Dream Team: Flair and Steamboat Go For the Gold

July 21, 1979,Charlotte Coliseum

Charlotte, North Carolina

Mid-Atlantic Wrestling's dream team of Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat battled reigning NWA world tag team champs Paul Jones and Baron Von Raschke in a Lumberjack match at the Coliseum in Charlotte, NC.

Flair had just tuned "good guy" for the first time ever a few months earlier and was mounting a full court press to defeat Paul Jones (his current arch enemy) and the Baron for the world tag team belts. He enlisted the aid of both Ricky Steamboat and Blackjack Mulligan in that quest.

An interesting tag team combination was featured in the semi-main. The legendary "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers took one half of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew Gene Anderson as his partner to battle the team of Jim Brunzell and Rufus R. "Freight Train" Jones. Rogers would become the manager of both Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka and John Studd, and following an injury to his ear in late 1979, sold the contracts of his charges to Gene Anderson who became the manager of Snuka and several others to form "Anderson's Army."

 

Originally published July 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Figure Friday: Canadian Champ Dino Bravo

From our friends over at Wrestler Weekly, "Action Figures Friday" features a look at mid-to-late 1970s Dino Bravo, who held the Canadian Heavyweight Championship in Toronto, but just prior to that was one half of the NWA World Tag Team and Mid-Atlantic Tag Team champions with Mr. Wrestling Tim Woods.

On the magazine cover above far left you see an art depiction of Bravo wearing the NWA World Tag Team title belt. In the center and far right, you see photos of Bravo wearing the Canadian title.

The magazine on the right, featuring a cover photograph shot by Jackie Crockett, was a special photo-album issue of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Magazine. Bravo appeared in the Mid-Atlantic area throughout his reign as Canadian champion as a result of a working/business/booking relationship Toronto promoter Frank Tunney had with Jim Crockett, Jr. and George Scott at Jim Crockett Promotions.

2022 Edits: Andrew Calvert at MapleLeafWrestling.com published an outstanding book on the history of the Canadian Heavyweight championship that existed during that era. The book looks at all the Canadian champions including Dino Bravo, Greg Valentine, Dewey Robertson, Angelo Mosca, the Iron Sheik, Sgt. Slaughter and many others. It includes some pretty rare photographs and a great collection of memorabilia.   You can find out all about that book on the Maple Leaf Wrestling website or in our Mid-Atlantic Gateway Book Store.

Andrew also has a new book out on the Toronto wrestling territory called "Quick Bits: The best (and rest) of Toronto Wrestling."

Edited from an August 2019 post on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

NWA champion Giant Baba (1979)

Giant Baba in the locker room after his victory over Harley Race for the NWA World Championship in Nagoya, Japan, 1979. 

 

Originally posted on the Domed Globe website.

Johnny Weaver debuts as co-host of World Wide Wrestling (1979)

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

One of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling's most beloved color commentators in the 1980s was the "Dean of Professional Wrestling" Johnny Weaver.

Johnny Weaver and Rich Landrum
World Wide Wreslting at WRAL
(Photo courtesy of Wendi Weaver)

Weaver first became the co-host of World Wide Wrestling in late 1979 alongside show host Rich Landrum. The two formed a very popular duo for the next few years. Landrum left the show in 1982 and Weaver continued co-hosting World Wide with new host David Crockett until 1984 when Tony Schiavone stepped in as co-host with Crockett. Weaver then moved over to Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling with longtime host Bob Caudle, and the two continued as a team on into the late 1980s, as the show transitioned to the new name of NWA Pro Wrestling. 

Weaver's first show as Landrum's sidekick was on the November 25, 1979 episode of World Wide Wrestling, the first weekend after Thanksgiving. The audio of his introduction can be heard below. Weaver was still active as a wrestler at that point, and would tell Landrum on air that he might not be there every week, but would try to be there most weeks. As it worked out, he was indeed there most weeks and gelled right away with Landrum. 

Weaver even developed his own shtick, paying homage to "Dandy" Don Meridith's bit of singing "Turn Out the Lights, the Party's Over"on Monday Night Football during that era. Usually once a week, Weaver would sing the opening lines of the song just as a popular babyface wrestler was getting the pinfall on World Wide.

"Turn out the lights, the party's over. They say that all good things must end."

Indeed all good things did come to an end, and when the Crockett family sold the company to Ted Turner in late 1988, Weaver was not retained, and one of wrestling's most popular color commentators was heard no more. Wrestling was never as much fun after that.

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Listen to this vintage audio recording of Rich Landrum introducing Johnny Weaver as his co-host on Wide World Wrestling, airing first on November 25, 1979. (Audio from the collection of Gary Wray.)

 

 

Tim Woods takes credit for costing Buddy Rogers the WWWF Championship

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

"I'm proud to say that I was the man who caused you to get beat
in less than a minute."  - Tim Woods

In the fall of 1979, Tim Woods and Buddy Rogers were involved in a torrid feud. Rogers and his number one charge, U.S. Champion Jimmy Snuka, had badly injured Woods (in storyline) in one of the most dramatic and violent angles ever seen on Mid-Atlantic TV, and throughout the fall, Woods was intent on revenge. He even printed up his own wanted posters to hand out to fans at arenas to generate support in his quest to get even with Snuka and Rogers.

Rogers was now a manager, and occasionally still wrestled, but was most famous for his legacy in wrestling. His world title wins aside, it was his iconic nickname "Nature Boy" from the 1950s that had been bequeathed to Ric Flair back in 1975 by JCP booker George Scott that modern fans may have been more familiar with. Scott was a longtime friend and admirer of Rogers, and the rookie Flair reminded him of the original Nature Boy. It wound up being a wonderful gift that helped shape Flair's career for decades. 

But more significantly, Rogers was at that time the only man to have ever held both the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) world championships. He was also famous for the way he lost that WWWF title to Bruno Sammartino in 1963, submitting to Bruno's over-the-shoulder bearhug in just 43 seconds in Madison Square Garden. As it happens, a young Tim Woods was working the under-card of that very same show.

Behind the scenes, Woods and Rogers developed a lasting friendship during Woods' nine-month stint in the WWF in 1963. During their feud in the Mid-Atlantic area sixteen years later in 1979, the two men occasionally played off the fact that Woods was there when Rogers lost the title to Sammartino.

In an interview with Bob Caudle on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling in late October 1979, Rogers would accuse Woods of betraying a secret that would dearly cost him. Rogers called Woods a "rat" for "squealing" his secret. The result, he claimed, cost him over two million dollars in purses that he would have won otherwise.

 
Rogers didn't go into more specifics at that time, but the details could be pieced together in various local promos that Rogers and Woods made in advance of their matches against each other in local areans throughout the territory. The best example might be in promos for their battle in Raleigh's Dorton Arena on November 20, 1979. Woods actually told Rogers how proud he was that he was the reason Rogers lost the WWWF title. "I'm proud to say that I was the man who caused you to get beat in less than a minute," Woods declared. While Bruno Sammartino's name was not specifically mentioned, the implication was clear. And by the sound of it, one could surmise that Woods must have told Sammartino that Rogers was coming into the Madison Square Garden match with a badly injured back, something Bruno would quickly exploit only seconds into their famous bout.


