SOUTHEASTERN WRESTLING DETOUR It was always an exciting time when the "Eighth Wonder of the World" Andre the Giant came into your territory two or three times a year. Andre was a special attraction that toured the world of pro-wrestling much like the touring world champions of that era did.
The image in this ad was similar to an image used on a big stand-up poster of Andre that was always featured on television during the local promo segments when he was coming to our town.
This newspaper ad, from Knoxville, TN, in September of 1974, touts Andre in a handicap match with the top heel brother combination in Tennessee wrestling history - Ron and Don Wright.
Chilhowie Park was the traditional weekly home to some of Knoxville's greatest pro-wrestling cards. This one was so big, they only needed to advertise one match. The main event in Knoxville that night was the only match that mattered!
This was right around the time Ron Fuller bought the Knoxville territory. You will notice that the TV is still listed as "Wide World of Wrestling" which was the name of the small studio show taped at WTVK channel 26. It wouldn't be long before promoter Ron Fuller would move to the powerful WBIR channel 10 (CBS affiliate) and rename the show Southeastern Championship Wrestling.
Edited from a post originally published June 24, 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.
