Prom Night with Mid-Atlantic Wrestling

By David Chappell
from the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archives

I remember the day well, April 30, 1976, the night of my High School Prom. At that time I was a junior at Patrick Henry High School, about ready to finish up the 11th grade. Back in those days, the Prom was held on campus at our gymnasium. I remember helping with the decorations and the preparations for the gala event. Yep, I was VERY excited about that Friday night spectacular! However, a funny thing happened to me on the way to the Prom, and it was called Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling!

Jim Crockett Promotions obviously did not know that my Prom was on April 30, 1976 as Mid-Atlantic Wrestling visited the Richmond Coliseum on that same Friday night. What was a young guy to do? Then I heard Les Thatcher announce the main event for that Richmond card would be Rufus R. Jones, Wahoo McDaniel and "The Eighth Wonder Of The World" Andre The Giant against Ric Flair, and his cousin’s Gene and Ole Anderson. With that announcement, my decision was made—I was going to the Coliseum!

You see, that six man tag team match had one of the greatest buildups in Mid-Atlantic history. Throughout the month of April in 1976, a feud was built between Rufus R. Jones and Ric Flair and the Andersons. I will never forget the sight of Rufus having a chauffeur’s cap put on him by Flair and then Ric and the Andersons slapping Rufus while they pushed him down on his knees.

The two weeks leading up to that Coliseum match had some of the best promos that Jim Crockett Promotions ever put out. Rufus was swearing out revenge for what was done to him, and he went out and got Wahoo and Andre as his partners. Andre did not appear in the area often, and it was a real event when he came to your town. The Andre the Giant of April 1976 was Andre in his physical prime. Andre was huge of course, but he also had amazing agility and dexterity for a man his size.

Ric Flair and the Andersons did a great job of hyping this six man tag as well. Ole in particular did some of his best interviews ever. Listening to Ric and Ole, you almost wanted to believe they had a chance against Andre’s team. But despite the best efforts of the "bad guys," I believe the huge crowd that showed up at the Coliseum that night was there for one reason and one reason only. To see Andre The Giant destroy the team from Minnesota!

I remember talking to some other Coliseum regulars that night that the undercard looked kind of weak. There were only five matches, and usually Coliseum cards had seven matches. Sure enough, the first two matches were below average. The third match saw the first Richmond appearance of Italian star, Dino Bravo. Bravo beat one of my favorite all-time underneath guys, Bill White. Dino was impressive, but of course it was difficult to gauge just how good he was against an opponent like White. Watching that match, I was thinking that it ought to have been a TV match rather than one I paid to see. Sure enough, when I turned on Channel 6 the next afternoon, one of the TV matches was……..Dino Bravo versus Bill White!

The semi-final event was a tag team match between The Mongols and Roberto and Manuel Soto. The Mongols had Professor Boris Malenko in their corner. Interestingly enough, this same match was also on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling TV the next day! The Coliseum match was a solid one between these two mid card tag teams. The Soto’s got the victory when Malenko interfered on behalf of his Mongols.

The Main Event more than made up for an average undercard! I still remember how huge Andre looked when he entered the ring, and how he dwarfed the other five wrestlers. This was not your classic back and forth match. Flair and the Andersons had virtually no offense the entire match. It was clear early on that this was going to be a major butt-kicking by Rufus, Wahoo and Andre. And after all, that was what everybody came to see!

The crowd was one of the loudest I ever experienced at the Coliseum, a building with a reputation of being wild. The loudest single pop I have ever heard at a wrestling match was during this match, when Rufus, Wahoo and Andre put a chauffeur’s cap on Ric Flair and slapped him upside the face! I thought for sure the roof was coming off the building! Needless to say, the "good guys" emerged victorious, and I remember leaving the Coliseum that night feeling justice had been done.

I’ll always remember heading back to school the Monday morning after the Prom of 1976. There was no conversation about the Prom. Rather, all the questions were directed to me about the matches at the Coliseum! What did Andre look like, did Rufus get his revenge, etc., etc. Boy, did I ever have some stories to tell. Somehow, I’ve never regretted missing my Junior Prom. But to this day, I know a bunch of people who regretted not going to the Richmond Coliseum on April 30, 1976!

Originally published in 2001 on the original Mid-Atlantic Gateway website. Republished in April of 2015 and now again in 2023 as part of the "Best of the Gateway" series.
 

 

Ric Flair and Conrad Thompson Talk Wahoo McDaniel

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

While doing research for my book on the history of the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship, I came across an edited audio clip we presented earlier on our site from the old Ric Flair Show podcast produced and hosted by Conrad Thompson for the MLW Radio Network. The topic for "This Week in History" on that episode was the night Ric beat Wahoo McDaniel for the Mid-Atlantic title for the first time in September of 1975.

Ric and Conrad talk about the match with Wahoo, the plane crash that almost ended Ric's career just two weeks later, and some other great stories about Wahoo and what he meant to Ric personally and to his career.

