by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway
David Crockett, one of the members of the famous Crockett promotional family out of Charlotte, NC, made an appearance at the AEW Wrestling "Holiday Bash" at the fabled Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC, on December 22, 2021.
The first two hours of the Greensboro event aired live on AEW Wrestling: Dynamite on the TNT cable network. A third hour was taped and aired three nights later on AEW Wrestling: Rampage on Christmas night on TNT. Crockett's appearance was featured on that second program.
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| David Crockett waves after being introduced to the crowd at the Greensboro Coliseum. He was part of the "AEW Wrestling: Rampage" program from Greensboro that aired on Christmas Night |
He was recognized at ringside to a rousing ovation and later presented AEW's TNT Championship belt to the winner of the Sammy Guevara/Cody Rhodes TNT title match. After the Rampage taping ended, AEW owner/promoter Tony Khan brought David into the ring and recognized him once again. Cody Rhodes, whose father "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an integral part of the Crockett company both in front of and behind the camera from 1984-1988, told David he was part of the AEW family now. Fans chanted "Thank you Crocketts", but David stopped them and said all the thanks actually went to the fans.
Tony Khan did a wonderful job in making fans aware of the history of the Crockett family, David's role in it, the history of wrestling in Greensboro, and the tremendous impact the Crockett family had on wrestling in the old Mid-Atlantic territory of the NWA, and on wrestling in general.
David Crockett's legacy in the wrestling business actually extends far
beyond Jim Crockett Promotions where he was a promoter, producer, and
television announcer. He also worked for Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling
as an executive television producer and was responsible for making a lot of what
you saw in the whacky Monday Night Wars storylines come to life on TNT
and TBS.
Ring announcer Justin Roberts read the following when recognizing David Crockett at ringside:
''... a man, who along with his family, made incredible contributions to pro-wrestling here in the Mid-Atlantic as well as around the world which are still felt today. Please welcome back to Greensboro David Crockett!"
In recent years Crockett has made several wrestling-related appearances
including a rare Q&A session in 2019 with his older brother Jim
Crockett, Jr. (who passed away earlier this year) for Conrad Thompson's Starrcast IV
convention in Baltimore, MD. The Greensboro appearance was actually
David's second such appearance for AEW, appearing at an earlier event
before the pandemic and joining his old TV co-host from the 1980s Tony
Schiavone to call a match on an episode of AEW Wrestling: Dark.
But the most recent Greensboro appearance for AEW was the cherry on top. In a Christmas Day text-exchange I had with David, he told me how much the night had meant to him. "I do feel part of the AEW family now," he wrote me.
It was wonderful to see David Crockett recognized by Tony Khan and AEW, and especially for it to happen in Greensboro.
Thanks to George Pantas for the image above.