Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Best of the Gateway: Horsemen Origins

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

This story was originally published on Nov. 8, 2015. 

The fall of 2015 marks the 30th anniversary of the origin of the Four Horsemen in wrestling. There is much discussion on exactly when the group got its name, but there is no longer any doubt of how it happened. Arn Anderson coined the phrase in the late fall of 1985 during one of the local promo tapings and it just sort of stuck. He said at that time something along on the lines of this:

"Not since the four horsemen of the apocalypse have so few wreaked so much havoc on so many." - Arn Anderson, Fall of 1985

Over the years, it has been speculated that Arn made that "Four Horsemen" reference on a regular televised interview segment, either on one of the two Crockett syndicated programs (Mid-Atlantic or World Wide Wrestling) or on World Championship Wrestling on WTBS. But no video of that has ever surfaced, either from anyone's private videotape collection or from the Crockett videotape library which is now owned by the WWE.


THE LOCAL PROMOS

I have always thought it had to have happened in a local promo, one of the hundreds that were taped at the Briarbend Drive make-shift studio during each week and then inserted into one of the shows for the local markets. It was perhaps repeated in several promos in various forms before someone realized they were on to something.

Arn Anderson confirmed that in a recent conversation I had with him this past summer, and added further credit to an individual who had not been tied to the origin before that - Tony Schiavone.

"Yes, it was on a local promo," Arn told me (as outlined in my earlier article "Andersons Don't Wear Fedoras"). "And in fact, I just said it off the cuff, not really intending to be coming up with a name for us or anything like that. It was Tony Schiavone who actually validated the whole thing. He looked at me after the promo was over and said, 'I think you just named yourself.' And that led to us starting to refer to ourselves as the Four Horsemen."

http://bookstore.midatlanticgateway.com

 
TIMING 

The question still remains, however, as to exactly when that happened. There is no doubt that the idea of the four wrestlers by that name gelled in November of 1985. As best as I have been able to determine, Arn first classified them as the Four Horsemen on regular TV (as opposed to local promos) on the November 9, 1985 Saturday night episode of World Championship Wrestling. As United States heavyweight champion Tully Blanchard waited in the ring with Baby Doll for his scheduled TV match, Arn was doing an interview at the podium with Tony Schiavone and said:

"What you've got right here in the ring, you've got a champion. You've got Tully Blanchard. You've got Ole Anderson. You've got myself, and last but by no means least, you've got Ric Flair, the world's heavyweight champion. You're talking about the four horsemen of professional wrestling - - the people that make things happen." - Arn Anderson 11/09/85 WTBS

But the idea had been incubating in Arn's mind much earlier than that and actually goes back to the middle of October. During this time, Tully Blanchard started to become aligned with the family of Ric Flair and his cousins Ole and Arn Anderson. Flair and the Andersons had just injured Dusty Rhodes in the cage in the Omni in that huge angle that led to the main event at Starrcade '85. There was no angle that brought Tully into that story, I think it just made sense that the top heels were all hanging together.

On the October 12, 1985 episode of World Championship Wrestling, after review of all the Omni footage, Arn says:

“As you know, Tony Schiavone, David Crockett - - I run with the world heavyweight champion Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, and Ole Anderson. That’s an elite group in all the world.” - Arn Anderson 10/12/85 WTBS

Arn hadn't come up with the Horsemen name here yet, but the idea of the four of them as an elite group was clearly being conceptualized right there.




TULLY BLANCHARD'S TRANSITION 

The whole marriage of Blanchard with Flair and the Andersons happened relatively quickly. But it hadn't looked that cozy to begin with. Just one month earlier than that 10/12 interview above, Blanchard and Flair would take shots at each other in interviews over silly things like their watches.

On the September 21, 1985 edition of World Championship Wrestling, Tully shows off a gold and diamond watch that Baby Doll had given him. Flair came out later and said:

"First of all we'll start the day off by telling you -- wooo! -- it is Rolex time, Tully Blanchard! So don't be bringing out one of those Mickey Mouse watches and trying to impress the world. You might be the U.S. heavyweight champion, Tully Blanchard, but you are still carrying around a silver belt -- wooo! - instead of the gold!" - Ric Flair 9/21/85 WTBS

This was during Flair's time as a "tweener" when he was feuding with Magnum T.A. and Dusty Rhodes on the babyface side and Buddy Landel and Nikita Koloff on the heel side - - all at the same time! Plus he was still a touring NWA world champion and would often times mention wrestlers in other territories such as Bob Armstrong in Southeastern Wrestling, Wahoo McDaniel in Florida, Harley Race in Kansas City, Kerry Von Erich in Texas, and others. He was was giving these great interviews every week where he would crack on the babyfaces and the heels all in the same promo!

Throughout that time, though, he was always aligned with his family, his cousins Ole and Arn Anderson. And less than one month later, Blanchard was aligned with them as well, as reflected by Arn's 10/12 interview above.


JAMES J. DILLON & BABY DOLL

Another thing forgotten in all of this history is that James J. Dillon was not part of this original unofficial grouping of the Four Horsemen. In fact, one could argue Baby Doll, by her association with Tully as his "Perfect 10" at the time) was part of the original group before Dillon.

The Four Horsemen book goes on sale June 5, 2017
on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway and Amazon.com.
J.J. Dillon was managing "Nature Boy" Buddy Landel during this time, and was involved in leading him in his chase of the National heavyweight championship that fall that culminated at Starrcade '85. He wasn't involved in any storyline with Blanchard or the Andersons, and only a peripheral story with Ric Flair. Landel and Flair had several "Battle of the Nature Boys" matches before Flair turned hardcore heel in the cage angle with Dusty. It wasn't until Landel was fired in mid-December that J.J. was put with Tully in a big angle at the Greensboro TV tapings right before the Crockett Promotions Christmas break. It was when those tapings aired right after the New Year holiday (the weekend of 1/4/86) that J.J. began to be associated with those who by then were loosely known as the Four Horsemen.

And even that wasn't in a managerial sense yet. J.J. had become the "executive director" of Tully Blanchard enterprises and was really just Tully's manager early on. He morphed into manager of the whole group through the late winter and spring of 1986.  By the time Ole Anderson had returned to action following a worked injury in June of 1986, Dillon was the official manager of the Four Horsemen.


WRECKING CREW HISTORY

In my book "Minnesota Wrecking Crew", a timeline history of the Anderson family in wrestling, I reference the the earliest mention of the "Four Horsemen" name by Arn as taking place in October. I firmly believe that earliest reference was during the promo tapings in one of the last two weeks of that month. In those days, I kept notes about the TV shows in a day planner. In the notes for the 10/26/85 World Wide Wrestling show I have written "the four horses" in quotes. This wound up being a loose reference by Arn to what would become "four horsemen" very soon in Arn's interviews. It is why I peg the month as October for the first mention of the name Four Horsemen, although none of us have ever found it yet.

http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/p/book-store.html

Saturday, May 27, 2017

Crockett Foundation Night at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte

Jim Crockett, Jr., along with Frances, David, and Jackie were all recognized at the 2016 event!




A look back at the first Crockett Foundation Night in 2016 at the Charlotte Knights BB&T Ballpark in downtown Charlotte. 

The 2017 Crockett Foundation Night will be on Sunday, September 3 and will feature WWE Hall of Famers and Mid-Atlantic Legends Hall of Heroes members Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson (the Rock and Roll Express), James J. Dillon and others.

The video above feature Tony Schiavone's introduction of the Crockett Family (Frances, Jim Jr., David, and Jackie) at the Ballpark, plus clips of the Rock & Roll Express, Baby Doll, Tommy Young and others.

More info to come on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway and be sure to check out the Crockett Foundation Website at www.CrockettFoundation.com.


http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/p/james-j-dillon.html

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Best of the Gateway: Roddy Piper's Debut in the Mid-Atlantic Area

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway 
Originally published October 25th, 2016


“Rowdy” Roddy Piper, who would become one of the biggest names in the history of professional wrestling, entered Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling in the early autumn of 1980 as a virtual unknown to the fans of Jim Crockett Promotions. Without any advance publicity, Piper debuted in the territory on October 7, 1980 at the Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, defeating Special Delivery Jones. But it was at the next night’s TV tapings at the WRAL television studios in Raleigh that Piper was truly introduced to the fans of the Mid-Atlantic area.

Roddy Piper with his bagpipes
At the beginning of that October 8, 1980 television taping, color commentator David Crockett announced as part of the match rundown, “And we have a newcomer…Rodney Piper.” Announcer Bob Caudle responded, “David, he’s from Glasgow, Scotland, and I understand he’s a rough, tough Scot.” Crockett answered, “That’s right; he really is. He’s a young, good looking guy, though. He’s very good.”

After Piper won his first TV match with ease, Caudle attempted to introduce Roddy to the area’s fans saying, “At ringside right now, and you just saw him in the ring and I gotta say…” Piper couldn’t wait for the introduction, blurting out, “Let me just tell you something Mister. I tell you something; I come to the area here and I walk in the arena and this lady says, ‘Who are you?’ She says, ‘WHO ARE YOU,’ to me! Who am I, who am I? Do I look like the tidy bowl man?! I come to the arena; I’m in my wrestling gear. Since I’ve been 16 years old, I’ve been professional wrestling.”

A boisterous Piper continued, “I was the youngest professional wrestler in the world when I started wrestling! By the time I was 19 years old, I won the Light Heavyweight Championship of the World, brother. Who am I?? When I was 21 I took Muhammad Ali, the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, hip tossed him right down on his buttocks, and made him look like a fool. Who am I, you say?? You take a look at me, man; I’m the whipped cream on your strawberry shortcake! Who am I?? I am Rowdy Roddy Piper, 26 years old…”

Bob Caudle with Roddy Piper
At this juncture, a chant breaks out in the studio audience of ‘Rod-dy, Rod-dy, Rod-dy,’ which Piper feeds off of and pushes forward exclaiming, “…in the prime of my life, with ten years of experience! TEN YEARS of experience! And I come in here with a body that none can disclaim. Now don’t get me wrong, barbell plates and stuff like that is not my thing, brother. I am a wrestler! I am finely honed, I’m young and I’m ready. You listen to me, I see people comin’ around here, I see people comin’ around here, the ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair. What’s a Nature Boy, what does that mean? He runs through the woods nude?? The guy thinks he’s Euell Gibbons, comes up here and supposed to have all these pretty chicks chasing him all around?”

Without taking a breath Piper rants more on Flair and concludes, “Saw him the other day with some chicks, looked liked a Sasquatch exhibition, brother. Well, you listen to me. I’m what’s happening. You say, ‘Who am I?’ I told ya; I gotta question for you. You do you think you are, man?”

Almost at a loss for words, Caudle comments, “I tell ya fans, there’s no doubt what Roddy Piper thinks of Roddy Piper, and he can back it up as he said. He was the youngest wrestler in the world at 16, and held many championships. And that’s the story from Roddy Piper.”

It was a Mid-Atlantic story that had its first chapter in Raleigh in early October of 1980, and within less than a month saw Piper win the NWA Television Title in Richmond, Virginia in a spectacular one-night tournament. The United States Title came soon thereafter, and then many memorable feuds that culminated in 1983 with the vicious battles with former “Dream Team” friend Greg Valentine and the epic “Dog Collar Match” at Starrcade 1983.

The lady asking Roddy Piper who he was at his first WRAL appearance asked a fair question. But in his debut interview for Jim Crockett Promotions, Piper made it crystal clear who he was, and likely never had to answer that question again while wrestling in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. Fans in the Carolinas and Virginia quickly recognized Rowdy Roddy Piper as a wrestling star that just doesn’t come around every day, and saw that star shining brightly even during Piper’s earliest Mid-Atlantic appearance.


http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/p/book-store.html

Retweet and WIN!

https://twitter.com/WHWMonday/status/866508465233162241

Click the Twitter link below, RETWEET, and you are entered to win! Thanks to our friends Tony Schiavone and Conrad Thompson for their support of the "Four Horsemen" book.

SPECIAL WHW FOUR HORSEMEN PODCAST
Tune in Monday, June 19 for their special podcast devoted to the entire run of the Four Horsemen in Jim Crockett Promotions and WCW in the 19870s and 1990s.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Classic TV: Mid-Atlantic Wrestling from April 1980




Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling from 4/19/80
Includes local promos for Kingsport, Tennessee's Dobyns-Bennett High School for a main event of Blackjack Mulligan & Andre the Giant vs. Masked Superstar 1 & 2.

1) Tony Russo/Swede Hanson vs SD Jones/Rufus Jones
2) Ric Flair vs The Scorpion
3) Local Promos - Masked Superstars 1 & 2
4) Greg Valentine/Ray Stevens vs Matt Borne/Abe Jacobs
5) Interview - Nature Boy Ric Flair

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Get it early! Big News on Pre-Ordering "Four Horsemen" on WHW

http://www.mlwradio.com/what-happened-when-.html 

Tune in to the hit podcast "What Happened When" with Tony Schiavone and Conrad Thompson this Monday 5/22 for information on how you can pre-order and receive early our new book "Four Horsemen," an exclusive for WHW listeners. 

The winner of the book give-away will be announced on Monday's show as well. 

"What Happened When" is an exclusive presentation of the MLW Radio Network. Click here to listen to all the shows!

http://www.mlwradio.com/what-happened-when-.html
TUNE IN MONDAY FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO BUY THE BOOK BEFORE IT GOES ON SALE 6/5!


Saturday, May 20, 2017

Mooneyham Reviews "Four Horsemen"

Check out Mike Mooneyham's nice review in the Charleston Post & Courier of the forthcoming book "Four Horsemen."

New Book Traces History of the Four Horsemen
by Mike Mooneyham

"Four Horsemen" will be available on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway and on Amazon.com on Monday, June 5th!

And tune in this week to the "What Happened When" podcast with Tony Schiavone and Conrad Thompson for a way to order and receive the book early.

Friday, May 19, 2017

Leaving No Doubt

Blackjack Mulligan Dispatches Enforcer Luciano

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Enforcer Luciano with Bob Caudle and David Crockett
One of Blackjack Mulligan’s most intriguing feuds in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling was against the notorious mafioso boss, Enforcer Luciano. While the Mulligan/Luciano program was quite short, lasting only about three months from May to August in 1980, it had its share of memorable moments. Who can forget Blackjack bringing in his cousin “Crazy Luke” to battle the Enforcer? And Luciano surprisingly dominating Mulligan in a series of the Enforcer’s specialty matches, the “Detroit Street Brawls.” But to me, the most lasting memory of this feud was its grand finale.

As the summer of 1980 neared its end in late September, Jim Crockett Promotions decided to take the extraordinary step of producing a TV highlight show to pay tribute to the wresting action during the “long hot summer” of 1980 as announcer David Crockett would couch it. And how could any highlight show of the summer of 1980 be complete without a segment focusing on the feud between Blackjack Mulligan and Enforcer Luciano?

Blackjack started off the segment with announcer Bob Caudle stating, “I understand they have a film here of Luciano. Everybody’s been asking me and hollering and screaming whatever happened to Luciano…he just kind of took a U-haul trailer and left town. We're gonna find out in just a second where Luciano is, and WHY he left town.” Caudle questioned, “This is the way you got rid of him Jack, really?” Blackjack affirmed, “That’s exactly right, Luciano didn't want too much. You know, Luciano considered himself a real bad boy.”

The film that was shared with the viewing audience of the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television show was a Texas Street Fight between Mulligan and Luciano. These Texas Street Fights occurred throughout the territory’s larger arenas in late July and early August, and emphatically ended the feud.

Mulligan continued his narration, “I notice I have my Texas Street Fighting clothes on here now, because that’s when you’re really gettin’ down to it. Luciano just took a right hook to the face right there because now we're to the point now…the referee’s knocked down. Hit the man so hard that I knocked the referee down too!”

Blackjack then elaborated further, “I got the boots on, got the spurs on and we are ready to go. I'm holding the right hand of his, he had something taped to it and just punishing him a little bit. There’s a chain, a chain came loose, the man had a chain taped to his arm there. Trying to use everything in the world. There it is right there, a piece of chain. Now, I’m gonna give him a little bit of his own medicine Bob Caudle. We're gonna see how he likes a little bit of that!”

Caudle interjected, “You must have Jack, because we haven't heard of him since this either.” Mulligan explained “You know, everybody thinks they're pretty tough wherever they come from…you know, Luciano never attacked west Texas before. There's a right hook to the jaw there. I'm sure the man had a busted jaw…he probably had to eat soup for three or four months! Because at this point now I don't think Luciano wants it, because you understand a Texas Street Fight is a very serious affair!"

Mulligan then explained why stating, “Because that is the way we settle things down in the state there if there is a difference over a woman or property or some money, or if somebody took somebody’s pickup truck illegally…this is the way we settle it because it definitely gets settled. Because a man goes out there and fights...see I'm prying his arm loose right there. I'm definitely trying to pry his arm loose from his shoulder is what I'm trying to do!”

Blackjack carries on with his entertaining blow by blow noting, “At this point I get it down there and put the old boot on it…let's see what happens right here. This is the way we settle things from down where I come from, and I’m puttin’ the heel of that boot on that hand and I'm sure the man the next morning probably had a rough time eating a hot dog with that hand because I'm sure there were some knuckles smashed. There goes another shirt, one of those Detroit specials…tore that off of him too!”

Mulligan then describes the final segment of the bout that concluded the Enforcer’s run in the Mid-Atlantic area saying, “Here we go, there goes the man into the ropes right here, and there goes a boot right to the jaw and I guarantee you if the man had got up from this; watch this, slipping it off…” Caudle then excitedly observed, “You took that boot off!” Blackjack cackled, “I know this is a little bit nasty and I know this is a little bit dirty, but this is the thing they call the coup de grace, right across the face!”

Mulligan then gave the fans some historical context to this demolition of Luciano, explaining, “This is the same thing that happened to ol’ Luther Daniels one night when he was messin’ around with the wrong person; shouldn't have been messin’ around. Brother, when you put the spurs on ‘em and you put the boots on ‘em, that’s when Slim Gabriel comes to town, and he's the high Sheriff when he comes down there.”

The viewing audience then learned that Blackjack was not finished, and that he wasn't leaving the Enforcer’s utter demise to any element of chance.   “Luciano is hurtin’ now, believe me. So when you want to finish a man off in west Texas drop that spur right across the top of his head and give him a good ol’ boot right between the eyes, put it between the goalposts, and he won't come back to town! And if he does you better watch out because you haven't put enough on him,” Mulligan exclaimed.

Blackjack concluded, “There's Luciano, he's down and out. At this point I’m gonna give him just a little bit more because he was such a loudmouth and such a smart aleck. Right in the face! I know that seems a little mean and nasty…there I go. You should never kick a man while he's down, but it depends on what kind of man he was. Luciano was an extra dirty filthy rat…he’s gonna get it one more time right smack in the puss! There he is, down one, two, three it's all over for Luciano and I don't think we ever saw him or that we’ll ever hear from him again.”

I saw the Richmond Coliseum version of this epic Texas Street Fight on August 1, 1980. To this day, when any team or individual suffers a major whuppin’ I will immediately harken back to Enforcer Luciano laying on his back, spread eagle, staring up at the Richmond Coliseum lights for at least five minutes courtesy of the big man from Eagle Pass, Texas…never to be heard from again.  Yes, Blackjack Mulligan left absolutely no doubt!


http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/p/us-title-book.html

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Friends Gather at Eblen Charities Golf Tournament

Abe Jacobs, Andy McDaniel, Nikita Koloff, and Mike Mooneyham
at the Eblen Charities golf tournament in Asheville, NC, May 16, 2017

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Four Horsemen: A Timeline History


WIN IT BEFORE YOU CAN BUY IT. 
Only on "What Happened When" with Tony Schiavone & Conrad Thompson.
Check out Episode #16 (Fall Brawl '97) for details.

Sunday, May 14, 2017

Announcement of Gateway's New Book to take place on "WHW Monday" with Tony Schiavone and Conrad Thompson


For more information, visit these websites:
MLW Radio: What Happened When Monday (download page)
WHW Monday Facebook page
WHW Monday Twitter page 



 http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/2017/03/tony-schiavone-interview-complete.html
 And don't miss our interview with Tony Schiavone about his days as a fan of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling long before he became the voice of World Championship Wrestling.

