After months of fierce competition, the "Greatest United States Champion of All Time" tournament comes to an end on Canadian Bulldog's World website.
Rickard's fantasy tournament has been underway since the early summer, but finally comes to a head on Thanksgiving weekend as Wahoo McDaniel and Blackjack Mulligan meet in the tournament finals.
The two had a history for Jim Crockett Promotions going back to the summer of 1975 when Mulligan came into the territory for a brief stint that included Indian strap matches between the two. Mulligan soon left for the WWWF where he and Blackjack Lanza formed the Hall of Fame tag team of the Blackjacks. When then U.S. champion Johnny Valentine's career was ended in the October 1975 Wilmington plane crash, booker George Scott brought Mulligan back to take his spot as the top heel in the territory. Mulligan took the U.S. title from Paul Jones in March of 1976 and began a series of runs as the U.S. champion, occasionally defending against Wahoo during those years.
So who ya got? It's two of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling's most legendary competitors facing off to determine the greatest U.S. champion of all time!
For decades, wrestling on Thanksgiving night was a cherished tradition in the Mid-Atlantic area, particularly in the cities of Greensboro, NC and Norfolk, VA.
The line-up of talent on the two Jim Crockett promotions cards in 1975 was simply amazing. And this was without their two top heels following the plane crash seven weeks earlier. Johnny Valentine's career was ended and Ric Flair would not return from his broken back until late January of 1976.
Brisco, Wahoo, Funk, Jones, Andre, Graham, the Andersons, Mulligan, Woods, Weaver, Miller, Patera, Mosca and so many more. Just an incredible line-up of great talent.
Today we look back at the 44th anniversary of a big night of wrestling in these two big Crockett towns. The actual date was Thanksgiving night 11/27/75.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1975
GREENSBORO, NC
Greensboro Coliseum
Greensboro Event Poster
Greensboro Newspaper Ad
Newspaper Result
A Page from Booker George Scott's Day Planner
NORFOLK, VA
Scope Coliseum
Norfolk Newspaper Ad
Norfolk Newspaper Result
Superstar Billy Graham and Andre the Giant at the Scope, Thanksgiving 1975
Photograph by Bill Janosik
International Wrestling Association (IWA)
WINSTON-SALEM, NC
Winston-Salem Coliseum
The rival IWA also ran a big Thanksgiving show in the Mid-Atlantic area
on Thanksgiving night of 1975.
Originally published November 25, 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Edited from a post originally published November 23, 2015
AUDIO AND VIDEO EMBEDDED IN THIS POST
As the years pass, it's natural for the smaller details to fade from memory on any good story. When folks talk about the build-up to Starrcade '85 all these 35+ years later, the story usually begins with Ric Flair and the Andersons turning on Dusty Rhodes in the cage in the Omni on 9/29/85. That's the angle they think of when they remember all the things that led up to the big world title match at Starrcade.
This story was originally part of a big 30th Anniversary celebration of Starrcade '85 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.
But the story began much earlier. You see, Dusty Rhodes needed to be the number one babyface and he had to have more than just the number one heel do bad things to him to set up his biggest match of the year. He needed someone the fans were beginning to love as much or more than him to turn on him. He needed more than evil deeds; he needed a betrayal.
Ric Flair had somewhat of a dual personality in the spring and summer of 1985 on Atlanta TV. For a majority of the time that Flair had been NWA world champion since September of 1981, he remained the most popular wrestler imaginable in his home territory of the Mid-Atlantic area, while wrestling straight heel as defending NWA world champion in every other territory in the NWA. When Jim Crockett Promotions acquired the wrestling TV time on Superstation WTBS, Flair maintained his heel persona on the national broadcast, while staying the babyface in the Mid-Atlantic area (even though many Mid-Atlantic fans were seeing the Superstation cable broadcasts, too.)
In the early months of Jim Crockett Promotion on the Superstation, Flair feuded with Magnum T.A. But in the home area of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling, the company prepared for the first Great American Bash at Memorial Stadium in Charlotte with mega-babyface Flair defending the honor of America and his world title against the rising "Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff.
At this same time, the company was in the early stages of making plans for the biggest show of the year that was more than a half year away - - Starrcade. Booker Dusty Rhodes knew he wanted to end up challenging Flair for the world title, but he didn't want a repeat of the situation he had the previous Thanksgiving at Starrcade '84 where he and Flair met both as babyfaces in the main event of that show.
Dusty needed more than a simple angle where the heel carried out some dastardly deed to set up the match. With Flair still hugely popular in the Mid-Atlantic area, and riding the successful program there with Nikita Koloff, Dusty devised the ingenious plan to add betrayal into the mix heading towards Starrcade '85.
He allowed the Mid-Atlantic Flair/Nikita feud to also play out on Atlanta TV, and planned a series of three main events between the two in Atlanta.
On 8/11/85, Flair defended the NWA title against Nikita at the Omni, with the match ending in a double count-out. A return match was set for 9/1 with the title on the line again but this time in a lumberjack match, with wrestlers surrounding the ring to make sure the combatants stayed in the ring.
