudle: Jake Roberts & Jack Brisco & Blackjack Mulligan Jr.
Roberts says they’ll stick their nose in Sarge’s business when “things don’t look kosher to us.” Brisco and Mulligan echo Roberts sentiments.

“So long for now.”

 
Results for the week, 3/22/82-3/28/82
(source: Clawmaster’s Archive via Sports and Wrestling blog posted by David Baker)

Mon., 3/22/82 Greenville, SC
Bob Armstrong beat Roddy Piper by countout
Ray Stevens & Jimmy Valiant beat Ivan Koloff & John Studd
Ole Anderson draw Jay Youngblood
Les Thornton draw Terry Taylor
Kelly Kiniski beat Jeff Sword
Bill White beat Ken Timbs

Tue., 3/23/82 Columbia, SC
Tony Anthony d. Chris Markoff
Terry Taylor d. Jeff Sword
Les Thornton d. Ron Ritchie
Mike George d. Ken Timbs
Ricky Steamboat & Ray Stevens & Leroy Brown d. Roddy Piper & Austin Idol & Big John Studd

Thu., 3/25/82 Winston-Salem, NC
Tommy Rich vs. Ole Anderson
Roddy Piper vs. Leroy Brown
John Studd & Austin Idol vs. Blackjack Mulligan, Sr. & Jake Roberts
Chris Markoff vs. Kelly Kiniski
Tony Russo vs. Keith Larson
Vinnie Valentino vs. Steve Sybert

Thu., 3/25/82 Sumter SC
Sgt. Slaughter vs. Ricky Steamboat
Ray Stevens & Porkchop Cash vs. Pvt. Nelson & Pvt. Kernodle
Mike Miller vs. Mike George
Bill White vs. Tim Rogers
Jeff Sword vs. Tony Anthony

Fri., 3/26/82 Richmond, VA — Richmond Coliseum
Peggy Lee vs. Leilani Kai
Johnny Weaver vs. Pretty Boy Fergie
Austin Idol vs. Mike Davis
Ivan Koloff vs. Jimmy Valiant
Stan Hansen & Ole Anderson vs. Ray Stevens & Blackjack Mulligan, Jr.
Ricky Steamboat vs. Sgt. Slaughter

Sat., 3/27/82 Stafford, VA
Ivan Koloff vs. Jimmy Valiant
Johnny Weaver vs. Lord Alfred Hayes in a lumberjack match
Plus 2 more matches

Ric Flair Tells George South: Tonight You're Ricky Steamboat

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

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 awhile back on an 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

The audio of this is embedded at the bottom of this post.

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, all these many years later.

Edited from an original post on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway, from December 18, 2015.

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.

Check out MapleLeafWrestling.com's new book on the history of the
Canadian Heavyweight Championship, now available on Amazon and our book store.

Mulligan vs. Steamboat: Second Round in the "Greatest U.S. Champion of All Time" Tournament Continues

Mike Rickard's fantasy-booked "Greatest U.S. Champion of All-Time" tournament continues on Canadian Bulldog's World, with another second round match-up between Blackjack Mulligan and the "Hawaiian Punch" Ricky Steamboat.

Mulligan and Steamboat actually feuded over the U.S. title briefly in the 1970s, including Mulligan taking the title from Steamer on New Year's Day of 1978 in Greensboro, NC.

So who ya got? This was a tough one for me to pick.

Rickard's match can be found here:
Round Two, Match 3: Blackjack Mulligan vs. Ricky Steamboat

SECOND ROUND

Blackjack Mulligan vs. Ricky Steamboat
Gateway Preview | The Match

"No. 1" Paul Jones vs. "Nature Boy" Ric Flair
Gateway Preview | The Match

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper vs. "Handsome" Harley Race




FIRST ROUND

New Book on the Canadian Heavweight Title Parallels the "Mid-Atlantic Era" in Toronto

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

In late 1978 or early 1979, I started noticing in some of the newsstand wrestling magazines that the top stars in the Mid-Atlantic wrestling area were regularly headlining in Toronto. At the same time, the Canadian Heavyweight champion, with his Canadian Heavyweight title belt, started showing up on our weekly Mid-Atlantic television programs and on our local cards.

This was long before the days of the Internet and behind-the-scenes wrestling newsletters, and I had no idea what was going on. One of our weekly TV programs was  called "World Wide Wrestling" and so I just assumed that maybe we now really were worldwide!

It wasn't until well into the 1980s that I learned the our promoter Jim Crockett, Jr. and the promoter in Toronto Frank Tunney had a working relationship.

My first exposure to Toronto wrestling was in 1977 when the tape of an NWA World Title change in Maple Leaf Gardens aired on our local TV shows. "Handsome" Harley Race defeated Terry Funk for the famous "ten pounds of gold." The TV commentators were former NWA president Sam Muchnick and a former NWA champion I later would learn had been a fixture of Toronto wrestling for decades, Whipper Billy Watson.

Two things made Toronto seem special and unique to me right off the bat. First was that elevated walkway, the famous Toronto "ramp", that led to the ring. I had never seen such a thing, and that whole concept intrigued me. Secondly though, and more lasting in my memory over the years, was the iconic call by Toronto ring announcer Norm Kimber announcing the new champion. I actually made an audio cassette recording of that, and the many times I've listened to it over the next years had it burned into my brain. It wasn't just what he said, it was the dramatic way he said it...

"The winner of the match, the time 14 minutes 10 seconds with an Indian deathlock, the new heavyweight champion of the world Harley Race!"  - Norm Kimber
LISTEN TO THE AUDIO (14 sec.)

In my opinion, Kimber was one of the great ring announcers of all time.

I later learned there were many other things that made Toronto unique and special. Toronto was one of those towns that was similar to St. Louis and Houston in that they often booked wrestlers from lots of different territories and promotions to make up their big cards, and although it was an NWA town, all the various world champions from the NWA, WWF, and AWA all defended their titles there. And of course the name of the venue sounded cool to me, too. Maple Leaf Gardens. This sounded akin to Madison Square Garden and gave it a more mythical feel as a teenager at my great remove.

I've recently had the pleasure and good fortune to assist author Andrew Calvert in publishing his new book "The Canadian Heavyweight Title: A Complete History 1978-1984." Andrew publishes the popular Maple Leaf Wrestling history website (MapleLeafWrestling.com.)  His book chronicles Toronto's Canadian Heavyweight title during those years, a time period known to locals as the "Mid-Atlantic era" because of the close relationship with the NWA territory of that name in the United States. Andrew has done a wonderful job in telling the story of the title and all of the champions who held it during those years, many of whom were headlining in the Mid-Atlantic territory as well.

The research and writing in the book is Andrew's; I only did the layout and design, and helped structure the book in a similar fashion to what I've done with a few of my Gateway history books on our championships. We are honored to include it here in the series of books we've published on the Crockett championships. The book is available exclusively on Amazon, with links included in our Mid-Atlantic Gateway Book Store.

Since first discovering way back in the late 1970s that Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat were selling out Toronto cards at the same time they were headlining here, I've always wanted to know more about that special time in Toronto. As a result of helping Andrew lay out his book, I've learned a great deal about this special time, including the fact that the working relationship between Tunney and the Crocketts was much more formal and corporate than I ever knew before. It actually involved Tunney, Crockett, and George Scott, as the three formed a separate company behind the scenes. You'll learn all the details of that in Andrew's book, how it came together, and how it eventually fell apart.

The book includes a detailed history of the Championship from its inception in 1978 until its demise in 1984, as the Toronto office developed a new relationship with the WWF. Plus, a look at all the champions that held the title, the championship tournaments, and all the title changes. The book also includes a brief history of Toronto wrestling in general, a spotlight on Frank Tunney, newspaper clippings, vintage photographs, and more.

And for those interested in the belt itself, the book is lavishly illustrated with detailed photos of the original Canadian title belt, crafted by the famous belt maker Alex Mulko, aka Nikita Mulkovich, as well as details on how you can own a cast replica of the original for your very own.

It was a magic time, during a wonderful period when the Canadian and U.S. titles were defended on the same Toronto cards, alongside the NWA, WWF, and AWA titles. Experience all this rich history in Andrew Calvert's great new book, available now on Amazon.com.

Mid-Atlantic TV: March 20, 1982

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
on the WWE Network

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
TV Summaries & Reviews
by David Taub
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

This is a review of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling as it appeared on the WWE Network. Results are included for the week (Monday-Sunday of the given week) as available. Please email with any corrections, typos, results, other details at 1davidtaub@gmail.com. 

For links to all available summaries, visit our TV Summary Index.


Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Original broadcast: 3/20/82
(taped 3/17/82 at WPCQ-TV studios in Charlotte)
WWE Network feed.  [How to watch this show on the WWE Network.]


Bob Caudle & Roddy Piper open the show from the desk. They are soon joined by Sgt. Slaughter—Interview w/Bob Caudle: Sgt. Slaughter
Slaughter mentions Ric Flair, Wahoo McDaniel, Rick Steamboat and Jake Roberts. Slaughter says he’s not going anywhere.

— Interview w/Bob Caudle: NWA TV champion Ivan Koloff
Koloff says he doesn’t like the USA, before he gets cut off by Jimmy Valiant’s music [WWE Network edit: “Boy from New York City” is replaced by a generic jazzy song that somewhat drowns out Koloff.

Match 1
Jimmy Valiant d. Steve Sybert
The referee for this and all matches is Stu Schwartz, wearing a green NWA-logo patch polo and red pants Valiant make easy work, finishing off with a running elbow smash. He has “Charlotte” written on the back of his trunks. Caudle & Piper compare Valliant’s style to Koloff’s.

[Break]

— Interview w/Bob Caudle: Jimmy Valiant, Jake Roberts
The Valiant music overdub plays. He challenges Koloff. Valiant dances off and Roberts joins Caudle. He talks about Sgt. Slaughter and how Ric Flair will take him on. He also complains about Ole Anderson & Stan Hansen’s style.

Match 2
Non-United States Heavyweight championship: Sgt. Slaughter [ch.] d. Ron Ritchie
A mainly one-side affair, but one segment sees the two trade hard chops, with Slaughter no-selling. The U.S. champ wins with the Slaughter Cannon (clothesline), followed by the Cobra Clutch

—Interview w/Bob Caudle: Sgt. Slaughter
Slaughter talks about Ric Flair. A taped promo of Flair (from Florida airs). Flair has bandages on his forehead and under his right eye, as well as a stint on his right pinky. Flair blames Ole coming to Miami, saying he had no business to injure him. Flair is pretty fired up. Slaughter likes getting Flair all riled up. According to 1982 match results, Slaughter, Ole & Hansen beat Flair, Steamboat and Roberts in Charlotte that night.

[Break]

Match 3
Terry Taylor d. Mike Miller
Interesting, Piper mentions a March 23 benefit BBQ at Crockett Park for the retarded children
(Context: this is 1982, not a pejorative term at the time). Piper puts it over like a babyface. Caudle agrees. Piper retorts “of course it’s good, because I said it.” Austin Idol returns to ringside with his 8 mm camera. Taylor wins with a standing guillotine into a pinning combination.

— Local promo w/Big Bill Ward for 5/05/82 Lansing, MI
This is the same tape as last week.

[Break]

Match 4
Pvt. Nelson & Pvt. Kernodle d. Vinnie Valentino & Tony Anthony
Sgt. Slaughter is off-camera watching on, so Caudle & Piper say. Semi-competitive match, with the Privates winning with Nelson pinning Anthony with a top-rope clothesline (with Kernodle holding his man in the ring).

[Break]

— Interview w/Bob Caudle: Jake Roberts
Roberts continues to talk about Slaughter, saying he will bring in Flair, Wahoo, Andre or Dusty Rhodes to help him out. “How much Snake can you handle, brother?”

[Break]

Match 5
Jake Roberts d. David Patterson by DQ
With Jake in control, Kernodle and Nelson attack, followed by Slaughter. Ray Stevens, Johnny Weaver and Blackjack Mulligan Jr. make the save, and the heels scatter.

— Local promo w/Big Bill Ward for 5/05/82 Lansing, MI
This is the same tape as last week.

[Break]

Match 6
Ole Anderson & Stan Hansen (w/Gene Anderson) d. Kelly Kiniski & Mike Davis
Kiniski is acknowledged as Gene Kiniski’s son. Austin Idol is back out with his camera. A one-sided affair. Hansen finished off Davis with the lariat.

— Interview w/Bob Caudle: Austin Idol; Ivan Koloff; Ole Anderson, Stan Hansen and Gene Anderson.
Lightning round of interviews to close the show. Idol talks about it his right to film at ringside (a Cannon for those scoring at home). Koloff is back out threatening Jimmy Valiant. Ole, Hansen and Gene Anderson are out. Ole talk about Jake Roberts, the Brisco Brothers. Hansen gets some words in.

“So long for now.”
 

Results for the week, 3/15/82-3/21/82
(source: Clawmaster’s Archive via Sports and Wrestling blog posted by David Baker)

Tue., 3/16/82 Wytheville, VA

Tue., 3/16/82 Columbia, SC
Roddy Piper & John Studd vs. Ricky Steamboat & Ray Stevens
Porkchop Cash vs. Mike Miller
Steve Sybert vs. Mike George
The Ninja vs. Keith Larson
Tony Russo vs. Ron Ritchie

Fri., 3/19/82 Charleston, SC
Tim Horner d. Chris Markoff
Keith Larson d. Mike Miler
Jay Youngblood & Blackjack Mulligan Jr. d. Pvt. Kernodle & Pvt. Nelson
Porkchop Cash d. Austin Idol
(Wrestling ‘82/Shedlock)

Sat., 3/20/82 Asheville, NC
Jimmy Valiant beat Ivan Koloff
Ole Anderson & Stan Hansen beat Jack & Jerry Brisco
Austin Idol beat Ray Stevens by DQ
Mike Davis beat Chris Markoff
Tony Anthony beat Mike Miller
Tim Horner beat Steve Siebert

Sat., 3/20/82 Charlotte, NC
Sgt. Slaughter, Ole Anderson & Stan Hansen beat Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat & Jake Roberts
Ivan Koloff double DQ Jimmy Valiant
Blackjack Mulligan, Jr. beat Austin Idol
Pvt. Nelson & Pvt. Kernodle beat Jay Youngblood & Porkchop Cash
The Ninja beat Ron Ritchie

Sun., 3/21/82 Toronto, Ontario
Tony Parisi beat Kurt Von Hess
Johnny Weaver beat Chris Markoff
Jay Youngblood beat Ninja by DQ
Ricky Steamboat beat Roddy Piper by DQ
Jimmy Valiant beat Ivan Koloff
Blackjack Mulligan, Sr. beat John Studd by DQ

No Autographs from Two Ton Harris

by Don Holbrook
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

In the Greenville Memorial Auditorium in Greenville, SC, the balcony sort of stuck out over the main floor all the way around. The area under the protruding part of the balcony located against the main floor wall and in the rear of the main floor area is where the wrestlers would stand and watch the other matches, sign autographs, talk to the women, etc. And because the balcony stuck out they could stand along the wall and the people in the seats couldn’t really see them that well.

Security was nothing like it is these days, the cops were all always focused on guarding the ring area and so the fans could just walk around and mingle with the guys. George "Two Ton" Harris would often stand there against the wall and watch the matches after his match. I used to stand close by and I’d try to talk to him but he was one I never could get to know or talk to. He always kept everything in character, even in his later years.

I used to laugh to myself when some random kid would walk up to Two Ton with a pen and autograph book extended out towards him - - it was the same thing every single time without fail - - the kid sticks the book out for him to sign, Two Ton gives the kid a long cold stare right in the face and then loudly says one word - - - “NAW” (which was his pronunciation for “NO!”)

It was something very simple, but I always found it comical and loved the expressions on the kids faces when it would happen.

Wrestling today is missing real heels.

25th Anniversary: Jim Crockett celebrates a Quarter Century as a Promoter (1958)

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

"You can count on Jim Crockett to bring Charlotte the finest of National figures in the entertainment world..."

In 1958, Jim Crockett Sr. was celebrating 25 years in the event promotion business. The image below is from a wrestling photo-book sold at the matches.

It was in this same year that Mr. Crockett first put pro-wrestling on television in Charlotte, the first broadcast taking place on January 11, 1958, at the studios of WBTV-3. You will notice the invitation to see wrestling live at the channel 3 studio.

 "See the outstanding events at the Charlotte Coliseum,
'Madison Square Garden of the South!'" 

Crockett first came to North Carolina in 1933, running his first wrestling events here first in Greensboro, and then moving his base of operations to Charlotte in 1934. 

The page also mentions the Charlotte Coliseum (later known as Independence Arena and Cricket Arena, and now known as Bojangles Coliseum) and it's nickname "Madison Square Garden of the South." The coliseum had opened three years earlier, in 1955, and was renowned as an engineering marvel. At the time, it was the largest unsupported dome in the world and the first free-spanning dome in the United States.

Originally posted March 17, 2017 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

New J.J. Dillon Podcast from Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling

Happy to hear that the "leader of the Four Horsemen" James J. Dillon is back on the podcast scene. 

The premiere of the J.J. podcast can be found here:

JJ's Executive Direction:
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/tmptow/episodes/2019-09-28T15_00_00-07_00

"JJ: The JJ Dillon Podcast" is a collaboration between James J. Dillon and The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling's Podcasting Empire. TMPT's John Poz (JP) joins JJ as co-host to discuss the former manager of The Four Horsemen's history in professional wrestling both in and out of the ring. This podcast journey for J.J. will give him the opportunity to share with longtime wrestling fans stories, anecdotes and observations from his over 60 years of wrestling experience.

The new show drops every Saturday at 6:05 PM.

Fox Affliate WGHP in High Point/Greensboro Does History Feature with Gateway Contributor Wayne Brower

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

In advance of tonight's debut of WWE Smackdown on the Fox broadcasting network, local Fox affiliate WGHP channel 8 out of the Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem market did a nice feature on the history of pro-wrestling at that station going back to the 1960s.

Morning anchor Brad Jones found our Gateway article on broadcast Hall-of-Famer Charlie Harville written by Gateway contributor Wayne Brower back in 2005 and had us get him in touch with Wayne for an interview for this morning's Friday morning news broadcast on WGHP. Fortunately, the video can also be found on the Fox8 website:

Walk through wrestling history ahead of WWE’s Friday evening kickoff on FOX8 

Wayne's article is one of my favorites ever submitted here, and I am thrilled WGHP came across it. Wayne did an outstanding job with them and it really takes you back to see the old photos of host Charlie Harville with wrestling legends like George Becker, Johnny Weaver, Rip Hawk, Swede Hanson, and others. Be sure to check out Wayne's article, as well as our Studio Wrestling page on wrestling at WGHP on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archive website.