Mid-Atlantic Wrestling / Georgia Wrestling Sunday Flashback

PART SEVEN
The following is a flashback to one of my favorite features here on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway, a multi-part series on the tight relationship between the Mid-Atlantic and Georgia territories in the mid/late 1970s. This is part seven, with links to earlier sections included.


by Dick Bourne and Mark Eastridge
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

As we've discussed in 6 earlier installments in this series, full time wrestlers from both Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and Georgia Championship Wrestling made appearances in each other's territories for one night special events. Augusta, GA was "ground zero" for this talent exchange for Georgia Championship Wrestling in the early part of 1977, but Atlanta was another hot spot, especially for the visiting "Nature Boy" Ric Flair.

In the second half of 1977, Ric Flair made nearly a dozen appearances in the state of Georgia, many of them on WTCG-TV channel 17 in Atlanta. WTCG would later become Superstation WTBS. He also wrestled on several big shows at the Atlanta City Auditorium and the Omni.

But first, back to Augusta's historic Bell Auditorium:

AUGUSTA, GA - 10/17/77
On October 17, Ric Flair and Rufus R. "Freight Train" Jones made the trip from the Mid-Atlantic territory for another in a long series of cards in Augusta, GA in 1977 that featured Mid-Atlantic talent. Flair defended the United States championship against Dick Slater. Rufus teamed up with Georgia star Tony Atlas to challenge Gene and Ole Anderson for the NWA world tag team championships which they had just regained in Atlanta three days earlier from Dusty Rhodes and Dick Slater.



Flair escaped from Augusta with the U.S. title in hand, but four days later he lost the title to Ricky Steamboat in Charleston, SC. The Andersons would also soon lose their tag titles again, this time to Flair and Greg Valentine just two weeks later in Greensboro.


RIC FLAIR IN GEORGIA
Here is a list of Ric's Georgia appearances in the second half of 1977, many of them as the reigning United States Heavyweight Champion from Jim Crockett Promotions:

07/22 Atlanta, GA Ric Flair beat Sandy Scott
07/23 Atlanta, GA(TV) Ric Flair beat Randy Alls
09/02 Atlanta, GA U.S. Champion Ric Flair beat Steve Keirn
09/23 Atlanta, GA Tony Atlas beat U.S. Champion Ric Flair by DQ
09/24 Atlanta, GA(TV) U.S. Champion Ric Flair beat Ted Allen
10/17 Augusta, GA Dick Slater beat U.S. Champion Ric Flair by DQ
11/28 Augusta, GA Ric Flair vs. Dick Slater
11/30 Columbus, GA Ric Flair vs. Dick Slater
12/02 Atlanta, GA Dusty Rhodes beat Ric Flair by DQ
12/05 Augusta, GA Ric Flair vs. Dick Slater in a lumberjack grudge match
12/09 Atlanta, GA Dusty Rhodes beat Ric Flair

Take a look at all the posts in our series on the 1977 Mid-Atlantic/Georgia talent exchanges in our special directory here.


Coming next: A classic tag team clash between Mid-Atlantic and Georgia teams was set for Greensboro in late October 1977, but it never happened. Learn why in Part Eight - - coming soon!




Keeping up with blunders and bloopers in the newspaper ads, we might as well point out a few errors in the Augusta ad above.

Most are simple ones:
(1) Tommy RICK should be Tommy Rich who was just beginning to catch fire in Georgia.
(2) Stan HANSON is misspelled, it should be Hansen.
(3) And of course, there is the most often misspelled name of one of the greatest wrestlers of all time and it didn't matter if it was 1977 or 2007 (and it still occasionally happens today!) RICK Flair. (They did get it right in the result, though.)
(4) Lastly, there seemed to be some confusion over Mr. Kent's first name - Jim in the ad, Don in the result.

One other note: the Richard Blood in the opening match against Randy Savage was not Ricky Steamboat, it was Merced Solis, better known later as Tito Santana.

http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/p/us-title-book.html

Saturday, May 13, 2017

Richmond Area Wrestling Legends Meet & Greet Update - ONE WEEK AWAY!


Pro Wrestling Legends Meet & Greet
UPDATE!

Saturday, May 20, 2017 11 AM - 4 PM
Hurley's Tavern
4028 Cox Road, Glen Allen, VA 

For more information:
www.facebook.com/tmptofwrestling

The guys at "The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling" have updated their Facebook page providing more information as to who will appear at the Hurley Tavern. Scheduled to appear as of this update are Arn Anderson, James J. Dillon, Ron Simmons, Shane Douglas, Gary Michael Cappetta, Dave and Earl Hebner, Preston Quinn, and Jillian Hall. Special "Horsemen Photo Op" with J.J. Dillon and Arn Anderson. Check their Facebook page for more information.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1347396431962445/


From the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast Facebook page: 

The wrestling convention previously known as “The Expo” that was to take place at the Richmond Convention Center on May 20, 2017 may be cancelled, but that does not mean the great fans and supporters in the Richmond area will be left in the dark.

The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling have secured a venue to host a day of meet and greets with some of the talent scheduled to be at “The Expo”. Happily we announce that now on Saturday May 20, 2017 from 11am to 4pm at Hurley’s Tavern (Located at 4028 Cox Road Suite J Glen Allen, VA 23060) a mere 15 minuets from the original Expo location you will get the opportunity to share some of those wonderful memories of Mid Atlantic Wrestling in the Richmond area with legends and superstars of pro wrestling. We will not let this Expo cancellation prevent what was to be a phenomenal weekend from happening.

Arn Anderson will be appearing at the Wrestling Legends Meet & Greet
at Hurley's Tavern on Saturday 5/20 from 11 Am -  1 PM*

For up to date news and if you have any questions please message us at The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Facebook page (www.facebook.com/tmptofwrestling)

Saturday TV: World Wide Wrestling 10-15-83

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

U.S. Champion Wahoo McDaniel with Rich Landrum (1981)

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

We love images like this from the studio days of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. This has lots to love about it.

First of all, it's U.S.champ Wahoo McDaniel and Rich Landrum doing a local promotional spot for Houston, TX, which was a rare pairing at that moment in time. More about that in a moment. 


U.S. Champion Wahoo McDaniel with World Wide Wrestling host Rich Landrum

Secondly, it is a good shot of Wahoo with the second version of the United States Championship belt, used from 1980-1982. It is distinguished by the Mulkovich-cast main plate in the shape of the U.S. mainland, and also by the black leather strap. (Learn about all five different versions of the Crockett U.S. championship belt in the book "United States Championship.")

http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/p/us-title-book.html

Thirdly, the backdrop in this image is the old "Wide World Wrestling" set that was used for that program from 1975-1978. In the fall of 1978, Jim Crockett Promotions had a new set made for the program, and around that same time is when Rich Landrum became host of the show (replacing Tom Miller) and the name of the show changed from "Wide World Wrestling" to "World Wide Wrestling." The old Wide World set was used for local promos only from that point forward, like the one you see taking place with Wahoo here.

