The Mid-Carders Take Center Stage (April 1975)

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Call me strange (and you wouldn't be the first!), but I always enjoyed the extremely rare occurrence on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television where the grapplers who filled in the middle of the cards for Jim Crockett Promotions actually got slotted for some interview time on TV. One of the first interview segments that featured solely mid-carders that I audio recorded was on the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television show that was taped on April 23, 1975 in the WRAL TV studios in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The three gentleman (actually bad guys!) from the ranks of the mid-card that were interviewed by announcer Bob Caudle on this occasion were Art Nelson, Mr. Fuji and Doug Gilbert. Nelson had been a main event star for the promotion throughout the early 1970s, but was being de-emphasized at this point in time. Mr. Fiji had recently entered the Mid-Atlantic area from New York where he had been rather high on the WWWF cards, but had become a mid-card performer for Jim Crockett, often teaming with Nelson as a rough tough duo. Gilbert had recently returned to the Carolinas after previous stints in the territory as principally a middle-of-the-card stalwart.

Just prior to the interview segment, Nelson and Fuji defeated the team of Don Kernodle and Tio Tio while Gilbert was also successful in the television ring, besting young Kevin Sullivan in a singles contest. Caudle began the interview by telling the fans, "I can't think of anymore dangerous place for a person to be than I am right now between three really notorious wrestlers, like Art Nelson here on my left, Doug Gilbert and then Mr. Fuji."

Nelson responded, "Let me say, not notorious, well conditioned athletes. Let me say this, when you get in that ring then you'd have to be worried, but as long as we're on the floor here we don't bother anybody. If you get in that ring, and you're not in condition, you can't take it, then you'd have to be worried about it." Art continued, "This is a man's business, we're men, and we go in that ring and we don't fool with babies. Now you know, Fuji and I were here a few weeks ago and we were talking about wrestling top teams. Where are they?"

The burly man from Atlanta then proceeded to call out Mid-Atlantic stars Wahoo McDaniel, Paul Jones and Ken Patera! Art rhetorically asked, "Where's the Indian? Where's little boy blue the guy with the belts...where's he at? Where's the strongman? I don't see them around, I hear 'em, but I sure can't see 'em. But as long as they're scared to get in the ring with us, there's nothin' we can do about it because we said we'd meet all comers, we'd wrestle anybody, right Fuji?"

A chuckling Fuji exclaimed, "Right! Very, very true Mr. Nelson-son, you see fans, you see how devastating Japanese cobra is. Samoan boy he paralyzed already, he no good...like wrestling old lady! Ha-ha-ha...Mr. Gilbert-son." 

Caudle immediately quizzed Gilbert, "I gotta say Doug Gilbert, you know I thought you were gonna help Kevin Sullivan out. It looked like you were going to commit an act of sportsmanship in your match, and then all of a sudden you hit him. That's very unsportsmanlike!" Gilbert deadpanned, "I won the match didn't I?" Caudle conceded, "You won the match, right."

Doug further expounded, "Well, you're going to have to realize that when you get into a profession like professional wrestling, sportsmanship doesn't count very much. What counts is ability, what counts is winning the match. That's what happened, I won the  match. These gentlemen won their match. That's what counts...winning!" Caudle followed up, "Doug Gilbert shows a lot of wrestling ability up there. You got a lot of moves and you use them up there...why do you have to resort to some of the other type tactics?"

Gilbert matter of factly answered, "It's a lot easier." Caudle queried, "It's a lot easier to win that way then, Doug?" To which Gilbert shook his head and Nelson produced some United States currency from his trucks to make a point why he and his two colleagues on the interview set were in the wrestling business. Nelson pontificated, "Green power is what's important. Green power! That's the dollar bill...ten dollars, a hundred dollars."

None of these three took off in the Mid-Atlantic area after this rare opportunity on the TV microphone...Nelson and Fuji were out of the territory before the end of the year and we later found out that Gilbert donned the hood as Spoiler #1 during the fall of 1975 as part of the team of the Masked Spoilers that were primarily an upper mid-card tandem before Gilbert exited the area without the mask in early 1976. But just getting to hear from the solid mid-card wrestlers that provided quality depth to the Crockett roster was noteworthy, and gave an added dimension and a bit of personality to the voiceless talent that was often overlooked and certainly underappreciated.

