Blackjack Mulligan Update

Lots of rumors swirling around the health of Blackjack Mulligan. I spoke with him this afternoon. He's ailing for sure, but many of the reports of the heart issues are greatly exaggerated. The decision was made not to operate to alleviate problems related to blood clots in his brain due to the associated risks. He's back home and resting and seemed in good spirits over-all.

We somehow got to talking about Nelson Royal's ranch and all the various photo-shoots and film-shoots they did there in the 1970s when he was working for Jim Crockett Promotions. He was happy to hear that Nelson's western store in Mooresville was still there, and I told him that not only was it still there, but they have added on to it in the last year and their business seems to be thriving. That seemed to make him happy, and nostalgic for the old Mid-Atlantic days. He loved Nelson.

Keep Blackjack in your prayers.  -DB

David Crockett on Ric Flair's Podcast

Longtime fans of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions and the NWA will want to make sure and tune in to Ric Flair's podcast "WOOOOO! Nation" which dropped today. His guest is good friend David Crockett, member of one of the most important families in wrestling history. From the website:

Episode 7: Ric Remembers his mentor and friend, Dusty Rhodes and talks to David Crockett.
Ric shares a personal moment with his thoughts and memories of The American Dream, Dusty Rhodes. Ric then catches up with David Crockett, a man he spent many years with in the business. David was on the plane with Ric in 1975 that crashed and was a part of the Crockett family, one of the strongest in the wrestling business for a long time.

Join Ric with Conrad Thompson as they welcome David Crockett to WOOOOO! Nation. Check it out via iTunes or directly download from the WOOOOO! Nation page at the Play.it website.

Never Let 'em See You Sell, Kid.

One of the greatest wrestling t-shirt designs ever conceived of first made its way on the scene at an Atlanta fan convention in 2009. It photographically depicts the various emotions of the one and only Ole Anderson. Except that each photo shown above each listed emotion is the exact same photo. Joy, sorrow, excitement…same photo of Ole. It is brilliant. It is wonderful. And it captures Ole Anderson perfectly.

Scott Teal of 1wrestlinglegends.com and crowbarpress.com designed the shirt. Scott co-authored Ole Anderson's auto-biography.

Brad Anderson recently saw a photo of the shirt on Facebook and loved it. Brad is the son of Ole's long time Minnesota Wrecking Crew tag team partner Gene Anderson.

"That's so great," Brad related. "Ole not selling anything!"

Brad was reminded of something his father taught him, both as it related to wrestling, and everything else in life: "Never let 'em see you sell, kid."

Gene obviously taught Ole that same lesson well.

The t-shirt is available at Scott Teal's Crowbar Press website at http://www.crowbarpress.com/t-shirts.htm.

- Dick Bourne

From the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archives 

Want more watered-down Cokes and stale popcorn like we used to get at the wrestling shows? Visit the Cokes & Popcorn page on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archives.

Do It With Flair

In 1985, Jim Crockett Promotions released their first line of commercial merchandise that was based on their wrestlers. They previously had released some event-related t-shirts, but none directly related to their superstars. These were sold at the events as well as through mail order.

Ric Flair's first shirt was a classic. The phrase "I do It With Flair" was boldly emblazoned in sparkling gold on the front of a royal blue shirt. This particular shirt was only available for a short period of time in late 1985 and early 1986.

Now 30 years later, Ric's daughter Ashley, working under the name Charlotte in the WWE, has a very cool shirt that is a variation on that same theme.

Charlotte's shirt has a two-sided message. On the front it says "If you're gonna do it..." and then the back says "Do it with Flair."

We love it!

WWE/NXT Superstar Charlotte Flair

You can grab one of Charlotte's shirts at WWEShop.com.
(Shirt no longer available.)

This article was republished on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway on January 25, 2021.

Looking Back at the WRAL Studio

Wahoo McDaniel executes a perfect back suplex at WRAL.

One of our favorite memories here at the Mid-Atlantic Gateway is "studio wrestling", and in particular, the Jim Crockett TV shows taped at WRAL TV studios in Raleigh, NC. You have to be of a certain age to remember how special that environment was and how it came across on the TV screen. Wrestling was taped there from 1959-1981. The WPCQ Charlotte studio that came later (1981-1983) was cramped and hot and the quality of the audio and video wasn't up tot the standards of WRAL. WRAL was just about as perfect as you could get for studio wrestling back in the days when most of the territory wrestlings shows were shot out of studios or small buildings.

Over the years, we've been fortunate enough to hear from folks behind the scenes like Tom Gallagher and Rick Armstrong who actually worked some of those TV tapings from a production standpoint. They shared some wonderful insights into how those Wednesday night's came together. Others that attended tapings at WRAL have provide their memories.

Of course, we've also been blessed to have Bob Caudle, Les Thatcher, and Rich Landrum contribute to this website and offer their perspective as three of the major voices on those programs over the years.

The following is a list of some of the articles on the Gateway Archives website written about those magic days at WRAL.

Wednesdays in the Video Tape Room at WRAL by Tom Gallagher
Wednesdays Behind the Camera at WRAL by Rick Armstrong
One Night at the WRAL Wrestling Tapings by Bruce Mitchell
The WRAL Local Promos A Conversation with Les Thatcher

Bob Caudle and Rich Landrum also discuss the studio in their Gateway interviews:
Bob Caudle: The Gateway Interview
Rich Landrum: The Gateway Interview

There is an entire section on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archives that covers all the different studios where Crockett wrestling took place over the years, with a big focus on WRAL: WRAL Studios, Raleigh NC

And taking it one step further, we have an entire blog-site devoted to memories and memorabilia around the wrestling studios and the broadcast talent that worked them. It's called the Studio Wrestling Scrapbook and is a part of the Mid-Atlantic Gateway. Check it out!

I Still Owe Harley Race a Beer

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

There has always been an ongoing debate over how many times Harley Race officially held the NWA world heavyweight title: seven or eight. Regardless of which number you decide in the end is correct, one can’t argue how impressive either of those numbers are, especially when considering the era in which he held those titles. Unlike today, where the “world title” changes hands seemingly every other Monday night, when Race captured his first title a champion might hold the title for years at a time. Granted, by the late 70s and early 80s, there were several cup-of-coffee title interruptions which inflated the total. That was a harbinger of days to come, I suppose.

I had always been on the side of seven times; that was the traditional way history was written and how things played out to fans at the time. Everybody agrees on the first seven reigns, the seventh of which in 1983 broke Lou Thesz’s record to that point. The modern-day  debate centers around the title change that would be counted number eight: a short three day title switch that took place in 1984 between Race and Ric Flair on the other side of the world, a switch none of us as fans knew about at the time and a switch the wrestling press (except in Japan), by and large, did not report.

However, after reflecting back on a chance encounter I had with Mr. Race many years ago, I began to rethink my position on this debate. It also made me aware of a debt still owed him, a small debt that goes back almost 20 years.

Hot August Night

by David Chappell, Mid-Atlantic Gateway
from the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archives
Updated with three new audio promos from Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood, Blackjack Mulligan, and Enforcer Luciano! Scroll to the bottom of the post to hear those great local promos for this big card in Richmond!


August 1, 1980 was a scorching summer’s day in the Richmond area. On that Friday, the temperature soared, and then soared some more. It felt like about a 120 degrees, though the official high was "only" 99 degrees in Richmond and 104 degrees in nearby Norfolk.

Being a Friday, of course, Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling was in town that evening. Typically, Jim Crockett Promotions would bring in a sizzling card of wrestling action to match the hot weather outside. Such was the case on this night, though in a somewhat different fashion. This card at the Richmond Coliseum, while in no measure one of Jim Crockett’s best, gave me two of my most lasting memories of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.

The semi-final bout of the evening saw Blackjack Mulligan square off with Enforcer Luciano in a Texas Street Fight. While Blackjack was a familiar face to Mid-Atlantic fans, the Enforcer was a strange character who was only in the area for about three months. As the story goes, the Enforcer came into the area from Detroit with a "contract " out on Mulligan. In actuality, Mulligan had dispatched the challenge of Superstar # 2 (John Studd) in the late spring of 1980, and Mulligan’s next significant program would not occur until mid-August 1980 with newcomer "Bad Boy" Bobby Duncum. Hence, the Enforcer was only a brief transition figure, but a pretty entertaining one. Many may best remember Luciano for breaking cement blocks with his bare fist and chewing up a light bulb on the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television program!

Requiem For The Dream

An excellent tribute to Dusty Rhodes by David Shoemaker (aka, The Masked Man) over at the Grantland website.

Requiem for the Dream: Dusty Rhodes, 1945-2015

Mentioned in the article is a a 1976 match in Richmond, VA, that featured an early version of the "Dusty finish." David Chappell is currently writing a story for the Gateway on that very match. Only 16 years old, David was in attendance for this match which was Dusty's first appearance in Richmond.

Look for it soon here on the Gateway.

Dusty Rhodes Struck a Chord

For many in NC, working-man wrestler Dusty Rhodes struck a chord

A nice article from the Raleigh News & Observer's Taylor Knopf following the death of Dusty Rhodes.

The article quotes the longtime voice of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Bob Caudle and former WCW ring announcer Tony Gilliam.

Rumble in Paradise