Legacy: Bob's Great-Grandson Now Wears The Belt

THE BELT 

"That'll be an heirloom, I'll treasure that. And I'll pass it on to my boys and maybe they'll pass it on to theirs."
      - Bob Caudle in a phone message, June 2024

In May of 2024, I had special custom belt made for Bob Caudle. I designed it as a tribute to Bob's legacy as one of the greatest wrestling announcers and the "voice of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" for nearly three decades. On June 17, 2024, David Chappell, Andy McDaniel, and I visited Bob and Jackie at their home in Raleigh, and I presented the belt to him. 

You never know how someone is going to react to something like that. Especially someone like Bob, who was as humble as he could be about his long, celebrated, announcing career. Bob did not keep any wrestling memorabilia from his days calling matches for Jim Crockett. He loved seeing and visiting with the boys all these years later, and he loved getting phone calls from David Crockett, Ole Anderson, and Jim Ross, who would occasionally check on him. He enjoyed attending conventions and visiting with fans. But he didn't hang on to physical things. That stuff just wasn't important to him. So I fully realized going in that he might not see value in the belt, at least not as we as fans do.

Boy was I wrong. Bob was thrilled with it. He was grinning from ear to ear. "Look Mama," he said to his sweet wife Jackie. "My own belt!" 

He couldn't understand how such a thing could be created with his image on it. We explained the technology to him, how it was a bit different than the old days and the championship belts he remembered. 

He enjoyed seeing the old Mid-Atlantic Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance, and Jim Crockett Promotions logos on the side plates, as well as a 1970s era WRAL TV logo, where Bob worked as news, sports, and weather broadcaster for over 20 years. 

 

THE PHONE CALL

Bob called me a few days after our visit to thank me for the belt. There was something magic about that call, Bob talking about passing the belt down to his family. For once in my 20-plus years knowing him, I was thrilled I missed a call from Bob Caudle. Why? Because I have his voicemail message he left me that day. I treasure it. It's something I can play over and over and keep forever. 

"Dick, this is Bob. I just wanted to call you and thank you for your visit and tell you how much we enjoyed it, and how much I appreciated you going to all that trouble to give me that belt. That'll be an heirloom, I'll treasure that. And I'll pass it on to my boys and maybe they'll pass it on to theirs, and maybe that thing will be around a hundred years from now and somebody will look at it and say, 'what in the world is that all about?'" 

Mid-Atlantic Gateway · Bob Caudle Voice Message (2024)

LEGACY

Bob did indeed pass the belt on. At around the time of his wife Jackie's memorial service in the spring of 2025, Bob gave the belt to his son Mike, a surgeon in Knoxville, TN, who many years earlier had introduced Bob in Charlotte when Bob was inducted as a member of the inaugural class of the NWA Wrestling Legends Hall of Heroes. Bob told me he didn't want anything to happen to that belt when he died, and that he knew Mike would take care of it. 

Bob Caudle's Great-Grandson, Andrew Smith

Not long after, Mike gave the belt to his grandson (Bob's great-grandson) Andrew Smith. Andrew is a high school wrestler in Tennessee. His mother told Mike that Andrew was inspired to wrestle because of the legacy of his great-grandfather. 

I can't imagine anyone better to have that belt now, and hopefully, as his great-grandfather wished in that phone message a couple of years ago, Andrew will pass the belt on to another generation, perhaps one of his own children one day. 

 

* * * * *

A Belt for a Champion (Original Story About the Caudle Belt) by Dick Bourne
The One Constant You Could Count On by David Chappell 
So Long for Now: Bob Caudle Passes Away by Dick Bourne
WRAL Feature on the Death of Bob Caudle
An Afternoon with Bob Caudle (2017) (one of our many visits!)
Bob Caudle and the Benefit of the Doubt
Crockett, Caudle, Schiavone Reunion in Raleigh
Tribute to Bob Caudle
Bob Caudle Named Program Director at WRAL (1975)

WRAL feature on the Death of Bob Caudle

This past November (2025), I had the great honor of being asked by Bob Caudle's sons, Mike and Bob Jr., to speak on behalf of wrestling fans at Bob's memorial service. I was privileged to do so. The funeral was held on November 25 in Raleigh, NC.

WRAL channel 5 in Raleigh did a short feature on Bob, who worked at the station as a news and weatherman in the 1960s and 1970s. He also hosted the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling program that was taped there in those same studios in the 1960s through the early 1980s. 

- Dick Bourne 

Bob Caudle Passes Away at 95

UPDATED WITH MEMORIAL SERVICE INFORMATION 

It is with a very sad heart that I report that our beloved Bob Caudle has passed away. He was 95 years old. His son Mike wrote us that Bob passed away peacefully in his sleep overnight. Our thoughts, prayers, and love go out to his family. 

A memorial service will be held at Hayes Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC, on Tuesday, November 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM. 

UPDATE  The service will be live-streamed on the Hayes Barton Baptist Church website at https://hbbc.org/memorialservices/. The service is scheduled for Tuesday 11/25 at 2 PM. 

Hayes Barton Church is located at 1800 Glenwood Ave, Raleigh, NC 27608. Their phone number is (919) 833-4617. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made in Bob's name to Hayes Barton Baptist Church at the address above.  

* * * * *

The One Constant You Could Count On by David Chappell
So Long For Now by Dick Bourne 

Mike Mooneyham on Bob Caudle

 Click the image to enlarge and read the article.
Follow Mike at @bymikemooneyham on X/Twitter. 

 

 

Bob Caudle: The One Constant You Could Count On

From David Chappell's Facebook post:

It's with a very heavy heart that I post that Bob Caudle, The Voice of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, passed away ovenight at the age of 95. Of all the wonderful things that came out of the Mid-Atlantic Gateway, getting to know and becoming friends with Bob was number one for me on that lengthy list. 

I could go on for days talking about the positives that Bob brought to the world of professional wrestling and beyond, but one thing stands out to me above all the rest. I have never, not one time, ever heard anybody say a negative word about Bob Caudle. In the professional wrestling fraternity, that is totally unheard of. What an amazing legacy to leave behind of how you lived your life and treated people. 

Bob was family for Diana and I, and today we mourn the loss of a cherished family member. For me, another part of my childhood is gone forevermore. Growing up watching Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling every Saturday afternoon, the wrestlers would come and go but Bob was the one constant that you could count on always being there. That same thought process stayed with me to the present as pro wrestling evolved and so many wrestlers from the Mid-Atlantic era have passed away. That's the hardest part about today...that constant is no longer constant. 

But the dulcet tones of Bob's voice, that I vividly hear in my mind as I pen this, will always be a constant memory and reminder to me of the extraordinary person that Bob Caudle was to so many. ❤️ 

Jackie Caudle Passes Away

It is with sad hearts that we acknowledge the passing of Jackie Caudle, the beloved wife of Bob Caudle. Jackie and Bob were married for over 70 years. Jackie died in Raleigh NC on Thursday night, April 24.

Jackie was a lovely lady, such a sweetheart, and a treasure to all who knew her. She was our dear friend, and will leave an absence in our lives. 

Our condolences and love go out to Bob, to their children, and to all of their family. 

A Belt for a Champion

If there was ever a true champion for wrestling fans, especially in the Carolinas and Virginia, it was Bob Caudle.  And a champion needs a belt.

Bob Caudle with his own title belt, a gift from the Mid-Atlantic Gateway, at his home in Raleigh, NC.

Originally published June 18, 2024

One of the things that I've always felt made Bob Caudle so special to wrestling fans from several generations is the fact that he was the steady constant on our televisions every week for near 34 years. The wrestlers came and went, but Bob was the constant. Almost every single week from when he took over for Ray Reeve at WRAL in Raleigh on All Star Wrestling in 1961 to the last days of Smokey Mountain Wrestling in the 1990s, Bob was the constant. 

He is best remembered as the voice of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling throughout the 1970s and 1980s. His friendly smile and welcoming voice was a warm embrace every Saturday afternoon, and the relationship he established with fans transcended that time to where even well into the 2010s, Bob was attending fan conventions and received warmly by fans. 

If there was ever a true champion for wrestling fans, especially in the Carolinas and Virginia, it was Bob Caudle. And a champion needs a belt.

The belt on display at my home before making the trip to Raleigh. Also in this photograph are Bob's Hall of Heroes plaque which he gave to me on my 50th birthday (and I treasure), as well as the photograph used for the main plate of the belt.

 

The Mid-Atlantic Gateway presented Bob with a special, one of a kind, commemorative belt paying tribute to the Voice of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling. It was presented to him and his wife Jackie on June 17, 2024 at his home in Raleigh. 

 

I wasn't sure how Bob would receive it. While he loves reminiscing about the "old days," he generally is not at all interested in holding on to wrestling memorabilia. Soon to be 94 years old, and in a no-holds-bar match against the ravages of father-time, Bob said it will be a tough task for anyone to take this title away from him. "They will bury me with this!" he said with a big smile. 

It was a nice moment with a truly wonderful man.

- D. Bourne                        

A Belt for a Champion

If there was ever a true champion for wrestling fans, especially in the Carolinas and Virginia, it was Bob Caudle.  And a champion needs a belt.

Bob Caudle with his own title belt, a gift from the Mid-Atlantic Gateway, at his home in Raleigh, NC.

One of the things that I've always felt made Bob Caudle so special to wrestling fans from several generations is the fact that he was the steady constant on our televisions every week for near 34 years. The wrestlers came and went, but Bob was the constant. Almost every single week from when he took over for Ray Reeve at WRAL in Raleigh on All Star Wrestling in 1961 to the last days of Smokey Mountain Wrestling in the 1990s, Bob was the constant. 

He is best remembered as the voice of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling throughout the 1970s and 1980s. His friendly smile and welcoming voice was a warm embrace every Saturday afternoon, and the relationship he established with fans transcended that time to where even well into the 2010s, Bob was attending fan conventions and received warmly by fans. 

If there was ever a true champion for wrestling fans, especially in the Carolinas and Virginia, it was Bob Caudle. And a champion needs a belt.

The belt on display at my home before making the trip to Raleigh. Also in this photograph are Bob's Hall of Heroes plaque which he gave to me on my 50th birthday (and I treasure), as well as the photograph used for the main plate of the belt.

 

The Mid-Atlantic Gateway presented Bob with a special, one of a kind, commemorative belt paying tribute to the Voice of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling. It was presented to him and his wife Jackie on June 17, 2024 at his home in Raleigh. 

 

I wasn't sure how Bob would receive it. While he loves reminiscing about the "old days," he generally is not at all interested in holding on to wrestling memorabilia. Soon to be 94 years old, and in a no-holds-bar match against the ravages of father-time, Bob said it will be a tough task for anyone to take this title away from him. "They will bury me with this!" he said with a big smile. 

It was a nice moment with a truly wonderful man.

- D. Bourne                        

A Visit with Bob Caudle (May 2024)

Dick Bourne, Bob Caudle, and David Chappell (May 2024)

David, Diana, Rhodonna, and I had a wonderful visit with Bob and Jackie Caudle at their home on Saturday, May 18. Bob looked great (at 93 years old!) and was in fine spirits. We enjoyed talking over the old Mid-Atlantic Wrestling days. And Jackie Caudle is always the life of the party.

Bob said he doesn't watch much wrestling, but is always glad to hear Tony Schiavone's voice when he comes across AEW Wrestling on Wednesday nights. Tony and Bob worked together for Jim Crockett Promotions back in the 1980s. Bob was host of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (later NWA Pro Wrestling) and Tony was host of World Wide Wrestling. 

Always great to visit with the voice of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling!

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

Roddy Piper Arrives in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling (1980)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway 

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper, who would become one of the biggest names in the history of professional wrestling, entered Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling in the early autumn of 1980 as a virtual unknown to the fans of Jim Crockett Promotions. Without any advance publicity, Piper debuted in the territory on October 7, 1980 at the Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, defeating Special Delivery Jones. But it was at the next night’s TV tapings at the WRAL television studios in Raleigh that Piper was truly introduced to the fans of the Mid-Atlantic area.

Roddy Piper with his bagpipes

At the beginning of that October 8, 1980 television taping, color commentator David Crockett announced as part of the match rundown, “And we have a newcomer…Rodney Piper.” Announcer Bob Caudle responded, “David, he’s from Glasgow, Scotland, and I understand he’s a rough, tough Scot.” Crockett answered, “That’s right; he really is. He’s a young, good looking guy, though. He’s very good.”

After Piper won his first TV match with ease, Caudle attempted to introduce Roddy to the area’s fans saying, “At ringside right now, and you just saw him in the ring and I gotta say…” Piper couldn’t wait for the introduction, blurting out, “Let me just tell you something Mister. I tell you something; I come to the area here and I walk in the arena and this lady says, ‘Who are you?’ She says, ‘WHO ARE YOU,’ to me! Who am I, who am I? Do I look like the tidy bowl man?! I come to the arena; I’m in my wrestling gear. Since I’ve been 16 years old, I’ve been professional wrestling.”

A boisterous Piper continued, “I was the youngest professional wrestler in the world when I started wrestling! By the time I was 19 years old, I won the Light Heavyweight Championship of the World, brother. Who am I?? When I was 21 I took Muhammad Ali, the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, hip tossed him right down on his buttocks, and made him look like a fool. Who am I, you say?? You take a look at me, man; I’m the whipped cream on your strawberry shortcake! Who am I?? I am Rowdy Roddy Piper, 26 years old…”

Bob Caudle with Roddy Piper

At this juncture, a chant breaks out in the studio audience of ‘Rod-dy, Rod-dy, Rod-dy,’ which Piper feeds off of and pushes forward exclaiming, “…in the prime of my life, with ten years of experience! TEN YEARS of experience! And I come in here with a body that none can disclaim. Now don’t get me wrong, barbell plates and stuff like that is not my thing, brother. I am a wrestler! I am finely honed, I’m young and I’m ready. You listen to me, I see people comin’ around here, I see people comin’ around here, the ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair. What’s a Nature Boy, what does that mean? He runs through the woods nude?? The guy thinks he’s Euell Gibbons, comes up here and supposed to have all these pretty chicks chasing him all around?”

Without taking a breath Piper rants more on Flair and concludes, “Saw him the other day with some chicks, looked liked a Sasquatch exhibition, brother. Well, you listen to me. I’m what’s happening. You say, ‘Who am I?’ I told ya; I gotta question for you. You do you think you are, man?”

Almost at a loss for words, Caudle comments, “I tell ya fans, there’s no doubt what Roddy Piper thinks of Roddy Piper, and he can back it up as he said. He was the youngest wrestler in the world at 16, and held many championships. And that’s the story from Roddy Piper.”

It was a Mid-Atlantic story that had its first chapter in Raleigh in early October of 1980, and within less than a month saw Piper win the NWA Television Title in Richmond, Virginia in a spectacular one-night tournament. The United States Title came soon thereafter, and then many memorable feuds that culminated in 1983 with the vicious battles with former “Dream Team” friend Greg Valentine and the epic “Dog Collar Match” at Starrcade 1983.

The lady asking Roddy Piper who he was at his first WRAL appearance asked a fair question. But in his debut interview for Jim Crockett Promotions, Piper made it crystal clear who he was, and likely never had to answer that question again while wrestling in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. Fans in the Carolinas and Virginia quickly recognized Rowdy Roddy Piper as a wrestling star that just doesn’t come around every day, and saw that star shining brightly even during Piper’s earliest Mid-Atlantic appearance.

Originally posted October 2016 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway. Republished May 2017.

Bob Caudle's Most Dangerous Place

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

On the Wednesday night April 23, 1975 television taping of the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling TV show, announcer Bob Caudle told the fans that he wasn’t in a comfortable place. The early bouts on the show were dominated by the “bad guys.” Talented Doug Gilbert decisively defeated youngster Kevin Sullivan in the opener, gaining the advantage by feigning to help Sullivan up when Kevin was tangled up in the ropes, but instead Gilbert sucker punched him into oblivion.

The second match on the show featured the newly formed duo of the veteran Art Nelson and Mid-Atlantic newcomer Mr. Fuji easily handling the duo of Don Kernodle and Tio Tio. Fuji put Tio Tio to sleep with his devastating submission hold, the Japanese Cobra. Those three rulebreakers would join Bob for the show’s first interview segment.

Caudle began, “Fans at ringside right now, and I can’t think of any more dangerous place for a person to be than I am right now between three really notorious wrestlers, like Art Nelson here on my left, Doug Gilbert, and then Mr. Fuji.” Nelson gruffly responded, “Well let me say this, not notorious, well-conditioned athletes.”

Art continued, “Let me say this, when you get in that ring then you’d have to be worried. As long as we’re on the floor here, we don’t bother anybody. If you get in that ring, if you’re not in condition, you can’t take it, then you’d have to be worried about it. This is a man’s business, we’re men, and we go in that ring and we don’t fool with babies.”

Nelson added, “Fuji and I were here a few weeks ago and we were talking about wrestling top teams. Where are they? Where’s the Indian [Wahoo McDaniel]? Where’s little boy blue [Paul Jones], the guy with the belts, where’s he at? Where’s the strongman [Ken Patera]? I don’t see them around, I hear them, but I sure can’t see them. But as long as they’re scared to get in the ring with us, nothing we can do about it because we said we would meet all comers, we would wrestle anybody, right Fuji?

The man from Japan answered, “Right! Very, very true Mr. Nelson. You see fans, you see how very devastating, Japanese cobra hold is! Samoan boy [Tio Tio] he paralyzed already; he’s no good, like wrestling an old lady! Right Mr. Gilbert?”

Caudle interjected, “I gotta say Doug Gilbert, you know I thought you were gonna help Kevin Sullivan out, it looked like you were gonna commit an act of sportsmanship in your match and then all of a sudden you hit him. That’s very unsportsmanlike!” Gilbert deadpanned, “I won the match didn’t I?” Bob agreed, “You won the match, right.” Doug continued, “Well, you’re gonna have to realize that when you get in a profession like professional wrestling, sportsmanship doesn’t count very much. What counts is ability. What counts is winning the match, and that’s what happened. I won the match, these gentlemen won their match. That’s what counts…winning!”

Caudle then commented, “Doug Gilbert shows a lot of wrestling ability up there. You got a lot of moves and you use them up there. Why do you have to resort to some of the other type tactics?” Gilbert candidly responded, “It’s a lot easier.” Bob had to do a double take saying, “A lot easier to win that way then, Doug?” Gilbert nodded in the affirmative.

Nelson concluded the segment telling the fans that boiling it all down…making money, and lots of it, was the overriding aspiration in professional wrestling. Art exclaimed, “Green power is what’s important! Green power…that’s the dollar bill, ten dollars, a hundred dollars!” But with that final comment the three “notorious” wrestlers departed the set, making Bob Caudle’s interview area a much less dangerous place!

Avenger vs. Super Destroyer: Mid-Atlantic's Most Obscure Championship (Part 3)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Catch Up on PART 1 and PART 2 

PART THREE:
THE AVENGER VS. THE SUPER DESTROYER

It would be a battle of the masked men as the Super Destroyer and the Avenger battled for the Mid-Atlantic Television Arm-Wrestling Championship as the President of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett, Jr., announced to the fans “This is for the Championship.”

In this championship encounter, the glove of the Super Destroyer would not be an issue as the Avenger forcefully announced, “Leave the glove on!”

Crockett exclaimed twice in the early seconds of the match, “The Avenger has the advantage,” as the Super D’s arm was being pushed downward to the delight of the WRAL studio audience who were screaming their approval. The Destroyer made a brief comeback, only to have the Avenger again gain the upper hand. Crockett noted, [the Destroyer’s] arm is about halfway down…[the Avenger]became within a few inches of being the winner!”

The contest then leveled out a bit as Crockett noted, “It’s all even now…straight up.” The Super Destroyer then claimed the edge, but almost immediate Mr. Crockett said, “It’s straight up now; no one has the advantage.”

Then came a back and forth flurry of action that would soon produce our winner. Jim Crockett commented, “The Avenger now has the advantage; has his arm halfway down. But wait, the Destroyer is coming back…the Destroyer has a slight advantage. And now the Destroyer has his arm halfway down!”

The tide would now turn once again, but for the last time. As the crowd in the studio audience roared, Mr. Crockett exclaimed, “The Avenger now has a slight advantage…now [the Destroyer’s] arm is about halfway down! THE AVENGER HAS WON!!”

Announcer Bob Caudle then reclaimed the mic saying, “There [is the Avenger] being given the trophy by referee Sonny Fargo!” Color commentator Big Bill Ward added, “Listen to that crowd Bob, they are tickled to death! The Wrestling Arm-Wrestling Champ—The Avenger!” Caudle confirmed, “He defeated the Super Destroyer!”

The Destroyer was beaten, but not unbowed. The next match on the studio card was Wahoo McDaniel versus the Super D’s new associate, Brute Bernard. After Wahoo got the Brute in the abdominal stretch hold, the Super Destroyer jumped into the fray causing the Brute to lose via disqualification. Wahoo then proceeded to clean house, dispatching the Destroyer back to the dressing room ending his forgettable evening!

CONTINUED IN PART 4!

The Most Obscure Championship (Part Two)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Mid-Atlantic Wrestling's Most Obscure Championship
Catch up on Part One

PART TWO

THE SUPER DESTROYER
(Don Jardine)

Paul Jones versus the Super Destroyer would have been a Main Event wrestling match in any Jim Crockett Promotions venue, much less on television, but their meeting in the semifinal of the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Arm-Wrestling Championship was a truly unique spectacle.

Announcers Bob Caudle and Big Bill Ward had earlier in the show signaled their belief that Jones was the favorite in their eyes to emerge as the Champion. However, Paul himself cast some doubt on that prediction just before the match saying that his shoulder was definitely ailing him, so on balance this encounter with the Super D. rated as a toss-up before the two adversaries hooked up.

Of concern to Paul Jones’ fans was Paul’s demeanor as he approached the Destroyer yelling to the masked man, “Take you glove off!!” The Super Destroyer laughed off Jones’ demand, seemingly getting inside Paul’s head. The Destroyer’s glove had become a concern for his opponents, as it was the hand that the masked man used to apply his deadly claw hold. The Super D.’s grip was so tight, almost like a suction cup, that many speculated that his glove must have played a role in him having such a vice-like grip.

When Jones and the Destroyer finally locked up, Jim Crockett, Jr. exclaimed, “The match has begun!” Crockett quickly told the viewing audience that the Super Destroyer had the early advantage. Crockett then reported, “Paul Jones’ shoulder is giving way slightly!” Then after just a few more seconds Crockett concluded, “The Destroyer has the advantage…the Super Destroyer is the winner!”

Thus, the favorite to win the Championship had been eliminated in about 30 seconds as Jones’ injured shoulder was clearly more of a hinderance to him than anyone thought heading into the semifinal bout.

Crockett then announced, “The Destroyer will now meet the Avenger.” An exuberant Ivan Koloff had reentered the ring to congratulate the Destroyer, prompting Mr. Crockett to admonish Sonny Fargo yet again, “Get Mr. Koloff out of the ring!” As before, Ivan reluctantly exited the squared circle.

Mr. Crockett then reiterated, “The winner of this match will be the Mid-Atlantic Television Arm-Wrestling Champion! The Super Destroyer will meet the Avenger!”

Continued in Part 3!

Bob Caudle T-Shirt

Man, I got a Bob Caudle shirt from JCP! What a world we’re living in right now! pic.twitter.com/U2mP6i1O48

— Mid-Atlantic Roots (@midatlanticdna) August 14, 2022

Another Trip Around the Sun

 

We wish our good friend Bob Caudle all the best on this anniversary of his birthday! 

You were, are, and will always remain the BEST PART of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling.

It was great to see Bob looking so good Sunday night, opening the Ric Flair pay-per-view show on the big screen at the Civic Auditorium in Nashville. And special as well to hear him close that show with his signature "so long for now."

You're the greatest, Bob!

Bob Caudle Wrestling Profile in Wrestling Revue (1965)

The following short article is from a "Man Behind the Mike" feature in Wrestling Revue magazine in August of 1965. It spotlights the career of Bob Caudle who was for the better part of three decades the voice of All-Star Wrestling, Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, and NWA Pro Wrestling for Jim Crockett Promotions.

There are many posts on this blog about Bob, who was without question the voice most associated with Jim Crockett Promotions of all the on-air talent that worked for the company.

Although this article was originally published in 1965, it is one of the better features ever written about him in a wrestling publication.

[ WRESTLING REVUE ARTICLE ]

Bob Caudle interviews Sandy and George Scott on the set of
"All Star Wrestling" at WRAL in 1965

Over the crowd's frenzied roar booms the confident voice of Bob Caudle who narrates the wild wrestling activity which is taped every Wednesday night at WRAL-TV, Raleigh, North Carolina. Wrestling is very big in Caudle's domain, which includes Richmond and Norfolk in Virginia, and Greenville, Charleston and Columbia in South Carolina.

Bob's show is called "All-Star Wrestling" and it is one of the most unique shows in the world since there is no charge for admission and it is not held in an arena. The scene of these year-round weekly battles is a studio at WRAL-TV. Seating is limited to 300 persons and tickets are issued free, just as they are for many other TV studio shows.

Wrestlers come from all over the world to take part in these shows despite the fact that there are no gate receipts and only a handful of spectators. Of course the TV audience is far greater than the combined fans of many arenas, and so far no one has heard the wrestlers complain about the pay.

Two video tapes are made at the same time. One is MC'd by Nick Pond for Raleigh viewers. The other is MC'd by Bob Caudle and shipped out to the cities already mentioned above.

Bob Caudle has been announcing "All-Star Wrestling" for two and a half years. Contributing greatly to he success of this show is Bob's personal interviews with the wrestlers. Through these, the TV audience gets to know the wrestlers more intimately which makes for more intense likes and dislikes. Especially popular (or unpopular) are the tag-teams that appear regularly on his show. Invariably the most hated villains draw the most viewers.

Sometimes Michael Caudle, 13, and Bobby Caudle, 9, accompany Dad to the show. So far they have shown no desire to get into the ring, but the addition of a couple of hundred pounds apiece may change that. Who knows, one day father Caudle may be announcing a new tag team the Killer Caudle Brothers.

Bob Caudle started in Radio in 1948 and added TV to his announcing talents in 1956. His radio play-by-play experience includes most sports and especially wrestling, baseball, football and basketball. He had his first live TV wrestling show from 1958 to 1959 in Savannah, Georgia.

In addition to handling sports, Bob is also an active member of the Channel Five news staff. He does the Atlantic Weather Show which is a regular part of the 6:00 to 7:00 P.M. news block called "Dateline." He also reports news of North Carolina and Raleigh, with "doings of the legislature" on "Late Dateline", which is aired every weekday evening from 11:00 to 11:30 P.M.

However, Bob Caudle's first love is "All-Star Wrestling" for this show is packed full of violent, unpredictable action and keeps him on his toes from start to finish.

[ END OF ARTICLE ]

Thanks to Pete Jarvis, via Carroll Hall,  for providing the scanned image of the article. The article was from "Wrestling Revue" from August 1965.

 

Edited from a post originally published June 2015 on the Studio Wrestling Blog, part of the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Mid-Atlantic Wrestling's Most Obscure Championship (1974)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

PART ONE

Fans in most Jim Crockett Promotions television markets that tuned into the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling show that aired on December 7, 1974 were treated to a most improbable milestone. The most obscure championship in the history of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling was about to be decided right before their eyes!

Announcers Bob Caudle and Big Bill Ward could hardly contain their excitement about the upcoming championship event, as they hardly paid any attention at all to the ongoing bout between Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion Johnny Valentine and Klondike Bill. Ward exuded, “We will have a Champion crowned on this program,” to which Caudle replied, “I’m really interested in this arm-wrestling!” Then the predictions began as Ward queried Caudle, ‘Who’s it gonna be, what’s your guess? I’m saying Paul Jones!’ Caudle concurred with that prediction, replying, ‘I’m going to have to go along with that.’ Ward responded, ‘He’s about the best I’ve seen yet!’

To add to the importance of this new championship, none other than the President of Jim Crockett Promotions, Mr. Jim Crockett, Jr., came out to the ring to set the stage for this TV event. Crockett began, “This is the Finals of the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Arm-Wrestling Championship. There are three Finalists—Paul Jones, the Avenger and the Super Destroyer.”

While looking directly at Ivan Koloff and Wahoo McDaniel who were standing menacingly in the ring, Crockett sternly announced, “There will be NO seconds in the ring during the Finals.” Mr. Crockett then turned and faced referee Sony Fargo and firmly stated, “Referee, please ask Mr. Koloff and Mr. McDaniel to leave the ring. There will be NO seconds.”

Referee Fargo relayed Mr. Crockett’s message, but neither the “Russian Bear” nor the “Indian Chief” seemed very receptive. At that time, Koloff and Jones were locked in a struggle over the Mid-Atlantic Television Title, while Wahoo was friends with both Paul and the Avenger, and the Chief had absolutely no love for the Super Destroyer. Koloff, on the other hand, was great friends with the masked Super D.

Jim Crockett then explained the championship format to the fans in attendance at the WRAL TV studio and to the many thousands upon thousands watching at home. “By draw, Paul Jones will meet the Super Destroyer first,” Crockett announced. Immediately, Jones interrupted saying, “Let me tell you something—my shoulder is killing me but I know one thing, this is the Finals tonight. And if I don’t arm wrestle tonight I’ll never get another chance! So, I don’t know how strong [the Super Destroyer] is, but we’ll find out in a few minutes.”

A clearly agitated Jim Crockett, Jr. then tersely told Koloff and McDaniel to leave the ring again, and then said to the pacing masked Avenger, “Mr. Avenger, will you just please wait and you will take on the winner.”

Referee Sonny Fargo, sensing Mr. Crockett’s frustration that none of the wrestlers had exited the ring, told everybody except Jones and the Super Destroyer, “I hate to ask you all to leave, but I have to or you’re gonna forfeit the match. I hate to do it.”

Wahoo was incensed and shouted back at Fargo, “Where’d you get all that authority?!?” Sonny then turned towards Jim Crockett, and Mr. Crockett retorted, “Koloff and McDaniel, out of the ring! You cannot be in the ring.”

When the boss spoke, everybody listened and finally left the ring except the combatants Paul Jones and the Super Destroyer, along with referee Fargo. Jones and the Super Destroyer approached the arm-wrestling table and the noise from the studio audience built up to a deafening crescendo. Paul seemed particularly annoyed as he approached the Super Destroyer who appeared to be smiling through his mask…

Continued in Part 2!

Blackjack Mulligan Attacks Rufus R. Jones!

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

One of the hottest feuds in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling in 1976 was between Rufus R. "Freight Train" Jones and the then reigning United States champion Blackjack Mulligan. It didn't last long, but it was white-hot while it did.

There were several issues leading to the brutal battles between the two:

First there was the fact that Blackjack had put Rufus's cousin Burrhead Jones in the hospital by leaping off the top turnbuckle onto the neck of the prone wrestler several times.

Secondly, Blackjack had performed a similar maneuver onto the crown that was one of Rufus's most prized possessions. It was, after all, given to him by his fans on TV; they had proclaimed him "the King of Wrestling!"

Left: "The King of Wrestling" Rufus R. Jones
Right: Rufus's crown after Blackjack trashed it in the ring.

Blackjack even attacked Rufus after a match on television when the Freight Train's back was turned. Mulligan jumped him from behind, but Rufus got the upper-hand in this confrontation when he not only whipped up on the big Texan, but stripped off his shirt as well. Color commentator Tom Miller got so excited he exclaimed "Have mercy, Mama!" as Rufus was having his way with Blackjack. It is to this day one of my favorite TV moments in my years watching Mid-Atlantic Wrestling. And it is preserved forever thanks to David Chappell's audio tape.

Check out this audio clip featuring the call of the Mulligan/Jones brawl by Bob Caudle and Tom Miller (with a transcript below):

Transcript of audio:

Bob Caudle: Here's Blackjack Mulligan! Blackjack Mulligan diving into the ring, trying to get Rufus R. Jones from behind. And Rufus is going to now lift him high into the air! Blackjack's got his street clothes on, his t-shirt and his pants. Rufus is going to tear that t-shirt off of him...

Tom Miller: I don't believe it!

Bob Caudle: ....his cowboy boots on .....

Tom Miller: I don't believe it, he's ripping his clothes to shreds! HAVE MERCY, MAMA!

Bob Caudle: Mulligan with his cowboy boots.....

Tom Miller: Boy! Look at that!.....

 Bob Caudle: .... and his street clothes....he's going to get out of the ring, he's trying to get out.....

Tom Miller: Rufus is getting his revenge now!

Bob Caudle: ...and Rufus R. Jones is just going to whip him to death! Mulligan out of the ring, down on the floor.....Well, Blackjack Mulligan was going to try and hurt Rufus Jones, and it's Blackjack that really winds up in trouble as he not only got a few licks from Rufus, but he lost his shirt in the deal.

End Transcript

All of the events described above happened over the course of 1976 and led to several main event matches between Blackjack and Rufus for Mulligan's U.S. title. One of the epic battles between the two took place in Wilson, NC at venerable Fleming Stadium. Wilson Times sports editor Paul Durham wrote nostalgically about that match in an article published Friday 7/24/15 in advance of the premier of the documentary film "Mid-Atlantic Memories" at the Mid-Atlantic Legends Fanfest in Charlotte. (Be sure to check out Paul's great article here: Those Mid-Atlantic Memories Still Vivid.)

It was Durham's article that got me to thinking about this feud for Main Event Memories.

Rufus Jones battles Blackjack Mulligan

I don't have the newspaper clipping for that match in Wilson, so I thought I'd include one from around the same time in nearby Raleigh, NC at Dorton Arena.

Blackjack told the Mid-Atlantic Gateway in an interview several years ago that he suggested to booker George Scott and promoter Jim Crockett that they put the title on Rufus for a short period of time because of how hot the feud had become. Scott, regrettably, declined the suggestion. But can you imagine the celebration in the arena where that might have taken place?

* * * * *

PS - A couple of notes about the undercard in Raleigh:

Sgt. Jacques Goulet and Mike "The Judge" Dubois were one of my favorite tag teams that year. Not only were they an excellent combination, I loved the way Joe Murnick would introduce them on television. I'll have to find one of those introductions for a future installment of "Sound Bytes."

Also of note on this card was Burrhead Jones, the aforementioned cousin of Rufus Jones. And the opener featured a young kid from Japan named Dr. Fujiani. His real name was Tatsumi Fujinami, the future Japanese legend who would go on to have multiple reigns as IWGP champion in Japan, and even a short run as NWA world champion, defeating Ric Flair in the Tokyo Dome in 1991. Fujinami was recently inducted in to the WWE Hall of Fame.

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

More "Main Event Memories"

Best of: Ric Flair's Crystal Ball Was Clear in 1975

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway 

On June 18, 1975 Ric Flair was about a year into his tenure with Jim Crockett Promotions. While Flair was the Mid-Atlantic Television Champion at that time, the young “Nature Boy” was still clearly a work in progress. The Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling TV show that was taped that night featured a bout between reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jack Brisco and the 1974 NWA Rookie of the Year, Steve Keirn. The rare appearance of the NWA World Champion on Mid-Atlantic TV was not lost on the supremely confident Flair.

In a brief interview segment on that show with announcer Bob Caudle, Ric exclaimed,

“I just want to take one minute here to tell everybody that I had a dream! You know, I have a lot of girlfriends around the country and one of ‘em happens to be a fortune-teller. And one day she looked at one line of my palm and she said, ‘You’re the best lookin’ man in the world!’ And the next day she looked at another line in my hand and she said, ‘You got the greatest body in the world!’ And the next day she looked at a line in my hand and said, ‘You’re gonna beat Paul Jones, you’re gonna beat Wahoo McDaniel, you’re gonna beat Jack Brisco, WOOOO, and you’re gonna be the World’s Champion! Because there’s only one Nature Boy, and you are the greatest wrestler in the world today Nature Boy, know it for a fact!’”

Flair concluded by saying, “I am the best, I am the good, I am the bad…I am everything daddy, and don’t you forget it!” Caudle deadpanned in response, “Well, there’s no doubt what Ric Flair thinks of himself.”

Self confidence has never been an issue for Ric Flair, even back in 1975. But when I watched this interview segment nearly 42 years ago, I didn’t see the young brash Nature Boy as a World Champion. Back then, that prospect seemed almost laughable to me. Was Flair entertaining back then? Yes, without a doubt. But, Ric Flair as a World Champion? Not even a remote possibility in my humble opinion!

As the years progressed, my opinion of Ric Flair and his World Title possibilities certainly changed. But while myself and others had to come around to the idea of Flair as a World Heavyweight Champion, the Nature Boy’s crystal ball on this subject was clear all the way back to June of 1975. And when Ric ascended to the NWA mountaintop for the first time on September 17, 1981, I vividly remember hearkening back to this interview, and realizing that he had one heck of a fortune-telling girlfriend in his past!

Originally published January 2017 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway