Figure Four Leglock vs. The Indian Deathlock

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Mid-Atlantic Champion Jack Brisco

In 1982 Jack Brisco played a major role throughout the year in his battles for the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship. This was especially significant to me as a fan because Brisco was almost a mythical figure to me. He was the NWA World Champion when I first fell in love with wrestling. So to see him come into our area and play such a major role with our area championship was a big deal.

Brisco's first of two major feuds over the title in 1982 was with Roddy Piper. It was an instant classic and resulted in, if not the best, at least one of the most memorable matches on Mid-Atlantic television that entire year.

Brisco's second feud over the title reunited a rivalry that went back to his days in Championship Wrestling from Florida ten years earlier. Brisco was still several years away from winning his first NWA World championship when he and Paul Jones had their blistering feud over the Florida Heavyweight title in 1972 and 1973.

Jack Brisco met Paul Jones in a series of "hold vs. hold" matches.

One of the unique aspects of their Mid-Atlantic feud that played out in arenas in early October of 1982 were a series of "hold vs. hold" matches with Paul defending the Mid-Atlantic title against Jack. The stipulation was that in order to win the match, Jack had to win with his figure-four leglock or Paul had to win with his Indian deathlock.

I would have loved to have seen one of those matches! Both holds were over like crazy with me. I grew up watching Paul Jones win matches with his famous Indian deathlock. Brisco was NWA World champion when I first got hooked on wrestling, and was the first person I ever saw use the figure-four. So this was a very cool stipulation to see all these years later.

Mid-Atlantic Champion Paul Jones

Jones and Brisco would trade the Mid-Atlantic title back and forth four times that fall. They were best of friends in real life, and so they were happy to be rekindling their memorable feud from Florida in the early 1970s, and appeared to be having great fun while doing so.

Paul had turned heel (again) in the lead up to this feud, and had some great promos throughout. Paul was always way better as a heel to me, as his real personality came out when playing the role of the bad guy. I first learned this when he and Baron Von Raschke were NWA World Tag Team champions back in 1979. This run against Brisco reminded me of that time. Fans who only remember him from his managerial days in the mid-to-late 1980s should take the time to go back and watch video from his heel run in 1982-1983, the last months of his wrestling career.

One of his more memorable interviews on TV during this time was a good example of Paul as the cocky heel. When talking about Brisco wanting "hold vs. hold" matches, he said the following:

"He's going around trying to get these matches - - "hold vs. hold." Well, the embarrassment is going to be when I beat Brisco with the Indian Deathlock. Can you imagine beating an Indian with the Indian Deathlock? After all, you know that the Indian Deathlock was originated  by a Texan, not an Indian. Well, it's going to be a 'feather in my hat', Brisco, when I beat you with the Indian Deathlock."  - Paul Jones 10/9/82

Leave it #1 Paul Jones to come up with the notion that it was really a Texan like himself that invented the Indian Deathlock. The icing on the cake was the "feather in my cap" closer.

Here is an audio clip of the entire interview:

MID-ATLANTIC CHAMPION PAUL JONES INTERVIEW
(FIXED AUDIO!)

The entire show where this takes place is on the WWE Network streaming service. It's in the "Vault" section under Mid-Atlantic Wrestling. The date of the show is October 9, 1982. The interview takes place at the end of the show. (Watch this show: Mid-Atlantic Wrestling 10/9/82)

Brisco eventually won out in the feud, ending the renewal of their rivalry for good when he regained the Mid-Atlantic title in late November of 1982. Ironically, his next feud over the title would rekindle another famous rivalry, the classic NWA World title feud between Brisco and Dory Funk, Jr. Looking back, it is special that these two former legendary NWA champions would battle over the Mid-Atlantic Championship so many years later.

And who knew Paul Jones was such a poet?

"The sun has risen, the sun has set, and here I am, your champion yet."

A Proud Moment for Buddy Rogers

"If you were my son, I couldn't love you more, baby." - Buddy Rogers to Greg Valentine

Greg Valentine spent most of the year of 1979 wrestling in the WWWF.  The year long tour included two main events in Madison Square Garden against WWWF champion Bob Backlund, including a one-hour time limit draw. It also included a feud with Chief Strongbow, where Valentine broke the Indian's leg in a story similar to his more famous feud with Wahoo McDaniel in the Mid-Atlantic area in 1977.

Greg was set to return to the Mid-Atlantic territory in December. But a couple of months in advance of that he made a special one-week appearance on Mid-Atlantic television set the stage for that return.

Here is how David Chappell described it in his Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Almanac entry for October of 1979:

The October 10th taping of the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling TV show had its fair share of surprises. In the first match, the “Hammer” Greg Valentine returned, defeating Coco Samoa easily. When Valentine was interviewed, he told Bob Caudle that while he was preparing to wrestle Bruno Sammartino in a couple of weeks in New York, he was on his way back to the Mid-Atlantic area. Valentine was also perplexed by the “good guy” metamorphosis that Ric Flair had undergone since Greg departed the Mid-Atlantic area, but told Caudle that all he wanted to do was talk with Ric, suggesting he could reform Flair back to the “dark side.”

Buddy Rogers interjected himself into Valentine’s interview, giving the fans a very different glimpse into the personality of the original “Nature Boy.” Rogers said he was instrumental in Greg’s father, Johnny Valentine, becoming as great a wrestler as Johnny became. As great as Johnny was, Rogers said Greg Valentine would be even greater. Buddy said Greg was developing fabulously, and he couldn’t love him any more if he was his own son.

Here is rare audio of the "halftime" interview segment on "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling," hosted by Bob Caudle and featuring "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine:

Buddy Rogers talks about Johnny and Greg Valentine

That was an amazing moment, and seemed to be almost a break from Kayfabe, and perhaps caught Valentine by surprise. Greg seemed a little subdued, likely somewhat moved by Roger's statements but also puzzled by the current state of affairs with his former best-friend and partner Ric Flair.

The Rogers appearance with Valentine in this interview didn't lead to anything between the two. I have speculated that Rogers was laying the groundwork to manage Valentine on his return to Mid-Atlantic Wrestling, likely in a feud with Flair. But Rogers left the territory suddenly around the time Greg returned in December.


Historical Perspectives

Rogers was in the middle of a program with Flair, not only managing U.S. champ Jimmy Snuka against Flair, but he also a couple of rare singles matches with Flair, too. The last "Nature Boy vs. Nature Boy" confrontation took place in Norfolk, Virginia on Thanksgiving night. The finish to that match had Rogers caught in Flair's figure-four leglock only to have Rogers take out a pair of brass-knucks and bust Flair open resulting in DQ. That was to surely set up a return match, but Rogers departed suddenly thereafter.

Valentine had a brief series of matches with Flair on his return, and then the two would go their separate ways for about 5 months - - Flair chasing Snuka's U.S. title (Snuka now managed by Gene Anderson) and Valentine teaming up with Ray Stevens to feud with Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood over the world tag team titles.

Eventually Flair and Valentine would collide over the U.S. championship, a story thoroughly explored as part of the history of Crockett's U.S. title in an upcoming book about that championship and the belts that represented it.

The reference Greg made to wrestling Bruno Sammartino at Madison Square Garden in a few weeks was true. Greg wrestled Bruno on the October 10, 1979 MSG show. The match was reportedly stopped for blood after Bruno rammed Valentine's head into the exposed metal turnbuckle. (The WWE has a brief clip of this match on its website.)

- Dick Bourne

Brother Combinations Chase The Championships

A week or so ago (Sunday, August 23), I posted another in our series of "Main Event Memories" featuring the brother team of Jack and Jerry Brisco challenging for the NWA world tag team championships held by Ric Flair and Greg Valentine in February 1978.

As I took a closer look at that time period, I realized the Briscos were just one of three brother combinations to be challenging for the titles, and all three coming in from different NWA territories:

1. Jack and Jerry Brisco - Florida territory
2. Dory Jr. and Terry Funk - Amarillo Territory
3. Gene and Ole Anderson - Georgia Territory*

Greg Valentine made note of this in an interview during Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling in early February 1978:

Greg Valentine Talks Championship Challengers (The link is fixed!)

"Yes, again we're blessing the TV audience with our presence out there, "Nature Boy" Ric Flair and Greg Valentine. You know we've got so many different opponents coming into the area like the Funk brothers, the Brisco brothers ... I even hear a rumor that Gene Anderson is working out real hard trying to get back with his brother. Can you imagine that; the Anderson brothers against us again? When are they ever going to give up? Ladies and gentlemen, we have been the world champions twice over, and we're going to stay the world champions all the way through 1978, 1979, 1980 -- we'll never stop."

 - Greg Valentine

* Gene Anderson was coming back off a neck injury sustained the previous October (1977) when the Andersons lost the NWA world titles back to Flair and Valentine. Gene had been working his way slowly back into action in early 1978, serving as a special referee in several Mid-Atlantic title tilts between Greg Valentine and Wahoo McDaniel, and then working some middle-of-the-card singles matches. He remained in the Mid-Atlantic territory during 1978 working mid-card tag matches with various partners, while Ole Anderson stayed in Georgia.

The brothers were not able to reunite in time to challenge Flair and Valentine for the titles. Ric and Greg were stripped of the championship in April 1978, and a one night tournament was set to fill the vacant titles in Greensboro on 4/23/78. The Andersons finally reunited for this tournament, and defeated the Brisco brothers in the opening round before losing to eventual tournament winners Paul Jones and Ricky Steamboat.

Read the story that led to this post, The Briscos Challenge Flair & Valentine, part of our ongoing  "Main Event Memories" series.

- Dick Bourne

Sound Bytes: Joe Murnick introduces Wahoo McDaniel

Joe Murnick was the local promoter for Jim Crockett in Raleigh, NC, Norfolk VA and other towns in the 1960s and 1970s. But he was probably more famous during that time as the ring announcer for Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. 

Joe's voice and vocal style were unique and reminiscent of the classic old-school ring announcers going back decades. 

From time to time we'll post some of Joe's ring introductions as we come across them on audio tape archives. We hope they bring back good memories to those of you old enough to remember Mr. Murnick's smooth delivery. And for those of you too young to remember him, we are happy to expose you to one of the classic television voices in the history of Jim Crockett Promotions. 

JOE'S CALL - April 1976 - Wahoo McDaniel vs. Jim Lancaster