Jim Crockett, Sr. Voted to the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame Class of 2019

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

We recently learned the news that Jim Crockett, Sr. had been voted to the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame. It was officially announced by Wrestling Observer editor and publisher Dave Meltzer in his newsletter dated 12/16/19.

"Big" Jim Crockett is the patriarch of the famous promotional family empire that promoted wrestling, concerts, and various sporting events in the Carolinas and Virgina for over five decades.

We are thrilled that Crockett garnered the votes for inclusion into the Observer Hall. He acquired 136 of the needed 130 votes in the U.S. and Canada historical category and received the second highest number of votes over-all in the 2019 balloting. He received votes that were 63% of the total ballots cast.

Jim Crockett Sr. joins the Class of 2019 which also includes Edward "Bearcat" Wright, a Mid-Atlantic Wrestling alumnist, described in the Observer as the first major world heavyweight champion of African-American ethnicity.

Also in the Class of 2019 are Gedo, current booker of New Japan Pro Wrestling that brought that company back to global prominence, Paul Pons of France, described as an overlooked historical figure, and a number of legendary wrestlers from the country of Mexico including Los Misioneros de la Muerte (El Signo, El Texano and Negro Navarro), Ultimo Guerrero, Villano III, and Dr. Wagner, Jr.

The Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame is considered one of the most legitimate Halls of Fame for professional wrestling in the world. The selection/voting process is based on the model used by the Baseball Hall of Fame. As outlined in the Observer, to be inducted into the Hall of Fame via voting, one must get at least 60 percent of the vote from the different regions, which are U.S. and Canada historical (full-time careers ending 1989 or earlier), U.S. and Canada modern, Japan, Mexico and the rest of the world.

Per the Observer, voters are generally broken down into categories of historians, reporters, those current working in the business, and those formerly in the business. In those categories, Crockett Sr. placed first with reporters, seventh with retired wrestlers, seventh with active wrestlers, and twenty-first with historians.

Mike Sempervive, who produces and hosts the Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast, posted an excellent 30-minute special show during Christmas week on Jim Crockett, Sr. You can listen to that podcast here.

You can subscribe to the Wrestling Observer newsletter here.

Mr. #1 Comes Through

by Andy McDaniel
Contributor, Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Wrestling conventions are a regular thing these days. Along with comic-cons and the like, pretty much any weekend or month, there is an event taking place somewhere. I remember the days of wondering what it would be like to meet my heroes from wrestling. On Saturday morning television, they were larger than life figures. At the matches on Friday nights, they seemed even larger but somehow more personal. You could reach out and touch them. If you were close enough, you might get some of their sweat on you or even some blood. (My mom had a fit when I came home after a Wahoo match in a white shirt that had several spots of McDaniel blood on it, and they were not mine) The one thing still missing was a conversation or a personal moment with the wrestlers. While close, they still seemed far away. The conventions have helped open doors for the questions people always wanted to ask, the handshake, or the picture desired. Now, such is not unusual or out of the norm.

"Mr. No. 1" George South

Most recently, there was an event held in Winston-Salem, NC. All that I could read, and from all the pictures posted, it appeared that many, many legends and wrestling stars were there. It is always great to see the stars of the past get recognized for their contributions to the business. However, there was one name that stood out to me, my friend Mr. #1 George South. Here it is 2019, and George was not only still on the card but was in a match with the Great Muta. Social media had a mixed response to this match up. I get that to a degree. However, the intent was to have a connection to the past. It was not going to be Ric Flair, it was not going to be Abe Jacobs, it was not going to be Jimmy Valiant, but to give some nostalgia, to give a nod to the past and do so in a credible way with a guy that could put on a fun match, there was no better choice than George.

I have been friends with George South for as long as I could remember. I got to "know" him from a distance while watching on television. I would later enjoy booing him at the live matches. His interaction with the fans was hilarious. The matches between him and Rocky King stole the undercard by far. I just enjoyed the guy. However, things became different in 1998. I was promoting a fanfest type show in Charleston, SC. I very well may be wrong with this statement, but such an event had never taken place in Charleston. Beyond a significant show like Slamboree in Atlanta in 1993, there had not been that many convention-style events. Regardless of how many or where the fact is that we were bringing in the legends.