Buddy Rogers and Tim Woods Promos - 11/20/79 Raleigh NC

There of course was no such storyline in 1963, at least not involving Woods, who was working low on the WWWF cards at that time very early in his career. But how cool is it that Woods and Rogers would play off that historic match 16 years later, in a totally different territory, knowing they were both in the same building the night it took place? I'm guessing all of that was lost on most of the people who heard these promos in 1979, but it's a small little detail - - a sub-plot if you will - - that makes the memory of the famous Woods/Rogers feud something a little more special to reflect on now more than 40 years later.

* * * * * 

Special thanks to David Chappell and his 12-part Gateway series on the Woods-Rogers feud, to Mark Eastridge for the newspaper clipping, and to Gary Wray for the audio recording of the Woods-Rogers promos for Raleigh.

Wrestling Art: NWA Tag Champs Jimmy Snuka and Paul Orndorff

The next art from Robby Bannister's series of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Magazine art covers features the NWA World Tag Team Champions from late 1978 and 1979 Paul Orndorff and Jimmy Snuka. The duo won the titles from Greg Valentine and Baron Von Raschke in December 1978.

Robby is creating a series of these faux magazine covers in homage to the original series of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Magazine covers from the 1970s and 1980s. The magazines were sold as event programs at the local arenas and also could be purchased by mail directly from the Crockett offices in Charlotte. 

Robby's first cover in this series featured Blackjack Mulligan as United States champion from 1976 and his second cover featured "The Enforcer" Arn Anderson. His introductory cover was of Don Kernodle.

Here is more info on the championship tag team of Orndorff and Snuka from David Chappell's December 1978 entry in the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Almanac:

NWA World Tag Team Champions Greg Valentine and Baron von Raschke had more than their hands full in the month of December with the challenge of Paul Orndorff and Jimmy Snuka. The athleticism of Orndorff and Snuka seemed to keep the Champions guessing and off balance. During the month, Valentine and Raschke were able to hold onto the Championship by the skin of their teeth, often purposely getting themselves disqualified to save their Titles. But on December 26, 1978 at the Richmond Coliseum, Orndorff and Snuka got the Title Match they wanted---one with No Disqualifications!

The Richmond match was a lengthy encounter, with both teams pulling out all the stops. The see-saw battle saw both teams have their opportunities to come out on top, but ultimately the challengers were able to capture a quick pinfall to the delight of the huge Coliseum crowd. The hated Champions had been dethroned by the upstart challengers! An enraged Baron von Raschke could not accept that he was no longer one half of the World Champions, and he proceeded to assault the referee, and then dropped him on his head with a piledriver! The NWA acted quickly on the Baron’s reprehensive conduct, suspending him almost immediately for his actions in Richmond. 

We're looking forward to more great art covers from Robby in the future!

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Check out more of Robby Bannister's art on his Facebook page featuring wrestlers from various territories over different eras. 

NO. 3 IN A SERIES

Best of: Jimmy Snuka - Good Guy No More

by David Chappell 

Mid-Atlantic Gateway 

When “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka entered the Mid-Atlantic territory in November of 1978, he rapidly became one of the most beloved wrestlers in the promotion. Highly athletic and humble, Snuka in short order became one half of the NWA World Tag Team Champions with Paul Orndorff, and despite losing that championship in about four months, Jimmy continued to be the adored high-flying “good guy” in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling into July of 1979. But then, the unthinkable happened.

"Superfly" Jimmy Snuka

When the television card for Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling was announced on the July 18, 1979 show, color commentator David Crockett said, “Then we have another tag team match, an unusual tag team match, we have Buddy Rogers and Jimmy Snuka teamed up, and they’re going against Leo Burke and Gary Young.” While it wasn’t highlighted at that moment, the pairing of Snuka and Rogers was more than unusual, it was shocking! The “immortal” Buddy Rogers, former World Heavyweight Champion, had entered the area recently, and while he wrestled infrequently, Rogers was notorious in his still evolving role in the area. Why the fan-favorite Snuka would be teaming with a man like Rogers was a mystery, but it wouldn’t take long for the mystery to be solved.

When the Snuka/Rogers team came into the ring, the first thing that seemed odd was that Snuka was wearing wrestling boots, where before he always grappled barefooted. But that would be the first of many anomalies in this TV bout. From the outset of the match, Rogers was using illegal tactics, and Snuka was in the corner grinning and shaking his head in the affirmative. This led announcer Bob Caudle to comment, “It’s a little baffling to me exactly why [Snuka’s] doing that and what it means.”

Very quickly, things got much more baffling. Rather that employ his graceful aerial moves that the fans were accustomed to seeing, Snuka instead used a ground and pound style that was accentuated by out-and-out rulebreaking. The TV announcers were in a word…stunned. A perplexed Crockett stammered, “I can’t…really…I’m just completely baffled.” Caudle followed, his voice rising, “It amazes you, and disturbs you, as really to what Snuka’s doing.”

After a brief comeback by Burke and Young, Snuka again took control with a vicious knee as Young came off the ropes. Jimmy then went back to a familiar maneuver, the “superfly” leap off the top rope almost all the way across the ring onto a prone Gary Young. But what followed next was head-scratching. Rather than easily pinning Young, Snuka lifted Young’s shoulders off the mat before a three count could be made. Caudle exclaimed, “He lifted him up!” Crockett added, “No, come on now…come on.” Caudle added, “He looked over at Buddy Rogers with a smile on his face and just raised Gary Young.”

Clearly Snuka wanted to punish Young, and then began to manically grind his clinched fist into Young’s temple. Astonished, Caudle said, “That looks like a corkscrew, David, right into the side of the temple. Here’s Rogers in now after Burke, as Burke goes back out. And Snuka after having Gary Young in a pin position there, after that superfly from all the way across the ring…the referee says ring the bell! And he still keeps driving in that corkscrew right in the side of the temple!” And emotional Crockett yelled, “He won’t stop! He won’t stop!” The flabbergasted fans in the studio audience couldn’t believe Snuka’s conduct, but they would soon get a detailed explanation for it.

At the end of the program, Bob Caudle excitedly cornered Buddy Rogers and said, “I gotta ask you, and I gotta ask Jimmy Snuka, what in the world happened to Jimmy Snuka?” Rogers replied, “I’ll tell ya what happened. I’ll do the talking, I’ll do the thinking from here on out, Bobby. And that is, this man is like a diamond that needs cutting. I’m the guy that can do that cutting. Let me tell ya, he’s got one of the greatest bodies in the business; he’s got charisma, and a four letter word called guts…bar none! The one thing he lacks is that ability between good and great, and I’m the guy that’s got that ability.”