The vintage audio clip during the segment is from "Wide World Wrestling"  in 1975 hosted by Ed Capral, who reviews film of the Hampton match with Ric alongside for commentary. The clip is part of a huge library of vintage audio from David Chappell.

So enjoy this classic audio trip back in time, not only to the glory days of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling in the mid-1970s, but also to 2016 during the great run of The Ric Flair Show.

No doubt 1975 was the breakout year for Ric Flair who would go on to become one of the greatest wrestlers in the history of the sport, and certainly its greatest champion.

Relive all the events of the landmark year of 1975 in the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling 1975 Yearbook.

The book includes reproductions of all four issues of "Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Magazine" that was sold as the arena program that year.

Plus a huge collection of newspaper clippings, posters, and complete results for the entire year. Plus our signature "Almanac" material featuring a complete roster of wrestlers for the year, and summaries of all major feuds and matches for the year.

This post was edited from an original post on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway from March of 2019.

Darius Rucker Casts His Hall of Fame Ballot

This guy would know:

CLICK HERE TO SEE POST ON TWITTER

Long time Mid-Atlantic Wrestling fan and
and country music superstar Darius Rucker

Hit these links:

Wahoo & Rufus beat the Anderson Brothers
Darius Rucker Puts Minnesota Wrecking Crew in All-Time Top 5

Darius Rucker | The Official Website

 

 

Previously published in March 2016 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Poster: Wahoo chases Flair in Winston-Salem (1976)

By Brack Beasley
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

This poster promotes a fantastic card of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling that took place at the old Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum on Friday, April 23rd, 1976

 

There was a big double main event. Wahoo McDaniel continued his quest for Ric Flair's Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight belt and this match had a special stipulation of two referees (one of which would be NWA official George Scott) in an attempt to keep things in order. Wahoo would emerge victorious on this night but by disqualification, allowing Flair to escape with his title. 

The semi featured big, bad Angelo Mosca attempting to collect the $5,000 bounty placed upon Tim Woods by Blackjack Mulligan. Woods would come out the winner of this contest and Mosca left without a victory or the bounty money. 

In exciting tag team action Geeto and Bolo Mongol topped Ron Garvin and Tony Atlas, while the undercard included Doug Gilbert, Great Malenko, Big Bill Dromo, and Klondike Bill. 

The poster has a beautiful horizontal layout with six wrestler images on the sides, black print (except the main event participants in high impact red) on a bright blue background, and the familiar "Wrestling" oval in the upper left corner.

NO. 44 IN THE BEASLEY POSTER SERIES

Wahoo Warns: A Decade Better Be Ten Years

Wrestlers can be a bit sensitive about their age.

Don Holbrook related a story to me about a fellow named Jim McNerney in Greenville who was writing and submitting articles to the wrestling magazines back in the day. He had done one on Wahoo McDaniel, and wanted to show it to Wahoo before submitting it. So one Monday night at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium, he handed it to him and asked him to look it over. Wahoo took it downstairs to the locker room.

A bit later he came back up and walked over to Don and asked him, "How long is a decade?" Don told him it was 10 years.

Wahoo paused for a moment, as if thinking about this and then said, "I thought it was 25 years." Don laughed and told him he was pretty sure it was 10 years, so Wahoo handed the paper with the article back to McNerney and told him he thought it was OK.

Turns out one of the first lines in the article read something like, "For more than a decade now Wahoo McDaniel has been a top star in professional wrestling."

After McNerney walked off happy that Wahoo had blessed his article, Wahoo came close to Don and said "I don't want people thinking I'm older than I already am! You better be right; that decade sh*t better mean 10 years and not 25!"

 

Originally Published in April 2016 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

From the Mid-Atlantic Archive Series
Cokes & Popcorn

Originally published April 2016 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

"Cokes and Popcorn" are little stories of humor and respect that I come across along the way of putting this website together, and they are little stories I want to hang onto. Not sure where the name of the section comes from; I just find these little stories refreshing.

More Cokes & Popcorn: "Never Let 'em See You Sell, Kid."

1974 Concludes With a Bang!

By David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway 

One of the most memorable televised matches ever on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling TV wasn’t actually a scheduled match at all. And occurring in the middle of 1974, it in many ways was “Exhibit A” in the evolving change of Jim Crockett Promotions from a tag team based territory to an area focused on a hard-hitting singles style.

Indian star Wahoo McDaniel was on his way to the Carolina’s in early July of 1974 when he came by the High Point, North Carolina TV studios to help announcer Charlie Harville with color commentary. Johnny “The Champ” Valentine was in the squared circle and was none too happy to see Wahoo in the territory, goaded McDaniel into the ring, and the two proceeded to have an impromptu slugfest that was talked about for years hence! In fact, a clip on the Wahoo-Valentine brawl was shown due to popular demand on a Jim Crockett Promotions highlight year-in-review show way off in 1980!

And on the subject of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling year-in-review shows, the December of 1974 version featured the Wahoo-Valentine in-ring brawl in one of its segments. Wahoo and the Super Destroyer were both in the studio when the tape of the High Point fracas was shown to the viewers.