No one had seen Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson together in 25 years. They had not seen each other in that long. Few had seen Johnny Valentine or George "two-ton" Harris, but they were there. In the midst of this was George South. Although we did not know each other, from the moment we met, it was as if we always had. His friendship is one that I cherish after all these years. The event was, of course, centered around all the legends. On the night of the main show, we planned for a few matches. The historical County Hall would be the arena. Legendary promoter Henry Marcus was our guest of honor. The very man who, for years and years, brought in the very best in professional wrestling. Friday night at 8:15 was a staple moment in the lives of many in the greater Charleston area. We had a mixture of matches, featuring local talent, known talent, and even a few legends from the business. One of the unique things that took place in each bout was the special referees on hand. Mark Curtis/Brian Hildebrand, Charles Robinson, Ronnie West, Tommy Young all joined us and were so gracious to lend their talents to our show.

The main event was to crown the first-ever Low Country Wrestling Champion. The masked Unknown (yours truly) was to face Lee Scott. I was so excited about this match for many reasons. First, Lee was a great opponent. I was getting to perform in front of many of the heroes from my childhood. Finally, it was the fact that this was taking place at County Hall. The very place I first saw professional wrestling. I was now on the card in the main event, and Tommy Young was the referee. Talk about a kid's dream moment taking place; it was without question my fifteen minutes of fame. How does George South fit into this story? This event was a considerable on-taking. It required planning, scheduling, marketing, and so much more. I had help from various places and people, none more critical than my dear friend Mike Mooneyham, without whom this event would not have happened. During planning for the show, I was trying to get a championship belt made. At this time, it was not like today when you simply go on the Internet and order one or find websites to connect you to belt makers. It was just not like it is now. However, I was able to contact Exotic Adrian Street, and he, at that time, was offering custom made championship belts. I spoke with him, had a great conversation, and commissioned the work on the first-ever, LCW title.

Due to circumstances beyond all of our control, the belt did not arrive by the day of the show. However, as the adage states, "the show must go on." We pressed forward with everything that weekend and had a great time. All the while, in the back of my mind, I could not help but wonder how I was going to have a title match with no belt. During a conversation with George, he told me that he has his PWF belt in his bag and would be glad to let me use it. I was very grateful for the offer. I took him up on his kind gesture, and the match went forward with Tommy Young counting my shoulders down for the 1-2-3. The little kid inside of me was cheering, screaming, crying, and pretty much every emotion imaginable.

As the years have gone by, the friendship I have maintained with George is something I cherish. He is one of the only active links to wrestling the way I remember it. He came through for me when he did not have to, and I will never forget his kindness to me in a moment of need.

Thanks, George, you are #1.

Merry Christmas!

The Mid-Atlantic Gateway is on a holiday hiatus, but we'll be back again soon! Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone from all of us here at the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, 

which is Christ the Lord. 

- Luke 2:11

A Close Look at a Busy Christmas Night 1976

The newspaper ad for Mid-Atlantic Wrestling in Charlotte in 1976

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

That's quite the loaded line-up for Christmas night 1976 in the Charlotte Coliseum. It was a busy day as Mid-Atlantic wrestling stars got back to work across the territory.

For decades, Jim Crockett Promotions always took a 10-day break right before Christmas. It was the only break during the entire year. The rest of the year they ran multiple shows a night, seven nights a week, with double-shots on Saturdays and Sundays for the entire year. Guys rarely had a night off.

This "two week break" (usually 10-12 calendar days) always ended on Christmas day, which was traditionally always a big business day on the JCP calendar.

Since almost all wrestlers working the territory lived in Charlotte, it made sense to return to action in that city so guys could be with their families Christmas morning and then head out for the area shows later that day.

But that wasn't the case for everyone; a few unfortunate souls this year had to make a 340-mile trip all the way out to Hampton, VA for a show there, too.

And to complicate things further, there were other shows on that Christmas night in a couple cities close to Charlotte where guys were double-booked and had to work two shows on the same night. it is incredible that they were able to pull it all off.


CHRISTMAS NIGHT SHOWS
On Christmas night in 1976, the big loaded show was in Charlotte that night. Just take a look at the talent on this one card: Mulligan, Jones, Flair, Ole Anderson, Wahoo, Valentine, Blackwell, Patera, Bravo, Brute Bernard, Danny Miller, and others.

Nearby Greenville, SC (about 90 miles away) ran a show with several of these same stars. The key was that bell time for the Greenville show was an hour and fifteen minutes earlier. Greenville started at 7 PM, while Charlotte bell time was the traditional 8:15 PM. Plus Greenville was only a 4-match show. This somehow allowed the Andersons, Flair, Valentine, and Wahoo to pull the magician's trick wrestling in Greenville and Charlotte on the same Christmas night.

Double shots often happened in the territory days where guys would work a matinee afternoon show in one city and another city that night. But rarely could they pull off guys working two towns at the same time on the same night. They pulled it off a time or two during the promotional wars with the IWA. And so they did again on Christmas night in 1976.

Greenville actually had the match I would have been most interested in that day. It featured one of the first matches in the "family feud" between Ric Flair and his "cousins" Gene and Ole Anderson. On top of that, Wahoo McDaniel, who had personal issues with all four men, had been assigned by the NWA as special referee! Ric Flair and new partner Greg Valentine, who had just arrived in the territory three months earlier, made an unsuccessful challenge for  the Anderson's NWA World Tag Team titles that night at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium. But Flair and Valentine were close to the gold; they captured the World tag belts from the Andersons the very next night in Greensboro, NC.

There was at least one other show in the area that same night that would have featured some of the other talent on that Charlotte show like Mulligan, Jones, and others.

The other night-show as mentioned earlier was in Hampton, VA.  The poor guys who had to make that 340-mile Christmas day trip from their homes in Charlotte were Masked Superstar (Bill Eadie), Rufus Jones, Tim Woods, Boris Malenko, Red Bastien, the Poffo brothers (Lanny and the future Randy "Macho Man" Savage), and others.


A CLOSER LOOK AT THE MAIN EVENTS IN CHARLOTTE
But Charlotte was the big show. Paul Jones was trying to re-claim the United States title from Blackjack Mulligan. The two had been feuding for the entire year of 1976. Jones had won the title 15 days earlier, but NWA President Eddie Graham returned the title to Mulligan on a technicality. Jones was hot after the title again this night.

Ric Flair faced his cousin Ole Anderson on the semi-main Christmas night. It was the first time the two had met in a singles match. Ole and Gene were actually regularly working the Georgia territory at the time (Ole had the book there), but they made semi-regular appearances back in the Mid-Atlantic area, mostly on weekends, usually as part of their new feud with Flair and Valentine over the NWA World Tag Team titles.

In the third main event, Wahoo McDaniel battled Greg Valentine. It was several months before their  feud would erupt in 1977 over the Mid-Atlantic title (where Greg Valentine would break Wahoo's leg), but this match was still of great interest, playing off Wahoo's long history fighting Greg's father Johnny Valentine, whose career had ended 15 months earlier in the infamous Wilmington plane crash.

The tradition of Christmas night wrestling in the territory days was deep and rich, but no longer exists today, and I miss that. After all the family hoopla around the Christmas tree and the dining room table, during a an era where EVERYTHING was closed on Christmas day, it was nice to get out of the house and let off some steam at the matches on Christmas night.

Merry Christmas from the Mid-Atlantic Gateway!

Republished on December 21, 2020 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Click the Christmas Day banner above for details on Christmas shows
in the Mid-Atlantic are from 1968-1979

Championship Podcast: January 23, 1982

The new episode of the "Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast" has dropped and features a look at the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling episode from January 23, 1982.

Each week, Mike Sempervive and Roman Gomez will review another episode form the series that is currently available in the In-Ring/Territories section of the WWE Network. The show is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network and is available to stream on their website and anywhere else you get your podcasts (such as iTunes, etc.)

Lots of fun discussion this week, including some detail on the recent background of Porkchop Cash, who debuts this week, as well as a look at the various versions of world tag team championships that are dissapearing from the territorial wrestling landscape. Also a look at the transitioning mid-west "Tri-State" wrestling area.

We are enjoying this weekly deep dive into each of these Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling episodes and encourage you to check it out if you haven't already done so.

Also available are the first two shows covering the first two episodes of 1982. Also, a special "Prelude Episode" that set the stage for the year 1982 and things to come and a "bonus" episode looking back at Starrcade '84 that is not to be missed!

Previous Episodes:
January 02, 1982
January 09, 1982
January 16, 1982

* * * * *

From the "Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast" website for this episode:

Welcome to The Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast. On this episode of the show, Mike Sempervive returns alongside Roman Gomez, to take a look at Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling from January 23, 1982, featuring:

• The unwieldiest named contest in the history of professional wrestling continues – but we have relief in sight, in the form of the NWA World tag team title tournament.
• A brief look at the death of territorial World tag titles, as the territories, themselves, began to pass away.
• Our first look in 1982 of the debuting Porkchop Cash and the incoming Stan Hansen.
• Mike has an epiphany on the Taylor-Piper Contributin’ angle.
• A Hall of Fame promo lineup, plus much, much more on another exciting edition of the Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast!

The Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network.

Also, be sure to also check out David Taub's summaries of the Mid-Atlantic shows that are on the WWE Network. We will be cross-referencing that listing with links to the podcast episodes as well.

The Gateway Book Store is Open!

Check out the "The Mid-Atlantic Championship" and all of our books

 at the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Book Store.

Mid-Atlantic TV Report: May 15, 1982

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
on the WWE Network

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
TV Summaries & Reviews
by David Taub
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Contributor

This is a review of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling as it appeared on the WWE Network. Results are included for the week (Monday-Sunday of the given week) as available. Please email with any corrections, typos, results, other details at 1davidtaub@gmail.com. Follow @TaubGVWire

For links to all available summaries, visit our TV Summary Index.


Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Original broadcast: 5/15/82
(taped 5/12/82 at WPCQ-TV studios in Charlotte)
WWE Network feed.  [How to watch this show on the WWE Network.]
WWE Network Direct Link to this show: Mid-Atlantic 5/15/82   [Podcast]

We skip a week. (5/8/82 show not available on the WWE Network.)

Bob Caudle & David Crockett open the show. Crockett’s back, and he says we have our tag team tournament finals, Ole & Hanson vs. Wahoo & Muraco in a best-of-seven series with the sites to be determined.

Sandy Scott joins the announcers. Big changes are coming. In a 30-day experiment, title matches will have no DQ, no CO, no time limit — there must be a winner.

Scott says it was a big night in Greenville. We have a new Mid-Atlantic champion. Jack Brisco beat “Rodney” Piper. Scott presents Brisco the belt.

An angry Piper comes out with a trash can. He calls Brisco a trash can Indian. Brisco keeps calm. He has a lollipop. He says he’s going to give Piper the sucker and stuffs it in his coat pocket on his way out. Tim Horner, who’s been hanging out in the background insults Piper, saying if anyone ever needed his can kicked, it was him. Piper then unloads on Horner. Piper jumps in the ring, where Ivan Koloff is. Horner foolishly follows. Piper and Koloff beat on Horner, and he gets tossed out. Brisco is in and he gets double-teamed by Piper & Koloff. David Crockett tries to break it up and Piper elbows him, and Crockett takes a bump! (he doesn’t really sell). Muraco comes in to even things out. Caudle is going nuts, and we go to break.

[Break]

Match 1:
Ron Ritchie d. Jim Dalton
Dave Hebner is the referee for the hour. Somewhat a lack of star power for the TV opener. It seems like Mid-Atlantic is in the midst of a talent turnover at this time. Crockett is at the mic with Caudle, no ill effects from getting elbowed during the melee. Lots of talk about the opening segment. Scott joins in late. Ritchie wins with the power slam.

— Int. w/ Bob Caudle: Sgt. Slaughter
Slaughter is sporting a new U.S. title belt. He likes the new no DQ in title matches rule. He blames Wahoo from running out. Says the TV loss last week is just one time. Slaughter says he doesn’t have to make any excuses.

[Break]

Match 2:
Killer Kahn d. Vinnie Valentino
Scott is back at the announcers’ desk to talk more about the 30-day experiment, where there must be a winner in title matches, no DQ or no CO. More talk about the Piper-Brisco brawl, and the final of the tag team tournament. Kahn wins with the running knee drop.

—Int. w/Bob Caudle: Kelly Kiniski & Mike Davis
This is in lieu of the local promos. Kiniski talks about his TV match vs. Angelo Mosca. Says his dad told him about him. He is fighting for the Kiniski name. Davis cuts a promo on Piper in the name of Jack Brisco. Davis delivers some A-level stuff here.

[Break]

Match 3:
King Parsons d. Tony Russo
This is before he is “Iceman.” Parsons has full head of short hair. Still has the Star of David tattoo on his chest. Looks like a less-muscular Butch Reed. Parsons TV debut. For a debut, he sure gives a lot of offense to Russo. Scott joins Caudle & Crockett to talk about the best-of-seven tag team tournament finals. Parsons wins with a headbutt, because, of course.
[Break]

—Int. w/Bob Caudle: Angelo Mosca; Roddy Piper; Ole Anderson
Mosca talks about the new title match rules. He doesn’t need a DQ rule.
Then, Piper comes out. This one has been immortalized among tape traders for the past 37 years. Cream of the crop Piper.
He storms Caudle, and for the first time I remember, Caudle doesn’t want him there, looking uncomfortable. Piper has a trash can, and consistently calls Brisco a “Garbage Can Indian.” Piper, sans shirt, is beat red, but maybe in the best shape of his career at this point.
Piper says he knows the counter to the figure-four. Piper is going nuts. He tells Caudle to shut up and briefly puts his hands on him. Then the ultimate Piper classic line:
“You don’t throw rocks at a guy who’s got a machine gun, Brisco. You step in my way and I’m going to kill you!”
Try to follow that Ole Anderson. He can’t. He covers the new title match rules.

[Break]

Match 4:
Angelo Mosca d. Kelly Kiniski
Paul Jones joins the announcers’ desk, talking about the title match rule changes and Piper. He says the rules would eliminated the need for specialty type matches. Mosca taunts Kiniski about his dad, and taunts Jones ringside. Mosca wins with the elbow.

—Int. w/Bob Caudle: Jim Dalton and Steve Sybert
Dalton talks about losing again, and both men talk about the rule changes from a heel’s perspective. Dalton says it will prevent guys like Wahoo from running away. Sybert doesn’t contribute much.

[Break]

Match 5:
Pvt. Kernodle & Pvt. Nelson TLD Jake Roberts & Johnny Weaver
No acknowledgement of Kernodle & Nelson as Mid-Atlantic tag champs. No belts are seen. Paul Jones, on commentary, asks how Crockett how he feels after taking an elbow. Crowded booth for this match. Scott elaborates that in title matches that go to a time limit draw, there will be a two-minute rest period, then one fall to a finish. Back to this match. Privates work Weaver, who finally makes the hot tag. Roberts gets an “oh, on top of the head” as described by Caudle on Kernodle. Jones called it a brainbuster. We all know it as the DDT. A knee-lift sends Kernodle flying out of the ring. The time is dwindling, as Kernodle is back in the ring. Roberts covers him after a back suplex, but the bell rings and we are done. Crockett says they will have to come back next week. The four continue to fight on the outside after the match.

—Int. w/Bob Caudle: Jake Roberts & Johnny Weaver
They both talk about The Privates stalling for time. That indicates this was a Mid-Atlantic tag team championship match. It was never explicitly said.

“So long for now!”

 * * * * * * * * * *

Results for the week, 5/10/82-5/16/82 
(source: Clawmaster’s Archive via Sports and Wrestling blog posted by David Baker)

Mon., 5/10/82 Greenville, SC
Jack Brisco beat Roddy Piper to win NWA Mid Atlantic Title
Jake Roberts beat Sgt. Slaughter
Don Muraco beat Ole Anderson
Killer Kahn beat Kelly Kiniski
David Patterson beat Vinnie Valentino

Tue., 5/11/82 Columbia, SC
Tony Anthony beat Gary Moore
Vinnie Valentino beat Ken Timbs
Ron Ritchie beat Steve Sybert
Don Muraco beat David Patterson
Jack Brisco & Jimmy Valiant double DQ Ivan Koloff & The Ninja

Wed., 5/12/82 Charlotte, NC(TV)
Johnny Weaver & Jake Roberts no contest with Pvt. Nelson & Pvt. Kernodle

Thu., 5/13/82 Sumter, SC
Roddy Piper vs. Don Muraco
Johnny Weaver vs. Angelo Mosca
Bill White vs. Mike Rotundo
Gary Moore vs. Tony Anthony
Porkchop Cash & Ron Ritchie vs. Carl Fergie & David Patterson

Fri., 5/14/82 Cincinnati, OH
Kelly Kiniski beat Ken Hall
Killer Kahn beat Mike Davis
Don Muraco beat Steve Sybert
Two referees: Bob Armstrong beat Roddy Piper by countout
Jimmy Valiant & Leroy Brown beat Ivan Koloff & The Ninja

Fri., 5/14/82 Hampton, VA
Mike Rotundo d. Ken Timbs
Tim Horner d. Bill White
Ron Ritchie d. Jim Dalton
Pvt. Kernodle d. Terry Taylor
Porkchop Cash d. Pvt. Nelson
Sgt. Slaughter & Angelo Mosca d. Paul Jones & Jake Roberts