This image actually came from a Houston Wrestling program promoting an AWA World title defense by Nick Bockwinkel against challenger Wahoo McDaniel. Jim Crockett Promotions sent in a tape to Houston which featured Landrum and Wahoo talking about the match with Bockwinkel. As an aside, this was one of the fun things that took place on TV back in the territory days. I always loved it when another territory sent a tape in to your home territory promoting a match. This happened frequently with the world champions who would tape an interview in one territory and send it into the next territory where he would appear in a few weeks. In this case it's Crockett sending a tape of the challenger in to Houston for a shot at Bockwinkel's belt, as Houston promoter Paul Boesch was recognizing the AWA's world championship at that time.

When I first saw this image, I knew it was pretty rare because Wahoo was only U.S. champion once when Rich Landrum was still with Jim Crockett Promotions, and for only 20 days at that.

So I checked some wrestling results, and sure enough that AWA title match in Houston took place on Friday, August 14, 1981. Wahoo had defeated Roddy Piper for the U.S. title just six days earlier in Greensboro, NC, on Saturday, August 8, 1981. He would be stripped of the title less than three weeks later as the result of a unorthodox rematch clause Piper had placed in the original contract. A story for another time (but also in the U.S. book!)

So the promotional spot with Landrum and Wahoo threaded the needle of Wahoo's first brief U.S. title reign. Wahoo would win the same title for the second time in May of 1982 from Sgt. Slaughter. Landrum left the company earlier that year.

Interesting to note, too, that this promo was likely taped on Tuesday, August 11 or Wednesday, August 12, at the studios of WPCQ in Charlotte, NC and would have been during only the second week Jim Crockett Promotions taped their wrestling shows in that studio. They had just moved to WPCQ from the channel 5 studios of WRAL in Raleigh one week earlier.

I just love this image. Wahoo is dressed for the golf course and it wouldn't surprise me at all if he squeezed in a round of 18 holes before that taping session.

Thanks to Chris Bryant for passing along the original image to us on our Facebook page. (We dressed it up in our trademark old-school TV set.)

Great memories on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway!

Monday, May 08, 2017

Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling to the Rescue!


Pro Wrestling Legends 
Legends Meet & Greet

Saturday, May 20, 2017 11 AM - 4 PM
Hurley's Tavern
4028 Cox Road, Glen Allen, VA  (Hurley's Website)

Updated Twice on 5/9 - See below.

From the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast Facebook page:

The wrestling convention previously known as “The Expo” that was to take place at the Richmond Convention Center on May 20, 2017 may be cancelled, but that does not mean the great fans and supporters in the Richmond area will be left in the dark. 

The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling have secured a venue to host a day of meet and greets with some of the talent scheduled to be at “The Expo”. Happily we announce that now on Saturday May 20, 2017 from 11am to 4pm at Hurley’s Tavern (Located at 4028 Cox Road Suite J Glen Allen, VA 23060) a mere 15 minuets from the original Expo location you will get the opportunity to share some of those wonderful memories of Mid Atlantic Wrestling in the Richmond area with legends and superstars of pro wrestling. We will not let this Expo cancellation prevent what was to be a phenomenal weekend from happening.

Arn Anderson will be appearing at the Wrestling Legends Meet & Greet
at Hurley's Tavern on Saturday 5/20 from 11 Am -  1 PM* - FREE ADMISSION

For up to date news and if you have any questions please message us at The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Facebook page (www.facebook.com/tmptofwrestling)

Any vendor or talent that has or had flight and accommodations already secured is encouraged to reach out to The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling via Facebook or by messaging Ian at thtchadianb@gmail.com.

TALENT UPDATED 5/9/17 9:14 PM ET
The guys at "Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling" have updated their Facebook page providing more information as to who will appear at the Hurley Tavern. Scheduled to appear as of this update are Arn Anderson, Ron Simmons, Shane Douglas, Gary Michael Cappetta, Dave and Earl Habner, Preston Quinn, and Jillian Hall. Check their Facebook page for more information.


(*Note: This information is from the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling facebook page. for more information, visit that page at  www.facebook.com/tmptofwrestling. They paln to update the talent schedule Monday evening.)

Sunday, May 07, 2017

From the Archives: A Blooper Classic

The following is a re-post of one of our favorite newspaper ad bloopers, the very first one we posted back in 2015 in this series.

Over the years, the newspaper ads for local wrestling events would frequently have mistakes or errors related to the names of the wrestlers. Sometimes these were simple "typos", other times there is simply no explanation for them! Some are mildly humorous. Some are downright hilarious. This was especially true in the 1970s and early 1980s before the promotion became a bit more professional in how they put their ads together.

The newspaper ads are a big part of history features on the Gateway, but we are going to occasionally post some of the ads with the crazy mistakes in them in a semi-regular feature we are calling

http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/p/newspaper-bloopers.html

We kick things off with one of the funniest bloopers we've ever come across.


Wahoo McDaniel and Paul Jones fought Gene and Ole Anderson in one of the fiercest and most memorable rivalries in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling history. In late May 1975, the two teams prepared to battle at the Scope Exhibition Hall in Norfolk, VA. So imagine opening your newspaper and seeing and ad for a world's tag team title bout where the team of Wahoo McDaniel and Paul Jones were fighting Gene and OLD Anderson!

We've laughed at this one over the years. We're guessing a simple typo; the "D" key on the typewriter keyboard is right below the "E" key. However, many of these ads were pasted up at the time, not typed, which would mean someone had to intentionally put the D in line with the other text when pasting up the ad.

Add to that the transposing of the "A" and the "N" (McDNAIEL) typo in Wahoo's last name, and it's a "twofer!"

But the real gem here is OLD Anderson. It is one of the great wrestling newspaper bloopers ever, and a great rib to this day on the Minnesota Wrecking Crew.

Our friend Peggy Lathan, a mutual friend of Ole's, will make sure "the Rock" sees this!

More Bloopers to come.




8/17/15 Edit: Peggy Lathan sent us this photo taken by David Cooper, who wrote:

"I took this picture a few weeks ago because I thought Ole might get a kick out of it. Also, when I took it, I had no idea that there was an old wrestling poster shown on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway website last month that listed Ole as Old Anderson!"