Announcer Sam Menacker began, “This is really a highlight, boy-o-boy, Wahoo McDaniel and Johnny Valentine! What a feud these two men have. Look at these punches and chops! It’s just a testimony of the condition of both of you.”

Wahoo commented, “I want the Destroyer to be sure and take a good close look at this, because this could happen to him at any time too.” Menacker noted, “The Destroyer is sitting here watching intently, very intently.” The Super Destroyer chimed in, “Well Mr. Wahoo, it just goes to show one thing, that you pick, like you pick your opponents. You picked that tape to make yourself look good. They should show a few of the tapes where I beat you decisively in the center of the ring, with a one, two, three count that really counts.”

Watching the wild action Menacker exclaimed, “Wahoo, boy I’m telling you, I can’t remember ever seeing anything like this, all these chops! You didn’t beat him, I mean he gets up. He’s tough, but you’re still withstanding his punches too.” McDaniel agreed, “That’s right, it’s just a tough battle. In a short period of time like this, it’s hard to tell who the best man is. As you can see he’s holding his own and I’m holding my own.”

Menacker continued excitedly, “You dropped him there! The fans are cheering you on!” Wahoo then added some important context, “Sam, I want to bring up one thing. This was one of the first weeks I was here. Valentine wanted to test me early. He got a good showing early that I wasn’t gonna back down from him. I want the Destroyer to answer this, because he waited an extra week to see what I could do. They wanted to feel me out ahead of time. He’s felt me out since; he knows how I am. Now Valentine knows that you’re not gonna run over me.”

Sam, still awe-stuck at the ferocity of the spontaneous brawl stated to Wahoo, “Here [Valentine’s] wasting time, you dropped him there. He’s purposely wasting time here, he’s regaining his bearings a bit in doing this. He’s trying to get his second wind. Again, look at these punches fly! Another chop! And that stops him; that backs him up.”

The Super Destroyer then interjected, “It just goes to show the great condition of the Super Destroyer and as you can see on your screen, Johnny Valentine.” McDaniel disgustedly retorted, “Yeah, he looks in real good shape there. I tell you, I’m tired of sitting out here. I don’t want to sit at the table with this man.” Wahoo then stormed off from the announcer’s table leaving Menacker and the Super D. behind as the segment wrapped up.

Sam concluded, “I certainly don’t blame Wahoo for leaving. Say fans, in this match you’ve seen a lot of punching and a lot of toughness on the part of both these wrestlers. Oh, look at that chop by Wahoo McDaniel! Another chop to the back of the head! That shakes up Valentine as the Destroyer watches intently, and we now must go to a commercial break.”

Funk vs. Wahoo: History Had Other Plans

By Brack Beasley
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

At first glance I figured this poster to be from 1976 but upon researching the date, found it to be Valentines Day, 1977. 

It promotes an NWA World Title match at the Sampson County Middle School gym in Clinton, NC with Terry Funk defending against Chief Wahoo McDaniel. Unfortunately for Funk, he lost the championship to Harley Race in Toronto only 8 days prior, so this scheduled defense by Funk never transpired.

The question is, did Race defend the NWA World Title in Clinton? One would have to assume so as he probably took over Funk's bookings upon winning the belt. In addition, Race defended the belt against Wahoo in Charlotte on the 13th and Columbia, SC on the 15th.

Other familiar Mid Atlantic names on the card included Tiger Conway Jr., Crusher Blackwell, Sgt. Jacques Goulet, Johnny Eagle, and young Macho Man Randy Poffo.

The poster itself has a vertical layout with all black print over a two tone background and great images of Funk and Wahoo with their names in big bold letters. 

NO. 43 IN THE BEASLEY POSTER SERIES

* * * * * * * * 

Mid-Atlantic Gateway Notes
by Dick Bourne

Always interesting to see future world champions working the opening matches on cards in their early careers. In this case Tatsumi Fujinami, billed here as Dr. Fujiani (and occasionally Dr. Fujinami) would later become IWGP and NWA World Champion. The second match of the night featured pre-macho Randy Poffo who would later win the WWF World Title as Randy "Macho Man" Savage.

Wahoo McDaniel was reigning Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion when he presumably wrestled the world champion in Clinton. It was also around this time that Wahoo was presented with a brand new Mid-Atlantic belt, the familiar white-faced title belt most associated with the championship, and would be worn by many future hall-of-famers between 1977 and 1985.

WrestleArt: Wahoo McDaniel Joins the NY Jets (1964)

 

Wahoo McDaniel came to the N.Y. Jets in the old AFL in 1964. After he started playing as a linebacker for the Jets, McDaniel started wearing a custom jersey which had the name "WAHOO" sewn on the back above the numerals. Whenever he made a tackle as a Jet at a home game, the public address announcer would ask the crowd "Tackle by WHO?", and the crowd would shout, "WAHOO!"

Bill Gallo's art for the NY Post, part of his "Finders Keepers" series, illustrated that Jets fans were happy they had found Wahoo McDaniel and weren't about to let him go. 

Illustration submitted to the Mid-Atlantic Gateway by contributor Andy McDaniel. 

Darius Rucker Broke Wahoo's Leg

 

Flair Confronts Wahoo on the Set of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling (1977)

Wahoo McDaniel Regains the Mid-Atlantic Title from Greg Valentine (1977)
Ric Flair confronts the new champion on the set of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

On Tuesday, August 9, 1977, Wahoo McDaniel regained the Mid-Atlantic heavyweight championship from Greg Valentine at the Dorton Arena in Raleigh, NC. Valentine had defeated the Chief earlier that summer in Greensboro.

The next night at the taping of "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling", David Crockett introduced the studio audience at WRAL-TV to the new champion, and the crowd gave Wahoo a huge ovation.

These were always some of my favorite moments - - when a new champion was introduced at the beginning of that week's TV show.

Wahoo's celebration was cut short when he was interrupted by the U. S. champion Ric Flair, who made it clear that Wahoo had no chance of getting his title from him.

Wahoo told host Bob Caudle that he was going to make history that week, as he had shots at both the U.S. title held by Flair and the NWA world title held by Harley Race.

"If the man wrestled with his mouth, he'd be unbeatable. But he has to get in there and defend that title, and I'm on a lucky streak right now, I'm gonna take his title and get Harley Race - - I got a chance at the world title. Three belts in one week, it's never been done." - Wahoo McDaniel

Here are the first 5 minutes of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling that aired on Saturday, August 13, 1977.

Indeed, Wahoo was ready to go after Flair that very night. He and Flair left the WRAL studio (separately, I'm sure!) and drove to nearby Rocky Mount, NC where Wahoo fought Flair for the U.S. title that same night. He had another shot at Flair two nights later in Richmond. Then on Sunday, he challenged Race for the NWA world title in Greensboro.

While Wahoo wasn't successful in winning those three belts in a week, it was nevertheless quite a six day span for the big Chief!

AUGUST 1977
08/09 Raleigh, NC Wahoo McDaniel beat Greg Valentine to win NWA Mid Atlantic Title
08/10 Rocky Mount, NC Ric Flair beat Wahoo McDaniel (U.S. title match)
08/11 Lynchburg, VA Wahoo McDaniel & Mighty Igor beat Blackjack Mulligan & Masked Superstar
08/12 Richmond, VA Ric Flair beat Wahoo McDaniel (U.S. title match)
08/13 Spartanburg, SC Wahoo McDaniel double DQ Greg Valentine (Mid-Atlantic title match)
08/14 Greensboro, NC Harley Race beat Wahoo McDaniel (NWA world title match)
 

 

 

Originally published December 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Avenger vs. Super Destroyer: Mid-Atlantic's Most Obscure Championship (Part 3)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Catch Up on PART 1 and PART 2 

PART THREE:
THE AVENGER VS. THE SUPER DESTROYER

It would be a battle of the masked men as the Super Destroyer and the Avenger battled for the Mid-Atlantic Television Arm-Wrestling Championship as the President of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett, Jr., announced to the fans “This is for the Championship.”

In this championship encounter, the glove of the Super Destroyer would not be an issue as the Avenger forcefully announced, “Leave the glove on!”

Crockett exclaimed twice in the early seconds of the match, “The Avenger has the advantage,” as the Super D’s arm was being pushed downward to the delight of the WRAL studio audience who were screaming their approval. The Destroyer made a brief comeback, only to have the Avenger again gain the upper hand. Crockett noted, [the Destroyer’s] arm is about halfway down…[the Avenger]became within a few inches of being the winner!”

The contest then leveled out a bit as Crockett noted, “It’s all even now…straight up.” The Super Destroyer then claimed the edge, but almost immediate Mr. Crockett said, “It’s straight up now; no one has the advantage.”

Then came a back and forth flurry of action that would soon produce our winner. Jim Crockett commented, “The Avenger now has the advantage; has his arm halfway down. But wait, the Destroyer is coming back…the Destroyer has a slight advantage. And now the Destroyer has his arm halfway down!”

The tide would now turn once again, but for the last time. As the crowd in the studio audience roared, Mr. Crockett exclaimed, “The Avenger now has a slight advantage…now [the Destroyer’s] arm is about halfway down! THE AVENGER HAS WON!!”

Announcer Bob Caudle then reclaimed the mic saying, “There [is the Avenger] being given the trophy by referee Sonny Fargo!” Color commentator Big Bill Ward added, “Listen to that crowd Bob, they are tickled to death! The Wrestling Arm-Wrestling Champ—The Avenger!” Caudle confirmed, “He defeated the Super Destroyer!”

The Destroyer was beaten, but not unbowed. The next match on the studio card was Wahoo McDaniel versus the Super D’s new associate, Brute Bernard. After Wahoo got the Brute in the abdominal stretch hold, the Super Destroyer jumped into the fray causing the Brute to lose via disqualification. Wahoo then proceeded to clean house, dispatching the Destroyer back to the dressing room ending his forgettable evening!

CONTINUED IN PART 4!

The Most Obscure Championship (Part Two)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Mid-Atlantic Wrestling's Most Obscure Championship
Catch up on Part One

PART TWO

THE SUPER DESTROYER
(Don Jardine)

Paul Jones versus the Super Destroyer would have been a Main Event wrestling match in any Jim Crockett Promotions venue, much less on television, but their meeting in the semifinal of the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Arm-Wrestling Championship was a truly unique spectacle.

Announcers Bob Caudle and Big Bill Ward had earlier in the show signaled their belief that Jones was the favorite in their eyes to emerge as the Champion. However, Paul himself cast some doubt on that prediction just before the match saying that his shoulder was definitely ailing him, so on balance this encounter with the Super D. rated as a toss-up before the two adversaries hooked up.

Of concern to Paul Jones’ fans was Paul’s demeanor as he approached the Destroyer yelling to the masked man, “Take you glove off!!” The Super Destroyer laughed off Jones’ demand, seemingly getting inside Paul’s head. The Destroyer’s glove had become a concern for his opponents, as it was the hand that the masked man used to apply his deadly claw hold. The Super D.’s grip was so tight, almost like a suction cup, that many speculated that his glove must have played a role in him having such a vice-like grip.

When Jones and the Destroyer finally locked up, Jim Crockett, Jr. exclaimed, “The match has begun!” Crockett quickly told the viewing audience that the Super Destroyer had the early advantage. Crockett then reported, “Paul Jones’ shoulder is giving way slightly!” Then after just a few more seconds Crockett concluded, “The Destroyer has the advantage…the Super Destroyer is the winner!”

Thus, the favorite to win the Championship had been eliminated in about 30 seconds as Jones’ injured shoulder was clearly more of a hinderance to him than anyone thought heading into the semifinal bout.

Crockett then announced, “The Destroyer will now meet the Avenger.” An exuberant Ivan Koloff had reentered the ring to congratulate the Destroyer, prompting Mr. Crockett to admonish Sonny Fargo yet again, “Get Mr. Koloff out of the ring!” As before, Ivan reluctantly exited the squared circle.

Mr. Crockett then reiterated, “The winner of this match will be the Mid-Atlantic Television Arm-Wrestling Champion! The Super Destroyer will meet the Avenger!”

Continued in Part 3!

Poster: Valentine and Wahoo Headline Stacked Card in Greensboro (1975)

by Brack Beasley
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

This poster takes us back to Sunday, September 28th, 1975 and features an absolutely loaded card at the Greensboro Coliseum. 

Johnny Valentine defended his United States Heavyweight title in the main event against perennial foe Wahoo McDaniel in what was sure to be a hard hitting, violent affair. Unfortunately, it turned out to be Valentine's last match in Greensboro due to the Wilmington, NC plane crash less than a week later. 

In the semi, Gene and Ole Anderson put their NWA World Tag Team belts on the line against the exciting duo of Dusty Rhodes and Paul Jones, while Ray Stevens came into town trying to collect Valentine's bounty on Tim Woods. 

The mid-card match had Ric Flair vs. Tiger Conway Jr. and the undercard included Ken Patera, The Avenger (Reggie Parks), Great Malenko, Spoiler No. 2, Danny Miller, and Steve Keirn. 

The poster's horizontal layout has red and black print over a two tone hot pink and yellow background. In addition, images of seven wrestlers adorn both sides and are accompanied by the signatures of Wahoo and Ole. 

Oh, what we wouldn't do to go back maybe just once and experience an event such as this one, professional wrestling as it should be.

NO. 37 IN THE BRACK BEASLEY POSTER SERIES

Poster: Mulligan and Rhodes Headline Roanoke

by Jody Shifflett
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

This event took place back in February of 1977 at the Roanoke Civic Center and featured a very stacked card!

The main event and featured a great battle between two tough Texans, Blackjack Mulligan and Dusty Rhodes. The second main event was a battle between Wahoo McDaniel and The Masked Superstar. But I can’t help but believe it should have been Ric Flair vs Wahoo, but Flair was out with gallbladder surgery at this time. 

Another match featured fan favorite Mighty Igor against Kim Duc. 

The lineup was great this night and also a young Randy Savage was on the card. I would loved to have been there! Great coloring on t he poster, with a 7:30 start time.

T-Shirts

Wrestlers wore some interesting t-shirts back in the day.

Top left: Rocky Johnson (Sweet Ebony Diamond), "Steve Rickard's Gymnasium and Health Clinic, Wellington, New Zealand." Steve Rickard was the NWA promoter in New Zealand and brought many of the top U.S. stars to his promotion down under.

Top right: Dewey Robertson, "Moosehead Beer." Dewey was Canadian and Moosehead was Canada's "proudly independent" brewery. Headquartered in Saint John, New Brunswick and still independently owned to this day.

Bottom left: Roddy Piper, "Master." Piper had all sorts of t-shirts, most of  them looked like he had them printed up at a local mall. He had some classics. This wasn't necessarily one of them, but I liked the photo with the pipes and U.S. belt.

