Mid-Atlantic Gateway
In its 13th amazing year, and in what has become one of the great wrestling traditions on the North Carolina independent wrestling scene, the annual Johnny Weaver Memorial Cup Tournament was won by popular Nick Richards on August 13 at the Mid-Atlantic Sportatorium in Gibsonville, NC.
Richards won the prestigious trophy by defeating former 2-time Weaver Cup champion Erik Royal in the finals.
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| Nick Richards holds the Weaver Cup Trophy high above his head at the |
Richards gave an emotional speech in the ring afterwards, respectfully acknowledging what an honor it was to win a trophy bearing Johnny Weaver's name.
"I honestly don't know if Johnny Weaver would even like a guy like me, or would be honored to share a ring with someone like me. But I just want to tell you that I am honored - - honored - - to have been able to represent him here tonight."
The tournament was established in 2004 when Corey Edsel defeated Ric Converse in Thomasville, NC to win the first championship cup.Since that time such CWF Mid-Atlantic stars as the Gemini Kid, Ric Converse, Arik Royal, and Trevor Lee have claimed the honor of being Johnny Weaver Cup champion.
Over the years, many legendary stars of wrestling's glory years in the Mid-Atlantic area have appeared as special guests at the tournament including Johnny Weaver himself as well as Sandy Scott, Boris Zhukov (who wrestled here as Pvt. Jim Nelson with Sgt. Slaughter), TV host Rich Landrum, Ric McCord, and Don and Rocky Kernodle. Weaver's daughter, Wendi Weaver, has also been on hand to present the trophy to the winner on occasion.
For full results of the 2016 tournament visit this link:
Nick Richards Wins the 2016 Weaver Cup Tournament
The Mid-Atlantic Gateway's history page for the Weaver Cup can be found on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archives. Previous posts about the Weaver Cup on the now-closed Johnny Weaver Blog can be found archived here.
The "CWF World Wide" show that featured the final match is embedded below.
Congratulations to all those at CWF Mid-Atlantic Wrestling for another successful tournament.
Note: This post was back-dated for historical and contextual purposes.
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| Promotional Poster for the 2016 Johnny Weaver Cup |