This section
remains "under construction" as we try to find clippings or
other supporting documentation for title changes for the
Mid-Atlantic era titles.
Title Spotlight!
Ricky Steamboat wins the U.S. title
from Ric Flair in Charleston's County Hall!
Special thanks to the
contributions of Mark Eastridge, Allan Barrie, and Sam Finley, and Carroll
Hall who have assisted us greatly in
our title change histories.
We are working through the slow process of trying to isolate and
confirm every title change in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling. Methodology...(Read more)
As we have time to locate clippings
or other confirmation of title changes we will report them here.
(Announced January 29, 1975 in Raleigh, NC at
WRAL TV Studios)
The Anderson Brothers were announced
on Mid-Atlantic television as having
won a tournament in California to become the NWA World Tag Team Champions.
They defeated Dino Bravo and Gino Brito in the finals of the tournament.
Fictitious Tournament to establish championship.
Broadcast date February 1, 1975.
Wahoo
McDaniel and Paul Jones
5/15/75 Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
NOTE: Most published title histories list
Tiger Conway, Jr. and Steve Keirn as winning the World Tag Team
titles from the Andersons on 11/3/75 in Charlotte.
Research has proven this not to be the case.
Keirn and Conway never held the NWA World Tag Titles. For full details, CLICK
HERE.
Wahoo
McDaniel & Rufus R. Jones
1/27/76 Township
Auditorium, Columbia, South Carolina
GEORGIA CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING
NOTE: Some published title reports show Mr. Wrestling I & II winning the
World Tag Team titles from the Andersons during this time. This was not
the case. Mr. Wrestling I & II won and lost the Georgia tag team titles
to the Andersons. The Andersons held both the world tag and Georgia tag
titles at the same time during part of the year, which has apparently
created that confusion.
Jones pins Blackjack Mulligan to win U.S.
Title, but Mulligan files a post match protest challenging the title
switch with the NWA Board of Directors.
Blackjack Mulligan (3)
12/15/76 WRAL TV Studios, Raleigh, NC
On the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
TV show that aired on Saturday, December 18, 1976, Jim Crockett, Jr.
forces Paul Jones to turn the U.S. Title back over to Blackjack Mulligan
after NWA President Eddie Graham in a video taped ruling upholds Mulligan’s
protest and requires the title to be returned to Mulligan.
Bobo
Brazil (*)
7/7/77 at the Scope Coliseum in Norfolk, Virginia
(Bobo rolls straight sevens...)
*Number
of title wins for Bobo Brazil will indicate only those wins for the
Crockett version of the US title.
(Brazil
held the Detroit/Sheik version of the US title on several occasions.)
Scott and Royal defeated Gene and Ole Anderson
on 10/2/73 in
Raleigh NC for the Atlantic Coast Tag titles. On the WRAL TV taping on
10/3, they were presented with new Mid-Atlantic tag belts. First title defense
of new Mid-Atlantic titles on 10/9/73 in Raleigh vs. The Royal Kangaroos.
(World Title
vs. Mid-Atlantic Tag Title Match with Jones & Conway. Mid-Atlantic Tag
Titles retired at this point. They would be reinstated in Sept. 1976.)
after winning the NWA World Tag
Team titles in January of 1975.
Gene
and Ole Anderson had just been announced as NWA World Tag Champions on 1/29/75.
This match in Greensboro with Mid-Atlantic Tag Champions Tiger Conway Jr.
and Paul Jones on 2/20/75 was a title vs. title match. After winning the Mid-Atlantic Tag
titles, Gene
and Ole Anderson retired the titles. The Mid-Atlantic
Tag Team Titles were dormant until September of 1976 when the Anderson’s
left the Mid-Atlantic area for Georgia Championship Wrestling and took the
NWA World Tag Team Titles with them. A tournament on Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wrestling TV to determine the new Mid-Atlantic Tag Team
Champions started on September 22, 1976 (air date Sept. 25, 1976.)
Mr. Wrestling Tim Woods & Dino Bravo
11/3/76
in WRAL TV studios, Raleigh, NC
Woods and Bravo defeat Sgt. Jacques Goulet & Mike "The Judge" DuBois
in finals of the tournament
that aired on Saturday, November 6, 1976.
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Television Taping
Source: Actual TV audio of this title change
match has been uncovered, with local promos for matches in the area
helping us establish the date of the TV taping.
Paul Jones (2)
12/26/74 Greensboro NC, Greensboro NC
NEWSPAPER CLIPPING COMING SOON
Ric
Flair
2/8/75 Memorial Coliseum, Winston Salem, North Carolina
This is one of those rare occasions where the
title change hands twice in different cities on different dates. In this
case, Rufus first beat Valentine on Tuesday 2/15 in Raleigh for the
title. Rufus then beat Valentine again on Friday 2/18/77 in
Charleston. The Raleigh change (#1) would have been announced at the TV
taping on Wednesday night 2/16 in Raleigh, so when the announcement
aired on Television on Saturday 2/19/77. both "changes" would have
already happened and fans in both cities would never know the
difference. This type thing was
rare, but did happen on several occasions on the 1970s and 1980s.
Thanks to Allan Barrie and Carroll Hall for confirmation on
these title changes.
Ric Flair (2)
Date and Site
Unknown
Previously
reported as 4/4/77
Greenville Mem. Aud. Greenville,
SC, but a
clipping from the Spartanburg Herald-Journal
referencing the Greenville results says
Flair beat Rufus outside of the 15 minute
time limit to win the title at the time.
Newspaper results on wrestling in those days
frequently had erroneous information, but
this clipping, along with clippings weeks
later in April showing Rufus still TV champ,
put the widely published date of 4/4/77 in
major doubt. The only record of them meeting
that we can find is 4/17/77 in Savannah GA.
Flair was definitely TV champ by early May.
(Thanks to
Kriss Knights for the helpful information.)
Ricky Steamboat
6/15/77 at WRAL Studios, Raleigh,
NC.
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Air Date
6/18/77
Baron
Von Raschke
10/12/77 at WRAL Studios, Raleigh,
NC. Air Date 10/15/77
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
ADDING FURTHER SUPPORTING CLIPPINGS
SOON!
- - - - Mid-Atlantic TV Title Discontinued
- - - -
NWA TV Title Established
Baron Von Raschke announces on Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wrestling television that aired from the WRAL studios in
Raleigh, North Carolina on March 4, 1978 (taped 3/1/78) that he will enter a national
Tournament of TV Champions featuring other TV champions from other NWA
territories around the
nation.
Baron
Von Raschke
First NWA Television
Champion
Wins NWA TV Tournament featuring TV champions
from around the NWA
(Fictitious Tournament - March 3-4, 1978)
Date of tournament determined by researching
other title defenses between the two television tapings on 3/1 and
3/8/78. The Baron defended
the Mid-Atlantic TV title against Paul Jones in Fisherville VA on
3/2/78. This is the only TV defense documented between the two TV tapings, the 2nd
of which was announced that Baron had won the TV tournament.
A MID-ATLANTIC GATEWAY EXCLUSIVE
Johnny Weaver
3/5/78, Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North
Carolina
It is announced on Mid-Atlantic Championship
Wrestling from the WRAL studios in Raleigh, North Carolina that aired
March 11, 1978 (taped 3/8) that Baron Von Raschke had recently won the
NWA TV title tournament. Despite the Baron's assertions a week earlier
that the area competition for his title is "too weak", Johnny Weaver
defeated Baron Von Raschke for the championship within days of Baron
winning the NWA TV tournament. (The Mid-Atlantic TV title is retired.)