The day before that rematch, on the 8/31/85 World Championship Wrestling show, Dusty shot an angle that was every bit as important as the big turn in the cage to come later, because it laid the foundation for the turn in the cage to have maximum impact. yet sadly, that small angle is largely forgotten in this story.
On that Saturday's show, Ivan and Nikita continued to run down Flair and the U.S.A. until Flair had had enough. During Nikita's TV match, with Ivan at the podium doing commentary with Tony Schiavone, Flair interrupted and challenged Ivan Koloff. Nikita saw what was happening, left the ring and jumped Flair from behind and through him in the ring. Nikita had the upper hand until Flair ducked a clothesline and nailed Nikita with a flying forearm. As he applied the figure four, Ivan hit the ring and the two Koloffs started to do a major number on Flair as the TV studio crowd was in an uproar.
Then the nearly unthinkable happened. Dusty Rhodes hit the ring to make the save. Dusty cleared the ring and then helped Ric to his feet. If you watch the angle carefully, you will notice that Flair gently pulled way from Rhodes as he was trying to help him up, and didn't really acknowledge his assistance. As Flair lit into a crazy promo on Nikita, Rhodes left the studio unnoticed.
Dusty Rhodes takes Ric Flair's hand after Flair had been attacked by the Koloffs
On its face, the angle was to add heat for the Flair/Nikita rematch at the Omni the following night. It certainly did that, but it also served the larger purpose as a subtle beginning to what would be the Flair turn on Dusty a month later in the cage.
The following night 9/1 in the Omni, Ivan and Khrusher Khrushchev, who were part of the contingent of lumberjacks at ringside, repeatedly attacked Flair during the match. The match ended again in a no contest, resulting in a third match between the two being set for 9/29, this final confrontation to take place inside a steel cage.
The following Saturday on World Championship Wrestling, Flair warned Dusty in unmistakable terms to stay out of his business, referring to the previous week's events on TV where Rhodes had saved him from the Koloffs' attack - -
"Dusty Rhodes, don't ever make the mistake of sticking your nose in my business. If I'm down and out, I'll get up and take care of myself. ... don't think you can walk into that ring and give me a hand or try to help me out and ease the tension in our relationship."
It didn't seem odd or out of place at all. Flair and Rhodes had feuded for years, and although Flair had become increasingly popular on the Superstation as of late, he still maintained that heel edge, cutting masterful promos where he would crack on both babyfaces and heels all at the same time in the same interview. It was beautiful to behold. Dusty had been warned. It was subtle, and yet direct at the same time.
Apparently, though, not direct enough for Dusty to get the message.
Fast forward to the infamous cage match of 9/29/85. Flair, with a sold out Omni behind him, finally turned back the challenge of the "Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff. But when the cage door was unlocked, Ivan Koloff and Khrusher Khrushchev hit the ring and three began to pummel Flair. The crowd didn't like it, but suddenly their boos turned into a loud roar as the "American Dream" hit the ring, throwing those famous elbows and sending the Russians running. The Omni came unglued.
With the Russians dispatched, Dusty turned to help Ric to his feet just as he did four weeks earlier on the Superstation. Except this time Ric pointed at Rhodes from the mat and shouted angrily, "I told you not to interfere in my business!" As Dusty stood confused at Ric's reaction, he failed to notice Ole and Arn Anderson entering the cage door behind him. The Andersons attacked Rhodes. Ric got to his feet, paused for a moment, and then went over to the cage door, pulled the chain back through, and padlocked it shut.
If you watch this carefully, you will notice fans at ringside within the camera shot screaming at Flair and pointing to the Andersons pounding Rhodes as if to implore the champ to return the favor and help Rhodes out. But instead, Ric went and joined his cousins and the three put an epic beatdown on the Dream.
You know the rest. As the Andersons held Rhodes, Flair leapt from the top turnbuckle onto Dusty's leg, badly injuring the ankle.
Booker Rhodes used the betrayal to turn Flair heel in the Mid-Altlantic area as well, as the Crockett syndicated shows the entire Omni cage angle. Ric was now a full fledged heel everywhere. Dusty was out of action for a little over a month. TV followed his rehab along with his doctor Joseph Estwanik. When he made his return on 11/3 in the Omni in an undercard match against Mike Davis, he proved the ankle was well, and Jim Crockett signed the NWA world title match between Rhodes and Flair for Starrcade '85.
The angle in the cage in Atlanta was hot and resulted in a near riot at the Omni, as fans at one point rushed ringside and braced the cage door to prevent the Andersons and Flair from being able to exit the ring.
But what made that angle work so well and what made that crowd riot was the betrayal - - not the attack. The weeks leading up to that betrayal are what are often overlooked today as we look back on that famous build to Starrcade '85.
Whatever you think of Dusty Rhodes as a storyteller and how this particular story played out in the end, you have to admit he hit this part of the story out of the ballpark.
YouTube video - - WTBS 8/31/85
Thanks to Scott Anderson for sending us the link.
Originally published November 23, 2015, and republished November 23, 2016.