Photo by David Cooper


Thanks, as always, to Mark Eastridge for sharing his amazing collection of newspaper ads with the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Check out all the bloopers here.

http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/p/big-gold.html


Friday, May 05, 2017

Mike Rickard Interviews the Gateway on Tag Team Wrestling

Mike Rickard at Canadian Bulldog's World interviewed Dick Bourne as part of their month-long celebration of tag team wrestling.

http://www.canadianbulldogsworld.com/the-cbw-interview-dick-bourne

Indeed, it is "Tag Team Appreciation Month" on their website, and Rickard and Bourne talk tag team wrestling in general and Minnesota Wrecking Crew in particular.

Check out the full interview on their website.

http://midatlanticwrestling.net/andersons.htm

Thursday, May 04, 2017

Interview: Bill Eadie (Masked Superstar / Demolition Ax) - Part 2

CONTINUED:
A MID-ATLANTIC "SUPERSTAR" RETURNS HOME
(Note: We were notified on Sat. 5/6/17 that the Wrestle Expo event scheduled for May 19-20 in Richmond has been cancelled. )

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway 

Catch up on what you may have missed in PART 1.


In any discussion of the storied history of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, the familiar name “Masked Superstar” always comes to the forefront. Bill Eadie, the man behind the mask and later behind the paint as Demolition Ax in the World Wrestling Federation, is an enduring symbol of excellence to legions of wrestling fans. While he is no longer a fixture inside the wrestling ring, Eadie has not severed his connection to professional wrestling, much to the contrary.

Part 2 of our conversation with Bill Eadie continues.



* * * * * * * * * * * *

PART TWO

Masked Superstar (Bill Eadie): Not bragging, but I think I had some of my better matches in Richmond.

David Chappell: I absolutely agree…

Superstar: Against [Mighty] Igor of course. We had a big feud there. As you know, David, George Scott was a stickler for almost nearly perfection…which you can’t get.

Chappell: Blackjack Mulligan would call George Scott the ‘Taskmaster.’

Superstar: He would have been a fantastic football coach I think!

Chappell: (laughs)

Superstar: We had a series of matches with Igor and I felt I was getting under control. And then I had a match with Igor in Charlotte, I walked out of the match and I thought it was a pretty good match, and then George came into the locker room and said, “Bill, I need to go over this match a little bit.”

Chappell: Uh oh!

Superstar: He was a stickler! He would make sure I called him daily…not only me, but all the guys. We would call into the office, report how the match went and what went well and didn’t go well.
In my particular case, what outfits I wore and what mask color combination I wore…

Chappell: That’s pretty detailed!

Superstar: If it was a red mask with black stars, I wouldn’t wear that for the next three or four shows when I was in that area. That’s how particular he was.

Chappell: Wow!

Superstar: I had to write down everything in a notebook, and I still have that notebook. But getting back to that match with Igor in Charlotte, I get back to the dressing room and I sat down and I was feeling pretty confident and George came in and he was never critical, but it was always constructive criticism.

Chappell: I’m sure that approach made a difference to you.

Superstar: He was always working towards putting on a better match, and pleasing the fans. (laughs) But after about 15 minutes of George, I didn’t think I was capable of tying my shoes, let alone getting in the ring and wrestling!

Chappell: (laughs) After that you probably wondered if you still had a job!

Superstar: Everything that I thought I was doing well, he was criticizing…but it was constructive. It wasn’t like he was tearing me up; he wanted us to be good. It was never like he said, “I could do this and I could do that.” He never put himself in that situation.

Chappell: Your feud with the Mighty Igor in 1977 was tremendous, and it really took off when you stuck Boris Malenko’s victory cigar in Igor’s eye in a match in Charlotte during the spring. The program ended in your favor when you beat Igor in a tremendous cage match in the Richmond Coliseum on September 30, 1977. What are your memories of that blow-off match with Igor in Richmond?

Superstar: Oh yes, I remember having that match! The cages back then were not like ones they have now where they have poles in the corners to keep the cage upright. Back then, they also had poles in the center of the sections of the cage.

Chappell: Right, I remember that.

Superstar: Igor threw me into the ropes where that center pole was, and I flew from like midway in the ring into that pole and I knocked myself out!

Chappell: (laughs)

Superstar: I had a concussion during that match, and I did the whole match and went back to the locker room and didn’t remember it!

Chappell: Amazing!

Superstar: (laughs) This is one of the ironic things, getting back to George. I’m sitting there with a puzzled look on my face, and George comes into the dressing room and said, “THAT is what I was talking about…that was a perfect match!” And I don’t remember anything he’s talking about!

Chappell: (laughing)

Superstar: But as far as the end of the program with Igor, you know how politics kind of get involved. It wasn’t George, and I won’t name names, but there was a lot of animosity because Igor was popular at that time and he wasn’t.

Chappell: I remember Igor’s push dropped sharply right after the match in Richmond, and you went straight into a program with Paul Jones after you cut Paul’s hair in a match in Greensboro.

Superstar: Igor wasn’t the social butterfly that I think some of the people thought he should be. I think that was part of his demise as far as his longevity.
 
Chappell: After you battled Paul Jones, your next mega-program in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling saw you go against Blackjack Mulligan attempting to collect a $10,000.00 bounty. Again, one of the climactic matches of that feud was in the Richmond Coliseum, again in a cage and you lost your mask in this one. What comes to mind about that titanic Richmond cage match on September 1, 1978?

In the summer of 1978, Ric Flair put  a bounty on
the head of Blackjack Mulligan. The Masked Superstar
was one of guys trying to collect on it.
Superstar: As you remember David, we had a series of cage matches. I don’t know if the people ever realized it, but we did 13 or 14 different cage matches around the area that summer. And the first half dozen of them were 60 minute draws!

Chappell: Incredible!

Superstar: It was in the middle of the summer, and Richmond and a lot of the bigger arenas were air conditioned, but some of the events were outside. You know, we were losing weight wrestling that long in that heat.

Chappell: I remember Blackjack telling me that as well.

Superstar: After the 60 minute draw, we came back with a 90 minute match in a cage, and then we came back with a special referee, which was George Scott.

Chappell: Yep, the September 1, 1978 match in Richmond was a 90 minute time limit cage match, with George Scott as the special referee.

Superstar: Mulligan and I both thought that George was ribbing us with the 60 minute draws.

Chappell: I bet you wish he had been!

Superstar: But you know, the houses kept going up, particularly in Richmond. The number of fans kept increasing, increasing and increasing at each one of the events.

So I never doubted George’s ability to book and promote towns and things like that, but they were grueling.

Chappell: Without question.

Superstar: Mulligan lost 50 or 60 pounds and I lost close to 30 or 40 pounds that summer. We were just trying to keep ourselves hydrated.

It’s sad that Jack’s not here any longer and we can’t reminisce about that summer. A lot of my friends are gone too soon, and we’re not promised tomorrow, but I thank God I’m available to come back to Richmond and talk about that summer with the fans.

Chappell: Yes, for sure.

Superstar: But that series of matches with Mulligan that summer, and that final match in Richmond, were very memorable but grueling.

Chappell: Speaking of memorable times for you in Richmond, one wasn’t especially joyous. You unfortunately got stabbed in Virginia’s capital city.

Superstar: I remember a lot of good things in Richmond, but you’re right David, that wasn’t one of them!

Chappell: There’s no way you can put a good spin on that. Richmond was also the site of another infamous stabbing in the ‘60s involving Boris Malenko, who would later become your manager, at the Virginia State Fairgrounds where the wrestling matches were held back then. In a strange way, the stabbings are a testament to what a tremendous job you heels did back then to generate that level of raw hatred from the fans. The atmosphere in the Mid-Atlantic arenas was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before or since. You had to be there to fully appreciate it!

Superstar: Luckily, my stabbing wasn’t very serious, and it was almost comical the next day.

Chappell: How so?

Superstar: I got stabbed…I think John Studd was beating up Mulligan and I ran in and we tap-danced at Mulligan a little bit. Somebody cut me at the ringside. Of course I went back to the locker room and they rushed me to the hospital and that was delaying my flight out of Richmond.

Chappell: Uh oh.

Superstar: Yes, the guys on the plane were kind of upset because they had to wait for five or six hours until I got cleared. And I remember the Doctor telling me if I felt wheezy or a little bit lightheaded, to make sure I got immediately to the hospital because that would mean I had an infection. Well, by the time we landed we had an afternoon show in Asheville. So I had to land in Charlotte, go home pack my bag and drive to Asheville. I got to Asheville around 11:00 for a 1:00 show and I’m sitting in the dressing room, and I’m starting to feel queasy.

Chappell: Oh boy…

Superstar: And the Doctor’s voice is going off in my head!

Chappell: I bet!

Superstar: But then I realized I hadn’t had anything to eat for almost a day!

Chappell: That’ll make you queasy!

Superstar: Yeah, I told one of the guys to go and get me a sandwich, and when I ate it I felt better immediately. But there for a moment I didn’t know what was going to happen. But that was the only negative thing that ever happened to me in Richmond.

Chappell: I’m just glad that incident wasn’t any worse.

Superstar: But ironically after that, I was wrestling Mulligan on the next show in Richmond and a fan jumped in the ring and touched me on the shoulder…

Chappell: Good grief!

Superstar: Of course, I thought he was coming in there to cut me!

Chappell: I’m sure; you had just gotten stabbed at the last Richmond show.

Superstar: Well, the police in Richmond were always very good and they were around the ring. And they were on edge because of what happened at the event before. They’re thinking it’s going to happen again. As soon as that poor guy hit the floor, the cops were all over him. They thought he was trying to stab me too. They took him to the back, and after much interrogation, and some of it wasn’t of the kind variety…

Chappell: No question!

Superstar: They come to find out that he was going through a pledge initiation for a fraternity, and he had to go in the ring and touch one of us and get out before we touched him back!

Chappell: Oh my God!

Superstar: Of all the bad timing, it happened right after I got cut!

Chappell: We’ve been talking about how hated you were as a heel to where a fan in Richmond stabbed you. But in 1980 you turned into a fan favorite, and won the NWA World Tag Team Titles with former adversary Paul Jones. Back in the Richmond Coliseum on November 28, 1980, one night after winning the World tag team belts, you voluntarily took your mask off for the fans after beating Ray Stevens and Jimmy Snuka in a bloody steel cage match. Tell us about your changeover to a good guy.

Superstar: Oh yeah, I was a little apprehensive about turning because I didn’t know how I would be able to be accepted by the fans. But I think at that time, they at least respected me.

And I say that because I promised the fans, and I tried to be honest during all of my interviews…I learned that from Wahoo McDaniel and Boris Malenko, to not exaggerate and not say anything that you couldn’t back up.

Chappell: You definitely had a lot of credibility because of that.

Superstar: The fans even mention it today when I go to these signings and things…that I came off meaning what I said.

Chappell: Very much so.

Superstar: I told the people if I won the World Tag Team Championship that I would take off my mask. Well, we were successful and we won.

Ironically, a lot of people didn’t want me to do it. But I promised I would do it…but I didn’t promise I would keep the mask off.

Chappell: That’s right, I remember you saying you would probably go back to wearing the mask because you were more comfortable wrestling with it on.

Superstar: I think that was an important step in them believing in me. I mean, I made a promise. It’s like I try to tell my girls and my grandsons…don’t make up stories and don’t tell lies and fibs…because you have to have a good memory to keep them straight.

Chappell: (laughs) Right!

Superstar: Be honest, if you say something be truthful. My Dad always told me…you’re only as good as your word. That’s all you have. You’re going to make money, you’re going to lose money and a lot of things are going to happen, but if somebody says you’re not a man of your word that’s as bad as it gets.

Chappell: Well said.

Superstar: And I appreciate the fans remembering that about me. They do…they bring it up quite often. And there were a couple of people that were in the audience that night and they told me they turned away…they didn’t want to see it! But I kept my promise.

(Note: We were notified on Sat. 5/6 that the Wrestle Expo event scheduled for May 19-20 in Richmond has been cancelled. )

* * * * * * * * * * * *


http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/p/big-gold.html

Tuesday, May 02, 2017

The Gateway Interview: Bill Eadie (Masked Superstar / Demolition Ax) - Part One

A MID-ATLANTIC "SUPERSTAR" RETURNS HOME
(Note: We were notified on Sat. 5/6/17 that the Wrestle Expo event scheduled for May 19-20 in Richmond has been cancelled. )

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

In any discussion of the storied history of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, the familiar name “Masked Superstar” always comes to the forefront. Bill Eadie, the man behind the mask and later behind the paint as Demolition Ax in the World Wrestling Federation, is an enduring symbol of excellence to legions of wrestling fans. While he is no longer a fixture inside the wrestling ring, Eadie has not severed his connection to professional wrestling, much to the contrary.

The man we remember fondly as the Masked Superstar is integrally involved in the upcoming Mid-Atlantic Wrestle Expo 2017 in Richmond, Virginia on May 19-20, 2017. The venue for the Wrestle Expo is the Greater Richmond Convention Center, which is directly across the street from the Richmond Coliseum, the site of many of the Masked Superstar’s greatest bouts.

In this conversation, Bill talks about the upcoming Richmond Wrestle Expo and his return to Richmond after many years. And of course, there is lots of reminiscing about the Masked Superstar’s historic battles in the Richmond Coliseum and flashbacks to the golden era of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

PART ONE

David Chappell: Bill, thank you for spending some time with the Mid-Atlantic Gateway today. It is great that you are coming back to Richmond, Virginia soon for the Mid-Atlantic Wrestle Expo 2017! And it’s terrific that you have a big behind-the-scenes role with this new fan convention.

Masked Superstar, Bill Eadie: Thank you David…you and Dick [Bourne] do a great job on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway and we appreciate your support.

Chappell: I know that you, Rich Landrum and Lee Crowder are working hard to make this a memorable event for the wrestling fans. I certainly hope this will become an annual event that Mid-Atlantic fans circle on their calendars, just like many do for the NWA Legends Fanfest in Charlotte every August.

Superstar: You know, it takes time; if this one doesn’t work, we’ll do another one and another one and finally we’ll get the formula. We are planning on multiple years. We realize the difficulty, and if we can break even we’re going to be happy. With your support and the Crockett Foundation and a lot of other good people, we might be able to do that.

Chappell: Like anything else new, it’s important to get the word out and the Gateway is delighted to assist. And we now also have this new animal called “social media!”

Superstar: (laughs) Social media, boy you’re not kidding! I’m not familiar with all that stuff, but fortunately Lee and you guys do all that stuff real well.

Chappell: How are preparations going for the big event in Richmond on May 19th and 20th?

(Note: We were notified on Sat. 5/6/17 that the Wrestle Expo event scheduled for May 19-20 in Richmond has been cancelled. )

Superstar: We have phone conferences once a week and we’ve been doing it for the last probably seven months or so. We talk at least an hour…Lee and Rich Landrum. We put a lot of time and effort into it. We’re not looking to make a million bucks; we’re looking to give back. There has always been good fan interest in the Richmond area and throughout the Mid-Atlantic area. So it’s our chance to help out the first responders and the Crockett Foundation and guys like you that have been so gracious to help us so we just appreciate it.

Chappell: Anything involving Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, we’re all in! When you think about your wrestling career and specifically the term “Mid-Atlantic,” what comes immediately to your mind?


Graphic courtesy Mid-Atlantic Grapplin' Greats

Superstar: Well, I have nothing but fond memories of the Mid-Atlantic logo and the phrase, Mid-Atlantic. [Booker] George Scott took me under his wing, thank goodness, and gave me the opportunity to don the mask and start a new character. I’ve had a good career and I have some positive, positive memories of all my matches. And I don’t think I have any regrets…the only regret I would have about wrestling is that I couldn’t take my family with me wherever I went. I tried to enjoy the places I visited; I got paid to travel the world. Places that people pay handsomely to go to, I got paid to go.

Chappell: That says a heck of a lot to only have a single regret in one’s career.

Superstar: And I wish I had taken more pictures of the guys together. When you’re in the middle of the forest, you can’t see and appreciate all the trees.

Chappell: Just two regrets ain’t bad either! You know Bill; one of the greatest and most seamless transitions between characters in wrestling was in September of 1976 when you went from the persona of Bolo Mongol to the Masked Superstar in the blink of an eye. And no one was the wiser for it! That switcheroo was one the many things that made Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling so memorable to the fans of Jim Crockett Promotions.

Superstar: You know, and I think the fans may realize that the Mid-Atlantic wrestling area at that time was THE, and I mean THE, area to be involved in within the world of professional wrestling. Everybody that was anybody wanted to come to the Mid-Atlantic. One, because of George Scott and two, because of the fan base, and three because of the Crockett name.

Chappell: No doubt…

Superstar: I mean, they were honest individuals and all they asked was for you to do your job and make the towns. And you know, they had so many great arenas in the area…Greensboro, Charlotte and of course Richmond. It was fantastic, you know, you had a summer-style territory when you went down to Myrtle Beach and Wilmington…

Chappell: And don’t forget Virginia Beach!

Superstar: (laughs) Yes! And you had Asheville and Roanoke…every place was well established and a well run machine. And we just kept putting good talent in there, and like I said all the top talent in the world eventually went through there, and some decided never to leave.

Chappell: Selfishly, I wish you would have never left the Mid-Atlantic area!

Superstar: I would have never chosen to leave; I went to Georgia for a time period. Ole Anderson had asked me to go down there, but my wife and family still stayed in Charlotte. And I went back and forth between Charlotte and Georgia. But I would have been more than content to stay in the Mid-Atlantic area and go overseas to Japan for the rest of my career.

Chappell: We were glad to have you for as long as we did, but back then moving from territory to territory was part of the deal.

Superstar: You’re absolutely right, a lot of the promoters would keep calling and trying to put a sweet deal together. Everybody was afraid you’d burn out, I guess.

Chappell: Sure, there was the dynamic of trying to keep things fresh.

Superstar: Yes, so you’d move to another territory, but I kind of liked to keep Georgia and the Mid-Atlantic area in my hip pocket. Like I said, I have nothing but fond memories of the Mid-Atlantic area.

Chappell: It was a special time and place, for sure.


Scanned Photo courtesy of Andy McDaniel

Superstar: My girls grew up in Charlotte, and it was close to my family that lived in Pennsylvania and Ohio and I could shoot up there periodically if I needed to. It was just a good central area. It was in the south, and I grew up in Pittsburgh and I always told myself that I was going to get out of the cold wintry weather!

Chappell: Definitely some better weather down this way!

Superstar: (laughs) Charlotte was good, but then sometimes we’d go up to Richmond and Roanoke and that area and we’d get some wintertime!

Chappell: True, but not like Pittsburgh!

Superstar: Oh my goodness, yes!

Chappell: I didn’t realize you lived in Charlotte, but I guess that was the place where most of the Crockett guys lived back in the day.

Superstar: Lived in Charlotte at a couple of different places, and just when we were looking to purchase a home I was going back and forth between Charlotte and Atlanta for a time. And then my wife and I bought a home in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Although none of us were born in Georgia, we got a green card.

Chappell: (laughs)

Superstar: But my daughter and her husband still live in the Charlotte area, and we’ll probably be moving back up that way when I retire in the next year or so to be closer to them. If not in Charlotte itself, maybe in Myrtle Beach or somewhere like that.

Chappell: Can’t go wrong with Myrtle Beach, and Mid-Atlantic shows were put on back in the day on the Grand Strand. You’ve all ready talked about several of the Crockett towns, but some of your defining Mid-Atlantic moments occurred at the Richmond Coliseum, which is only a stone’s throw from where the Mid-Atlantic Wrestle Expo 2017 is being held!

(Note: We were notified on Sat. 5/6/17 that the Wrestle Expo event scheduled for May 19-20 in Richmond has been cancelled. )

* * * * * * * * * * * *

COMING UP IN PART TWO ON THURSDAY:
Bill Eadie talks about:

 - his crazy feud with the Mighty Igor and hints at the back-stage politics that ended it.
- his long run of cage matches with Blackjack Mulligan in the hot summer of 1978 trying to collect a $10, 000 bounty.
- memories of getting stabbed at ringside in Richmond and what happened at the next show when the cops thought it was getting ready to happen again!
- More on Wrestle Expo!

Don't miss Bill Eadie appearing as Demolition Ax at the Mid-Atlantic Wrestle Expo in Richmond on May 19-20. Visit their website for all the details. 


http://midatlanticwrestling.net/nwabelt.htm