Gateway Interview: Baron Von Raschke (Part 4)

FINAL PART 4

PART 1  | PART 2  | PART 3

PART FOUR
 
Chappell: Was it originally the plan for you to stay in the Mid-Atlantic area longer than you did? 

Raschke: I don’t remember all of the details, but basically I was just homesick. I wanted to go home. It was all right with Crockett…so I did. 

Chappell: I can certainly understand your reasons for not staying at that point, but the angle with you and Charlie Brown was some great stuff! And having a manager, Gary Hart, was something new for Crockett fans to see. 

Raschke: Yes, but I had managers before in other places. Bobby Heenan was my manager in Indianapolis, and then later on in New York, Freddie Blassie was my manager for a little while. As far as Gary Hart in ‘83…it was just something a little different. Gary and I had been in Texas together at the same time. 

Chappell: I never felt you needed a manager. You were very skilled with your interviews, and you never seemed like a wrestler who needed someone else to talk for him. 

Raschke: Thank you. 

Chappell: Did you see your interviews as being a strength for you? 

Raschke: For some reason, I was always a real shy person… 

Chappell: (laughs) No way…that’s hard to believe! 

Raschke: It probably is…but everything I was, Baron Von Raschke wasn’t---he really became my alter ego. When I got into character it was real easy for me to think on my feet and respond to questions, ad lib, and go with it. That’s what the Baron does…can do, did do and probably will keep doing! 

Chappell: And as he has shown us this evening…the Baron is just as good as he ever was! 

Raschke: I try! (everybody laughs) 

Chappell: As you mentioned briefly just a moment ago, your last run with Crockett was in the mid 80s. The business was certainly changing a great deal by the 1986 time frame. You had been in the AWA again after the brief 1983 Mid-Atlantic stint, and you and the Crusher had lost the AWA World Tag Team Titles to the Road Warriors---a new breed of tag team. Wrestling had changed considerably from the last time you wrestled for Crockett in 1983. 

Raschke: This all runs together for me a little bit, but I think in the last [Crockett] run Ivan and Nikita Koloff had a third partner who broke his leg… 

 Chappell: Right…Krusher Khrushchev. 

Raschke: Yes…and he broke his leg, and I got a call that [the Russians] needed a partner to replace him. I think there was an upcoming six-man against Dusty (Rhodes) and the Road Warriors…or something like that. So, I was elected. That was my final run in there with Crockett. 

Chappell: Towards the end of that final run, I remember you wrestling as a babyface again. And even teaming up with another great veteran and Mid-Atlantic legend, Chief Wahoo McDaniel! I remember you and Wahoo teaming up in the 1987 Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Cup Tournament. 

Raschke: Yes, we did. Wahoo was one of my favorite people. 

Chappell: Really? 

Raschke: Oh yeah. He was a great guy and a great athlete…he was a great credit to the business. He was just a good person…really a big-hearted guy. 

Chappell: You and the Chief butted heads in your first run with Crockett. It was really something to see you all teaming together during that final stint! 

Raschke: There you were with a tag team…one guy with a headdress of Eagle feathers, and the other guy looking like a Bald Eagle! 

Chappell: (laughing) Something to behold! 

Raschke: Actually, those were turkey feathers…after the dog got a hold of the turkey! (everybody laughs) 

Chappell: After your last run with Crockett, didn’t you go to the WWF briefly…when they were gobbling up all the talent in sight in the mid/late 80’s? 

Raschke: Yeah, Vince (McMahon) was good…he flew me in just to fire me! 

Chappell: Gee… 

Raschke: At great expense. 

Chappell: At that time, didn’t Vince have you managing some people up there? 

Raschke: Yeah…tried to. 

Chappell: That didn’t last long, did it? 

Raschke: It didn’t last long at all. 

Chappell: I guess the last time I remember seeing you on a wrestling program was when the AWA was in its dying days, but their show was still running on ESPN. If I recall, you were involved in a Team Challenge Series as the AWA was about to peter out in 1990. 

Raschke: I was, and then I did a little wrestling for small promotions for a while after that. 

Chappell: Do you watch any professional wrestling today? 

Raschke: I do not. 

Chappell: None? 

Raschke: Very, very rarely. It’s not fun for me to watch. 

Chappell: Tell us some things about the Baron…post-wrestling. 

Raschke: Well, my wife and I bought a gift and souvenir shop and ran that for a time. And right about then, that’s when I started teaching school again. I also worked for the Minnesota Zoo for a while. Even during this time, I was still into wrestling a little bit. I was way up in northern Minnesota when we ran the gift shop…where it’s still cold and snowing as we speak! We stayed up there six or seven years with the gift and souvenir shop. 

Chappell: You must have worn a winter coat all year round up there! 

Raschke: That was about 300 miles from where we live now. 

Chappell: What is the Baron up to presently? 

Raschke: Actually, I’m in between bookings right now. I’m looking for work. 

David Chappell with the Baron
Charlotte 2005

Chappell: I know one booking that Mid-Atlantic fans are hoping that you will be a part of, and that is the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends Fanfest in Charlotte over Thanksgiving weekend. Might we see you there? 

Raschke: I’ve been contacted about that, but nothing has been set yet. I’m considering it, but due to careful planning I can’t afford to retire until I’m (age) 105! 

Chappell: (laughs) Tell me about that, too! Obviously we would love to see you at Fanfest, but logistically you are a long haul from Charlotte.But I hope it works out; we’d love to see you there. 

Raschke: I’d love to come. 

Chappell: Are you currently doing any more substitute teaching? 

Raschke: No, my wife had me give that up a couple of years ago. When we moved down here, I didn’t resume that. 

Chappell: Where are you living presently? 

Raschke: We’re down the (Mississippi) River now, David . We live seven miles from where the Mississippi River starts. We live near the river, though, in Wabasha, Minnesota. 

Chappell: That’s beautiful country up there… 

Raschke: It really is. 

Chappell: Just a couple of final things as we wrap up Baron… 

Raschke: [Editor’s Note: The Baron Is Again In Character Voice Here!] ‘WE’RE NOT DONE YET???!!!’ (laughs) 

Chappell: (laughing) Soon! Since you’ve lapsed back into character, how did your famous catch-phrase ‘Dat Is All Da People Need To Know’ come about? 

Raschke: That particular one, came out of a thing with Marty O’Neill, who was an announcer in Minnesota. He was a small man, a short man, and all of the wrestlers towered over him. Even Mad Dog Vachon! But Marty was a great, great announcer and interviewer. And he called me up to the mic one time to be interviewed, and as you know, the interviews usually lasted two or two and a half minutes. Of course, I take my glasses off…and I can’t see two feet in front of me! 

Chappell: I know all about that! 

Raschke: Usually, there’s a guy out there that gives you a wind-up signal…you know, a cue that it’s time to quit talking. Anyway, Marty calls me up and I’m talking about whatever I’m talking about…blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I’d finished what I was talking about, but I couldn’t see anybody winding us up! Marty, being the pro that he was, asked me another question…and I didn’t have an answer for it! 

Chappell: (laughs) 

Raschke: So I said, ‘DAT IS ALL DA PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW,’ and I stormed off!

Chappell: (laughing) 

Raschke: Marty was such a good announcer…and he loved that! He thought it was great, and he asked me to do it again when we did another interview. And again, and again. Pretty soon, the promoter would say, ‘You gotta do that; you gotta do that!’ So, that’s how that phrase started…and continued! 

Chappell: That’s a great story! That phrase is forever part of wrestling lore! 

Raschke: (laughs) 

Chappell: How difficult was it living your wrestling life in the persona of a hated German? I imagine at some points in time that had to wear on you? 

Raschke: I just sort of dealt with it. The Baron was such a nasty, vicious and despicable character…[Editor’s Note: The Baron Is Again In Character Voice Here!] ‘I JUST COULDN’T LIVE LIKE THAT 24 HOURS A DAY!’ 

Chappell: (laughing) 

Raschke: But anyway, the Baron turned out to be all right. He’s kind of like me…to know me, is to love me! I could separate my personal life from the Baron. 

Chappell: During your time in the Mid-Atlantic area, what were some of your favorite towns and places? 

Raschke: Well, I really enjoyed the Mid-Atlantic territory…the towns were all great. Your hometown Richmond was a great place… 

Chappell: Richmond loved the Baron too! At times, we loved to hate you, but you know what I mean! 

Raschke: (laughs) Yes, I do! Norfolk, Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Charleston…they were all great. Great fans…great towns. I just have a lot of good memories from the Charlotte territory. Just a real good run there. 

Chappell: When you think about the times you wrestled in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, what are the first things that come to your mind? 

Raschke: I think back on all of the great talent that I worked with there, and the business like approach the Office had. The fans were great. I just have a good feeling about the Charlotte territory, and Mid-Atlantic Wrestling. 

Chappell: In closing, Baron, anything you’d like to say to all of your Mid-Atlantic fans out there? 

Raschke: [Editors Note: The Baron Is Again In Character Voice Here!] ‘The Baron hopes that some day, things will work out where I can come down and see all of my fans and friends from the Mid-Atlantic area. ‘Until that happens, I look forward to my next opponent…who’ll probably be the toughest one. ‘AND DAT IS ALL DA PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW!!!!!!’ 

Chappell: (laughing) What a perfect way to finish up! Well, Baron, you have been as entertaining tonight as you were during all your great years in the Mid-Atlantic area! Thank you for being so generous with your time this evening…it’s been great talking with you. 

Raschke: Good talking to you, David . You have a good evening, and continued good luck with the web site. And that REALLY is all you need to KNOW! 

PART 1  | PART 2  | PART 3  |  PART 4

Gateway Interview: Baron Von Raschke (Part 3)

PART THREE

Need to get caught up?
Check out Part 1 and Part 2.   

PART THREE

Chappell: After that program with Johnny Weaver, you were pretty much a tag team specialist for most of the rest of your run in the Mid-Atlantic area. Greg Valentine was the first of your really big-time partners. 

Raschke: Right…the Hammer!

Chappell: You all had the famous TV angle in June of 1978 where you put up your TV Title against Paul Jones, in exchange for a shot at the NWA World Tag Team Titles. You lost the TV belt to Jones, but you and Greg won the World Tag Team Belts from Jones and Steamboat! And all this happened on one TV show! 

Raschke: Yes… Greg and I made a real good team. He was a great partner for me. 

Chappell: Describe Greg as a partner, if you would. I spoke with Greg a couple of months ago, and he was very complimentary of you. He said you taught him how to be patient in the ring. 

Raschke: (laughs) I don’t know if I taught Greg too much! He was always a really good performer, and he was just a good hard worker. He was very steady. It was a pleasure for me to be with a partner of his stature. He was great.

Chappell: Greg was very similar to his Dad (Johnny Valentine) in a lot of ways, wasn’t he? 

Raschke: Well, they looked just like each other---picture images. They were both very well built people, and they both worked really, really hard. Fortunately, Greg didn’t have his Dad’s weird sense of humor! (laughs) 

Chappell: (laughs) I don’t think Greg could have ever topped his Dad in that category.

Raschke: (laughing) 

Chappell: Besides Jones and Steamboat, another team I remember you and Greg up against during your title reign was Blackjack Mulligan and Dick Murdock. 

Raschke: The old M & M Boys…they were quite a combination! 

Chappell: Yes, for sure. I told Blackjack I would be talking with you tonight, and he wanted me to be sure and tell you ‘hello’ for him. 

Raschke: Please give him a ‘hello’ back from me! 

Chappell: I definitely will. Well, the title reign of Baron Von Raschke and Greg Valentine came to an end at the tail end of 1978…to newcomers Paul Orndorff and Jimmy Snuka. Tell us about the Orndorff/Snuka tandem. 

Raschke: They were two great athletes. There was nobody like Snuka, as far as flying around. He could climb those ropes, and leap further than anybody I’d ever seen. He was like a kangaroo going across the ring! 

Chappell: (laughing) Snuka was unbelievable with those dives. 

Raschke: And Orndorff had a terrific athletic background. He was a real horse in the ring. They both were very impressive…to the fans and to us. 

Chappell: What was going through your mind when Snuka was preparing to jump across the ring onto YOU? 

Raschke: I got very tense and my eyes got extremely large when I would see Snuka climbing those ropes on the other side of the ring, getting ready to make that big dive! 

Chappell: I can only imagine! And for that time period, Baron, that was an almost unheard of move. 

Raschke: It certainly was. And in the late 70s, Snuka weighed 30-40 pounds more than he would into the early 80s. 

Chappell: And those 30-40 pounds were all muscle! I always thought Snuka and Orndorff got over pretty much on their athleticism. They weren’t much on their interviews but they were new and so athletic, the lack of mic skills didn’t really hurt them all that much. 

Raschke: And, David, they looked good too! 

Chappell: Exactly. 

Raschke: And they really were good. 

Chappell: After you and Greg went your separate ways, you actually teamed up in early 1979 with you former enemy, Paul Jones. 

Raschke: Imagine that! 

Chappell: (laughing) Actually, Baron, it WAS pretty hard to imagine! You two even won the NWA World Tag Team Titles. 

Raschke: That we did. 

Chappell: But I tell you, the thing I remember most about you teaming with Jones was when you two wrestled Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat during the summer of 1979. You and Paul were in large part responsible for Flair really getting over as a babyface for the first time. 

Raschke: Oh yeah…that was a great series! I think that’s when we sold out your hometown.

Chappell: You’re absolutely right! For the first match of that series, I don’t think the Richmond Coliseum was ever packed with more people…or had more people turned away at the door. 

Raschke: I believe we sold [ Richmond] out several times. We kept selling that match out. That was a great run with Paul and myself against Flair and Steamboat. 

Chappell: Tell us about the dynamics of the Raschke/Jones team. In a lot of ways you all seemed to be total opposites, but boy did that team ever work! 

Raschke: You know, Paul and I had the same phenomenon like I was mentioning before…it was a lot like Mad Dog Vachon and Baron Von Raschke. Paul was a little shorter than I was…I was the tall one of the team. I’m not the best looking guy. It was automatic heat. 

Chappell: In that time frame, I remember Paul briefly putting a blonde wig on you and saying that the only thing people could call you then was ‘handsome!’ I also recall Paul saying with that blonde wig on, you got ALMOST as many girlfriends as Paul did! (laughs) 

Raschke: All that wig did was make matters worse! (everybody laughs) 

Chappell: How did Paul rank as a tag team partner? 

Raschke: Very high. Paul and I really clicked…it was just great. Paul and I also had a great time traveling together. 

Chappell: You and Paul rode the Mid-Atlantic highways together? 

Raschke: Yes…usually by ourselves. Paul had been around the territory a long while, so he knew his way around very well. 

Chappell: Before we leave the subject of you and Paul against Flair and Steamboat, I’m curious about one thing… 

Raschke: You’re a very curious fellow… 

Chappell: I’m not quite sure how to take that Baron! (everybody laughs) At any rate, was there any thought of putting the World Tag Team Belts on Flair and Steamboat? They were so hot as a team for that brief period of time. 

Raschke: I really don’t have any idea about that. Belts were really never that important to me.

Chappell: There seems to be a split of opinion with your colleagues as to whether holding a title was all that significant. From the wrestlers I’ve talked with, there appears to be about an even split of opinion on that subject. 

Raschke: Belts were something to talk about; they gave the fans something to talk about. But I could work in the ring whether I had [a belt] or not. 

Chappell: It was funny, they never put the belts on Flair and Steamboat, but later that summer in 1979, they put the Titles on Flair and Blackjack Mulligan. I come back from summer vacation that year, and you and Paul had lost them and already won them back! 

Raschke: David …you HAVE to pay attention to these things! 

Chappell: I know…always keeping the people guessing. Can’t ever miss an episode! 

Raschke: There you go! (everybody laughs) 

Chappell: Your final major tag team program in the area was a very memorable one, in the fall of 1979. You and Paul battled the new duo of Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood. Steamboat and Youngblood would become one of the Mid-Atlantic area’s top teams for four more years. 

Raschke: They were another young upcoming team. We had some really good, really serious, matches with them. 

Chappell: At that time, Jay Youngblood had never gotten a serious push. Even teaming with Ricky, there had to be some concern about him getting over. And the program as a whole getting over. 

Raschke: You see what happened there, was they teamed up Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood…a couple of guys that were kind of so-so looking. Then, you have Paul Jones and myself…two very attractive and handsome men… 

Chappell: Huh? 

Raschke: All the young girls were just going crazy over Paul and I. When the girls would come to see Paul and myself, of course, they saw Youngblood and Steamboat too. So there were a few, a small number, that started liking Jay Youngblood and Ricky Steamboat. Can you imagine that? 

Chappell: Baron, I’m having a hard time imagining any of this! (laughs) 

Raschke: It boggles the mind, doesn’t it? 

Chappell: You might say so! But all of this sounds a little backwards to me… 

Raschke: The passage of time can twist things sometimes, you know? Anyway, some of our young attractive fans … Paul Jones’ and Baron Von Raschke’s attractive fans ... had the gall to go over to Ricky Steamboat, who looked so-so, and to Jay Youngblood, who looked so-so. So, Steamboat and Youngblood got a few more fans. 

Chappell: (laughing) And a tag team rivalry for the ages was born! You know, when I interviewed Paul Jones he insisted to me that Ricky Steamboat turned on him in 1978, about a year before all of this happened. I’m starting to understand now why you and Paul got along so well! (laughs) 

Raschke: (laughing) 

Chappell: At the risk of dredging up some painful memories for you, do you remember when Steamboat and Youngblood painted the yellow streak down your back on TV… 

Raschke: HEY!!! 

Chappell: (laughing) I’ll take that as a ‘yes.’ 

Raschke: How come you had to remember THAT? 

Chappell: You have to admit, that angle is pretty hard to forget! Here’s your chance, all these years later, to explain that to all of us fans! 

Raschke: Well, it was a terrible, terrible thing that they did. Young punks…and their screaming, hollering fans---yelling and screaming and enjoying something like that. 

Chappell: (laughing) Sounds like your memory might be improving, Baron! I remember on the TV interview right after it happened, Paul said he couldn’t get the paint off of him. When I interviewed Paul in Charlotte about a year ago, I should have asked him if he had any remnants of that yellow paint still on his back! 

Raschke: That wasn’t easy to wash off…we’d probably still have to check his back! (everybody laughs) Yeah…that was quite a deal! 

Chappell: Without having you and Jones to start off with, do you think Steamboat and Youngblood would have become the superstar team they eventually became? 

Raschke: They were good talents…they would have eventually gotten there anyway. 

Chappell: Well, Baron, nothing lasts forever…and neither did your partnership with Paul Jones. You two had a falling out in early 1980, and had some heated matches against each other. And you were actually cheered in those matches! 

Raschke: (laughs) Yes…I was.

Chappell: I’m not quite sure why, but I cheered for you then also! 

Raschke: To know me…is to love me! (everybody laughs) 

Chappell: How could such a great team have had it all end like that? 

Raschke: You want to know why? 

Chappell: Yes, I would. 

Raschke: That Paul Jones was a sneaky coward…he was manipulative. You know, he would give me a medal every time something would happen…and I would go for it. Then I found out that he was just using me… 

Chappell: Using you? 

Raschke: He kept using my nice personality, and my good looks… 

Chappell: (laughs) A man can only take so much of that abuse! 

Raschke: But, yeah, Paul and I had some terrific cage matches. And then I was off to a different territory. 

Chappell: Was it difficult facing Paul again as an opponent, after the great run together as World Tag Team Champions? 

Raschke: I look back on that, David , and it’s all good memories. I enjoyed what I was doing, and Paul enjoyed what he was doing. We went our separate ways there for a while, but we got back and saw each other in Las Vegas recently, and it was a great feeling on both sides, I think. 

Chappell: That’s terrific…had you seen Paul anytime recently before the Cauliflower Alley Club event? 

Raschke: No, not since the time I came back to Charlotte in the mid 80s and wrestled for a while there then. I’m not a real good person about calling and writing people, so seeing people in Las Vegas was really great. 

Chappell: When you left the Mid-Atlantic area in early 1980 after the matches against Paul, you went to Georgia and the AWA and some other areas. But in the fall of 1983, you briefly came back to the Carolinas with Gary Hart as your manager…attempting to unmask Charlie Brown. Why was that stint back in the Mid-Atlantic area so short? 

Raschke: Then, my daughter had started into college and my son was in high school…so we didn’t want to move. At that time, my family wasn’t with me and I got to be a very, very lonely guy---and I didn’t like that. So, I needed to get back to where my family was. That’s why I didn’t stay in Charlotte any longer than I did.

CONTINUED IN PART FOUR

Gateway Interview: Baron Von Raschke (Part 2)

PART TWO

Miss something? Get caught up with PART ONE

PART TWO

David Chappell: Who were the guys that were most influential to you when you first broke in? 

Baron Von Raschke: After three or four months of setting up the ring, I was refereeing and Mad Dog Vachon noticed me. Mad Dog was getting ready to leave the AWA for a while, and go up to Quebec , Canada …the Montreal area. He wanted a partner, and took a liking to me. Mad Dog was on the Canadian Olympic team…two Olympics before I was almost on the U.S. team. So, he had a natural inclination to take me under his wing…and he did. 

Chappell: Did Mad Dog help you develop the ‘Baron’ persona? 

Raschke: [Editor’s Note: The Baron Is In Character Voice Here!] Mad Dog said to me, ‘YOU WOULD MAKE A VERY GOOD GERMAN!’

Chappell: (laughing)

Raschke: I told him, ‘I AM A GERMAN! MY PARENTS MADE ME A GERMAN!’ (everybody laughs)
He said, ‘WELL…COME TO CANADA WITH ME AND BE MY NEW PARTNER!’ So, I took my new bride, the lovely Bonnie, and we got in our little Mustang with the trailer on the back and headed for adventures unknown. 

Chappell: What made Mad Dog see the ‘Baron’ from Jim Raschke? 

Raschke: I think I looked the part to him, so I just went with it. It turned out that ‘Baron Von Raschke’ was always there, even though he was inside me…he was my alter ego. 

Chappell: Wasn’t Mad Dog injured in a car wreck fairly soon after you all started teaming up? 

Raschke: Yeah, I went up to Montreal and teamed with him. For people that don’t know Mad Dog, he wasn’t a tall man…he was quite a bit shorter than I am. And, he probably isn’t the best looking man now, but he was quite handsome then. And I was this big and tall bald guy…and for some reason the crowd automatically didn’t like us from the get-go. He would play up to that, and I’d follow suit. Pretty soon, the crowds didn’t like us at all…but we were filling up all the arenas! 

Chappell: I recently interviewed Ivan Koloff, and he was up there in Montreal about this same time. Weren’t the Rougeaus the big fan favorites up there then? 

Raschke: Actually, [Ivan] was the next guy they had in after I left. The territory popped with the Mad Dog and I. Regarding the accident…for some reason I was in another town in a different area that day. Mad Dog was coming back from Chicoutimi …which is way up north---about 350 miles north of Montreal . As you can imagine, it’s very icy there in the winter, and the car slipped off the road and went into the ditch. Anyway, it wound up that Mad Dog separated his pelvis… 

Chappell: I guess he was fortunate that the accident wasn’t any worse? 

Raschke: They had midget wrestlers on that same card, and the midgets found the wreck and were able to help. Mad Dog didn’t know if they were angels or devils, but there they were! 

Chappell: He was no doubt glad to see them, whoever they were! 

Raschke: (laughs) Yeah…they were able to get him to the hospital. Mad Dog was out of business for several months. In the meantime, Hans Schmidt was in the area, so we teamed up and were just as hot as Mad Dog and I were. 

Chappell: Ivan told me he teamed with Hans Schmidt up there too, and it got pretty wild! 

Raschke: It was pretty intense. We had riots all the time. We’d leave the ring, and often times the fans would fill the ring with chairs… 

Chappell: That’s what Ivan told me! But I figured it was probably a one night only incident… 

Raschke: [Editor’s Note: The Baron Is Again In Character Voice Here!] ‘IT WAS NIGHT AFTER NIGHT AFTER NIGHT!!! THEY WERE HANGING FROM THE RAFTERS…AND I DON’T MEAN THAT AS AN IDIOM…THEY WERE ACTUALLY SITTING ON THE BEAMS GOING ACROSS THE TOP OF THE BUILDING!!!!’

Chappell: (laughing hard) Man, that was unbelievable up there! 

Raschke: We had to take care of ourselves! 

Chappell: Everyone from the Mid-Atlantic area remembers your devastating ‘Brain Claw’ hold. Did you develop the Claw hold during these early years? 

Raschke: Yes. I was wrestling against Pat O’Connor in St. Louis , and we had a talk after the match. He suggested that I use the Claw, and I told him I didn’t even know what it was! I hadn’t seen it up to that point. I was only in St. Louis for that one night. I was working in Detroit for Eddie Farhat then…this was shortly after I was in Montreal. 

Chappell: So, you were just in St. Louis at that point for a single shot? 

Raschke: They had a call in for a guy to go in and work against O’Connor…so they flew me into St. Louis from Detroit . We were in the old Kiel Auditorium. 

Chappell: A great venue. 

Raschke: Yes…and O’Connor and I had a pretty decent match. He kind of liked me, and took me under his wing and asked me about the Claw. But then I sort of forgot about [the Claw] for a while, because I was doing other things. 

Chappell: So you didn’t start using the Claw immediately? 

Raschke: No, actually, because after I left the Detroit territory I went down and wrestled for Fritz Von Erich… 

Chappell: You probably weren’t allowed to use the Claw in Fritz’s territory! (laughs) 

Raschke: Well, I still didn’t really know what the Claw was all about…even then. So I didn’t look to use it there, particularly down there! I had my own things I could use. 

Chappell: Did the Claw come naturally for you? I remember when you first came into the Mid-Atlantic area, they had you crush an apple with the hand you used for the Claw. You must have had terrific hand strength. 

Raschke: Well, you go with what you got. I had some abilities that maybe some other people didn’t have…and some other people certainly have abilities that I don’t have. But, I suppose I had a fairly good grip at that time. But, yeah, the Claw seemed to be a natural fit for me. 

Chappell: And when you had an opponent in the Claw, your facial expressions were priceless! I think those put the move over as much as anything.

Raschke: Well, David , I did the best I could. Speaking of my face, I get asked for autographs all the time---people think I’m Ben Affleck… 

Chappell: (laughs) Oh really? 

Raschke: Oh yeah…all the time! 

Chappell: Well, I want a current picture of you that we can put up on the site. We’ll create a ‘ Hollywood ’ section, and put you right in there! 

Raschke: There you go…is it Ben or is it Memorex? (everybody laughs) 

Chappell: But back to the Claw…I guess it was a combination of things that got that maneuver over so well. But that maniacal and diabolical look of yours was a big part of it for me! But, I digress…. 

Raschke: Well, yes, you do…(everybody laughs) But, it was a good hold for me…it worked well for me. 

Chappell: Where did you head after your stint in Texas with Fritz Von Erich? 

Raschke: I went to Indiana with (Dick The) Bruiser’s group. That’s where I started using the Claw. And I used it a different way than Fritz Von Erich did. 

Chappell: What was the distinction? 

Raschke: Well, [Von Erich] would throw it on very, very quickly without doing much to set it up. Basically, I would have to work to set it up…and then when the time was right, I would put it on. That made a lot of difference. 

Chappell: Oh…no doubt. Now, you had a good long run in Bruiser’s territory in the early 70s. Is it fair to say that was when Baron Von Raschke really took off? 

Raschke: Yes…there was a lot of great talent around that area. 

Chappell: Didn’t they put the WWA World belt on you pretty quickly there, and then you and Bruiser battled back and forth over it for a number of years? 

Raschke: Yeah…that’s what happened. 

Chappell: And I believe late in your run there, you and Ernie Ladd were the Tag Team Champions? 

Raschke: Yep…we had some of the best in the business in there then. 

Chappell: We’re into the mid 70s now, Baron. Where did you campaign before you ended up in the Mid-Atlantic area in the summer of 1977? 

Raschke: I went back to the AWA…I spent about two and a half years with Verne and Wally Karbo. Then I got a call from Vince McMahon, and I went up to New York for several months. Then, I went to Crockett. 

Chappell: You were working in the WWWF right before you entered the Mid-Atlantic area? 

Raschke: Yes, that’s right. 

Chappell: Well, we have you up to July of 1977. Tell us about how you came to enter the Mid-Atlantic area. 

Raschke: It came about in a kind of roundabout way. A bunch of people from Japan were going through the U.S. The top guy over there was Giant Baba… 

Chappell: Right… 

Raschke: Big, tall guy…about seven feet tall. Anyway, he needed an opponent in Greensboro . It was kind of the same story as with me and Pat O’Connor back a number of years before.

Chappell: Yep…I know exactly the Greensboro card you’re referring to---I collect event posters. It was March 20, 1977 . I always thought it was odd you were on that card, because you didn’t start in the Mid-Atlantic area for four more months. You were wrestling Baba for the ‘Pacific Wrestling Title!’ I seriously doubt that Title was defended much in the Mid-Atlantic area! (laughs)  

Raschke: (laughs) Yeah…and I had never met the Crocketts and hardly knew (the booker) George Scott. Anyway, I went there and worked with Giant Baba…because the Mid-Atlantic didn’t want to sacrifice one of their own guys at that juncture. 

Chappell: That’s a pretty tough assignment, for your first appearance in the territory! 

Raschke: He wasn’t the easiest guy to work with…but I wrestled him. And it went over really, really good. Next thing you know, I was booked to work in the Mid-Atlantic area full time. You said the Baba match was in March, so I started for Crockett in July. 

Chappell: Interesting! So as I understand it, your match with Baba in Greensboro impressed the ‘powers that be’ and they took notice of you, and wanted you to come into the Mid-Atlantic area full time?

 Raschke: Right…I think that’s how it worked out. 

Chappell: When you came in initially, you surely dealt with George Scott a lot in his capacity as the area’s booker. What did you think of George? 

Raschke: He was all business, but I liked him. 

Chappell: I remember that when you first came in, George put you over fast. You were annihilating everybody with your Brain Claw! I also remember the TV announcers mentioning that you were one of a very few guys to have beaten Bruno Sammartino, which was very unusual for our announcers to say something like that. So you were clearly a big deal! 

Raschke: I don’t know what they were thinking there, David . I just tried to come in and do what I did best. 

Chappell: Overall, what were your initial impressions of the Crockett territory? 

Raschke: I had never really been to the South before, and I fell in love with the area.

Chappell: Really? 

Raschke: It was beautiful country. I lived in Charlotte, and that was a great place to live. Unfortunately, the business kept us on the road seven days a week…almost every day of the year. I’m glad I had a good strong family that stood behind me, because the schedule didn’t allow you much time to be at home. And when you were home, you were tired! 

Chappell: Baron, you certainly have hit on something that everybody from that time frame echoes…working for George Scott back then was VERY hard work! 

Raschke: Oh yeah! Work and travel was horrendous. 

Chappell: Was it worse in the Mid-Atlantic area than any other place you had been…or would go to in the future? 

Raschke: It was as bad as any place I’ve been. Actually, it was worse driving winter roads for a couple of weeks in northern Manitoba, Canada. Those are roads that nobody can take except for in the winter when it freezes up…because part of them are lakes! That was the only time they could get supplies to the villages overland. 

Chappell: Gee…the travel had to be unbelievably dangerous way up in northern Canada. At least you didn’t have to deal with that REALLY frigid weather down here!

Raschke: You’ve never driven in an ice storm, huh? 

Chappell: Nothing like you have, I’m sure! Everybody down here goes berserk at the sight of the first snowflake! You know…you’ve been down here. 

Raschke: You have to be careful wherever you drive. 

Chappell: Absolutely. Well, when you came into the Mid-Atlantic area, your first real significant match was against the youngster, Ricky Steamboat. Steamboat was getting pushed to the hilt then, and you were really the first guy to beat him in a meaningful match. You took the Mid-Atlantic TV Title from him in October of 1977. 

Raschke: Ricky was a great performer… 

Chappell: As a veteran coming in, I’m curious of what you thought about a young guy like Steamboat getting such a major push?

Raschke: I was tremendously impressed with Ricky Steamboat. He had a knack for the business…he picked it up right away. He was a young man that was going to go far---and he did. You know, he gave 100% in the ring…which is what I liked. That’s how you got a match over. He was a very, very good wrestler and colleague. 

Chappell: The first long running program you had in Crockett was against ‘Mr. Wrestling’ Tim Woods. This was set up by an amateur rules wrestling match that you all had on TV. That was a terrific angle…even though you lost the amateur rules match by a couple of points! (laughs) 

Raschke: I did? You sure about that? (laughs) 

Chappell: (laughing) I’m thinking you did…but it was nip and tuck all the way! Regardless of the outcome, I thought it was a great concept…something very different. 

Raschke: It was a wrinkle that George Scott thought up. He thought it would be interesting to the fans…a different kind of wrestling. I guess the midgets weren’t available that day! (everybody laughs) 

Chappell: So George thought that angle up? I would have thought with the amateur wrestling backgrounds of both you and Tim, that you all would have come up with that idea. 

Raschke: I think both Tim and I realized at that time that amateur wrestling was way too hard…to go through all the training and stuff. We were in our pro groove then! (pauses) You know, actually, maybe Tim suggested it. I don’t really remember… 

Chappell: But you know YOU didn’t suggest it! (laughs) 

Raschke: That’s right…I know I didn’t! Tim probably had something to do with it, though. 

Chappell: After you attacked Mr. Wrestling with the ring bell after that amateur rules match, you all had a strong program that lasted through 1977. Tell us about Tim Woods. 

Raschke: I learned to love the guy. He was just a great competitor, and a great guy. He was a very, very smart man. We always used to have real good matches…we had a real good rapport in the ring. I can’t say enough good things about him---I’m sorry he’s gone. 

Chappell: You held onto your Mid-Atlantic TV Title throughout that feud, and then early in 1978 the Mid-Atlantic TV Title became the NWA TV Title. The promotion said you went out and won a tournament to become the new NWA Television Champion. Funny thing, there were never any highlights shown of that tournament! Care to comment on that big tournament? (laughs) 

Raschke: I don’t remember that tournament! (laughs) 

Chappell: Actually, I’d be pretty worried if you did remember it Baron! (everybody laughs) This was the time frame that they put you together for a while with Johnny Weaver, and you all traded the TV Title. And as part of that, you all had the great TV angle with the Challenge Match of the Claw hold versus the Sleeper hold. How did that angle come about? 

Raschke: I don’t really recall all the details of how that came about. Sometimes, I have trouble remembering yesterday! But we used to have a meeting at the Office, and it might have been something we suggested there. John was a terrific performer, and I think we had really, really good matches. But that [angle] was a good one. It was something that kind of built off of a thing I used to do with Pat O’Connor in St. Louis…he had the Sleeper hold out there.

Chappell: There have certainly been some good Hold versus Hold angles over the years in wrestling, and this was definitely one of the best!

Raschke: You’re right…the Hold versus Hold is kind of a natural thing in wrestling.

Chappell: John actually won the Hold versus Hold contest, which was a little surprising…

Raschke: [Editor’s Note: The Baron Is Again In Character Voice Here!] ‘HE CHEATED…DON’T EVER FORGET IT!’

Chappell: (laughing) Yeah…I seem to remember you complaining that the Sleeper was actually a choke-hold!

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART THREE

Gateway Interview: Baron Von Raschke (Part 1)

The following is an interview conducted back 2004 with the great Baron Von Raschke. Of course a lot has happened in the past 18 years that won't be reflected here, including the 2021 documentary "The Claw", but this interview stands the test of time because of the subject matter it does cover. For us, that means always looking back fondly. It is presented here in four parts, just as it was on the old Mid-Atlantic Gateway 18 years ago. - D. Bourne

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INTRODUCTION BY DAVID CHAPPELL  

When Baron Von Raschke entered the Mid-Atlantic area during the summer of 1977, his national reputation clearly preceded him. Most Mid-Atlantic fans had already seen the Baron’s picture plastered all over the national wrestling magazines. But one still had to wonder, when he actually arrived in Charlotte , would the Baron be as good as advertised? It didn’t take long for that question to be answered with a resounding…YES!

Tearing through his early opponents in 1977 with his feared ‘Brain Claw’ hold, the Baron quickly established himself as a major star to be reckoned with in Jim Crockett Promotions. That star would shine brightly straight through into 1980. Even after leaving the Mid-Atlantic area, the Baron came back to Charlotte for two shorter visits years later. But even when he left the area, no Mid-Atlantic fan could forget Baron Von Raschke.

In this interview, the Baron talks about his early amateur wrestling days, including an unfortunate injury that kept him out of the 1964 Olympics. He takes us through his early professional wrestling transformation from Jim Raschke to the infamous Baron Von Raschke. And we’ll find out the origins of his Claw hold, and some of the wrestling areas he competed in before he finally landed in Charlotte. 

The Baron talks at length about all of his major angles, feuds and championship reigns while in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. He chats about many of the personalities we remember so fondly from the Mid-Atlantic days, including Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Paul Jones, Greg Valentine, Tim Woods, Johnny Weaver, Blackjack Mulligan, Wahoo McDaniel, Jim my Snuka and others.

And speaking of personalities, stay alert at all times during this interview, as the Baron will jump into character at a moments notice. You have been warned!

Special thanks to the Baron’s son, Karl Raschke, for all of his assistance and help with this interview.

And thanks most of all to Baron Von Raschke for being so generous with his time, and allowing the Mid-Atlantic Gateway to do a bit of reminiscing with him. Through the Gateway, it was great having the Baron back in the Mid-Atlantic area, even if it was only for about 90 minutes on the telephone!

Baron…you are a true wrestling legend in the Carolinas, and you will always be fondly remembered by all the fans in the Mid-Atlantic area. And as someone might have once said, "That is all you need to know!"

- David Chappell, 2004 

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INTERVIEW- PART ONE  

David Chappell: Baron, thank you for speaking with the Mid-Atlantic Gateway this evening. It’s great to talk with you. 

Baron Von Raschke: Okay, David . I’m glad to talk with you. 

Chappell: First off, congratulations on your recently being honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club. Your former Mid-Atlantic partner Paul Jones was honored at the same time, I understand. 

Raschke: Well, thank you very much. Yeah…Paul was out there, and a lot of my good old friends. 

Chappell: How was it out there in Las Vegas for the CAC event? 

Raschke: It was nice to get together with a lot of guys that I hadn’t seen for a long, long time…catching up on the news of different people around the country. There were also a lot of great fans out there…and people I had never met in the business. It was great! 

Chappell: What was it like seeing your old partner Paul Jones again? 

Raschke: [Paul] really enjoyed being out there this year, and I understand he went out there last year for the first time and really had a good time then. This year, he was honored also…and his brothers and his son were there. So, it was really very nice. 

Chappell: That’s great….and particularly nice that both of you were honored in the same year! Well, leaving the present and heading back in time for a bit…despite the ‘Baron From Germany’ wrestling persona that so many people know you from, you actually grew up in Nebraska , I believe? 

Raschke: I was raised in Nebraska …yes. 

Chappell: You were an outstanding wrestler in Nebraska from an early age, weren’t you? 

Raschke: I was high school state champion in wrestling my senior year. Also, during my junior year, we won the state high school championship in football. From there, I went to the University of Nebraska …I went there originally on an academic scholarship. I walked on, and later got a football scholarship.

Chappell: How long did you play college football for the Cornhuskers? 

Raschke: I played football for my first three years. 

Chappell: Great football fans at Nebraska … 

Raschke: Oh yeah…great fans! They follow them everywhere. Lincoln probably doubles in size on football Saturdays! 

Chappell: I didn’t realize you had such a football background at the University of Nebraska ! I have to ask you about (former Oakland Raider coach) Bill Callahan, your new coach out there? 

Raschke: (laughing) I don’t know him…I’ve just read a little bit about him in the paper. That’s Big 12 country now, and I live in Minnesota now which is Big 10 country…we don’t get too much Big 12 coverage here. It’s kind of like being on the west coast and not hearing much about [ACC] basketball…but you still know it’s the best! 

Chappell: (laughing) That’s right! Now…you continued to wrestle when you attended the University of Nebraska , didn’t you? 

Raschke: Yes, I continued my amateur wrestling there. Luckily for me, they hired a wrestling coach named Bill Smith before I got there, who was an Olympic Champion. He taught me a lot of good stuff about amateur wrestling. I had some good years there. 

Chappell: Didn’t you win a wrestling Championship in college as well? 

Raschke: Right, I placed second in the Big 8 (Conference) my sophomore year…freshmen weren’t eligible. I was in it my junior year, and won it my senior year in 1962. 

Chappell: And, your wrestling accomplishments continued to build after you graduated from Nebraska. 

Raschke: Yeah, after college I was drafted into the Army. After boot camp, they heard about my wrestling and talked to me and sent me to Brooklyn , New York …so I was able to continue my amateur career and represented the Army for two years. In between, by the way, I did make the U.S. team in the World Games and won a Bronze Medal in Greco-Roman wrestling. The World games were held in Sweden then…this was 1963. I was the second American to ever place in the World Games in Greco-Roman.

Chappell: Impressive! You also collected some accolades when you wrestled in the Army, didn’t you? 

Raschke: I won Gold Medals in the Army Wrestling Championships…these were in 1964 and 1965. In ‘64, I also won AAU National Championships in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman. 

Chappell: 1964 was also an Olympic year. I understand that you made the 1964 U.S. Olympic wrestling team, but through some incredibly bad luck you were not able to travel to Tokyo and participate. Please tell us what happened. 

Raschke: I made the Olympic team, but I got injured at the training camp in Annapolis …at the Academy. I got a hyper-extended elbow two days before the plane was to leave for Tokyo …so, I didn’t get to go. 

Chappell: Wow…I guess ‘disappointment’ doesn’t even begin to describe what you felt at that point? 

Raschke: To say the least. You remember the old show on ABC called the Wide World Of Sports? 

Chappell: Yes…definitely. 

Raschke: ‘The thrill of victory, and the agony of de-feat.’ My ‘feet’ hurt real bad! (everybody laughs) It was a bit of bad luck…but that’s life. I’m over it now! (laughs) 

Chappell: (laughing) Well, that’s good to hear! As they say, time heals all wounds. How did you rebound from that setback with the Olympics? 

Raschke: Actually, while I was in the Army I was working out and messing around with a smaller guy, about a 145 pounder, and I got my leg stuck in the mat the wrong way and it popped. So, I had to go in for knee surgery… 

Chappell: Baron, you really did have a run of bad luck in the mid 60s! 

Raschke: I was in the Naval Hospital in Queens , New York . I was in the Army, and they put me in a Naval Hospital ! 

Chappell: (laughing) 

Raschke: Anyway, a guy off of an atomic submarine was in [the hospital] with me…his name was John Cunningham. He was about my age, and John had the same operation on the same morning I had mine. So, being next to each other in the hospital, we got to be pretty good friends because we were going through a similar experience. 

Chappell: That’s understandable. 

Raschke: At that time, I wasn’t a wresting fan…a pro wrestling fan---but John was. So, every weekend he would drag me down to the TV room to watch wrestling…from Madison Square Garden or wherever it was from. 

Chappell: What were your first impressions of professional wrestling? 

Raschke: I said, ‘Gee, that might be something I’d be able to do.’ 

Chappell: Despite being a great amateur wrestler, professional wrestling didn’t mean anything to you until John got you to start watching it on television? 

Raschke: No, I wasn’t interested in [pro wrestling] at all before that. 

Chappell: Being such an outstanding amateur wrestler, did you look down on the professional side at that time? 

Raschke: I basically had no opinion about it then… 

Chappell: But obviously, you eventually took a liking to the professional side of wrestling.

Raschke: Yeah…John got me to watching it on TV, and before too long I wrote to the promoter in Omaha, Joe Dusek. I sent him a list of my credentials, and he wrote a nice letter back to me.

Chappell: What did Joe tell you? 

Raschke: He said he didn’t have the facilities to train anybody, but told me to come and see him later on after I got out of the Army, and he would introduce me to Verne Gagne. Meanwhile, I got my first teaching job. When I first got out of the Army, I decided I was going to teach school…and I did for about a year after I got out of the Army. 

Chappell: What did you teach, Baron? 

Raschke: Biology and general Science. That was the only year I taught full time. I taught fifteen or so years as a substitute (teacher)…not wanting to be tied down with it. But after the year of teaching, I thought I would see what I could do about trying professional wrestling. 

Chappell: Did you get back up with Joe Dusek then? 

Raschke: Yes…I contacted Joe Dusek again. They used to have a live television taping in a studio in Omaha…Verne Gagne came down from Minnesota, and Joe introduced us then.

Chappell: Did Verne show immediate interest in you? 

Raschke: Verne told me if I wanted to come up (to Minnesota ), he’d train me. So…right away I jumped in my brother’s car and drove up there. I got a hotel room, and contacted the Office. They let me sit there for six or seven days! 

Chappell: (laughing) 

Raschke: Finally, I got Verne cornered enough to where he started to train me. And, after a couple of months of training, I got to get with guys like Wilbur Snyder. Verne had a ring set up at a farm where we would train. After a few months of that, they gave me the job of hauling the ring around and setting it up in the different towns and for TV. And they also had me refereeing some of the matches then. So, that was sort of my introduction to the business.

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART TWO

The Cane That Wouldn't Break: Greg Valentine Shatters Ric Flair's Face (1980)

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

"I was looking at that cane and I could tell that cane was gonna be brutal to break over a darn cement block, let alone somebody’s head."
   - Greg Valentine

On a recent episode of Ric Flair's podcast Woooo Nation: Uncensored, a listener sent in a question asking about the time Gene Anderson hit Ric Flair with his cane, legitimately breaking Flair's nose. It's one of the most infamous and talked about angles in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling history during that era.

Except it wasn't Gene Anderson that hit him. And the cane didn't break. And that was part of the problem.

To be fair, it was Gene Anderson's cane, and it happened back in 1980, almost 42 years ago this summer, so it's easy to understand how the details of the thing can getting a little foggy over time.

It was actually Greg Valentine who tried to break Anderson's cane over Ric's head following a tag team match between Flair and Valentine against Jimmy Snuka and the Iron Sheik, who were managed at the time by the then cane-wielding Gene Anderson. Valentine failed miserably at the task, although it wasn't really his fault. However, Ric paid the price for it with a legitimately broken nose and 30-plus stitches in his head, face, and lips.  

Ric Flair battles Greg Valentine during their bloody feud of 1980.

Sadly, as memorable as you might think something like that would be to someone, Ric didn't seem to remember the details either, except that it hurt like hell. 

One guy who did remember every detail of it was Greg "The Hammer" Valentine who perpetrated the deed. David Chappell and I asked him about it back in March of 2004, just prior to his induction to the WWE Hall of Fame at Wrestlemania 20. We had the opportunity to interview him at a legends show in Lenoir, NC, promoted by Tony Hunter.

Rather than have me tell you the story of that angle, let's let Greg tell you himself, in this edited excerpt from our Gateway Interview in 2004 with The Hammer himself:

Chappell (to Greg Valentine): When you first came back from New York at the end of 1979, you asked Ric to be your partner again, and he wouldn’t do it, right?

 

Valentine: Flair turned his back on me. (laughs) When I came back fr
om New York, Ric was on the other side. He was a babyface, and he wouldn’t tag with a villain like me. (laughs)

 

Chappell: Then for a while right after that, you went back to tag team wrestling?

 

Valentine: Yeah, that’s right. Ray Stevens and I held the (World) Titles at that time.

 

Bourne: But soon after that, you went after Flair again. And you broke his nose in that feud in 1980. Now, one of the urban legends in wrestling was that you caught Ric with Gene Anderson’s cane and legitimately broke his nose with that cane. Is that true?

 

Valentine: Yeah…it’s true. You know, we were sitting back in the dressing rooms getting ready for that match. Of course, Ric was on the other side of the building. We didn’t have dressing rooms together…heels were on one side and babyfaces were on the other. George Scott came in and told me what they wanted us to do. But I was never supposed to break Flair’s nose…I was supposed to break the cane!

 

Chappell: But didn’t that whole thing have its roots from an incident on TV, where you came out and told Ric that you’d seen the light, and that you now wanted to tag back up with him? Wrestle as a fan favorite tag team, in other words?

 

Valentine: (laughing) Can you believe he trusted me?! This was against…I think it was Snuka and the Iron Sheik, right? And Gene Anderson was managing Snuka and the Sheik at that time.  So I short-armed Ric and wouldn’t tag him. The place was sold out---I thought there was going to be a riot when I refused to tag him. Ric is already bleeding, and he keeps crawling on his knees trying to tag me in…and I’m walking away from him.

 

Chappell: You were heartless! (everybody laughs)

 

Valentine: I know it! (laughs) But as I was saying before, they told me back in the dressing room, ‘We want you to hit Flair over the head with Gene Anderson’s cane and make sure you break the cane over his head.’

 

Chappell: That cane was pretty sturdy, wasn’t it?

 

Valentine: Hey, I was looking at that cane and I could tell that cane was gonna be brutal to break over a darn cement block, let alone somebody’s head. (everybody laughs) I didn’t know, but I kept saying, ‘Maybe you better gimmick up the cane a little bit, so I can make sure I can break it.’ Gene said, ‘Naw, you can break it…just hit him.’

 

Chappell: That was easy for Gene to say!

 

Valentine: (laughs) Ric knew I was supposed to break the cane. But later, I found out that the cane was made out of hickory wood. You know, the hardest wood there is! They make baseball bats out of hickory.

 

Bourne: Oh my word!

 

Chappell: Flair’s nose didn’t stand a chance, did it? (everybody laughs)

 

Valentine: At the time I didn’t know it was hickory, but I was thinking it might be something like that.  So I was out there, and the Sheik and Snuka found out that I wouldn’t tag Ric so they worked him over pretty good. After they took the fall on Ric, Gene Anderson threw me the cane and I caught it. Ric’s hanging over there in the corner trying to get away…or acting like he’s trying to get away. Now, Flair has blood all over his face by that point, and I’m thinking if I hit him, the cane is just going to slide down. But…I went for it! (everybody laughs) WHAM! I hit him as hard as I could…and it didn’t break! (everyone laughs)

 

Chappell: What was running through your mind then?

 

Valentine: I’m just looking at that cane. Gene is looking at me from the outside on the floor. Gene yelled at me, "Break it kid, break it!"  So now I really clocked Ric hard with the cane right on top of the cranium. And he’s REALLY trying to get away when he heard Gene say again, ‘BREAK THE CANE, KID!!’ (laughs)  I tried again with a wild stroke and Ric is moving trying to avoid it and I hit him across the top of his nose…the bridge of his nose. It went right down and busted his lips open…his lips were bleeding bad.

 

Chappell: Did you know you had broken his nose then?

 

Valentine: I had no idea I had broken his nose…I didn’t find out until a few hours later that his nose was broken. And I STILL didn’t break the cane! (everyone laughs) But the damage had been done then. I think it was Mulligan that came out and ran us all off. Ric went right to the hospital. He had stitches all over his lips.

 

Chappell: What was Flair’s reaction to what you had done?

 

Valentine: I called Ric up around two o’clock in the morning, and he was already back home. I apologized for it. And he said, ‘Man, don’t worry about it. We’re gonna make lots of money from it.’ (laughs)

 

As our friend George Pantas pointed out to me recently, we all sure were laughing a lot at Ric's expense. You could tell Greg enjoyed remembering that time. And of course they did make lots of money off that very real angle, drawing big houses for the matches across the territory for months to follow. The angle led eventually to Valentine defeating Ric Flair for the United States Heavyweight title later that summer. The cane angle is a notable moment in the title history of the U.S. Championship and another great chapter in the tumultuous "family" relationship between Flair and his cousins the Andersons in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling lore.

You can find video of the whole thing from Mid-Atlantic TV on YouTube if you want to search for it. We won't post the links here because the date on the YouTube footage is wrong and the video quality is atrocious. But worth at least hearing Flair's interview with Bob Caudle and David Crockett in advance of looking at the film because it is one of Ric's greatest dead-serious babyface promos of that era.

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Some links to other features on the Gateway related to this story:

Greg Valentine: The Gateway Interview
(Archive site. The above edited excerpt is from Pg. 3 )

The Ric Flair/Gene Anderson Figure Four/Hair Challenge
The angle that led to Gene Anderson needing to carry a cane.

 

The Tony Schiavone Interview

Back in February of 2017, the Gateway conducted an interview with longtime JCP/NWA/WCW announcer and broadcaster Tony Schiavone.

The multi-part interview covered Tony's time as a Mid-Atlantic Wrestling fan growing up as well as his early career with Jim Crockett Promotions in Charlotte, both in baseball and wrestling.

Check out the entire seven-part interview on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

PARTS 1 - 7 COMPLETE

Tony talks Blackjack Mulligan, Paul Jones, the Andersons, Dick Murdoch, Wahoo McDaniel, Ric Flair, the Hat and Robe, I Broke Wahoo's Leg, road trips to Greensboro, Big Bill Ward, Charlotte O's baseball and Frances Crockett, David Crockett, Bob Caudle, Uncle John, Harrisonburg, VA, Truckin' Tom Miller, Paul Orndorf and Jimmy Snuka, The Baron, Joe Murnick, and the early days of his new podcast with Conrad Thompson. Much, much more about the great days of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.

Complete interview as one post originally posted Sept. 2019. Interview originally published in  Feb. 2017.

The Gateway Interview: Don Kernodle (2009)

 

Back in July of 2009, we had the chance to interview Don Kernodle while getting together with him and his brother Wally (aka Rocky Kernodle) with mutual friends  Peggy Lathan, Wendi Weaver, and others. It was on the eve of that year's Johnny Weaver Cup tournament for CWF Mid-Atlantic based out of Burlington, NC, where Don would be honored on that night. 

David Chappell led the discussion with Don as we both had a blast covering all sorts of topics in an epic 8-part interview that first appeared on the old (rather archaic) Mid-Atlantic Gateway website, and is still archived at that old web address.

You can click the graphic above to go to PART ONE or navigate to the other installments using the list below. It's one of the best interviews we did in those early years of this website, and that was largely due to Don himself, who gave fascinating insights into how he broke into the business and many other topics.

THE GATEWAY INTERVIEW: DON KERNODLE (JULY 2009)

PART ONE  |  PART TWO  |  PART THREE  |  PART FOUR

PART FIVE  |  PART SIX  |  PART SEVEN  |  PART EIGHT

 
We were very sad to learn the news of Don's passing. He was a warm, fun loving guy we enjoyed getting to know over the past 12 years or so, and always looked forward to seeing him and Wally, whether for fried chicken and BBQ at Smithfield's in Mebane or crossing paths with them at the Mid-Atlantic Legends Fanfest events. He always greeted you with that familiar "Hey, ol' buddy!"

Don Kernodle was honored at the 2009 Johnny Weaver Cup
tournament for CWF Mid-Atlantic Wrestling in Burlington, NC.

The interview contains lots of photos taken by Eddie Cheslock (including that one in the header), Peggy Lathan, and some from the private collection of Don's partner Jim Nelson (Boris Zhukov). The two were Mid-Atlantic Tag Team champions back in 1982.  

Don't miss Peggy Lathan's farewell to Don posted earlier on our site:
A Friend Says Goodbye to Don Kernodle

And Mike Mooneyham's most recent column for the Charleston Post & Courier remembering Don is excellent.

And look for a special episode of Mike Sempervive's Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast on the life and times of Don Kernodle with a detailed examination of one of the territory's biggest events ever, "The Final Conflict." Coming soon to midatlanticpod.com.

Three Part Interview with David Crockett on Norfolk's "The Flagship"

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.


Part One
Wrestling legend David Crockett talks Starrcast IV and more

Part Two
Starrcast IV Memories
Interview with Jim Crockett, David Crockett, and Bruce Mitchell

Part Three
Wrestling legend David Crockett, past part-owner of Jim Crockett Promotions tells all.
Continuing conversation with David Crockett

Best of the Gateway: The Tony Schiavone Interview

Back in February of 2017, the Gateway conducted an interview with longtime JCP/NWA/WCW announcer and broadcaster Tony Schiavone.

The multi-part interview covered Tony's time as a Mid-Atlantic Wrestling fan growing up as well as his early career with Jim Crockett Promotions in Charlotte, both in baseball and wrestling.

Check out the entire seven-part interview on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

PARTS 1 - 7 COMPLETE

Tony talks Blackjack Mulligan, Paul Jones, the Andersons, Dick Murdoch, Wahoo McDaniel, Ric Flair, the Hat and Robe, I Broke Wahoo's Leg, road trips to Greensboro, Big Bill Ward, Charlotte O's baseball and Frances Crockett, David Crockett, Bob Caudle, Uncle John, Harrisonburg, VA, Truckin' Tom Miller, Paul Orndorf and Jimmy Snuka, The Baron, Joe Murnick, and the early days of his new podcast with Conrad Thompson. Much, much more about the great days of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.