5/15/82 Spartanburg, SC
12 Man Battle Royal
Angelo Mosca vs. Jack Brisco
Killer Kahn vs. Ken Hall
Carl Fergie & Bill White vs. Mike Davis & Keith Larsen
Mike Rotundo vs. Ben Alexander
Abe Jacobs vs. Steve Sybert

5/15/82 Wilmington, NC — Legion Stadium
Roddy Piper vs. Leroy Brown
Gene Anderson vs. Paul Jones
David Patterson vs. Vinnie Valentino
Tony Russo vs. Tony Anthony
Ivan Koloff & The Ninja vs. Jimmy Valiant & Jake Roberts

5/16/82 Asheville, NC
Wahoo McDaniel beat Roddy Piper
Jack Brisco & Don Muraco beat Gene & Ole Anderson
Killer Kahn beat Ron Ritchie
Paul Jones & Porkchop Cash beat David Patterson & Carl Fergie

5/16/82 Toronto, Ontario (Maple Leaf Wrestling)
Tim Horner draw Keith Larson
Kelly Kiniski beat Tito Senza
Johnny Weaver & Tony Parisi beat Tarzan Tyler & Pvt. Nelson
Jimmy Valiant beat Pvt. Kernodle
Jake Roberts beat Sgt. Slaughter by DQ
Ivan Koloff beat Ron Bass
Angelo Mosca & Jake Roberts beat Nick Bockwinkel & John Studd

Rickard reviews "The Mid-Atlantic Championship"

"The Mid-Atlantic Championship book is so good you can hear the crowd cheering and smell the popcorn."  - Michael Rickard

So says author Mike Rickard, who recently reviewed "The Mid-Atlantic Championship" for Canadian Bulldog's World website. Being a bit of a popcorn fanatic, I like that sentiment.

Mike has reviewed several of our books over the years and I genuinely appreciate his support of my book projects. This time he takes a look at my most recent book in a series of title histories of some of the great championships for Jim Crockett Promotions in the 1970s and 1980s.


Review: The Mid-Atlantic Championship
by Mike Rickard for Canadian Bulldog's World 

Mike also fantasy-booked a huge tournament to determine the "Greatest U.S. Champion of All-Time", focusing on the wrestlers who held the Crockett's version of the U.S. championship during the the life of that title. (Follow this link to the finals, which also includes a complete list of links to all the matches in the tournament.)

Mike Rickard is the author of "Wrestling's Greatest Moments", as well as the autobiographical "Laughing All the Way to the Bank (Robbery): How An Attorney Survived Prison" and the new novel "Flunky: Pawns and  Kings." His website is located at MichaelRickard.com.

For more information on the book 'The Mid-Atlantic Championship", visit the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Book Store. 

 

Wrestlers at the Ranch (and in the Mud)

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

This photo was sent to us back in the 2000s by Blackjack Mulligan when were working on a website with him. We used it in a contest on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway, the challenge being to see who could identify all the wrestlers in the picture.

What an amazing and rare photograph, taken in 1973 on on one of the boy's ranches (at the Headlock Ranch perhaps - - Blackjack couldn't remember where it was taken.) It looks like these guys had been ridin', ropin' , wranglin', workin' or playin' in the mud!

There are five wrestlers in this photo. Can you name them all?



"THE CREW"
It was a bit of a trick question because one of the adults in the photo wasn't a wrestler. But the young kid in the photo later was.

Here are the identities of everyone in this 1973 photo:

1. Dusty Rhodes
2. Ray Stevens
3. Pat (last name unknown, was the ranch foreman at the time)
4. Dustin Rhodes (not confirmed, but that's who Blackjack said it was.)
5. Dick Murdoch
6. Ric Flair

Blackjack called them "my crew." He clearly had a lot of affection for all these guys.

At the time of the contest on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway, we had some folks who argued the fellow on the far right couldn't possibly be the "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. But indeed it is. This photograph was taken in 1973, many months before Ric would come to the Mid-Atlantic territory. He was heavier then, and really didn't lose the bulk of that weight until after the 1975 plane crash.

What an incredible group of talent in that one photo.

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Here is another fun photo Blackjack sent us from around that same era - -

Dusty Rhodes, Dick Murdoch, and Blackjack Mulligan from the early 1970s.

Originally published October 28, 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway