A Busy Christmas Night in 1976: Charlotte, Greenville, and Hampton

The newspaper ad for Mid-Atlantic Wrestling on Christmas Night
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!

Originally posted December 20, 2019 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

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

Mid-Atlantic Wrestling on the Hampton Coliseum Schedule for December 1985

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

I always marvel looking back at some of the old mainstay venues for Mid-Atlantic Wrestling in the 1970s and 1980s and how busy those venues were at the time. It sure isn't the same today for many of those that remain, as the larger multi-use facilities have strangled many of the mid-size buildings that once thrived.

 Take a look at this venue event schedule for the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, VA for December 1985. It is loaded with a wide array of diverse programs, including of course a card of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling on Friday night, December 6. Friday was usually Richmond's night if promoter Joe Murnick had his druthers, but with the Church of Christ holding a big dinner there on Saturday night (12/7) and perhaps something else booked in Richmond for 12/6, Hampton took the Friday slot. 

 

The card that night primarily consisted of the "B" circuit at that time, which had been anchored around Jim Cronette and the Midnight Express for most of 1985. Crockett had organized a "second circuit" to run all of the old Georgia towns now that they ran the old Georgia territory. (You will remember they got the WTBS TV slots from the WWF in in April of 1985 and absorbed all of the towns that Ole Anderson and Georgia promoter Fred Ward had been running up until that point.) That second circuit also hit a lot of regular or semi-regular smaller Crockett towns in the Carolinas and Virginia, too, and such was the case this night with Hampton. The "A" team, which consisted of Rhodes, Flair, Magnum, Steamboat (still around), Road Warriros, Andersons, etc., was likely in Charleston, SC perhaps even split over two locations. 

The Crockett crew would undergo some unexpected personnel changes during December involving two people who were no-shows on this particular card in Hampton. Billy Jack Haynes quit the promotion shortly after Starrcade '85, reportedly unhappy with his Starrcade pay-off and his positioning on post-Starrcade cards. More famously (or infamously perhaps) was the situation with Buddy Landel, who had just won the the National Heavyweight title from Terry Taylor at Starrcade and missed an important TV taping where he was reportedly scheduled to get a big push in a big angle, and was fired by Dusty Rhodes soon after. That hadn't happened yet by the night of this 12/6 show in Hampton, but Landel's no-show this night might have been indicative of his growing performance and reliability issues during this time. 

Thanks to George Pantas for forwarding this Hampton venue schedule to us. We love seeing stuff like this!

Mid-Atlantic TV Report: April 16, 1983

Mid-Atlantic 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 as well as links to the Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast, visit our TV Summary Index.


Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Original broadcast: 04/16/83
(taped 04/13/83 at WPCQ-TV studios in Charlotte)
WWE Network Direct Link to this show Mid-Atlantic 04/16/83
WWE Network feed.   [How to watch this show on the WWE Network.] 

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Original broadcast: April 16, 1983 (taped 4/13/83 at WPCQ-TV studios in Charlotte)
WWE Network feed

Match 1
Mike Rotundo d. Masa Fuchi
Ron West is the referee for the hour. We start the show with the action started in the ring. Jerry Brisco joins Bob Caudle on the mic. Lots of mat work to start. Brisco continually praises Rotundo. He also talks about the Briscos challenging champion Steamboat & Youngblood in a series of matches without worry of outside interference. Rotundo wins with the airplane spin.

[Break]

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Gary Hart & Kabuki
Gary Hart says other wrestlers don’t want a part of Kabuki. The WWE Network edit music brings out Jimmy Valiant and drowns everything out. It appears Valiant is accepting the challenge. He grabs Hart and slugs him, then retreats to the ring. Kabuki follows, and it looks like we have an impromptu match.

Match 2
Jimmy Valiant d. The Great Kabuki (w/Gary Hart)
In a quick match, Valiant rolls up Kabuki for the win. Hart jumps in after, and Kabuki spits the red mist in Valiant’s face. Valiant blindly runs into the crowd. 

[Break]

Match 3
Jos LeDuc d. Ricky Harris
Sir Oliver Humperdink joins Caudle for commentary. He runs down LeDuc for the most part. LeDuc wins with the running clothesline, which Humperdink calls The Freight Train. 

Match 4
One Man Gang d. Wayne Jones
We go directly to the next match. Humperdink sticks around, and the talk turns to OMG vs. Andre the Giant. Gang wins with a splash.

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Greg Valentine
This is in lieu of local promos. Valentine wants Flair, but says they are still friends. He refers to his match a few weeks ago that ended in a draw. A somewhat babyface type interview with Valentine.

[Break]

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Greg Valentine
Returning to the main body of the show, Valentine is back in heel mode. Trash talks Piper for the most part.

Match 5
Greg Valentine & Dick Slater d. Sweet Brown Sugar & Keith Larson
Larson looks like Ric Flair. Physically, certainly not in the ring. Caudle isn’t having his best day. Referring to the prior segment, he calls Jimmy Valiant as “Valentine” several times. Slater finishes Larsen off with a Samoan drop (even though it wasn’t called that).

[Break]
-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle; Gary Hart
Kernodle says they are not done with Steamboat & Youngblood. Slaughter wants an ultimate match where only one man survives. Gary Hart is upset that his sportscoat made in Rome was ripped up by Valiant. He says next week, Magic Dragon is here.

[Break]

Match 6
Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco d. Ben Alexander & Bill White
Paul Jones joins Caudle. They talk about who is the top contender for the tag championship. Jones thinks its Dory Funk, Jr. & Jake Roberts.  A longer match than expected. Jack makes Alexander submit to the figure four.

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco
Jack thinks they are the top tag team contenders. Jerry agrees.

[Break]

Match 7
Non-Title: Rick Steamboat & Jay Youngblood [World Tag Team ch.] -no match- Sgt. Jacques Goulet & Red Dog Lane
As soon as the champs get in the ring, Slaughter & Kernodle attack. Caudle called Goulet “Cousteau” twice. It’s a four-on-two attack. Slaughter and Kernodle are literally trying to rip the belts out of their hands. They do and exit the ring. 

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Rick Steamboat & Jay Youngblood
Steamboat is naturally upset. Youngblood is tired of it. He’ll give Slaughter & Kernodle anything they want. Steamboat says they are trying to represent the championship as they should. They will do what it takes to get their belts back. “Enough is enough.” 

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Bugsy McGraw & Jimmy Valiant
McGraw has his red Pro Wrestling Illustrated shirt. Valiant is draped with a red mist stained towel. McGraw takes the mic away from Caudle. He vows revenge on Hart, Kabuki and Magic Dragon. Valiant reveals his red-stained face, screaming. Caudle says off quietly in the background.

“So long for now!”

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

Results for the week, 4/11/83-4/17/83
(source: Clawmaster’s Archive via Sports and Wrestling blog posted by David Baker; “Wrestling” newsletter by Joe Shedlock)

Mon., 4/11/83 Greenville, SC; Township Auditorium
Keith Larson beat Ken Timbs
Gene Anderson beat Vinnie Valentino
Great Kabuki beat Mike Davis
Roddy Piper beat Greg Valentine
Dick Slater beat Jos LeDuc in a taped fist match
Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle beat Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood by DQ

Tue., 4/12/83 Raleigh, NC; Civic Center
Mike Davis d. Gene Anderson
Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle d. Pvt. Nelson & Johnny Weaver
Jos LeDuc d. Dick Slater [scheduled: Jos LeDuc & Roddy Piper vs. Dick Slater & Greg Valentine]
World tag team title: Rick Steamboat & Jay Youngblood [ch.] d. Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco

4/13/83 Charlotte, NC(TV)
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling:
Mike Rotundo beat Masa Fuchi
Jimmy Valiant beat Great Kabuki
Jos LeDuc beat Ricky Harris
One Man Gang beat Wayne Jones
Dick Slater & Greg Valentine beat Keith Larson & Sweet Brown Sugar
Jack & Jerry Brisco beat Bill White & Ben Alexander
World Wide Wrestling:
Jos LeDuc beat Ken Timbs
One Man Gang beat Mike Davis
Bugsy McGraw beat Bill White
Mike Rotundo beat Larry Lane
Jake Roberts beat Wayne Jones
Dick Slater & Greg Valentine beat Vinnie Valentino & Sweet Brown Sugar

Fri., 4/15/83 Charleston SC; County Hall
Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle beat Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood
Liz Chase beat Leilani Kai
Johnny Weaver beat Ricky Harris
Jim Nelson beat Bill White
Ken Timbs beat Wayne Jones
Mike Davis beat Vinnie Valentino

Fri., 4/15/83 Richmond, VA; Richmond Coliseum
Sweet Brown Sugar vs. Red Dog Lane
Mike Rotundo vs. Gene Anderson
$5,000 tug-o-war: One Man Gang vs. Bugsy McGraw
Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco vs. Paul Jones & Jake Roberts
Taped fist match: Dick Slater vs. Jos LeDuc
Kendo Stick match: Jimmy Valiant vs. Kabuki (w/Gary Hart)

Sat., 4/16/83 Spartanburg, SC
Bugsy McGraw beat One Man Gang in a tug of war match
Jos LeDuc beat Dick Slater
Mike Rotundo beat Jake Roberts by DQ
Johnny Weaver & Sweet Brown Sugar beat Ricky Harris & Ben Alexander
Keith Larsen beat Vinnie Valentino

Sat., 4/16/83 Greensboro, NC
Bill White beat Wayne Jones
Jim Nelson beat Ken Timbs
Gene Anderson beat Mike Davis
Jack & Jerry Brisco beat Larry Lane & Masa Fuchi
Jimmy Valiant beat Great Kabuki
Roddy Piper beat Greg Valentine to win NWA(Mid Atlantic) United States Title
Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle beat Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood by DQ

Sun., 4/17/83 Columbia, SC; Township Auditorium
Bill White d. Vinnie Valentino
Red Dog Lane & Gene Anderson d. Mark Fleming & Keith Larsen
Jake Roberts d. Sweet Brown Sugar
Don Kernodle. D. Jim Nelson
World tag team title: Rick Steamboat & Jay Youngblood [ch.] d. Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco

When the WLW TV Title Belt was worn as the NWA World Heavyweight Championship

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

In a follow-up question regarding an upcoming review of my book Crown Jewel for the SLAM! Wrestling website, Jamie Hemmings (book editor for SlamWrestling.net) asked about a reference in the book to the old WLW TV title belt that NWA World Champion Dick Hutton occasionally wore as the world title belt during his championship reign 1957-1959.

"Greg [Mosojak] mentioned in his review that Dick Hutton wore the WLW TV title [belt]," Jamie wrote me. "I just wanted to check with you what WLW stood for? It's not a promotion I was familiar with."

For those reading this and not familiar with why an NWA World champion would be wearing a regional TV title belt as champion, I go into that in detail in the book. It's part of the story of the strange two- year period where the NWA had no title belt at all, which eventually led to the creation of the crown belt. That belt and its title history are the subject of the book.

WLW wasn’t a wrestling promotion. The initials were the call sign of a TV station in Columbus, OH that aired live wrestling in the early 1950s for Ohio promoter Al Haft.

Haft created the title in 1951 to be defended on his TV show and in his larger cities such as Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati. The title was only around for about three years (1951-1954) but Haft kept the old belt in his office for years afterward. When Thesz kept possession of his NWA title belt after losing to Hutton in November of 1957 in Toronto, Hutton (and the NWA) were without a championship strap. Left to his own devices, Hutton borrowed the WLW TV belt from Haft just to have a title belt to carry to the ring with him. It isn’t clear if he asked for it or Haft suggested it. Regardless, it was a pretty sad situation of the barely 10-year old Alliance.

WLW-700 was the AM radio station in Columbus, and the first TV station there was WLW-C channel 3 in 1949 (later just WLWC, now WCMH.) Promoter Al Haft aired live wrestling from the WLW studios, and the WLW TV title was one of his main attractions, both on TV and at arenas.

Crown Jewel covers all of this and more in the fascinating story of the crown belt and the six NWA World Heavyweight Champions that wore it and defended it from 1959 to 1973. From Pat O'Connor, Buddy Rogers, and Lou Thesz to Gene Kiniski, Dory Funk, Jr., and Harley Race - - some of the biggest names in the history of the sport held that belt. 

Crown Jewel is available now on Amazon.com. More information can be found in the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Book Store.  

 

Crockett Cup '85 Round Three Begins: Rock & Roll vs. The Russians

ONLY SIXTEEN TEAMS REMAIN! See the Scouting Report on the remaining teams.

BRACKETS
Updated brackets coming into tonight's matches.
[Links to all previous matches at the bottom of this post.]

THIS WEEK'S MATCH
Third Round Match #1
(Tournament Match #33)
Rock & Roll Express vs. The Russians

BACKGROUND
The 1985 Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament is underway. Wait, did you just say 1985? It’s time to take a look at one of wrestling’s biggest events from the mid-80s and see what it might have been like with a few historical alterations. What if Jim Crockett Promotions hosted its tag team tournament the Crockett Cup in 1985 and included teams from promotions outside the National Wrestling Alliance (“NWA”) including the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling, and more? In this case, you’d have 48 of the greatest tag teams in the world battling in a winner take all tournament for $1,000,000 and the prestigious Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Trophy. 

The first round saw 32 teams competing to advance to round two with 16 teams making it in. Round two followed as these 16 teams battled the 16 top-seeded tag teams that received a first-round bye. Now, round two has finished and just sixteen teams remain as round three begins. 

THIRD ROUND RULES
Here are the rules for the round two of our tournament. A pool of referees from the NWA, AWA, and WWF have been appointed for the tournament and randomly selected for each match. The third-round matches have a sixty-minute time limit and are sanctioned under NWA rules (throwing an opponent over the top rope is an automatic disqualification). The matches are one fall with a win obtained by a pinfall, submission, count-out, or disqualification. 

The third-round matches are being held over two nights at the Omni in Atlanta, Georgia. The first four matches will take place on Friday April 19 while the remaining four will take place on Saturday April 20. Your commentators for the matches will be Bob Caudle and David Crockett, but as always, you never know when a special guest will show up.

PRE-MATCH INTERVIEWS
Tony Schiavone is outside the babyface locker room interviewing Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson (aka the Rock-n-Roll Express), one of the top teams from Mid-South Wrestling and one that’s now in the third round. Tony asks Robert how he feels. Robert tells Tony he’s excited to be in the area and he loves the Mid-Atlantic fans. He hopes someday he and Ricky can compete here more often but for tonight, they have one thing on their minds, getting past the Russians. Ricky says that’s right, Tony, they’re facing one of the biggest challenges not only in the tournament, but in their career. Ricky says he knows the Russians are strong and he knows they’re mean, but if you want that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, you’ve got to stand in the rain. Tonight, the Russians are going to find out why Rock and Roll is here to stay!

Elsewhere, Johnny Weaver has the inestimable task of interviewing the Russian team near the heel dressing room. Johnny asks Ivan what he thinks about their opponents tonight. Uncle Ivan tells Johnny that the Rock-n-Roll Express are two young American pretty boys. Ivan doesn’t like rock-and-roll music and he doesn’t like the Rock-n-Roll Express. Johnny says he doesn’t have to like them, but they’ve made it to the third round which means they’re a formidable team. Ivan shakes his head and says that his team will show why the Soviet Union is the only world’s superpower, including in professional wrestling. Krusher Krushchev stands in the back with the Soviet flag while Nikita poses for the cameraman, flexing and looking as impressive as ever. 

 

The Rock-n-Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson)
vs. the Russians
Third Round Match #1  (Tournament Match #33)
Referee Tommy Young will be officiating tonight. The Russians are in the ring waiting with Krusher Krushchev holding the Soviet flag, Ivan Koloff holding a coal shovel, and Nikita Koloff wearing a long chain around his shoulders. David Crockett can’t believe the referee is letting them bring in those potential weapons to the match. The crowd erupts as Electric Light Orchestra’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll is King” plays through the Omni. Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton run down to the ring but stop at ringside to high-five fans and hug the many starstruck ladies. Ivan Koloff points to the Rock-n-Roll Express and is shouting something to Tommy Young.

The Rock-n-Roll Express enter the ring as the cheers continue. Bob Caudle asks David Crockett which Russians does he think will work this match. David answers that the Russians can pick any two of the three team members so he wouldn’t be surprised if Krusher Krushchev wrestles since he didn’t wrestle in the first bout. Tommy Young talks to the Russian team and Krusher Krushchev leaves the ring, which means it will be Ivan and Nikita Koloff facing Ricky and Robert. 

The Rock-n-Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) vs. the Russians (Ivan and Nikita Koloff) with Krusher Krushchev: Robert starts the match off against “The Russian Bear” Ivan Koloff. Collar and elbow tie-up that sees Ivan shove Robert into the ropes. Robert locks back up, only for Ivan to shove him again. The two lock up a third time, but Robert catches Uncle Ivan in a side headlock. Ivan whips Robert into the ropes and catches him with a shoulderblock, knocking him down to the ground. Ivan picks up Robert and pushes him into the neutral corner, punching him before whipping him into the ropes. However, Gibson reverses, catching Ivan with a hip toss. Relying on his quickness, Gibson catches Ivan with a flying head scissors just as the veteran Russian gets to his feet. A dropkick knocks Ivan down and Robert puts Ivan in a headlock, dragging him over to the R-n-R’s corner. Tag to Ricky as Robert grabs Ivan’s arm and Ricky comes off the second rope, striking Koloff’s arm. Another quick tag as Robert repeats the maneuver. Nikita and Krusher are shouting at Gibson and Morton. David Crockett says that the Rock-n-Roll Express are utilizing fast and legal tags. Another tag as Gibson and Morton pick Ivan up for a double suplex. Morton covers Ivan, getting just a two count. Reverse chinlock on Ivan as Morton keeps Ivan on the ground. Bob Caudle says that Morton and Gibson must realize they can’t go head-to-head with the Russians and their game plan is solid so far. 

The fans are chanting “Rock and Roll, Rock and Roll” as Morton maintains his grip. Ivan struggles to get to his feet before the chinlock can sap any more of his strength. Ivan gets to his feet and elbows Morton in the gut. The first elbow doesn’t free him but the second does and Ivan escapes. Nikita enters the ring as Tommy Young takes him back to his corner. As this happens, Ivan whips Ricky into the ropes and Morton falls out of the ring, thanks to Krusher Krushchev pulling down the top rope. The arena erupts in boos but Tommy Young didn’t see a thing. David Crockett says the Russians should have been disqualified. Bob Caudle notes it’s difficult enough facing Ivan and Nikita, but the presence of Krusher Krushchev makes this an unofficial handicap match. Krusher throws Ricky back into the ring before Tommy Young turns around or Robert Gibson can help his partner. 

Tag to Nikita who begins showing off his immense power, starting with forearm smashes to Morton’s back that pummel him down to the mat. Nikita bodyslams Ricky then bounces off the ropes, dropping an elbow. Cover by Nikita but Bob Caudle notes it’s a sloppy one and Morton kicks out. Koloff stomps on Morton’s back then lifts him up for an over-the-knee backbreaker. Lateral press by Nikita but Ricky kicks out at two. Nikita lifts Ricky up and drops his neck across the top rope. Tommy Young shouts at Nikita, but Koloff seems to ignore him and whips him into the Russians’ corner. Tag to Ivan who drops a forearm on Morton’s back while Nikita has Ricky trapped in an armbar. 

Robert Gibson is clapping his hands and trying to rally the fans. He doesn’t have to try hard as the fans are cheering for the babyfaces, chanting “Ricky, Ricky.” Ivan whips Ricky into the ropes and applies a bearhug. Ricky is in trouble as Ivan has the move nearly in the center of the ring. Morton starts to fade fast as Tommy Young checks on him. Bob Caudle reminds the fans that a bearhug can quickly sap an opponent’s strength. Young raises Morton’s arm and it falls. Young raises Morton’s arm a second time and it falls again. One more time and the match is over. Morton’s arm starts to sag, but he holds it high, and the fans’ shouts are deafening. Ricky slugs Ivan in the head. Ivan squeezes Morton, but Morton fires off another punch. Tommy Young warns Morton about the punches as Ivan seems to be losing his grip. Ricky rakes Ivan’s eyes, with Koloff finally releasing him. Morton falls to the mat apron, but Ivan isn’t done. He picks Ricky up and whips him into the ropes again. Ivan goes for a back-body drop but Ricky counters with a Sunset Flip. 1-2, no, Nikita has come in to break up the pin. Ricky is moving slow and Ivan charges him, only to get caught with a shot to the breadbasket. Bob notes there doesn’t seem to be a lot of power behind Ricky’s punches. Tommy Young warns Nikita to get back to his corner. As he does, Ivan whips Ricky into the Russians’ corner, accidentally (or is it?) sending Ricky into Tommy Young as the referee goes down.

Krusher Krushchev tries to pull Robert Gibson off the mat apron. Gibson isn’t having it and stomps Krusher in the head. Gibson jumps off the mat apron and starts slugging away at the American turned Soviet sympathizer. Gibson peppers Krushchev with punches then rams his head into the mat apron.

However, Ivan and Nikita are taking advantage of this opportunity and start kicking and stomping at Ricky. Things are looking bleak for Ricky as Ivan grabs Morton’s arms while Nikita climbs to the top rope with the chain. However, Robert Gibson sees what’s going on and rolls into the ring.  Gibson dropkicks Ivan, who releases Ricky and the momentum sends Morton into Nikita, knocking him off the turnbuckle and outside the ring where he takes a nasty bump. Ricky gets up and the Rock-n-Roll Express hit a double dropkick on Uncle Ivan as Krusher tries getting into the ring, only for Gibson and Morton to double dropkick him out of the ring. Robert revives a groggy Tommy Young who makes the 1-2-3 as Ricky covers Ivan. David Crockett yells the Rock-n-Roll Express have beat the Russians and proclaims this is the biggest sports event since the 1980 Winter Olympics’ Miracle on Ice. 

Winners: The Rock-n-Roll Express. 

The Rock and Roll Express celebrate as Tommy Young raises their hands in victory. Ivan is furious and can’t believe what’s happened.

Join us next time as Ole and Arn Anderson battle Antonio Inoki and Seiji Sakaguchi! Who will advance to round four in the quest for tag team glory and some serious cash!

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

PREVIOUS POSTS IN THE CROCKETT CUP '85 FANTASY SERIES

Original Tournament Announcement (May 2020)
Seedings and First Round Pairings Announced

THIRD ROUND MATCHES  (Scouting Report)
Third Round: Match 1 (Tournament Match #33)
     The Rock & Roll Express vs. The Russians

SECOND ROUND MATCHES
Second Round: Matches 1 & 2 (Tournament 17 & 18)
     Mulligan/McDaniel vs. The Russians
    Rock & Roll Express vs. Maharishi/Nagasaki
Second Round: Matches 3 & 4 (Tournament 19 & 20)
    Brown/Jannetty vs. Inoki & Sakaguchi
    Ole & Arn Anderson vs. Windham/Rotunda)
Second Round: Matches 5 & 6 (Tournament 21 & 22)
    Midnight Express vs. Hart Foundation
    PYT Express vs. High Flyers
Second Round: Matches 7 & 8 (Tournament 23 & 24) 
    Rude/Barr (with Percy Pringle III) vs. Kevin and Mike Von Erich
    Fujinami/Kimura vs. British Bulldogs
Second Round: Matches 9 & 10 (Tournament 25 & 26)
    Brody/Hansen vs. Williams/DiBiase
    Road Warriros vs. Lawler/Dundee
Second Round: Matches 11 & 12 (Tournament 27 & 28)
    Piper & Orton vs. The Oklahoma Cowboys
    The Funk Brothers vs. The Younglood Brothers
Second Round: Matches 13 & 14 (Tournament 29 & 30)
    Rhodes/Murdoch vs. Adams/Hernandez
    Sheik/Volkoff vs. Steamboat/Snuka
Second Round: Matches 15 & 16 (Tournament 31 & 32)
    Fantastics vs. Fabulous Ones
    Sheepherders vs. Freebirds

FIRST ROUND MATCHES
First Round: Matches 1 & 2
    Hennig/Blackwell vs. Mulligan/McDaniel
    Tyler/Whatley vs. Maharishi/Nagasaki
First Round: Matches 3 & 4
    Windham/Rotunda vs. Bockwinkel/Saito
    Rougeaus vs. Inoki/Sakaguchi
First Round: Matches 5 &6
    Barbarian/Graham vs. Hart Foundation (Hart/Neidhart)
    High Flyers (Brunzell/Gagne) vs. Savage/Poffo
First Round: Matches 7 & 8:
    The Von Erich vs. Blanchard/Abdullah the Butcher
    Tenryu/Tsuruta vs. The British Bulldogs
First Round: Matches 9 & 10:
    Graham/Blair vs. DiBiase/Williams
    Valiant/McGraw vs. Lawler/Dundee
First Round: Matches 11 & 12:
    Piper/Orton vs. Patterson/Fernandez
    Rock & Roll RPMs vs. Youngblood Brothers
First Round: Matches 13 and 14:
    Dynamic Duo (Gino & Chris) vs. American Starship
    Sawyer Bros. vs. Steamboat/Snuka
First Round: Matches 15 and 16
    Batten Twins vs. Fabulous Ones
    Weaver/Houston vs. Sheepherders

Arn Anderson and the Significance of the Anderson Boots

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

"I was an Anderson before I was a Horseman."
- Arn Anderson

Anyone who has hung around this website for any length of time knows what a fan I am of the Anderson family in wrestling. It was Gene and Ole, the Anderson Brothers, who captured my fascination as a 13-year old fan in their epic feud with Paul Jones and Wahoo McDaniel back in 1975. And it was the match where Ole sacrificed his brother Gene to win the tag titles on television that hooked me as a fan for life.

One of the trademarks of the Anderson team was their unique maroon-and-gold striped boots they always wore in the ring. Gene and Lars Anderson (the third Anderson brother, before Ole came along) wore those boots back to the mid-1960s in Georgia. Once Ole became a member of the family in 1968, I don't think he ever wore any other style of boots in his entire career, a career that stretched across four decades.

When Ole made up-and-comer Marty Lunde an official member of the Anderson family in April of 1983 and gave him the name Arn Anderson, Lunde's career was seemingly made at that point, although I'm sure he had no idea then how significantly that name would impact his entire career, a career now entering its fifth decade.   

Arn Anderson understood the significance of the gift Ole had given him, having been a fan of the Anderson brothers himself as a teenager. When Ole took Arn as his partner in April of 1985, Arn ordered dered his own pair of "Anderson boots" and the transformation to a full blown member of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew was complete. 

Arn has talked about the boots before and their significance to him, and recently did so again on his Westwood One podcast ARN. Executive producer and co-host Conrad Thompson asked him about boots in general, and wondered if any particular color combination was a particular favorite to him.  

I love hearing Arn talk about the Anderson boots. Here is that one-minute audio clip, with a transcript below.

 

 

Transcript

CONRAD THOMPSON: Tell me about the boots. You had quite a few different color combinations - - the red and the black, black and silver, the white and the red. Is there a favorite pair or a favorite color combination, that you were really feelin' yourself, like aw sh*t, these are my best ones?

ARN ANDERSON: I felt like when the Horsemen were in their infancy . . . first of all, I have a pair of Anderson boots that will always be special, which means when Ole Anderson made me a member of his family, which made me a member of Gene's family, that's about as strong as it can get for a kid with my aspirations at that time. And the fact that I was allowed to copy his boots and for us to match was a big deal for me.

CONRAD: Yep.

ARN: And that's the boots that I hold nearest and dearest to my heart because that's when I was given my career. I was an Anderson before I was a Horseman. And for them to accept me as equals at the point of my career I was at, they'll always mean the most.

(from the episode Ask Arn Anything #29 of ARN podcast on Westwood One.)

Mid-Atlantic TV Report: April 9, 1983

Mid-Atlantic 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 as well as links to the Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast, visit our TV Summary Index.

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Original broadcast: 04/09/83
(taped 04/06/83 at WPCQ-TV studios in Charlotte)
WWE Network Direct Link to this show Mid-Atlantic 04/09/83
WWE Network feed.   [How to watch this show on the WWE Network.] 

Match 1
Jack Brisco & Mike Rotundo d. Jake Roberts & Dory Funk, Jr. (w/Paul Jones)
We start with action in the ring. Paul Jones joins Bob Caudle at the announcer’s desk. Tommy Young is the referee for the hour. Jake is wearing white karate-type pants. Competitive match. We take a break in the middle of the match, highly unusual.

[Break]

We're back, Jack is on the outside, and trips up Dory. As Funk turns around, Rotundo rolls him up for the pin. After the match, Funk tosses Rotundo out, and Roberts DDTs Brisco.

[Break]

-Int. w/David Crockett: Dick Slater & Greg Valentine
Dick Slater is holding the TV championship. 

[FILM] Crockett throws it to Slater vs. Piper tape from a “recent” match. It’s 4/03/83 from Greensboro. Crockett and Slater narrate. Piper and Slater are slugging it out. Piper is thrown outside, but Valentine, at ringside, tosses Piper back in. The brawl continues. Valentine has the house mic and is yelling something. Piper punts Slater’s head. More brawling. Valentine gets on the apron. Piper goes to nail him. With the referee distracted, Slater pulled something out of his tights, nailed Piper with a punch, and made the pin.

Valentine says he and Slater will coach each other. Slater insults Piper. Crockett tells the duo that both men have to give Piper another title shot. Valentine objects, but says when that happens, he and Slater have each other’s back.

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle
This is in lieu of local interviews. Kernodle says they want to go Florida and face all those underdog teams.  Slaughter namedrops the Midnight Rider. Slaughter talks about an upcoming cage match vs. Steamboat & Youngblood in Savannah, GA. Caudle makes a face when Slaughter makes fun of Georgia’s basketball team. He busts on other basketball teams before ending the interview.

[Break]

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle
Caudle notes Slaughter has his hat back. Slaughter says he beat Jim Nelson in a match with the hat on the line. Slaughter blames Nelson for causing them to lose the tag championship. Slaughter trash talks Nelson and other babyfaces.

Match 2
Mike Davis & Jim Nelson d. Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle by DQ
The theme is Slaughter & Kernodle looking for revenge on Nelson. He is holding his own. Davis gets knocked off the apron at one point, and Nelson has to go at it on his own. The double-teaming becomes too much. Slaughter has the Cobra Clutch with Kernodle grabbing Nelson’s feet. The referee calls for the bell. Steamboat & Youngblood and Rotundo make the save.

[Break]

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Gary Hart and Kabuki
Gary Hart says he will find a tag partner for Kabuki to challenge for the World tag team championship. He name drops Flair and Andre. Kabuki’s partner will be the Magic Dragon.

Match 3
Kabuki (w/Gary Hart) d. Keith Larson
Gary Hart sits in on commentary. He talks about why the armpit claw is effective, because you can develop the chest and arms, but not the armpit. Larson charges Kabuki in the corner, but Kabuki counters with the thrust kick for the pin.

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Gary Hart and Kabuki
Post-match interview has Hart talk about the Asian quest for the World tag team championship. He says Kabuki will accept a challenge from any man, accept one (unnamed, but implied to be Jimmy Valiant).

[Break]

Match 4
Non-Title: Rick Steamboat & Jay Youngblood [World Tag ch.] d. Masa Fuchi & Ken Timbs
Youngblood pins Timbs after being slingshotted in by Steamboat.

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Rick Steamboat & Jay Youngblood
A winded Steamboat talks about Slaughter & Kernodle’s efforts for a rematch. He said the match in Greensboro caused a lot of anxiety and tension. An equally winded Youngblood gets some comments in. They talk about upcoming challenges, including the Brisco Brothers.

“So long for now!”

 * * * * * * * * * *

Results for the week, 4/04/83-4/10/83
(source: Clawmaster’s Archive via Sports and Wrestling blog posted by David Baker; “Wrestling” newsletter by Joe Shedlock)

Mon., 4/04/83 Greenville, SC; Memorial Auditorium
Mike Davis beat Masa Fuchi
Great Kabuki beat Jim Nelson
Jake Roberts beat Johnny Weaver
Jack Brisco beat Larry Lane
Andre the Giant & Jimmy Valiant & Bugsy McGraw d. Greg Valentine & One Man Gang & Oliver Humperdink

Tue., 4/05/83 Raleigh, NC; Civic Center
Jake Roberts d. Mike Davis
Pvt. Nelson & Wayne Jones d. Bill White & Ken Timbs
Great Kabuki (w/Gary Hart) d. Sweet Brown Sugar
Dick Slater d. Roddy Piper by DQ
Andre the Giant & Jimmy Valiant & Bugsy McGraw d. Greg Valentine & One Man Gang & Oliver Humperdink 

Wed., 4/06/83 Charlotte, NC; WPCQ-TV studio (TV)
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling:
Jack Brisco & Mike Rotundo d. Jake Roberts & Dory Funk, Jr. (w/Paul Jones)
Mike Davis & Jim Nelson d. Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle by DQ
Kabuki (w/Gary Hart) d. Keith Larson
Non-World tag team championship: Rick Steamboat & Jay Youngblood d. Masa Fuchi & Ken Timbs
World Wide Wrestling:
Jack Brisco beat Ken Timbs
Jim Nelson & Mike Rotundo beat Sgt Slaughter & Don Kernodle by DQ
Jake Roberts beat Vinnie Valentino
Great Kabuki beat Mike Davis & Abe Jacobs
Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood beat Masa Fuchi & Ben Alexander

Thu., 4/07/83 Norfolk, VA
Vinnie Valentino beat Mark Fleming
Ken Timbs beat Wayne Jones
Greg Valentine beat Roddy Piper
Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle beat Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood
Andre The Giant, Bugsy McGraw & Jimmy Valiant beat Dick Slater, One Man Gang & Oliver Humperdink 

Thu., 4/07/83 Sumter, SC
Jack & Jerry Brisco vs. Dory Funk, Jr. & Paul Jones
Johnny Weaver vs. Great Kabuki
Sweet Brown Sugar vs. Jake Roberts
Jos LeDuc vs. Ricky Harris
Mike Rotundo vs. Paul Ellering 

Fri., 4/08/83 Charlotte, NC; Charlotte Coliseum
Mike Rotundo beat Masa Fuchi
Larry Lane beat Sweet Sugar Brown
Jos LeDuc beat Gene Anderson
Jack & Jerry Brisco beat Jake Roberts & Great Kabuki
Greg Valentine draw Roddy Piper
Andre the Giant, Jimmy Valiant & Bugsy McGraw beat Dick Slater, One Man Gang & Oliver Humperdink
Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle beat Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood in a steel cage match

Sat. 4/09/83 Conway, SC
Gene Anderson d. Wayne Jones
Jos LeDuc d. Bill White
Sweet Brown Sugar -draw- Red Dog Lane
Jack Brisco & Jerry Brisco d. Rick Harris & Masa Fuchi
Roddy Piper d. Dick Slater
Andre the Giant won a 12-man battle royal 

Sun., 4/10/83 Asheville, NC
Larry Lane beat Bill White
Jerry Brisco beat Ricky Harris
Great Kabuki beat Mike Rotundo
Jake Roberts beat Jack Brisco
Jos LeDuc beat Dick Slater
Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood beat Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle

Sun., 4/10/83 Columbia, SC; Township Auditorium
Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle beat Jay Youngblood & Ricky Steamboat by DQ
Jos Leduc beat Dick Slater
Kabuki beat Mike Rotundo
Jack Brisco beat Jake Roberts
Jerry Brisco beat Ricky Harris
Larry Lane beat Bill White

Sun., 4/10/83 Toronto, ON; Maple Leaf Gardens
Nick DeCarlo & Bob Marcus beat Kurt Von Hess & Bobby Bass
Jim Nelson draw Sweet Sugar Brown
Johnny Weaver beat Leo Burke to win North American Title
Jimmy Valiant & Tony Parisi beat One Man Gang & Oliver Humperdink
Andre the Giant beat The Destroyer & the Executioner in a handicap match
Jimmy Snuka beat Ray Stevens by countout in a Texas death match
NWA World Champion Ric Flair beat Roddy Piper by DQ

Sun., 4/10/83 Fayetteville, NC
Mike Davis beat Masa Fuchi
Vinnie Valentino beat Gene Anderson
Bugsy McGraw beat Ken Timbs
Jimmy Valiant beat Oliver Humperdink
Roddy Piper beat Dick Slater
Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle beat Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood
NWA World Champion Ric Flair beat Greg Valentine

Best of the Gateway: Andre the Giant's First Night in Charlotte (1974)

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Awhile back I posted a series on Andre the Giant's first tour of the Mid-Atlantic area in June of 1974. The story was inspired by a submission to the Mid-Atlantic Gateway by Les Thatcher of some photographs that he took and a wonderful story he had written then when he was tasked to take Andre on several promotional stops around the territory.

The can check that series out here:

Part 1: The Tour (includes a photo with Joe, Elliot, and Carl Murnick.)
Part 2: Les Thatcher's Opus: Les Thatcher's "lost story" about taking Andre on tour (including photos with Charlie Harville, Nick Pond, and Joe Murnick.)
Part 3: Context (Including additional photos with Scott Casey and Bill Ward, plus other Mid-Atlantic history that week.)

As I mentioned in the series, I was amazed out how much memorabilia seemed to exist from that one week in 1974. And now I've come across a bit more.

Scooter Lesley, who owns the vast photo archives of the late Gene Gordon, recently sent me a photo Gordon took of Andre in the locker room at the old Charlotte Coliseum (aka, Independence Arena, now Bojangles Coliseum.) I immediately thought of Les Thatcher's story and his photographs.

Nelson Royal, Swede Hanson, and Andre the Giant in Charlotte, June 10, 1974

The photograph, seen here, is of Nelson Royal and Swede Hansen looking up in awe at Andre. Although clearly staged, Nelson and Swede were no doubt legitimately in awe of the "Eight Wonder of the World" as they spent the week with him on his first tour of the area.

I knew the photo had to be from that week in June 1974, just based on some quick tell-tale signs. Nelson Royal still being in the area at the same time Swede Hansen was a babyface pegged it to those months in 1974, and this was likely Andre's only tour through that time. I knew that Nelson had teamed with Andre on Andre's first card in Charlotte. I looked up the newspaper clipping of that 6/10/74 Charlotte Coliseum show in Mark Eastridge's vast clipping archives, and confirmed that Swede Hanson was indeed on that same show, too.

That night in Charlotte, where Andre teamed with Royal to defeat Mr. Ota and Mr. Hiashi, was part of an 11-day tour that stretched from 6/3 to 6/13/74.

• Mon 6/3 - Greenwood SC - Andre beat Pedro Godoy and Mike Paidousis
• Tue 6/4 - Raleigh NC - Andre defeated Mike Paidousis and Bill White
• Wed 6/5 - Anderson SC -Andre & Sandy Scott def. Mr. Ota/Mr. Hiashi
• Thu 6/6 - Greensboro NC - Andre participated in a Battle Royal
• Fri 6/7 - Richmond VA - Andre participated in a Battle Royal
• Sat 6/8 - Roanoke VA - Andre def. Chuck O'Connor and Mike Paidousis
• Sun 6/9 - Rocky Mount NC - Andre def. O'Connor/"Two Ton" Harris
• Mon 6/10 - Charlotte NC - Andre & Nelson Royal def. Mr. Ota/Mr. Hiashi
• Tue 6/11 - Columbia SC - defeated Mike Paidousis and Bill White
• Wed 6/12 - Raleigh NC - Studio TV Appearance
• Thu 6/13 - Norfolk VA - Andre participated in a Battle Royal

Andre was also one of the "lumberjacks" in the main event that night, a Lumberjack Match between the Super Destroyer (Don Jardine) and Swede Hanson. That match ended in a "no decision" when at one point all of the lumberjacks found themselves in the ring in swinging away at each other until Andre cleared the ring of everybody!   

No doubt Andre made a big impression on wrestling fans as well as his peers that first week in the area. Gene Gordon's photograph, added to Les Thatcher's photos and "lost story" documented earlier, are a lasting record of that memorable period of time.

Originally published September 22, 2019 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Mid-Atlantic TV Report: April 2, 1983

Mid-Atlantic 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 as well as links to the Mid-Atlantic Championship Podcast, visit our TV Summary Index.

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Original broadcast: 04/02/83
(taped 03/30/83 at WPCQ-TV studios in Charlotte)
WWE Network Direct Link to this show Mid-Atlantic 04/02/83
WWE Network feed.   [How to watch this show on the WWE Network.] 

