Friday, July 30, 2021

NWA World Champions (Magazine from Japan)

http://midatlanticwrestling.net/nwabelt.htm


The Japanese magazines still do an excellent job of remembering the old NWA champs. These are images from a special section of a magazine in Japan that looked back at the history of the NWA World title and presented a special interview with Harley Race.


Originally published in April 2016 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Mid-Atlantic TV Report: October 1, 1983

The WWE Network is no longer available
in the United States.

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
TV Summaries & Reviews
by David Taub
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

This is a review of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling as it once appeared on the WWE Network (now on Peacock). Results are included for the week (Monday-Sunday of the given week) as available. Please email with any corrections, typos, results, other details at 1davidtaub@gmail.com. Follow @TaubGVWire

For links to all available summaries as well as links to the Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast, visit our TV Summary Index.

Please note
: The WWE Network ceased operation in the United States on April 4, 2021 and the majority of programming transitioned to NBC's Peacock streaming service. The Mid-Atlantic shows returned in July of 2021. Links are provided where available.

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Original broadcast: 10/01/83
Taped 9/21/83 taped in Shelby NC at the Shelby Recreation Center
Review is from WWE Network/Peacock Network feed.

Match 1
Jay Youngblood & Mark Youngblood d. Golden Boy Grey & Ben Alexander

Tommy Young is the referee for the hour. Easy win for the Youngbloods. Mark bulldogs Grey for the pin.

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: The Assassins
Assassin 1 (Bob Caudle reverted back to calling them 1 & 2) says they have news. Paul Jones is introduced as the team’s new manager. Jones promises not to interfere. He will just sit in his chair in the corner. He will be the business manager for The Assassins.

[Break]

[VIDEO TAPE] Flair at Crockett Offices on Briarbend Drive
-Comments from Ric Flair - Announces Retirement
Flair is in an office, neck brace on and microphone in hand. He didn’t break any bones but has a neck injury. He could wrestle again, but he’s not sure that’s what he wants to do. His injury came close to duplicate his 1975 plane crash that broke his back. He’s not sure he wants to wrestle for a living again. It’s no longer a priority. He thanks the fans. He officially announces his retirement from professional wrestling.

[Break]

Match 2
Mark Lewin & Kevin Sullivan (w/Gary Hart) d. Rick McCord & Keith Larson

Caudle calls Hart the team’s agent. Harley Race is with Caudle. Caudle is stunned. Race isn’t surprised Flair is retired. He’s happy and proud, even if it cost him $25,000. Lewin & Sullivan are probably the guys in the best shape in Mid-Atlantic, maybe second to Rick Steamboat. Race namedrops the town they are in, Shelby, South Carolina. The best Caudle can do is correct Race, and say it is Shelby, North Carolina. Keep in mind Caudle never named what town they were in, just “in the arena.” Race doesn’t care. Caudle asks if it grates on Harley that he didn’t put Flair out himself. Race says it doesn’t. Back to the match. Sullivan tries to piledrive McCord. Referee Young prevents him, Sullivan pushes him. Kevin follows up with a back suplex on McCord for the pin. 

LOCAL PROMO SPOT
-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Gary Hart, Mark Lewin, Kevin Sullivan
Hart says no one will rip him off. While Hart is prattling on, Lewin is rolling his eyes to the back of his head. Sullivan is praying to someone. Sullivan is poking Lewin’s eyes and he’s screaming. Hart is still complaining about Charlie Brown. Watch out for Lewin’s Black Sleep and Sullivan’s Leg Sleeper.

[Break]

Match 3
Baron Von Raschke (w/Gary Hart) d. Brett Hart

We have some goose stepping, because this is 1983 wrestling. The Baron wins with the claw into a pin.

[Break]

[VIDEO] WWF TV: Andre the Giant
This is a recent match from WWF Championship Wrestling, a handicap match. Caudle narrates. Typical Andre match.

[Break] 

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Bob Orton Jr., Dick Slater, and NWA Champion Harley Race
All three mock Flair. Orton says Flair should be proud that he and Slater put him out. Slater isn’t so complimentary. Race says Flair disgraced himself with retirement.

[Break]

Match 4
Dick Slater & Bob Orton Jr. d. Scott McGhee & Steve Muslin by DQ - - Flair attacks!

A longer match than normal. I noticed police talking with some fans in the front row. It seems they are asking a man to move. He does (he returns later in the show). Just as the heels get going, Ric Flair runs into the ring with a baseball bat.  He takes a swing at Orton who jumps into the ring. Slater just dodges out of the way. Flair chases Orton to the back. Slater is hiding on the stage. Flair comes back out and chases after him. Slater grabs a chair to protect himself. The fans are going wild. Flair is going wild. Slater escapes. 

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Ric Flair
He rips off his vest. He rips off his neck brace. An A-Plus promo. Probably his best promo of his career to this point. He’s not going to let anyone say he’s done. His bat says “Skoal” for the record. The heels will pay the price for his neck. But, he’s staying to get his revenge. “You’ll go to your grave because of me!” Flair says it will “be a cold day in Hell” when someone puts him out of action. He vows to get back at Race too.

The bumper graphics promises Wahoo, Rufus R. Jones and Charlie Brown coming up. Either they got cut out of this episode, or it was a false promise. 

LOCAL PROMO SPOT
-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Jay Youngblood & Mark Youngblood
This is in lieu of local promos. Jay says everyone has been asking about his brother. He’s single, according to Jay. Mark gives a rather bland promo.

[Break]

Match 5
The Assassins (w/Paul Jones) d. Vinnie Valentino & John Bonello

Jones leaves as the match starts. Hercules Assassin showed a lot of wrestling at this point of his career. Jones joins Caudle. He says he never interferes in matches. Some nice dropkicks by Valentino, but he tries one too many. Hamilton Assassin pins Valentino with a headbutt. 

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Wahoo McDaniel
McDaniel is worried about Flair, whether he is still hurt. Flair doesn’t need a bat as a partner, he has Wahoo. It seems Caudle has to close off Wahoo to end the show.

“So long for now!”

 * * * * * *

Results for the week, 9/26/83-10/02/83
(source: Clawmaster’s Archive via Sports and Wrestling blog posted by David Baker; “Wrestling” newsletter by Joe Shedlock)

Mon., 9/26/83 Greenville, SC; Memorial Auditorium
Wahoo McDaniel & Mark Youngblood beat Dick Slater & Greg Valentine in a double Indian strap match
Baron Von Raschke beat Charlie Brown
Bob Orton, Jr. beat Steve Muslim
Scott McGhee beat Magic Dragon
Gene Anderson beat Vinnie Valentino
Kelly Kiniski beat Jerry Grey

Tue., 9/27/83 Raleigh, NC
Wahoo McDaniel & Mark Youngblood beat Dick Slater & Greg Valentine in a double Indian strap match
Baron Von Raschke beat Charlie Brown
Bob Orton, Jr. beat Johnny Weaver
Magic Dragon beat Brett Hart
Ric McCord beat The Ninja
John Bonello Beat Tom Lentz

Tue., 9/27/83 Columbia, SC; Township Auditorium
Vinnie Valentino beat Jerry Grey
Mark Youngblood beat Kelly Kiniski
Dory Funk, Jr. beat Scott McGhee
Rufus R. Jones & Bugsy McGraw beat The Assassins
Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco beat Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood

Wed., 9/28/83 Spartanburg, SC ;  Memorial Auditorium (TV)

Thu., 9/29/83 Hopewell, VA
Mark Youngblood & Jay Youngblood beat Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco
Ricky Steamboat beat Dick Slater by DQ
Bob Orton, Jr. beat Steve Muslim
Brett Hart beat The Ninja
Vinnie Valentino beat Cy Jernigan

Fri., 9/30/83 Charlottesville, VA; University Hall
Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood beat Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco
Dick Slater & Greg Valentine beat Wahoo McDaniel & Mark Youngblood
Bob Orton, Jr. beat Brett Hart
Vinnie Valentino beat The Ninja
Magic Dragon beat Cy Jernigan

Fri., 9/30/83 Charleston, SC; County Hall
Charlie Brown beat Baron Von Raschke in a steel cage, bounty match
The Assassins beat Johnny Weaver & Scott McGhee
Mark Lewin beat John Bonello
Kevin Sullivan beat Mark Fleming
Tom Lentz beat Gene Ligon