Bottom right: Wahoo McDaniel, "The King's Gym - Body Building." No idea where this gym was, but would like to know, so if you have info, smarten us up. Wahoo never spent much time in the gym, but that was only because he was too busy fishing and golfing. One of pro-wrestling's greatest atheltes and according to ost everyone that stood across the ring from him one of the toughest men to ever walk the planet.

July 4th Flashback: Andre and the Andersons Headline Richmond (1975)

A GIANT 4th of July Card in Richmond

The Andersons Battle Wahoo McDaniel and Paul Jones in Richmond

by David Chappell

Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Like most cities, Richmond, Virginia back in 1975 had its share of spectacular fireworks displays to commemorate the Independence Day holiday. But none of those displays held a candle to the “fireworks” that were unleashed on fans inside the Richmond Coliseum, watching a super spectacular card of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling on the evening of July 4, 1975!

To those that have followed the Mid-Atlantic Gateway, you may recall that this card ranked #21 on my listing of Richmond’s greatest Mid-Atlantic cards. The most intriguing match to me going in was a rare Richmond appearance of Andre the Giant, going against the seemingly indestructible Super Destroyer, who was saying at the time that he had held onto his mask for thirteen years. But the match that really stole the show was a NWA World Tag Team Title bout between champions Gene and Ole Anderson against Paul Jones and Wahoo McDaniel.

About three weeks prior to this Richmond show, the Anderson Brothers had regained the World Tag Team Title belts on television in the dramatic “Supreme Sacrifice” match, where Ole ran Wahoo’s head into Gene’s head, knocking Gene out in the process. This return bout in Richmond had the big match feel of a title change, and the apparent sellout crown at the Coliseum was at a fever pitch anticipating a win for the challengers. But…it wasn’t meant to be on this night. An even bout turned the challengers way towards the end, but it was too little too late. The Andersons stalled out the final minutes, and escaped with a 60 minute draw. This match set up four return bouts between these four during the summer and fall of 1975, with the challengers coming tantalizingly close to winning back the belts.

In the semi-final, many in attendance thought Andre the Giant would finally be the man to unmask the Super Destroyer. After all, if a GIANT couldn’t do the deed nobody else had in 13 years, who possibly could? Andre physically manhandled the masked man to a degree that nobody could believe, but that didn’t stop the Destroyer’s active mind from escaping one precarious predicament after another. A disqualification win for Andre got the Giant’s hand raised and validated a dominating performance, but at the same time frustrated many fans who were expecting a hood to come off. However, the Super Destroyer haters were about to get the last laugh. As fate would have it, the masked man would wrestle only one more time in Richmond and within a month or so was out of the area under a cloud, never to return, with his unmasked face plastered all over the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television shows.

The supporting card, honestly, was not as strong as many Richmond saw, but it did have its moments. The “best of the rest” was a unique pairing of the Mid-Atlantic TV Champion Ric Flair and the underrated Doug Gilbert, against the “good guy” duo of big Swede Hanson and Sonny King. Flair was rising fast at this juncture, so I expected the “bad guys” would take this one. The big Swede was dropping down the cards, and Sonny King was being de-emphasized and would be leaving the area in about two weeks as time would tell. However, Flair and Gilbert couldn’t control their anger issues, giving Hanson and King a disqualification victory to the delight of the Richmond fans.

The other tag team match of the night saw Bob Bruggers and Sandy Scott dispatch the team of Charlie Fulton and the Blue Scorpion. The Bruggers/Scott combination was a smooth one, and they ran circles around their confounded opponents this night. Unfortunately for his many fans, Sandy Scott wrestled very little after this Richmond match, though he did continue to stay active with the promotion, primarily behind the scenes. And after a promising start as a main event performer a year and a half before, Bruggers continued to drop down the cards until the airplane crash in Wilmington, North Carolina in early October of 1975 brought his wrestling career to an end.

Three single matches rounded out this holiday spectacular, and the curtain raiser was by far the best of the bunch! The good guys notched a couple of wins as Greg Peterson outlasted Larry Sharpe, and the highly popular Klondike Bill took the measure of Joe Soto. But the first bout of the night stood out, and was really outstanding. 1974 NWA rookie of the year Steve Keirn and veteran Art Nelson wrestled to a 20 minute draw, which was a battle of contrasting styles and youth versus experience. Nelson, the aging veteran, was still in exceptional condition, but had trouble dealing the speed of Keirn. Conversely, the strength of Nelson gave the youngster Keirn fits. Each man had their chances at victory, but ultimately had to settle for a draw. As clearly Keirn was going up the “Mid-Atlantic ladder” as Nelson was going down that same ladder, it was befitting that they would meet in the middle of that proverbial ladder in this early July 1975 confrontation. But to show how this trend continued over the next few months for both, by October of 1975 Keirn was in a main event program with Tiger Conway, while Nelson was set to depart the Mid-Atlantic area, and would never return.

