Dream Team: Flair and Steamboat Go For the Gold

July 21, 1979,Charlotte Coliseum

Charlotte, North Carolina

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

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

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

 

Originally published July 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Tim Woods takes credit for costing Buddy Rogers the WWWF Championship

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

* * * * * 

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

Best of: Jimmy Snuka - Good Guy No More

by David Chappell 

Mid-Atlantic Gateway 

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

"Superfly" Jimmy Snuka

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Originally posted November 2016 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

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

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway


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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

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

* * * * *

PART TEN

Nov. 11, 1979    Columbia SC

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

November 20, 1979   Raleigh NC

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mr. Wrestling Tim Woods' Last Stand (Part 9)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway


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

* * *

PART NINE

Tim Woods made his long awaited return to in-ring action on the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television program that was taped on October 31, 1979 and was shown in most markets on Saturday, November 3rd. Woods looked impressive in his return to the ring as he and the ageless veteran Johnny Weaver got the dukes over the roughhouse team of David Patterson and Bill White.

Later in that same show, announcer Bob Caudle spoke with Woods and his partner Johnny Weaver, along with Jim Brunzell. Tim had his "Wanted" poster in one hand, and he was clutching his baseball bat with Jimmy Snuka's name on it tightly with the other. Caudle opened, "Right here [is]Tim Woods, 'Wanted' Tim, and I tell you, you got you a weapon right here." Woods smiled and replied, "Ahhh, this is my best friend right now, called my 'ding-bat,' and this is going to be a very famous sports personality here because I'm gonna carry it with me everywhere I go, and it's specially designed to fit Jimmy Snuka and Buddy Rogers...and I mean fit!"

Tim continued, "And so far it doesn't have any nicks or bruises on it, but I expect that sooner or later there may be. I'm just telling everybody right now, they hurt me once, they hurt me twice ...but it's not gonna happen again. I'm deadly serious about this, and I MEAN to settle the score!" Bob responded, "Well I tell ya, I know you fellas saw what happened at the beginning of our program...they've got this John Studd with 'em now. All these guys are WILD!"

Woods paused, and then explained, "Rogers is a former World Champion, he has the capability, but I have never realized that the man is as gutless as he is, as he's got to hide behind somebody...if it's not a big man like Studd it's somebody like Snuka who's equally violent." Caudle then inquired, "I've got to ask you about the neck Tim; is it completely recovered?" Tim answered,  "Absolutely, for two months I've been doing exercises with my neck and believe me it's 100%, maybe even stronger than it was before."

Jim Brunzell then chimed in, "I just want to comment on a remarkable recovery that Tim has made, he's fully recovered and I know that in his heart he's gonna get even with Buddy Rogers. Buddy Rogers has manipulated people, used them to his advantage and it's gonna come to a quick halt when Mr. Woods gets a hold of 'em!" As Brunzell was trying to speak, Snuka, Studd and Rogers were up in the ring trying to interrupt him. Woods then ended the segment joking about Rogers' wrestlers saying, "He really got hit with a sack full of uglies, didn't he?"

Woods also made an appearance on the companion World Wide Wrestling TV show, and stood before announcer Rich Landrum with his baseball bat again firmly in hand! Landrum commented, "Speaking of returning, you've got something you want...not return but give someone don't you Tim Woods?" Tim smiled and responded, "Ohhh, let me tell ya, this is my ding-bat here! This is my protector. Rogers and Snuka never go one at a time, if there's one of 'em there's always two of 'em."

Tim continued, "What this is, is just a little reminder [that] whenever they think about doubling up on me again...even though I appear to be alone I'm going to have the ding-bat with me and I have no reservations whatsoever about using it. You know, the interesting thing about this bat ...this was a gift from a friend of mine; it's unbreakable!"

Landrum added, "It's a metal bat." Tim then noted, "So I think maybe they ought to think about that...I've got a score to settle. I'd laid in the hospital a long time with a brace around my neck, in traction, but I'm back! And I haven't forgotten, and it's just a matter of time before I settle the score."

Later in the same show, Landrum gave Buddy Rogers equal time to address Woods' earlier comments. Rich told Buddy and Jimmy Snuka, "I was talkin' with a guy earlier out here, and he has a great big metal bat about so long, and he's got a big name right across it...and it happens to be this fella right back here!" An irritated Rogers fired back, "Let me tell ya, when [Tim Woods] steps in that ring he's gonna need more than a bat! Because what we did to him before is only a sample of what we're gonna do when we get him in that ring."

Rogers then added, "There's one thing he's got to look forward to, and that is to make another reservation in that hospital bed...and then he can put two more alongside of it. And the names on those beds will be Flair, Blackjack 'Hooligan' and you know...Tim Woods! Them three will be laying side by side I guarantee you, flat on their backs when we're done with 'em!"

Tim Woods would finally battle Jimmy Snuka and Buddy Rogers in the ring in November of 1979, but those battles would begin as wild tag team matches... to be continued in Part 10!

(Special thanks to Brack Beasley for the photos!)

Mr. Wrestling Tim Woods' Last Stand (Part 8)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

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

* * *

PART EIGHT

At the World Wide Wrestling television taping on October 24, 1979 Tim Woods and Buddy Rogers had their final dueling TV interviews before the bombastic in-ring action between Woods and Jimmy Snuka finally occurred. Announcer Rich Landrum opened the program with Tim Woods standing beside him holding one of his "Wanted" posters. Landrum told the fans, "Tim Woods, Mr. Wrestling,  joining us... what have you got there?"

Woods answered, "Well, all it is, is just a 'Wanted' poster...I've been distributing these to all the arenas and to anybody that will take one from me. This is at my expense, they are free of charge to the people. I just want 'em to know, and I want especially Rogers and Snuka to know that I want 'em out of wrestling, and I'm gonna put 'em out of wrestling."

Tim then pulled out his baseball bat with Snuka's name on it, that he now referred to as his "ding-bat," and continued, "All I want is my hands on either one of 'em anytime I can get, and I will be carrying an equalizer here. It's not baseball season anymore as far as I'm concerned..." Landrum then interrupted, "It's a Louisville Slugger though!" Woods agreed, "It's a Louisville Slugger and I assure you they hurt me once, they hurt me twice, but they're not gonna do it again!

Tim Woods and his "Ding Bat"

Landrum then commented on Woods' recovery, "Well, I see you don't have the collar on and I'm glad of that; you must be progressing fairly well." Tim responded, "I'm comin' along real fine, I've taken the mask off and I said I'd leave it off until I settled the score. And if nothing else maybe that should make you believe that I mean what I say. I WILL settle the score. I'm a firm believer in doing unto others as they have done unto you. And Rogers and Snuka, you've got something coming and I'm gonna give it to you...that's all I've got to say." Rich then concluded the segment, "Thank you Tim Woods, Mr. Wrestling, glad to see him recovering too, and I know he means what he says."

Later during the same World Wide Wrestling television taping, Snuka and Rogers got equal time. Landrum addressed the fans as Rogers stood next to him holding one of the posters Woods had left behind."Jimmy Snuka, U. S. Heavyweight Champion, is here and his manager Buddy Rogers, and Tim Woods, Mr. Wrestling, was out here on the opening of the program...yeah, he had one of those 'Wanted' posters," Landrum stated.

Rogers countered about the 'Wanted' poster, "Well, I don't know if you people seen this thing but just imagine, this would be about the lowest thing you could do to a man in his livelihood. We've put a whole lifetime in wrestling, Snuka and I, and by golly we come in this business to be square shooters, straight guys, all the way. Well let me tell you, when a man can do what this man did, this is trying to deprive him of a livelihood, and trying to hurt him..."

That prompted a quick rebuke from Landrum, "Well that's exactly what you tried the do!" Rogers fired back, "Wait a minute! We hurt the man because he came out here and challenged us. Well, we got news for him, he'll wait a long time before he ever gets a shot at this man's title, because as long as I'm this man's manager I will guarantee you that he will never get that shot at the title...this man will have to be next to dead before he gives him that title shot."

Rich replied, "Well, I tell you Tim Woods has assured me that he's on his way back and he's gonna get some kind of revenge." Rogers scoffed at that idea laughing, "Like I said, I don't care where he's at...we don't fear him, we're ready for him anytime at all but before he gets a title shot, which I know he wants, he'll wait a long, long time. As far as Snuka and I are concerned, he'll never do nothin' to us...we're just too much for him to handle!"

The October war of words in this feud were boiling red hot, but they had finally reached their zenith. Tim Woods would return to the ring in a week's time, and the time for talking would be done. In November it would be action time!

Tim Woods returns to in-ring action...to be continued in Part 9!

(Special thanks to Brack Beasley for the photos!)

Mr. Wrestling Tim Woods' Last Stand (Part 7)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

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

* * *

PART SEVEN

Later in the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television program that was taped on October 24, 1979 announcer Bob Caudle confronted Buddy Rogers about Tim Woods' earlier pronouncement that he was back from his injury, and about the blockbuster allegation that Buddy was hypnotizing the "Wildman" Jimmy Snuka prior to his matches. As the threesome came out to the interview area, Caudle told the fans, "Big John Studd, Buddy Rogers, Jimmy Snuka are here, and Tim Woods was just out here and had that baseball bat and it looked liked this wild man [Snuka] may even attack him with the bat!"

Rogers responded for the trio, "Let me tell you something, when I take this man Jimmy Snuka and tell him to go after Tim Woods he could have three bats, four bats...he'll be right on him pal. And that goes for [John Studd] too...any time I want them on Tim Woods." Buddy then pause and reflected, "I don't need them, I'll take him myself any time any place!" A stunned Caudle exclaimed, "You'll take Tim Woods?!?" Rogers reiterated, "I will take Tim Woods any time, any place!"

Caudle then followed up with Rogers, "I gotta ask you one thing, earlier you said that you really hated Tim Woods, you hated him more than any man alive...why is that Buddy? Why Tim Woods?" Rogers responded with a stunning claim, "Well, this man at one strategic point of my life cost me at least TWO MILLION dollars, and that came out of purses that I could have had in wrestling! But he became what I call a fink, and that's a RAT...someone that would squeal a secret that I had planned. He turned around and told the world!"

At this point, Snuka went directly up to the camera with a far-off stare that looked disturbing to say the least. Caudle blurted out, "Look at his eyes; look at his eyes! Are these guys hypnotized?!?" Without hesitating Buddy answered, "I hypnotize these guys between fifteen and twenty minutes before they come out to any ring! And I guarantee you they will face a tiger when I say sic 'em!"

Bob pressed on, "Did you get them to do your dirty work if you hate Tim Woods so much? Is that the reason you've got them?" Rogers chuckled, "The night that he tuned Tim Woods up it wasn't me, I was just watching!" Caudle asked, "Is it revenge?" A giddy Rogers shot back, "Oh yeah, it sure is revenge, and revenge is sweet! But let me tell ya, Tim Woods will never forget that night!"

Caudle fired back about the returning Tim Woods, "He's back though, don't forget he's back, he's well and he says he'll be ready!" Buddy scoffed, "Listen, the good Lord was on his side, but I tell ya he won't be on his side too long 'cause we're gonna put him right back where we want him, once and for all!

The dueling television interviews on October 24, 1979 between Tim Woods and Buddy Rogers and Jimmy Snuka did not stop with the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling show...things would heat up that same night in the WRAL TV-5 studios on the set of World Wide Wrestling!

The War of Words between Tim Woods and Buddy Rogers continues to escalate on World Wide Wrestling...

To be continued in Part 8!

"Mr. Wrestling" Tim Woods' Last Stand (Part 5)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway 

Catch up on this story in PART ONE  | PART TWO  |  PART THREE  |  PART FOUR

* * *

PART FIVE

At the outset of the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television program that was taped at the WRAL TV studios in Raleigh, North Carolina on October 17, 1979, the still injured masked "Mr. Wrestling" surprisingly removed his hood to show his unyielding resolve to settle his score with Jimmy Snuka and Buddy Rogers. After having the whole TV program to contemplate and digest the actions of a very focused Tim Woods, Rogers and Snuka appeared on the very last segment of the show to address this shocking turn of events.

Legendary Jim Crockett Promotions announcer Bob Caudle exclaimed to the two villains, "All right, Buddy Rogers [and] U.S. Heavyweight champ Jimmy Snuka right here. I gotta ask you about this...'Mr. Wrestling' Tim Woods, he came out! He is ready; he's gonna be back soon. His neck is healed...watch out; watch out!"

An ultra confident Buddy Rogers defiantly responded, "Let me tell you something, when it comes to Tim Woods not only is he gonna wait in line but he's goin' on the very bottom of the list. He might grow too old before he ever sees a shot at this title just due to the fact that heavy fine that was imposed on Snuka and myself by the NWA."

Still visibly upset by the mere thought of that stiff NWA fine, Buddy continued, "I guarantee you, he'll never live that down." Bob Caudle then directly challenged Rogers by commenting, "A lot of people would look upon that as saying, 'hey, they're afraid'...Rogers is afraid to have Snuka meet him!" Rogers scoffed at that notion and barked back, "Let 'em say anything they want but Tim Woods will NEVER get a shot at this Title as long as my man has it!"

Tim Woods would then have a whole calendar week to stew about Rogers' comments about him not getting a United States Heavyweight Championship bout against Jimmy Snuka. Woods was so upset that he would appear first on the next edition of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling TV, leading off a blockbuster show that would feature Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood defeating Paul Jones and Baron von Raschke for the NWA World Tag Team Championship.

Woods showed up on that October 24, 1979 television program with a "Wanted--Out Of Wrestling" poster with the images of Snuka and Rogers on it in one hand, and a baseball bat on his other shoulder with the menacing Snuka and Rogers positioned in the ring only a few feet away from him, and the newly unmasked Tim Woods would have a major announcement for the Mid-Atlantic faithful during this ultra tense encounter with his mega rivals!

Tim Woods drops a bombshell on Jimmy Snuka and Buddy Rogers! To be continued in Part 6!

Special thanks to Brack Beasley.

"Mr. Wrestling" Tim Woods' Last Stand (Part 4)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway 

Catch up on this story in PART ONE  | PART TWO  |  PART THREE

* * *

PART FOUR

After the second violent attack against "Mr. Wrestling" Tim Woods by Jimmy Snuka and Buddy Rogers on Mid-Atlantic Wrestling television programming on September 19, 1979, Woods vowed another improbable comeback against the odds. The following week on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling TV, Blackjack Mulligan told announcer Bob Caudle, "Jimmy Snuka, I want to make a comment about you and your manager, your owner or whatever kind of relationship you have with Buddy Rogers, I don't know, but this sport of wrestling has no place for people that will try to injure people like you did Tim Woods, and you're gonna have to reckon with Mr. Wrestling before it's all over."

When the first week in October of 1979 rolled around, there was still no "Mr. Wrestling" Tim Woods in the WRAL TV studios. But Woods was still the talk of the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television program that was taped on October 3, 1979. On that show Bob Caudle addressed Buddy Rogers, "You guys have been fined the biggest fine in the history of wrestling for what you did to Mr. Wrestling."

Rogers cackled in response, "It was well worth the fine; whatever fine we got I paid it. I don't care how big the fine was, or will be or anything else...we got the job done on 'Mr. Wrestling' Tim Woods. That's just a sample of what my clan is gonna do!" Caudle then exclaimed, "I gotta tell you, Tim Woods is gonna be back! Mr. Wrestling is gonna be back!" Rogers dismissively answered, "I heard he's coming back. Let me tell ya, he said he was comin' back just a week ago...he's still isn't back, right? He'll be out a long time!" Caudle shot back, "He's improving..." But before Bob could finish his thought Rogers interrupted, "He don't have the word 'guts' to come back. What do you think fellas?" John Studd, who was standing next to Buddy, yelled, "I KNOW he doesn't have the guts!"

As the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling TV program that was taped on October 17, 1979 began, Bob Caudle opened it by welcoming Mr. Wrestling onto the set. The masked man came onto the interview area with both hands full...one hand holding a baseball bat with "Snuka" written on it and holding a "Wanted--Out Of Wrestling" poster with photos of Jimmy Snuka and Buddy Rogers on it in the other hand!



A smiling Caudle quipped, "Tim, come on in. I don't think it's baseball season here Tim!" A fired up Mr. Wrestling responded, "Yeah, it's baseball season." Bob clarified, "Is it open season or something?" Mr. Wrestling agreed, "It is OPEN season, but we'll talk about that in a minute. I hope the people can come in on this picture just a little bit...two of my favorite people, Buddy Rogers and Jimmy Snuka." At this juncture the fans were able to see a camera close-up of the "Wanted" posters that Mr. Wrestling had produced to distribute at the area's arenas.

Mr. Wrestling continued, "Now, we all get injuries in wrestling, and I'm not crying about anything...I've been wearing a neck brace for weeks now. Hopefully, the Doctor will let me take it off towards the end of this week. I'm wearing it only part of the time now; my neck is feeling much better and I'm coming along just very, very good. But, we all get injuries as I say. But it's the way you get them that makes you mad." Caudle added, "Deliberate injury too, I think, Mr. Wrestling."

Mr. Wrestling then made a very important symbolic gesture to the television audience saying while pointing to his mask, "I wanna say one thing...this mask has meant everything to me. I've defended it, I've worn it, I've been the World's Tag Team Champion with it; I've held a lot of titles wearing this mask and nobody has ever taken it off me." At this instant, Mr. Wrestling shockingly removed his mask exposing his face for all to see!

A startled Bob Caudle exclaimed, "Tim Woods! There he is, 'Mr. Wrestling' Tim Woods, David." In a very solemn tone Woods explained, "I'm gonna take this mask off and I'm gonna leave it off until I settle the score with Jimmy Snuka and Buddy Rogers. They hurt me once, they hurt me twice...but they're not gonna hurt me again. And if either one of them would like to come out right now I'll be more than happy to accommodate 'em."

Woods sternly finished, "I'm a believer in one thing and they can rely on it and I want 'em to go to bed tonight thinkin' about it...I've always been a believer in doing unto others as they do unto you. Think about that Snuka and Rogers, because I've never meant anything more in my life. When I make promises I keep 'em and I WILL get even with both of ya."

Caudle wrapped up the segment noting, "Alright, David, that's the story now from Tim Woods and it's great to see him out and great to see him up and as he says it won't be much longer and he'll be out of that brace and watch out Snuka and watch out Buddy Rogers." Crockett agreed, "That's right, it's unfortunate for Mr. Snuka and Mr. Rogers." Caudle concurred, "That's right, he's got more than blood in his eyes, David, if you know what I mean. If I were those two I'd be like he says, I'd be worried about that tonight when I go to bed."

Jimmy Snuka and Buddy Rogers respond to the newly unmasked Tim Woods and a confrontation ensues!

To be continued in Part 5!

Special thanks to Brack Beasley for the photographs of vintage Mr. Wrestling Tim Woods memorabilia. The baseball bat with Snuka's name on it and the "Wanted" poster are genuine vintage items from Tim Wood's personal collection.

"Mr. Wrestling" Tim Woods' Last Stand (Part 3)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway 

Catch up on this story in PART ONE and PART TWO

* * *

PART THREE

Two weeks after being injured by Jimmy Snuka on Wide World Wrestling, "Mr. Wrestling" Tim Woods  returned to television sporting a neck brace and thankful to not have been permanently injured. On the September 19, 1979 taping of the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling program, announcers Bob Caudle and David Crockett welcomed back the talented masked grappler.

Tim Woods

Bob Caudle opened, "David, it's mighty good to see this fellow here with us, Mr. Wrestling." Crockett replied, "It really is; I'm glad we see him but I'm sorry he's in that condition." Mr. Wrestling followed, "Well, I'm just happy to be standing here and for you people who don't know what happened we have a film that I'd like to show at this time, if that's possible."

Caudle answered, "That's right, we do Mr. Wrestling; it's a film of the match with Jimmy Snuka, and David this is courtesy of World Wide Wrestling." Crockett concurred, "That is correct, and right now here it is." Caudle then continued, "And Mr. Wrestling while this tape is going and while the action is in the ring you can tell us in some of your own words what's happening in there and what's going through your mind right now during this match."

Mr. Wrestling commented in response, "Well, this was a match that came out of a tag team match where I issued a challenge to either Buddy Rogers or Jimmy Snuka, and Snuka stepped in and said he would be happy to welcome me into the ring anytime. So I took him up, it was right here on television. You can see I came after the man; I was ready for the man. He at the time had JUST won the United States Championship. He was the new U.S. Heavyweight Champion right here. This was probably the first time he'd been in the ring since winning that title."

After the early part of the taped match played for the fans, Caudle opined to Woods, "It looks to me like, especially at this part of the match that you were really giving him more than he could handle." Mr. Wrestling agreed, "Well I came after him, that's for sure." As the bout wore on and the chicanery of Snuka and Rogers carried the day, the masked man was none too happy at what he witnessed again.

Caudle then queried Woods, "After seeing that, how are you feeling now?" Mr. Wrestling responded bluntly, "Well, I feel much better...I'm happy to be standing here. This happened several weeks ago as you know, but it makes me sick to my stomach every time I see it. Wrestling is a great sport..."

Before Woods could finish his thought, he was rudely interrupted by Buddy Rogers who flew onto the set yelling, "What's the idea?!?" Caudle shouted out, "Here is Buddy Rogers! And here is Jimmy Snuka as they both now attack Mr. Wrestling again! He's down on the floor...Rogers came out to hit him; Snuka came out to hit him from behind."

As the studio audience howled their disapproval of the events that were transpiring before them Caudle continued, "Rogers reaches down and takes that collar now off of the throat of Mr. Wrestling and here is Snuka way up onto the ring and onto the ropes WAY off and down onto the floor! And that's about eight or nine feet up in the air, as Snuka came down with that shoe hard again now across the throat of Mr. Wrestling as they continue to maul him!"

As the TV program went off the air it appeared without any doubt that Buddy Rogers and Jimmy Snuka this time had completed the act of putting Mr. Wrestling out of commission as they thought they had two weeks earlier. But once again Rogers and Snuka had underestimated the toughness of this talented grappler from Michigan. The graceful mat technician would soon throw all his amateur moves, along with his mask, out the window. Tim Woods, and a new "friend" of his, were about ready for a merciless fight!

Wanted Out Of Wrestling---Buddy Rogers & Jimmy Snuka!  
To be continued in Part 4!

"Mr. Wrestling" Tim Woods' Last Stand (Part Two)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Catch up with everything you missed in PART ONE.

U.S Champion Jimmy Snuka

PART TWO

When Mr. Wrestling battled "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka on the World Wide Wrestling television show on September 5, 1979 it was the classic case of two against one. With Snuka's manager Buddy Rogers interjecting himself in the proceedings early and often, the masked man succumbed to Snuka, but unfortunately Mr. Wrestling lost more than a match...he lost his health in a scary series of events both during and after the bout.

Announcer Rich Landrum immediately after the match following a commercial break exclaimed, "Mr. Wrestling for all intents and purposes is not moving too well. Jimmy Snuka and Buddy Rogers while we were away for the commercial message really, literally attacked Mr. Wrestling again. So far as I have been able to determine he has not moved too well in the brief time that we were away."

At this juncture a number of other wrestlers came to the ring to check on the fallen masked man. Landrum observed, "Now perhaps some help is coming in to get Mr. Wrestling out. Ricky Steamboat, Ric Flair, Jim Brunzell, Blackjack Mulligan...and as you can see Snuka and Rogers didn't want to get down off the ring too much, not with these guys around. It looks like Mr. Wrestling's neck may be injured."

Things then began to break down between Rogers and Snuka and Mr. Wrestling's friends. Landrum blurted out, "Snuka's back in again and takes a stomp! Now it's Flair who's got Snuka, rams him into the turnbuckle." Rich continued, "Steamboat has Rogers backed into the corner...and it's a real donnybrook in the middle of the ring! We've got about six or seven wrestlers here; Rogers manages to get out and now Flair throws Snuka out of the ring!" The mayhem continued as Snuka then fell into the set knocking it partially over before grabbing his U.S. Championship belt and running backstage.

Mr. Wrestling

The focus then shifted to the injured Mr. Wrestling and the attempts to remove the masked man from the ring. Landrum noted, "Of course the important thing now if he does have a neck injury is not to move him around too much and let's keep him on an even plane...not move his neck and trunk around too much here." As the camera angle moved Rich observed, "There's Abe Jacobs, who is already in the ring, he's supposed to go up against the AWA champion Nick Bockwinkel and we have a delay in that match because obviously we don't want to have any further injury to Mr. Wrestling."

Landrum then opined on the recent episode, "Mr. Wrestling's a fine competitor; he was frankly taken advantage of. I don't like to say that but that is the case. He was out long before Snuka went after him with that guillotine hold that Rogers has taught him to use, and really he could have been pinned much sooner. This is really quite a serious thing to happen in professional wrestling, not just because of Mr. Wrestling because he is a fine competitor but I don't like to see any professional athlete injured. Whether you like them or not, it's still the way they participate and the way they make their living."

The concern over the condition of the fallen masked man was palpable in the ring, except from one quarter. Landrum explained, "Now they're still trying to move Mr. Wrestling out, very gently, very carefully...trying to get him over toward the ropes. Got to be very careful now men, don't want to create any more injury than what may have already been sustained. There's Nick Bockwinkel the AWA Champion looking on; I don't know if he's concerned or if that's just some type of look. No, apparently he's not too concerned about it. I think he just wants them to hurry up and get out of the ring so he can get his match started."

"World Wide Wrestling" announcer Rich Landrum

You could hear a pin drop as the hushed studio crowd saw a stretcher brought toward the ring. "They're still now attending to Mr. Wrestling; there you see Jim Brunzell, Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Blackjack Mulligan," the announcer stated. "They have called for a stretcher to carry Mr. Wrestling from the ring and that's a very wise move. They do have him now on the flat surface of the ring. He's outside of the ropes so no further injury could hopefully be incurred in moving him. And they're doing it very quickly, trying to move him out of the ring," Landrum added.

An exceedingly rare on-camera appearance by the President of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett put in context how serious this injury situation was. Landrum noticed, "Coming now to ringside is NWA representative Jim Crockett, and they're trying to get the stretcher out now, get everything locked in place, got to open it up and get it locked in which is what they're doing." Rich continued his observations, "They will now then try to gently slide Mr. Wrestling over onto that stretcher and move him out. And of course as I say, the important thing is now not to move his neck or his back too much to keep him on an even plane so that he will not incur any more injury and this is what they're doing."

Landrum concluded this chilling segment by saying, "Now they have him on the stretcher and they are removing him from the ring and from the studio. And it does look like he has incurred some type of neck or back injury. I'm sure he'll be taken now to the hospital to be checked and if we do have any information on him from the hospital before the program's over we will pass it along."

Later, as the TV show neared its conclusion, Landrum confronted Rogers and Snuka about their dastardly acts. Rich told the fans, "Now joining me are Buddy Rogers, the U.S. Heavyweight Champion and his man Jimmy Snuka and Buddy I must say, that wasn't too respectable what you did to Mr. Wrestling." Rogers pointed at the Superfly and joked, "What I did to him? Here's the man that did it to him!" Landrum countered, "You say he only does what you say."

Buddy gleefully answered, "That's right, I told him what to do and he went out and did it...he did a better job than I thought he could do! When this man does a job, he does it to perfection. I told you that this man would be a champion; here he is, he has the title, he has everything I told him he would get. He listens to me; anybody that listens to me gets great results! You know, the proof is in the pudding. When you're around someone's that got ability, naturally it rubs off and this man's gonna be the next...not only is he the champion but a champion a long, long time!"

So when the September 5, 1979 edition of World Wide Wrestling went off the air it seemed the new U.S. Champion Jimmy Snuka and his manager Buddy Rogers had dispatched the challenge of Mr. Wrestling with ease, putting the masked man out of wrestling indefinitely, if not forever, in the process. But as the late summer of 1979 turned into fall, if Rogers and Snuka truly believed they had sent Mr. Wrestling to the dust-bin of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling history, they were in for a rude awakening in short order!

Mr. Wrestling returns without his mask and vows revenge on Buddy Rogers and Jimmy Snuka...to be continued in Part 3!

Classic Poster Friday: Buddy Rogers Arrives

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Another classic poster next week!

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Republished April 2020.