Sat., 10/01/83 Morganton, NC
Baron Von Raschke beat Charlie Brown in a bounty match
The Assassins beat Johnny Weaver & Bugsy McGraw
Rick McCord beat Kelly Kiniski
Plus other matches

Sat., 10/01/83 Conway, SC
Joel Deaton beat Abe Jacobs
Vinnie Valentino beat Jerry Grey
Scott McGhee beat Tom Lentz
Rufus R. Jones beat Dory Funk, Jr.
Wahoo McDaniel beat Dick Slater in a lumberjack match
Liz Chase beat Donna Christianello

Sun., 10/02/83 Asheville, NC; Civic Center
Terry Gibbs beat Magic Dragon
Kevin Sullivan beat Rick McCord
Mark Lewin beat John Bonello
Bob Orton, Jr. & Dick Slater beat Ric Flair& Wahoo McDaniel by DQ (Flair sub for Bugsy McGraw)
Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco beat Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood

Sun., 10/02/83 Charlotte, NC; Charlotte Coliseum
Dick Slater & Bob Orton, Jr. beat Ric Flair & Wahoo McDaniel by DQ
Baron Von Raschke beat Charlie Brown
Gene Anderson beat Rufus R. Jones
Mark Youngblood beat Magic Dragon
Scott McGhee beat Jerry Grey
Vinnie Valentino beat Tom Lentz

Sun., 10/02/83 Greensboro, NC ;  Coliseum
Rick Steamboat & Jay Youngblood beat Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco to win NWA World Tag Title
Plus other matches

Monday, July 26, 2021

Tully Blanchard: The Lights Go Out

NWA TV Champion Tully Blanchard, victim of a Johnny Weaver sleeper.

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Photograph by Ginger Layman Lynch
 
Tully Blanchard sleeps peacefully on the mat, it seems, his NWA TV championship belt almost as a pillow. But moments earlier, it was actually wrestling legend Johnny Weaver who put the champ to sleep with his famous sleeper hold in a title match in Roanoke VA. The time limit expired before the referee declared Blanchard out, and Blanchard retained his title.

One of my favorite moments each week on "World Wide Wrestling" in the early 1980s was when Johnny Weaver would pick one match each week and sing "Turn Out the Lights (The Party's Over)" at the finish. It was an homage to "Dandy" Don Meredith who used to sing the same song at the end of games in the 1970s on ABC's "Monday Night Football."

On this night in Roanoke, although he didn't win the title, Johnny Weaver could have sung to Tully Blanchard.

This is one of my favorite photographs by Roanoke-area photographer Ginger Layman Lynch, who shot photos ringside in Roanoke and Rocky Mount VA in the early 1980s. She was kind enough to share some of her photographs with the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

See more of Ginger's photography on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archive site HERE.

 
Photograph Copyright © Ginger Layman Lynch. Used by permission. Originally published December 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Sunday, July 25, 2021

The Gateway Book Store

 

Mid-Atlantic Gateway Book Store

Lou Thesz, Dick Hutton, Pat O'Connor, Buddy Rogers, Gene Kiniski,
Dory Funk, Jr., Harley Race.

The storied history of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from 1959-1973,
and a look at the belt itself, the "crown jewel" of championship belts.


Thursday, July 22, 2021

Best of: Old Wrestling Posters Never Die

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Some time ago, I received an email from John Harrison, a nice fellow I met a few years back at a show in Seagrove, NC. He forwarded to me a photo of an old poster he had held onto for nearly 36 years. It looks as though it is stapled to a plywood wall, torn, tattered, ripped, weathered - - it's beautiful.

I appreciate folks who hold onto their early wrestling memories. It is what this website is all about, after all.

"Me and three buddies went to this one," John wrote me, "and we actually pulled this poster from a sign in the middle of Main Street in Biscoe, NC. I was driving, pulled up to the sign and we had to pull this poster off the wooden sign it was stapled to.  A town cop came by and turned around and pulled us over.  He thought we had hit the sign, but we told him we were taking the poster, and he laughed and sent us on our way."

John also pointed out that Biscoe is spelled incorrectly on the poster.

"We used to get a couple of shows locally each year," he concluded. "I was a Flair and Mulligan fan and I remember them coming around as well.  Good times..."

Good times indeed. I can identify with John. Some of my best wrestling memories growing up were going to wrestling shows with my buddies. And I held onto every bit of memorabilia I could get my hands on then, wether it was ticket stubs, posters, programs, you name it.

This particular poster is from January of 1979 for a card in Biscoe, NC which is a small town in Montgomery County located about halfway between Charlotte and Raleigh, just off I-73.  Back in those days, long before there was an I-73 running north-south right by town, Biscoe was a very small town like so many others where Jim Crockett Promotions ran small spot shows, often times in conjunction with a fund-raising effort by a local high school or civic organization.  This show took place just weeks after Paul Jones turned on Ricky Steamboat in the famous two-ring battle royal in Charlotte. (Paul swears it was Steamboat you really turned, but I digress...)

The fact that this poster is in such bad shape just makes it an even better story, more impressive that John hung on to it after all these years. It has no real financial value being in such rough shape. But I'm guessing it has tremendous sentimental value to John and his buddies who were with him that night at the East Montgomery Gym in Biscoe.

Originally posted July 26, 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Cookies

 

David Chappell's wife Diana had some incredibly cool Mid-Atlantic Wrestling logo cookies made for Dick Bourne's 60th birthday. She's the best!

Now that's a classic way to celebrate!

Monday, July 19, 2021

Johnny Weaver Debuts for Jim Crockett Promotions (1962)

Johnny Weaver made his debut for Crockett Promotions on February 5, 1962 at the Charlotte Park Center. His scheduled opponent was Eddie Auger, but Weaver wound up wrestling Swede Hanson instead, which Weaver discussed in his conversation with the Mid-Atlantic Gateway in November 2007:

"My first match for Crockett was in February, 1962. First opponent was Swede Hansen and I didn’t know him from Adam. We got in the ring – I think it was a one fall, 20 minute match. We got in the ring, locked up and I pulled him back to the corner and I’m going to be the, you know, the nice guy and I said OK man, and I laid one in. (laughs) He popped me back, and I mean he popped me, and then he said, “huh-huh-huh” (laughs). I had a cold, but he knocked it out the other side. (laughter). No one hit harder than Swede, and he was letting me know... "
 
Here are the other clippings from the Charlotte newspaper regarding that show:


      

Special thanks to Mark Eastridge for the newspaper clippings.
Originally published on the Johnny Weaver Blog on Feb 5, 2010.

Sunday, July 18, 2021

The Old Ballgame

David Crockett

"Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack..."


Mike Cline posted some photos from a charity softball game between Jim Crockett Promotions and WSOC radio in 1987.

They include shots of The Rock and Roll Express, the Garvins, and others.

Check out his post "Back to the Ballpark" on his "Mid-Atlantic Grapplin' Greats" blog.

Friday, July 16, 2021

Mid-Atlantic TV Report: September 24, 1983

The WWE Network is no longer available
in the United States.

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
TV Summaries & Reviews
by David Taub
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

This is a review of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling as it once appeared on the WWE Network. Results are included for the week (Monday-Sunday of the given week) as available. Please email with any corrections, typos, results, other details at 1davidtaub@gmail.com. Follow @TaubGVWire

For links to all available summaries as well as links to the Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast, visit our TV Summary Index.

Please note
: The WWE Network ceased operation in the United States on April 4, 2021. Their press release stated that their entire archive of material (which presumably would include the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling shows) would be transitioned to NBC's Peacock streaming service by the end of the summer 2021. We'll update as we know more.

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Original broadcast: 09/24/83
Taped 09/14/83 taped in Charlotte NC at the Charlotte Park Center
Review is from the now defunct WWE Network (U.S.) feed. 

Match 1
Jay Youngblood & Mark Youngblood d. Tom Lentz & Kelly Kiniski

We join the show with the match in progress. Steamboat joins Bob Caudle on commentary. Stu Schwartz is the referee for the hour. It is pointed out this is the first time the Youngbloods have teamed together. Mark gets the pin on Lentz with the bulldog. 

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Rufus R. Jones
Jones is proud to be Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight champion. He will do whatever it takes to keep the title.

[Break]

Match 2
Bob Orton Jr. d. John Bonello

Caudle reveals that Ric Flair may never wrestle again because of his injuries. Orton suplexes Bonello from the outside into the inside. He follows with a superplex for the pin.

[Break]

Match 3
Bugsy McGraw d. Assassin 2 by DQ

Hamilton Assassin is on commentary. Bugsy is holding his own, and at one point nearly pulls his opponent’s mask off. Hamilton Assassin storms the ring, place and object in his mask and nails Bugsy for the DQ. Double teaming on Bugsy until Rufus R. Jones and Mark Youngblood make the save.

Local Promo Spot
-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Rick Steamboat
This is in lieu of local promos. Caudle says Mark Youngblood is supposed to be his guest, but he is still tending to Bugsy McGraw. Steamboat is upset that Bugsy got ganged up upon, just like Ric Flair. Mark finally joins the set. He’s upset with the double teaming. He’s here to clean this town up.

[Break]

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Gary Hart
Gary has his camera with him, so he can get a photo of the real Charlie Brown, aka Jimmy Valiant. Baron Von Raschke is coming to help him. We go to a clips of Baron on AWA TV, using the claw to win. No one rips Gary Hart off.

[Break]

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Wahoo McDaniel
Wahoo pumps iron at World Gym, according to his shirt. Wahoo has a strap, because he needs them to keep his opponents from running. He talks about Ric Flair possibly being out for good. He warns many they are going to get it.

[Break]

[TAPE] Comments from Harley Race
Race says he is taping these comments from the Lakeland Civic Center in Florida. Race is in the dressing room, where a beauty pageant just took place. He thanks Slater & Orton. He trash talks Ric Flair.

Match 4
Dory Funk Jr. (w/Paul Jones) d. Scott McGhee

Lots of mat wrestling, as Caudle continues to talk about Ric Flair possibly being out for good. He is convalescing at his parents’ home, noting Flair’s dad is a doctor. Impressive bridge off the mat by McGhee, as Funk tries several times to knock him down but can’t. McGhee works a long headlock spot. He connects with a flying bodypress, but Jones is distracting the referee. McGhee whiffs on a corner charge, and Funk gets the pin with the spinning toe hold.

-We go to a clip of the locker room. Rufus R. Jones, Steamboat and Wahoo are playing doctor over Bugsy McGraw, writhing on training table. Wahoo asks where does it hurt? 

Local Promo Spot
-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Greg Valentine
This is in lieu of local promos. Valentine says there has been a lot of mail from Charleston, WV for him to face Roddy Piper. Valentine doesn’t care where the match takes place. Piper is a great wrestler, but The Hammer is just a bit better.

[Break] 

Match 5
Non-Title Match: Greg Valentine [United States Champion] d. Steve Muslin

Valentine in control most of the way. He wins with the elbow drop from the second rope.

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Bob Orton Jr. and Greg Valentine
Orton says he’s the man who put Flair in the hospital. Everyone is just jealous of him. Valentine praises Orton. They shake hands. He makes a brief reference to how they both had the same manager in the Big Apple. He is sick of Piper. No more title matches. Valentine says no NWA promoter would sanction a dog collar match. He won’t sign for it. 

“So long for now!” 

* * * * * * * * * * 

Results for the week, 9/19/83-9/25/83
(source: Clawmaster’s Archive via Sports and Wrestling blog posted by David Baker; “Wrestling” newsletter by Joe Shedlock)

Mon., 9/19/83 Greenville, SC; Memorial Auditorium
Wahoo McDaniel & Mark Youngblood beat Greg Valentine & Dick Slater by DQ
Vinnie Valentine & Scott McGhee beat Gene Anderson & The Ninja
Bob Orton, Jr. beat Bugsy McGraw
Rufus R. Jones beat Jake Roberts
John Bonello beat Abe Jacobs

Mon., 9/19/83 Fayetteville, NC; Cumberland County Civic Center
Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood beat Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco
Charlie Brown beat Great Kabuki in a bounty match
The Assassins beat Steve Muslim & Mark Fleming

Tue., 9/20/83 Columbia, SC; Township Auditorium
Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood beat Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco
Charlie Brown beat Baron Von Raschke
Rufus R. Jones beat Jake Roberts in a Texas death match
Gene Anderson & Kelly Kiniski beat Scott McGhee & John Bonello

Tu., 9/20/83 Hillsborough, NC; Orange High School
Roddy Piper & Wahoo McDaniel vs. Dick Slater & Bob Orton, Jr.
Bugsy McGraw vs. Dory Funk, Jr.
The Assassins vs. Johnny Weaver & Brett Hart
Tom Lentz vs. Rick McCord
Plus other matches

Wed., 9/21/83 Shelby, NC; Shelby Recreation Center (TV)
MACW:
Mark Youngblood & Jay Youngblood beat Jerry Grey & Ben Alexander
Mark Lewin & Kevin Sullivan beat Ric McCord & Keith Larsen
Baron Von Raschke beat Barry Hart
Dick Slater & Bob Orton, Jr. no contest with Scott McGhee & Steve Muslin
The Assassins beat Vinnie Valentino & John Bonello
Dark:
Jimmy Valiant beat Baron Von Raschke

Thu., 9/22/83 Harrisonburg, VA; Harrisonburg High School
Dick Slater, Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco vs. Ricky Steamboat, Wahoo McDaniel & Jay Youngblood
Johnny Weaver vs. Bob Orton, Jr.
Gene Anderson vs. Brett Hart
Kelly Kiniski vs. Vinnie Valentino
Jerry Gray vs. Cy Jernigan

Fri., 9/23/83 Charleston, SC; County Hall
Rufus R. Jones & Bugsy McGraw beat Dory Funk, Jr. & Jake Roberts
Baron Von Raschke beat Charlie Brown
Mark Youngblood & Scott McGhee beat Magic Dragon & The Ninja
Gene Ligon beat Tom Lentz
John Bonello beat Jerry Gray

Fri., 9/23/83 Richmond, VA; Richmond Coliseum
Brett Hart beat Kelly Kiniski
Gene Anderson beat Vinnie Valentino
The Assassins beat Keith Larson & Ric McCord
Bob Orton, Jr. beat Johnny Weaver
Wahoo McDaniel beat Dick Slater
Wahoo McDaniel (sub for Roddy Piper) beat Greg Valentine in a lumberjack match
Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood beat Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco by DQ

Sat., 9/24/83 Greensboro, NC; Greensboro Coliseum
Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood beat Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco
Baron Von Raschke beat Charlie Brown in a bounty match
Wahoo McDaniel beat Dick Slater in a taped fist match
Bob Orton, Jr. beat Johnny Weaver
The Assassins beat Scott McGhee & Steve Muslim
Gene Anderson beat John Bonello
Brett Hart beat Tom Lentz

Sun., 9/25/83 Hampton, VA; Hampton Coliseum
Wahoo McDaniel & Mark Youngblood beat Dick Slater & Greg Valentine
Baron Von Raschke beat Charlie Brown
The Assassins beat Bugsy McGraw & Johnny Weaver
Rufus R. Jones beat Jake Roberts
Dory Funk, Jr. beat Scott McGhee
Brett Hart beat Jerry Grey

Sun., 9/25/83 Roanoke, VA; Roanoke Civic Center
World tag team championship: Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco DDQ Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood
Canadian Lumberjack match/non-United States Heavyweight championship: Wahoo McDaniel beat Greg Valentine [ch.]
$10,000 bounty match: Baron Von Raschke beat Charlie Brown
Bob Orton, Jr. beat Steve Muslim
Vinnie Valentino & John Bonello beat Kelly Kiniski & Tom Lentz
Gene Anderson beat Ric McCor

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Memories of a Lincoln Continental Tournament in Roanoke VA (1977)

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

When working on formatting Brack Beasley's recent poster entry about the Lincoln Continental Tournament in Roanoke in 1977, I emailed Mid-Atlantic Gateway contributor Thom Brewer who grew up going to wrestling matches in Roanoke. Ric Flair defeated Wahoo McDaniel in the finals of that tournament to win the car. I wanted to know if Thom was at that show show and if he had any specific memories about the tournament and the match-ups. 

BRACK BEASLEY COLLECTION

Thom was indeed there that night. I received this email back with Thom's detailed memories.

If you missed it, check out Brack's post about that big tournament card in Roanoke and some of the context of the times. Then come back and read Thom's note below. 

* * * * * * * *

Email from Thom Brewer
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

I was actually there [in Roanoke] that night and the strap match two weeks later.  I didn't keep notes, but I remember a few things because it was a big night in my personal history.  

I had gotten a Kodak XL55 movie camera for Christmas.  I was 12 years old and it cost over $100, which is about $500 in today's money.  That was a LOT of money to us back then.  It was one of the best gifts I had ever gotten and it literally got my career as a photographer started.  I shot this tournament and a few other Mid-Atlantic Wrestling events.  And quite honestly the films were stunning. Unfortunately my parents moved a lot while I was in college and the films got lost.  

Anyway I remember some details very well.  I remember that car like it was yesterday. It was a bright, shiny maroon Lincoln Continental.  It was long and beautiful.  It was set up on one end of the floor near the ring and was roped off to protect it from the fans.  You could get close enough to get a good look, but not close enough to touch it.  It was IMPRESSIVE to a 12 year old.

I'm sketchy about the early matches featuring the enhancement guys.  I think Greg Valentine eliminated Johnny Weaver.  Wahoo eliminated Greg Valentine, I believe, to get to the finals with Flair.

Because I watched the movie a hundred times, I know for a fact that Ric Flair eliminated Dino Bravo, but it was pretty creative.  Bravo tossed Flair around for much of the match, which was okay with me because I wanted him to win the car. At one part of the match, the referee got thrown out of the ring.  I'm pretty sure it was Tommy Young.  While he is sitting on the floor, Flair is on the opposite side in the ring.  Bravo was not near him, but Flair runs across the ring, dives over the top rope, and lands right in front of the referee.  Tommy Young immediately disqualifies Bravo, thinking he threw Flair over the top rope.  The crowd was livid.  

That leaves Flair and Wahoo in the final match for the car.  I don't exactly remember how it ended.  I think Flair rolled Wahoo up and used the ropes for leverage for the pin.  I do remember that they chopped the heck out of each other.  The batteries in my camera were dying and because of it, it "undercranked" the film.  It made the action look twice as fast.  When I got my film back about a week later, those chops were coming hard and REALLY fast. It made Wahoo and Flair look like wrestling's version of the Keystone Kops.

Just about everyone in the pretty large crowd was mad that Flair had won the car.

Man, I would love to have those films today. I'd probably be an accountant or a short order cook without that camera. It set me on a path to being a journalist.

* * * * * * * *

Thom Brewer works for WDBJ-TV channel 7 in Roanoke VA, where local promoter  Pete Apostolou once staged live television wrestling matches from the channel-7 studios there. Thom provided some amazing photographs to us from his research about those studio TV tapings in the 1960s. They are featured in our page on WDBJ studio wrestling on the old Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archive site. 

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Flair and Race: Two of the Greatest of All Time

Former NWA World Champions Ric Flair and Harley Race (2015)


What a great shot of two of the greatest champions to ever lace up the boots: Ric Flair and Harley Race.

The photo was taken today 8/29/15 in advance of World League Wrestling's "Night of Champions" event in Troy, MO. Flair was making a special appearance there for Harley's Missouri-based promotion.

That's Harley's replica of the domed-globe version of the NWA world title belt sitting on the table in front of them, better known as the "Ten Pounds of Gold."

Race beat Flair in June of 1983 in St. Louis to win his seventh NWA World championship, breaking Lou Thesz's long-standing record at that time. Flair got it back five months later at the first Starrcade event on Thanksgiving night of that same year in Greensboro, NC. The two traded it again in 1984 in the controversial New Zealand/Singapore title changes that weren't officially recognized at the time, but are now by the National Wrestling Alliance.

 

Sunday, July 11, 2021

Crockett Cup '85: Brody and Hansen battle The Oklahoma Cowboys

THE QUARTER FINALS
by Mike Rickard

Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor 

UPDATED BRACKETS


THIS WEEK'S MATCH:
BRUISER BRODY and STAN HANSEN
vs. THE OKLAHOMA COWBOYS

Quarter Final Round Match #3
(Tournament Match #43)
 

The 1985 Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament is underway. Wait, did you just say 1985? It’s time to take a look at one of wrestling’s biggest events from the mid-80s and see what it might have been like with a few historical alterations. What if Jim Crockett Promotions hosted its tag team tournament the Crockett Cup in 1985 and included teams from promotions outside the National Wrestling Alliance (“NWA”) including the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling, and more? In this case, you’d have 48 of the greatest tag teams in the world battling in a winner take all tournament for $1,000,000 and the prestigious Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Trophy. 

The first round saw 32 teams competing to advance to round two with 16 teams making it in. Round two followed as these 16 teams battled the 16 top-seeded tag teams that received a first-round bye. Round three continued with the remaining 16 teams slugging it out with eight making their way to round four. As round four begins, let’s take a look at what to expect with “The Elite Eight.”

Fourth Round Rules: Here are the rules for the round four of our tournament. A pool of referees from the NWA, AWA, and WWF have been appointed for the tournament and randomly selected for each match. The fourth-round matches have a sixty-minute time limit and are sanctioned under NWA rules (throwing an opponent over the top rope is an automatic disqualification). The matches are one fall with a win obtained by a pinfall, submission, count-out, or disqualification. 

The fourth-round matches are being held at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The four matches will take place on Friday April 26. Your commentators for the matches are Bob Caudle and David Crockett, but as always, you never know when a special guest will show up. 

Round four’s second match saw Jim Cornette’s Midnight Express (“Beautiful” Bobby Eaton and “Loverboy” Dennis Condrey) steal a win from the British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid). Now, the rugged team of Bruiser Brody and Stan Hansen are set to take on the Oklahoma Cowboys (Tex and Roy). The only problem is that someone attacked Stan Hansen backstage during the second match and the ringside doctor doesn’t know if Hansen can compete. 

Bob Caudle and David Crockett are at ringside and discussing the attack on Hansen. Bob says there’s been a pause in the action as the medical staff look over Hansen. David Crockett says that it’s unknown what will happen if Hansen can’t compete. Will Brody have to find a new partner? Will Brody and Hansen have to forfeit? Bob Caudle says NWA President Jim Crockett is the man with all the answers and he’s backstage with Johnny Weaver. 

PRE-MATCH INTERVIEWS
The cameras show Johnny Weaver standing alongside NWA President Jim Crockett Jr. “The Master of the Sleeper Hold” asks the NWA President if there’s any update on Hansen. Jim Crockett Jr. says the doctor is advising against Hansen wrestling. He doesn’t believe Hansen’s knee was broken, but he could do serious injury to himself if he competes in his current condition. The NWA President adds that Bruiser Brody will either have to compete by himself or forfeit the match if Hansen does not wrestle. A forfeit would lead to the Oklahoma Cowboys getting a bye to round five. Mr. Crockett says Hansen and Brody haven’t informed them of their decision so for now, the match is on. Johnny Weaver asks if the fourth match might take place before the third match, giving the doctor more time to evaluate Hansen’s knee. Jim Crockett Jr. replies the rules are strict regarding when wrestlers compete and unfortunately he can’t make any exceptions. Johnny Weaver thanks Mr. Crockett for the update and sends things over to Tony Schiavone, who is backstage with the Oklahoma Cowboys. 

Schiavone interviews Tex and Roy about their upcoming match, a match that may not take place. Roy says it’s a downright shame what happened to Hansen and if the Oklahoma Cowboys had their way, they’d give the team time to recover. However, professional wrestling isn’t for sissies and you have to take the cards that are dealt to you. Tex adds that sometimes those cards are aces and sometimes they’re deuces. Schiavone asks the Cowboys if they’ve heard anything about what happened or who attacked Hansen. Tex says he heard someone found a Wall Street Journal laying near the scene of the crime. Roy puts his hand on his chin and asks, “Now who do we know who likes to read the Wall Street Journal?” Tony says the Road Warriors’ manager “Precious” Paul Ellering is known for carrying one around. Tex suggests that might be what those in the detective business call a clue. The Cowboys take off. 

Bob Caudle tells Tony Schiavone that Bruiser Brody and Stan Hansen have refused to give an interview and it’s still unknown if they’ll compete tonight. The Oklahoma Cowboys make their way out to moderate applause. 

Bruiser Brody and Stan Hansen
vs. The Oklahoma Cowboys (Tex and Roy)

The ring announcer introduces the Oklahoma Cowboys before announcing their opponents. No one comes out and the fans begin murmuring. Memphis Wrestling referee Jerry Calhoun says something to the ring announcer as the Cowboys stand in their corner. The ring announcer says that Bruiser Brody and Stan Hansen have a ten count to come to the ring. Otherwise, they will forfeit the match. The announcer begins counting as the fans join in, along with David Crockett. 1, 2, 3…no one is coming out. 4, 5, 6… David Crockett says it looks like this match may be our first forfeit. 7… Bruiser Brody runs out to the ring as Stan Hansen hobbles out. Brody charges the ring and lays into Tex and Roy as the referee signals for the bell and the match begins. 

Brody is punching away at both Oklahoma Cowboys as Stan Hansen limps to the ring. The Cowboys start double-teaming Brody with forearm uppercuts and punches, gaining the upper hand. Tex and Roy whip Brody into the ropes but the big man comes off with a double clothesline, knocking both men down. Brody covers Tex but he kicks out at two. Jerry Calhoun tells one of the Cowboys to get back to their corner as Brody chokes Roy on the ropes. The referee starts a five-count on Brody and he lets Roy go at four. Roy staggers away as Tex clips Brody’s right knee from behind, knocking him down to the mat. Roy goes to the Cowboys’ corner as Tex drops an elbow on Brody’s right knee. Tex stomps Brody’s knee as Stan Hansen finally makes it to the ring and gingerly gets onto the mat apron. Bob Caudle wonders if Hansen can even wrestle. Tex hits a leg drop on Bruiser’s right thigh. David Crockett notes this is a classic strategy when dealing with a big man, take him off his feet and eliminate his power advantage. Bob adds that with Hansen’s ability to wrestle in question, this might as well be a handicap match. 

Five minutes into the match as Tex tags in Roy. Roy presses his boot into Brody’s throat while Tex places Brody’s right leg on the rope. Roy drops a knee onto Brody’s leg as referee Jerry Calhoun orders Roy out of the ring. Calhoun admonishes Tex on his behavior while Roy drops an elbow on the inside of Brody’s right knee. Brody sits up and fires a punch at Roy, but he doesn’t have the leverage to get his full force behind it. David Crockett says the Oklahoma Cowboys have taken the fight right to Brody.  Roy grabs Brody’s right leg and twists it before dropping an elbow on it. Roy takes Brody’s leg and applies the figure four leglock. David Crockett says he can’t believe Roy is going for the move this early. Roy locks the hold in the center of the ring as Brody winces in pain. Roy cinches in the hold as Brody struggles to reach the ropes. Bob Caudle says that even though it’s early on, Roy can do some serious damage to Brody’s leg if he keeps the hold in. Two minutes pass as Brody somehow is fighting off the effects of the hold. He’s edging towards the ropes now and makes it, forcing a break. Roy takes his time releasing the hold and Jerry Calhoun does his best to extricate Brody from the painful hold. Calhoun says something to Roy as Brody uses the ropes to get to his feet. Roy charges in, but Brody connects with a big right that drops Roy. The fans cheer. Bob Caudle says the fans seem to respect Brody’s fight and the fact he’s just about on his own against two men. Roy gets up and charges Brody again, only to get floored by another right. Brody drops a big elbow onto Roy and covers him for a two-count before Tex runs in. Stan Hansen stumbles into the ring. It’s clear his leg is in bad shape but that isn’t stopping “The Bad Man from Borger.” Hansen slugs Tex then whips him into a neutral corner. Hansen walks towards Tex and starts choking him. Meanwhile, Bruiser Brody whips Roy into the ropes and connects with a clothesline. Cover on Roy but Jerry Calhoun is trying to separate Hansen and Tex. Brody steps in and the two big men whip Tex into the ropes, connecting with a double elbow. Calhoun orders Hansen back to his corner and the Texan argues with him. Meanwhile, Brody lifts Tex up for a piledriver but Roy clips him in the right knee again from behind. Tex and Roy grab Brody’s leg and drag him to their corner while Calhoun continues arguing with Hansen. David Crockett remarks that Hansen looks like he’s going to punch the referee out. The ring announcer states ten minutes have passed in the match. The Cowboys grab Brody’s leg as Roy holds it and Tex comes off the second rope, dropping a knee across it. Both Oklahoma Cowboys take turns stomping at Brody’s bad wheel. 

Roy shoves a boot into Brody’s throat, holding onto one of the top ropes in the Cowboys’ corner. Hansen returns to his corner and Jerry Calhoun sees what’s going on. Stan Hansen tries to come in but Tex runs over and nails him with a big knee, knocking him through the ropes and onto the concrete. David Crockett says Hansen is effectively out of the match now. Remarkably, Brody gets to his feet and he goes after Roy. With his work done, Tex comes over and delivers a double axe-handle to Brody’s back. A snapmare sends Brody down and Tex drops another elbow onto Bruiser’s right knee. 

Roy goes to apply the figure four leglock, but Brody rakes his eyes. Brody slugs him and pulls himself up, again leaning heavily on the ropes. Roy throws a flurry of rights at Brody, but the big man is shrugging them off. Brody unloads on Roy in a neutral corner as the referee starts a five count. While Brody pummels Roy, Tex unfastens the top turnbuckle cover, with the unforgiving steel now exposed. Brody ignores the referee so Calhoun gets in between the two grapplers. As he does, Roy kicks Brody in his bum knee. Brody fights on though and goes to whip Roy into the Cowboy’s corner but Roy reverses and Brody crashes into the exposed turnbuckle. Tex slugs Brody as Roy covers the burly brawler. Tex hops off the mat apron and holds Brody’s right leg down as the referee makes the count. The referee doesn’t see Tex as Brody’s shoulders are counted down, 1-2-3. Hansen is still getting up from the concrete floor and can’t make the save. 

Winners: The Oklahoma Cowboys

The Cowboys roll out of the ring as Brody slugs the referee. The Cowboys make a brisk exit (or what some might call running for their lives) as Brody scrambles for a chair. Bruiser throws the chair at the Oklahoma Cowboys but they’re running away, with the fans booing them for their poor sportsmanship.

Join us next time as round four concludes with the Texas Outlaws (Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdoch) taking on the Fabulous Freebirds. Which team will advance to round five in the quest for tag team glory and some serious cash?

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

PREVIOUS POSTS IN THE CROCKETT CUP '85 FANTASY SERIES

Original Tournament Announcement (May 2020)

Seedings and First Round Pairings Announced

FOURTH ROUND MATCHES (QUARTER FINALS)
[ Preview ] [ Brackets ]

Fourth Round: Match 1 (Tournament Match #41)
    
The Rock & Roll Express vs. Ole and Arn Anderson
Fourth Round: Match 2 (Tournament Match #42)

     Midnight Express vs. British Bulldogs
Fourth Round: Match 3 (Tournament Match #43)
    Brody/Hansen vs. The Oklahoma Cowboys


THIRD ROUND MATCHES
[ Scouting Report ] [ Brackets ]

Third Round: Match 1 (Tournament Match #33)
     The Rock & Roll Express vs. The Russians
Third Round: Match 2 (Tournament Match #34)
     Ole & Arn Anderson vs. Antonio Inoki and Seiji Sakaguchi
Third Round: Match 3 (Tournament Match #35)
     Midnight Express vs. High Flyers
Third Round: Match 4 (Tournament Match #36)
     Kevin and Mike Von Erich vs. The British Bulldogs
Third Round: Match 5 (Tournament Match #37)
     Road Warriors vs. Brody and Hansen
Third Round: Match 6 (Tournament Match #38)
     Funk Brothers vs. Oklahoma Cowboys
Third Round: match #7 (Tournament Match #39)
    Texas Outlaws vs. Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff
Third Round: match #8 (Tournament Match #40)

    Fantastics vs. Freebirds


SECOND ROUND MATCHES
Second Round: Matches 1 & 2 (Tournament 17 & 18)

     Mulligan/McDaniel vs. The Russians
    Rock & Roll Express vs. Maharishi/Nagasaki
Second Round: Matches 3 & 4 (Tournament 19 & 20)
    Brown/Jannetty vs. Inoki & Sakaguchi
    Ole & Arn Anderson vs. Windham/Rotunda)
Second Round: Matches 5 & 6 (Tournament 21 & 22)

    Midnight Express vs. Hart Foundation
    PYT Express vs. High Flyers
Second Round: Matches 7 & 8 (Tournament 23 & 24) 
    Rude/Barr (with Percy Pringle III) vs. Kevin and Mike Von Erich
    Fujinami/Kimura vs. British Bulldogs
Second Round: Matches 9 & 10 (Tournament 25 & 26)
    Brody/Hansen vs. Williams/DiBiase
    Road Warriros vs. Lawler/Dundee
Second Round: Matches 11 & 12 (Tournament 27 & 28)
    Piper & Orton vs. The Oklahoma Cowboys
    The Funk Brothers vs. The Younglood Brothers
Second Round: Matches 13 & 14 (Tournament 29 & 30)
    Rhodes/Murdoch vs. Adams/Hernandez
    Sheik/Volkoff vs. Steamboat/Snuka
Second Round: Matches 15 & 16 (Tournament 31 & 32)
    Fantastics vs. Fabulous Ones
    Sheepherders vs. Freebirds


FIRST ROUND MATCHES

First Round: Matches 1 & 2
    Hennig/Blackwell vs. Mulligan/McDaniel
    Tyler/Whatley vs. Maharishi/Nagasaki
First Round: Matches 3 & 4
    Windham/Rotunda vs. Bockwinkel/Saito
    Rougeaus vs. Inoki/Sakaguchi
First Round: Matches 5 &6
    Barbarian/Graham vs. Hart Foundation (Hart/Neidhart)
    High Flyers (Brunzell/Gagne) vs. Savage/Poffo
First Round: Matches 7 & 8:
    The Von Erich vs. Blanchard/Abdullah the Butcher
    Tenryu/Tsuruta vs. The British Bulldogs
First Round: Matches 9 & 10:
    Graham/Blair vs. DiBiase/Williams
    Valiant/McGraw vs. Lawler/Dundee
First Round: Matches 11 & 12:
    Piper/Orton vs. Patterson/Fernandez
    Rock & Roll RPMs vs. Youngblood Brothers
First Round: Matches 13 and 14:
    Dynamic Duo (Gino & Chris) vs. American Starship
    Sawyer Bros. vs. Steamboat/Snuka
First Round: Matches 15 and 16
    Batten Twins vs. Fabulous Ones
    Weaver/Houston vs. Sheepherders

Friday, July 09, 2021

Poster: Roanoke Tournament for a Lincoln Continental


by Brack Beasley
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

In the 1970s it was not uncommon for wrestling territories, especially in the South, to hold Cadillac tournaments with the winner's purse being a new Cadillac.

On Saturday night, March 26, 1977 the Roanoke Civic Center (presented erroneously as the Roanoke Coliseum on this poster) the promotion changed it up a bit and instead hosted an elimination tournament for a new 1977 Lincoln Continental Mark V.


The lineup of participants was impressive: Ric Flair, Greg Valentine, Brute Bernard, Jacques Goulet, Jerry Blackwell, Johnny Weaver, Wahoo McDaniel, Bill White, Ron Starr, Danny Miller, Dino Bravo, and Johnny Eagle. I would love to know what the pairings were for this tournament of twelve leading up to the final match in which Flair got the best of Wahoo to win the Lincoln.



Battle royal and tournament posters always had a different look to them and this one does as well with all the wrestler's names printed in the same sized font and apparently in no particular order. The all black print on this horizontal poster looks great over a bright pink background with three wrestler images down each side and the "wrestling" splash in the top left corner seems to have been seldomly used for Roanoke.

What an awesome night of Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling it must have been for the fans fortunate enough to be in Roanoke, VA this Saturday in 1977, although most probably left disappointed seeing the Nature Boy win the Lincoln.

NO. 9 IN A SERIES.  NEWSPAPER CLIPPING COURTESY OF MARK EASTRIDGE.

* * * * * * * *

Gateway Notes
by Dick Bourne, Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Flair's tournament win for the Lincoln Continental in Roanoke provided the set-up for the next show for promoter Pete Apostolou in the Star City which would be held on April 9, 1977. Wahoo would attempt to get revenge for losing out on the Lincoln Continental, likely due to Flair's underhanded heel tactics, in an Indian Strap match with the Nature Boy at the Roanoke Civic Center.

Both Flair and McDaniel held championship gold at the time of this tournament. Wahoo was the reigning Mid-Atlantic champion. His feud with Flair stretched all the way back to the fall of 1975 when Flair defeated Wahoo for that same Mid-Atlantic title in Hampton, VA. The two had battled back and forth trading that title for most of the year of 1976. Now they were feuding over that Lincoln. 

Wahoo was a few weeks away from settling in for a new feud over his title, this time with Greg Valentine, which would eventually lead to Wahoo getting his leg broken in a TV match with "The Hammer" that same year.

Flair's gold belt was one half of the NWA World Tag Team titles that he and Valentine held, having defeated Flair's cousins the Anderson Brothers back in December of 1976. The Andersons had moved on to Georgia Championship Wrestling, but continued to return periodically to continue their feud with Ric and Greg in the Mid-Atlantic area over the tag titles throughout 1977 and into 1978, which also led to Ole Anderson teaming up with longtime foe Wahoo McDaniel late in 1977. It was a magical time in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling.

Thursday, July 08, 2021

Mid-Atlantic TV Report: September 17, 1983

The WWE Network is no longer available
in the United States.

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
TV Summaries & Reviews
by David Taub
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

This is a review of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling as it once appeared on the WWE Network. Results are included for the week (Monday-Sunday of the given week) as available. Please email with any corrections, typos, results, other details at 1davidtaub@gmail.com. Follow @TaubGVWire

For links to all available summaries as well as links to the Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast, visit our TV Summary Index.

Please note
: The WWE Network ceased operation in the United States on April 4, 2021. Their press release stated that their entire archive of material (which presumably would include the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling shows) would be transitioned to NBC's Peacock streaming service by the end of the summer 2021. We'll update as we know more.

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Original broadcast: 09/17/83
Taped 09/07/83 taped in Charlotte NC at the Charlotte Park Center
Review is from the now defunct WWE Network (U.S.) feed.

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Paul Jones and Dory Funk Jr.
Jones calls Dory losing the Mid-Atlantic title a most embarrassing moment. Some mean words for Rufus R. Jones. Dory speaks! He praises Paul Jones. Not much passion there.

[Break]
 

Match 1
Charlie Brown d. Golden Boy Grey

Tommy Young is the referee for the hour. The arena has many noticeable empty seats. Another short Valiant, I mean Brown match. He finishes Grey with the sleeper while singing “Good Night Irene!”
The bumper graphic says Coming Up … Rowdy Roddy Piper & Chief Wahoo McDaniel vs. Dick Slater & Greg Valentine!

[Break]

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: NWA President Bob Geigel
NWA President Bob Geigel is present, with Dick Slater, Bob Orton Jr. and Jim Crockett Jr. Geigel says he can’t suspend them, but he can fine them, $5,000. Slater has the cash in a bag. Crockett tells them he will still look for ways to suspend them. Slater doesn’t care. Orton says what he did was an act of pure genius. Everyone but Geigel exits, and Gary Hart enters.

Geigel says he will make a just decision on the Jimmy Valiant/Charlie Brown situation. Geigel says he doesn’t know. Hart isn’t buying it. Geigel brings out a program from Memphis, showing Jimmy Valiant wrestling. He says the burden of proof rests with Gary Hart. It’s not the NWA practice to remove masks. If Hart can prove Brown is Jimmy Valiant, he will be suspended for one year throughout the NWA. Hart isn’t happy.

[Break]

Match 2
Mark Youngblood d. Bill Howard

A short match. Youngblood wins with a bulldog. After the match, Jay Youngblood comes to the ring to celebrate. The still frame on the replay makes it appear Howard hit the mat at an odd angle.

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Bob Orton Jr., Dick Slater and Paul Jones
Orton says he’s a businessman, and a shrewd one. We go the tape last week, Race vs. Flair. They say Flair is done. Orton is gloating over turning on Flair. He enjoyed crunching Flair’s neck. Orton notes both he and Race are from Kansas City.

[Break] 

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Rick Steamboat, Mark Youngblood, and Jay Youngblood
This is in lieu of local promos. Steamboat has heard from Flair, and he wants Orton. Mark calls Bill Howard one of the toughest men in the area. Jay is proud of his little brother. They have each other’s back.

[Break]

Match 3
The Assassins d. Brett Hart & Rick McCord

Caudle spends most of the match recapping Bob Geigel’s actions. Hamilton Assassin forces Hart to submit to the hammerlock.

[Break] 

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Gary Hart
Hart is unhappy with Bob Geigel’s ruling that the burden of proof to show Jimmy Valiant is Charlie Brown is on him. But that’s okay. Hart is bringing Baron Von Raschke in. He also namedrops Mark Lewin and Kevin Sullivan.

[Break]

Match 4
Roddy Piper & Wahoo McDaniel d. Greg Valentine & Dick Slater by CO

Standard wrestling among the four to start, given the storyline heat going on. Wahoo gets chops in on Valentine, but he quickly tags out. Valentine comes off the rope with an elbow connecting on Piper’s head the same time as a Slater elbow. Sleeper on Piper from Valentine. Piper fights his way out. A hard-hitting bout. Piper gets knocked out of the ring, and Slater & Valentine double team Wahoo. Piper finally comes alive and slugs it out with both men. He heels run away, and we get a countout victory.

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Jerry Brisco & Jack Brisco
This is in lieu of local promos. Jerry makes fun of Mark Youngblood. He trash talks Flair, Piper, Wahoo and the rest of the babyfaces. The Briscos come off as so smug.

[Break] 

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Charlie Brown; Wahoo McDaniel & Roddy Piper
Brown asks Bob what his name is. Most of the interview is drowned by the Network overdub. Wahoo came back to wrestle, but it looks like it will have to be strap, chain, collar or fence matches. Piper has a chain and dog collar around his neck. He says if Valentine and Slater want to run away, he has a cure for that. 

“So long for now!”

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

Results for the week, 9/12/83-9/18/83
(source: Clawmaster’s Archive via Sports and Wrestling blog posted by David Baker; “Wrestling” newsletter by Joe Shedlock)

Mon., 9/12/83 Rocky Mount, NC; Municipal Stadium
Roddy Piper beat Greg Valentine
Bugsy McGraw & Rufus R. Jones beat Dory Funk, Jr. & Jake Roberts
The Assassins beat Johnny Weaver & Mike Rotundo
Rick McCord beat Tom Lentz
Vinnie Valentino beat Jerry Grey

Tue., 9/13/83 Columbia, SC; Township Auditorium
Gene Anderson beat Keith Larson
Scott McGhee beat Kelly Kiniski
Susan Starr beat Judy Martin
The Assassins beat Mike Rotundo & Johnny Weaver
Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood beat Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco

Tue., 9/13/83 Raleigh, NC
Brett Hart beat Bill Howard
Steve Muslin beat Rick McCord
Vinnie Valentino beat Jerry Grey
Wahoo McDaniel & Mark Youngblood beat Dick Slater & Greg Valentine by countout
Rufus R. Jones d. Jake Roberts

Tue. 9/13/83, Hickory, NC
Abe Jacobs beat The Ninja

Penny Mitchell beat Donna Christianello
Cy Jernigan beat Tom Lentz
Magic Dragon beat Mark Fleming
Jimmy Valiant & Bugsy McGraw beat Great Kabuki & Gary Hart

Wed., 9/14/83 Spartanburg, SC; Memorial Auditorium (TV)
Mark Youngblood & Jay Youngblood beat Kelly Kiniski & Tom Lentz
Bob Orton, Jr. beat John Bonello
Bugsy McGraw beat Assassin #2 by DQ
Dory Funk, Jr. beat Scott McGhee
Greg Valentine beat Steve Muslin
WWW:
Greg Valentine beat John Bonello
Mark Youngblood & Jay Youngblood beat Kelly Kiniski & Jerry Grey
Wahoo McDaniel beat Bill Howard
Bob Orton, Jr. beat Ric McCord
The Assassins beat Vinnie Valentino & Steve Muslin
Dark:
Wahoo McDaniel, Charlie Brown, Mark Youngblood beat Greg Valentine, Jake Roberts & Great Kabuki

Thu., 9/15/83 Sumter, SC; Exhibition Center County of Sumter (ECCOS)
Greg Valentine beat Mark Youngblood (sub for Roddy Piper)
Charlie Brown & Rufus R. Jones beat Kabuki & Jake Roberts
The Assassins beat Johnny Weaver & Mike Rotundo
Scott McGhee beat Bill Howard
Kelly Kiniski beat John Bonello
Magic Dragon beat Vinnie Valentino

Thu., 9/15/83 Hampton, VA; Hampton Coliseum

Fri., 9/16/83 Charleston, SC; County Hall
Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood beat Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco by DQ
Charlie Brown beat Great Kabuki
Magic Dragon beat Vinnie Valentino
Gene Anderson beat Keith Larsen
John Bonello beat Tom Lentz
Ric McCord beat Jerry Gray

Sat., 9/17/83 Charlotte, NC; Charlotte Coliseum (attendance: 5,629)
Non-World tag team championship: Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood d.  Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco [ch.]
Greg Valentine beat Mark Youngblood
Charlie Brown beat Great Kabuki
Bob Orton, Jr. beat Johnny Weaver
The Assassins beat Ric McCord & Keith Larsen
Scott McGhee beat Kelly Kiniski
Brett Hart beat Jerry Grey

Sat., 9/17/83 Conway, SC
The Ninja beat Mark Fleming
John Bonello beat Tom Lentz
Vinnie Valentine beat Bill Howard
Dory Funk, Jr. beat Bugsy McGraw
Wahoo McDaniel beat Dick Slater by countout
Rufus R. Jones beat Jake Roberts 

Sun., 9/18/83 Asheville, NC; Asheville Civic Center
Roddy Piper DDQ Greg Valentine in a lumberjack match
Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco beat Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood
Wahoo McDaniel & Charlie Brown beat Dick Slater & Great Kabuki
Bugsy McGraw beat Dory Funk, Jr.
Gene Anderson beat Vinnie Valentino
Magic Dragon beat Brett Hart

Sun., 9/18/83 Greensboro, NC; Greensboro Coliseum
The Ninja beat Brett Hart
Gene Anderson beat Vinnie Valentino
Bugsy McGraw & Charlie Brown beat Great Kabuki & Dick Slater
Wahoo McDaniel beat Greg Valentine in a lumberjack match
Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood beat Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco

Sun., 9/18/83 Toronto, Ontario; Maple Leaf Gardens
Nick DeCarlo beat Jerry Grey
Don Kolov beat Joe Marcus
Bob Marcus beat Tom Lentz
Don Kernodle beat Rick McCord
Johnny Weaver & Keith Larson beat Kelly Kiniski & The Executioner
Greg Valentine beat Bob Orton, Jr.
Angelo Mosca beat Sgt. Slaughter by countout
NWA World Champion Harley Race beat Mike Rotundo

Tuesday, July 06, 2021

Heroes and Villains: Crockett TV Taping in 1986

Pro Wrestling's Heroes and Villains May Change But Show Remains Same 
by Steve Phillips, Salisbury Post
June 11, 1986

One hundred degrees and rising. The overhead television lights beam down from the rafters and render the air circulation system at Goodman Gymnasium virtually worthless.

At ringside, things are getting hotter. Referee Tommy Young has turned his back to admonish Robert Gibson of the Rock and Roll Express for attempting to enter the rang without mating a legal tag. 

Ric Flair and Arn Anderson know this is their chance. They've got an illegal doable-team going on Ricky Morton and they're having a field day. 

The crowd responds with an angry collective roar. 

Why doesn't Young turn around? How can any referee worth his salt allow two thugs like Flair and 
Anderson to flout wrestling's code of ethics?

By the time Young finally gets back to the business at hand, Flair and Anderson have brought Morton to his knees. But Flair has re turned to his corner, a picture of wide-eyed innocence. He answers Young's glare of suspicion with an exaggerated shrug.

* * * * *

NWA World Champion Ric Flair

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling returned to Salisbury Tuesday night with the creme de la creme of the profession in attendance. Dusty Rhodes made the scene, Baby Doll in tow. Jim Cornette waved his tennis racket and screamed at the TV cameras. Magnum T.A. made the ladies swoon.  The Rock at Roll Express, clearly the crowd favorite, wrestled no less than three matches.

I had seats at ringside in Section B, courtesy of a friend who went after advance tickets the day they went on sale. He wasn't the only one. The Salisbury Jaycees reported that all 400 ringside seats ($10 apiece ) were gobbled up three weeks ago.

General admission seats ($8.00) went on sale at 5 o'clock Tuesday afternoon, 2 1/2 hours hours before the start of the first match. A line already stretched from the ticket window down the steps and onto an adjoining sidewalk.

"I must have gotten 100 calls at work and 30 more at home about this thing," said WSTP radio announcer and Jaycee Doug Rice. The Catawba Sports Information office also fielded a number of calls even though the college had no official connection with the event.

Pro wrestling keeps packing 'em in, and will continue to do so as long as the forces of good and evil tug at one another. The names eventually change (although many of the assorted heroes and villains hang around for eternity) but the show remains the same.

And as long as pro wrestling endures, so will the Great Debate. But the lines are clearly drawn on each side and one is better off arguing ACC basketball, politics, or the relative merits of liquor by the drink.

Detractors scoff at the showmanship of the whole affair. Sports purists resent the attention the spectacle receives. Sports Illustrated did a full-color spread on pro wrestling last year and received a slew of nasty letters, mostly from high school and collegiate coaches bemoaning the comparative lack of coverage for their "legitimate" sport.

But supporters point to the numbers. Roughly 3,000 people turned out Tuesday night. That's about as many as you'll get for anything in Salisbury, be it American Legion baseball, Catawba football or a meeting on a high school merger.

In my high school days, I followed wrestling with a passion. Flair, then a cocky 24-year old fresh out of the University of Minnesota, became my personal favorite. His weekly TV exchanges with the likes of Paul Jones, Chief Wahoo McDaniel, and tiger Conway were classics. Flair always seemed one step ahead, just a little smarter.

The verbal sparring inevitably set up a big match at Raleigh's Dorton Arena the following Tuesday. My friends and I would fork over the $6 for ringside seats.

Pro wrestling and I went our separate ways during my college years. I did pick up on enough to know that Flair finally won the world heavyweight title. But the antics of Hulk Hogan, Cindy Lauper and Rowdy Roddy Piper that sparked such widespread interest a few years back aroused no more from me than passing attention.

Some of the old spark returned Tuesday night. But I also felt old beyond my 28 years.

Flair remains a big drawing card, but he has become an elder statesman. Johnny Weaver, the big name of the '60s and early '70s, is out to pasture as a television commentator. And what of Paul Jones, the All-American hero of my wrestling days, the man loved by all except those of us who cheered for rogues like Flair, Greg Valentine and Blackjack Mulligan?

Well, it seems old Paul has become a rogue himself. He was always short, 5-foot-8 or so. Now he sports a military uniform and a bushy black mustache that makes him a suitable candidate for the lead role in a documentary on the rise of the Third Reich.

Jones has gained 20 pounds and he doesn't wrestle anymore. He manages an "army" that includes a bald-headed German "baron," a slick talking black guy in a top hat and some evil looking character who wears a mohawk haircut and war paint.

Only on a soap opera, I told myself, could people and events change so in 10 years time. But therein, I think, lies the answer to what makes the whole thing tick.

If I can scurry home at lunch-time to watch "All My Children" and you can plan your Wednesday nights around "Dynasty," can professional wrestling enthusiasts live in that much of a different world?

* * * * *

The match is over. The Rock and Roll Express have done it. The crowd roars its approval. Flair charges Young, claiming Morton's pin on Anderson was illegal. It's a wasted argument.

The overhead TV lights flick off. The boos begin as Flair pleads his cased to a ringside cameraman.

"You saw it!" Flair yells. "Tell him (Young) what they did!" 

The cameraman backs away. His expression tells Flair to "leave me out of it." 

Flair shakes his head. "You know that's not right" he says. Wadded-up Coke cups fly as the boos intensify. 

Finally, Flair gives in. But the strut is still there and the blond hair still bounces as he marches towards the dressing room under police escort. Flair reaches the exit and throws a few choice comments over his shoulder.

But in this business, no one ever gets the last word. Somewhere tonight, the show goes on.


Originally published in August of 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Sunday, July 04, 2021

4th of July Flashback: The Andersons Battle Wahoo McDaniel and Paul Jones in Richmond

A GIANT 4th of July Card in Richmond
by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Like most cities, Richmond, Virginia back in 1975 had its share of spectacular fireworks displays to commemorate the Independence Day holiday. But none of those displays held a candle to the “fireworks” that were unleashed on fans inside the Richmond Coliseum, watching a super spectacular card of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling on the evening of July 4, 1975!

To those that have followed the Mid-Atlantic Gateway, you may recall that this card ranked #21 on my listing of Richmond’s greatest Mid-Atlantic cards. The most intriguing match to me going in was a rare Richmond appearance of Andre the Giant, going against the seemingly indestructible Super Destroyer, who was saying at the time that he had held onto his mask for thirteen years. But the match that really stole the show was a NWA World Tag Team Title bout between champions Gene and Ole Anderson against Paul Jones and Wahoo McDaniel.

About three weeks prior to this Richmond show, the Anderson Brothers had regained the World Tag Team Title belts on television in the dramatic “Supreme Sacrifice” match, where Ole ran Wahoo’s head into Gene’s head, knocking Gene out in the process. This return bout in Richmond had the big match feel of a title change, and the apparent sellout crown at the Coliseum was at a fever pitch anticipating a win for the challengers. But…it wasn’t meant to be on this night. An even bout turned the challengers way towards the end, but it was too little too late. The Andersons stalled out the final minutes, and escaped with a 60 minute draw. This match set up four return bouts between these four during the summer and fall of 1975, with the challengers coming tantalizingly close to winning back the belts.

In the semi-final, many in attendance thought Andre the Giant would finally be the man to unmask the Super Destroyer. After all, if a GIANT couldn’t do the deed nobody else had in 13 years, who possibly could? Andre physically manhandled the masked man to a degree that nobody could believe, but that didn’t stop the Destroyer’s active mind from escaping one precarious predicament after another. A disqualification win for Andre got the Giant’s hand raised and validated a dominating performance, but at the same time frustrated many fans who were expecting a hood to come off. However, the Super Destroyer haters were about to get the last laugh. As fate would have it, the masked man would wrestle only one more time in Richmond and within a month or so was out of the area under a cloud, never to return, with his unmasked face plastered all over the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television shows.

The supporting card, honestly, was not as strong as many Richmond saw, but it did have its moments. The “best of the rest” was a unique pairing of the Mid-Atlantic TV Champion Ric Flair and the underrated Doug Gilbert, against the “good guy” duo of big Swede Hanson and Sonny King. Flair was rising fast at this juncture, so I expected the “bad guys” would take this one. The big Swede was dropping down the cards, and Sonny King was being de-emphasized and would be leaving the area in about two weeks as time would tell. However, Flair and Gilbert couldn’t control their anger issues, giving Hanson and King a disqualification victory to the delight of the Richmond fans.

The other tag team match of the night saw Bob Bruggers and Sandy Scott dispatch the team of Charlie Fulton and the Blue Scorpion. The Bruggers/Scott combination was a smooth one, and they ran circles around their confounded opponents this night. Unfortunately for his many fans, Sandy Scott wrestled very little after this Richmond match, though he did continue to stay active with the promotion, primarily behind the scenes. And after a promising start as a main event performer a year and a half before, Bruggers continued to drop down the cards until the airplane crash in Wilmington, North Carolina in early October of 1975 brought his wrestling career to an end.

Three single matches rounded out this holiday spectacular, and the curtain raiser was by far the best of the bunch! The good guys notched a couple of wins as Greg Peterson outlasted Larry Sharpe, and the highly popular Klondike Bill took the measure of Joe Soto. But the first bout of the night stood out, and was really outstanding. 1974 NWA rookie of the year Steve Keirn and veteran Art Nelson wrestled to a 20 minute draw, which was a battle of contrasting styles and youth versus experience. Nelson, the aging veteran, was still in exceptional condition, but had trouble dealing the speed of Keirn. Conversely, the strength of Nelson gave the youngster Keirn fits. Each man had their chances at victory, but ultimately had to settle for a draw. As clearly Keirn was going up the “Mid-Atlantic ladder” as Nelson was going down that same ladder, it was befitting that they would meet in the middle of that proverbial ladder in this early July 1975 confrontation. But to show how this trend continued over the next few months for both, by October of 1975 Keirn was in a main event program with Tiger Conway, while Nelson was set to depart the Mid-Atlantic area, and would never return.


As everyone celebrates July 4, 2015, I hope there are Independence Day Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling memories that will find their way into those festivities. For me, a GIANT Richmond Coliseum card 40 years ago will always without question be part of my 4th of July remembrances!
 


Originally published July 4, 2015, and republished July 4, 2018
on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway