Major Leaguer: Terry Funk Insists "It's My Moment!"

"I am a major leaguer. 

I am just like Nolan Ryan; 42 and tryin' 

to teach you people what a true hero is today. "

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

We usually don't stray much past 1988 on this website, but this is one of my favorite Terry Funk interviews ever during his 1989 run in the early days of Ted Turner's WCW.

During the spring of 1989, Funk had some very memorable interviews and TV matches setting him up as the wild and unpredictable challenger to NWA World champion Ric Flair. WCW had initiated the "Top 10" concept and Terry hadn't made into the top 10 yet and was very frustrated by that fact. This was in the weeks following his "pearl harbor" attack on Ric Flair in Nashville.

Frustrating Funk further was the fact that Lance Russell interrupted him to go to the ring for the "Rookie Challenge" where two young competitors would have a shot at "their moment" on national television.

But a protesting Funk insisted it was HIS moment, and he made sure he stole that moment from rookies Lee Scott and Dwayne Bruce. Mayhem ensues.

My favorite visual is near the end of this video when Funk piledrives Lee Scott and you see Funk between Scott's extended legs with a big grin on his face screaming "It's my moment!"

Sidebar: Funk evoked the name of Nolan Ryan in this interview, a reference to the Major League Baseball Hall of Famer who in this same year of 1989 for the Texas Rangers would lead the American League in strikeouts with an incredible .615 winning percentage and would be voted to the All-Star game that year - - amazingly all at the age of 42. The same age as Funk.

The clip is from an episode of "NWA Pro Wrestling" taped at the Center Stage Theater in Atlanta (also regular home to "World Championship Wrestling" on WTBS.) Commentary is by my favorite 1989 broadcast team of Lance Russell and Bob Caudle.

 

Originally posted April 2018 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Ric Flair and Conrad Thompson Talk Wahoo McDaniel

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

While doing research for my book on the history of the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship, I came across an edited audio clip we presented earlier on our site from the old Ric Flair Show podcast produced and hosted by Conrad Thompson for the MLW Radio Network. The topic for "This Week in History" on that episode was the night Ric beat Wahoo McDaniel for the Mid-Atlantic title for the first time in September of 1975.

Ric and Conrad talk about the match with Wahoo, the plane crash that almost ended Ric's career just two weeks later, and some other great stories about Wahoo and what he meant to Ric personally and to his career.

The vintage audio clip during the segment is from "Wide World Wrestling"  in 1975 hosted by Ed Capral, who reviews film of the Hampton match with Ric alongside for commentary. The clip is part of a huge library of vintage audio from David Chappell.

So enjoy this classic audio trip back in time, not only to the glory days of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling in the mid-1970s, but also to 2016 during the great run of The Ric Flair Show.

No doubt 1975 was the breakout year for Ric Flair who would go on to become one of the greatest wrestlers in the history of the sport, and certainly its greatest champion.

Relive all the events of the landmark year of 1975 in the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling 1975 Yearbook.

The book includes reproductions of all four issues of "Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Magazine" that was sold as the arena program that year.

Plus a huge collection of newspaper clippings, posters, and complete results for the entire year. Plus our signature "Almanac" material featuring a complete roster of wrestlers for the year, and summaries of all major feuds and matches for the year.

This post was edited from an original post on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway from March of 2019.

Claw vs. Claw! Mulligan vs. Raschke in 1978

by David Chappell 
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

By the late summer of 1978, two of the biggest names in professional wrestling, Blackjack Mulligan and Baron von Raschke, had been for the most part going their separate ways in the Mid-Atlantic area for about a year. That was all about to change during an eventful edition of the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television program that was taped on September 6, 1978.

The beginning of that TV show started off with a figurative "bang," as Paul Jones and Ricky Steamboat were shockingly forced to relinquish their World Tag Team Title belts to Raschke and Greg Valentine on the program's first segment via a pronouncement by NWA President Bob Geigel. But following that blockbuster announcement, Baron von Raschke hung around to give the show a literal "bang" immediately following. Unfortunately that loud bang was a blow to Blackjack Mulligan's noggin.

Announcer Bob Caudle summoned the big man from Eagle Pass, Texas saying, "I have Blackjack...come on out here Blackjack. All right fans, this is Blackjack Mulligan, Blackjack come on in because we've got a special presentation to you...David." Color commentator David Crockett  reappeared on the set with a large trophy and approached Mulligan saying, "On a much pleasanter note, Jack, it says from the fans of the Mid-Atlantic area, to Blackjack Mulligan, Outstanding Wrestler of 1977-78. Blackjack, from the wrestling fans of the Mid-Atlantic area."

Mulligan appeared to be very moved by the award and began to comment, "I tell you what, thank you very much David..." Then in a split second, Raschke and Greg Valentine appeared back on the set and attacked Mulligan viciously. The Baron was the primary aggressor, grabbing the trophy and breaking it squarely over Blackjack's head!  The crowd in the studio audience was almost in riot mode at this shocking turn of events!

Caudle exclaimed, "Hey, [the Baron] just went wild and is tearing it up! He hit Blackjack across the head with it David, and they're both on him, slammin' him around over there." Crockett yelled in response, "Raschke's just gone completely berserk!" Caudle continued, barely audible over the boisterous crowd, "He said what do you mean, [Mulligan's] not the outstanding that he is the outstanding and that he is the champion. And he continues to stomp and kick at Blackjack Mulligan!" A hysterical Raschke then interjected maniacally, "That will give me part of the $10,000.00 bounty, Blackjack Mulligan!"

As Mulligan attempted to gather himself, Caudle repeated, "He says that will give him part of the $10,000.00 bounty, David. And Blackjack, who is reeling...and I tell you, that is one of the lowest blows I have ever seen anybody get! What a blow, just to walk in and grab you that way!" Blackjack still woozy and staggering from the blows to the head managed to say, "Raschke, you're gonna pay for this like you've never paid before...I'll tell you right now." Caudle ended the segment, concluding, "David, you have to call that a sneak attack in any way you look at it...a sneak attack! Trophy in pieces!"

On the final segment of that September 6, 1978 Mid-Atlantic TV show, concerned fans were gratified that Mulligan returned to the set to address them. Bob Caudle began, "Fans with us right now at ringside and a fellow I'll tell you that has taken more than his share of punishment in the last hour or so...it seems like everybody in the world wanted to stomp and kick and cut and rip at you, Blackjack Mulligan." Blackjack answered, "Let me tell you something Bob Caudle; I want to talk to the people right now."

Mully continued as he held up the pieces of his destroyed trophy noting, "Everybody in television-land looking at me right now, I know this is a very nice gesture and I certainly appreciate it and I know there was probably a lot more deserving people in the world of wrestling. But I appreciate what you tried to do; what you tried to give me. But I seem to be a marked man in the world of wrestling . Everything I do, everything I try to do, Ric Flair or Raschke or Superstar or some of their henchman are right in the way. I appreciate this trophy being given to me by the people of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling."

Blackjack concluded the segment with a dire warning for the big German threatening ,"And I wanna tell you something Raschke...my head, I've never had a rougher hour in my whole life. But I wanna tell you something right now...I'm still standing here. I need my head sewed up, but I haven't fell yet! And Baron von Raschke, believe what I say, if it takes Claw against Claw my friend...your day is coming! We're marking von Raschke as NEXT!"

During the remainder of September and during October of 1978, these two world renowned grapplers who both used the dreaded Claw hold as their respective finishing maneuvers, battled frequently around the territory in a spirited but short program. Some of the bouts were even billed as Claw vs. Claw matches. Mulligan emerged victorious in a majority of these fiercely contested battles, and was the clear winner in the Texas Death Matches and Bounty matches between the two. The Baron scored his wins mainly in straight up bouts without stipulations.

The confrontations between the masters of the Claw were cut short when Big John Studd entered the Mid-Atlantic area in October, and became Blackjack's primary adversary as John pushed hard to collect the long-standing $10,000.00 bounty on Mully. The Baron was also pulled away from the program with Mulligan when Paul Orndorff and Jimmy Snuka entered the Mid-Atlantic area at the end of October and made an immediate push for the Baron and Greg Valentine's World Tag Team Titles.

While Blackjack Mulligan got a measure of revenge for Baron von Raschke destroying his trophy upside his head on TV, I always wished that these two would have had a longer program against each other. While Claw versus Claw was red hot for a short time, these two developed other irons in the fire with Mid-Atlantic newcomers that would ultimately define the Claw versus Claw program as a transitional bridge on the roads to even bigger Mid-Atlantic feuds for these two Jim Crockett Promotions mega-stars.

 

Originally published in March of 2018 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway. 

 

Ric Flair was the original Big Boss Man

Original Title: Mid-Atlantic Wrestling's own Big Boss Man
by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

When word came out recently about the Big Boss Man, the infamous prison guard from Cobb County, Georgia being selected for inclusion in the WWE Hall of Fame, it got me to thinking about another Big Boss Man in professional wrestling. While Ray Traylor’s Big Boss Man character was the most famous under that moniker, it’s probably been forgotten or is a well kept secret, that Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling had a “Big Boss Man” of their own in the late summer of 1974. And the man using that name to describe himself was none other than a young Ric Flair!
Yes, before he was the “Nature Boy,” Ric Flair was the self-proclaimed “Big Boss Man!” Flair only referred to himself as the Big Boss Man for around a month or so, but Ric was at his obnoxious best while he was doing it. Flair wasn’t posing as a renegade prison guard; it was just Ric being loud-mouthed Ric!

In the summer of 1974 Ric Flair teamed up with the legendary Carolina’s veteran Rip “The Profile” Hawk, and they soon became the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champions. On the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television program that was taped on August 14, 1974, Flair and Hawk were interviewed by announcer Bob Caudle. The rambunctious Flair told Caudle, “Let me tell you something daddy…I’ve got a new name for myself! Everywhere I go the people are shouting, WOOOOO, there goes the Big Boss Man!! You know why? Because every BOY like Conway and like King, they gotta have a boss! And when they see me they say, ‘WOOOOO, what’s happening Big Boss Man,’ that’s what they say to me! When they get in the ring with me they say, ‘WOOOO, what’s happening Big Boss Man?’ They say, ‘Please Big Boss Man don’t hurt me; please don’t hit me too hard.’ Ain’t that right, Mr. Hawk?” Naturally, Rip agreed!

Of course, back in 1974 professional wrestling and society in general was much different than it is today. The “Conway” and “King” Ric referred to were two beloved African American wrestlers, Tiger Conway, Jr. and Sonny King. Both Conway and King had arrived in the Mid-Atlantic territory in the early summer of 1974. Conway came in as an athletic high flying newcomer, while King came in to challenge the “bad guys” that injured his brother, Bearcat Wright. Both of these great black stars, particularly Conway, were pitted frequently against Flair, who at the time was also a relative newcomer to Jim Crockett Promotions.

The racially tinged “Big Boss Man” comments in 1974 certainly did not then, and do not now, reflect the feelings of the man Ric Flair. However, the professional wrestling character Ric Flair at that time was able to generate lots of “heat” with black and white fans alike, by going down what would be called today a politically incorrect road. Racial stereotypes were utilized, insinuated and implied regularly in professional wrestling in 1974, and Ric Flair playing the role as the “Big Boss Man” had its existence within the culture of that day in time. No matter what we may think of the propriety of Ric Flair anointing himself as the Big Boss Man, one thing is for sure, it gave the Mid-Atlantic fans in 1974 yet another reason to hate this young “bad guy” star on the rise!

The shelf life of Ric Flair, the Big Boss Man, as mentioned above was actually quite short. Within a month or so, Ric gradually stopped referring to himself by that name in the fall of 1974. Interestingly, Flair didn’t “boss” around Tiger Conway, Jr. or Sonny King much in the ring! Conway’s first run in the territory lasted until February of 1975, and Tiger fought Ric on pretty much even terms. Ditto for the in-ring results between Flair and King, with Sonny leaving the area in July of 1975.

Ric Flair as the Big Boss Man is certainly well housed in the moth balls of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling history. I’m glad the contemporary Big Boss Man, Ray Traylor, was brought back to the forefront recently. It jogged my memory to go back in time and reflect on Mid-Atlantic Wrestling’s Big Boss Man, and a vastly different era in professional wrestling.

Previously published in March 2016 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

LINK VERIFIED

Mooneyham Reviews "United States Championship" (2015)

Another special thanks to Mike Mooneyham for his great 2015 review of "United States Championship", our book on the history of the Jim Crockett Promotions version of the U.S. title and the five belts that represented it. The review was posted on the Charleston Post & Courier website.

The book is available via links in the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Book Store or go directly to Amazon.com.


Bourne strikes gold with new book on U.S. wrestling title
Oct 25 2015
by Mike Mooneyham, Charleston Post & Courier

Dick Bourne has done it again.

Bourne, who runs the popular Mid-Atlantic Gateway site, has followed up his “Ten Pounds of Gold” and “Big Gold” books with an informative and entertaining volume on “Jim Crockett Promotions’ United States Heavyweight Championship.”

The book, which takes a comprehensive look at one of pro wrestling’s most revered titles, just might be Bourne’s best effort yet.

A lifelong follower of Mid-Atlantic wrestling, Bourne explores the five classic U.S. title belts that were worn by some of the profession’s greatest performers over a 13-year period.

Just the images — more than 100 photographs of both the champs and the belts — are worth the price of admission....

Read the full review on postandcourier.com >>>

(Cont.)

Just the images — more than 100 photographs of both the champs and the belts — are worth the price of admission.

Examined are every title change, the stories behind the angles, and even every scratch and dent on the various championship belts and replicas.

“The book focuses on two main areas,” notes Bourne. “First, it looks at the five different physical belts that represented the Crockett championship from 1975 until 1988 (when the company was sold to Ted Turner.) Secondly, it chronicles the long title history of the championship, exploring every title change and tournament during those years, and all of the exciting angles and storylines.”

Bourne’s fascination with the territory — and the title — prompted him to write the book.

“The United States title was the main title for Crockett Promotions in the 1970s and 1980s, and was my favorite championship as a young fan of Mid-Atlantic wrestling. I also loved the belts. But what makes it relevant today is how it is the sole survivor from the territory days. This is the only championship from that great era to still be recognized today.”

While there were other regional U.S. championships under the NWA banner, the version recognized by the Charlotte-based Crockett Promotions was the biggest and most widely recognized of them all, and it served as the historical foundation for the U.S. championship recognized by WWE today.

“The WWE U.S. title traces its lineage all the way back to the beginning of Crockett’s U.S. title in 1975 — exactly 40 years ago this year,” says Bourne. “When you factor in that over 60 percent of the guys that held it are WWE Hall of Famers today, it makes the title — and its history — very relevant to fans today.

Credit for the formation of the Crockett U.S. title goes to George Scott, a longtime main-eventer-turned-booker who helped transform the Mid-Atlantic area from a tag-team territory to one built around singles competition.

With Scott bringing in some of the top talent in the country during the mid-’70s, he wanted a singles title that would be seen as the biggest prize in the territory and a nationally recognized one as well.

To that end, Scott brought in former NWA world champion Harley Race and billed him as the U.S. heavyweight champion, having defeated longtime Mid-Atlantic favorite Johnny Weaver in a phantom title change in Florida.

Johnny Valentine, at the time the territory’s most recognized national name and the Mid-Atlantic heavyweight champion, was tabbed as Race’s first challenger on July 3, 1975, at the Greensboro Coliseum. Valentine would defeat Race in a classic encounter, and the Crockett version of the U.S. heavyweight championship would begin its remarkable journey.

Twenty-one different men held the Crockett U.S. championship. Thirteen of them are current members of the WWE Hall of Fame.

The illustrious list of titleholders includes Terry Funk, Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Mr. Wrestling (Tim Woods), Wahoo McDaniel, Roddy Piper, Paul Jones, Blackjack Mulligan, Magnum T.A.,Tully Blanchard and Lex Luger.

Flair would hold the record for longest combined reigns with five over 651 days, closely followed by Mulligan’s 541 days (four reigns) and Greg Valentine’s 541 days (three reigns).

Longest U.S. title reign would go to Nikita Koloff, who held the belt 329 days, from Aug. 16, 1986, to July 11, 1987.

Shortest? That dubious distinction would go to “No. 1” Paul Jones with a six-day run in 1976.

The belt continues to evoke memories, as Bourne discovered when he showed “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka a replica of the U.S. belt he won from Flair in 1979. 

“Bruddah, this is old days!” Snuka said with a huge grin on his face. “Good times! Me and the Nature Boy!”

Bourne says Snuka likely hadn’t thought about the belt in 30 years, but the memories seemed to be flooding back.

“Mr. Gene Anderson, bruddah! Good times!” exclaimed Snuka, referring to his manaher at the time.

“I think he was surprised to see this because I’m guessing that most fans want to talk about his time in the WWF,” says Bourne. “But the sight of that distinctive-looking center plate on the belt from his Mid-Atlantic wrestling days definitely connected with him. He seemed almost nostalgic. He posed for a photo holding the belt, a genuinely happy smile on his face. ‘Very nice, bruddah,’ he said as he handed the belt back to me. ‘Very nice.’”

The book, says Bourne, was a learning experience.

“I thought I had a good memory on most of the title history, but it was amazing all the little details I had forgotten over the years. It was fun to piece that all together again.

“As a young fan, I didn’t realize that there were many other United States championships recognized in other territories. I wanted to put the Crockett U.S. title in context with the rest of those titles. It was very interesting researching those titles and looking at their histories for comparative purposes. I summarize the other titles in the book.

“I also didn’t realize how many times the Crockett title was defended outside the Mid-Atlantic territory, particularly in Georgia. During the 1970s both Ric Flair and Blackjack Mulligan were booked on a number of occasions out of other offices with the belt. Promoter Paul Boesch recognized the title in Houston on several occasions in 1984 and 1988.”

There isn’t much about Mid-Atlantic wrestling titles that Bourne, a longtime resident of Mount Airy, N.C., doesn’t know.

“Dick Bourne is the Indiana Jones of belt archaeology,” wrote Mike Johnson of PWInsider.

A mystery Bourne admits he didn’t solve: “What happened to the original belt (1975-1980 version)? Where is it today? Greg Valentine claims to have once had possession of it, which makes sense because he was the last person to hold it. But when I contacted him, he claimed to longer have it and couldn’t recall what happened to it. I still hope to find that original belt one day, it’s a holy grail for me.”

Oct 25 2015
by Mike Mooneyham, Charleston Post & Courier

Originally published October 2015

Ken Patera: A Tale of Two Very Different Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Runs

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

PART ONE

An exciting newcomer by the name of Ken Patera came onto the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling landscape in February of 1975. Ken came to the territory with great credentials, primarily from the world of amateur weightlifting. Ken won a gold medal at the Pan American games in 1971, and participated in the 1972 Olympic Games in the sport of weightlifting. Patera, rightly so, was introduced as “Wrestling’s Strongest Man” during his first Mid-Atlantic stint, which lasted for about a year.

The Ken Patera of 1975 and early 1976 was a friendly, soft spoken and educated man, often referring to the fact that he had attended Brigham Young University in his interviews. Despite all of his credentials, Ken was exceedingly modest, a trait that seemed to endear him to the Mid-Atlantic fans. Patera showcased his strength in a number of incredible feats of strength shown on the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television show in the spring and summer of 1975. The most memorable of these feats was Ken holding back a pickup truck, his back against a wall with his feet against the bumper, with announcer Les Thatcher having the vehicle in reverse, flooring the accelerator with smoke bellowing from the screeching tires!

Patera’s in-ring feats were also noteworthy during his first stint with Jim Crockett Promotions. Ken was an excellent tag team wrestler, and came close numerous times to dethroning World Tag Team Champions Gene and Ole Anderson with a series of partners from the “good guy” side of the fence. On the singles side of things, Patera had interesting feuds with none other than Johnny “The Champ” Valentine during the spring and summer of 1975, and with Blackjack Mulligan and Steve Strong during the fall of 1975.

Patera tricked Valentine on a TV segment where Johnny was putting lower card wrestlers’ names in a fish bowl, saying he would randomly draw a name out and give the lucky man a shot at his 2000 silver dollars. Valentine’s 2000 silver dollar TV challenge was legendary around the area at this time. During a commercial break, Ken exchanged all the names in the fish bowl with his own name, and Valentine about had a coronary when he drew the name “KEN PATERA” out of the fish bowl! This led to a silver dollar match on TV where Ken had Johnny flat out in the ring at the 10 minute mark, but the referee decided that Valentine didn’t submit so the “Champ” kept his money.

The two battled evenly in the areas’ arenas over the next few months, with Patera getting a number of shots at Johnny’s prestigious United States Title. These bouts had tremendous intensity, and often revolved around Patera cinching Valentine in a headlock or bear hug with his powerful arms sapping the strength out of the “Champ.” Valentine would often somehow manage to pull out a victory, but Ken typically walked out of the ring immediately while Johnny lay motionless on the canvas for a number of minutes!

Ken’s last major angle during his first run in Jim Crockett Promotions played off of his weightlifting background. In October of 1975, Superstar Billy Graham challenged Patera to a bench press weightlifting contest on TV. Graham put forth his friend, the muscular Mid-Atlantic newcomer Steve Strong, to actually participate in the competition. By the time the contest actually took place, a couple of weeks later, Blackjack Mulligan had joined Patera and Strong in the contest to see who could bench press the most weight. After the weight had risen to over 400 pounds, Mulligan and Strong attacked Patera as he was attempting to lift, with the result being that the weight crashed down on Ken’s neck and chest. Patera was out of action for about a week, but it was amazing that he wasn’t hurt more seriously. This incident led to a brief feud in November and December where Patera attempted to exact revenge on Mulligan and Strong.

The “World’s Strongest Wrestler” was then deemphasized and left the Mid-Atlantic area in February of 1976. Other than making a couple of “guest” appearances in the territory later in the year, Mid-Atlantic fans didn’t see Patera again in the territory until the early months of 1978. During the interim, fans saw Ken participate in the CBS “World’s Strongest Man” contest and for the fans that read the national wrestling magazines, they saw that Patera was wrestling in the WWWF territory in the northeast.

The Ken Patera that was wrestling in New York was a far different grappler than the one Mid-Atlantic fans grew to love in 1975, in appearance, personality and wrestling style. The hair had become long and blonde, the modesty had been replaced by arrogance and the scientific wrestling had been replaced by ruthless rulebreaking. The question then became, if Ken Patera came back to the Mid-Atlantic area, which version of the Olympic strongman would we get? It wouldn’t take long to find out!


... To be continued in Part Two

 

Originally published December 2015

The Voice of the Charlotte Coliseum: C. J. Underwood

MID-ATLANTIC WRESTLING'S SUPPORTING CAST: C. J. UNDERWOOD
by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

I came across a nice memorial to Charlotte news personality C.J. Underwood on the BT Memories website (link at the bottom of this post), a website devoted to memories and memorabilia from WBTV-TV and WBT radio in Charlotte over the years. It got me to thinking about the one time I had a brush with C. J. as a teenager going to matches at the old Charlotte Coliseum

C.J. was the longtime ring announcer at the Charlotte Coliseum in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was very friendly with fans at the shows. Once between matches, I walked up to ringside and asked him for his autograph. He had just stepped back into the ring, but he took a moment and got down on one knee and signed the table of contents page of my copy of "Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Magazine."

"Are you having a good time tonight?" he asked as he signed his name.

He had a great smile and was a favorite local personality on the Charlotte TV airwaves. For many years he hosted a segment on WBTV news called "Carolina Camera" which was a human interest piece in the tradition of "On The Road" with Charles Kuralt.

In early September 1981, following a big labor day show at the Charlotte Coliseum, and only weeks before Ric Flair would win the NWA World Heavyweight championship, Underwood did a "Carolina Camera" profile on the "Nature Boy" that was one of his most popular segments ever.

The segment is included below, and includes footage from a show at the Charlotte Coliseum earlier that summer featuring Flair against Roddy Piper is 'Texas street fight." Plus, you'll also get a glimpse of future wife Beth and his son David, who was only 2 years old at the time. 

Check out this fond farewell to C.J. from his good friend and fellow WBTV alumni Bill Ballard on the BT Memories website:  First Person | C. J.'s Last Days (BT Memories / Bill Ballard)

Originally posted February 2017 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

No Repect at All: Tully Blanchard in Lynchburg

By Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

There are classics, and then there are classics. Two big bloopers appear in the newspaper ad below, but one is an all-time blooper, right up there with "Old Anderson" and "Tigger Conway" that we posted here earlier.

In the second half of 1977, a young wrestler named Tully Blanchard was learning the ropes and getting some seasoning away from his Dad Joe Blanchard's San Antonio promotion by touring with Jim Crockett Promotions in the Carolinas and Virginia. He never worked above mid-card that 7 months in the Mid-Atlantic territory, but was clearly on his way to a bright future in the business. On this night in Lynchburg, Tully would open the show in a match against the "French Tank", veteran Rick Ferrara.

JOLLY Blanchard in the opener in Lynchburg, VA
Lynchburg City Armory, November 18, 1977

Tully had a bit of a reputation throughout his career of being somewhat in a perpetual bad mood. How ironic is it then that he be listed in this ad as JOLLY Blanchard? As we often do with these bloopers, we wonder how in the heck this one happened!

Then there is blooper #2 for the match of Baron Von Raschke and Masked Superstar vs. Mr. Wrestling Tim Woods and #1 Paul Jones. Except the ad writer struggled with how to spell the big German's name and came up with Baron Von RASHICE.

Rashice? Really? Sounds like a bad skin condition.

I think it's a safe assumption that the newspaper ad writer wasn't a wrestling fan, and clearly not familiar with the names that would be appearing on this card.

There are a couple of other anomalies in the ad. They split Superstar into two words (Super Star) and Ferrara's name is misspelled, but that happened a lot with his last name. Misspellings in general were common in these ads. We really don't count simple misspellings as bloopers anyway.

The write-up in the newspaper promoting the show wasn't much kinder to Tully, as it listed TONY Blanchard in the opener against Rick Ferrara. Tully Blanchard couldn't catch a break in Lynchburg.

But JOLLY Blanchard made us laugh the most. It is one of our favorite bloopers we've ever posted in our ongoing Bloopers feature.

Want to see the other bloopers? You can always click the Bloopers link on the right side of this page and it will filter all of our posts to show only the Blooper posts. Or you can see a master list by clicking here: The Blooper Directory.

Thanks as always to Mark Eastridge for the clippings.

Originally published February of 2018 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Visit the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Book Store

NWA Belt Art Revisited (David Williams)

The fourth and final version of the original 1973-1986 NWA World Championship belt, the "Ten Pounds of Gold."
The final version featured new leather with a slightly different cut around the center plate
and a fourth and final different flag configuration.

PART 5
by Dick Bourne, Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Art by David Williams

ORIGINAL ARTICLES FROM 2019
PART ONE : Introduction & History of the Project
PART TWO: The Red Velvet
PART THREE: Black Leather and Dented Globe
PART FOUR: New Globe, Refurbished Plates
PART FIVE: The Final Version of a Classic

We pick up where we left off in Part 4:

Not long after Harley Race defeated Terry Funk for the title in Toronto in February of 1977, the refurbished and repainted plates were attached to a brand new cut of leather. This new leather strap had a different style of lacing and was cut slightly different, the main change being that the cut of the leather did not follow the shape of the main plate as closely as the old leather did, which tightly hugged the upper edge of the main plate (as seen in the image at the top of Part 3.)

Pretty soon, however, the plates began to show the same wear and tear as the earlier version of the belt did. The globe was badly dented again, and paint began flaking off the plates in different areas. Most noticeably, some of the segments of ornamental "beads" around the edge of the main plate began to break off as well.

The look of the belt in its last years: dented globe (again), missing beads, missing paint, missing eyelets.

Let's face it, after several years of observation, it was clear that this type of construction for a ring used title belt just didn't make much sense. Those bead-sections were each attached individually with 4-6 beads to a section. And many of them were getting broken off the belt.

In addition, some of the faux eyelets and snaps broke away from the belt, too. By the time Jim Crockett had the new "Big Gold" belt made in 1986, the old Ten Pounds of Gold was in pretty rough shape.

An illustration of the shape the belt was in at the end, with the busted lacing and missing paint.

Artist David Williams has done an incredible job of recreating every version of the belt, with sub-versions illustrating the damage to the belt in later years.

The following chart shows the progression of the belt from its original configuration in 1973 to it's final look in 1986.

The final progression chart.

The book "Ten Pounds of Gold" that I authored with Dave Millican lays out in great detail all four versions of the NWA "domed-globe" belt. (There is a detailed flow chart summarizing those versions in pp. 70-71 of the book.)

My thanks to computer artist extraordinaire David Williams for the amazing work he did on all the different versions of the famous domed-globe belt.

PART ONE : Introduction & History of the Project
PART TWO: The Red Velvet
PART THREE: Black Leather and Dented Globe
PART FOUR: New Globe, Refurbished Plates
PART FIVE: The Final Version of a Classic
Final Progression Chart

 Originally series published on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway in July of 2019

Kiniski: A Chip Off the Old Block

 One of Gene Kiniski's trademark moments during ring introductions when he was NWA World Champion was to lift up his ring jacket to show off the NWA World title belt he wore underneath. He was known for it. So much so, a great color photo of him doing that exact thing with the NWA 1959-1973 "crown belt" graced the cover of his biography. 

Years later, when his son Kelly Kiniski worked in the Mid-Atlantic territory, he briefly teamed with One Man Gang (George Grey) and the two held the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team championships under the management of Sir Oliver Humperdink as part of Hump's stable, the House of Humperdink.

As a tribute to his father, Kelly would often do the same thing, holding up his ring jacket for photos and ring introductions, as seen in the photo above from 1983.

Incidentally, Kiniski and Gang were the last team to hold these particular belts, title straps that went all the way back to 1975 beginning with the Gene and Ole, the Anderson Brothers. 

I was happy to come across this photograph, as it's a nice call back from son to father, the latter being one of the great NWA World Champions.

Originally published October of 2020 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Flair & Steamboat: A Look Back When Hell Frooze Over. Again.

MAIN EVENT MEMORIES 
The Anderson Brothers vs. Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat 
August 11, 1981 - Raleigh, NC
by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

"The Hawaiian Punch" Ricky Steamboat and
"Nature Boy" Ric Flair

It's hard to imagine now, with 35 years having passed by and so much water under the bridge, that two superstar wrestlers teaming up would be such a big deal. But in 1981, when Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat joined forces to challenge Ric's cousins Gene and Ole Anderson for their NWA world tag team championship, it was a very big deal.

Not as big, perhaps, as in 1979 when Flair had just turned babyface and fans and good-guy wrestlers alike weren't sure if they could trust the Nature Boy. Back then, when Flair asked Ricky Steamboat to be his partner and challenge Paul Jones and Baron Von Raschke for the NWA world tag titles that summer, it did indeed seem like hell had frozen over. The blood feud between Flair and Steamboat that had been going on for two straight years was unlike any other ever seen in the territory.

That was big, but now this seemed just as big to me for different reasons. This story had multiple layers to it now, calling back to family feuds and broken relationships going back some five long years.

Ric Flair's on-again, off-again relationship with his cousins Gene and Ole Anderson had been one of the greatest on-going stories in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling lore:

• 1976: The big break-up as Flair took Greg Valentine as his partner and wrestled the titles from the Andersons in a scenario so unlikely that it actually made the fans cheer for the hated Anderson brothers. The two teams traded the titles back and forth over the next two years.
• 1978: Ric's reunion with the family in 1978 when blood proved thicker than water and special referee Gene Anderson, thought to be impartial in the war between Flair and Steamboat, helped Ric retain the U.S title in the match where fans felt sure Steamboat would regain it. 
• 1979: The family was at odds again when Flair turned good-guy and cousin Gene became the manager of Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka who proceeded to take Ric's U.S. title, and his favorite robe to boot.

Now in 1981, with Gene back in action after his managerial stint was over, the Anderson brothers reunited and regained the world titles. Not being able to leave well enough alone, Ole saw to it that the family feud erupted again when he and Gene joined Ivan Koloff in ganging up 3-on-1 on Flair inside a steel cage.

While Flair's current feud with Koloff had seemed more professional (albeit very violent), the family feud with the Andersons was very personal. With the cousins again waging war, Flair made the decision to once again attempt to do what he hadn't been able to do since his days in 1976-1978 with partner Greg Valentine - - take the NWA world tag team championships from the Andersons.

Flair took several different partners early on to tackle the Minnesota Wrecking Crew - - Blackjack Mulligan, Jay Youngblood, Wahoo McDaniel - - but in the end, there was only one man Flair could turn to that had a chance of making that magic happen again. It was his career long rival and now one of his best friends and allies - - the "Hawaiian Punch" Ricky Steamboat.

Like an onion with seemingly endless layers to peel away, this match-up had all of this tangled up history behind it. Flair was once again living out this family feud that had been going on for five years. Steamboat must have remembered back to the bloody wars with Flair in 1977, how Gene Anderson had helped Ric keep the U.S. title in that major battle of 1978. But the two were able to once again put that history behind them and join forces, just as they had shocked the world in doing two years earlier.

I'm convinced that they would have eventually been successful in taking the world tag team titles from the Andersons had it not been for something else happening in the meantime that changed the face of wrestling history: Ric Flair defeated Dusty Rhodes in Kansas City, KS to win the NWA World Heavyweight title. The Anderson's tag titles were safe once again as Ric Flair turned his attention to touring the world in defense of the "ten pounds of gold."

With the world title in the picture, Flair and Steamboat would renew their rivalry several more times over the next 13 years, but for a brief few weeks in the summer of 1981, there was magic in the air again as hell froze over for a second time and Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat formed one of wrestling's most powerful and exciting combinations.

Originally posted October 27, 2016 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Check out other MAIN EVENT MEMORIES on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway:

1. The Anderson Family (1976) The Andersons and their cousin Ric Flair
2. Dusty's Big Championship Weekend (1976) with Flair, Mulligan, and the Andersons
3. Mulligan vs. Flair on a Hot July Night (1978) Worlds Collide!
4. The Origins of Wahoo vs. Flair (1975) with Wahoo McDaniel and Ric Flair
5. Blackjack Mulligan vs. Rufus R. Jones (1976) "Have mercy, Mama!"
6. The Briscos Challenge Flair & Valentine (1978) Jim Crockett makes the match.
7. A Local Boy Gets His Shot (1981) Don Kernodle teams with Ric Flair in his hometown.
8. Bullrope Match: Ole vs. Flair (1981) Dusty prepares Ric for a big match in Charlotte.
9. Ric Flair Wins His First Mid-Atlantic Championship (1975) Hair vs. Title in Hampton!
10. Blackjack Mulligan Regains the U.S. Title (1978) New Year's Night in Richmond
11. The Gathering on Tour (1986) Post Starrcade event in Columbia SC
12. Township Tangle (1978) Flair & Valentine vs. Wahoo & Jones
13. Flair Wins the NWA Title (1981) Historic Win over Dusty Rhodes in Kansas City
14. Brisco, Valentine Defend Titles in Richmond (1974) Huge main events in Richmond

Poster: Christmas Night in Charlotte (1975)

by Brack Beasley
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

Imagine going back to Christmas Day, 1975. After time spent with family and friends, a big holiday dinner, and perhaps a visit from Santa. And if you lived in the Charlotte, NC area you could stroll down to the Park Center for an exciting night of Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling. What a great way to wind up a special day.

 

This poster promotes the Christmas card at the Park Center where The Anderson Brothers, Gene and Ole, defended their NWA World Tag Team titles against fan favorites Tim Woods and Johnny Weaver.

Tiger Conway Jr. collided with Spoiler #1 (Doug Gilbert under the hood) in the semi while a rarely seen mixed tag team match had Little Tokyo and Leilani Kai versus The Haiti Kid and Vicky Williams. The undercard included Steve Keirn, Jerry Blackwell, Greg Peterson, and Joe Soto.

The horizontal layout of this poster really pops with all black print (except for the main event names in high impact red) on a two tone blue and yellow background along with the "Wrestling" oval in upper left corner. 

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

Gateway Notes:

Christmas night was always a "return to work" night after the 10-day Christmas break for Jim Crockett Promotions. Christmas 1975 was a challenging time for the company, reeling from the loss of their two top heels following the Wilmington plane crash in October (Ric Flair temporarily, Johnny Valentine permanently) and in a promotional war with the rival IWA. 

There were three different shows taking place on Christmas night in 1975, this one in Charlotte, plus Greenville SC (headlined by Paul Jones and newcomer Blackjack Mulligan) and Norfolk VA (headlined by Wahoo McDaniel vs. Professor Boris Malenko in a Russian Chain Match.)

For more on Christmas Night memories through many years, visit Mid-Atlantic Wrestling on Christmas Day.  

NO. 21 IN SERIES.  ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE MID-ATLANTIC GATEWAY IN DECEMBER 2021.

Blooper! Steamboat Wrestles Steamboat! (1980)

 

Hampton, VA  April 20, 1980

Holy cow! Not sure if this counts as a blooper or if this is the result of a late-night desk editor's acid trip.

Check out these results in the Newport News Daily Press from an April 1980 card at the Hampton Coliseum.

We always knew Paul Jones was really the devil; the Daily Press just confirmed it for us. Plus, he lost a "fench" match - - whatever the heck that is.

And it is no mean feat to wrestle yourself - - and get disqualified against yourself - - as was apparently accomplished by Ricky Steamboat.

Ray Stevens was actually Steamboat's scheduled opponent that night in Hampton. Perhaps he no-showed and Steamboat put himself in a choke hold and failed to break by the count of five.

And having nothing to do with these bloopers, but could there have possibly been a slower moving tag team in 1980 than Ox Baker and Brute Bernard? I actually kind of dig that combination. Slow, yes, but don't let them catch you!

Thanks to Mark Eastridge for the clipping and Mike Cline for the line about Steamboat. You can view more classic newspaper bloopers by clicking here.

Originally published February 2017 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

The Swedish Killers!

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

What a great old newspaper ad this is from Asheville, NC, in 1967, written by promoter Paul Winkhaus. Winkhaus was the local promoter for Jim Crockett Promotions in the Greenville and Asheville area, and he put a lot of thought (and drama) into his newspaper advertisements at the time.

 
The main event was the team of George and Sandy, the popular "Flying Scott Brothers" versus the "Swedish Mat Killers" Lars and Gene Anderson.

THE SCOTTS FACE KILLER SWEDES IN THIS HOT TAG MATCH! PRESTIGE AND MAT RATINGS AT STAKE!

Killer Swedes! Can Flying Scotts compete with Killer Swedes? The card also featured Chippewas, Shawnees, Bulldogs, Mummies, and Panchos!

What a great main event featuring brother team vs. brother team. We're big fans of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew (and the Scott brothers for that matter), so we loved seeing this ad.

A great period in the 1960s and a hot card at the old Asheville City Auditorium.

See T.V. Wrestling each Saturday 5 PM on channel 4!

Thanks to Andy McDaniel for forwarding this newspaper ad to us. 

Originally Published in November of 2018 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Figure Friday: U.S. Champ Roddy Piper

@wrestlerweekly

Another nice staging for Action Figures Friday by our friends Scottie and Reggie at @wrestlerweekly featuring United States Heavyweight Champion Roddy Piper in 1981. All that's missing are the bagpipes and a kilt!

Piper was a two-time U.S. champion, first winning the strap on 1/27/81 from Ric Flair at the Dorton Arena in Raleigh, NC. He lost the title on 8/8/81 to Wahoo McDaniel in Greensboro.

His second title reign came two years later when he defeated Greg Valentine on 4/16/83 in Greensboro, NC, only to lose the title back to "the Hammer" two weeks later on 5/1/83 in the same city.

Originally published in May 2019 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.