Now That's a Dropkick! Hawk vs. Lex Luger

 

This is another in a series of great images by our friend, the late photographer Robert Riddick, Jr. 

Road Warrior Hawk connects with a wicked flying dropkick on the "Total Package" Lex Luger, circa 1987-1988. Guessing Lex felt that one. 

Great memories!

Click here for more classic Robert Riddick images on the mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Thanksgiving Flashback: Starrcade '87

THIRTY-ONE YEARS AGO TODAY!

It was a nights for firsts and lasts.

It was the first Starrcade outside the traditional Mid-Atlantic territory, as Jim Crockett Promotions moved Starrcade to Chicago that year. It was also the company's first ever pay-per-view event.

But it was shut out of the majority of cable systems by the WWE, the effects of which were felt in the company's business in 1988 and helped lead to the sale of the company to Ted Turner in late 1988.

It would prove to be the last Thanksgiving show under the Jim Crockett Promotions banner and the last Starrcade for the family promotion as well.

Relive the memories of the first Starrcade outside of the traditional Mid-Atlantic territory, thirty-one years ago today! Visit our Starrcade '87 page on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway archive site.

Best of the Gateway: James J. Dillon & The Limousine

by Dick Bourne

Mid-Atlantic Gateway

It's been a long time since I've written about my departed friend Rob Riddick here. I don't want him to be forgotten in the wrestling world. Rob was a wrestling photographer in the 1980s and many of his photographs were published in the magazines edited by George Napolitano.  

I have many photos Rob sent me in the years we knew each other. Some have been published here, many more I need to include.

The following is one of the first articles I wrote about Rob on the Gateway back in 2015. 

Honoring photographer and friend Robert Riddick, Jr.

One of Rob Riddick's favorite photographs that he shot was of James J. Dillon outside of his hotel in Baltimore the weekend of the second Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup tag team tournament. It was April of 1987, and J.J. was waiting for Ric Flair and the rest of the Four Horsemen to join him as they prepared to depart in their limousine.  Rob was shooting for George Napolitano and his series of pro-wrestling news stand magazines at this time.

Rob once told me the context of the photo, but I don't recall when during the weekend this was or where he said the Horsemen were headed. He told me he had taken this photo for himself. 

Twenty six years later, in the summer of 2013, my friend Conrad Thompson was looking for a unique photo he could have enlarged and signed by J.J. at a private gathering in Huntsville, AL. I suggested Rob's limousine photo and Conrad thought it was perfect. He had the photo of J.J. and the limousine blown up into a nice 16 x 20" foam-board poster. Since Rob allowed us to use his photograph, I asked J.J. to sign one for him, too, and explained to him that it was Rob who had taken the photo all those years ago and that it was one of his favorites.

J.J. took great care in signing the print to Rob. The inscription read:

"To Robert: 

Thanks for the great photo. 

J.J. Dillon

The Leader of the Four Horsemen forever!"

I was so excited to be able to get this for Rob.  J.J. was one of his favorite wrestlers and managers. The photo of J.J. and the limousine had been used on the cover of one of J.J.'s recent shoot-interview DVDs, which Rob was very proud of all these years later. I called him and told him I had it for him and that I would mail it to him, but needed to get the right packaging for it because it was on foam-board and could not be rolled up. He told me not to worry with it, as we were planning on trying to see each other soon, and I could give it to him then. I sent him a photo via e-mail of the signed print so he could see what J.J. had written. But even with that, I had every good intention to go ahead and mail it to him.

But it was not to be.

I believe it was Thomas Edison who once said something like "Good intentions, with poor execution, often lead to poor results.” Rob passed away a short time later, before our planned get-together. I had not yet mailed the signed photograph to him. I still feel bad about that to this day.

* * * * *

This article was originally published on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway June 26, 2015.

Action Figures Friday: The UWF Championships

From top to bottom: the North American Heavyweight Championship, The UWF Heavyweight Championship,
The UWF Television Championship, and the UWF Tag team championships. Select action figures represent
some of the wrestlers who held those titles. (Jeff Jewett photo.)

Back on Friday, February 2, "Action Figures Friday" presented an amazing display by collector Jeff Jewett of the mid-1980s "Dusty-era" replica championship belts and action figures. These included the United States championships, NWA World TV title, World Tag Team titles, and many others.

This week, Jeff presents a look at his replicas of the Mid-South and Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) championship belts along with custom action figure representations of some of the champions that wore those title belts around the time of the Crockett acquisition of the UWF.

Along with the UWF titles, these include the North American Heavyweight title used earlier in the 1980s during the final years of the Mid-South Championship Wrestling era, before Bill Watts changed the name of the company to the Universal Wrestling Federation. Also included is the Mid-South TV Championship medal that was defended during the 1980s Mid-South era.


An outstanding presentation of replica title belts and custom action figures! Thanks to our friend Jeff Jewett for sending us the photos.

And don't miss Jeff's amazing display of the Crockett NWA championships presented earlier this month on "Action Figures Friday."

Blackjack Mulligan interview before the the Great American Bash in St. Petersburg

Blackjack Recognizable
by Jimmy Nasella
Assistant State Sports Editor, Tampa Tribune
July 24, 1987

TAMPA - He's big, no. make that gargantuan, by the normal-sized person's standards. and recognizable throughout the country.

A pair of factors that can go a long way In keeping one going for 20 years in pro wrestling They also go a long way In letting a guy move around to keep himself, and the fans, from becoming stale. The proof Is in Black Jack Mulligan.

Mulligan, 6-foot-7, 325 pounds will lug his mass into the ring again tonight as part Of the National Wrestling Alliances Great American Bash at the St. Petersburg Bayfront Center.

Being part of the month-long event (the Bash's are winding down a tour of 13 Florida dates) Is but another benefit of Mulligan's longevity.

He recently returned from a stint In the World Wrestling Federation, a journey afforded because Mulligan's longevity makes him one of few in the business who can go from place to place with little problem.

"I'm one of the old-timers who can do it," Mulligan said In a telephone interview from his small ranch situated between Lakeland and Plant City. "It's the result of a long-term investment in the business."

In other words, he has come a long way since his first match on a hot summer day in San Antonio.

It's an even longer way from childhood in Sweetwater, Texas, when he and neighborhood kids would wrestle after watching shows (he liked the bad guys) from Chicago and Fort Worth.  "I knew early on what I wanted to do." he said. "I wanted to be a football player first (he was with Denver and the New York Jets before a leg injury forced retirement in 1970) and a wrestler second. Never thought I'd get to do it,  but ..."

He began wrestling in junior high school and played football at Odessa High (under Iowa coach Hayden Fry) and college ball at Texas-El Paso (under Bum Phillips). Through it all, however, pro wrestling kept nagging in the back of his mind. "In college we would stage our own matches," he recalled. It was setting the stage, although he didn't know it at the time, for the real thing The real thing, however, didn't seem to be all Mulligan had cracked it up to be when his chance to get in the ring came in San Antonio.

"I'll never forget it." he said between coughs through the phone line, "It was 110 degrees in the mite of the summer. I was against Joltin' Joe Blanchard who had been an All-American at Kansas and an All-Pro in the Canadian Football League. It was horrible — it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I thought that there must be an easier way to make a living."

Since then Mulligan has been to nearly every country in the world, outside the Iron Curtain. He has made a nice living with his Polk County place and another home in Texas. He has done television commercials and has gone from wrestling nine times a week to "about 10 a month." Yes, he says, he has lost a step or two over the years, but it's still fun and he's not ready to retire.

And, since then, Mulligan has seen it all In the ring — including his current plight. Ironically. as Ironies go in pro wres-tling tonight he is teamed with one of his formerly most-hated rivals, Kevin Sullivan as they go against Dory Funk Jr. and Sir Oliver Humperdink in a barbed-wire cage match.

"He's a most unusual partner," Mulligan understated. "We have had combat and he is both a worthy opponent and worthy partner. I'm still not sure I trust the dirty rat — I think he may be connin' me. I keep one eye on Kevin and one on the opposition."

In other matches tonight: Ed Gantner and Bugsy McGraw take on the Sheepherders; Mike Rotunda faces the Black Assassin: Ron Simmons, Scott Hall and Jimmy Valient meet The Raging Bull, Ivan Koloff and Vladimir Petrov; Ronnie Garvin takes on Inkubus, Jim Backlund and Jerry Grey team to meet the Cuban Connection; Lazortron faces Nelson Royal, and the Mulkey Brothers meet Luis Astia and Rick Ryder.


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

Thanks to Mark Eastridge for sending the newspaper article on Blackjack Mulligan. Transcription courtesy of Online OCR.

Ric Flair and JJ Dillon Back on Top after Starrcade '87

Saturday TV: NWA Pro Wrestling 5/23/87

Great episode of "NWA Pro Wrestling" from the fabled Dorton Arena in Raleigh, NC.

The Bunkhouse Stampede

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

When I think of the Bunkhouse Stampede I usually think of the initial December events that Dusty Rhodes started in 1985 with Jim Crockett Promotions. Each year, the legendary Nelson Royal would invite us to sit down by the campfire and he would tell us about how disagreements were settled back in the old days of the bunkhouses, and how this translated to the new concept of the Bunkhouse Stampede.

The Bunkhouse Stampede was basically a battle royal with the added stipulations that you could come wearing whatever you wanted and bring all the foreign objects you wanted, too, if I remember correctly.

Even though the Stampede became a bit of a downer to fans as time went on (it only lasted three years) because Dusty Rhodes kept winning them all, they are still remembered fondly for the imagery and the memorabilia associated with them. My particular favorite image is of the buckle and the badge, seen above. That big Bunkhouse Stampede boot/trophy was pretty cool, too.