Originally published July 4, 2015, and republished in July of 2018, and 2021
on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Mid-Atlantic Wrestling's Most Obscure Championship (1974)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

PART ONE

Fans in most Jim Crockett Promotions television markets that tuned into the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling show that aired on December 7, 1974 were treated to a most improbable milestone. The most obscure championship in the history of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling was about to be decided right before their eyes!

Announcers Bob Caudle and Big Bill Ward could hardly contain their excitement about the upcoming championship event, as they hardly paid any attention at all to the ongoing bout between Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion Johnny Valentine and Klondike Bill. Ward exuded, “We will have a Champion crowned on this program,” to which Caudle replied, “I’m really interested in this arm-wrestling!” Then the predictions began as Ward queried Caudle, ‘Who’s it gonna be, what’s your guess? I’m saying Paul Jones!’ Caudle concurred with that prediction, replying, ‘I’m going to have to go along with that.’ Ward responded, ‘He’s about the best I’ve seen yet!’

To add to the importance of this new championship, none other than the President of Jim Crockett Promotions, Mr. Jim Crockett, Jr., came out to the ring to set the stage for this TV event. Crockett began, “This is the Finals of the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Arm-Wrestling Championship. There are three Finalists—Paul Jones, the Avenger and the Super Destroyer.”

While looking directly at Ivan Koloff and Wahoo McDaniel who were standing menacingly in the ring, Crockett sternly announced, “There will be NO seconds in the ring during the Finals.” Mr. Crockett then turned and faced referee Sony Fargo and firmly stated, “Referee, please ask Mr. Koloff and Mr. McDaniel to leave the ring. There will be NO seconds.”

Referee Fargo relayed Mr. Crockett’s message, but neither the “Russian Bear” nor the “Indian Chief” seemed very receptive. At that time, Koloff and Jones were locked in a struggle over the Mid-Atlantic Television Title, while Wahoo was friends with both Paul and the Avenger, and the Chief had absolutely no love for the Super Destroyer. Koloff, on the other hand, was great friends with the masked Super D.

Jim Crockett then explained the championship format to the fans in attendance at the WRAL TV studio and to the many thousands upon thousands watching at home. “By draw, Paul Jones will meet the Super Destroyer first,” Crockett announced. Immediately, Jones interrupted saying, “Let me tell you something—my shoulder is killing me but I know one thing, this is the Finals tonight. And if I don’t arm wrestle tonight I’ll never get another chance! So, I don’t know how strong [the Super Destroyer] is, but we’ll find out in a few minutes.”

A clearly agitated Jim Crockett, Jr. then tersely told Koloff and McDaniel to leave the ring again, and then said to the pacing masked Avenger, “Mr. Avenger, will you just please wait and you will take on the winner.”

Referee Sonny Fargo, sensing Mr. Crockett’s frustration that none of the wrestlers had exited the ring, told everybody except Jones and the Super Destroyer, “I hate to ask you all to leave, but I have to or you’re gonna forfeit the match. I hate to do it.”

Wahoo was incensed and shouted back at Fargo, “Where’d you get all that authority?!?” Sonny then turned towards Jim Crockett, and Mr. Crockett retorted, “Koloff and McDaniel, out of the ring! You cannot be in the ring.”

When the boss spoke, everybody listened and finally left the ring except the combatants Paul Jones and the Super Destroyer, along with referee Fargo. Jones and the Super Destroyer approached the arm-wrestling table and the noise from the studio audience built up to a deafening crescendo. Paul seemed particularly annoyed as he approached the Super Destroyer who appeared to be smiling through his mask…

Continued in Part 2!

The Anderson/Flair Feud Puts Gene Anderson in the Hospital

During the year of 1977, the Anderson brothers had a torrid feud with their young cousin Ric Flair and his partner Greg Valentine. The two teams battled over the NWA World Tag Team titles.

What was unusual about the feud was that the two teams wrestled out of different territories. Flair and Valentine were the top heel team in the Mid-Atlantic area, while the Anderson Brothers were the top heel team for Georgia Championship Wrestling.

The Andersons left Jim Crockett Promotions in the fall of 1976 after Ole Anderson lost a series of "Loser Leaves Town" matches to Wahoo McDaniel. Behind the scenes, Ole had taken the job as booker for Georgia Championship Wrestling and he and Gene had moved to Atlanta. 

The Andersons were NWA World Tag Team champions at the time, and took those titles with them to Georgia. Flair had a falling out with his cousins in October of 1976 and formed a new tag team with partner Greg Valentine. The Andersons returned to the area for a title defense against Flair and Valentine in Greensboro the night after Christmas of 1976. The "blond bombers" upset the Minnesota Wrecking Crew to take the tag titles.

Mid-Atlantic booker George Scott maintained a working relationship with Georgia booker Ole Anderson and there were several talent exchanges throughout the year of 1977. This allowed for the Andersons to continue their feud in the Mid-Atlantic area with Flair and Valentine throughout the year of 1977, with the  Andersons making sporadic appearances in the territory, usually over weekends, to continue the feud. 

In the Mid-Atlantic area, the Andersons had become 'fan favorites', but were still hated heels in Georgia.

The Andersons regained the titles from Flair and Valentine in Charlotte on May 7, 1977 in a famous cage match where Wahoo McDaniel was the special referee. However, on October 30 in Greensboro, Flair and Valentine got the titles back and badly injured Gene Anderson in the process.

Behind the scenes, Gene Anderson was in need for neck surgery, and the injury angle was shot to explain his long absence during his recovery. 

The interview with Gene and Ole Anderson seen in the YouTube video embedded above was shot in Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta as Gene was recovering from that surgery. It was shot by the Georgia office, hosted by Freddie Miller, and the tape sent to Jim Crockett Promotions and aired on their syndicated television shows.

In the months that followed, Ole Anderson took different paths in the two different territories. in Georgia, he took Sgt. Jacques Goulet as his new tag team partner and the hated team went on to win the Georgia Tag Team titles. In the Mid-Atlantic area, though, Ole became even more of a fan favorite when he asked Wahoo McDaniel to become his tag team partner to challenge Flair and Valentine for the NWA World tag titles. 

It was all part of a long feud between the Andersons against Flair and Valentine that lasted off and on for the better part of nine years, until finally "the family" was reunited in 1985 when the Four Horsemen were formed. Gene retired and the younger 'cousin' of Ole Anderson and Ric Flair emerged on the scene to make the Anderson family stronger than ever.  

For complete details on every twist and turn in the Anderson/Flair family feud over the years, check out our timeline history book on the Minnesota Wrecking Crew, available at Amazon.

Poster: Flair vs. Anderson at Cincinnati Gardens

by Brack Beasley
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

This poster promotes a card held at the Cincinnati Gardens, a venue rich in professional wrestling history. Held on Friday, October 16th, 1981, both the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and the United States title were on the line. 

Ric Flair, still riding high only one month into his first reign with the Ten Pounds of Gold, took the challenge of cousin Ole Anderson, while Sgt. Slaughter would defend his belt against Johnny Weaver. 

The big names didn't stop at the main events as the rest of the lineup included Wahoo McDaniel, Roddy Piper, Greg Valentine, Ivan Koloff, Jay Youngblood, and Bad Leroy Brown. No doubt an exciting night of wrestling for the fans in Cincinnati.

With a horizontal layout, the poster has red and black print over an ultra bright yellow background and great images of Flair, Wahoo, Koloff, and the Andersons. It's especially nice to see the full body image of Flair in my personal favorite Olivia Walker robe.

 NO. 35 IN THE BEASLEY POSTER SERIES

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

Mid-Atlantic Gateway Notes
by Dick Bourne

Cincinnati was an interesting town for JCP, as it fell outside their usual territorial footprint at the time. It was really more a Georgia Championship Wrestling town when Georgia had started running Ohio, Michigan, and West Virginia after it had been basically abandoned by the Sheik's Detroit promotion. Their cards were promoted off of Superstation WTBS. But Crockett had a TV outlet there that did pretty well, and booker Ole Anderson, who was booking both Mid-Atlantic and Georgia territories at the time, stacked the Cincinnati cards with more Mid-Atlantic talent than he did Georgia talent for awhile. 

Anderson booked himself as Ric Flair's first regular title challenger in the Mid-Atlantic territory. The Andersons had been in a bitter feud with Flair the entire summer of 1981 before Ric won the NWA title in September, and so Ole made a natural choice as Flair's challenger plus it was a continuation of the on-again / off-again family feud between Flair and his cousins that had been going on since 1976. Flair and Ole headlined cards all over the reach of JCP including Cincinnati, Buffalo, NY, Savannah, GA, and all across the traditional Mid-Atlantic territory.

Wahoo McDaniel and Roddy Piper was the most heated feud in the territory at that point, coming off Piper's hiring of Abdullah the Butcher a month and a half earlier to attack Wahoo on TV which resulted in Wahoo being injured and being stripped of the U.S. title for failing to defend against Piper, even though it was Piper who had hired the Butcher. The U.S. title had been placed in a tournament.

And speaking of that U.S. title tournament, Sgt. Slaughter, a newcomer to Jim Crockett Promotions, was just coming off his big surprise tournament win of the United States Championship less than two weeks earlier. Johnny Weaver was his early opponent in lots of towns across the Mid-Atlantic territory helping to establish Slaughter as a top heel, including this card in Cincinnati.

A great card in the Queen City!

Showdown at the Township: Valentine and Flair vs. Wahoo and Jones

The marquee at the Columbia Township Auditorium, January 24, 1978

NWA World Tag Team Champions
Ric Flair and Greg Valentine

A NWA World Tag Team Title match headlined a four-match card at the historic Township.

 

'Gregg' Valentine?
I guess someone at the newspaper said, 

"Why not? Let's throw another "G" on his name!

Originally published June of 2016 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Marquee photo from Japanese magazine sent to us by Greg Price. Newspaper clipping from the collection of Mark Eastridge.