Florida's Role in the Race/Funk NWA Title Change in Toronto

Today (February 6) marks the anniversary of Harley Race's historic NWA title win over Terry Funk in Toronto, Canada, that took place on February 6, 1977. It was Race's second NWA title win, with six more to come over the next seven years.

Forgotten by many is the key role Championship Wrestling from Florida played in the key events that led up to title change in Toronto.

The following is an article about all of that magic originally published on The Domed Globe website and republished on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway in May of 2021.

 

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

We're always appreciative of newspapers that do a good job of presenting wrestling in a journalistic fashion. This is a particularly good article in the Tampa Tribune promoting an upcoming card for Championship Wrestling from Florida on February 8, 1977, just two nights after Harley Race defeated Terry Funk with an Indian deathlock to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. 

Who knows who wrote the piece. It doesn't really sound like it came from the office, but it sounds way too informed to be written by the a staff sports writer either.

The article captures all the complete twists and turns in the wonderful story leading up to this night at the fabled Fort Homer Hesterly Armory. There were actually two separate stories being told.

The first story cemented former champion Jack Brisco as Florida's top contender for the NWA title. Many of the fans coming to the Hesterly Armory that Tuesday night had witnessed Brisco cleanly beat Harley Race, also a former champion, that past Saturday in St. Petersburg. Surely Brisco could beat Race again, this time with his newly won NWA World championship at stake in Tampa.

The second story told answered a question many might have had following the finish to the title change match in Toronto. As a teenage fan watching wrestling in 1977, when the film of the match from Toronto was shown on Mid-Atlantic television, it seemed strange to me that Race had won by submission with an Indian deathlock. I had only ever seen our local hero Paul Jones win with that hold. In the wrestling magazines, it seemed the reports usually suggested Race typically won with various suplexes or his infamous flying headbutt from the top turnbuckle, resulting in wins by three-count pinfall. Why had Race instead gone for the submission for the win against Funk in Toronto? 

The answer, it turned out, played out the night before in Florida.

The main event of the card in St. Petersburg on Saturday night was Terry Funk defending the NWA title against Dusty Rhodes. As the article above reports, Funk injured his knee in the match against Rhodes, and "against his better judgement" went ahead with the scheduled title defense against Race the next night in Toronto.

The rest, as they say, is history. Race knew what most fans didn't about the night before in the St, Petertsburg Bayfront Arena. Funk was hurt, and Race took advantage. He defeated Funk in 14:10 with an Indian death-lock to capture the gold belt. (I can still hear ring announcer Norm Kimber make the famous call.) It was a hold Race used infrequently (if ever?) and seemed almost out of place as it happened that night in Maple Leaf Gardens.

As the author of the article pointed out. Brisco's victory over Race in St. Petersburg came three days too early. Race got the better of him in Tampa this night to retain.  

• SAT FEB 5, 1977 - St. Petersburg, FL - NWA Champ Terry Funk injures his knee in a successful world title defense against Dusty Rhodes. On the same card, Jack Brisco defeats Harley Race.
• SUN FEB 6, 1977 - Toronto, ON - Harley Race defeats Terry Funk to win the NWA World Title. Race deploys a rarely-used Indian deathlock to win the match, exploiting Funk's hurt knee from the night before in St. Petersburg.
• TUE FEB 8, 1977 - Tampa, FL - New NWA Champion Harley Race defeats Jack Brisco to defend title, the result of the match written about in the article seen above.
  
  

The injury to Funk's knee in St. Petersburg gave Funk an excuse he could bandy about after his loss to Race in Toronto the next night.

The article also colors between the lines nicely, accurately reporting key dates in the NWA title history of Brisco and the Funk Brothers, and even including a reference to an NWA title change in the same building eight years earlier to the week.

It's just an all around amazing piece to be found in a newspaper, and one of my favorite clippings from the history of the NWA title changes during the domed-globe era. And for those curious, it explains one of the mysteries about the historic Toronto finish some fans may have had at the time. 

* * * * * 

Video of Harley Race's win over Funk in Toronto can be found on the Domed-Globe website here.

See three pages from the Florida program "The Grapevine" for the Feb. 5 show in St. Petersburg that set the stage for Toronto. (Thanks@bobbynorton9115 on Twitter.)  

2/5/77 NWA Champion Terry Funk loses by DQ against Dusty Rhodes at the Bayfront Center. Funk loses the championship belt in his next match against Harley Race 2/8/77 in Toronto. @wrestlerweekly @magateway @ByMikeMooneyham pic.twitter.com/xVRo5lqzlx

— Championship Wrestling from Florida Guy (@bobbynorton9115) May 21, 2021

This article was originally posted on The Domed Globe in May 2021 and the Mid-Atlantic Gateway that same month.

Johnny Weaver's Important Role in Toronto During the Mid-Atlantic Years

by Andrew Calvert
MapleLeafWrestling.com
Special to the Mid-Atlantic Gateway 

Johnny Weaver made his Toronto debut amid a flurry of re-organization for the territory. It was late 1978 and Frank Tunney had left his brief AWA association behind. A new partnership with Jim Crockett Jr. & George Scott was soon to revitalize the area, and Weaver remained a regular through the end days of the NWA in the city. 

He later took over the booking for the twice monthly shows at MLG and often the small circuit, but in the beginning he made his mark as a popular veteran, a man of 1000 holds type. The first time I saw Weaver at MLG he worked circles around his opponent, not an imposing figure but well versed and smooth in the ring. A local newsletter even asked 'why is Johnny Weaver wrestling in prelims?'

One of those early bouts was against Rudy Kay, of the wrestling family 'the Cormiers' out of New Brunswick. Weaver and Rudy and Kay's brothers -wrestling as Terry Kay and Leo Burke- were to be a big part of the scene a few years later. 

In Toronto we saw a good mix of talent from all over the wrestling world and often had rarer teaming's or bouts that you may not find in other cities. Both at MLG and on TV. Weaver, who regularly teamed with Mid Atlantic regulars Tony Atlas & Jay Youngblood, also teamed here with some of our local guys. Dewey Robertson, Tiger Jeet Singh, Dino Bravo, and Terry Yorkston were some of the pairings on the circuit and on TV. Weaver also teamed up on occasion with popular Billy Red Lyons (now full time announcer, mostly) in a great pairing of classic era stars. 

Since he appeared mostly in the openers or mid card we saw Weaver a lot when other wrestlers were needed ringside. A few times he got mixed up in Ric Flair bouts. At the 50th Anniversary show in Nov 1981 he came out to help NWA champ Flair after opponent Harley Race had attacked Flair after being pinned. Weaver, for his trouble, got a face full of the NWA title belt as Race swung it around the ring. After more wrestlers came out to help, a bloody Weaver assisted Flair down the ramp to the dressing rooms. 

At the Return of Champions Exhibition Stadium card in July 1983 Weaver was assigned as a special referee for the main of (now) NWA champ Race vs Flair. Flair came off the ropes all set to hit Race with an elbow but Race leaped out of the way and Flair caught Weaver flush, knocking him down. Flair quickly locked Race in a figure four and had him tied up and thrashing around when Weaver raised his arm. The crowd went wild thinking that Flair had taken back the belt -however, Weaver was signifying that Flair was disqualified for hitting the referee. The crowd wasn't happy, and either was Flair. When Flair argued with him, Weaver hit him hard with his own elbow. Flair went through the ropes and returned with the timekeeper's hammer, and as Weaver started to argue with Race, Flair started chasing Weaver back across the field with the hammer. Keep in mind Flair was a fan favorite here, a huge fan favorite!

On another card Angelo Mosca was attempting to win his Canadian Heavyweight Title back from Big John Studd in a steel cage bout. The bout ended in a melee with Mosca winning, but on the receiving end of a Studd beatdown inside the cage. Out came Weaver, running into the ring to save our beloved new champ, and WHOMP. Studd flattened him. Mosca soon regained his wits and he and Weaver gained the upper hand. Weaver had been in his own cage bout earlier vs Lord Alfred Hayes and was already bandaged up as he carried Mosca down the ramp. 

In mid 1982 Weaver entered into a long series with Leo Burke. The two had a bit of a history already, They had been tag team partners in the early 70's in Mid-Atlantic, where Leo had wrestled as Bobby Kay. In 1972 Weaver went on a tour of Leo's home turf on the East coast teaming with Leo against Freddie Sweetan, Mike Dubois, and others. Weaver returned again in 1975. They tried it again in Toronto only to have Burke quickly turn against Weaver. Burke was now also the North American champion, adopted in from Calgary (but not explained). The two started a long feud over the title, trading it back and forth, also involving Rudy & Terry Kay, Leo's brothers. 

By this time Weaver was handling the booking of the cards. He was well respected by his peers and was said to always 'have a dip of Skoal' in his lip. Along with his long feuds vs Hayes and Burke, Weaver also teamed with some up and comers. Kelly Kiniski, Keith Larsen, and Buddy Hart (Bret) were regular partners in good veteran-rookie type teams a 'la Weaver & Youngblood. That team too was very popular. In the 1982 Cadillac Tournament Weaver & Youngblood drew each other as seeds for the first round matchup, and went on to have an exciting scientific type bout. As Norm Kimber announced 30 seconds left in the bout, Weaver trapped Youngblood in his sleeper. Time would run out and referee Tommy Young gave a referee's decision to Weaver. The two shook hands, to the delight of the fans. It was a great way to kick off the tournament and one of my favorite matchups of the era.

Andrew Calvert's "The Canadian Heavyweight Title: The Complete History 1978-1984" is proudly featured in the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Book Store

Calvert's Book on the Canadian Title is a look back at the Crockett-Era in Toronto

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

In late 1978 or early 1979, I started noticing in some of the newsstand wrestling magazines that the top stars in the Mid-Atlantic wrestling area were regularly headlining in Toronto. At the same time, the Canadian Heavyweight champion, with his Canadian Heavyweight title belt, started showing up on our weekly Mid-Atlantic television programs and on our local cards.

This was long before the days of the Internet and behind-the-scenes wrestling newsletters, and I had no idea what was going on. One of our weekly TV programs was  called "World Wide Wrestling" and so I just assumed that maybe we now really were worldwide!

It wasn't until well into the 1980s that I learned the our promoter Jim Crockett, Jr. and the promoter in Toronto Frank Tunney had a working relationship.

My first exposure to Toronto wrestling was in 1977 when the tape of an NWA World Title change in Maple Leaf Gardens aired on our local TV shows. "Handsome" Harley Race defeated Terry Funk for the famous "ten pounds of gold." The TV commentators were former NWA president Sam Muchnick and a former NWA champion I later would learn had been a fixture of Toronto wrestling for decades, Whipper Billy Watson.

Two things made Toronto seem special and unique to me right off the bat. First was that elevated walkway, the famous Toronto "ramp", that led to the ring. I had never seen such a thing, and that whole concept intrigued me. Secondly though, and more lasting in my memory over the years, was the iconic call by Toronto ring announcer Norm Kimber announcing the new champion. I actually made an audio cassette recording of that, and the many times I've listened to it over the next years had it burned into my brain. It wasn't just what he said, it was the dramatic way he said it...

"The winner of the match, the time 14 minutes 10 seconds with an Indian deathlock, the new heavyweight champion of the world Harley Race!"  - Norm Kimber
LISTEN TO THE AUDIO (14 sec.)

In my opinion, Kimber was one of the great ring announcers of all time.

I later learned there were many other things that made Toronto unique and special. Toronto was one of those towns that was similar to St. Louis and Houston in that they often booked wrestlers from lots of different territories and promotions to make up their big cards, and although it was an NWA town, all the various world champions from the NWA, WWF, and AWA all defended their titles there. And of course the name of the venue sounded cool to me, too. Maple Leaf Gardens. This sounded akin to Madison Square Garden and gave it a more mythical feel as a teenager at my great remove.

I've recently had the pleasure and good fortune to assist author Andrew Calvert in publishing his new book "The Canadian Heavyweight Title: A Complete History 1978-1984." Andrew publishes the popular Maple Leaf Wrestling history website (MapleLeafWrestling.com.)  His book chronicles Toronto's Canadian Heavyweight title during those years, a time period known to locals as the "Mid-Atlantic era" because of the close relationship with the NWA territory of that name in the United States. Andrew has done a wonderful job in telling the story of the title and all of the champions who held it during those years, many of whom were headlining in the Mid-Atlantic territory as well.

The research and writing in the book is Andrew's; I only did the layout and design, and helped structure the book in a similar fashion to what I've done with a few of my Gateway history books on our championships. We are honored to include it here in the series of books we've published on the Crockett championships. The book is available exclusively on Amazon, with links included in our Mid-Atlantic Gateway Book Store.

Since first discovering way back in the late 1970s that Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat were selling out Toronto cards at the same time they were headlining here, I've always wanted to know more about that special time in Toronto. As a result of helping Andrew lay out his book, I've learned a great deal about this special time, including the fact that the working relationship between Tunney and the Crocketts was much more formal and corporate than I ever knew before. It actually involved Tunney, Crockett, and George Scott, as the three formed a separate company behind the scenes. You'll learn all the details of that in Andrew's book, how it came together, and how it eventually fell apart.

The book includes a detailed history of the Championship from its inception in 1978 until its demise in 1984, as the Toronto office developed a new relationship with the WWF. Plus, a look at all the champions that held the title, the championship tournaments, and all the title changes. The book also includes a brief history of Toronto wrestling in general, a spotlight on Frank Tunney, newspaper clippings, vintage photographs, and more.

And for those interested in the belt itself, the book is lavishly illustrated with detailed photos of the original Canadian title belt, crafted by the famous belt maker Alex Mulko, aka Nikita Mulkovich, as well as details on how you can own a cast replica of the original for your very own.

It was a magic time, during a wonderful period when the Canadian and U.S. titles were defended on the same Toronto cards, alongside the NWA, WWF, and AWA titles. Experience all this rich history in Andrew Calvert's great new book, available now on Amazon.com.

Originally posted October 8, 2019 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

 

New Book on the Canadian Heavweight Title Parallels the "Mid-Atlantic Era" in Toronto

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

In late 1978 or early 1979, I started noticing in some of the newsstand wrestling magazines that the top stars in the Mid-Atlantic wrestling area were regularly headlining in Toronto. At the same time, the Canadian Heavyweight champion, with his Canadian Heavyweight title belt, started showing up on our weekly Mid-Atlantic television programs and on our local cards.

This was long before the days of the Internet and behind-the-scenes wrestling newsletters, and I had no idea what was going on. One of our weekly TV programs was  called "World Wide Wrestling" and so I just assumed that maybe we now really were worldwide!

It wasn't until well into the 1980s that I learned the our promoter Jim Crockett, Jr. and the promoter in Toronto Frank Tunney had a working relationship.

My first exposure to Toronto wrestling was in 1977 when the tape of an NWA World Title change in Maple Leaf Gardens aired on our local TV shows. "Handsome" Harley Race defeated Terry Funk for the famous "ten pounds of gold." The TV commentators were former NWA president Sam Muchnick and a former NWA champion I later would learn had been a fixture of Toronto wrestling for decades, Whipper Billy Watson.

Two things made Toronto seem special and unique to me right off the bat. First was that elevated walkway, the famous Toronto "ramp", that led to the ring. I had never seen such a thing, and that whole concept intrigued me. Secondly though, and more lasting in my memory over the years, was the iconic call by Toronto ring announcer Norm Kimber announcing the new champion. I actually made an audio cassette recording of that, and the many times I've listened to it over the next years had it burned into my brain. It wasn't just what he said, it was the dramatic way he said it...

"The winner of the match, the time 14 minutes 10 seconds with an Indian deathlock, the new heavyweight champion of the world Harley Race!"  - Norm Kimber
LISTEN TO THE AUDIO (14 sec.)

In my opinion, Kimber was one of the great ring announcers of all time.

I later learned there were many other things that made Toronto unique and special. Toronto was one of those towns that was similar to St. Louis and Houston in that they often booked wrestlers from lots of different territories and promotions to make up their big cards, and although it was an NWA town, all the various world champions from the NWA, WWF, and AWA all defended their titles there. And of course the name of the venue sounded cool to me, too. Maple Leaf Gardens. This sounded akin to Madison Square Garden and gave it a more mythical feel as a teenager at my great remove.

I've recently had the pleasure and good fortune to assist author Andrew Calvert in publishing his new book "The Canadian Heavyweight Title: A Complete History 1978-1984." Andrew publishes the popular Maple Leaf Wrestling history website (MapleLeafWrestling.com.)  His book chronicles Toronto's Canadian Heavyweight title during those years, a time period known to locals as the "Mid-Atlantic era" because of the close relationship with the NWA territory of that name in the United States. Andrew has done a wonderful job in telling the story of the title and all of the champions who held it during those years, many of whom were headlining in the Mid-Atlantic territory as well.

The research and writing in the book is Andrew's; I only did the layout and design, and helped structure the book in a similar fashion to what I've done with a few of my Gateway history books on our championships. We are honored to include it here in the series of books we've published on the Crockett championships. The book is available exclusively on Amazon, with links included in our Mid-Atlantic Gateway Book Store.

Since first discovering way back in the late 1970s that Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat were selling out Toronto cards at the same time they were headlining here, I've always wanted to know more about that special time in Toronto. As a result of helping Andrew lay out his book, I've learned a great deal about this special time, including the fact that the working relationship between Tunney and the Crocketts was much more formal and corporate than I ever knew before. It actually involved Tunney, Crockett, and George Scott, as the three formed a separate company behind the scenes. You'll learn all the details of that in Andrew's book, how it came together, and how it eventually fell apart.

The book includes a detailed history of the Championship from its inception in 1978 until its demise in 1984, as the Toronto office developed a new relationship with the WWF. Plus, a look at all the champions that held the title, the championship tournaments, and all the title changes. The book also includes a brief history of Toronto wrestling in general, a spotlight on Frank Tunney, newspaper clippings, vintage photographs, and more.

And for those interested in the belt itself, the book is lavishly illustrated with detailed photos of the original Canadian title belt, crafted by the famous belt maker Alex Mulko, aka Nikita Mulkovich, as well as details on how you can own a cast replica of the original for your very own.

It was a magic time, during a wonderful period when the Canadian and U.S. titles were defended on the same Toronto cards, alongside the NWA, WWF, and AWA titles. Experience all this rich history in Andrew Calvert's great new book, available now on Amazon.com.

Action Figures Friday: Valentine vs. Bravo in Toronto

Barry Hatchet / MapleLeafWrestling.com

There is no one that does detail on staging classic wrestling action figure photos quite like Barry Hatchet in his "Make Believe Gardens" series on MapleLeafWrestling.com.

This photo features Canadian Heavyweight Champion Dino Bravo vs. challenger Greg Valentine 

From the Maple Leaf Wrestling website:

Dino Bravo and Greg 'Hammer' Valentine had some great bouts in Toronto over our Canadian Heavyweight Title. This could be any one of 3 where Bravo was champ at introductions. Valentine would eventually beat Bravo for the title in April but would lose it back in June.

Bravo had recently turned back the challenge of Ric Flair and had tagged with Ricky Steamboat against the team of Flair and Valentine before starting this series.

Jim Crockett Promotions and Toronto Promoter Frank Tunney had a working relationship between 1978 and 1983, where Tunney booked a majority of his talent appearing on Toronto cards from the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling territory. The Canadian heavyweight champions during this era also appeared for Jim Crockett Promotions on cards in their cities, as well as on the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling and World Wide Wrestling TV shows, with the Canadian title belt.

More excellent photos from this staging can be found here.

Blooper from Toronto!

 

Thanks to Andrew Calvert at MapleLeafWrestling.com for sending us this ad from November 1980 featuring an interesting nickname for Jimmy Snuka! 

"When you first started posting the bloopers I went through the Toronto ads thinking there must be a ton of them," Andrew wrote me. "It was the only one I could find!"

What a great card at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. A significant amount of talent booked on Toronto cards during this era (1978-1983) came from the Charlotte booking office of the NWA, Jim Crockett Promotions. 

All the Crockett championships were defended there during this time, along with the Canadian title. And both the NWA and WWF world titles were defended there, too. It was a unique city and special place for wrestling in those days.

For more Boopers, visit here.

1982 Tournament Coda: What if Toronto?

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway
with Andrew Calvert, Maple Leaf Wrestling 

I'm not normally into fantasy booking, although one can't help but wonder what a tournament in Toronto would have looked like in 1982 when the NWA World Tag Team titles were up for grabs in tournaments being held in many cities across three different promotions.

I'm referring, of course, to the nearly 5-month long multi-city tournament for those vacant tag team titles that we recently covered in a 12-part series. And by all accounts, Toronto was supposed to host one of those regional city tournaments, but did not. (We discuss all of this in Part Eight - Lost Tournaments of our 12-part series on that 1982 extravaganza.)

Andrew Calvert, of the excellent Maple Leaf Wrestling website, and I began an email exchange while I was working on that series imagining "what if" a tournament had been held in Toronto. I asked him to come up with an imaginary bracket based on who was regularly working Toronto at the time, figuring in some "special appearances", too, similar to the other tournaments.

We kicked it around and here is what we came up with:

In addition to the tournament matches, the card would feature three other main event bouts, all apropos of the times:

• NWA World Championship: Ric Flair vs. Harley Race
• WWWF Championship: Bob Backlund vs. Greg Valentine
• Canadian Heavyweight Championship: Angelo Mosca vs. Ivan Koloff

What a card! And it very easily could have been put together in those years. Obviously a 10 match card would be somewhat out of the ordinary, but as long as we're fantasy booking this, might as well have both the NWA and WWWF champion make a title defense, as both champions regularly appeared atop Toronto cards in this era.

Let's take a look at the tournament teams:

Gene Kiniski/Kelly Kiniski
Former NWA World Champion Gene Kiniski was a fixture in Toronto and one if its biggest all-time stars. His son Kelly was just getting started in the business and would work much of 1982 for Jim Crockett Promotions learning his craft. We obviously would want this rare father-and-son pairing in the tournament.

Rick Martel/Tony Garea
An extremely popular tag team in the WWWF at the time and widely known to Toronto fans as they saw WWWF TV in their market. This would be one of the "outside" special guest teams, similar to what we saw in the other city tournaments.

John Bonello/Tony Parisi
As Andrew described them, this would be a good "local team." Both were local favorites, Parisi was in nearly every opener, and Bonello was the popular local youngster.

Adrian Adonis/Jessie Ventura
Coming off a big win in their Toronto tag-team debut over Tony Parisi & Dom Denucci earlier that year, they were familiar to Toronto fans as they had AWA TV in the Toronto market for years. Adonis and Ventura legit appeared in the tournament held in Greensboro, NC in February and were presented on Crockett TV as an AWA representative in the tournament. They got over huge in their first Toronto appearance as a team and would have made a great team for this tournament.

Dino Bravo/Ricky Steamboat
The two popular stars had teamed in Toronto before. Bravo was a former Canadian champion who had just returned after a two year absence. Steamboat had become a huge star in Toronto over the years that Jim Crockett Promotions booked talent into the Toronto office. A perfect babyface team for the tournament.

Ole Anderson/Stan Hansen
According to Andrew, Stan Hansen never wrestled in Toronto, but it seemed to me that this would have been the perfect time for him to make that debut. The Anderson/Hansen team were the only team to wrestle in all of the legit tournaments, and I would hate for that streak to have been broken here. And of course they wound up winning the whole thing.

An alternate plan was to have The Destroyer (Dick Beyer) team with Ole instead. Beyer was regular in Toronto and a heel the fans loved to hate (similar to Kiniski). According to Andrew, the fans would have loved this team.

Blackjack Mulligan Sr. and Jr.
A second great father and son duo for this tournament.  Blackjack Jr. (Barry Windham) made his Toronto debut in February of 1982 and got over with the Toronto fans in a big way. Mulligan Sr. was also a favorite in Toronto.

John Studd/Sgt. Slaughter
Studd was the #1 contender to the Canadian title and U.S. Champion Sgt. Slaughter always a huge (hated) favorite in Toronto.


As far as how the tournament might play out:

• Martel and Garea would advance over the Kiniskis, which could be booked in such a fashion that it was Kelly Kiniski's inexperience that resulted in their first round defeat.
• Ventura and Adonis would dominate Bonello and Parisi, establishing them as the top heel team quickly since they would be going to the finals. 
• Bravo and Steamboat would go over Anderson and Hansen in one of the most competitive bouts of the entire tournament, a match that would be hard to pick if you were filling out your brackets early.
• Slaughter and Studd would defeat the Mulligans with heavy heel tactics. This would be one of the more heated matches in the tournament since there were established singles-issues with all of these four men. 

The semi-finals would provide two excellent match-ups:

• Ventura and Adonis would use every dirty tactic possible to go over Martel and Garea in what would amount to a WWWF vs. AWA match-up. (There was some thought to having the Kiniskis advance to face Ventura and Adonis, a heel-vs.-heel match up, which might have been a ton of fun. In the end, we settled for the more traditional approach here.)
• Likewise Sarge and Studd would be taking every shortcut in hopes of getting to the finals, but Steamboat and Bravo would rise to the occasion and advance.

In the finals:

• It would be a dream final, and many fans would cheer for the popular "bad guys" Adonis and Ventura in the match-up against Steamboat and Bravo. Eventually, the "good guys" would prevail (as they almost always did in Toronto tournaments of that era, according to Andrew.)

Your Toronto Tournament Winners: Dino Bravo and Ricky Steamboat!

Oh, what could have been!

LATE EDIT:
Andrew posted this video, Johnny Weaver explaining the NWA World Tag Team tournament structure on Toronto's Maple Leaf Wrestling TV show. Even though Weaver mentions they were hopeful for a tournament to be held in Toronto, it never happened.

Special thanks to Andrew Calvert for his input in coming up with this fantasy tournament in Toronto. For more information on the history of wrestling in Toronto and the Maple Leaf Gardens, visit the Maple Leaf Wrestling website.

Race snares Flair in the Indian Deathlock at Toronto's "Night of Champions"

NWA Champion Harley Race applies the Indian Deathlock to Ric Flair in Toronto.

MAPLE LEAF WRESTLING NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS
Exhibition Stadium - - Toronto, Ontario - - July 10, 1983
Attendance 20,000 (Toronto attendance record at that time)

As you watch the summer of 1983 episodes of "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" on the WWE Network, it is easy to forget how hot this brand of wrestling was far north of the traditional Mid-Atlantic territory. Wrestling was on fire (as it often was) in Toronto, Ontario and the Tunney's working relationship with Jim Crockett Promotions led to a huge card at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium in July of 1983. Details of the card are below.

The photo above is interesting to me because it shows Harley Race applying the Indian Deathlock to Ric Flair. Race was currently in his seventh reign as NWA world champion, which was a record at that point in time. But when he began his second title reign six years earlier, he used this very same hold in this very same city to defeat Terry Funk.

As a young fan in the mid-1970s, the only wrestler I had ever seen use that hold was "Number One" Paul Jones. It was his signature finisher. Seeing Race win with it was surprising, but what would be even more surprising to me was that I don't think I ever saw him use it again! And then this photo shows up with Race using the same hold in the same city where Race beat Funk with it in 1977. To quote Yogi Berra, it was like a deja vu all over again.

Maybe it only works for him North of the border.

Race would lose the NWA title back to Ric Flair later that same year at Starrcade '83 in Greensboro, North Carolina. The exciting working relationship between Tunney and Crockett would end around the same time as well, as Jack Tunney made a deal with Vince McMahon Jr. to book only WWF talent into Toronto late that same year.


Results from the Toronto Night of Champions

• NWA World Championship: Harley Race defeated Ric Flair by DQ to retain title
• Canadian Championship: Angelo Mosca defeated One Man Gang
• U.S. Championship: Greg Valentine and Wahoo McDaniel double count-out
• TV Championship: Great Kabuki defeated Jimmy Valiant
• World Tag Championship: Steamboat/Youngblood defeated  Funk Jr./Jake Roberts
• Women's World Championship: Fabulous Moolah defeated Princess Victoria
• Johnny Weaver/Mike Rotundo defeated Alec Girard/Tim Gerrard
• Sgt. Jacques Goulet/Kelly Kiniski defeated Bob Marcus/Joe Marcus
• Nick DeCarlo/Billy Ryan defeated The Executioner/Mike Armstrong 

(Thanks to Andrew Calvert of the Maple Leaf Wrestling website.)

Missed Opportunities: The Lost Tournaments of 1982

The 1982 NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament
PART EIGHT
by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

If you missed earlier posts in this series, check them out in the links below, especially the INTRODUCTION, which puts the whole tournament in a perspective that serves as a launching point for the following discussions. 

PART ONE: Introduction
PART TWO: Greensboro
PART THREE: Charlotte
PART FOUR: Richmond
PART FIVE: Atlanta
PART SIX: Fayetteville 
PART SEVEN: St. Petersburg


PLANS UNFULFILLED
Now that we have completed a review of all six city tournaments that actually took place in the NWA World Tag Team tournament in the late winter and early spring of 1982 (links above), it's time to take a look at some of the cities where tournaments were initially planned but, for various reasons, never took place.

When the tournament concept was originally conceived by booker Ole Anderson and Jim Crockett Promotions, the thought was that they would have several tournaments outside of the traditional Mid-Atlantic territory in other areas where they had promotional ties and good relationships.

I talked with Ole Anderson twice about these tournaments, once in 2008 (with mutual friend Peggy Lathan visiting Ole and Paul Jones outside Atlanta) and again in 2011 (at the NWA Wrestling Legends Fanfest in Atlanta.) Based on those conversations, here is where I believe those tournaments were to have taken place.


TORONTO: Maple Leaf Wrestling
There is little doubt that the original plan was to have a tournament in Toronto, Ontario in Canada for Frank Tunney's "Maple Leaf Wrestling" promotion.  Toronto was frequently mentioned by Sandy Scott during his early appearances pumping up the tournament as a whole. The Crockett's had been booking talent into Toronto for Tunney since 1978. But that Toronto tournament never came together.

"I can tell you that it was one of the biggest disappointments that it never happened here," Andrew Calvert told me via email. Andrew publishes the excellent Maple Leaf Wrestling history website and was a fan attending matches regularly in Toronto at that time. "There were rumors on Wood Street, the street behind Maple Leaf Gardens where all the fans congregated, that it would happen here."

Mosca and Khan teamed in the U.S. but likely would not have teamed
in Toronto. Mosca was a very popular Canadian champion.
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Andrew pointed out that there was a Cadillac tournament scheduled for Toronto on January 31, just before the tag tournaments began in earnest in the Mid-Atlantic area, but it was cancelled due to a huge snowstorm. "We figured we might have gotten the tag tournament instead," he said.

But it never happened.

"It would have been a natural, as times were good here then," Andrew continued, "and Tunney had been praised over the years for having 'popularized tag team wrestling in North America.' We had Adonis and Ventura here, too, for their only appearance as a tag team on January 17, 1982 and they were a huge hit." Adrian Adonis and Jessie Ventura were constantly mentioned on Mid-Atlantic TV as possibly entering several tournaments, and did participate in the Greensboro show.

One of the key wrestlers discussed for the tournament early on during Mid-Atlantic TV broadcasts was Angelo Mosca, who was Canadian Heavyweight champion at the time and one of top stars in Toronto. Who his partner for a tournament in Toronto would have been, had one been held there, isn't exactly clear. His partner in the United States was Killer Khan. They wrestled as a team on Mid-Atlantic TV and were in the finals in Charlotte. But Mosca was "good guy" at the time in Toronto and Khan decidedly was not. We'll never know, as a Toronto tournament regrettably never took place.


KNOXVILLE
NWA Southern Championship Wrestling
In 1981, a group of partners affiliated with Jim Crockett promotions bought the Knoxville  territory, which ran towns in east Tennessee, southwest Virginia and West Virginia.  Blackjack Mulligan was the primary partner, running the territory as a way to help season the skills of his son Barry Windham, who was wrestling as Blackjack Mulligan, Jr. at that time. Along with local Knoxville area talent, Mulligan booked a number of wrestlers regularly from Jim Crockett Promotions including John Studd, Jay Youngblood, Terry Taylor, and Johnny Weaver, Weaver helped Mulligan book the territory.

Blackjack Mulligan Sr. and Jr. would have surely been a
favorite if a tournament had been held in Knoxville.
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Ole Anderson said plans were definitely to have a tournament in Knoxville, but they never could work out the schedule to get enough teams there to get it done, and Knoxville was just about too small a territory at that time to have an 8-team tournament on its own. Time passed, there was no urgency, and it just never happened.
 
Mulligan Sr. and Jr. appeared for both the Knoxville group and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling during this time. Their only tournament appearance was in Charlotte.


COLUMBUS/MACON
Georgia Championship Wrestling/Fred Ward Promotions
Ole also told us that plans were to have a second tournament in Georgia in addition to the huge tournament held at the Omni in Atlanta. Promoter Fred Ward, who ran Columbus, Albany, and Macon, was to have hosted the second tournament in one of his towns, but for any number of reasons, it just never happened.


THE SUNSHINE STATE
Championship Wrestling from Florida
When the idea of the tournament was first conceived, Florida was in on the action and Florida promoter Eddie Graham was chosen as the figurehead tournament director, and introduced the tournament in a special video recorded on the set of "Championship Wrestling from Florida" with Gordon Solie. The video was seen both on "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" and "Georgia Championship Wrestling."

The Bayfront Arena in St. Petersburg hosted a tournament that was part of a big "Bayfront Spectacular" show. Ole Anderson confirmed there was to be at least one other tournament in Florida, perhaps more, but had no idea where. JCP was willing to send talent, but all of that was left up to Eddie Graham. St. Petersburg wound up being the final city tournament all together, and the only tournament to take place in Florida.


THE PALMETTO STATE
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Certainly there had to have been thoughts of having more tournaments in the Mid-Atlantic area, which only had four total. North Carolina got three tournaments (Greensboro, Charlotte, and Fayetteville) and Virginia got one (Richmond) but the third big state in the Mid-Atlantic territory, South Carolina, did not have one city with a tournament. It's hard to believe that one of the regular towns there (such as Greenville, Spartanburg, Charleston, or Columbia) weren't figured in the plans when the idea of the tournament was first conceived. But for whatever the reasons, there regrettably wasn't one in the Palmetto State.


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Coming Up in PART NINE:
A look at the fictional tournaments that were created as part of the larger tournament story, including the entire Western Division tournament which had its mythical finals in the state of Hawaii. And as part of that story, it would eventually be a "beach bum" wrestler from Hawaii that would throw a huge wrench in the works as the tournament neared its conclusion.

Action Figures Friday: Make Believe Gardens

This week we take another brief departure from Mike Simmerman's awesome collection of custom figures and photographs to take a look at another collection presented north of the border on the excellent Maple Leaf Wrestling Blog published by Andrew Calvert.

Barry Hatchet Photo

MLW contributor Barry Hatchet has taken some great photos of some custom figures on his custom designed Maple Leaf Gardens set. Similar to the custom designed TV studio that Mike uses for many of his Mid-Atlantic photographs, the little details in Barry's Maple Leaf Gardens set are what make these photos really work.

And Barry's detail is incredible! Right down to the 1980s boombox sitting at ringside for Jimmy Valiant's ring intro music. Plus ring steps, ringside table and ring bell, tag ropes, etc. Awesome stuff.

Here are two page links to posts on the Mapple Leaf Wrestling site with lots of incredible photos.

Make Believe Gardens !
http://mapleleafwrestling.blogspot.ca/2017/11/make-believe-gardens.html

More from Make Believe Gardens!
http://mapleleafwrestling.blogspot.ca/2017/12/more-from-make-believe-gardens.html

Mid-Atlantic Gateway Bookstore

Harley Race beats Terry Funk for the NWA World Title

39 years ago today, Harley Race defeated Terry Funk for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens.

Although former NWA champion Pat O'Connor is billed as special referee, he was not the referee in that match.

Video of the title change is included below from YouTube. Commentary is by former NWA champ "Whipper" Billy Watson and then former NWA president Sam Muchnick.

The ring announcer at the end making the dramatic call is Norm Kimber. You can jump to the finish and the dramatic call (at 7:00 into the video) in a new window by clicking here.