Road Jackets for Jim Crockett Promotions (1985)

It would be pretty cool to have a complete collection of these satin jackets today. They were sold by Jim Crockett Promotions in 1985 and 1986, primarily through mail order out of their in-house magazine.

The jackets feature some of the earliest designs for JCP as they worked to get merchandising off the ground in those years.

The wrestlers featured included a team jacket for "America's Team" Dusty Rhodes and Magnum T.A., as well as individual logos for each of them. Also featured were Ric Flair, Manny Fernandez, and the Rock and Roll Express.

The jackets sold for a whopping $50, which was a lot of money back in the mid-1980s. I'm guessing not a whole lot of them were sold. However, those same logos appeared on caps and t-shirts as well, which likely sold better, especially at the arenas.

My personal favorite, strictly from a design standpoint, was the logo for Dusty Rhodes, which had a great western look and evoked an image that just said "TEXAS" with the star in the center of the letter "O" in Rhodes. The Ric Flair design is great looking, too, and a variation was used in the famous "I Do It With Flair" t-shirt of the same era.

Heroes and Villains: Crockett TV Taping in 1986

Pro Wrestling's Heroes and Villains May Change But Show Remains Same 
by Steve Phillips, Salisbury Post
June 11, 1986

One hundred degrees and rising. The overhead television lights beam down from the rafters and render the air circulation system at Goodman Gymnasium virtually worthless.

At ringside, things are getting hotter. Referee Tommy Young has turned his back to admonish Robert Gibson of the Rock and Roll Express for attempting to enter the rang without mating a legal tag. 

Ric Flair and Arn Anderson know this is their chance. They've got an illegal doable-team going on Ricky Morton and they're having a field day. 

The crowd responds with an angry collective roar. 

Why doesn't Young turn around? How can any referee worth his salt allow two thugs like Flair and 
Anderson to flout wrestling's code of ethics?

By the time Young finally gets back to the business at hand, Flair and Anderson have brought Morton to his knees. But Flair has re turned to his corner, a picture of wide-eyed innocence. He answers Young's glare of suspicion with an exaggerated shrug.

* * * * *

NWA World Champion Ric Flair

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling returned to Salisbury Tuesday night with the creme de la creme of the profession in attendance. Dusty Rhodes made the scene, Baby Doll in tow. Jim Cornette waved his tennis racket and screamed at the TV cameras. Magnum T.A. made the ladies swoon.  The Rock at Roll Express, clearly the crowd favorite, wrestled no less than three matches.

I had seats at ringside in Section B, courtesy of a friend who went after advance tickets the day they went on sale. He wasn't the only one. The Salisbury Jaycees reported that all 400 ringside seats ($10 apiece ) were gobbled up three weeks ago.

General admission seats ($8.00) went on sale at 5 o'clock Tuesday afternoon, 2 1/2 hours hours before the start of the first match. A line already stretched from the ticket window down the steps and onto an adjoining sidewalk.

"I must have gotten 100 calls at work and 30 more at home about this thing," said WSTP radio announcer and Jaycee Doug Rice. The Catawba Sports Information office also fielded a number of calls even though the college had no official connection with the event.

Pro wrestling keeps packing 'em in, and will continue to do so as long as the forces of good and evil tug at one another. The names eventually change (although many of the assorted heroes and villains hang around for eternity) but the show remains the same.

And as long as pro wrestling endures, so will the Great Debate. But the lines are clearly drawn on each side and one is better off arguing ACC basketball, politics, or the relative merits of liquor by the drink.

Detractors scoff at the showmanship of the whole affair. Sports purists resent the attention the spectacle receives. Sports Illustrated did a full-color spread on pro wrestling last year and received a slew of nasty letters, mostly from high school and collegiate coaches bemoaning the comparative lack of coverage for their "legitimate" sport.

But supporters point to the numbers. Roughly 3,000 people turned out Tuesday night. That's about as many as you'll get for anything in Salisbury, be it American Legion baseball, Catawba football or a meeting on a high school merger.

In my high school days, I followed wrestling with a passion. Flair, then a cocky 24-year old fresh out of the University of Minnesota, became my personal favorite. His weekly TV exchanges with the likes of Paul Jones, Chief Wahoo McDaniel, and tiger Conway were classics. Flair always seemed one step ahead, just a little smarter.

The verbal sparring inevitably set up a big match at Raleigh's Dorton Arena the following Tuesday. My friends and I would fork over the $6 for ringside seats.

Pro wrestling and I went our separate ways during my college years. I did pick up on enough to know that Flair finally won the world heavyweight title. But the antics of Hulk Hogan, Cindy Lauper and Rowdy Roddy Piper that sparked such widespread interest a few years back aroused no more from me than passing attention.

Some of the old spark returned Tuesday night. But I also felt old beyond my 28 years.

Flair remains a big drawing card, but he has become an elder statesman. Johnny Weaver, the big name of the '60s and early '70s, is out to pasture as a television commentator. And what of Paul Jones, the All-American hero of my wrestling days, the man loved by all except those of us who cheered for rogues like Flair, Greg Valentine and Blackjack Mulligan?

Well, it seems old Paul has become a rogue himself. He was always short, 5-foot-8 or so. Now he sports a military uniform and a bushy black mustache that makes him a suitable candidate for the lead role in a documentary on the rise of the Third Reich.

Jones has gained 20 pounds and he doesn't wrestle anymore. He manages an "army" that includes a bald-headed German "baron," a slick talking black guy in a top hat and some evil looking character who wears a mohawk haircut and war paint.

Only on a soap opera, I told myself, could people and events change so in 10 years time. But therein, I think, lies the answer to what makes the whole thing tick.

If I can scurry home at lunch-time to watch "All My Children" and you can plan your Wednesday nights around "Dynasty," can professional wrestling enthusiasts live in that much of a different world?

* * * * *

The match is over. The Rock and Roll Express have done it. The crowd roars its approval. Flair charges Young, claiming Morton's pin on Anderson was illegal. It's a wasted argument.

The overhead TV lights flick off. The boos begin as Flair pleads his cased to a ringside cameraman.

"You saw it!" Flair yells. "Tell him (Young) what they did!" 

The cameraman backs away. His expression tells Flair to "leave me out of it." 

Flair shakes his head. "You know that's not right" he says. Wadded-up Coke cups fly as the boos intensify. 

Finally, Flair gives in. But the strut is still there and the blond hair still bounces as he marches towards the dressing room under police escort. Flair reaches the exit and throws a few choice comments over his shoulder.

But in this business, no one ever gets the last word. Somewhere tonight, the show goes on.

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

Classic Windbreakers for Jim Crockett Promotions (1985)

It would be pretty cool to have a complete collection of these satin jackets today. They were sold by Jim Crockett Promotions in 1985 and 1986, primarily through mail order out of their in-house magazine.

The jackets feature some of the earliest designs for JCP as they worked to get merchandising off the ground in those years.

The wrestlers featured included a team jacket for "America's Team" Dusty Rhodes and Magnum T.A., as well as individual logos for each of them. Also featured were Ric Flair, Manny Fernandez, and the Rock and Roll Express.

The jackets sold for a whopping $50, which was a lot of money back in the mid-1980s. I'm guessing not a whole lot of them were sold. However, those same logos appeared on caps and t-shirts as well, which likely sold better, especially at the arenas.

My personal favorite, strictly from a design standpoint, was the logo for Dusty Rhodes, which had a great western look and evoked an image that just said "TEXAS" with the star in the center of the letter "O" in Rhodes. The Ric Flair design is great looking, too, and a variation was used in the famous "I Do It With Flair" t-shirt of the same era.

Originally posted February 15, 2017 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

A Thanksgiving Surprise: Starrcade Magic Returns to Greensboro

by Bruce Mitchell, Senior Columnist for PWTorch.com
Special to the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

When WWE announced that their Thanksgiving weekend house show in Greensboro would be branded WWE Starrcade, I shrugged. There hadn’t been a Thanksgiving Starrcade show in Greensboro in thirty years and between it being WWE and, well, thirty years ago, I figured this wouldn’t be much more than a token gesture.

I wasn’t mad. There are great things in these days too, and you miss out when the past overtakes you.

Thanksgiving Night Mid-Atlantic cards were one of the coolest things ever, where the biggest major league showdown matches between the biggest Mid-Atlantic stars, and where one year, the biggest match in the world, Jack Brisco challenging Dory Funk Jr. for the NWA title, took place.

Ricky Steamboat
and Shinsuke Nakamura
(Photo courtesy of Jonny Fairplay)

For many fans around here the greatest shows they ever saw weren’t Wrestlemanias, but Starrcade/Mid-Atlantic Championship Thanksgiving Night shows at the Greensboro Coliseum. All-time greats, including a significant portion of the WWE Hall of Fame, cemented their legends in this building on these nights.

Then the world changed, as it always does.

The Mid-Atlantic Gateway has a mission statement. WWE has a different one. WWE Starrcade figured to be another WWE house show, except maybe Goldust would wrestle a match, and Ricky Steamboat and The Rock’n’Roll Express would wave to the crowd. WWE has spent decades trying to rewrite history in their favor, so no way this was what it should be.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

White ropes, Starrcade banners, loads of great old video footage, the return of the legendary steel-grey steel cage match, built before our eyes just like Klondike Bill used to do…

The Hardy Boyz talking about what it meant to sit in these seats and dream dreams, Arn Anderson with his first spine-buster since the one he threw at that Wrestlemania, Goldust morphing into the flip-flop-flying Natural Dustin Rhodes…

Dusty! Dusty! Dusty!, The New Day getting The Rock’N’Roll Express to dance, NWA Champion Harley Race and his challenger on a new throwback Starrcade ’83 t-shirt…

(Photo courtesy of Lee Petry)

Modern day innovator Shinsuke Nakamura bowing in respect to all-time innovator Ricky Steamboat…

Oh, and it turned out that early on I wasn’t the only skeptic about all this. Tickets weren’t selling that fast.

Even that worked out, because WWE called in the Great One, the one name synonymous with professional wrestling in the Greensboro Coliseum, and it all turned around.

So, as it turned out, on Saturday night, November 25th, 2017 The Nature Boy Ric Flair drew yet another big house in the old barn on the corner of Lee Street and High Point Road.

There is something indomitable, even now, in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.

* * * * * * * * * * *

More on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway from Bruce Mitchell:
The Lightning and Thunder of the Nature Boys
One Night at the WRAL Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Tapings

Visit the Pro Wrestling Torch website at PWTorch.com.

"Four Horsemen" on Amazon.com                                  Mid-Atlantic Gateway Bookstore

A Second Look at "WWE Starrcade"

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway


When I first heard about the WWE calling their November 25 house show in Greensboro "WWE Starrcade" I was pretty down on the whole concept. (See "No Thanks. That's Not Starrcade" published 10/1/17.)

Now that the show is over, I've taken a second look and will admit that I see it in a little different light.

But just a little.

If I'm true to the normal way I feel about such things, I should celebrate what took place in Greensboro last Saturday night, right? After all, I celebrate the indies when they do something special to recognize wrestling's traditions and legends from the past. (The CWF's "Johnny Weaver Cup Tournament" and George South's sporadic "Anderson Brothers Classic" events are two examples.)

But what kept creeping into my mind was that it was the WWE that helped kill Starrcade. In 1987 they effectively blocked 99% of the cable systems from carrying Jim Crockett Promotions' first pay-per-view event which was one of what would be several fatal blows to Jim Crockett Promotions that forced the sale of the company, and an end to an era to go along with it.

If WWE had put this thing on their network, that at least would have given it more of a big-show feel, something a show with the name Starrcade deserved. In the end, it was just as I originally framed it - - a glorified house show.

Not that there is anything wrong with glorified house shows. It beats the heck out of "same-old" house shows. And there is no more special house to host one of those than the fabled Greensboro Coliseum.

Here are a few of the touches WWE put on this house show to make it a little more special:

1. Ric Flair appeared and introduced his daughter Charlotte (née, Ashley) who was defending her Women's championship that night in a steel cage. Flair was Starrcade, headlining all five Crockett events from 1983-1987. And I guess if you are going to have Starrcade in Greensboro again, you might as well have a Flair in a steel cage.
2. Ricky Steamboat appeared as well, and was was greeted respectfully by Shinsuke Nakamura in the ring. Steamboat was a big part of the first two Crockett Starrcades in 1983 and 1984.
3. The Rock and Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) participated in a skit with the New Day and a four-way tag match. The Rock and Roll Express were a big part of three Crockett Starrcades in 1985, 1986, and 1987.
4. Dustin Rhodes wrestled in his "Natural" persona from the Turner WCW days. Dustin represented his father Dusty Rhodes well in a match against Dash Wilder. The American Dream was a part of all five Crockett Starrcades, headlining two of them, and is credited with coming up with the name of the event.
5. And speaking of Dash Wilder, I couldn't help but think of the Andersons seeing video clips of Wilder wrestling Rhodes on the event. Dash and his partner Scott Dawson make up our favorite WWE tag team, The Revival. Wilder wears those classic horizontal-striped boots (a style I dubbed "Anderson boots" years ago) that were synonymous with the Anderson tag teams (comprised at different times of Gene, Lars, Ole, and Arn Anderson) of the 1960s-1980s. Ole and Arn Anderson were a big part of the Crockett Starrcades, as was Gene Anderson behind the scenes. Wilder is a North Carolina native who grew up during the Crockett Starrcade era.
6. It was fitting that Charles Robinson was the main referee on this show, having been a part of so many WCW Starrcades in the 1990s and being such a huge fan of Jim Crockett Promotions and Mid-Atlantic Wrestling growing up in the 1970s and 1980s. That, and he's the best referee in the business.
7. And finally, maybe the best moment of them all from the whole night - - Arn Anderson executing a picture perfect spine-buster on Dolph Ziggler in the center of that Greensboro ring, and then reminding Dolph he was in Horsemen country. Arn was a big part of the final three Crockett Starrcades from 1985-1987.

Arn Anderson hits Dolph Ziggler w/ a Spinebuster at #WWEStarrcade! pic.twitter.com/MZ6LCEwBMA

— NXTFanNation 🎄⛄️ (@NXTFanNation) November 26, 2017

It isn't clear what percentage of the fans in attendance last Saturday truly understood the history of Starrcade, and the history of the event in that building. Some fans surely did, like Front Row Section D who made their own return to Starrcade, even if from the 5th row in 2017. But I guess in the end what's important is that the name Starrcade continues to be relevant and that those memories are kept alive. After all, that's our sole purpose here at the Gateway.

I guess I should give thanks for WWE Starrcade after all.

Crockett Night at Charlotte's BB&T Ballpark Sunday 9/3

BaseballParks.com    

On Sunday, September 3, it's Crockett Night at the ol' ballgame.

This coming Labor Day weekend, make your plans to head out to BB&T Ballpark, home of the Charlotte Knights baseball team, for a great evening of baseball and to visit with some of the great legends of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions.

It's the 2017 Crockett Foundation Night at the ballpark, part of the final weekend of the regular season for the triple-A Charlotte Knights.The event is organized by the Crockett Foundation, the charitable organization run now by Jim Crockett, Sr.'s granddaughter Debbie Ringley.

Crockett Foundation

DATE: Sunday evening, September 3, 2017
WHERE: BB&T Park, 324 South Mint Street Charlotte, NC (Parking & Directions)
TIME: Gates open at 6:00 PM, First Pitch at 7:05 PM (Wrestlers available before the game)
SPECIAL EVENTS: NWA Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends plus Fireworks after the game!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

INTERVIEW WITH DEBBIE RINGLEY

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Debbie about what's planned for Crockett Night this year.
  
Dick Bourne: How did "Crockett Night” at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte come about?

Debbie Ringley: It came about as a way to celebrate the 85th anniversary of Jim Crockett Promotions, both baseball and wrestling, last year. I had to come up with a way to put what Granddaddy created and the things that came after his death. Hosting wrestlers at a baseball game seemed to be the perfect way of bringing the two together. Last year’s event went so well that the Knights asked us back and we are going to make it a staple of both the Foundations and Knights events schedule each year.

Bourne: So the purpose for the event is to help raise awareness for the Foundation?

Ringley: It is to raise awareness. The wrestlers will not charge for their picture or autograph but they will be asking fans to throw some money in a jug towards a donation.

Bourne: You guys have some very cool wrestling-related merchandise that you sell on the Crockett Foundation website. Will some of that be available for fans to purchase at this event?

Ringley: We will have shirts, including our new "TBS 6:05" shirt, for sale and we will also have both of our wrestling books.

Bourne: I've seen the new "TBS 6:05" shirt - - very cool, it immediately conjures up memories of so many Saturday evenings where I wouldn't miss "World Championship Wrestling" out of Atlanta with David Crockett and Tony Schiavone.

Crockett Foundation / Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Ringley: The back of the shirt is awesome, too, with our Crockett Foundation logo and signatures of many of the wrestling personalities that are "tag team partners" of the Crockett Foundation.

Ringley: Jackie will be there to autograph his ["When Wrestling Was Wrestling"] and our second book contains stories about three of the wrestlers that will be there that night so it would be a great opportunity for a fan to get the books autographed by the subjects in the books. Both the books and the shirts will be on sale for $15.00

Bourne: Nice to have Jackie Crockett there to sign his book of photographs. He took some really amazing photos in the late 1970s and early 1980s. That is a wonderful collection.

Ringley: Both the books and the shirts will be on sale for $15.00

Bourne: What wrestling celebrities will be there?

Ringley: Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson of the Rock n Roll Express, Magnum T.A., J.J. Dillon, Baby Doll, Tommy Young, and Jackie Crockett.

Bourne: Wow, that's a great line-up and a small "who's who" of some of the big names of Jim Crockett Promotions in the hot period of the mid 1980s.

Ringley: It is, and since there was no [Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends] Fanfest this year, it may be the only gathering of this type in the Charlotte area this year. I don’t know of any opportunity like this around.

Bourne: I always enjoy seeing these guys get recognized and for fans to be able to show their appreciation for all they gave to the wrestling business. Will there be a special introduction of your special wrestling guests that evening at the game?

Ringley: All of the attendees will be introduced on the field prior to the game and just like last year Baby Doll will arrive on her Harley. I will be throwing out the first pitch but don’t expect much from that!

Bourne: Excellent! No pressure there, right?

Ringley: No, not at all!

Bourne: How will fans be able to interact with your special guests that night?

Ringley: They will be signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. All they will ask is a donation of some kind. Or a swag purchase from our merchandise table will get them pictures and autographs.

Bourne: Will Frances be there? Your mom [Frances Crockett] is such an important part of both the family history and baseball history in Charlotte.

Ringley: Yes, she should be. I think one of my sisters is bringing her. I have my hands full with all the others!

Bourne: I'll bet! Debbie, thanks for filling us in on Crockett Foundation Night 2017. I know both wrestling fans and baseball fans will have a blast.

Ringley: Thanks! Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

DATE: Sunday evening, September 3, 2017
WHERE: BB&T Ballpark, 324 South Mint Street Charlotte, NC (Parking & Directions)
TIME: Gates open at 6:00 PM, First Pitch at 7:05 PM


If you are in the Charlotte area over Labor Day weekend, come out and support the Crockett Foundation and Charlotte Knights baseball. Buy some peanuts and some Cracker Jack and spend some time with the great legends of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling.

First Annual Crockett Foundation Cup Tag Team Tournament Coming in July

Classic Pro Wrestling and the Crockett Foundation are teaming up to present the first annual Crockett Foundation Cup Tag Team Tournament in July.

The one-night tournament will take place on July 15 at the New Kent High School in New Kent, VA, and will feature some of the legendary tag teams from the days of Jim Crockett Promotions as well as some of the young talent of today.

Wrestling legends schedule to appear on the show (including a few who will be involved in the tournament) include Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson of the Rock & Roll Express, former NWA World champion Ronnie Garvin, Jimmy "The Boogie Man" Valiant, the "Powers of Pain" Warlord and Barbarian, the "New Fantastics" with Bobby Fulton, noted ring announcer Garry Michael Cappetta, and legendary referees Tommy Young, and Dave and Earl, the Hebner brothers.

Like the Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup tag team tournament in the 1980s, the Crockett Foundation Cup will honor the late Jim Crockett, Sr., the long time promoter of pro-wrestling in the Carolinas and Virginia going back to 1937. Crockett, Sr. passed away in April of 1973, and his four children took over the company at that point, led by Jim Crockett, Jr. and David Crockett. Both Jackie Crockett and Frances Crockett were also involved with the company, and Frances headed up the family's baseball business as well.

The tournament is being presented with the endorsement of the Crockett Foundation in Charlotte, the charitable organization headed up by Crockett's granddaughter Debbie Ringley. Debbie is the daughter of Frances Crockett Ringley.

The big show will include a meet and greet session with all the stars, scheduled to start at 6:00 PM, followed by the tag team tournament with a bell-time scheduled for 7:00 PM.


RON GARVIN Q&A MEET AND GREET

Also that afternoon, the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast will present a Q&A Meet and Greet with former NWA World Heavyweight champion Ron Garvin from 4:30-5:30 PM, which will conclude before the Crockett Foundation Cup meet and greet at 6 PM. A separate ticket is required for this exclusive Q&A Meet and Greet event.


For more info, including advance ticket information, visit the following sites:

Crockett Foundation Cup: https://www.facebook.com/classicprowrestlin/
Two Man Power trip Ron Garvin Q&A:  https://www.facebook.com/events/2001111200117649/

For more information on the Crockett Foundation visit crockettfoundation.com.

An Amazon #1 Best-Seller in Wrestling!

Crockett Foundation Night at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte

Jim Crockett, Jr., along with Frances, David, and Jackie were all recognized at the 2016 event!

A look back at the first Crockett Foundation Night in 2016 at the Charlotte Knights BB&T Ballpark in downtown Charlotte. 

The 2017 Crockett Foundation Night will be on Sunday, September 3 and will feature WWE Hall of Famers and Mid-Atlantic Legends Hall of Heroes members Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson (the Rock and Roll Express), James J. Dillon and others.

The video above feature Tony Schiavone's introduction of the Crockett Family (Frances, Jim Jr., David, and Jackie) at the Ballpark, plus clips of the Rock & Roll Express, Baby Doll, Tommy Young and others.

More info to come on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway and be sure to check out the Crockett Foundation Website at www.CrockettFoundation.com.

Saturday TV: World Wide Wrestling (9/6/86)

As we celebrate Ricky & Robert's induction in the WWE Hall of Fame, this show features them regaining the NWA World Tag Team championship.

Road Jackets for Jim Crockett Promotions (1985)

It would be pretty cool to have a complete collection of these satin jackets today. They were sold by Jim Crockett Promotions in 1985 and 1986, primarily through mail order out of their in-house magazine.

The jackets feature some of the earliest designs for JCP as they worked to get merchandising off the ground in those years.

The wrestlers featured included a team jacket for "America's Team" Dusty Rhodes and Magnum T.A., as well as individual logos for each of them. Also featured were Ric Flair, Manny Fernandez, and the Rock and Roll Express.

The jackets sold for a whopping $50, which was a lot of money back in the mid-1980s. I'm guessing not a whole lot of them were sold. However, those same logos appeared on caps and t-shirts as well, which likely sold better, especially at the arenas.

My personal favorite, strictly from a design standpoint, was the logo for Dusty Rhodes, which had a great western look and evoked an image that just said "TEXAS" with the star in the center of the letter "O" in Rhodes. The Ric Flair design is great looking, too, and a variation was used in the famous "I Do It With Flair" t-shirt of the same era.

Blooper! J.J. Dillon managing ....Dusty Rhodes??

Wow. November 7, 1987 - - the world was off its axis!

Or maybe it was just a severe case of confusion by the person at the newspaper who put this ad together for Jim Crockett Promotions.

Check out all of the managers in this ad - - and we mean ALL the managers -- and pay attention to how they are paired up:

Dusty Rhodes with .... James J. Dillon?
The Rock & Roll Express with .... Jim Cornette?
Freebird Michael Hayes with .... Paul Jones?
Jimmy Valiant and Bugsy McGraw with .... Skandor Akbar?
The Mighty Wilbur with .... Precious?

Whew! Can you imagine the confusion for some young kid seeing that in the paper before going to the big show at James Rhodes Arena?

Thanks to Mark Eastridge for sending us this funny ad.

Crockett Foundation Tag Team Partners

What a great line-up the Crockett Foundation has as its "tag team partners!"

Tommy Young, Baby Doll, Ricky Steamboat, the Rock & Roll Express, James J. Dillon, and the legendary voice of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Bob Caudle!

Join them by tagging in and helping out at the the Crockett Foundation's website. http://crockettfoundation.com

Some very cool wrestling gear is on sale there, proceeds from which support the good work of the Crockett Foundation.

"Tag in, help out!"

1980s Dusty Booking Era Babyface Reunion

George South, Robert Gibson, Sting, Lex Luger, Ricky Morton, Magnum T.A.
Lincolnton, NC Saturday 5/14/16

Main Event Memories: The Gathering On Tour

Township Auditorium
Columbia, South Carolina 
January 23, 1986

As my friend Jamie said when he sent us this clipping, sign me up for this. What a great card.

Actually, it was sort of a typical card for Jim Crockett Promotions at the time. Just an amazing locker room during the Dusty years.

Some interesting things about this card:

(1) I've never been aware that there was a "Gathering Tour." I don't think this was mentioned on the WTBS shows, but I could be wrong. I'd love to know more about it. It was most likely just an instrument in local promotional spots and newspaper ads to help promote some big shows following "Starrcade '85: The Gathering."

(2) Tully Blanchard and James J. Dillon had just hooked up weeks earlier, Blanchard having dumped Babydoll after the seeds of distrust had been planted by Dillon. Babydoll was now with Dusty Rhodes (as you will observe in the main event of this show.) J.J. had previously been the manager of "Nature Boy" Buddy Landel and had led him to the National heavyweight title, but Landel was fired in late December and J.J. was put with Tully Blanchard to form "Tully Blanchard Enterprises." The Four Horsemen hadn't quite yet taken off, although they had begun referring to themselves as that on TV.

The program with Jimmy Valiant only lasted a few weeks. J.J. Dillon targeted the Boogie Man to try and get close to Rhodes, as Jimmy Valiant was thought to be Dusty's right hand. Blanchard soon moved on to directly challenge Rhodes for the National title, eventually winning it two months later in a memorable televised match.


(3) Interesting to see Magnum T.A. defending the U.S. title against Nikita Koloff just before the big program between the two began where they didn't face each other for months while the Koloffs were demanding stipulation that were "approved by the Kremlin." I loved all that.

(4) Ricky & Robert defending the world tag team titles against the Russian combination that they won them from - Ivan Koloff and Krusher Kruschev.



Special Note: If anyone has clippings or information on other cities that were part of "The Gathering Tour", we'd love to start a list. Send us a message through the "Contact Us" page above.

Heroes and Villains: Crockett TV Taping in 1986

Pro Wrestling's Heroes and Villains May Change But Show Remains Same 
by Steve Phillips, Salisbury Post
June 11, 1986


One hundred degrees and rising. The overhead television lights beam down from the rafters and render the air circulation system at Goodman Gymnasium virtually worthless.

At ringside, things are getting hotter. Referee Tommy Young has turned his back to admonish Robert Gibson of the Rock and Roll Express for attempting to enter the rang without mating a legal tag. 

Ric Flair and Arn Anderson know this is their chance. They've got an illegal doable-team going on Ricky Morton and they're having a field day. 

The crowd responds with an angry collective roar. 

Why doesn't Young turn around? How can any referee worth his salt allow two thugs like Flair and 
Anderson to flout wrestling's code of ethics?

By the time Young finally gets back to the business at hand, Flair and Anderson have brought Morton to his knees. But Flair has re turned to his corner, a picture of wide-eyed innocence. He answers Young's glare of suspicion with an exaggerated shrug.

* * * * *

NWA World Champion Ric Flair

Mid-Atlantic Championshsip Wrestling returned to Salisbury Tuesday night with the creme de la creme of the profession in attendance. Dusty Rhodes made the scene, Baby Doll in tow. Jim Cornette waved his tennis racket and screamed at the TV cameras. Magnum T.A. made the ladies swoon.  The Rock at Roll Express, clearly the crowd favorite, wrestled no less than three matches.

I had seats at ringside in Section B, courtesy of a friend who went after advance tickets the day they went on sale. He wasn't the only one. The Salisbury Jaycees reported that all 400 ringside seats ($10 apiece ) were gobbled up three weeks ago.

General admission seats ($8.00) went on sale at 5 o'clock Tuesday afternoon, 2 1/2 hours hours before the start of the first match. A line already stretched from the ticket window down the steps and onto an adjoining sidewalk.

"I must have gotten 100 calls at work and 30 more at home about this thing," said WSTP radio announcer and Jaycee Doug Rice. The Catawba Sports Information office also fielded a number of calls even though the college had no official connection with the event.

Pro wrestling keeps packing 'em in, and will continue to do so as long as the forces of good and evil tug at one another. The names eventually change (although many of the assorted heroes and villains hang around for eternity) but the show remains the same.

And as long as pro wrestling endures, so will the Great Debate. But the lines are clearly drawn on each side and one is better off arguing ACC basketball, politics, or the relative merits of liquor by the drink.