The Briscos Turn Heel in 1983

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Missing Shows: Mid-Atlantic Wrestling, February 19, 1983

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

The WWE network's line up of Mid-Atlantic shows on their OTT network is sometimes a double-edge sword: while I love having the shows they put up, it hurts when they leave out key episodes in important storylines. 

Mid-Atlantic Wrestling  February 19, 1983

Now it goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that I'd rather have the shows they do put up than not have any of them at all. But one of most frustrating things about the situation is that it seems the missing shows fall out at often the worst time in the Mid-Atlantic historical timeline.

Such is the case with three weeks worth of missing shows in late February and early March of 1983, in the weeks leading up to the huge so-called "Final conflict" show in Greensboro on March 12, 1983 where Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood defeated Sgt. Slaughter and Don Kernodle in a steel cage match to win the NWA World Tag Team titles, and avoided the dissolution of their tag team partnership in the process. 

Likewise, there are two key shows missing in the build-up to the Brisco's famous heel-turn some weeks later in early May.  

Thanks to David Chappell's audio cassette recordings of these shows, we will be able to fill in the blanks in the week to week timeline, and they will be chroniocled here in our "Missing Shows" series. Plus, we've offered the folks over at the Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast the audio clips to include on their episodes covering shows not included on the WWE network. (This was first most successfully done on this special episode of the podcast covering week of 8/14/82.)

In this article below, I'll summarize some the key events that took place on the missing February 19, 1983 show in the lead-up to the "Final Conflict", including the big contract signing for the main event (those were relatively rare in those days) and a rare (and somewhat strange in retrospect) appearance by Ricky Morton in the WPCQ TV studio, shortly before the advent of the Rock and Roll Express.)

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Original broadcast: 02/19/83
(taped 2/16/83 at WPCQ-TV studios in Charlotte)
This program does not appear on the WWE Network.

FILM: Jimmy Valiant pins Terry Funk
Booker Dory Funk, Jr. brings in his brother Terry Funk as a quasi bounty hunter to try and eliminate Jimmy Valiant, who was chasing Dick Slater and the other members of the House of Humperdink. After the commercial break, Humperdink and crew continue to rant and rave about Valiant beating Funk when suddenly Valiant comes out of nowhere to attack Slater and throw him into the ring. Greg Valentine and One Man Gang quickly come to Slater's aid, and Slater and Valentine hold Valiant while the One Man Gang cuts his hair! It's eventually broken up by the surprise appearance of Bugsy McGraw, who has come to his "street brother's" aid. It was such a surprise, in fact, that Bob Caudle had no idea who he was.

Special Segment: The 'Final Conflict' Contract Signing
Recorded earlier in a conference room, NWA official Sandy Scott hosts a contract signing between the NWA World Tag Team Champions Sgt. Slaughter and Don Kernodle and their challengers Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood. The date and location of the climactic title match is announced (Saturday March 12, Greensboro) and the stipulation is announced that the match will take place within the confines of a steel cage. But Sarge and Kernodle have another stipulation to announce if Steamboat and Youngblood want them to sign for the match. If Steamboat and Youngblood don't win, they can never tag as a team again. This causes Steamboat and Youngblood to pause for a moment, but then they resolve their apprehension and the contracts are signed by all parties. 

I'm pretty sure the big cage match in Greensboro was never actually official billed or dubbed as The Final Conflict (unless it happened on local promos), it's just a name that has become associated with the event over the years. 

Special Live Segment: Steamboat & Youngblood bring out Guests
Steamboat and Youngblood celebrate the contract signing by bringing out and thanking two special guests who helped them get to this point.

First was Johnny Weaver, who had helped them train and dvelope negiotiating tactics to finally get this big match signed. 

But more notably, the second guest would be the person who had helped them torment Slaughter and Kernodle behind the scenes over the previous weeks, including the theft of Slaughters' iconic drill-sergeant hat and the engineering of the destruction of Kernodle's expensive sport coat (seen way back on the January 8th episode). It was revealed to be none other than Pvt. Jim Nelson, who had quietly and covertly been helping Steamboat and Youngblood annoy Slaughter and Kernodle.  

Gary Hart Recruits Mike Rotundo
Gary Hart announces he is in the process of recruiting Mike Rotundo to join his stable with Kabuki and the Magic Dragon. Hart does commentary during Rotundo's match with Ricky Harris. Hart is peeved that Rotundo hasn't given him the common courtesy of a reply yet. he says he is sure that he can instill the killer instinct in Rotundo. (I'd just settle for some enthusiasm in Rotundo's interviews!)

Ricky Morton makes his short-lived Mid-Atlantic Debut
One of the most disappointing aspects of this show not being on the WWE Network is not being able to see the exciting debut of young superstar Rick Morton (as he's called at this time) in the Mid-Atlantic area, and in the WPCQ studio. 

Morton's first appearance is on the losing end with partner Frank Monte against the duo of Dory Funk, Jr. and Dick Slater, managed by Paul Jones. Morton shines in this match, to the point that it annoys Jones, who is doing color commentary with Bob Caudle. 

