Sweetness

See, just every now and then, I've got to throw this record on the turntable
and rock. You really should, too.

• By the way, this record makes a cameo appearance in our new book The Mid-Atlantic Championship.
• Read this: Delivering the Goods by Marc Michael, The Pulse, Chattanooga, TN
• Follow on Facebook: @TheSweetG.A.Brown and Twitter: @Im_sweetgabrown   
• Also listening to: Please Don't Come to Boston, A Man Walks Into a Bar

"If Steve Earle and John Prine tag teamed Bob Dylan, and Jerry Reed was pushin', Roger Alan Wade would laugh at em and say, '' y'all can't make a Sweet G.A. Brown''...
                                      - Elroy Keith

Saturday Night Dance

This should be played often. And loud.
Spinning my favorite Sweet G.A. Brown 45rpm record this afternoon on the official gen-u-wine Mid-Atlantic Gateway traveling turntable.
 #ibrokewahoosleg #wahoohaditcoming #wordssmith #sweetgabrown

Read more about this record and this song:

• The Coolest 45rpm Vinyl in the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Collection
• Breaking Wahoo's Leg (And Other Transgressions)
• Greg Valentine break's Wahoo's Leg - 40 Years Ago Today 
• Action Figures Friday: Greg "The Hammer" Valentine  
• I Broke Wahoo's Leg (Revisited)

SWEET G.A. BROWN
If you're in the Ringgold, GA area Saturday March 17 stop by Wrath Brewery & Burgers and check out Sweet G.A. and Dave, live music, green beer, burgers, all ages, no cover. Yep. Dang that burger looks good. (Visit sweetgabrown.com, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ga.brown.75)

WEEKEND UPDATE
Don't miss these recent posts on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway!

• John Studd Concedes Defeat to Blackjack Mulligan
• Briscos Win Charlotte Leg of NWA World Tag Team Tournament
• Anderson and Hansen Take First Tournament Win in Greensboro
• Action Figures Friday: More Make Believe Gardens

This made my day, didn't see it until a couple of days later.

Greg Valentine break's Wahoo's Leg - 40 Years Ago Today

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

It is one of the most iconic images from the 1970s in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions: Greg Valentine with a big grin on his face, wearing his newly won Mid-Atlantic championship belt, and sporting the infamous "I Broke Wahoo's Leg" t-shirt.

It's hard to believe that match happened forty years ago today. It took place on Wednesday night, September 7, 1977, at a TV taping at the WRAL television studios in Raleigh, NC. The match stands the test of time and is available in its entirety on the subscription service NWAOnDemand.com.

Wahoo McDaniel and Greg Valentine feuded over the Mid-Atlantic heavyweight championship for much of 1977 and early 1978. The zenith, however, was the memorable televised bout where Valentine regained the title from McDaniel and broke his leg in the process. It is one of the most famous matches and famous angles in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling history.

But part of what made it so memorable was Valentine's classic t-shirt that he wore in the aftermath. It was a simple black shirt with block lettering that simply said "I Broke Wahoo's Leg", and on the back of the shirt read the equally in-your-face declaration - - "No More Wahoo."

Valentine wore the t-shirt on television and in arenas for months, enraging fans along the way. A photograph appeared in "Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Magazine" and in newsstand magazines as well, with a grinning Valentine wearing the shirt and the belt, taunting Wahoo and creating heat for their return bouts that would follow when Wahoo returned to action.

In an interview with the Mid-Atlantic Gateway, Valentine admitted that the t-shirt wasn't his idea. "It was George Scott," Greg told David Chappell. "George Scott was the booker back then. It was mainly his idea. I certainly give him the credit."

Greg would explain in TV interviews that he had the t-shirts custom made for him at a shop in Las Vegas, never mind the fact that the familiar look of the t-shirt could have been made in any t-shirt shop in any mall in America in those days. But the line was funny, and served to only further enrage Wahoo's fans.

Sweet G.A. Brown's 45-rpm single serves as a backdrop to the the action figure of Greg
Valentine wearing tiny replicas of the Mid-Atlantic heavyweight title belt and the famous t-shirt.

The match and the angle still live on today in popular culture. Facsimile shirts are spotted being worn by wrestling fans (even journalists!) at wrestling conventions. Collectors can custom-order a miniature "I Broke Wahoo's Leg" shirt for their action figures. Wrestling broadcaster Matt Striker mentioned the famous t-shirt in 2014 during a match on an episode of "Lucha Underground." And singer/songwriter Sweet G.A. Brown immortalized the classic wrestling angle in his wonderful song "I Broke Wahoo's Leg" which I have written about previously here on the Gateway.  

Greg tells us that even forty years removed from that match, fans still ask him about it.  "I get asked to sign my autograph that way," he told me. "All these years later, people still remember that."

Greg Valentine and his famous t-shirt in 1977 and 2005. (Blake Arledge Photo)

Valentine re-created the angle at a Legend's Show in Spartanburg, SC, also wearing a replica of the Mid-Atlantic title belt. The site of Greg wearing that shirt and belt in 2005 took you right back to 1977.

So today we raise an elbow and celebrate this lasting memory of one of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling's most brutal feuds and memorable moments. It is has proven to be a moment that Mid-Atlantic Wrestling fans have not forgotten.

* * * * * * *

See Also:

Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title History
Classic Mid-Atlantic Match from 1977 on NWAOnDemand.com Subscription Service 
For Matt Striker, Past is Prologue
The Coolest 45rpm Vinyl in the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Collection ("I Broke Wahoo's Leg")

Action Figures Friday: Greg "The Hammer" Valentine

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

It's Friday, and we always celebrate here on the Gateway with "Action Figures Friday" (and usually "Free Fries Friday" at McDonald's, too.)

This week we take a look at a tribute to that iconic image from 1977 where Greg Valentine donned one of the most infamous wrestling t-shirts of all time - - "I Broke Wahoo's Leg" - - after defeating Wahoo McDaniel for the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship on TV, and breaking the Chief's leg in the process.

The replica figure is decked out with his own mini t-shirt and tiny replica of the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight title belt that was worn for many years during that era.

Valentine enraged fans back in the day with the t-shirt, often coming to the ring wearing a robe over it and then slowly opening the robe to reveal the shirt and the title belt with a devilish grin on his face.

And then when the robe came off, he would slowly turn so you could see the message on the back of the t-shirt, too - - "No More Wahoo."

And just as iconic as the shirt, and really the only thing that makes that imagery work, is the Mid-Atlantic championship belt strapped around his waist as well.

The Mid-Atlantic title was established in 1973, but has its roots going back to 1970 when the Eastern Heavyweight championship was established. That Eastern was renamed the Mid-Atlantic title in 1973. The complete title history can be found on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway here. 

The imagery and the memories of that famous t-shirt resulting from that historic televised match are still remembered today, and are even immortalized in a song by singer/songwriter Sweet G.A. Brown. (We've written a lot about that song, most recently here.)

In a short conversation with Greg while getting breakfast at the Univesity Hilton at Charlotte in 2016 at the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Legends Fanfest, he told me that usually one person will mention this to him at almost every appearance he makes. "I get asked to sign my autograph that way," he told our group. "All these years later, people still remember that."

All these years later, indeed. It's hard to believe it was 40 years ago this September of 2017.

I was the smart-alek who brought it up that morning at breakfast. Greg was in line at the buffet with his back turned and when we saw him, I said out loud, "Watch out folks, this guy broke Wahoo's leg." Greg slowly turned around with a big grin on his face and uttered in that deep, muttering voice, "You're damn right I did."

That is a nice memory of that weekend in Charlotte.

Thanks as always to collector Mike Simmerman for sending us these great photos from his amazing throw-back collection of action figures. To see all the other "Action Figures Fridays" posts, click here.

The Coolest 45rpm Vinyl in the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Collection ("I Broke Wahoo's Leg")

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

"Your vice is your undoing, and I'm here for you."

Those are the closing words to what has become one of my favorite songs ever, "I Broke Wahoo's Leg" by Sweet GA Brown.

For the last two years I've been somewhat obsessing over it. In fact, I first wrote about it almost exactly two years ago here on the Gateway in an article titled "Breaking Wahoo's Leg (and Other Transgressions)." 

 

In the song (off of Brown's album "Wordsmith"), the devil singing in first-person voice takes credit with great satisfaction for all sorts of sad and tragic events, name-checking the likes of Hank Williams, John Denver, Curt Cobain, Mike Tyson, and Jimi Hendrix, just to name a few. The moment in time in 1977 from which the song gets its name, however, is the infamous television wrestling match where Greg "The Hammer" Valentine breaks the leg of hated rival Chief Wahoo McDaniel. Perhaps his most devious deed of all.

"If I could do you in, I'd do it right now and it would make me smile..."

 

It's dark and twisted and at the same time funny and clever and serves as a reminder that ol' Satan is always waiting around the corner for us to give in to our vices that always lead to trouble.

Late last year, Sweet GA Brown released a cool little 45rpm 7" vinyl single of the song, with a wrestling-related b-side as well, "The Ballad of Terry Gordy." The vinyl has great looking labels featuring images of both Valentine and Gordy, as well as sleeve-wrap that is designed to evoke the image of an old school wrestling event poster.

Those aren't Brown's only tunes with a wrestling connection, by the way - - "American Dream" samples some classic Dusty Rhodes promos. There are likely a few more I just haven't come across yet.

I somehow missed that these singles were available when they were first released last year. It was apparently a very limited run. When I found the web page featuring them on Brown's Bandcamp site, there was no longer a link to buy them. Fearing they had sold out, I contacted them through the site and was delighted to be able to still purchase a copy, which I received this week (photo above.) He was nice enough to send me a copy, too, after having read our original review of the song.

The vinyl version of the song (as opposed to the digital version which is available for download here) features a funny opening prelude with the voice of Greg "The Hammer" Valentine cornering Brown wanting residuals. The vinyl version also features a Honky Tonk Man coda, the voice of Wayne Ferris busting Sweet GA Brown right in the chops, too.

I believe there are still some of these 7" vinyl records left from WEREOPOSSUM Records, at least there were back in April when they posted a graphic on Facebook with ordering info. You can contact them and inquire by email at wereopossum@gmail.com. That graphic is posted below.  It's such a a cool collectible, a keepsake channeling an iconic moment in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling history, and worth having for the cool packaging and labels (on vinyl, no less) whether you wind up digging the song or not. In the meantime, you can check out some of Sweet GA Brown's music on his Bandcamp website and support the artist by downloading a track or two. Listen to "I Broke Wahoo's Leg" and also download for a mere $1.00 here.

For the record (if you'll pardon the pun), here are my five personal favorite tracks:

Mid-Atlantic Gateway Top 5 Favorite Songs by Sweet GA Brown

1. I Broke Wahoo's Leg (from the album "Wordsmith")
2. Kansas City Star (from the album "Miller Time")
3. The American Dream (from the album "Wordsmith")
4. Live Forever (from the album "I Digress...")
5. Let's Go Crazy (Prince Cover)(from the album "Wordsmith")

 

Related links:

• Sweet GA Brown website (Bandcamp)
• Sweet GA Brown facebook
• Greg Valentine comments
• Breaking Wahoo's Leg (And Other Transgressions) (Mid-Atlantic Gateway)
• I Broke Wahoo's Leg - Revisited   (Mid-Atlantic Gateway)
• "I Broke Wahoo's Leg" - Digital Download 

Awesome Reviews:

• Sweet GA Brown Proves He’s A ‘Wordsmith’ in New Album (SavingCountryMusic.com)
• Wordsmith Lives Up to Its Promise (The Pulse)
• Wordsmith Record Review (Sad Songs Keep the Devil Away - ssktda.com)

Wereopossum@gmail.com PayPal sweetgabrown.bandcamp.com Cash or PayPal 7 US 15 CANADA 17 AROUND THE WORLD (this price includes shipping) #sweetgabrown #wordsmith #wrestling #vinyl #7inchvinyl #wereopossumrecords #earflyrecords #ibrokewahoosleg #freebirds #topthatkiller

A post shared by The Sweet G.A Brown (@thesweetgabrown) on Feb 5, 2017 at 4:11am PST

Never Give The Devil A Ride

Dr. Andy McDaniel
Sr. Pastor, Bounty Land Baptist Church

As a Pastor for over 15 years now I can say that I have had many inspirations for Messages over the years. Certainly headlines from the world over can create a thought. Personal conflicts in my own life or the lives of those around me can place a spiritual mindset that allows a direction toward a certain Passage of Scripture which in turn develops a new sermon or even sermon series.

However, I can also say that my involvement in and around the professional wrestling business has had much to offer me in ways of presentation, illustrations, and even wording at times. I cannot honestly say, in the over 500 sermons that I have written, how many times I have used the phrase "if you will" thanks Dusty Rhodes. Over the years there have been a few “that’s the bottom line" and yes, even a "Woooo!" So as you can see, being a longtime fan of pro wrestling, as well as having been blessed to be involved and even greater, make friends in the business, it has impacted my ministry in a very personal way. One might not normally connect wrestling and preaching, but for me it has become a very typical process. I mean Tully Blanchard, Nikita Koloff, Ted DiBiase, and George South, just to name a few, have all spoken in my churches over the years.

It was not so long ago that the Mid-Atlantic Gateway unknowingly provided a new inspiration for a Message. The link they posted for the song “I Broke Wahoo’s Leg” by Sweet GA Brown, caused the creative juices to start flowing, if you will. (Just couldn’t help that one.)

As I listened to these words I got the Message. It was clear: when dealing with the devil we find that indeed he has no conscience and will go to any length to create havoc in our lives. Whether turning Hank on to heroin or helping John Denver fly a plane, selling shotgun shells to Kurt Cobain or yes, even breaking Wahoo’s leg, (all the works of the devil outlined in this song) we can see that this enemy we face does not care about who he hurts or what he has to do in order to bring pain to our lives.

I have never forgotten that Saturday morning when I witnessed the dastardly Greg “the Hammer” Valentine break the leg of my childhood hero, Wahoo McDaniel. Growing up in the era of, what I like to still believe was the greatest pro wrestling ever, those memories are still a very vivid picture in my mind.

I Broke Wahoo's Leg - Revisited

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine in 1977 (inset) and 2005.
(Blake Arledge Photo)

One of the most enduring images from Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling in 1977 was Greg Valentine's simple black t-shirt that read: "I Broke Wahoo's Leg." (On the back it said "No More Wahoo")

At a Wrestling Legends show booked by George South in Spartanburg in 2005, Greg Valentine re-enacted that scene that had taken place 28 years earlier.

Greg wore a nearly identical t-shirt to the ring and also sported a replica of the old Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship like the one he took from Wahoo during the very match where he broke Wahoo's leg.

That belt was briefly recognized and defended as the Mid-Atlantic Heritage Championship from 2005-2009. It was retired by the Masked Superstar (Bill Eadie.)

Greg really seemed to enjoy that night in Spartanburg. Seeing him come down the aisle with that belt and that t-shirt took you straight back to 1977!

* * * * *

In some ways, you can say that 1977 angle was culturally relevant. It became the title of a wonderful song about various dastardly deeds of the devil on singer/songwriter Sweet G.A. Brown's album "Wordsmith." Give his brilliant song a try; it's deliciously twisted and the chorus is addictive. We wrote about it earlier on the Gateway.

 

It also became a talking point by Lucha Underground commentator Matt Striker when attempting to explain the frame of mind of luchadore Pentagon Jr.  We wrote about that, too.

 * * * * *

Breaking Wahoo's Leg (And Other Transgressions)

 

by Dick Bourne

Mid-Atlantic Gateway

 

Ok, this is amazing. An alt-country-rock song that has a title referencing one of the most infamous moments in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling history.

It's actually kind of sick, too. The song's narrator is all like - - well, I don't know - - like Satan meets Brian Williams. You know, like the guy that says he's always around when stuff is going down. Given some of the real tragedies written about in this song, it likely was ol' Satan indeed.

The song is "I Broke Wahoo's Leg" by Sweet G.A. Brown. Some of the (brilliant) lyrics, as best I can make them out:

Well I'm the man that turned Hank on to heroine,

Yeah, I'm the man that broke Wahoo's leg,

Well I'm the man who taught John Denver how to fly the plane,

And I sold shotgun shells to Curt Cobain.

Well I gave Tyson twenty bucks for Evander's ear,

And I'm the dude that bought George Jones his first round of beers...

There are some other references to shoving Jimmy Buffett off a stage, helping Hank, Jr. get his career turned around, and a Jimi Hendrix reference, too. 

And by the way, none of us are safe; the devil reminds us that as soon as he figures us out, he'll get us, too.  

 

"Your vice is your undoing," he says, "and I'm here for you."

The video features a brief clip of Greg Valentine delivering a "bionic elbow drop" to Wahoo McDaniel. As any old fan of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling knows, the title of the song (which is the the second line of the chorus) is a reference to one of the most famous matches (and most infamous t-shirts) in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling history.

 

This song just rocks.

I have to tell you, I love the twisted idea of throwing Greg Valentine's evil deed in with all those other tragedies. I guess Wahoo McDaniel's vice was thinking he could get away with taking the Mid-Atlantic championship belt from Valentine. He learned the hard way on that sad Wednesday night in 1977 in Raleigh, NC, that he couldn't for very long.

Sweet G.A. Brown is bound to be an old-school rasslin' fan. I love that, too.

The song is titled "I Broke Wahoo's Leg" and is written and performed by Sweet G.A. Brown. It is from the album "Wordsmith" and is available for download here.

Find out more at:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSweetG.A.Brown

Website: http://sweetgabrown.bandcamp.com

A nice review at The Pulse.