Rogers continued, “I don’t have to talk about myself; my records and my past speaks for itself. But let me tell you, in this man you’re going to see without a doubt the next champion. Give me about three or four months at the latest, and you will see…” At this point Caudle interjected, “How disappointed all of his fans are…” Rogers indignantly retorted, “Wait a minute! Tell his fans that there’s one leader in this business, and you’re lookin’ at him. And this man is being led by me. I’m leading him to where nobody else, including himself, could he get to the top like I’m gonna put him there.”

In finishing, Rogers told the fans, “And you know, there’s an old saying that good guys don’t win ball games; I taught him as of the last two weeks, that good guys don’t win wrestling matches. And the moment that anybody listening in thinks for one minute that this guy will ever be a nice guy again, they’re mighty mistaken.”

Rogers turned out to be a man of his word, as Jimmy Snuka became a champion very quickly under Rogers, winning the United States Heavyweight Title on September 1, 1979 and he was never a fan favorite again while wrestling for Jim Crockett Promotions. Jimmy rarely uttered a word, as he let his viciousness do his talking. While Rogers left the area and Snuka picked up Gene Anderson as his mouthpiece at the tail end of 1979, the Superfly maintained his hold on the U.S. Belt until the spring of 1980, and even after dropping that title to Ric Flair, Jimmy went on an impressive run as NWA World Tag Team Champions with partner Ray Stevens.

When Snuka finally left the Mid-Atlantic area for good in the early spring of 1981, the Superfly was as nasty and surly as he became on that astonishing TV taping in July of 1979. Buddy Rogers, long since out of the area, would have been proud of the staying power of the monster he created. Truly, Jimmy Snuka was a nice guy no more.

Originally posted November 2016 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Mulligan & The Freight Train: Former Rivals Team Up in 1979

Mid-Atlantic Wrestling's Topsy-Turvy Autumn of 1979 - Part 1
by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Being in the middle of the fall season right now, it made me think about an autumn of yesteryear in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling where everything seemed to me to be turned upside down. The fall in question was in 1979, and back then I was amazed at how the Mid-Atlantic alliances of grapplers had been turned on their collective heads from when I first became fully immersed in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling in the years of 1975-76.

I will be highlighting in the coming weeks a number of highly unlikely combinations of Mid-Atlantic wrestlers that very unexpectedly came together briefly in the fall of 1979, being viewed through the lens of these same wrestlers being arch enemies in 1975-76!

The duo first up is the big Texan from Eagle Pass, Blackjack Mulligan and the perennial fan favorite from Dillon, South Carolina, Rufus R. “Freight Train” Jones! 

* * * * * * * * * * 

BLACKJACK MULLIGAN AND RUFUS R. JONES

Blackjack Mulligan became the top “bad guy” in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling when he toppled Paul Jones for the United States Heavyweight Title in March of 1976. As much as the brutal and arrogant Mulligan was despised by the Mid-Atlantic fans, the love those same fans felt for the “King of Wrestling” Rufus R. Jones was on an equal footing at the other end of the love-hate spectrum. 

It was inevitable that this showdown between good and evil for the U.S. belt would play out in Mid-Atlantic rings for the rest of 1976 into early 1977. And boy did it ever! Blackjack injuring Rufus’ cousin Burrhead Jones only added more fuel to the fire. During much of 1976, Blackjack and Rufus battled in many specialty matches over the United States Heavyweight Championship, including Fence matches, Texas Death matches, No Disqualification matches and Cotton Field matches. 

While Rufus was never successful in capturing the U.S. Title, the bouts were so intense and the fans were so into the program between these two, that Blackjack told the Gateway years later that he lobbied Jim Crockett, Jr. to put the Title on Rufus during that time period. One thing was clear to me, Rufus and Blackjack were such bitter enemies and so different in every way that there was ZERO chance they would ever be tag team partners. Well, let’s fast forward to the fall of 1979 when the unthinkable happened!

Rufus R. Jones was always the consummate “good guy” in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, but when he departed the territory in the spring of 1977 his future stints in Jim Crockett Promotions were more sporadic and of shorter duration and didn’t always line up with when Blackjack Mulligan was in the area. For instance, when Rufus returned to the territory early in 1979 Mulligan had just departed the area after being injured by John Studd. 

The biggest change involving Mulligan in the intervening years was that he had amazingly become a “good guy” himself in April of 1978, when he and Ric Flair started feuding. When Blackjack returned to the Mid-Atlantic area from his six-month hiatus in 1979, he and his former bitter adversary Rufus Jones were both on the fan favorite side of Jim Crockett’s talent ledger at the same time. And the unthinkable would soon happen!

On the World Wide Wrestling television show that aired on WRAL TV 5 in Raleigh, North Carolina on Saturday October 6, 1979, an amazing visual occurred when announcer Rich Landrum began a local promo for the card in  Dorton Arena in Raleigh on Tuesday night, October 9, 1979. Blackjack Mulligan and Rufus R. Jones came out on the interview set TOGETHER to speak to the fans about their match as tag team partners, against Buddy Rogers and Jimmy Snuka!

A smiling Mulligan told Landrum and the Raleigh fans, “It looks like it’s gonna take a pretty good combination to slow these two down, and I’ve got beside me right here, gonna be with me, Rufus R. Jones! I’d rather not have anybody else in the world with me! Rupert, you just hold that Snuka and let me get these big hands around that Rogers’ throat and choke those eyeballs out brother.”

Rufus added, “Let me tell you something Jack, I’m with you all the way Jack, right here in Raleigh Tuesday night. The people gonna watch Blackjack Mulligan and Rufus Jones together for the first time! And it’s for a reason too…it’s for Buddy Rogers and Jimmy Snuka. We gonna do it to you brother, we gonna do it to you Tuesday night! You gonna holler and squeal, but it’ll do you no good at all! The Freight Train and Blackjack Mulligan gonna do it to you baby!

While Blackjack and Rufus actually teamed up a few weeks earlier than the October 9th bout in Raleigh, defeating John Studd and Snuka in Fayetteville, NC on September 3, 1979, and beating Paul Jones and Baron von Raschke on September 14, 1979, in Charleston, SC, it was still surreal to hear them extolling each other’s virtues in advance of the Raleigh show! 

A week and a half later Mully and Rufus again teamed up and battled Jones and Raschke in Aiken, SC. Within the succeeding two weeks, the “Freight Train” and Mulligan were again partners as part of six-man teams against Buddy Rogers and his charges. And then, without warning, this unlikely teaming of Rufus and Blackjack ended nearly as quickly as it began. But after their vicious battles against each other in 1976, the autumn of 1979 brought us an ever so brief pairing of Blackjack Mulligan and Rufus R. Jones that to this day is still difficult to comprehend!

COMING UP NEXT
Arch rivals Ric Flair and Tim “Mr. Wrestling” Woods briefly team up in the fall of 1979!

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

Got To Have Lovin': New Theme Music and Set Debut for Mid-Atlantic Wrestling (1979)

There were lots of great music themes over the years for Jim Crockett Promotions TV shows, but likely the most remembered is the 1979-1986 theme for Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. 

The music was an edit from a 1978 European disco hit titled "Got to Have Loving" by French writer/arranger Don Ray (real name Raymond Donnez.) It was the only single from Ray's solo album "The Garden of Love." 

The new theme debuted on the February 10, 1979 episode of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (taped February 7 at WRAL studios in Raleigh.) It played across the same familiar "four square" opening that had debuted back in 1977. 

Here is the opening as it played out each week in your living room:

The complete Don Ray track can be found on YouTube (along with the complete album, too.)

That February show also debuted the familiar set that would be used on the Mid-Atlantic tapings through the remaining years at WRAL and then moved and used in modified formation at the smaller WPCQ studio in Charlotte. It was discarded all together when production moved out to the arenas in July 1983.

The set included a new standing-desk for hosts Bob Caudle and David Crockett, with a gorgeous textured background that included the new moniker "Mid-Atlantic Championship Sports" in raised block letters and a map that included two more states (West Virginia, Georgia) than the previous map and logo used on the 1974-1979 set.

Another big change going forward that began with this show was that introductions for matches would no longer be conducted from inside the ring, but instead by Bob Caudle as he would turn in front of a blue-screen NWA logo. That blue screen allowed a chroma key effect to be used, showing the wrestlers in the ring during their introduction. This set up would be used for the duration of the studio shows, and I've always thought it was a big mistake to make that change. The fans in the studio audience never reacted to Caudle's introductions like they had done over the years for Joe Murnick (or the Murnick boys) because Bob couldn't be easily heard by the fans. Most of the time it made for very flat reactions to the introductions.

Sadly, Don Ray's classic disco theme was removed from the episodes of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling that air on the WWE Network and replaced with a more generic sounding production cut.

But the winds of change were blowing with new music, a new set, and a new method for ring introductions, making the taping on February 7, 1979 one for the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling television history books.

Related links:
Wide World Wrestling Theme Music (1975-1978)
World Wide Wrestling Theme Music (1986-1988)
Three Seconds: Mystery Wrestlers on the Mid-Atlantic Open (1977-1883)

Originally published 3/1/21 on the Studio Wrestling website. Research by Dick Bourne. Some information taken from David Chappell's Mid-Atlantic Gateway Almanac.

Classic Audio! Six Man Mayhem at WRAL

Rare audio included below of Ric Flair, Baron Von Raschke, and Paul Jones vs. Ricky Steamboat, Tony Atlas, and Dino Bravo

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Recently Mike Sempervive posted an interesting entry to his "On This Day in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling History" series to his Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast Twitter feed. It involved a wild six-man tag team match on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling from February of 1979:

On This Day in JCP TV History - 1979

Tony Atlas, Ricky Steamboat & Dino Bravo beat Ric Flair, Paul Jones & Baron Von Raschke by DQ. Baron hit Atlas twice with chairs, as Jones put Steamboat in the Indian Death Lock and Flair locked Bravo in the Figure 4, slapping him in the face pic.twitter.com/c7MzgEXJ44

— The Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast (@MidAtlanticPod) February 24, 2021

Matches like that featuring two main event teams against each other were rare in those days. All six were main eventers and headlining Mid-Atlantic and World Wide Wrestling cards across the territory as well as in Canada. 

Sempervive's description was so vivid with detail that Bruce Mitchell couldn't believe it. "No way in hell," he responded in a quote-tweet. "Did you read that in a magazine?"

Sempervive disclosed his source: the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Almanac entry by David Chappell for February of 1979. He then sent up a Bat Signal to the mighty Mid-Atlantic Gateway. I responded on the twitter thread that if David described the match in that much detail, he would have done it from his audio tape archive, and we'd try to find it post it here on the Gateway. 

Shortly after that, David did indeed dig up the 42-year old audio cassette tape and produced the goods! While video of the match is long lost to the ash-heap of history, this audio lets you relive a little of that magic.

Enjoy the final three minutes of six-man tag team mayhem between the teams of Ric Flair/Baron Von Raschke/Paul Jones vs. Ricky Steamboat/Tony Atlas/Dino Bravo. The audio begins as Ric Flair has the figure-four locked in on Bravo and Steamboat makes the save. (I miss the one-save rule.) 

I don't think David Crockett was ever so excited about a wrestling match.

        

FLAIR-RASCHKE-JONES vs. STEAMBOAT-ATLAS-BRAVO

For the record, here is the excerpt by David Chappell regarding this match from the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Almanac for February 1979:

The Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television show that was taped on February 21st featured a six man tag team match that was definitely of Main Event quality! The “good guy” team of Tony Atlas, Ricky Steamboat and Dino Bravo battled the “bad guy” trio of Ric Flair, Paul Jones and Baron von Raschke. After getting Atlas outside the ring, the Baron waffled Tony with two brutal chair shots. Then meantime in the ring, Jones put Steamboat in the Indian Death Lock while simultaneously Flair caught Bravo in the Figure Four Leg Lock, slapping Dino in the face as he applied the pressure. Eventually, Atlas got a chair of his own and cleared the ring. The bad guys were disqualified for using the chair first, but clearly Atlas, Steamboat and Bravo got the worst of it despite their win by disqualification.

Mulligan vs. Studd: A Long and Winding Road

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

When Blackjack Mulligan morphed into a fan favorite in April of 1978, turning Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling upside down, the big Texan had to immediately had to face the wrath of Ric Flair’s $10,000.00 bounty. Through the spring and summer of 1978, Blackjack endured brutal bounty matches against some of the roughest and toughest grapplers in the world. In particular, Mulligan’s bounty matches against the Masked Superstar were legendary and are still vividly remembered by Mid-Atlantic fans to this day.

ONLINE WORLD OF WRESTLING

When Mulligan finally prevailed in the memorable bounty program with the Masked Superstar in early September of 1978, there was a slight lull as Flair could not believe that Blackjack ran off his number one bounty hunter. But by the fall of 1978, Flair had enlisted the assistance of a new giant of a bounty hunter, and the man’s name was “Big” John Studd. Long-time observers of Jim Crockett Promotions may have noticed that Studd was a familiar looking grappler, as he had appeared in the Mid-Atlantic area earlier as “Chuck O’Connor” in 1974 into the early winter of 1975.

In one of his first appearances as “John Studd” in early November of 1978 the behemoth told World Wide Wrestling announcer Rich Landrum, “A few months ago Ric Flair called me and he said, ‘Studd, John Studd, I want you to do me a favor. I want you to get rid of a man.’ I said, ‘Who?’ He said, ‘Jack Mulligan.’ I said, ‘Tell me what the man is, tell me what he looks like.’ He said, ‘The man’s big, he’s six foot eight and he weighs over 300 pounds and he’s tough.’ I said, ‘What does it mean to you?’ He said, ‘I tell ya what, I have a $10,000.00 bounty on Mulligan! It’s yours, all you gotta do is hurt him!’”

Studd smiled at Landrum and concluded, “Hey, that’s all it takes. That’s what I’m inflated with, the thought that it’s gonna make me $10,000,00! That’s all I needed. I know you’re big Mulligan, I know you’re strong, I know you’ve done away with a lot of other bounty hunters…it doesn’t bother me. You haven’t gotten to John Studd, listen to me Mulligan, six foot nine and 330 pounds, strong and mean…that’s not brag that’s fact Mulligan! And I will get you and I will get the $10,000.00 bounty, and you Mulligan will apologize to Ric Flair for any humiliation you’ve caused him!”

This was the beginning of a saga between Mulligan and Studd where the $10,000.00 bounty was always the backdrop. The long and winding road to come between these two proceeded to January of 1979 where Studd did the unthinkable and collected the bounty, and while Mulligan left the Mid-Atlantic area for about six months the big Texan made periodic cameos in the area enough to put Studd on notice that he would not just fade away.  

By the summer of 1979 Mulligan had returned in earnest and during the Fall of 1979 Blackjack and Studd engaged in a series of brutal Texas Street Fight brawls, with Blackjack gaining the upper hand in them as the new decade and the year of 1980 arrived. In some of those bouts, Studd actually put up the $10,000.00 bounty money he had earlier collected on Mulligan’s head! And on January 13, 1980 in the Greensboro Coliseum, Mulligan gained sweet revenge as he ran Studd out of the territory in a bloody Loser Leaves Town cage match that sent Studd packing! Or did it? 

In one of the stranger angles in Mid-Atlantic history, just as Blackjack got rid of his latest bounty hunter in the form of John Studd, one of the early bounty hunters against him returned…the Masked Superstar! But things would get nuttier. As soon as Superstar returned at the beginning of 1980, he would have a new wrestling companion in a huge masked grappler referred to as Superstar # 2! The team of the Superstar’s #1 and #2 then turned their attention to put Mulligan out of wrestling, at the behest of the vanquished John Studd who was supposedly pulling the strings from outside of the Mid-Atlantic area. Even at this juncture, Studd was still talking about bounty money being in play!

But the more the fans and the TV announcers saw of this Superstar #2, the more it became clear that this mountain of a man was none other than John Studd under a hood! After a number of tag team bouts between Blackjack and several partners against Superstar’s #1 and #2 during the early spring of 1980, Mulligan finally got a series of singles matches with Superstar #2. In May of 1980 in several of the bigger towns in the Mid-Atlantic area, Mulligan took the measure of Superstar #2 while Superstar #1 was locked in a small cage near ringside so he couldn’t interfere. 

Blackjack prevailed in those climatic matches in May of 1980, unmasked Superstar #2 as John Studd, and ended the saga of Mulligan versus Studd that stretched all the way back to November of 1978. A long and winding road to be sure, but one surely filled with action and excitement at every twist and turn along the way!

Canadian Champion Dino Bravo vs. Len Denton (WRAL Studio)

More video at WrestlingClassics.com
http://wrestlingclassics.com/.ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=156572

Classic Poster Revisited: Buddy Rogers Arrives in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling (1979)

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Our classic poster this week comes from a memorable show in Greensboro in the summer of 1979.

The 6/17/79 show at the fabled Greensboro Coliseum featured two huge main events. The top match was Ricky Steamboat challenging Harley Race once again for the NWA World Heavyweight championship, this time in a 2-out-of-3-falls match. Steamboat had become one of the top contenders for the NWA title in the country. His matches with Race were scientific classics, their work was almost like ballet in the ring. It was beautiful to watch. Their battles were regularly featured within the pages (and often on the covers) of the popular newsstand wrestling magazines.

Preceding that, though, was a match more notable for the story told and the referee involved than the match itself.

Buddy Rogers straps the U.S. title around the waist
of the "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, 6/17/79.
(Photo by Dave Routh)
________________________________________

First of all, it's important for the sake of perspective to remember that Dusty Rhodes was not a regular performer in the Mid-Atlantic area during this time. He was a Florida mainstay who had become a top touring attraction (similar to Andre the Giant) and was headlining cards in territories across the country including Mid-South, Georgia, Mid-Atlantic, the WWWF, and of course his home territory in the Sunshine State.

When he visited the Mid-Atlantic area, it usually meant an appearance in Greensboro. And over the last four years, several of those Greensboro matches had been against Ric Flair. In this case Rhodes had come to the Mid-Atlantic in hopes of taking Flair's U.S. championship which would earn him a shot at Race for the World title.

Ric Flair, for his part, was right in the middle of a long, drawn-out babyface turn that began after a dispute with No. 1 Paul Jones. At the previous Greensboro show, Flair had actually chosen Dusty Rhodes as his partner to try and take the NWA World Tag Team championships from Jones and Baron Von Raschke. When the unlikely pair failed to take those tag titles, each blamed the other, and what followed was Rhodes then challenging Flair for his U.S. championship, with the NWA assigning a special referee for the contest - - former NWA and WWWF World champion, the legendary "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers.

This match would lead to Rogers actually coming into the area as a wrestler and manager. Rogers was basically impartial until the end when Flair got physical with him and Rogers responded by punching Flair and counting a quick three count and awarding the U.S. title to Rhodes. Rhodes actually left the building that night thinking he was U.S. champion; Rogers had raised Rhodes' hand and had strapped the U.S. title around his waist.

A complete history of Jim Crockett Promotion' United States Heavyweight Championship

On the following week's television show, David Crockett announced that the NWA had reviewed the film of the match and, because of the blatant involvement by referee Rogers in the finish, they were returning the U.S. title to Flair.

All of that then set up Buddy Rogers coming out of retirement to challenge Flair for the U.S. title on the next card in Greensboro.

Rogers was the fan favorite in this Greensboro story, but would soon turn heel as, simultaneously, Flair solidified himself as a babyface when the two had an altercation on television weeks later and Rogers applied the figure-four leglock on Flair and tried to injure him.

Not much else notable happened on that show. Dino Bravo was never a serious threat to Ken Patera's Mid-Atlantic Championship. But a fellow on an earlier match soon would be. Jim Brunzell had entered the territory from the AWA, and would upset Patera twice on television in non-title affairs and would eventually beat the Olympian strongman for the Mid-Atlantic championship in September.

Originally posted August 24, 2018 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Ernie Ladd's Infamous Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Debut

Exclusive audio recording of Ernie Ladd's 1979 Mid-Atlantic
Wrestling debut at the end of this article!

* * * * * * * * * *

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

A newcomer to Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling burst onto the scene on the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television show that was taped on January 31, 1979. And what an electric debut it was for the “Cat,” Ernie Ladd! Scheduled to wrestle Herb Gallant in his first Mid-Atlantic TV bout, instead Ladd approached announcer Bob Caudle in his street clothes, with apparently no intention of wrestling.

Caudle admonished Ladd, “You’re supposed to be up in the ring.” Ernie answered, “Look, I’ve asked over and over [for] Andre the dumb Giant! I wanna beat Andre the dumb Giant. I asked the promotion for Andre the dumb Giant, and they never give it to me! I wanna beat Harley Race on TV, and I’m TIRED of gettin’ in the ring with people that are inferior to my ability. And I’m sick and tired of it! So right now you can’t force me in the ring; you can’t make me do anything! I do what I want to do! I’M MY OWN MAN!”

Graphic courtesy Mid-Atlantic Grapplin' Greats

Caudle leaned over to the “Big Cat,” and lightly touched him on the arm and appeared ready to make a point. Instead, Ladd yelled, “Don’t put your hands on me…don’t touch me!!” Caudle instinctively drew back. Ernie continued, “Because I don’t have to get in the ring and wrestle! He’s an inferior caliber wrestler to me, so I will NOT get in there and disgrace myself with him. Regardless of what you say or anybody else says...I can be fined, suspended, because I have enough money to do anything I want with it! Now what can I tell you, Mr. TV announcer?"

Color commentator David Crockett chimed in, “How would you disgrace yourself wrestling Herb Gallant?” Ladd quickly retorted, “Listen, I asked for the [World] Champion, number one…” As Ernie was talking, someone in the studio audience shouted for the “Cat” to get in the ring! Ladd bellowed, “Shut up out there!” Referee Sonny Fargo was also calling over to the set for Ernie to step in the ring, but Ladd was having none of it. “Don’t ask me about getting in the ring and wrestle, Mr. Referee. You can’t tell me what to do Mr. Referee…you’re just a referee,” Ladd explained.  The fans in the TV studio were getting more rowdy in response to Ladd’s antics, which prompted Ernie to lash out, “And why don’t you people be quiet!!”

Ladd composed himself briefly and said, “I asked for one man…Andre the dumb Giant. He’s not here. I have not gotten him, and I’m upset and I’m disturbed! I asked for Harley Race…” But then David Crockett got Ladd stirred up again, interrupting him and saying, “You have to prove yourself.” A once again fired up “Big Cat” fired back, “What do you mean I have to prove myself? My record all around the world speaks for itself! World’s greatest football player, international wrestler. I don’t care what they’ve seen, clean their ears out get up close to that television, you see me wrestling out of Madison Square Garden, you see me wrestling out of Atlanta, you see me wrestling all over the world, and I come in here and make a special request to make a proper debut, to beat the World’s Champion on TV…”

Crockett persisted, “You have to prove yourself…” An exasperated Ladd yelled back, “What do you mean I have to prove myself? Look at the referee interfering!” Referee Sonny Fargo yelled towards Ernie, “I’m gonna give you a 10-count to get in here!” Ladd indignantly replied, “He ain’t gonna give me a 10 count…nobody gives me nothing! I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll be the first man to get in the ring and shake his hand, and congratulate him! I’ve had so many awards…”

And then Ladd actually made his way into the ring!

An incredulous Bob Caudle jumped back in saying, “David, he’s dressed…he’s in the ring in his street clothes. He’s just gonna shake his hand, he said.” But unfortunately for Gallant, he received more contact from “Ol’ #99” than a handshake! Caudle described the scene exclaiming, “Whoa, he kicked him right in the stomach! Ladd now with Gallant, he went in to shake Gallant’s hand. He’s got his street shoes on David, those big heavy leather shoes with a hard heavy heel, stomping and kicking Gallant with those! Now he’s hanging him right in the air!” Crockett interjected, “Throws him down right on his back!” Caudle continued, “Look at how big and how strong Ernie Ladd is.”

The “Big Cat,” street clothes and all, pinned Gallant immediately afterward. Crockett said after the three-count, “He finally wrestled, though!” Caudle concurred, “He wrestled, that’s right. He’s not gonna be fined. There’s no doubt he got in the ring and he wrestled, but the way he went about it, the sneak attack on Gallant, I’m not so sure in the minds of all the fans that proved anything...”

As an irate Ladd approached the interview area, Caudle bravely said to him, “With a sneak attack like that on Gallant!” Ladd furiously came back at Bob, “That’s not a sneak attack!! They don’t give big fat Haystacks Calhoun any static about what he puts on, what he has to do or what he has to wear! I’m my own man, I do EXACTLY what I want to do when I want to do it! I’m the best wrestler! And don’t EVER make the mistake and think that Ernie Ladd is gonna give you something!”

Listen to the entire thing play out in this rare, archival audio!

Before he entered the Mid-Atlantic area, Ernie Ladd’s reputation certainly preceded him. And in his first television appearance in the territory, he only reinforced that reputation for trickery, deceit and aggression. The “Big Cat” had arrived, and his claws were clearly out…ready to strike anyone unfortunate enough to be in his path!

Originally published June 17, 2016 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway. 

Classic Poster Friday: Old Wrestling Posters Never Die

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Awhile back 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, whether 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, NC.

Originally Published July 26, 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

40 Years Ago This Month: Mulligan and Flair win the NWA World Tag Team Titles

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Forty years ago this month, on August 12, 1979, Blackjack Mulligan and Ric Flair won the NWA World Tag Team Championships from Paul Jones and Baron Von Raschke.

It was a big deal at the time. Although currently the U.S. champion, this was Ric's first championship win since first turning babyface earlier that summer after an angle with Paul Jones (as well as a separate angle with Buddy Rogers.) Flair had enlisted the aid of several wrestlers as his tag team partners (including Ricky Steamboat) in his quest to topple Jones and Von Raschke for the straps, but it was Mulligan who proved to be the right choice.

The match is remembered as much for the celebration afterward as for the match itself. A very bloody Ric Flair actually leapt into the arms of Mulligan as they held their titles over their heads in victory. It was an emotional scene in the Greensboro Coliseum seeing Flair and Mulligan with such camaraderie, especially given their long, violent, bloody feud just a year earlier.


Who would have thought at the time of the famous "Hat & Robe" angle that these two would hold the world tag team titles just over one year later.

40 years ago this month! Good memories!

Action Figures Friday: Valentine vs. Bravo in Toronto

Barry Hatchet / MapleLeafWrestling.com

There is no one that does detail on staging classic wrestling action figure photos quite like Barry Hatchet in his "Make Believe Gardens" series on MapleLeafWrestling.com.

This photo features Canadian Heavyweight Champion Dino Bravo vs. challenger Greg Valentine 

From the Maple Leaf Wrestling website:

Dino Bravo and Greg 'Hammer' Valentine had some great bouts in Toronto over our Canadian Heavyweight Title. This could be any one of 3 where Bravo was champ at introductions. Valentine would eventually beat Bravo for the title in April but would lose it back in June.

Bravo had recently turned back the challenge of Ric Flair and had tagged with Ricky Steamboat against the team of Flair and Valentine before starting this series.

Jim Crockett Promotions and Toronto Promoter Frank Tunney had a working relationship between 1978 and 1983, where Tunney booked a majority of his talent appearing on Toronto cards from the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling territory. The Canadian heavyweight champions during this era also appeared for Jim Crockett Promotions on cards in their cities, as well as on the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling and World Wide Wrestling TV shows, with the Canadian title belt.

More excellent photos from this staging can be found here.

Mr. Wrestling Tim Woods' Last Stand (Part Eleven)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway


Catch up on this entire story in:
PART ONE  |  PART TWO  |  PART THREE  |  PART FOUR
PART FIVE  |  PART SIX  |  PART SEVEN  |  PART EIGHT
PART NINE  |  PART TEN
* * * * *

PART ELEVEN
Just as Tim Woods was beginning to exact his revenge on Buddy Rogers and Jimmy Snuka in November of 1979, the last Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling program of that month would shockingly alter this bitter rivalry forever. Sandwiched between the initial singles bout between Woods and Snuka in Greensboro, North Carolina on November 22nd that ended in a wild double count-out affair, Raleigh, North Carolina at the Dorton Arena saw Woods get his first individual shots at Buddy Rogers, where on November 20th Rogers eked out a count-out victory, only to lose the return bout a week later when Woods got his hand raised in a match that had two referees.  But the very next night in the WRAL TV studios in Raleigh, everything would change in the "hate triangle" between Woods, Snuka and Rogers.

On the November 28, 1979 Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television show, Ric Flair attacked Buddy Rogers in an impromptu melee between the two Nature Boys. Ric got the upper hand quickly, and unmercifully drove his fists into the right ear of Rogers, an ear that had previously given Rogers fits. Buddy was escorted from the studio by Jimmy Snuka clutching his ear and in obvious pain. When the program went off the air, there was no update on Rogers' condition. However, the mystery on Buddy's status would be solved the following week on TV.

Announcer David Crockett appeared on the December 5, 1979 Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television taping and read a letter from Buddy Rogers, the contents of which conveyed to the fans that it would be very unlikely Buddy would return as Snuka's manager due to the injuries that Ric Flair had inflicted on his ear. In the letter, Rogers said he was actively pursuing a prospective buyer of his managerial contract with Jimmy Snuka. This signaled the end of Rogers' role in Tim Woods' "last stand." At the same time Rogers departed the scene, Woods left for a two week tour of Japan and U.S. Title bouts between he and Snuka would be set to begin upon his return.

While Tim was in Japan, Gene Anderson was shockingly announced as Jimmy Snuka's new manager. Anderson went from being a veteran wrestler who very rarely ever uttered a word on camera, to being the mouthpiece for Snuka and John Studd. Gene accompanied Snuka to the ring, and figured in both of the initial Snuka/Woods United States Title matches, at the Dorton Arena in Raleigh on December 26th and at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia on December 30th.



The U.S. Title match between Woods and Snuka at Dorton Arena on December 26th was part of a rare "on location" television taping of Mid-Atlantic and World Wide Wrestling, with some of the bigger matches that evening being reserved for the live crowd and not taped for TV. This TV taping was also the television return of Tim Woods after his being absent on TV for several weeks, and Tim talked at length to announcer Rich Landrum on the World Wide Wrestling show. Landrum opened with, "Mr. Wrestling, Tim Woods, and you're still after Jimmy Snuka for that U.S. Title and whatever else you want to get even for."

Woods then summed up nicely his issues with Snuka saying in response, "Well, what I really want to get even for is the man that put me out of wrestling for seven weeks as a matter of fact, and I haven't forgotten it. And I know that 1980 is going to be a lot better year than 1979 for me...because I said to everybody and I'll say it to you again once more Snuka. I'm out to getcha, I'm gonna settle the score just as soon as I can get you in that ring."

Tim continued, "And it won't be long because I've been pushing for it. In fact, I just came back from a two week tour of Japan; I talked to NWA officials over there and I told everybody about it and I mean to get Jimmy Snuka one way or another." Woods got his first dose of manager Gene Anderson in Snuka's corner in the Dorton Arena U.S. Title match that Jimmy prevailed in, setting up the long awaited Richmond U.S Championship bout that had been promoted locally for the whole month of December.

In the final week of the lead up to the Richmond bout on December 30th, the rhetoric got quite heated on TV. Anderson told the Virginia fans, "Tim Woods, you used to be a good amateur wrestler but this is professional wrestling ...this is wrestling where you can get hurt. And to beat a good amateur wrestler, all you do is take him off his feet. And Tim Woods, Jimmy Snuka is gonna take you off your feet and maybe break one of your legs."

Woods answered Gene for the Richmond fans just as forcefully explaining, "Gene Anderson thinks he's going to get the job done where nobody else could. I tell you something Gene Anderson, you get your man Jimmy Snuka in the best shape possible, you train him any way you want. You know, I remember a match with you Gene Anderson when I beat you for the World's Tag Team Championship. That's all in the past...now Snuka I want you [and] I've got you in Richmond. I want your body, I wanna hurt you, I wanna beat you for your belt."

With the assistance of Gene Anderson, Snuka prevailed over Woods in the Richmond main event of an afternoon card there, but Tim got a measure of revenge later that same day when he beat Gene in a singles match that evening in the Greensboro Coliseum. The Greensboro bout would be Woods' last of the year and the decade of the 1970s, leading up to the month of January 1980 where Tim Woods and Jimmy Snuka would play out the final chapter of their month's-long feud and decide who would carry the prestigious United States Heavyweight Championship into the decade of the 1980s.

Tim Woods and Jimmy Snuka conclude their battles over the United States Heavyweight Championship in January of 1980...to be continued in the finale to our series, Part 12!

Mr. Wrestling Tim Woods' Last Stand (Part 10)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Catch up on this entire story in:
PART ONE  |  PART TWO  |  PART THREE  |  PART FOUR
PART FIVE  |  PART SIX  |  PART SEVEN  |  PART EIGHT
PART NINE

* * * * *

PART TEN

Nov. 11, 1979    Columbia SC

Immediately after Tim Woods returned to the ring on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television programming on October 31, 2019, he finally met Jimmy Snuka and Buddy Rogers in the squared circle! In fact, the first such bout occurred the very next night at the Scope Coliseum in Norfolk, Virginia. But like nearly all of Woods' bouts in November of 1979, this was a tag team bout where Tim would have to wait a little while longer to confront Snuka and Rogers one-on-one.


The wild bout in Norfolk was one of the final 8-man tag team matches that were showcased throughout the area in October of 1979. The Scope match saw Ric Flair, Blackjack Mulligan, Jay Youngblood and Woods defeat Ken Patera, John Studd, Rogers and Snuka. The next night, November 2nd, at County Hall in Charleston, South Carolina saw Tim in a 6-man tag match with Rogers and Snuka included in the opposing corner. The following night in Charlotte, the last of the 8-man tag team matches pitted Flair, Mulligan, Jim Brunzell and Woods against the same foursome from Norfolk. Again in the “Queen City,” the "good guys" prevailed and just like at the Scope, Snuka and Rogers went to great lengths to avoid being in the ring at the same time as Woods, but there were short stints where these arch-rivals squared off to boisterous reactions from the fans in both towns!

Another twist to these early matches with Woods returning to the ring: he wasn't billed on those first few shows! Woods' return on TV was taped on Wednesday 10/31/79, but didn't air on TV until Saturday 11/3/79. In both the Norfolk (Thursday 11/1) and Charleston (Friday 11/2) matches, the teams facing Rogers' crew had a "mystery partner" which wound up being Tim Woods and his baseball bat to the delight of fans in those towns. In Charlotte (Saturday 11/3), the day Woods' TV appearance aired, Woods actually replaced an "injured" Ricky Steamboat in the billed main event. While fans surely were disappointed that Steamboat didn't appear, they were surprised and thrilled to see Woods finally get a chance to get in the ring with Buddy Rogers and his crew.

On November 8, 1979 in Petersburg, Virginia, Woods would tag with Blackjack Mulligan to battle Snuka and John Studd with Rogers in their corner in a chaotic encounter. In the pre-match promos, Rogers told announcer Rich Landrum, "Really, I don't want to talk too much about this for the mere reason big John wants to say it all!" Studd then chimed in, "Right there we're gonna put an end to this...Woods and Mulligan you've both had it!" Tim later commented to Landrum about the Petersburg bout, "Well, I couldn't have a better partner than Blackjack Mulligan, a man fully equal to John Studd in every way, and a little bit more as far as I'm concerned...and you know how I feel about the other man involved."

Tim Woods (with his "Ding Bat") and
partner Ric Flair battled Rogers and Snuka

The first conventional tag team match involving Woods against Snuka and Rogers occurred in Columbia, South Carolina on November 11th when Tim teamed with old foe Ric Flair to battle Woods' antagonists. The normally even-tempered Woods could not control himself at all, letting his anger get the best of him and was disqualified costing his team the match. A similar script followed the next night in Greenville, South Carolina where Woods' temper cost himself and partner Blackjack Mulligan, another old foe, allowing Snuka and Rogers to again leave the ring with their hands raised.

The Greenville outburst appeared to resonate with Tim, and Woods seemed to hold his temper in check a bit better going forward...and the results soon thereafter reflected the change. The next night, November 13th in Raleigh, Woods and Blackjack Mulligan got their hands raised in victory over Snuka and Rogers and this time it was the "bad guys" who couldn't keep their cool and were disqualified.

 The weekend of Thanksgiving 1979 saw Woods exact some revenge against Snuka and Rogers in a tag team setting in Richmond and Hampton, Virginia. On the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling program that was taped on November 21st and shown the Saturday after Thanksgiving, announcers Bob Caudle and David Crockett queried Buddy Rogers about Tim Woods' return to the ring. Rogers confidently replied, "He might have come back, but I'll tell ya I'm gonna settle him once and for all. I'm here to let everybody know we're not running away from Tim Woods, we want Tim Woods!"

November 20, 1979   Raleigh NC

Rogers continued his diatribe ranting, "And when that time comes when I step in the ring with him he's gonna know the ol' Nature Boy was right back! When it comes to Mulligan, Flair and Tim Woods, we want 'em every night in the week, in fact just due to the fact that it's around 'Turkey Day' we want all three of them turkeys anytime we can get 'em! Any time at all!"

Crockett then cut Rogers off snidely, "You're gonna get more than you want to eat!" Rogers retorted, "Listen, let me tell you what...I've never seen the day that I took a bite out of anything that I couldn't devour it. And that goes for Mulligan, Flair or Tim Woods so you can tell 'em for me once and for all."

Later in that same November 21st TV program Woods told the fans, "Rogers is yellow, Snuka isn't much better...whether he's hypnotized or not it will take more than hypnotism to save their necks, and I mean necks, because I've got a score to settle around the neck." Bob Caudle commented, “Well, I tell you, you know they injured you in the neck and you came back 100%...how about that, are you gonna repay him Tim?" Woods answered, “I'm back [and] I've great partners and I AM gonna repay one way or another Snuka, one way or another Rogers. You are gonna pay, neck for neck, eye for eye."

The bout in Richmond on the day after Thanksgiving pitted Woods and Flair against Rogers and Snuka. A confident and hyped-up Buddy Rogers told the fans in Richmond in a pre-match promo, “This will be the day after ‘Turkey Day’ but we’re still gonna have plenty of white meat left! I guarantee you that when Flair and Woods get in the ring with Jimmy Snuka and myself we’re gonna do a job on them that they’ll never forget Thanksgiving of 1979! Once and for all, we’re gonna be the victors!”

Tim and Ric had other ideas as they discussed the Richmond tag team bout with promo announcer Rich Landrum. Ric began, “Well, what a night it’s gonna be! I’m not only honored, I’m privileged that Tim Woods would ask me to be his partner. Rogers, I don’t think you’ve got it, and I’m not the only one. A lot of people around here have waited to see you pull those tights over those skinny little legs of yours. We’re ready for you my friend. Look at Tim Woods…payback brother, remember!”

Woods then took the mic, “You’re right, Rogers hasn’t got it, but Rogers is gonna get it! And so is Jimmy Snuka, when you and I team against them. I’m gonna settle that score Ric.” Flair then shouted, “Richmond’s the place baby! WOOO!”

After winning the Richmond bout in dramatic fashion, Woods made the short trip to Hampton, Virginia the next night to team with Mulligan against the duo of Rogers and Studd. Woods while holding up one of his “Wanted” posters in a pre-match TV promo told the fans in Hampton prior to the contest, “Well, this ‘Wanted’ poster is no news to anybody. I’ve told everybody about it and they’ve seen a lot of ‘em. I’m very happy to be teamed up with you Mulligan, the biggest man in wrestling, and I know there’s gonna be a score settled. You know, Buddy Rogers came out here with a little patch on his head…he’s gonna look like checkerboard square after this match!”

The Woods and Mulligan win by disqualification in Hampton on November 24th was a demarcation line of sorts in Tim Wood’s ‘Last Stand’ in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. Tim’s ‘revenge tour’ would henceforth become almost exclusively singles matches against Jimmy Snuka for the United States Heavyweight Title during the last month of the decade of the 1970s. And shockingly, because of events on November 28th, those matches with Tim and the ‘Superfly’ would thereafter be without Snuka’s legendary co-conspirator during this epic feud.

Buddy Rogers is unceremoniously excised from Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and the Tim Woods/Jimmy Snuka feud…to be continued in Part 11!

Thanks to Brack Beasley for the photos and Mark Eastridge for the newspaper clippings.