Monday, June 04, 2018

Magazine Memories: Official Ratings (1977)




RATINGS ANALYSIS
by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

The Ratings section was always one of my favorite sections in the newsstand magazines. As a young teenager, I would study these closely, always happy to see my Mid-Atlantic favorites show up on these pages. I also liked breaking down the top contenders for the NWA title, and especially if the former champions were still in contention.

Look at those top four contenders to the NWA title: two former NWA World champions, Jack Brisco and Terry Funk, and two future champions, Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes. Plus former champ Dory Funk, Jr. also makes this Top 10 list at #7, as does former WWWF titleholder Pedro Morales at #10.

Dusty Rhodes is all over these ratings making four seperate appearances. He is the #1 contender for Superstar Billy Graham's WWWF Heavyweight title while also being the #4 contender for Harley Race's NWA World title, the #7 ranked tag team (with partner Dick Slater in Georgia) and the #1 most popular wrestler in the country. 

The Anderson Brothers are all over these ratings, too. Ole and Gene Anderson are the #1 ranked tag team as reigning NWA World Tag Team champions. But Lars Anderson also represents the family well as the #9 ranked contender for the NWA World title and the #5 most hated wrestler in the country.

Anderson cousin Ric Flair also makes three appearances, as the #3 contender to the NWA World title, the #5 ranked tag team (with partner Greg Valentine in the Mid-Atlantic area), and the #3 most hated wrestler in the country.

Mid-Atlantic tag teams are especially well represented in the tag team rankings holding 3 of the top 5 slots. The Anderson Brothers, wrestling in both the Georgia and the Mid-Atlantic territories, are the top ranked team. Mid-Atlantic Tag Team champs Paul Jones and Ricky Steamboat are #4, while Greg Valentine and Ric Flair fell in at #5.

Former NWA World Champion Jack Brisco also makes three appearances, ranked as #1 contender for the NWA World championship, #9 ranked tag team (with brother Jerry Brisco in Florida), and the #5 most popular wrestler in the country.

Other Mid-Atlantic stalwarts appearing in these national ratings include Paul Jones (#5 contender for the NWA title, #5 tag team with Ricky Steamboat), Wahoo McDaniel (#4 most popular wrestler), Dino Bravo (#10 most popular wrestler), Greg Valentine (#5 tag team with Ric Flair, #8 most hated wrestler), and Blackjack Mulligan (#10 most hated wrestler.)

More great "Magazine Memories" to come.


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