Here is a memorable promo by the "Bull of the Woods" Dusty Rhodes and a great shot of the Bunkhouse Stampede badge and boot:

The program had a cool cover, a simple shot of a cowboy hat with the new version of the NWA logo on the hatband.

J.W.'s Wrestling Collectables

Josh Watko at J.W.'s Wrestling Memorabilia web blog wrote about getting Dusty's autograph on the cover of that program, and I have to admit that made for one cool piece of memorabilia. Dusty had a great autograph anyway, and it worked perfectly on that cover.

Josh wrote the following in 2009:

Usually when I get a program signed, it's the beginning of a "project." A project consists of an item, usually a poster, magazine, program, book, or vhs/dvd cover or box, that you get signed by the stars who are featured on that particular item. When I purchased this program off of NWA Fanfest promoter Greg Price a few years ago, I knew immediately there was only one signature I wanted on it--"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes.

In all, I had seven items signed by my all-time favorite wrestler, Rhodes, at Signamania, and this was by far my favorite. The fact that he signed it with a full signature and was in great spirits made it all the more special.

You can read his full post here, including a wonderful photo of Josh with "the Dream" doing that famous million dollar smile.

The final Bunkhouse Stampede was a pay-per-view event when those were still somewhat rare, 29 years ago this month.

Blooper! J.J. Dillon managing ....Dusty Rhodes??

Wow. November 7, 1987 - - the world was off its axis!

Or maybe it was just a severe case of confusion by the person at the newspaper who put this ad together for Jim Crockett Promotions.

Check out all of the managers in this ad - - and we mean ALL the managers -- and pay attention to how they are paired up:

Dusty Rhodes with .... James J. Dillon?
The Rock & Roll Express with .... Jim Cornette?
Freebird Michael Hayes with .... Paul Jones?
Jimmy Valiant and Bugsy McGraw with .... Skandor Akbar?
The Mighty Wilbur with .... Precious?

Whew! Can you imagine the confusion for some young kid seeing that in the paper before going to the big show at James Rhodes Arena?

Thanks to Mark Eastridge for sending us this funny ad.

"World World Wrestling" Theme Music (1986)

Always liked this particular version of the "World Wide Wrestling" theme music. Someone has taken the opening video and added the remainder of the music through to the end of the cut. Well done.

There were at least three instrumental variations/arrangements of the final bars of this song that played out over the years. One in particular was a bit of a different take used in 1988. I'll try to locate that and post the audio of that here as well.

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.

James J. Dillon & The Limousine

Honoring photographer and friend Robert Riddick, Jr.

One of Rob Riddick's favorite photographs that he shot was of James J. Dillon outside of his hotel in Baltimore the weekend of the second Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup tag team tournament. It was April of 1987, and J.J. was waiting for Ric Flair and the rest of the Four Horsemen to join him as they prepared to depart in their limousine.  Rob was shooting for George Napolitano and his series of pro-wrestling news stand magazines at this time.

Rob once told me the context of the photo, but I don't recall when during the weekend this was or where he said the Horsemen were headed. He told me he had taken this photo for himself. 

Twenty six years later, in the summer of 2013, my friend Conrad Thompson was looking for a unique photo he could have enlarged and signed by J.J. at a private gathering in Huntsville, AL. I suggested Rob's limousine photo and Conrad thought it was perfect. He had the photo of J.J. and the limousine blown up into a nice 16 x 20" foam-board poster. Since Rob allowed us to use his photograph, I asked J.J. to sign one for him, too, and explained to him that it was Rob who had taken the photo all those years ago and that it was one of his favorites.

J.J. took great care in signing the print to Rob. The inscription read:

"To Robert: 

Thanks for the great photo. 

J.J. Dillon

The Leader of the Four Horsemen forever!"

I was so excited to be able to get this for Rob.  J.J. was one of his favorite wrestlers and managers. The photo of J.J. and the limousine had been used on the cover of one of J.J.'s recent shoot-interview DVDs, which Rob was very proud of all these years later. I called him and told him I had it for him and that I would mail it to him, but needed to get the right packaging for it because it was on foam-board and could not be rolled up. He told me not to worry with it, as we were planning on trying to see each other soon, and I could give it to him then. I sent him a photo via e-mail of the signed print so he could see what J.J. had written. But even with that, I had every good intention to go ahead and mail it to him.

I believe it was Thomas Edison who once said something like "Good intentions, with poor execution, often lead to poor results.” Rob passed away a short time later, before our planned get-together. I had not yet mailed the signed photograph to him. I still feel bad about that to this day.

As mentioned earlier, I am featuring some of photographer Rob Riddick's personal favorite pictures to honor his memory as part of an ongoing series here on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

- Dick Bourne