Every year, the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) continues to honor the late Jim Crockett, Sr., legendary promoter in the Southeastern United States for nearly five decades. The NWA hosts and produces the annual Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup tag team tournament, which was originally founded in 1986 by the Crockett family, and revived by the modern day NWA in the 2010s.
Jim Sr.'s son David Crockett, longtime promoter, producer, and television host for Jim Crockett Promotions and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), will once again be in attendance at the Crockett Cup and will present the trophy to the winning team.
Previously, both Frances Crockett and Jackie Crockett have also attended at least one of the Cup tournaments promoted by the NWA.
Starrcast promoter Conrad Thompson had a replica built of the World Championship Wrestling television production set, nearly identical to the one used in the Techwood Drive studios of WTBS in Atlanta during the Crockett TBS years of 1985-1988.
The replica set was used for photo-ops involving Crockett, Schiavone, and the Four Horsemen, as well as the backdrop for Crockett and Schiavone to call the big PPV event "Ric Flair's Last Match."
Nobody adds the special nostalgic Mid-Atlantic/JCP touches to events quite like Conrad Thompson. I wonder if this would fit in my basement??
This past weekend (March 19-20), the National Wrestling Alliance presented the 2022 Crockett Cup tournament on pay-per-view. It was the modern-day NWA's second revival of the tournament that bears the name of the legendary family that promoted professional wrestling for over 50 years in the Carolinas, Virginia, and eventually nationwide.
In 1986, Jim Crockett Promotions presented the first in an annual series of tag team tournaments named to honor the patriarch of the family, a man who first began promoting professional wrestling in 1933, James Allen Crockett. The first Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup tag team tournament was held at the Superdome in New Orleans, LA. Subsequent tournaments were held in Baltimore MD, and Greenville SC/Greensboro, NC. Jim Sr.'s widow Elizabeth presented the Crockett Cup trophy to the winners of all three of those events.
Sadly, the tournament series ended after only three years. The Crockett family business was sold to Ted Turner in late 1988, and Turner's new WCW promotion chose not to continue the tournament.
Move ahead 31 years later. The modern-day NWA led by owner and promoter William Corgan, as part of a series of efforts to rekindle the tradition of the NWA, decided to bring the tournament back. In 2019, the organization held the event re-branded simply as "The Crockett Cup" in Charlotte, NC, the longtime home of Jim Crockett Promotions. Two of Jim Crockett Sr.'s children, Frances Crockett and Jackie Crockett were at that event that year to present the trophy to the winning team.
The Covid-19 pandemic derailed plans for both the 2020 and 2021 events. In that interim, Frances, David, and Jackie lost their oldest brother Jim Crockett, Jr. in early 2021.
But throughout, Corgan was determined to bring the Crockett Cup back again. The 2022 event was held in Nashville, TN, and was a big two-night affair that culminated on Sunday 3/20 with the finals of the tournament as well as an NWA World Heavyweight title defense.
There were lots of things that William Corgan did to make the event memorable, but there was one special thing he arranged that helped make special magic and that was the appearance and involvement of perhaps the most well known of all the Crockett family, David Crockett. David not only presented the trophy, he lent his unique brand of commentary to several of the tournament matches.
David Crockett, seated between NWA broadcaster Joe Galli and former NWA World Champion Tim Storm, calls action during the NWA Crockett Cup.
David's appearance for the NWA comes on the heels of his multiple winter appearances for AEW Wrestling on their nationally televised programs. (Read more about that here.)
As older fans will remember, not only was David Crockett instrumental behind the scenes in the family business, he was a commentator on their televised wrestling shows for over 14 years. He first teamed up with the legendary Bob Caudle in 1974 to host Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling in the cozy confines of WRAL-TV studios in Raleigh, NC. He later hosted World Wide Wrestling in the arenas in the 1980s with a variety of co-hosts including Johnny Weaver and Tony Schiavone. But he is probably most remembered as the co-host of the nationally televised World Championship Wrestling program that aired each Saturday at 6:05 PM on the Superstation WTBS in the mid-to-late 1980s.
David's enthusiasm during that time leapt off the screen, representing the fan's point of view in many of the matches and angles that aired each week. His excitement was infectious. He has pointed out many times in recent years that the excitement that came through on his commentary was born out of the fact that despite being part of management in a thriving family business, he was first and foremost a fan himself. It showed each week, and David's unique brand of commentary is still fondly remembered to this day.
David told me he came away from Nashville very impressed with the NWA production team, which reminded him a bit of JCP's mobile production team in the 1980s - - small but efficient, and professional. And he also was impressed with the level of talent in the ring through the two day event.
But most of all he seemed genuinely touched by his personal interactions that weekend, and the respect shown him by not only Corgan's management team, but also the broadcast team, production crew, and the locker room.
"I could not believe how wonderful everyone was," he wrote me. "It was a humbling experience. The whole time I was thinking, I wish Dad, Mom, and Jimmy could have seen the respect everyone gave them."
It is wonderful to see David having such fun being involved in wrestling again. The best part, though, is witnessing the modern-day NWA carry forward the legacy and tradition of the original Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup. Having David Crockett there and part of the event brought major credibility to the NWA's efforts in that regard.
Photographs provided by George Pantas.
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Joe Galli, David Crockett, and Tim Storm (all lower left) call the action at the 2022 NWA Crockett Cup in Nashville. The Crockett Cup trophy can be seen in the background, far right.
Director Billy Trask and David Crockett in the NWA production truck.
2022 Crockett Cup Champions Jay and Mark Briscoe with David Crockett The Briscoe Brothers are soon to be inducted in to the Ring of Honor Hall of Fame.
David Crockett (L) with the beautiful Crockett Cup Trophy With David is a friend of the Mid-Atlantic Gateway George Pantas, a wrestling documentarian and also Commissioner of Virginia Championship Wrestling in Norfolk, VA.
For results of the entire Crockett Cup show, visit here. To order the PPV replay visit Fite TV
The National Wrestling Alliance announced today (3/9/22) that David Crockett, member of the legendary Crockett family that promoted wrestling and other entertainment events for decades, will be appearing for both nights of the 2022 Crockett Cup Tournament held this year in Nashville, TN.
His appearance for the NWA follows several appearances he
made this winter for AEW Wrestling when the company toured some of the key cities in
the old Mid-Atlantic territory, including Charlotte, Greensboro, and
Raleigh.
Obviously, the Crockett family participation lends great credibility to the NWA's efforts to revive the Crockett Cup, one of the most remembered and celebrated events in the final years of Jim Crockett Promotions in the 1980s. The tournament is named for the patriarch of the Crockett family, Jim Crockett, Sr., who first promoted wrestling in the early 1930s. He was a pillar of the Charlotte community and a longtime stalwart member of the National Wrestling Alliance from the 1950s until his death in 1973.
The modern-day NWA revived the Crockett Cup tournament in 2019 in Charlotte, where David's sister Frances and younger brother Jackie both appeared to present the trophy during that evening. The 2020 and 2021 events were cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic.
The tournament returns for 2022 on March 19 and 20 at the Nashville Fairgrounds in Nashville, TN. The NWA World Heavyweight Championship and other NWA titles will also be on the line during the event.
A few weeks ago I wrote about David Crockett's special appearance in Greensboro on All Elite Wrestling (AEW) television that aired on Christmas night. It would be the first of three appearances he would make on AEW TV over the next two weeks as AEW toured three of the old
Mid-Atlantic territory's great wrestling cities: Greensboro, Charlotte,
and Raleigh, NC.
David was introduced at ringside and received a great reception all three nights. The Greensboro and Charlotte shows took place at the fabled Greensboro Coliseum and the former Charlotte Coliseum (now Bojangles Coliseum), both home to some of the biggest events for Jim Crockett Promotions in the 1960s-1980s. Raleigh's event took place at the PNC Arena, a relatively newer venue in the capitol city. Back in the day, Crockett wrestling once took place at Dorton Arena or the Raleigh Civic Center.
Greensboro. Charlotte. Raleigh. I like to think of it as hitting the Mid-Atlantic trifecta.
In Charlotte, Crockett presented the TNT Championship belt to Sammy Guevara, who had defeated Dustin Rhodes to fill the interim TNT championship while reigning champion Cody Rhodes was briefly out of action.
David Crockett presents the TNT Championship to Sammy Guevara at AEW's "Battle of the Belts.".
Dustin, son of the legendary "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes who booked the old Mid-Atlantic territory for five years in the 1980s, wrestled a heck of a match with the much younger Guevara, who is one of the true rising superstars in pro-wrestling. Rhodes is now in his mid-50s and had to feel a sense of nostalgia wrestling in the old Charlotte Coliseum again, a building he worked some 30+ years earlier for WCW against the likes of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Bobby Eaton, and Arn Anderson. Ironically, Arn Anderson was in the corner of Rhodes that night in Charlotte.
Actually, it was the fans who hit the trifecta, having David at three AEW shows, all in towns special to old Mid-Atlantic fans and the Crockett family going back several generations. Tony Khan acknowledged this in an address to the fans after the Dynamite live show went off the air in Raleigh. "Thanks to the Crockett family for making it possible to promote professional wrestling in the state of North Carolina," he said. It was an acknowledgment that the Crocketts paved the way for anyone and everyone who now promotes here, from the independents to the major leagues.
"I want to tell you, from the bottom of my heart, it's meant a lot to me over the last few days," Tony Khan said to David Crockett in Raleigh. "Thank you for being here yet again to represent the Crockett family."
Khan thanked the fans, too. "And thanks to all you great people for that wonderful reception. That's
meant a lot to a lot of people, to Mr. Crockett and his family."
David Crockett is recognized at ringside in Greensboro.
I have a new appreciation and respect for Tony Khan, for bringing in David and for making a concerted effort to acknowledge the old territory, its promoters, and most importantly its longtime fans. Crockett himself made that point to the fans in Greensboro. "Without you fans," David said, "we wouldn't have existed."
The AEW swing through the old Mid-Atlantic territory over the holidays yielded one more special gift: the reuniting in Raleigh of David Crockett and AEW broadcaster Tony Schiavone with the legendary Bob Caudle, who called Mid-Atlantic wrestling matches for over three decades at WRAL TV studios in Raleigh.
David Crockett, Bob Caudle, and Tony Schiavone in Raleigh, Jan. 12, 2022 (Photograph courtesy of Tony Schiavone.)
David and Tony made the trip across town on the afternoon of the AEW Raleigh show to visit Bob, now in his 90s and who lives in Raleigh with his wife of over 70 years, Jackie. It was a very special moment that made for a very special photo. Lots of fans thought so, too, as the post went viral on Twitter. (More about that here.)
Thanks to Tony Khan and AEW for the gift of two special weeks of shows over the Christmas and New Year holidays for all of us.
What a reunion! David Crockett, Bob Caudle, and Tony Schiavone get together in Raleigh, NC.
David and Tony made the special effort to visit Bob during the afternoon on January 12, hours before the big All Elite Wrestling (AEW) show that night in Raleigh. Jim Ross had hoped to join them, too, but travel arrangements prevented it.
Bob and David hosted Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling together in the 1970s. David then moved over to host World Wide Wrestling in 1982, and Tony joined him as co-host in early 1984. Bob continued as host of NWA Pro Wrestling throughout the 1980s. Tony and David also hosted World Championship Wrestling together on Superstation WTBS in the mid-to-late 1980s. All three were part of big national television and pay-per-view specials for Jim Crockett Promotions and later Ted Turner's WCW.
What a special photograph! Thanks to both Tony and David for sharing this great reunion.
* * * * *
Late edit (1/17/22): We posted this same photo on Twitter as well, and it went viral (at least viral for us), garnering over 139,000 twitter impressions in the days after. A big surge of that occurred after Good Ol' J.R. Jim Ross retweeted it. A lot of fans from the 70s, 80s, and 90s were happy to see Bob again, and delighted to see all three of these guys together in the same special photograph.
With @AEW in Raleigh tonight (on @TBSNetwork), I can't help but think back to the two guys who brought Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling into our living rooms every Saturday afternoon in the 1970s from the cozy confines of Raleigh's @WRAL TV studio. Bob Caudle & David Crockett! pic.twitter.com/1flehmXZFh
David Crockett, one of the members of the famous Crockett promotional family out of Charlotte, NC, made an appearance at the AEW Wrestling "Holiday Bash" at the fabled Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC, on December 22, 2021.
The first two hours of the Greensboro event aired live on AEW Wrestling: Dynamite on the TNT cable network. A third hour was taped and aired three nights later on AEW Wrestling: Rampage on Christmas night on TNT. Crockett's appearance was featured on that second program.
David Crockett waves after being introduced to the crowd at the Greensboro Coliseum. He was part of the "AEW Wrestling: Rampage" program from Greensboro that aired on Christmas Night
He was recognized at ringside to a rousing ovation and later presented AEW's TNT Championship belt to the winner of the Sammy Guevara/Cody Rhodes TNT title match. After the Rampage taping ended, AEW owner/promoter Tony Khan brought David into the ring and recognized him once again. Cody Rhodes, whose father "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an integral part of the Crockett company both in front of and behind the camera from 1984-1988, told David he was part of the AEW family now. Fans chanted "Thank you Crocketts", but David stopped them and said all the thanks actually went to the fans.
Tony Khan did a wonderful job in making fans aware of the history of the Crockett family, David's role in it, the history of wrestling in Greensboro, and the tremendous impact the Crockett family had on wrestling in the old Mid-Atlantic territory of the NWA, and on wrestling in general.
David Crockett's legacy in the wrestling business actually extends far
beyond Jim Crockett Promotions where he was a promoter, producer, and
television announcer. He also worked for Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling
as an executive television producer and was responsible for making a lot of what
you saw in the whacky Monday Night Wars storylines come to life on TNT
and TBS.
Ring announcer Justin Roberts read the following when recognizing David Crockett at ringside:
''... a man, who along with his family, made incredible contributions to pro-wrestling here in the Mid-Atlantic as well as around the world which are still felt today. Please welcome back to Greensboro David Crockett!"
In recent years Crockett has made several wrestling-related appearances
including a rare Q&A session in 2019 with his older brother Jim
Crockett, Jr. (who passed away earlier this year) for Conrad Thompson's Starrcast IV
convention in Baltimore, MD. The Greensboro appearance was actually
David's second such appearance for AEW, appearing at an earlier event
before the pandemic and joining his old TV co-host from the 1980s Tony
Schiavone to call a match on an episode of AEW Wrestling: Dark.
But the most recent Greensboro appearance for AEW was the cherry on top. In a Christmas Day text-exchange I had with David, he told me how much the night had meant to him. "I do feel part of the AEW family now," he wrote me.
It was wonderful to see David Crockett recognized by Tony Khan and AEW, and especially for it to happen in Greensboro.
Originally published in our 30th Anniversary salute to Starrcade '85 in 2015.
Noted Charlotte orthopedist recalls his experiences treating the wrestlers of Jim Crockett Promotions, marvels at their toughness and athleticism by Kyra Quinn Special for the Mid-Atlantic Gateway
“Let people know how great these athletes were,” said Dr. Joseph Estwanik, referring to the wrestlers of Jim Crockett Promotions in the 1980s. Dr. Estwanik said this at the close of our recent telephone interview, which he had graciously agreed to after I reached out to him with questions about his involvement with professional wrestling decades ago.
Dr. Joseph Estwanik
Not Just a Doctor on TV
After recently discovering that Dr. Estwanik was still practicing medicine in Charlotte some 30 years after his initial appearance on Crockett television, I became curious about how he had become associated with the Crocketts, and about the extent of his involvement with the wrestlers. Estwanik had appeared on television as part of two highly memorable and now-classic angles: the ankle injury to Dusty Rhodes at the hands of Ric Flair and the Andersons in the buildup to Starrcade ’85, and the neck injury suffered by Ric Flair as the result of being piledriven on a ringside table by Terry Funk in 1989. But I wondered: were those two TV appearances all there was, or was there perhaps more to his story?
As I found out, there was much more. Joe Estwanik treated many of Crockett’s wrestlers throughout the 1980s. They were his patients and his friends, and his respect for them, even after all these years, remains profound and undiminished.
The Wrestling Connection
Dr. Estwanik’s association with professional wrestling developed as a result of the geographic location of his practice as well as his own background in and involvement with athletics, including Greco-Roman wrestling. Estwanik moved to Charlotte in 1978 after graduating from medical school at Wake Forest University and completing his residency. At that time he was one of the few doctors in the Charlotte area with an interest in sports medicine, which resulted in, as Dr. Estwanik put it, “sort of a natural hook-up with the Crocketts. Plus,” he added, “I was an avid weightlifter and bodybuilder, so I actually was in the gym with many of the athletes anyway… so I think I gained the, if I can say, respect for my knowledge base of wrestling [and] of weight training.”
“Tough as Nails”
Though he treated numerous Crockett wrestlers over the years, Dr. Estwanik actually had no professional relationship with Jim Crockett Promotions. “I think I felt better that way,” he explained, “that I was able to maintain a doctor-patient relationship. But because we had so many athletes in common I couldn’t help but at times meet the Crocketts or serve a need for them if I could.
Dr. Estwanik maintains an incredibly high regard for the wrestlers he treated, telling me, with amazement in his voice, “their athletic ability was superb, and… their toughness was insanely crazy!” Few people would know more about that toughness than Joe Estwanik. As the doctor to so many of the wrestlers, Dr. Estwanik was privy to injury knowledge that remained well-hidden from fans at the time. “I had their x-rays,” he explained, “and I knew the battering that they were taking, and I had performed some of their surgeries.” Estwanik continued, “It was even amazing what they sacrificed in the normal post-operative expected recovery, to get back on the road and perform in some capacity, somewhat shielding or protecting an injury or an operated area.” Dr. Estwanik even gave an example of seeing a wrestler in the ring on television still wearing the post-operative dressing Estwanik had applied at the completion of his surgery.
During those days, as part of his research for an academic paper that he later presented, Dr. Estwanik also surveyed over 100 professional wrestlers regarding injuries they had sustained throughout their careers; that paper, he says, documented the serious reality of the injuries the wrestlers were living and competing with. His succinct summary of the results of his research and observation: “They were always, always injured. They were tough as nails. And finally, they never got a day off.”
Patients and Friends
Joe Estwanik did not require any prompting when asked if he had any specific recollections of the wrestlers he worked with during the 80s. Immediately the memories started to flow. “Chief Wahoo McDaniel,” Estwanik recalled, “what a character and an extraordinary guy. I got to know him very well and operate on him.” Estwanik marveled at Wahoo’s toughness in continuing to wrestle into his 50s even though, as Estwanik put it, “anybody who was not a physician could see the significant arthritic changes” by simply looking at Wahoo’s x-rays.
Other wrestlers who Joe Estwanik counted as both patients and friends include Magnum T.A., Jimmy Garvin, and Ivan and Nikita Koloff. “So many of [the wrestlers] were so pleasant to work with,” Estwanik shared, “and just genuine guys from the gym, compared to a persona they got paid to play.”
Estwanik also recalled being there with his friends during some difficult times; he was one of the few visitors Magnum requested to see in the hospital after his career-ending auto accident in 1986, and he was there as a friend to Nikita Koloff as Nikita’s first wife, Mandy, died of cancer in 1989.
Agony at the Omni and Dusty’s “Hard Times”
When Dr. Estwanik finally did appear on-screen for Jim Crockett Promotions, he did so in the middle of one of the hottest angles and well-crafted stories in wrestling history: the ankle injury to Dusty Rhodes which set the stage for the Flair-Rhodes main event at Starrcade ’85 – one of the key moments in the legendary feud between the “Nature Boy” and the “American Dream”. As most fans of that era will recall, the injury occurred at the Omni in Atlanta on September 29, 1985, when Ric Flair turned full heel in grand and nefarious fashion, gleefully joining the Andersons in a brutal three-on-one attack in a cage against Dusty Rhodes. It was the ultimate betrayal, with Dusty having just single-handedly rescued Flair from a beating by the Russian trio of Ivan and Nikita Koloff and Krusher Khruschev.
Dr. Estwanik talks about Dusty's injury.
The attack resulted in a serious injury to Dusty which Flair had inflicted by landing a knee drop off the top rope onto Rhodes’ ankle. In the aftermath, Rhodes lay in clear agony on the mat, tended to by the Rock and Roll Express, announcer David Crockett and several others. As the house lights were brought up, the stunned Omni crowd watched with grave concern as one side of the cage was removed, the ring ropes were loosened, and the “American Dream” was carried to the dressing room with a huge bag of ice tied around his ankle.
On the following week’s “Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling” the angle was recapped, with Tony Schiavone informing fans that Dusty was put on a private plane and flown to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was examined by Dr. Joseph Estwanik. Subsequently, David Crockett conducted an interview with Estwanik in which the doctor explained the diagnosis of a third degree ankle sprain and addressed Dusty’s time frame for recovery. (Estwanik also appeared in a later interview with Dusty to discuss his rehab progress). Rhodes was put in a cast and was out of action for over a month, during which time the feud only became hotter as Dusty gave inspired interviews, including “Hard Times,” one of the most well-known and beloved promos ever. To go back and re-watch the events leading to Starrcade ‘85 is to be reminded of why people believed: incredible athletes, charismatic personalities, and storytelling that was compelling and realistic.
Revelation
Dusty Rhodes in the cast.
When I asked Dr. Estwanik about his interview with David Crockett all those years ago, he chuckled and had to confess that he didn’t remember it among all the other interviews he has given. But he did reveal something that is likely to surprise and possibly intrigue many fans: Dusty did have an actual injury. We can’t know for certain when the injury occurred; we can speculate that it may have been something that had been bothering Dusty and was then worked into the story at the perfect time. But regardless of timing, Estwanik stated: “There was an injury. TV exaggerates everything… but it was an injury requiring some immobilization and he elected to go with a cast… it’s the same cast on him that I would put on anybody.”
Dr. Estwanik took it in stride when I suggested to him that, during that era, there may have been a number of skeptical wrestling fans who did not believe he was a real doctor. “The fact is,” he laughed, “my enduring signature is suture lines, healed scars from surgeries.” He continued, assuring us, “I was really performing ACL surgeries and all the other things.”
These Days
In addition to his very successful Charlotte orthopedic practice, Dr. Estwanik continues his three-plus decades of work as a ringside physician for the sport of boxing and has also served in that same capacity for numerous years in Mixed Martial Arts. His extensive list of professional experience includes serving as the team physician for USA Boxing at multiple international events, and having served as the President of the Association of Ringside Physicians. In addition, Dr. Estwanik, along with Ken Shamrock and others, was instrumental in developing the original Boxergenics Grappling Glove used by MMA fighters; he developed the glove in the early days of MMA when the sport was in danger of being banned. That basic glove, says Estwanik, in still in use today, and he now jokingly refers to himself as the “idiot that didn’t patent it.”
Joe Estwanik’s favorite sports are the combat arts (which include wrestling, boxing, martial arts and MMA), in which he has decades of experience as both a treating physician and a fan. But he does seem to hold a special place in his heart for the professional wrestlers he knew and treated in the 1980s. When asked if he had become a fan of wrestling during that era, Estwanik responded, “You can’t help but watch your buddies.” Estwanik missed those buddies when Jim Crockett sold the business and the wrestlers left town. He still keeps up with some of them, though, and very fondly recalls that special era, telling us: “It was a great time of my life. I loved it.”
Originally published November 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway
November 28, 2015 was the 30th Anniversary of Starrcade '85. The event took place on Thanksgiving night in the cities of Atlanta, GA and Greensboro, NC.
A Look Back at the Promoters and Television History of Jim Crockett Promotions by Dick Bourne Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Professional wrestling has been one of the most popular live events in the Carolinas and Virginia since the early/mid-1900s. Several key players were responsible for making pro wrestling an institution here, some familiar to fans, others perhaps not so familiar.
The company known for promoting wrestling across Virginia and the Carolinas for decades was Jim Crockett Promotions. Jim Crockett, Sr. started promoting wrestling in our area when he bought an old warehouse in Greensboro, NC, in December of 1933, named it the “Sportrena”, and held his first matches there. With that first card, the company that later grew to be known as Jim Crockett Promotions was born.
Crockett established his base of operations in Charlotte a year later in 1934, moving in on a chaotic promotional scene at that time. In 1939 he and successful Richmond promoter Bill Lewis bought out the interests of promoter Pete Moore who had been in partnership with Crockett for nearly 10 years going back to their days headquartered out of Bristol, VA. Moore’s promotional interests spanned the width and breadth of the area that we think of now as the Mid-Atlantic territory. After buying Moore out, Lewis based his operations out of Richmond, and Crockett based his out of Charlotte. Together they brought top pro-wrestlers from around the country to the halls, armories, and small arenas throughout the Carolinas and Virginia.
As the companies evolved, Crockett had become the main promoter, with Lerwis booking all of his talent through the Crockett's Charlotte office. Lewis died in 1961, and Crockett sent Joe Murnick, his top lieutenant in Charlotte, to replace him. Murnick would headquarter out of Raleigh, but assumed all of Lewis's territoy to the east, including Fayetteville, Richmond, Hampton, and Norfolk and all points in between.
Over the years, Crockett had many local promoters like Murnick working for him within the various regions of the main territory including such men as Henry Marcus (central and lower South Carolina), Paul Winkhaus (Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina) and Pete Apostolou (Central and Southwest Virginia.). These promoters coordinated the local promotion of Crockett’s wrestling events. However, it was Murnick who became Crockett’s largest and most trusted partner.
In April of 1973, Jim Crockett, Sr. passed away and his son in law, John Ringley, took over the operations of the company. He was soon followed by Crockett's oldest son, Jim Crockett, Jr., who during his tenure expanded the reach of the company outside of the traditional territorial boundaries that had existed for years within the pro wrestling industry, and wound up being one of the two top players nationally.
Crockett Jr.'s lieutenants included Joe Murnick and his sons Elliot and Carl, along with longtime wrestlers Sandy Scott, Johnny Weaver, and Gene Anderson, who transitioned to regional promoters at the ground level, working with and later slowly replacing those listed earlier.
The territory was always known within the business as the “Charlotte territory” because that is where the Crocketts were based. Until the mid-1970s, fans simply knew it as “All-Star Wrestling” or “Championship Wrestling.” Around the time of Jim Sr.’s passing, the promotion began to brand its wrestling business as “Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling”, which also became the name of their television program. Prior to this time, television wrestling had been taped out of multiple locations each week including Charlotte, High Point, Roanoke, and Raleigh. In 1974, the company consolidated its weekly television production to one location - - the studios of WRAL in Raleigh, NC. There had been many hosts of the local programs over the years including Nick Pond, Charlie Harville, Hal Grant, Bill Ward, and Bob Caudle. After the 1974 consolidation, Caudle became the main voice of the company, and would serve in that capacity until the company was sold to Ted Turner in 1988.
But it was from the WRAL studio that the magic we saw unfold each week
on our TV screens originally took place. In 1975, Crockett Promotions
added a second studio program eventually known as “World Wide Wrestling” which
was hosted at different times by Ed Capral, Rich Landrum, David
Crockett, and Tony Schiavone.
Eventually finding itself on the losing side of a wrestling war in the late-1980s, the 53-year old family business was sold to Ted Turner in late 1988. Turner had been a partner in Crockett's national expansion, enthusiastically providing four hours of weekly television on his nationally cable-cast Superstation WTBS out of Atlanta. This eventually included quarterly prime-time TV specials as well.
The syndicated "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" (later renamed "NWA Pro Wrestling") and "World Wide Wrestling", along with the national WTBS "World Championship Wrestling" battleship, drove hundreds of thousands of fans to the arenas each month. For a short time anyway, the once small Mid-Atlantic territory one of the largest and most successful wrestling promotions in the country.
This article was based on a shorter limited piece originally posted June 28, 2017 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.
There were lots of great music themes over the years for Jim Crockett Promotions TV shows, but likely the most remembered is the 1979-1986 theme for Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.
The music was an edit from a 1978 European disco hit titled "Got to Have Loving" by French writer/arranger Don Ray (real name Raymond Donnez.) It was the only single from Ray's solo album "The Garden of Love."
The new theme debuted on the February 10, 1979 episode of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (taped February 7 at WRAL studios in Raleigh.) It played across the same familiar "four square" opening that had debuted back in 1977.
Here is the opening as it played out each week in your living room:
The complete Don Ray track can be found on YouTube (along with the complete album, too.)
That February show also debuted the familiar set that would be used on the Mid-Atlantic tapings through the remaining years at WRAL and then moved and used in modified formation at the smaller WPCQ studio in Charlotte. It was discarded all together when production moved out to the arenas in July 1983.
The set included a new standing-desk for hosts Bob Caudle and David Crockett, with a gorgeous textured background that included the new moniker "Mid-Atlantic Championship Sports" in raised block letters and a map that included two more states (West Virginia, Georgia) than the previous map and logo used on the 1974-1979 set.
Another big change going forward that began with this show was that introductions for matches would no longer be conducted from inside the ring, but instead by Bob Caudle as he would turn in front of a blue-screen NWA logo. That blue screen allowed a chroma key effect to be used, showing the wrestlers in the ring during their introduction. This set up would be used for the duration of the studio shows, and I've always thought it was a big mistake to make that change. The fans in the studio audience never reacted to Caudle's introductions like they had done over the years for Joe Murnick (or the Murnick boys) because Bob couldn't be easily heard by the fans. Most of the time it made for very flat reactions to the introductions.
Sadly, Don Ray's classic disco theme was removed from the episodes of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling that air on the WWE Network and replaced with a more generic sounding production cut.
But the winds of change were blowing with new music, a new set, and a new method for ring introductions, making the taping on February 7, 1979 one for the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling television history books.
Originally published 3/1/21 on the Studio Wrestling website. Research by Dick Bourne. Some information taken from David Chappell's Mid-Atlantic Gateway Almanac.
Rare audio included below of Ric Flair, Baron Von Raschke, and Paul Jones vs. Ricky Steamboat, Tony Atlas, and Dino Bravo
by Dick Bourne Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Recently Mike Sempervive posted an interesting entry to his "On This Day in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling History" series to his Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast Twitter feed. It involved a wild six-man tag team match on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling from February of 1979:
On This Day in JCP TV History - 1979
Tony Atlas, Ricky Steamboat & Dino Bravo beat Ric Flair, Paul Jones & Baron Von Raschke by DQ. Baron hit Atlas twice with chairs, as Jones put Steamboat in the Indian Death Lock and Flair locked Bravo in the Figure 4, slapping him in the face pic.twitter.com/c7MzgEXJ44
— The Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast (@MidAtlanticPod) February 24, 2021
Matches like that featuring two main event teams against each other were rare in those days. All six were main eventers and headlining Mid-Atlantic and World Wide Wrestling cards across the territory as well as in Canada.
Shortly after that, David did indeed dig up the 42-year old audio cassette tape and produced the goods! While video of the match is long lost to the ash-heap of history, this audio lets you relive a little of that magic.
Enjoy the final three minutes of six-man tag team mayhem between the teams of Ric Flair/Baron Von Raschke/Paul Jones vs. Ricky Steamboat/Tony Atlas/Dino Bravo. The audio begins as Ric Flair has the figure-four locked in on Bravo and Steamboat makes the save. (I miss the one-save rule.)
I don't think David Crockett was ever so excited about a wrestling match.
FLAIR-RASCHKE-JONES vs. STEAMBOAT-ATLAS-BRAVO
For the record, here is the excerpt by David Chappell regarding this match from the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Almanac for February 1979:
The Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television show that was taped on February 21st featured a six man tag team match that was definitely of Main Event quality! The “good guy” team of Tony Atlas, Ricky Steamboat and Dino Bravo battled the “bad guy” trio of Ric Flair, Paul Jones and Baron von Raschke. After getting Atlas outside the ring, the Baron waffled Tony with two brutal chair shots. Then meantime in the ring, Jones put Steamboat in the Indian Death Lock while simultaneously Flair caught Bravo in the Figure Four Leg Lock, slapping Dino in the face as he applied the pressure. Eventually, Atlas got a chair of his own and cleared the ring. The bad guys were disqualified for using the chair first, but clearly Atlas, Steamboat and Bravo got the worst of it despite their win by disqualification.
Bob Caudle, David Crockett, and Joe Murnick join Paul Boesch in signing Harley Race vs. Andre the Giant in a rare video clip from WRAL in Raleigh
by Dick Bourne Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Another rare piece of Crockett-related footage has surfaced from Houston TV on YouTube. Houston promoter Paul Boesch flew from Texas to Raleigh, NC, in the fall of 1978 to film a contract signing segment with Andre the Giant.
The video is actually two separate segments that would have aired separately on the Houston television show, and are likely presented here in reverse order.
In the segments, Boesch signs Andre the Giant to challenge NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race at the Summit Arena in Houston on 10/13/1978. Paul Boesch is introduced by "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" host Bob Caudle. Representing the NWA for the contract signing are David Crockett and Joe Murnick of Jim Crockett Promotions in Charlotte.
The segments were taped at the studios of WRAL TV in Raleigh, NC, home of Jim Crockett's weekly television tapings.
Both David Crockett and Joe Murnich got a few words in. I especially liked Murnich's well-wishes to fellow promoter Boesch and the fans of Houston:
"I think the fans of Houston are very, very fortunate because I know this bout could be held anywhere in the world and your fans are most fortunate in having it. Good luck to you."
David Crockett noted that the bout would be held on Friday the 13th, and suggested it might be unlucky for some (Harley Race perhaps?) but hopefully not for Andre.
The real rarity here is seeing and hearing Joe Murnick. What a special treat. Murnick was the local promoter for Jim Crockett based in Raleigh, NC, and he promoted the Raleigh area, as well as most of eastern North Carolina and eastern Virginia, including Richmond and Norfolk. Murnick was co-host of a Raleigh-only version of "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" in the 1960s and early 1970s, and when that Raleigh-only version was discontinued and all of the area's TV tapes were consolidated to WRAL in Raleigh, Murnick was still seen as the ring announcer on Crockett shows until his sons Elliot and Carl took over those duties toward the end of 1977 or early 1978. Joe Murnick had a deep, classically-southern voice that was just so perfect for the times and one of my favorite ring announcers ever.
Very cool to be able to go back in time this far and see Murnick, Caudle, and Crockett in the old WRAL studio. Crockett Promotions didn't start keeping and archiving their old tapes until the early 1980s, so seeing this is very rare. The backdrop used in this tape was one frequently used in the early 1970s for local promotional spots for the various towns, but by 1978 wasn't used that frequently anymore. Nice to see it here.
These videos are bound to be pulled down soon, so we should enjoy them while we have them.
Originally published 10/3/17 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway and 10/10/17 on our Studio Wrestling website.
Ric Flair confronts the new champion on the set of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling by Dick Bourne Mid-Atlantic Gateway
On Tuesday, August 9, 1977, Wahoo McDaniel regained the Mid-Atlantic heavyweight championship from Greg Valentine at Dorton Arena in Raleigh, NC. Valentine had defeated the Chief earlier that summer in Greensboro.
The next night at the taping of "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling", David Crockett introduced the studio audience at WRAL-TV to the new champion, and the crowd gave Wahoo a huge ovation.
These were always some of my favorite moments - - when a new champion was introduced at the beginning of that week's TV show.
Wahoo's celebration was cut short when he was interrupted by United States Champion Ric Flair, who made it clear that Wahoo had no chance of getting the U.S. title from him.
Wahoo told host Bob Caudle that he was going to make history that week, as he had shots at both the U.S. title held by Flair and the NWA world title held by Harley Race.
"If the man wrestled with his mouth, he'd be unbeatable. But he has to get in there and defend that title, and I'm on a lucky streak right now, I'm gonna take his title and get Harley Race - - I got a chance at the world title. Three belts in one week - - it's never been done." - Wahoo McDaniel
Here are the first 5 minutes of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling that aired on Saturday, August 13, 1977.
Flair and Wahoo left the WRAL TV studio in Raleigh (separately, I'm sure!) and drove to nearby Rocky Mount, NC where Wahoo fought Flair for the U.S. title that same night. He had another shot at Flair two nights later in Richmond. Then on Sunday, he challenged Race for the NWA world title in Greensboro.
WAHOO WEEK IN REVIEW (AUGUST 1977)
Tuesday, 08/09, Raleigh, NC - Wahoo McDaniel beat Greg Valentine to win NWA Mid Atlantic Title
Wednesday, 08/10, Raleigh, NC - WRAL TV studio confrontation with Ric Flair
Sunday, 08/14, Greensboro, NC - Harley Race beat Wahoo McDaniel (NWA world title match)
While Wahoo wasn't successful in winning three belts in that week, it
was nevertheless quite a successful week at the box office for Jim Crockett Promotions and a number of big pay-days for the Chief!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Edited from a post originally published December 4, 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.
Exclusive audio recording of Ernie Ladd's 1979 Mid-Atlantic Wrestling debut at the end of this article!
* * * * * * * * * *
by David Chappell Mid-Atlantic Gateway
A newcomer to Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling burst onto the scene on the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television show that was taped on January 31, 1979. And what an electric debut it was for the “Cat,” Ernie Ladd! Scheduled to wrestle Herb Gallant in his first Mid-Atlantic TV bout, instead Ladd approached announcer Bob Caudle in his street clothes, with apparently no intention of wrestling.
Caudle admonished Ladd, “You’re supposed to be up in the ring.” Ernie answered, “Look, I’ve asked over and over [for] Andre the dumb Giant! I wanna beat Andre the dumb Giant. I asked the promotion for Andre the dumb Giant, and they never give it to me! I wanna beat Harley Race on TV, and I’m TIRED of gettin’ in the ring with people that are inferior to my ability. And I’m sick and tired of it! So right now you can’t force me in the ring; you can’t make me do anything! I do what I want to do! I’M MY OWN MAN!”
Graphic courtesy Mid-Atlantic Grapplin' Greats
Caudle leaned over to the “Big Cat,” and lightly touched him on the arm and appeared ready to make a point. Instead, Ladd yelled, “Don’t put your hands on me…don’t touch me!!” Caudle instinctively drew back. Ernie continued, “Because I don’t have to get in the ring and wrestle! He’s an inferior caliber wrestler to me, so I will NOT get in there and disgrace myself with him. Regardless of what you say or anybody else says...I can be fined, suspended, because I have enough money to do anything I want with it! Now what can I tell you, Mr. TV announcer?"
Color commentator David Crockett chimed in, “How would you disgrace yourself wrestling Herb Gallant?” Ladd quickly retorted, “Listen, I asked for the [World] Champion, number one…” As Ernie was talking, someone in the studio audience shouted for the “Cat” to get in the ring! Ladd bellowed, “Shut up out there!” Referee Sonny Fargo was also calling over to the set for Ernie to step in the ring, but Ladd was having none of it. “Don’t ask me about getting in the ring and wrestle, Mr. Referee. You can’t tell me what to do Mr. Referee…you’re just a referee,” Ladd explained. The fans in the TV studio were getting more rowdy in response to Ladd’s antics, which prompted Ernie to lash out, “And why don’t you people be quiet!!”
Ladd composed himself briefly and said, “I asked for one man…Andre the dumb Giant. He’s not here. I have not gotten him, and I’m upset and I’m disturbed! I asked for Harley Race…” But then David Crockett got Ladd stirred up again, interrupting him and saying, “You have to prove yourself.” A once again fired up “Big Cat” fired back, “What do you mean I have to prove myself? My record all around the world speaks for itself! World’s greatest football player, international wrestler. I don’t care what they’ve seen, clean their ears out get up close to that television, you see me wrestling out of Madison Square Garden, you see me wrestling out of Atlanta, you see me wrestling all over the world, and I come in here and make a special request to make a proper debut, to beat the World’s Champion on TV…”
Crockett persisted, “You have to prove yourself…” An exasperated Ladd yelled back, “What do you mean I have to prove myself? Look at the referee interfering!” Referee Sonny Fargo yelled towards Ernie, “I’m gonna give you a 10-count to get in here!” Ladd indignantly replied, “He ain’t gonna give me a 10 count…nobody gives me nothing! I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll be the first man to get in the ring and shake his hand, and congratulate him! I’ve had so many awards…”
And then Ladd actually made his way into the ring!
An incredulous Bob Caudle jumped back in saying, “David, he’s dressed…he’s in the ring in his street clothes. He’s just gonna shake his hand, he said.” But unfortunately for Gallant, he received more contact from “Ol’ #99” than a handshake! Caudle described the scene exclaiming, “Whoa, he kicked him right in the stomach! Ladd now with Gallant, he went in to shake Gallant’s hand. He’s got his street shoes on David, those big heavy leather shoes with a hard heavy heel, stomping and kicking Gallant with those! Now he’s hanging him right in the air!” Crockett interjected, “Throws him down right on his back!” Caudle continued, “Look at how big and how strong Ernie Ladd is.”
The “Big Cat,” street clothes and all, pinned Gallant immediately afterward. Crockett said after the three-count, “He finally wrestled, though!” Caudle concurred, “He wrestled, that’s right. He’s not gonna be fined. There’s no doubt he got in the ring and he wrestled, but the way he went about it, the sneak attack on Gallant, I’m not so sure in the minds of all the fans that proved anything...”
As an irate Ladd approached the interview area, Caudle bravely said to him, “With a sneak attack like that on Gallant!” Ladd furiously came back at Bob, “That’s not a sneak attack!! They don’t give big fat Haystacks Calhoun any static about what he puts on, what he has to do or what he has to wear! I’m my own man, I do EXACTLY what I want to do when I want to do it! I’m the best wrestler! And don’t EVER make the mistake and think that Ernie Ladd is gonna give you something!”
Listen to the entire thing play out in this rare, archival audio!
Before he entered the Mid-Atlantic area, Ernie Ladd’s reputation certainly preceded him. And in his first television appearance in the territory, he only reinforced that reputation for trickery, deceit and aggression. The “Big Cat” had arrived, and his claws were clearly out…ready to strike anyone unfortunate enough to be in his path!
Originally published June 17, 2016 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.
David Crockett, Jim Ross, and Jim Crockett, Jr. at the Starrcast IV convention in Baltimore MD (Nov 2019)
George Pantas conducted a recent interview with David Crockett in advance of November's huge Starrcast convention in Baltimore, MD. He then followed up with David, his older brother Jim Crockett, Jr., and Bruce Mitchell of Pro Wrestling Torch, who moderated the panel with the Crocketts at Starrcast.
The interviews appeared in three parts in The Flagship, an online newspaper site for the military in Norfolk, VA.
We posted a link to the Part 1 on the Gateway back before Starrcast, but part 2 and 3 followed later after that event.
Here are links to all three parts, and a lot of ground is covered, from family to Jim Crockett Promotions and WCW.
Starrcast IV, Baltimore MD Friday, November 8, 2019 7:00pm - 8:00pm Ram's Head Live!
Jim Crockett Promotions took the war to Vince McMahon in the 1980s and its legacy remains mighty in the hearts and souls of diehard professional wrestling fans. Tony Schiavone, who went from fan to one of the voices of JCP, sits down with Jim and David Crockett, who publicly discuss, for the first time ever, the highs and lows and legacy of their family, their battle to keep the flame of true pro wrestling lit and the promotion that defined greatness for many, many decades. A Starrcast exclusive like no other!!
Taking place on the Pro Wrestling Tees stage at Ram's Head Live Friday night, November 8, at 7 PM. Available to stream live & on demand on FITE.TV.
Information from the Starrcast schedule page. Visit the Starrcast website for more details.
I've written before about all the stories that George South has told me over the many years we've been good friends, and usually I find myself not believing half of them. I mean, come on - - wrestlers tend to tell tall tales, am I right? And George loves to tell a good story. But then someone comes along that was involved in one of those stories and says something that confirms his story and I wind up calling him and confessing - - "You were right!"
Such was the case awhile back on an episode of the "WOOOO! Nation" podcast, when Ric Flair and co-host Conrad Thompson were taking questions sent in by fans. One question dealt with wrestler Mike Jackson and why he never quite got a break to move up the cards back in the day. Jackson was thought of at the time (and still to this day) as one of the best underneath workers in the business and all the main event guys liked working with him.
But Flair moved on quickly from Jackson and said this, which confirmed part of a story George had told me long ago:
"You know who was actually the best worker back then, was George South .... I got in the ring with him one time and I said, 'Buddy, today you're Ricky Steamboat'. And we tore it down." - Ric Flair, WOOOO! Nation, December 9, 2015
The audio of this is embedded at the bottom of this post.
About ten years ago, George told me the story about his November 12, 1988 match with Ric Flair on Superstation WTBS, a match that went nearly 15 minutes, much longer than the usual WTBS TV match at the time. We were making a 22-hour round trip in a rented truck to visit the great Blackjack Mulligan at his home in Florida. That's right, I had 22 hours of listening to George South tell stories with the same Journey CD playing in the background the whole time. (And that part about Journey is a shoot!)
World Championship Wrestling on Superstation WTBS, November 12, 1988
George told me on that trip that before they walked through the curtain that morning in the WTBS studio, Ric had uttered those same words to him: Today you're Ricky Steamboat. Now, I never knew if I really believed that or not. I mean, I knew George loved Ricky Steamboat, and at times thought he was Ricky Steamboat, so it seemed plausible that in the context of the story this was George's wishful thinking. That is until last week when I heard Ric Flair say those very same words.
So having once again called George to acknowledge he had indeed told me the truth, I asked him to tell me whole story again. He quickly reminded me that it was a match Ric didn't want to have to begin with.
"When you got to TV, you found out who would actually work," George told me. "Ric was scheduled to work for the first time in awhile, but he really didn't want to. He had just gotten in from Pittsburgh after being up all night and he had to catch an early plane to Ohio after the taping. That studio was so cold and he didn't want to work and then have to shower and have that wet hair and rush to the airport."
Indeed, a quick review of notes from those Saturday night shows in the fall of 1988 showed that Ric didn't wrestle on any WTBS studio taping that late summer or fall until that Nov. 12th show. He did lots of those classic interviews, but didn't work in the ring.
"He and Dusty sort of got into it right there in front of everyone, and Dusty told him he was going to have to wrestle," George told me. "So Ric threw his bag on a chair and said, 'Well then I want South.'"
I asked George if he remembered who he was originally scheduled to work, or if he remembered who Flair was scheduled to work, but he could not recall. "All I know is Ric changed it and I was now working with him."
George had wrestled Flair on several occasions on different Crockett TV shows going back to 1985, but this time the circumstances were different. Flair was in a horrible mood and George figured he might be in for a tough, stiff, short match.
"Ric got dressed," George told me, "and as we were at the curtain about to go out, he looked at me and said, 'Buddy, today you're Ricky Steamboat."
George's heart skipped a beat. "I about peed in my pants!"
He entered the ring alone during the long break set aside for the "College Football Scoreboard" segment that aired on WTBS during fall Saturday afternoons in those years. Ric didn't follow right away and it seemed like an eternity waiting for him, even though it was only a few minutes. George had time to ponder what was to come.
When they came out of the break and back on air, Ric came through the curtain and entered the ring wearing one of his beautiful white robes. He removed the "Big Gold" NWA world heavyweight title belt and handed it to his manager James J. Dillon at ringside. George told me he thought to himself, "OK, buddy, here we go," and then they locked up.
But George wasn't prepared for what happened next.
"Ric started calling all these spots," George told me, "and I was going a hundred miles an hour. I was having the time of my life, but I was rushing."
Indeed, Ric was giving a great deal to George early on. George was reversing holds, working a lot of drop-downs, trading chops, and even throwing drop-kicks.
Suddenly, he was aware that he wasn't pacing himself. And there was no finish in sight.
"I got so blowed up in there," George said. "I was really hurting."
I asked George if he and Ric had discussed the match before hand. "No, not at all," he told me. "Back in those days, he called it in the ring. I didn't know anything. And I didn't know if we were going 2 minutes or 20 minutes. I was just going so fast. Ric did this every night, but I didn't!"
Given that Ric didn't want to work to begin with, it was surprising the match was going the way it was. "Honestly, I think he was doing it just to tick Dusty off," George told me. He laughed as he thought back on it. "He was so annoyed with Dusty, I think he would have let me win the NWA belt just to get back at him."
"Dusty
was hollering at me 'What are you doing?' and I said, you know, I'm not
gong to beat a guy like George South in one minute. Sorry."
- Ric Flair, WOOOO! Nation, December 9, 2015
George thought he might have a chance to rest when they went to a commercial break during the match, but no such luck. "Ric just kept going," he said.
By the time they were back from commercial, they were over eight minutes into the match, with still no end in sight.
"If there ever was a clinic in pro-wrestling, we're watching it. The world champion Nature Boy Ric Flair against George South, showing us a variety of moves during the break." - Tony Schiavone, World Championship Wrestling, November 12, 1988
Back in those days, unlike today, commercial breaks during matches were relatively rare except in longer main event matches. The fact Ric went two segments with George made the match seem all the more special. Ric was calling all the signature spots that he would normally do with main event guys like Harley Race, Sting, Lex Luger, and yes, certainly with Ricky Steamboat.
"He had me shoot him out of the corner and he did his flip into the turnbuckles," George said." I couldn't believe what was happening. Then he went to the top turnbuckle and told me to throw him off. Brother, I was about to die in there! I think he just flipped off the turnbuckle himself!"
When George finally threw Ric from the top, Ric's feet hit the lights, and debris fell into the ring. It was a surreal moment for George, and Ric kept giving him a comeback.
Finally, Ric called for the finish. He lifted George high in the air and held him for a few moments before delivering the vertical suplex.
"Now, we go to school!" Flair shouted, as he applied the figure four leglock. It didn't take long for George to submit.
George lay prone on the mat, exhausted. As TV aired the instant replay of the figure four, Ric hopped out of the ring to do a ringside post-match interview with David Crockett.
Referee Teddy Long knelt down on one knee beside George. They were right behind Flair, who would soon be joined in the interview segment by Barry Windham and J.J. Dillon.
"I thought Teddy was checking on me, making sure I was OK. So I whispered, 'I'm OK, Teddy.' He said right back to me, 'Brother, you've got to get out of this ring! I've got to get you out of the shot.' I could barely move, so he just rolled me like a big log out of the ring."
David Crockett prepares to interview Ric Flair after the match. Teddy Long tries to usher George South out of the ring behind them.
If you carefully watch this back on tape, you can see this happening. "Oh, it's funny now," George said, "but it wasn't funny then. I had never been so blowed up in all my life."
To make matters worse, George observed that Ric was barely breathing hard. "He was just so in shape, it was amazing. You couldn't blow him up. He was what he said he was - - a 60-minute man."
Still exhausted, George made his way back to the dressing room and then collapsed on his hands and knees and crawled to his chair.
"Kevin Sullivan was sitting in a chair right inside the door watching the monitor," George said. "He just looked down at me crawling on the floor and laughed. Not so much laughing to be mean, just laughing as if to say 'brother, we have all been there.' I don't think there was a wrestler in that locker room who hadn't been blown up at one time or another by Ric Flair."
George looks back on that match with fondness. It is without a doubt the longest and most competitive match he ever had on TV, and it is a memory he will hang on to forever. Nice to know Ric remembers it, too, all these many years later.
Edited from an original post on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway, from December 18, 2015.
Listen as Ric Flair talks about George South on WOOOOO! Nation
December 9, 2015
You can probably find the whole match if you do a little searching on YouTube. Otherwise, enjoy this one-minute music video of a few highlights from the match.
Check out MapleLeafWrestling.com's new book on the history of the
Canadian Heavyweight Championship, now available on Amazon and our book store.