When the tag match is over (originally scheduled to be the last match of the show) Funk and Jones are still so annoyed at Morton that they offer a special challenge match to which Morton quickly agrees. He and Funk go at it in a fast paced match with Paul Jones ranting and raving at ringside with Bob Caudle. Morton gets the majority of the offense in with quick arm-drags, and flying head-scissors and dropkicks. The match is still going on as time runs out in the show and the credits roll.

It certainly appears there were plans to develop Morton into something given the show-closing angle with Funk and Jones. But two weeks later he is in Memphis, teaming in successive weeks with Jim Dalton, Terry Taylor, and finally Robert Gibson. The team of the Rock and Roll Express was apparently born that night. Morton would not return until July of 1985, when he and Robert Gibson defeated the Russians to win the NWA World Tag Team titles on their first night in. And the rest is history. 

Other Notables:

• Jim Nelson represents himself well in his special segment where he is revealed as Slaughter and Kernodle's saboteur, especially given he hasn't had much promo time at that point. It was a nice angle that sets up tag matches to fill time in house show slots in the weeks leading up to 3/12 in Greensboro featuring Weaver and nelson teaming uop to go against Slaughter and Kernodle. Nelson delivers a funny line about while Sarge and Kernodle were out eating steak, they had him getting his supper at the 7-11.
• In Jack Brisco's halftime interview, he mentions Terry Funk being in, and that he and Jerry would love to fight the Funk Brothers. Not sure if the Briscos vs. Funks match took place in the ensuing weeks here or not, but the Funk brothers and the Brisco brothers each challenged Slaughter and Kernodle for the World Tag Team titles in the weeks leading up to the March 12 Final Conflict show.  I would have loved to see those matches.
• During the Funk/Slater tag team match, Paul asks can you imagine if the Funk brothers and the Brisco brother faced each other in a match? Almost as if he had thought of this concept all by himself. It was one of the little things that made Paul hilarious during this early stint as a manager and color commentator.  
  

 

MATCHES: 
Arena Film: Terry Funk vs. Jimmy Valiant
Mike Rotundo vs. Ricky Harris
Dory Funk, Jr. & Dick Slater vs. Frank Monte & Ricky Morton
Dory Funk, Jr. vs. Ricky Morton (as time expires)

SPECIAL FEATURES
Contract Signing: Sandy Scott signs a Cage Match for the NWA World Tag Team Titles
Recogocnition: Steamboat and Youngblood thank Weaver and Nelson

CURRENT CHAMPIONS:
World Heavyweight Champion: Ric Flair
World Tag Team Champions: Sgt. Slaughter and Don Kernodle
United States Champion: Greg Valentine
Mid-Atlantic Champion: Dory Funk, Jr.
Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champions: Vacant
NWA TV Champion: Dick Slater

* * * * * * *

SHOW SUMMARY
In the same general format as the summaries in our TV & Podcast Section.

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Original broadcast: 02/19/83
(taped 2/16/83 at WPCQ-TV studios in Charlotte)
This program does not appear on the WWE Network.

FILM: Jimmy Valiant pins Terry Funk in Charlotte
Interview - Sir Oliver Humperdink, Dick Slater

[Break]

Confrontation: Jimmy Valiant jumps Dick Slater, who is saved by Greg Valentine, One Man Gang. Slater and Valentine hold Boogie while One Man Gang cuts his hair. Valiant is saved by Bugsy McGraw (and Bob has no idea who he is at first.)

[Break]

Local Promos

[Break]

[VCR] Contract signing: Slaughter/Kernodle and Steamboat/Youngblood hosted by Sandy Scott

Interview - Steamboat & Youngblood they bring out Johnny Weaver and Pvt. Jim Nelson

[Break]

Halftime Interviews: Mike Rotundo (TV Champion), Jack Brisco

[Break]

Interview - Gary Hart

Match #1
Mike Rotundo pins Ricky Harris
guest commentary by Gary Hart

[Break]

Local Promos

[Break]

Paul Jones joins Bob Caudle on commentary.

Match #2
Dory Funk, Jr./Dick Slater defeat Frank Monte/Rick Morton 

Interview - Slaughter, Kernodle

Match #3
Special challenge match: Dory Funk, Jr. vs. Rick Morton (Show ends with match in progress.)

Hot August Night in Richmond (Revisited)

by David Chappell, Mid-Atlantic Gateway
from the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archives 2001


INCLUDES RARE VINTAGE AUDIO CLIPS BELOW

August 1, 1980 was a scorching summer’s day in the Richmond area. On that Friday, the temperature soared, and then soared some more. It felt like about a 120 degrees, though the official high was "only" 99 degrees in Richmond and 104 degrees in nearby Norfolk.

Being a Friday, of course, Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling was in town that evening. Typically, Jim Crockett Promotions would bring in a sizzling card of wrestling action to match the hot weather outside. Such was the case on this night, though in a somewhat different fashion. This card at the Richmond Coliseum, while in no measure one of Jim Crockett’s best, gave me two of my most lasting memories of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.

The semi-final bout of the evening saw Blackjack Mulligan square off with Enforcer Luciano in a Texas Street Fight. While Blackjack was a familiar face to Mid-Atlantic fans, the Enforcer was a strange character who was only in the area for about three months. As the story goes, the Enforcer came into the area from Detroit with a "contract " out on Mulligan. In actuality, Mulligan had dispatched the challenge of Superstar # 2 (John Studd) in the late spring of 1980, and Mulligan’s next significant program would not occur until mid-August 1980 with newcomer "Bad Boy" Bobby Duncum. Hence, the Enforcer was only a brief transition figure, but a pretty entertaining one. Many may best remember Luciano for breaking cement blocks with his bare fist and chewing up a light bulb on the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television program!

The Texas Street Fight was Mulligan’s specialty match, and involved the participants dressing however they wanted and bringing whatever they wanted into the ring. It amazed me how many "foreign objects" that Luciano could cram into his clothing. He had nearly everything on him but the kitchen sink. Despite chains, brass knuckles, powder, etc. Luciano never got on track against Mulligan. It became clear after a couple of minutes, that this would be a slaughter and Luciano’s swan song in the Mid-Atlantic area. After wearing the Enforcer down, Mulligan took one of his cowboy boots off, flung Luciano into the ropes and smashed him in the head with the hard boot. The Enforcer was counted out, and Luciano proceeded to lay flat on his back with his arms and legs spread out wide for a good five minutes. The image of Luciano laying in the middle of the ring for so long has always stayed with me. To this day, when I see anyone in any sport get a real butt-kicking, I remember the Enforcer on this night and think to myself that they didn’t get laid out nearly as badly as Luciano did! Needless to say, Enforcer Luciano was never heard from again after this Texas Street Fight!

The Richmond Coliseum

The main event on this hot August night also provided me with a lasting remembrance of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. The match was a NWA World Tag Team Title match with Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka and Ray Stevens defending against Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood in a fence match. It was always an adventure when there was a fence match in Richmond. There would be a number of men that would come out before the match with the four sections of the fence and "attach" the fence sections to the four ring posts. It never made for a sturdy looking structure, and apparently it wasn’t as at least four men stayed during the match itself acting as a "human brace" with their hands holding onto the fence. You always wondered if the fence would collapse, particularly when a wrestler was thrown headfirst into the fence, which happened often. On this night, the high flying Jimmy Snuka would give the fence its ultimate test.

Hear match promos from Ray Stevens and manager Gene Anderson:

[ More audio clips at the bottom of this post, including Steamboat, Youngblood, Mulligan, and Luciano. ]

Snuka’s usual finishing move was a dive off the top rope with his opponent lying nearly on the other side of the ring. It was a breathtaking maneuver, particularly during this time period, as wrestling did not showcase many aerial moves in this era. During this match, Ray Stevens had weakened Jay Youngblood considerably and tagged in Snuka. The "Superfly" mounted the ropes, with Youngblood a good three-quarters of the way across the ring from him. Snuka perched himself on the top rope, crouched, and we in attendance all thought the great dive would begin. But then Snuka inexplicably paused, turned, and looked toward the top of the rickety fence. We were all thinking, NO, he couldn’t be considering going to the top of the fence!! But that’s exactly what he was doing….everyone in attendance held their collective breaths as Snuka attempted to navigate from the top rope to the top of the 10 foot fence as the flimsy fence was swaying. He eventually made it and was somehow standing on top of the fence, with the men below holding on to their respective parts of the fence with all their might. When the "Superfly" raised his arms above his head in preparation for his jump, he appeared to lose his tenuous balance and everyone in the Coliseum had their hearts in their throats. I know I was positive that he was going to fall backwards off of the fence. Somehow, miraculously, Snuka kept from falling off the fence and righted himself and actually jumped upward but still flew through the air far enough to reach a prone Jay Youngblood. Jay moved out of the way a split second before Snuka arrived, and Snuka plowed face-first into the mat. The other three wrestlers backed off momentarily, obviously waiting to see if Jimmy was all right. Snuka was down for about thirty seconds and then was able to make a tag to Stevens, while Youngblood was in turn making his tag to Steamboat. The match continued in anti-climactic fashion, with Stevens and Snuka ultimately capturing the win and keeping their titles.

Anyone who saw Snuka scale and jump off that fence will never forget that magical moment. I sweated during the early part of that Friday because of the searing heat, but never more so than later that night inside the Coliseum when Jimmy Snuka was teetering on top of that fence. This was undoubtedly a hot August night in Richmond that I’ll always remember!


Postscript: The Madison Square Garden Connection

It is interesting to note that Jimmy Snuka later received national acclaim after moving to the WWF for doing a similar dive off the top of a cage in Madison Square Garden in New York City during a title match against Bob Backlund. You heard about that match, and the well publicized story about Mick Foley seeing Snuka dive off the cage in MSG and emulating Snuka by jumping off his own house onto a mattress which literally sprung Foley into a great career in professional wrestling. What you never heard, though, was that Snuka first performed the death defying maneuver in the Mid-Atlantic area under much more dangerous circumstances, and emerged intact to be able to do it later for a bigger audience in the "Big Apple."

Originally published  in 2001 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

then republished June 15, 2015.

MORE AUDIO! Additional  promos have been added to this post for this big August 1980 card in Richmond. Great memories - - Enjoy! 

Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood Promo


Blackjack Mulligan


Enforcer Luciano

The Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngbood Tag Team: Where it All Began

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

One of the greatest tag teams in the history of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling was the tandem of Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood. Five times NWA World Tag Team Champions from late 1979 until late 1983, Steamboat and Youngblood were the gold standard for fan favorite tag teams in that time period.

Ricky Steamboat entered the Mid-Atlantic area in February of 1977, and he soon became an established singles competitor and champion. On the tag team side of things, he formed a potent tag team with Paul Jones, capturing the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Titles with Paul later in 1977, and even had a brief run with Jones as the NWA World Tag Team Champions in the late spring of 1978.

Steamboat and Youngblood later became
NWA World Tag Team Champions

Youngblood entered the Mid-Atlantic territory in April of 1978 and his rise to stardom was much more stunted that Steamboat’s. During the early months of his Mid-Atlantic run, Jay shifted back and forth between the lower and mid card ranks, and Youngblood wasn’t positioned for a main event tag team run with Steamboat until it unexpectedly happened in the early autumn of 1979.

When Jim Crockett Promotions fans tuned into the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television show that aired in many markets on July 15, 1978, they were likely excited about a couple of things that were teased in the show’s opening by hosts Bob Caudle and David Crockett. First was a replay from a memorable segment that occurred several months prior, where Blackjack Mulligan publicly taunted Ric Flair by showing off several personal items of Ric’s that Mulligan discovered in a van the two had jointly shared while they were friends.

The second thing that seemed noteworthy on this July 15, 1978 Mid-Atlantic show was a main event caliber bout between Greg Valentine and “Mr. Wrestling” Tim Woods where Greg’s 1000 silver dollars were at stake in the ten-minute time limit match. The match would live up to expectations, as the two Mid-Atlantic stars went to an exciting ten-minute draw.

During the run down of the card’s scheduled contests, fans likely didn’t have much of a reaction when Caudle said, “Then, Jay Youngblood and Ricky Steamboat will team together for more tag team action with Bill Howard and Frank Monte.” Or when Crockett continued, “That’s going to be a very good match because it’s a young team…an exciting combination.” The only question that this paring may have raised in the fans’ eyes was why was Steamboat teaming with this mid-carder, and not with his regular partner Paul Jones.

At the bout’s onset, Caudle exclaimed, “Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood, what a fine young team they make. Steamboat, [is] one half of the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champions along with his tag team partner Paul Jones who holds those belts. And it’s Youngblood who gets us started against big Bill Howard.” Almost immediately, Steamboat and Youngblood began isolating a single body part of their two opponents and their speed was clearly confounding their slower opponents.

Crockett then observed, “They’re doing very well together, Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood.” Jay then went on a run where he showcased some tremendous chops and an outstanding dropkick, and then he brought in Ricky for some fabulous chops of his own. Caudle said, “Steamboat and Youngblood are working very well together, like they’ve been in a few matches themselves together. Another tag, another quick change!”

As the short bout neared its conclusion, all four grapplers were in the ring at the same time when the good guys isolated Franke Monte and worked him over while Bill Howard was stuck in the corner, and pinned Monte in the process. Crockett exclaimed, “How about that! Good win by Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood!”

Caudle elaborated on the finish, “You could have counted a dozen! Well, the referee was slow getting there because he was busy and here in slow motion you see them come right over him and there goes Steamboat, got him with the elbow, here’s the chop and right here he had him pinned for the count of three and the referee could have counted a dozen with our winners Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood.”

In the next interview segment on the program, Caudle talked with Ricky and Jay gushing, “And here’s a couple of young fellows that just looked fantastic up there, and you two guys worked great together Ricky, Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood. You two worked together like you’ve been working together for years…just beautiful.” Steamboat replied, “This Indian right here uses chops similar to mine, and as you can see, even though this is the very first time we’ve been tagged up…we went against like Bill Howard and the guys of these likes that have been wrestling on and off this television for a long, long time, and we pulled out a victory!”

Caudle followed up, observing, “Oh man, it was more than pulled one out, I tell you, it was almost like you steamrolled right over them!” Steamboat answered, “Hey, I don’t know what it was, maybe it was a sixth sense or something as you could say, because every time he just gave me an eye or something, when I looked at him that was the time to tag out or get the other partner in there to work on the other guy.”

Bob then brought in Youngblood briefly, “Jay, I tell ya, you guys were fantastic!” Youngblood answered, “Thank you very much. First of all I’d like to say it’s a pleasure being back here in the Mid-Atlantic area…I’ve been gone for a couple of weeks. But I’ve been taking a tour of the Mid-Atlantic area [and] I’ve been watching Steamboat and I think we can get things going.”

While this first pairing of Steamboat and Youngblood in July of 1978 didn’t lead to anything at the time that would suggest these two would come to be one of the greatest tag teams in the promotion’s history, this TV match did provide a glimpse into the moves, style and teamwork that would become hallmarks of the tandem that would begin their magical carpet ride together in about another year. And what a ride Ricky and Jay had…and it all started with the humble beginnings of just another television match of two guys being thrown together on a hot July Saturday in 1978!

Brisco Brothers Challenge Steamboat and Youngblood in 1980

Nearly Three and Half Years Before Their Famous 1983 Feud
by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Over the years, shows at the Greensboro Coliseum were famous for featuring star wrestlers from other territories, usually big national names that Greensboro area fans were familiar with from newsstand magazines or perhaps had seen on satellite TV from Georgia or syndicated from Florida.

Some of the names over the years that would come in for one-night territory appearances in Greensboro in the 1970s and early 1980s were Dusty Rhodes, Cowboy Bill Watts, Dory Funk Sr. and Jr. and Terry Funk, Harley Race, Eddie and Mike Graham, and others.

Two men who came in to Greensboro from Florida on a semi-regular basis over the years were Jack and Jerry Brisco. Both had done full-time stints as singles competitors here in the early 1970s, both holding the Eastern Heavyweight title. Jack, of course, wrestled here frequently as NWA World Champion in 1973-1975. They also were part of many tag team tournaments.

The most famous full-time run for the Briscos here was the 1983 run as a heel tag team (first time ever as a heel team) in a legendary feud with Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood over the NWA World Tag Team titles. But those matches were not the first time the two teams clashed over the tag titles.

Some three and a half years earlier, the Briscos made a one-night shot in from Florida to challenge Steamboat and Youngblood for the titles during the latter's first run with the belts. The match took place on January 13, 1980 at the Greensboro Coliseum. It was by and large a "scientific" babyface match, but would foreshadow the exciting matches the two teams would have years later. Steamboat and Youngblood would successfully defend their championships this night.

For context, Steamboat and Youngblood were just finishing up their memorable feud with former tag champs Paul Jones and Baron Von Raschke (one of my favorite tag team feuds of all time) and soon were to face the challenge of (and eventually succumb to) the new team of Ray "The Crippler" Stevens and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. The Briscos were working full-time in Florida and in the middle of a chase for Stan Lane and Bryan St. John's Florida Tag Team championship.

Also on that same big Greensboro show was the the big blow-off main event between Blackjack Mulligan and Big John Studd. It featured a combination of several stipulations (fence match, Texas death match, street fight rules) with the main stip being "loser leaves town." Mulligan won that brutal contest and sent Studd packing from Greensboro, and soon from the entire territory.

The usual number one contenders, Jones and Raschke, were on the mid-card of this show in singles matches, and took the opportunity to complain that Ricky and Jay were ducking them by going up against the Briscos. They should have stayed focused on their opponents, Jim Brunzell and Rufus R. Jones respectively, who won both of the singles contests.


Over the years in the Mid-Atlantic area, the Brisco brothers challenged several teams for those elusive NWA World Tag Team belts including Gene And Ole Anderson, Ric Flair and Greg Valentine, and now Steamboat and Youngblood. The brother duo from Oklahoma finally captured the gold in 1983 when they toppled "Youngboat", as Jerry liked to call them, before ending their feud at the landmark Starrcade '83 closed-circuit event.

Funny to note all of the bloopers and typos in the results clipping seen above, including Tony "Barea", "Luke" Bernard, "Rick" McGhee, and the funniest of all "Duck Summers."

Johnny Weaver and Jay Youngblood win the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship

On the Friday night after Thanksgiving, November 27, 1981, Johnny Weaver and Jay Youngblood formed an unlikely duo and upset the Russian team of Chris Markoff and Nikolia Volkoff (managed by Lord Alfred Hayes) to win the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team championship. The match took place at a small spot show in the town of Appalachia, VA, for the Knoxville TN based NWA promotion affiliated with Jim Crockett Promotions.

The next morning Johnny and Jay appeared on the TV taping of NWA Championship Wrestling in Knoxville hosted by Les Thatcher, who conducted one of his trademark "Personality Profile" segments with Weaver. Weaver talked about all the times he held the same title with partner George Becker. He was, of course, talking about the Atlantic Coast Tag Team championship that was renamed the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team championship in 1973. But the Mid-Atlantic tag title does trace its lineage back to that amazing string of title reigns held by Weaver and Becker.

Jay Youngblood wrestled in a singles match, but Johnny did not wrestle on this show.

The two appeared together on the show in an interview with Thatcher following Youngblood's match. Photos from that interview are included here. Special thanks to Wendi Weaver for providing these photographs from her father's personal collection.

Earlier that same week, Johnny and Jay served as Grand Marshalls at the annual Christmas parade in China Grove NC. A link to an article about that day and a photograph can be found here: Grand Marshalls.

(This feature is edited from the original story posted on the Johnny Weaver Blog, Jan. 9, 2009.) 

Almanac History - July 1980 (Part Two)

David Chappell's
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling History
ALMANAC DIRECTORY

JULY 1980 - PART TWO

JULY 1980             WEEK 2

The second week of July of 1980 kicked off in earnest with the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television taping in the WRAL TV 5 studios in Raleigh, North Carolina on July 9th. The TV card featured a good mix of Mid-Atlantic stars, but the final bout of the card really stole the show!

The first television bout featured a mid-card matchup where Johnny Weaver and Special Delivery Jones bested the duo of Swede Hanson and Billy Starr. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine defeated Ron Ritchie, and the program also showcased wins by "Bad Boy" Bobby Duncum in his second TV appearance and the former World Tag Team Champions Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood. But the last bout on the program would see a return to action of the former World Tag Team Champions...in a quite unexpected way.

Jimmy Snuka and Ray Stevens
with manager Gene Anderson
 

Inserted in the middle of the July 9th TV taping was a film of the match where Jimmy Snuka and Ray Stevens defeated Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. Announcer Rich Landrum narrated the video snippets, along with Steamboat and Youngblood. The end of the match saw Stevens piledriving Steamboat on the concrete floor, soon after Ricky had been hit with the cane of manager Gene Anderson.

The film clip went on to show that almost simultaneous to Steamboat being laid out on the arena's concrete floor, Snuka hit Youngblood with a flying head-butt with the "Superfly" capturing the three count on Jay for the pinfall victory.

Steamboat was particularly bitter about the loss of the titles in this way, and vented to Landrum while watching the film, "I'm motionless, I'm laying there [and] I'm knocked out cold. I don't know nothing, I don't feel nothing, but there's gonna be a time and day when Stevens and Snuka [are] gonna feel that cement floor on their heads!"

Ricky and Jay's anger came out in full force and effect when the last match on the July 9th TV program was about to begin. Jimmy Snuka and Ray Stevens were prepared to wrestle Tony Garea and Nick DeCarlo, and both teams were in the ring waiting for the opening bell to ring. At that very instant, Steamboat and Youngblood raced into the ring and immediately tore into Snuka and Stevens! Garea and DeCarlo seem startled by the turn of events, but left the ring, and the final bout of the show became a "main event" caliber match between the World Tag Team Champions and the former champs!

Color commentator David Crockett exclaimed, "This is the rematch...I wish the championship was on the line!" An equally excited announcer Bob Caudle followed, "What a match! It's all impromptu, at least as far as Snuka and Stevens are concerned and Gene Anderson...because it definitely wasn't on their minds they were gonna wrestle this match. Certainly not today!"

Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood appear to defeat Jimmy Snuka and Ray Stevens in the unscheduled TV match---but referee Tommy Young is forced to make a controversial ruling!

To be continued...                                                        ALMANAC DIRECTORY

Blooper: Jay WHO??

Time for another wrestling blooper, this time on a poster instead of our usual newspaper clippings.

When I saw this one I literally laughed out loud. Something caught me off guard about Jay "YOUNGBLOOB."

The "B" and the "D" keys are not really close to each other on the keyboard, so not sure how this one happened!

Interesting poster in 1982 from a small community right outside Richmond VA. Funny to see Jimmy Valiant and Paul Jones teaming together given that soon would begin a feud that would last off and on for 5 years.

and Posters, too!

Also, an interesting main event of Angelo Mosca challenging Ric Flair for the NWA World title. Mosca was in during this time primarily as a participant in the ongoing NWA World Tag Team championship tournament with partner Killer Khan. So I don't normally think of him as a top singles competitor during that time period. However, that said, he was the reigning Canadian Heavyweight champion for the Toronto office, which had strong booking ties with Jim Crockett Promotions. Perhaps ol' Angelo had to come all the way to Midlothian, VA in the USA to get his well earned shot at the champ!

Jay "Youngbloob." That's one for the ages.

Action Figures Friday: Steamboat and Youngbood

(or as the Briscos called them: Youngboat!)

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Figures from the collection of Matthew Montcalm

We're going to kick off our "Action Figure Fridays" series once again with some custom figures made by Matthew "Matty" Montcalm, better know on Twitter as Wrestlingwclassics (@wrestlingwclass)

Matty has done some amazing customizations of some wrestlers from the territory days that don't have commercial action figures. In some cases, like one we'll look at today, he takes a commercial figure and modifies to make it work better for a different era or persona.

Custom figures designed by Matthew Montcalm (@wrestlingwclass)

Today's spotlight is on the legendary Mid-Atlantic tag team of Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood, who held the NWA World Tag Team championships on several different occasions, feuding in the late 1970s and early 1980s with such great teams as Paul Jones and Barton Von Raschke, Greg Valentine and Ray Stevens, Sgt. Slaughter and Don Kernodle, and Jack and Jerry Brisco. 

To get Ricky looking like the Mid-Atlantic era Ricky Steamboat, he had to modify the WWF version.

"Steamboat is a very simple part swap with a Mattel Steamboat head," he told me. "I sanded off the head band and painted the skin tone to match as best I could."

However, to get Jay Youngblood, he had to start from scratch.

"Youngblood was a complete figure paint." He used the body from a Curtis Axel left over from a Don Kernodle project (we'll see that transformation next time.)  "Then I cut the hair off of a Mattel Carlito head and the hair off of a Jim Duggan Mattel head," he explained, "and put the Duggan hair on the Carlito head and painted the hair black and the face the same skin tone as the rest of the Axel figure. I painted the trunks black and used Mattel Sting boots for him. I think they fit well with the figure."

He added white wrist tape to both and voila - - he had a late 70s/early 80s Youngboat!

"My favorite babyface tag team of all time," Matty wrote me. "I’m actually making a set for Ricky Steamboat as well."

Remarkable job, especially in the case where no figure existed at all for Jay Youngblood.

More next time as we take a look at the early 1980s team of Sgt. Slaughter and Don Kernodle!

* * * * *

Visit Matty's various social media pages for his ongoing presentations of wrestling memorabilia and nostalgia: Twitter (Wrestlingwclassics @wrestlingwclass) Instagram (@wrestlingwclassics) and Facebook (@wrestlingwclassics).

Mid-Atlantic Hidden Gems from Charlotte in the WWE Network Vault

FLAIR, RACE, BRISCOS, YOUNGBOAT, PIPER, VALENTINE ALL FEATURED IN PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN RAW FOOTAGE
by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

If you are a WWE Network subscriber, you'd never know they've added a few new Hidden Gems from Mid-Atlantic Wrestling in 1983 unless you just swerved into them.

The WWE Network itself does a terrible job in making folks aware of what has been added to the Vault section of the site. A great resource, however, to keep up with new additions is the unaffiliated WWE Network News website. That's how we recently learned that the network had added two new raw footage Jim Crockett Promotions matches from the Charlotte Coliseum in the summer of 1983.

Back in May, they added a match from Charlotte on July 9, 1983 between then United States Champion Greg Valentine and arch-rival "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. (We mentioned it on our Facebook page.) The two new matches are from the same big Charlotte card, making three matches in all (the three main events) from that show.

Here is a list of the three matches and a direct link to them on the WWE Network.


NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
HARLEY RACE (Champion) vs. RIC FLAIR

WWE Network Link: http://network.wwe.com/video/v2519768083


NWA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
JACK & JERRY BRISCO (Champions) vs. RICKY STEAMBOAT & JAY YOUNGBLOOD

WWE Network Link: http://network.wwe.com/video/v2519768183


NON TITLE MATCH
GREG VALENTINE (U.S. Champion) vs. RODDY PIPER

WWE Network Link: http://network.wwe.com/video/v2073979883

Interesting to note these three main events in Charlotte on 7/9/83 would be the three main events for Starrcade '83 four months later. Jim Crockett Promotions was getting ready to move TV production out of the studio and into arenas a month later, and theri new production truck was taping lots of material from shows in Charlotte during this time.

For additional context, Race had just regained the title for a record breaking seventh time less than one month earlier. Race was making his first tour as new champion in the Mid-Atlantic area, and was defending against now-former champion Flair across the territory beginning on July 2 in Greensboro, followed by Savannah, Greenville, Raleigh, Sumter, Norfolk, Richmond, and finally July 9 in Charlotte.

These matches are great to watch, especially if you attended matches live during this era. They bring back great memories.  Without commentary and featuring great ambient sound, you get a good feel for what it was like to attend shows then. I love that there was no entrance music, no pyro, no video screens. Just warriors making their way through the crowd and up into the ring.

If you have have never subscribed to the WWE Network, its easily worth the $10/month to get the old Mid-Atlantic shows they currently have up from 1981-1983, plus hidden gems like these. New subscribers can try the network free for one month.

Very cool to see these "Hidden Gems" and we are hopeful for more coming down the line.

Wrestler Weekly: Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood Were Poetry in Motion

"These guys in the ring together were poetry in motion. They were, to the sport of wrestling, what Baryshnikov is to ballet and dance. While watching them perform, you were amazed, astonished, afraid for them, enthused with them, and most importantly, brought to tears of joy with them when they won." - Scottie Richardson, Wrestler Weekly

From the 720wrestling.com article

Just over a month ago, Scottie Richardson (of Wrestler Weekly, @wrestlerweekly) wrote an article about one of his favorite tag teams growing up, Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood.

Steamboat and Youngblood, or "Youngboat" as Jerry Brisco liked to call them, were one of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling's greatest tag teams ever. Their most memorable match, most likely, was their victory over Jack and Jerry Brisco at Starrcade '83 to win the NWA World Tag Team championships.

Richardson looks back at the multi-time tag champs, including from the perspective of the other great tag teams of that era.It is a really nice nostalgic look back at one of the great teams ever.

His article is on the 720 Wrestling website and can be found clicking here:

Just Have Fun: Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood 
720 Wrestling (720wrestling.com)
https://720wrestling.com/just-have-fun-bf347e584405

Action Figures Friday: Steamboat and Youngblood challenge Sgt. Slaughter

Last week we debuted out new series called "Action Figures Friday" and featured a classic look at the feud of the year in 1975: Wahoo McDaniel and Paul Jones vs. Gene and Ole Anderson.

This week we jump to 1982 and take a look at one of the greatest teams in Jim Crockett Promotions history Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood. They stand in the ring challenging Sgt. Slaughter to go get his tag team partner Don Kernodle and defend their NWA World tag team championships on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.

Another great shot from collector Mike Simmerman. We appreciate him sharing his figures and his photographs with all of us on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway. Another great shot coming next week!

Wrestling Was Meant to be Watched on Saturday

"You're looking at the two finest tuned wrestling machines in the world today. The proof is not in what I say. The proof is in these two belts around our waists."   - Ric Flair

With our current series on the 1970s "Dream Team" of Ric Flair and Greg Valentine in progress here on the Gateway (currently up to Part 3), we thought we'd throw a little "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" from YouTube up for a Saturday afternoon. Because after all, anyone who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s knows that professional wrestling was meant to be watched on Saturday!

These interview segments are from a show taped in December 1982 when Ric and Greg had briefly reunited their classic 1970s tag team as almost a holiday gift for all the fans that year. Ric was reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion and Greg was reigning United States Heavyweight Champion.

Interesting note on their first interview here. It only was seen in markets that did not have local promos inserted for shows in their local area. You will notice Ric addresses West Virginia and specifically Florida where the Mid-Atlantic show was being seen in more markets. Not sure if the Mid-Atlantic guys made any appearances in Florida at that time (Ric certainly did as NWA champion), but he made sure to put over many of the main event guys working Florida at that time including Dusty Rhodes, Barry Windham, Angelo Mosca, James J. Dillon and others.

Also featured in this YouTube video are NWA World Tag Champions Sgt. Slaughter and Don Kernodle, Ricky Steamboat, Jay Youngblood, Roddy Piper, and #1 Paul Jones.

Main Event Memories - Greensboro NC

Newspaper Clippings from the collection of Mark Eastridge

Mooneyham Writes About Jay Youngblood

What a wonderful article by Mike Mooneyham on the Charleston Post & Courier website about the late Jay Youngblood. It is both a look at a daughter who never got to know her Dad, a father who died way to young. It is also a great trip back through time looking at the wonderful career of Youngblood, his memorable team with Ricky Steamboat, and their feuds with Don Kernodle and Sgt. Slaughter as well as the Brisco brothers.

Jay Youngblood: A Daughter Remembers
by Mike Mooneyham, Charleston Post & Courier

"There's not a day goes by that Ricca Jonas doesn't think about her dad.

She was only three years old when her father, the late Steven Nicky Romero — better known as pro wrestling star Jay Youngblood — died on Sept. 2, 1985, in Parkville, Victoria, Australia, a suburb of Melbourne, during a tour of the South Pacific...."

Read the entire article >>>>>

Hot August Night

by David Chappell, Mid-Atlantic Gateway
from the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archives
Updated with three new audio promos from Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood, Blackjack Mulligan, and Enforcer Luciano! Scroll to the bottom of the post to hear those great local promos for this big card in Richmond!


August 1, 1980 was a scorching summer’s day in the Richmond area. On that Friday, the temperature soared, and then soared some more. It felt like about a 120 degrees, though the official high was "only" 99 degrees in Richmond and 104 degrees in nearby Norfolk.

Being a Friday, of course, Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling was in town that evening. Typically, Jim Crockett Promotions would bring in a sizzling card of wrestling action to match the hot weather outside. Such was the case on this night, though in a somewhat different fashion. This card at the Richmond Coliseum, while in no measure one of Jim Crockett’s best, gave me two of my most lasting memories of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.

The semi-final bout of the evening saw Blackjack Mulligan square off with Enforcer Luciano in a Texas Street Fight. While Blackjack was a familiar face to Mid-Atlantic fans, the Enforcer was a strange character who was only in the area for about three months. As the story goes, the Enforcer came into the area from Detroit with a "contract " out on Mulligan. In actuality, Mulligan had dispatched the challenge of Superstar # 2 (John Studd) in the late spring of 1980, and Mulligan’s next significant program would not occur until mid-August 1980 with newcomer "Bad Boy" Bobby Duncum. Hence, the Enforcer was only a brief transition figure, but a pretty entertaining one. Many may best remember Luciano for breaking cement blocks with his bare fist and chewing up a light bulb on the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television program!