The Anderson Brothers' Greatest Year (Part 2)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Did you miss PART ONE the story? Check it out here:
The Anderson Brothers' Greatest Year - Part One


PART TWO

While the second segment with filmed action featuring Gene and Ole Anderson from the 1975 Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Year-In-Review show was couched as "highlights," the film clip actually showcased the Andersons' lowest point of the year. In the Greensboro Coliseum on May 15, 1975, Paul Jones and Wahoo McDaniel became the NWA World Tag Team Champions and for just under a month ruled the roost in the tag team division. Gene and Ole Anderson, seemingly invincible, did in fact come back down to earth in that Greensboro title defeat...if for ever so briefly.

Bob Caudle smiled as he brought up the sore subject of the lone title loss in 1975 with Ole, chirping, "Now we have a match coming up here, Paul Jones and Wahoo McDaniel, you wrestled them several times during the year." Ole retorted, "Yeah, we did and I hope 1976 isn't a repeat because 1975 should have showed everybody including Paul Jones and Wahoo McDaniel that certainly we're the best. I know that you've got a piece of film here or something that you want to show everybody..." Caudle interrupted, "This is where you lose, that's right!"  Ole unapologetically continued, "The one time, the one time in our lifetime that we've maybe lost a match. But that's only one time, and that doesn't make us any less great than we are."

The film began to run for the fans at home condensing what was a 33 minute bout and Bob noted, "I think all the fans are going to enjoy seeing this...it's a match that the Andersons' do lose. Now watch Wahoo...Ole, he landed a couple of tremendous chops on you!" Ole answered, "Well, there's no question about...people say who are your toughest opponents and invariably I think Gene and I come back to guys like Wahoo McDaniel and Paul Jones; certainly some of the matches we've had with them are classics."

After a snippet of Wahoo brutalizing Ole, the film shifts to a part of the match where Jones is getting the upper hand over Gene. Ole then respectfully comments, "Paul Jones as we've said so many times is just a real tough and gutsy competitor. You can see right here he's giving Gene a couple of shots...the guy just doesn't know when to quit! He just keeps on coming and you can have him going and he just comes back and comes back and comes back and it's hard to put him down."

Then, a bit surprisingly, Ole compliments McDaniel to the television audience, "A guy like Wahoo McDaniel, he's got everything going for him. He's big, he's rugged and he's got a lot of strength. And...somebody wanted to know how those chops feel. Well, short of getting in there which I wouldn't recommend to anybody, I suppose if you got run over by a truck that might be comparable to it. Everything that those guys do is fantastic, except one thing that they aren't able to do, and that's beat us for these championship belts."

Announcer David Crockett then interjects himself, calling Ole on the last part of his statement, "Well Ole, they beat you one time didn't they?" Ole, chuckling, shot back, "Yeah, they beat us one time and, as far as we're concerned it's gonna be the only time that we're ever gonna be beaten!" Caudle followed up, "Well you fellas have travelled all over the world, being the World's Champions Ole, and I've heard you say that when you come back to the Mid-Atlantic area right here, this is still where you get your roughest and toughest competition."

The vocal Anderson responded to Bob and then turned his focus back to the film clip, "Yeah, we have to admit it, certainly...they've got the best competition right here. Here you see where Jones and Wahoo do a little double-teaming of their own and we come back a little bit, just give them a little bit of their own medicine." Crockett then interrupted Ole, "There you threw him over the top rope."  Ole wasn't quite so sure, explaining, "Well, I don't know whether he went over the top rope or the second rope I couldn't quite see it...the film looks a little bit cloudy to me."

As the abbreviated film nears its conclusion, Ole voices his clear displeasure complaining, "But whatever it was, now here's something! You talking about sometimes the things we do here's the deal with me that should have been thrown out right away. This Wahoo McDaniel, as far as I can tell shouldn't have even been in the ring...he's not in there legally. This is the victory that you're talking about that somebody's got over us."

Caudle couldn't help but gush about the fans' joyous reaction to a rare Andersons' loss noting to Ole and Gene, "Look at the fans...they're ecstatic about your losing." Ole disgustedly replied, "Well, you know you can't go anything by what the fans say, one minute they're for somebody and one minute they're for somebody else."

The younger Anderson continued his diatribe against the celebrating fans fuming, "They apparently don't realize just how great we really are; they still believe in somebody like Wahoo McDaniel and Paul Jones...they still think they're the best, but the best are the Anderson Brothers. There's no question about it, no question in our minds. Look at all these people coming up and congratulating 'em and everything else, well just to me it shows idiocy on their part if they can't see who the great wrestlers are, if they can't see who the real World Champions are, then they must be blind!"

Caudle concluded the recap of the Andersons' low-point of 1975 saying, "Well, that's where Ole and Gene Anderson lost the belts David in that match right there to Paul Jones and Wahoo McDaniel." Crockett crowed about the controversial finish gloating, "They got a taste of their own medicine!" As it appeared the perturbed Andersons' were about to walk off the set, Caudle offered them an olive branch to stay stating, "But Ole, to really complete the picture for 1975 we've got to show where you two came back..."

THE ANDERSON BROTHERS RETURN TO THE MOUNTAIN TOP, TO BE CONTINUED IN PART III...