Bob Caudle opens the show a little differently than normal. He is in the stand, like he is Phil Donahue or someone. He introduces the new NWA TV champion, Roddy Piper. Piper interacts with the audience, and hands out T-shirts raising awareness for the Easter Seals. Piper talks about the importance of Easter Seals before hopping in the ring.

Match 1
Non-Title: Roddy Piper (NWA TV Champ) d. Ricky Harris
Tommy Young is the referee for the hour. Harris jumps Piper at the start. Roddy recovers. Harris swings and misses, and Piper turns it into a back suplex for the win.

-Comments from Greg Valentine
Valentine talks about being the greatest U.S. champion ever. The NWA bestowed him a new title belt (which is already falling apart). He talked about how he used to be friends with Flair, but fame and fortune turned Flair. We are really missing context of Flair’s babyface turn with those three missing episodes from the Network (Feb. 19, Feb. 26, March 5). Valentine also talks about beating Piper.

[Break]

-Great Kabuki martials arts demonstration vs. Bill White
Second week for the demonstration. White has a kendo stick and must hit Kabuki anywhere but his hand/wrist. Kabuki wears a device, that Caudle keeps calling a Dragon Shoe. Gary Hart notes it’s a Dragon Shai. White is having no luck. Kabuki takes a way the kendo, and Caudle notes those aren’t the rules. Kabuki reluctantly returns the stick. Kabuki blocks all Whites shots, then takes the stick away again, uses nunchuks and beats on White. Hart races in the ring and covers White for his own protection. Hart “speaks foreign” according to the closed captioning to calm Kabuki down. 

Hart and Kabuki rejoin Caudle. Jimmy Valiant comes out and says he played stickball since he was three, he knows how to hit people with sticks. He wants those “100 canaries.” He’ll hit Kabuki 50 times. Seemingly Hart accepts Valiant’s challenge. “The only thing to become a king is to destroy a king.” Hart says as ridiculous as it is, Valiant is king of Mid-Atlantic.

[Break]

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Jos LeDuc
LeDuc says his face may looked messed up (and it does), but that’s nothing to what’s going to happen to Dick Slater and Greg Valentine. We go to a clip of last week’s attack by Slater and Valentine.

Match 2
[TAPE] Georgia Championship Wreslting
Non-Title: Ric Flair [NWA World Champion] d. John King
This match is from World Championship Wrestling on WTBS. Charlie Smith is the referee. Solie is impressed how long King lasts. Solie fails to acknowledge that King had 0% of the match. Flair wins with the Figure Four.

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Jos LeDuc
This is in lieu of local promos. LeDuc talks mainly about getting revenge on Slater and Valentine, similar to the interview he just gave.

[Beak]

Match 3
Jimmy Valiant & Bugsy McGraw & Jos LeDuc
d. Ben Alexander & Ken Timbs & Masa Fuchi
More LeDuc. He tells the three men in the ring he isn’t alone. Boogie Woogie and Bugsy McGraw come in the ring dancing, Network edit music in tow. And, no, they don’t make LeDuc dance. All babyfaces. LeDuc hits Fuchi with the one-armed backbreaker and Valiant pins him following an elbow.

[Break]

[TAPE] Int. w/David Crockett: Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle
The three men are in another studio, behind the steel cage. Kernodle says they were robbed. Slaughter makes more threats to Steamboat & Youngblood. For the record, Slaughter made his first reappearance with the WWF at a TV taping during the week, 3/30/83.

[Break]

Match 4
Dory Funk, Jr. & Jake Roberts (w/Paul Jones) d. Johnny Weaver & Mike Davis
Jones joins Caudle on commentary. He says this is another tryout for his team. A back-and-forth match. Dory holds Davis in the Texas Clover Leaf. Weaver makes the save, which drives Jones nuts. Roberts nails Davis with the DDT, which still doesn’t have a name yet, and scores the pin. Caudle called it a piledrive-like and bulldog-type maneuver. 

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Mike Rotundo & Sweet Brown Sugar
This is in lieu of local promos. Standard babyface fare, about the future success of their team.

[Break]

Match 5
Mike Rotundo & Sweet Brown Sugar d. Red Dog Lane & Bill White
Sir Oliver Humperdink joins Caudle for commentary. He talks about how he made LeDuc. Caudle makes a plug for fans who want to attend the TV tapings live to send in a self-addressed stamped envelope to the Jim Crockett Promotions offices in Charlotte. First time I remember seeing that in a show on the Network. Rotundo pins White following an airplane spin. Sugar nails Lane with a sweet dropkick to prevent him from breaking up the pin. 

-Int. w/Bob Caudle: Jimmy Valiant & Bugsy McGraw & Jos LeDuc
First, we see Andre highlights, the same clip they played last week. This time, Valiant narrates over it, extolling the strength and power of Andre. The Network edit music plays. Valiant talks about a new record he has coming out. Bugsy yammers on. Sugar shows up, but says nothing. LeDuc just looks stoic.

And, we’re done. Seems like a jump cut to the credits.

 * * * * * * * * * * * *

Results for the week, 3/28/83-4/03/83
(source: Clawmaster’s Archive via Sports and Wrestling blog posted by David Baker; “Wrestling” newsletter by Joe Shedlock)

Mon., 3/28/83 Greenville, SC; Memorial Auditorium
Ben Alexander beat Vinnie Valentino
Ricky Harris beat Wayne Jones
Dick Slater beat Jos LeDuc in a taped fist match
Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood beat Dory Funk, Jr. & Jake Roberts
Greg Valentine beat Roddy Piper in a match with 2 referees

Tue., 3/29/83 Columbia, SC; Township Auditorium
Vinnie Valentino beat Ben Alexander
Masa Fuchi beat Wayne Jones
Bill White beat Mark Fleming
Great Kabuki beat Sweet Brown Sugar
Dick Slater beat Jos LeDuc by DQ
Roddy Piper beat Greg Valentine by DQ

Tue., 3/29/83 Wytheville, VA
Abe Jacobs beat Ricky Harris
Johnny Weaver beat Gene Anderson
Pvt. Kernodle beat Jim Nelson
Jimmy Valiant beat One Man Gang
Jimmy Valiant beat Oliver Humperdink 

Wed., 3/30/83 Charlotte, NC; WPCQ-TV studio
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling:
Roddy Piper beat Ricky Harris
Great Kabuki beat Bill White
Jos LeDuc, Jimmy Valiant & Bugsy McGraw beat Ben Alexander, Ken Timbs & Masa Fuchi
Jake Roberts & Dory Funk, Jr. beat Mike Davis & Johnny Weaver
Mike Rotundo & Sweet Brown Sugar beat Bill White & Red Dog Lane
World Wide Wrestling:
Jake Roberts & Dory Funk, Jr. beat Mike Davis & Vinnie Valentino
Roddy Piper beat Ken Timbs
Jos LeDuc, Jimmy Valiant & Bugsy McGraw beat Ben Alexander, Bill White & Ricky Harris
One Man Gang beat Ron Rossi

Fri., 4/01/83 Charleston SC
Roddy Piper beat Greg Valentine by DQ
Jake Roberts & Dory Funk, Jr. beat Sweet Brown Sugar & Wayne Jones
Mike Rotundo beat Gene Anderson
Johnny Weaver beat Bill White

Fri., 4/01/83 Richmond, VA; Richmond Coliseum
Bugsy McGraw d. Rick Harris
Great Kabuki d. Mike Rotundo
Dick Slater DDQ Jos LeDuc
Street fight: Jimmy Valiant d. One Man Gang which led to…
Lites out: Jimmy Valiant d. Sir Oliver Humperdink
Cage match: Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle d. Rick Steamboat & Jay Youngblood

Sat., 4/02/83 Charlottesville, VA
Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood beat Sgt Slaughter & Don Kernodle
Also including Bugsy McGraw, Great Kabuki

Sun., 4/03/83 Greensboro, NC; Greensboro Coliseum
Larry Lane beat Mike Davis
Jake Roberts beat Vinnie Valentino
Mike Rotundo beat Gene Anderson
Great Kabuki, Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle beat Jim Nelson, Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood
Jack & Jerry Brisco beat Dory Funk, Jr. & Paul Jones
Dick Slater beat Roddy Piper to win NWA(Mid Atlantic) Television Title
Andre the Giant, Jimmy Valiant & Bugsy McGraw beat Greg Valentine, One Man Gang & Oliver Humperdink

Sun., 4/03/83 Columbia, SC
Greg Valentine beat Roddy Piper
Bugsy McGraw, Jerry Brisco & Jos Leduc beat One Man Gang, Dick Slater & Oliver Humperdink
Jimmy Valiant beat One Man Gang
Larry Lane beat Wayne Jones
Bill White d. Vinnie Valentino

Mid-Atlantic Election Controversy: 1975 Wrestler of the Year

by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Election controversies are ever present in today’s world, but did you think that Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling had one of its own? Sure enough, the 1975 Wrestler of the Year award, voted on by the area’s fans, turned out to be loaded with controversy! And it all unfolded for the world to see at the beginning of the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television show that was taped on February 7, 1976. 

Ric Flair and Wahoo McDaniel battled over
the Mid-Atlantic Championship in 1975-1976
(Photo by Bill Janosik)

In the mid 1970’s Jim Crockett Promotions conducted a contest at the end of the calendar year where Mid-Atlantic fans were urged to send postcards in to vote for who they felt was the outstanding wrestler in the Mid-Atlantic area for that year. The winner received a beautifully engraved watch as a token of the esteem of the voting fans. 

In the 1975 year-end voting, periodic updates were given on TV in the early weeks of 1976 as the votes were being tabulated. Ric Flair, who missed several months in the Fall of 1975 because of injuries he sustained in the Wilmington, North Carolina plane crash, had just returned to Mid-Atlantic television but had not yet returned to in-ring action. In the voting updates, Flair had not been mentioned as one of the leading vote-getters. Thus, it was a surprise when Ric appeared on the set at the start of the February 7th TV taping when the matches were being run-down, clamoring for “his” Wrestler of the Year watch to be given to him!

Ric bellowed over and over, “Where’s my watch, I want my watch!” Announcer Bob Caudle exclaimed, “David [Crockett], we’re gonna have to do something to quiet Ric Flair down.” Flair persisted, “Nature Boy wants his watch…I won the contest fair and square. I’m the people’s choice, I want my watch!” Caudle relented, “All right, all right…we’re gonna award the watch right now. Here is the president of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Jimmy Crockett. This is for the 1975 Wrestler of the Year award fans, and here is Mr. Jimmy Crockett.”  

Jim Crockett, Jr. then appeared on the set holding the beautiful watch and a bundle of postcards and said, “Bob, again it’s my pleasure this year to present the Wrestler of the Year award. Mr. Flair did get the most cards, this is just a small sample of the thousands that were sent in printed on both sides, unsigned. I believe Mr. Flair has used unfair practices so I am disqualifying him from the contest and awarding this watch as Wrestler of the Year to Mr. Chief Wahoo McDaniel!”

As Wahoo McDaniel came into camera range an incensed Flair screamed, “You are doin’ what?!? Givin’ him that watch?!? I put a lot of hard work into gettin’ that watch!! I am the winner!! Who got the most cards?!?” Jim Crockett answered disdainfully to Ric, “You printed an awful lot of them!”

Flair then turned his anger towards Wahoo venting, “McDaniel, you’ve done something backhanded again! You want this [Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship] belt so bad, and now you’re stealing my watch, huh?!” Wahoo incredulously replied, “I don’t know anything about this! It’s the first thing I’ve heard about it, I don’t know anything about it!”

Caudle, trying to quell the election controversy pronounced, “Wahoo McDaniel, fair and square, 1975 Wrestler of the Year.” The Nature Boy would have none of it, ranting and raving, “Who had the most votes…the Nature Boy did!! I am the Wrestler of the Year!!!” As he stormed off the television set, Flair hollered, “McDaniel you haven’t heard the last of this, neither have you Crockett!”

Bob, again trying to stamp out any further controversy inquired again of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling president Jim Crockett, “Ric Flair is disqualified Mr. Crockett, right?” Jim Crockett confirmed, “Ric Flair was disqualified.”

Catching his breath, Caudle stated, “All right fans and there it is, and here’s the watch Chief Wahoo McDaniel, the 1975 Wrestler of the Year…congratulations Wahoo!” McDaniel seemingly genuinely surprised answered, “Well, you know, this is a surprise to me because I knew that Flair was in the lead, and I heard he had a lot of votes come in but I didn’t know all the cards were the same. So, I appreciate it.” 

Caudle added, “According to Mr. Crockett they were printed like a printing press, printed on both sides! So, he was disqualified for that.” Wahoo then concluded, “You know, there’s only one thing I’d like for him to print, and that’s to print his name on a contract with my name on it and I’d accept it printed, any way…I wouldn’t turn it down. He can put an “X” there, as long as I witnessed it and I’ll take the match!”

Bob ended the raucous segment exclaiming, “Fans, congratulations Wahoo, there he is David the Wrestler of the Year for 1975, Wahoo McDaniel.” David Crockett replied, “That’s right, that’s a great honor to win that watch because that means he’s the most popular wrestler in everybody’s eyes.” Caudle concurred but added, “I think we’ve made some enemies though, at least one enemy with Ric Flair.” David then added, “Well, Ric Flair’s also made another enemy and I’m talking about Wahoo McDaniel.” “Right you are,” Caudle concluded as the show then went to the first match ring introduction.

Controversy would strike any number of times during the year of 1976 as Ric Flair and Wahoo McDaniel battled over the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship belt in a feud for the ages. But in this current election season, it is interesting to think back and remember that this momentous Mid-Atlantic feud between Ric and Wahoo started with an election controversy of its very own.