On June 18, 1975 Ric Flair was about a year into his tenure with Jim Crockett Promotions. While Flair was the Mid-Atlantic Television Champion at that time, the young “Nature Boy” was still clearly a work in progress. The Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling TV show that was taped that night featured a bout between reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jack Brisco and the 1974 NWA Rookie of the Year, Steve Keirn. The rare appearance of the NWA World Champion on Mid-Atlantic TV was not lost on the supremely confident Flair.
In a brief interview segment on that show with announcer Bob Caudle, Ric exclaimed,
“I just want to take one minute here to tell everybody that I had a dream! You know, I have a lot of girlfriends around the country and one of ‘em happens to be a fortune-teller. And one day she looked at one line of my palm and she said, ‘You’re the best lookin’ man in the world!’ And the next day she looked at another line in my hand and she said, ‘You got the greatest body in the world!’ And the next day she looked at a line in my hand and said, ‘You’re gonna beat Paul Jones, you’re gonna beat Wahoo McDaniel, you’re gonna beat Jack Brisco, WOOOO, and you’re gonna be the World’s Champion! Because there’s only one Nature Boy, and you are the greatest wrestler in the world today Nature Boy, know it for a fact!’”
Flair concluded by saying, “I am the best, I am the good, I am the bad…I am everything daddy, and don’t you forget it!” Caudle deadpanned in response, “Well, there’s no doubt what Ric Flair thinks of himself.”
Self confidence has never been an issue for Ric Flair, even back in 1975. But when I watched this interview segment nearly 42 years ago, I didn’t see the young brash Nature Boy as a World Champion. Back then, that prospect seemed almost laughable to me. Was Flair entertaining back then? Yes, without a doubt. But, Ric Flair as a World Champion? Not even a remote possibility in my humble opinion!
As the years progressed, my opinion of Ric Flair and his World Title possibilities certainly changed. But while myself and others had to come around to the idea of Flair as a World Heavyweight Champion, the Nature Boy’s crystal ball on this subject was clear all the way back to June of 1975. And when Ric ascended to the NWA mountaintop for the first time on September 17, 1981, I vividly remember hearkening back to this interview, and realizing that he had one heck of a fortune-telling girlfriend in his past!
Originally published January 31, 2017 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.
by Dick Bourne and David Chappell Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Growing up watching Mid-Atlantic Wrestling in the 1970s, there seemed to always be an up-and-coming tag team combination that got your attention, that stood out from the rest. I'm not talking about established main-eventers who are paired together like Wahoo McDaniel and Paul Jones were in 1975. We knew they were headed for a world championship. I'm talking about two new-comers to the area or perhaps the pairing of two guys that had been toiling away on the undercard. You see them, and you think, "Hey, these guys have got something."
After the NWA world tag team titles were established in early 1975, the Mid-Atlantic tag team championships were a good place for teams to take that next step. Previously, that title had been the number one tag team title in the territory. But with the world tag team championship making its home here, the Mid-Atlantic tag titles seemed an appropriate way to recognize other teams. These should be teams that weren't necessarily going to make it on the world title level, but were championship calibre none-the-less.
COUNTDOWN
We've selected five teams that we felt fit that mold and should have been recognized or rewarded by the booker or the promotion with the Mid-Atlantic tag team championships but for whatever reason were never given that shot.
We are going to spotlight those five teams over the next few weeks, counting down to the number one team we thought should have been given that championship - - but wasn't.
NUMBER FIVE: Randy and Lanny Poffo (1976)
DC: These two young and talented performers teamed in the Mid-Atlantic area during much of 1976, and for the large majority of time when the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Titles were inactive. The Poffos came into the territory with a bit of a push, and getting the Mid-Atlantic tag belts would have been a great way to give them a major rub. Despite their youth at the time, with their athletic ability and work on the mics that we saw in later years, there is little chance the Poffos wouldn't have thrived as the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champions.
DB: One could easily argue that this legit-brother team deserved to be higher on this list. They got a decent mid-card push and were second generation wrestlers (father was Angelo Poffo) that already showed a good amount of ring savvy. Randy would go on to have a monster solo career as Randy "Macho Man" Savage. Both were gifted on the mic. This team above all others would have been a great excuse for Jim Crockett Promotions to bring back the Mid-Atlantic tag titles a lot earlier than they did when the titles were dormant in 1975 and the first half of 1976.
The second semi-final match (third round) of the "Greatest U.S. Champion of All Time" tournament pits two classic foes against each other for the right to face Blackjack Mulligan in the finals. Author Mike Rickard has had a fun time weaving a great tale for this fantasy tournament and we are headed for a great finish I'm sure.
This week features Ric Flair vs. Wahoo McDaniel. Their feud began in the fall of 1975 when a young "Nature Boy" Ric Flair (only having that nickname for a couple of months at that point) upset the big Chief to win the Mid-Atlantic title. They would feud over that title for the entire year of 1976. After Flair won the NWA World title, Wahoo was one of his toughest challengers for the ten pounds of gold off and on from 1981-1986.
Rickard's fantasy tournament has been running for the past several months on the "Canadian Bulldog's World" website (www.canadianbulldogsworld.com) and is in the final stages, as this week we finish up the semi-finals.
So who ya got? It's one of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling's most famous rivalries.