Gerald Brisco Reflects on Pro Wrestling and Helping Out Young People Today

"Winning the title with [Jack] was the most exciting night of my entire career." - Gerald Brisco

Man, I love this. A moving and inspirational feature on Jerry Brisco featured on the Chickasaw.tv video network website. The direct link to the web page is here. 

A hall-of-famer in every way.

"There's nothing more rewarding than watching a kid that doesn't know a wrist lock from a wrist watch, and you teach him, and he works hard at it, and to see him go out and see him win a match for the first time. And the referee comes across and raises this kid's hand...wow...don't get any better." - Gerald Brisco

Roanoke: The Mongolian Waterloo

The Roanoke Civic Center proves to be the Mongols' Last Stand
by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Back in the spring of 1976, the NWA Tag Team champions the Anderson Brothers and the International Tag Team champions The Mongols had several collisions in what fans perceived (but was never actually billed) as NWA vs. IWA tag team unification matches. (See Worlds Collide: The Andersons Battle the Mongols in 1976.)

Their battles ended in early April with the Andersons in possession of both sets of belts. However, there was one more battle yet to come.

Behind the scenes, Geeto Mongol (Newton Tattrie) was getting ready to leave the territory and head home while Bolo Mongol (Bill Eadie) was getting ready to make the amazing transition to the Masked Superstar. (See "The Death of Bolo Mongol and the Birth of a Superstar.") Booker George Scott set in motion a series of events to send the team of the Mongols out in style.

The final phase of that would be the loser -leaves-town matches between Wahoo McDaniel and Bolo Mongol in late September. But before that could happen, the Mongols had to be split up as a team. And the team to do it would be the NWA World Tag Team champions Gene and Ole Anderson.

From the collection of Brack Beasley

One final battle between the two teams was set up and local promoter Pete Apostolou's Roanoke Sports Club was able to secure the big match for the Roanoke Civic Center. There were two special stipulations. First, the match would be fought with "Texas tornado" rules - - all four men in the ring at the same time. But the most intriguing special stipulation was this: if the Mongols didn't win, they would never be allowed to wrestle as a tag team again.

Both the Andersons and the Mongols were hated teams by the fans, but as usual in these "battle of the bullies" matches, fans will coalesce behind one team or the other, and the fans in Roanoke were solidly behind the Minnesota Wrecking Crew. It was a wild affair with Gene and Ole matching every dirty tactic the Mongols threw at them, and in the end the Anderson came out on top. The Mongols had met theri Waterloo in Roanoke, the final battle between the two teams and the final time Bolo and Geeto Mongol ever wrestled as a team.

The newspaper report the day after the matches confirmed that the team of the Mongols was no more. Geeto left the territory, and a few weeks later, Bolo Mongol would be forced to leave as well at the hands of Wahoo McDaniel.

Ironically, after their big victory over the Mongols, the Andersons themselves would soon leave the territory. Ole Anderson lost a series of loser-leaves-town matches, the final one being to Wahoo McDaniel, forcing the Anderson team to pack their bags and leave for Georgia, taking their NWA World Tag Team title belts with them. (And that's a story for another day.)

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Special thanks to Brack Beasley and Mark Eastridge.

Strange Goings-On in Greensboro (Part 3)

FILM REVIEW
by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway 

Catch up on what you missed: PART ONE  |  PART TWO 

PART THREE

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine continued to narrate over the Greensboro Coliseum film clip after reminding the fans to remember the he and Paul Jones were the legal men in the ring. "Now here goes the big suplex...everybody knows that's my finishing maneuver. Right there...blam! Jones is unconscious," Valentine explained. "Now, the big bionic elbow right across the throat; now I'm gonna get a little insurance elbow here, one more time right across that skinny throat of Paul Jones and I've got him beat right there," Greg opined.

Things really get chaotic in the film at this point, as Ricky Steamboat bails out "Number One" with a well timed save to keep the match alive for the good guys. Valentine commented, "Now here comes Steamboat with a legal save; there's no complaint right there 'cause that's a legal save. Raschke throws Steamboat out of the ring." The Baron interjected, "He is interfering in this match!"

Valentine then honed into the point of contention on the film, "Now watch this, the referee is with Raschke and here comes that sneaky little Steamboat, that creepy little Hawaiian sneakin' back in the ring." Greg then admonishes Steamboat, "Now watch what you do Steamboat, you chop me right across the gut." Valentine then adds, "Jones rolls out of the ring, and watch, [Steamboat] gives me a double thrust, an illegal karate thrust...and then a small package. And here comes that blind [Sonny] Fargo, the referee with the one, two, three count."

When thinking back to Valentine just telling the fans to remember that he and Jones were the legal men in the ring, it was becoming clear where the bad guys were headed next when the film showed that Steamboat captured the winning pinfall. An extremely animated Baron von Raschke then addressed the good guys, "There was no tag, was there?!? Admit it Jones, admit it Steamboat! There was no tagging, das richtig, ja?!?" Jones and Steamboat did not have a rapid-fire response back to the Baron, who was laughing loudly at this juncture.

An exuberant Valentine needled Paul, "Hey, you speechless or somethin' Jones, huh?!? Can't you talk?!?" Caudle interjected, "All right Paul and Ricky, what do you say about that?" Jones, clearly flustered, tepidly responded, "Let me tell you something Bob, this here, is one of the lowest things I've ever seen done." Steamboat continued in kind, "Both of us cannot express how many times WE'VE been cheated out of the belts." Paul, now seething,  attempted to fire back before being interrupted, "Let me tell you something Valentine and Raschke, I wish I could say right here on TV, I wish I could say right here on TV..."

A quite confident Valentine butted in, "You don't have to say nothing, David will say it all, he's got a telegram right there from the President!" Raschke clarified, "Bob Geigel, the President!" Greg confirmed, "He'll say it all!" David Crockett then carefully began to read from the telegram received from NWA President Bob Geigel that had just been mentioned. "All right, it's from Bob Geigel, to Jim Crockett Promotions, Incorporated, 421 Briarbend Drive, Charlotte," the announcer began reading. "Reference...match between Baron von Raschke/Greg Valentine versus Paul Jones/Ricky Steamboat, September 3, 1978 in Greensboro, North Carolina," David continued.

Like a Clerk of Court being handed the jury's verdict to announce to a hushed Courtroom of spectators, David Crockett's next utterances from Bob Geigel's telegram had the spectators at the WRAL TV studios and the two tag teams captivated, not to mention all the fans around the Mid-Atlantic area watching this drama unfold on their TV screens on Saturday, September 9, 1978. Crockett paused, and then slowly read Bob Geigel's words, "After viewing the film of the match, it is my decision that the National Wrestling Alliance Tag Team Title..."

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 4

Action Figures Friday: The 1980s Championships

The Jim Crockett Promotions "Dusty Era" Champions & Championships
by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Photographs and Collection courtesy of Jeff Jewett

The "Big Gold" NWA World Championship
Featured Figures: Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, and Hulk Hogan

This week on "Action Figures Friday" we take a brief departure from Mike Simmerman's custom Mid-Atlantic TV studio of the 1970s and early 1980s, and move forward to the mid-1980s where Jeff Jewett takes a look at that period through his collection of custom figures and replica championship belts.

We affectionately call this era the "Dusty era", named for the booker and creative genius behind the explosive success of Jim Crockett Promotions from 1985 until the company was sold to Ted Turner in late 1988.

In this series of photographs that Jeff sent us, you will see each of the Crockett NWA championship belts (with only a couple of exceptions) accompanied by actions figures of many of the champions who wore them, as well as some photographs to serve as background. It's an amazing display that Jeff has put together!

NWA World Tag Team Championship
Featured Figures: Midnight Express, Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson

United States heavyweight Championship (Version 4 "Silver Belt" 1983-1986)
Featured Action Figures: Magnum T.A. and Tully Blanchard

United States heavyweight Championship (Version 5 "Gold Eagle Belt" 1986-1991)
Featured Action Figures: Nikita Koloff and Magnum T.A.

 

United States Tag Team Championship
Featured Figures: Jim Cornette and the Midnight Express

National Heavyweight Championship
Featured Figures: Tully Blanchard and Terry Taylor

National Tag Team Championship
Featured Figures: Arn and Ole Anderson

NWA World Television Championship
Featured Figures: Dusty Rhodes and Arn Anderson

Western States Heritage Championship
Featured Figures; Larry Zbyszko and Barry Windham

 Take a look at ALL of our ACTION FIGURE POSTS.

Wrestle Art: Orlando (1970)

 

  curated by Dick Bourne, Mid-Atlantic Gateway

I've always enjoyed the various wrestler artwork that appeared in various ads for wrestling around the country. I've decided to display some examples of those from time to time here on the Gateway.

Here is one of my favorites. The Orlando, Florida ads in the 1970s featured this unique, eye-cathcing design at the top of a vertical newspaper ad. It features one wrestler applying a top wrist lock to another.

Here also, I've kept the main event, the definitive feud of the 1970s - - Dory Funk, Jr. vs. Jack Brisco. In this case, its August 10, 1970 and Funk is defending the NWA title.

Special thanks to Mark Eastridge for access to his unmatched collection of wrestling clippings from all over the country going back decades. I look forward to sharing more Wrestle Art in future posts.

Favorite Episodes: The Final Show at WPCQ (July 2, 1982)

A series of posts about our favorite episodes available for streaming on the WWE Network
by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling

WWE Network Data: First Airdate Saturday July 2, 1983 (Taped Wed. June 29, 1983)

United States Heavyweight Champion Greg Valentine

FINAL SHOW AT WPCQ STUDIO
This show would be the very last taping at WPCQ studios in Charlotte, and the last time Mid-Atlantic and World Wide Wrestling would ever be taped in a studio setting. Jim Crockett Promotions had moved their TV production to these cramped quarters two years earlier, moving from WRAL in Raleigh when that station needed the studio every night for their locally produced insert-segments of the new show "PM Magazine." WPCQ was a real step down in production quality for the programs with noticeable declines in the quality of video and audio during this time. Additionally, and most noticeably, the studio was too small, and the ring had to be turned catty-cornered in order to have room for Bob Caudle's set, as well as the cameras and production crew.

So the move of TV production out into the arenas was a welcome development, although I love the old studio settings by and large, and miss that era. But there wasn't a Saturday that at some point during a show from WPCQ that I didn't think to myself, boy, do I miss WRAL.

They certainly went out with a bang as this episode was a ton of fun, particularly due to the work of Jerry Brisco on the mic as one of the most annoyingly cocky heels ever. His performance, along with brother Jack, is just masterful.

The Briscos confront Ricky Steamboat

THE BRISCOS

This episode is a showcase for the Brisco brothers as heels. Jack and Jerry are basking in the glow of their victory over Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood for the NWA World Tag Team titles, and are really rubbing it in. The Briscos are in my top 5 of all-time favorite tag teams, all due to their work in this area as heels in 1983.


During this episode they get in the face of Mike Rotundo at the opening of the show, and later provoke Ricky Steamboat to lose his temper, although Jerry came out on the wrong end of that as Steamboat knocks him out cold!

The Briscos wrestle Keith Larson (aka Wally Kernodle) and Rick McCord on this show in what can only be called a wrestling clinic. As part of their heel personas, the Briscos were always out to prove they were superior technical wrestlers and they just have their way with Larson and McCord who, by the way, were two of the more talent undercard wrestlers to ever work the territory.

Rufus R. Jones defends the honor of the winner of Paul Jones's picture.

PAUL JONES GIVES AWAY HIS PICTURE
For about 6 weeks leading up to this show, manager Paul Jones has been conducting a contest where the winner will receive a huge, oversized poster of Paul in a Tuxedo. The big poster has been on display for weeks and provided some hilarious moments over that time as Paul talked weekly with Bob Caudle about the contest. This week, he finally awards the photo to the contest winner at the end of the show. Paul is very rude to her and Rufus R. Jones comes out to defend the honor of the contest winner. Paul and the two wrestlers he manages, Dory Funk, Jr. and Jake "The Snake" Roberts, beat up Rufus in the ring as the credits roll at the end of the show.



THE LOVE AFFAIR WITH MIKE ROTUNDO
One thing is clear rewatching these late 1982 and early-to-mid 1983 episodes: booker Dory Funk, Jr. was in love with Mike Rotundo. There can be no other way to describe it. No other wrestler during this time period got more exposure in the ring, on interviews, and doing color commentary than the mid-card All-American from Syracuse.

This week, Rotundo is the color commentator with host Bob Caudle. As great a performer as Rotundo would prove to be in the ring, he was just as bad on the mic during this early part of his career. Rotundo definitely got his groove going and developed a personality in 1988 when he was a heel in the Varsity Club and was playing off goofy, lovable babyface Rick Steiner, but in 1983 he was as green, dry, and dull as you could possibly imagine. But Dory was intent on giving Rotundo ample opportunities to improve. And this was one of them, doing color commentary the entire program. I actually love Rotundo's work in the ring. But this was painful. Somehow, it did not detract from me enjoying this awesome episode, though, and I hope it won't for you, either.



THE LOCAL PROMO SPOTS
Most of these episodes on the WWE Netowrk do not include the local promotional spots that were some of the most entertaining parts of the programs back in the day. Those localized interviews were recorded during the day prior to the taping of the shows and then inserted into the tape that went out to the various market stations. Since these archived episodes don't have the local promos, they include a "live" studio interview taped right along as the main program was being taped. For much of late 1982 and 1983, these segments were largely aimed at the Florida territory. The Mid-Atlantic show was seen on a few select stations throughout Florida and so the guys being interviewed would aim many of their comments towards the wrestlers in Florida. Fans in the Mid-Atlantic area would not see these interviews; they were seeing their local promotional spots at that moment.

A good example of these is the interview Dick Slater does in the second promotional spot location. Slater directly addresses Dusty Rhodes (at that time a regular in Florida, and also the booker of the territory) and tells him he might be the American Dream and the Midnight Cowboy (a reference to Dusty working as the Midnight Rider) but he will never be the Errol Flynn of wrestling!


TIDBITS:

• Interesting to see a very young Joel Deaton on this show. Deaton would later wrestle under a mask as "Thunderfoot" managed by James J. Dillon in 1985. He would work several smaller southern territories in the late 1980s before making a name for himself in the 1990s in Japan. I always liked Deaton's work in the ring.
• Greg Valentine methodically works over John Bonello in an entertaining opening match.
• Roddy Piper mentions he has a new partner "Mr. T" - - and then pulls out a tire iron. I did do a double-take when he said that though, thinking where Piper would be less than two years later with the real Mr. T at the first Wrestlemania.
• During Dick Slater's match, Bob Caudle mentions that the Assassins are coming into the area soon, and that one of them is reportedly the son of the Great Bolo. This would turn out to be the new Assassin #2, which later turned out to be Hercules Hernandez under the mask. They played up the Great Bolo son angle for several months.
• Harley Race makes it clear he doesn't want to wrestle Flair anymore, and claims Flair was a "fluke" champion since all he really did was slip past a "fat man" to win the title. This was a shot at the wrestler Ric beat for the NWA title, Dusty Rhodes.
• Flair, Piper, and Race all appeared in pre-taped interviews from the brand new make-shift studio at the main office building of Jim Crockett Promotions on Briarbend Drive. The studio was established as the location for taping the local interviews that would be inserted to the syndicated programs. The interviews had previously been taped at the WPCQ studios prior to the taping of the shows. But with the move out to the arenas to begin next week, JCP needed a spot to record the shows, and so they set up a make-shift studio at the Briarbend offices.
• Wahoo McDaniel does his famous war dance and tomahawk chop (Bob Caudle affectionately called it the "tommy-hawk" chop ovder the years) before defeating the Magic Dragon. Considered by many to be politically incorrect today, that war dance and chop was one of the things that made Wahoo so exciting and so special to me when I first started watching wrestling.

CHAMPIONS ROLL CALL
NWA World Champion: Harley Race
NWA World Tag Champions: Jack & Jerry Brisco
United States Champion: Greg Valentine
Mid-Atlantic Champion: Dory Funk, Jr.
NWA TV Champion: The Great Kabuki


STUDIO MATCHES ON THIS PROGRAM
[1] Greg Valentine (US Champion) vs. John Bonello
[2] The Briscos (NWA Tag Champs) vs. Keith Larson / Rick McCord
[3] Jimmy Valiant & Bob Orton Jr. vs. Bill Howard & Joel Deaton
[4] Dick Slater vs. Vinnie Valentino
[5] Dory Funk Jr. (Mid-Atlantic Champ) & Jake Roberts vs. Bret Hart & Mike Davis


FILMED MATCHES FROM THE ARENA:
Wahoo McDaniel vs. The Magic Dragon (with Gary Hart)

INTERVIEWS
Jack and Jerry Brisco
Ric Flair and Roddy Piper (pre-taped at the Briarbend Drive studio)
Mike Rotundo
Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood
Harley Race (pre-taped at the Briarbend Drive studio)
Dick Slater
Paul Jones (with Jake Roberts and Dory Funk, Jr.)

WWE NETWORK
FREE MONTH FOR NEW SUBSCRIBERS!
Check out all of the Mid-Atlantic episodes currently available!

Republished on 01/14/2021 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Four Horsemen Reunion a Hit at Icons of Wrestling

There was a great Four Horsemen reunion this past weekend at the huge Icons of Wrestling event in Philadelphia, PA.

Reuniting for photos and autographs were all members of the 1988 JCP version of the Horsemen: Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Ric Flair, and Barry Windham, with the leader of the Four Horsemen James J. Dillon.

The next scheduled reunion of the Four Horsemen takes place February 17 at the MCW Pro Wrestling event in Joppa, MD. The event celebrates the 30th anniversary of the "Windham version" of the Four Horsemen. For more information, visit their Facebook Event Page.

When James J. Dillon makes an appearance, he has with him the book "Four Horsemen: A Timeline History" by the Mid-Atlantic Gateway's Dick Bourne. Of course, J.J. always has his autobiography for sale as well, "Wrestlers are Like Seagulls" co-written with Scott Teal of Crowbar Press.

Want to buy these books online? Visit the links below.

BUY ONLINE

Four Horsemen: A Timeline History by Dick Bourne
Wrestlers are Like Seagulls by James J. Dillon with Scott Teal

Hot Times at County Hall in Charleston

by Andy McDaniel
Special to the Mid-Atlantic Gateway


Charleston County Hall was famously known for being a hot place. Literally, the building held heat like nowhere else. Wahoo McDaniel once told Mike Mooneyham that even the walls at County Hall could sweat. Regardless of the heat or the raindrops from the leaky ceiling, County Hall was just a fun place to be at on Friday nights.

From time to time, I recall a fun night at County Hall and love to share those memories. I am very grateful for the Gateway and the wonderful job they do for keeping Mid-Atlantic wrestling alive. It is a true joy to have the chance to contribute a story now and then.

Blackjack Mulligan was something else. He is one of those wrestling characters that will forever be remembered. He was a larger than life figure and literally, a giant of a man. Many of his feuds will live on forever in the hearts of Mid-Atlantic fans. I loved his time with Paul Jones, Tim Woods, and of course, the great memories of his matches with and against Ric Flair. However, there was another feud that I truly enjoyed, the one with the Masked Superstar.

Several matches between these two had taken place all over the Mid-Atlantic region. There were even a few at County Hall. As with most feuds, we saw specialty matches, matches with stipulations and on occasion another couple of guys would be tossed in and a tag-team match would take place. Such was the case on this particular Friday night in Charleston.

The main event was Blackjack Mulligan and a screwball member of his family, Cousin Luke, versus their opponents the Masked Superstar and his partner for the night, Enforcer Luciano. I had seen Luciano eating light bulbs and breaking concrete blocks with his fists on TV, but now I was going to see him in person. This was such a magical time in wrestling. The fans were invested and whether it was cheering or booing, the sincerity of each side was awesome.

It was another hot, Friday night at County Hall. The action had been fierce, but now it was time for the main event. Everyone was on their feet as Blackjack and Luke came to the ring. The Superstar and Luciano were waiting for them as they stepped through the ropes. After the ring announcer made the introductions, action started, and it was a brawl. Fists were flying, boots were coming off and being used as weapons; pretty much the only thing technical or actual wrestling wise that might have been seen would have been provided by the Superstar.

It was exactly what Blackjack had promised the previous Saturday during the local promos; it was a fight. The match/brawl went on for a bit, but then the action seemed to settle down. Much to the dismay of most of the crowd, Blackjack found himself being subdued by the Superstar. The cobra clutch had brought down the big man in the center of the ring. Every time it seemed like Blackjack might break free or make the tag to Luke, Luciano would do something to steal the crowd's joy. The referee was really hearing it from the crowd. He seemed to never be able to catch the dastardly deeds being done in his ring and the fans were letting him know their feelings. Referees always seemed good at missing so many important moments. Tommy Young, Stu Schwartz, Sonny Fargo, they are such great parts of the history of Mid-Atlantic wrestling. They were so important to the matches, I always enjoyed their work.

This back and forth match went on for quite a while, the crowd was surely on an emotional roller coaster. I can remember it just like it was last night. The Superstar and his partner had exhausted the crowd. The wooden floor of County Hall bellowed out as the fans began to stomp. The railings of the balcony rang as palms began to pound against them, all in disapproval of the things being done to our heroes.

In what appeared to be an act of betrayal, right at the moment it seemed that Blackjack might break free, Cousin Luke jumped off the corner of the ring and headed toward the dressing room.

You could feel the air almost leave the room, as the crowd gasped, and shock filled the arena. The smoke that hovered just below the ceiling began to swirl at a near tornado type speed. Yes, people smoked inside back then, It was kind of part of the charm of County Hall - - smoke, popcorn, beer, etc. Those were special times indeed.

The disbelief at what was taking place before our very eyes was at an unreal level. How could this be? How could Luke turn on his own cousin? Was he really a traitor? Almost immediately, the boos started and the closer he got to the back, the louder things seemed to get.

As is most often in pro wrestling, things were not as they would seem and almost as quickly as Luke entered the dressing room, he would come back out. But he was not alone. To every one’s delight, he would bring an additional partner back the ring, but this was a partner that did not walk with him. Instead it was in his hand. It was about 4-feet long and firm in nature. Yes, good ol' Cousin Luke quickly had the fans back in his corner as he and his new partner, a 2 x 4, entered the ring to assist in what seemed to be a very unfair fight. As he evened the odds and dispatched Superstar and Luciano; Blackjack was on the road to recovery and rejoined the chaos as it unfolded. Unfortunately, the referee did not approve of all the mayhem and called for the bell and the ring announcer would soon let the rowdy crowd know that all had been disqualified.

It was one of those times that, while the victory was not found in a simple 1-2-3, the fans still went home happy because they saw justice had come to town and the bad guys were sent running.

Friday nights at County Hall: what wonderful memories. For a young kid who went to his first matches in that building starting in 1974, every time was always special. This year, 2018, will be exactly 20 years since the last matches were held in the hallowed Hall. I had the honor and absolute privilege of not only promoting that show, but was also in the main event that night. It will be a memory that I will cherish forever. To have watched all my heroes - - Wahoo, Ric, Rufus, Blackjack, Jimmy Valiant, Paul Jones - - to have seen them do battle in this special old building and to personally be able to go back there all those years later and be the one to close out wrestling forever in County Hall, is something I hold near to my heart.

This night with Blackjack, Superstar, and the rest of the crew was another hot night of pro wrestling at County Hall. It was a simple time of story-telling. It was a time when the crowd’s emotions were directed like a Maestro conducts an orchestra, by the guys in the ring. It was a time that was simply magical. I miss those days, but the memories sure are wonderful.

This story contains corrections from a previous version of the story.

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Order your copy of "Reunion at County Hall" on Amazon.com
Black & White Version   |   Color Version

Read the review by Mike Mooneyham of the Charleston Post & Courier

Wrestling Book Takes a Look at County Hall 

Action Figures Friday: Finishing The Hat & Robe

PART TWO: THE ROBE
by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Photographs from the collection of Mike Simmerman

CLICK IMAGE TO REVIEW LAST WEEK

Last week, we presented PART ONE: THE HAT of a two-part "Action Figures Friday" series commemorating the famous "Hat and Robe" angle from 1978 featuring Ric Flair and Blackjack Mulligan.

This week we look at what happened next in PART TWO: THE ROBE, where Blackjack extracts a matter of revenge on Flair for earlier destroying his prized cowboy hat given to him by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.

When people write us or post on our social media about their favorite angle form the 1970s in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling, the one they bring up most often is the 1978 angle known popularly by fans as "the Hat and the Robe." It's our favorite, too.

As we mentioned last week, we won't run through the whole story here. There is a detailed (and we mean detailed) article on the the entire "Hat and Robe" angle and its aftermath that was originally published in 2004, and then updated and republished in 2015. You can catch up on that whole story by going there first if you'd like.

CLICK HERE FOR THE ENTIRE STORY OF THE HAT & ROBE

Mike Simmerman again sent us photos from his custom action figure collection that re-enact the famous angle. This week, it's the robe.

PHOTOGRAPHS © MIKE SIMMERMAN

From 8mm silent film footage shot right off of television:

Blackjack enters the WRAL studio wearing Ric Flair's robe

Ric Flair watches helplessly as Mulligan slowly shreds his $10,000 custom Oliva Walker robe.
Ted Oates holds Flair in the ring. Mulligan is seen in the inset image in each frame.

Flair kneels in what remains of his once most prized robe.

Listen to this 2-minute clip of rare audio highlights from the entire angle:





Special thanks as always to Mike Simmerman for providing these very cool (and very creative) photographs from his custom figures collection.

See also:
Part One: The Hat (Action Figures Friday)
The Legend of the Hat and Robe
Check out all of our "Action Figures Friday" posts.

Mid-Atlantic Gateway visits "Wrestler Weekly Presents"

The Mid-Atlantic Gateway's David Chappell is Scottie Richardson's guest this week on "Wrestler Weekly Presents" on the Wrestler Weekly YouTube channel.

You can watch the episode (Season 2 Episode 3) by clicking here https://t.co/F2BwFllny9 or watching below.

And don't miss a special BONUS episode to follow as well.

David and Scottie discuss many of the old 1970s Mid-Atlantic Wrestling magazines produced by Les Thatcher and sold at the arenas and talk wrestling in general from the Carolinas and Virginia. They focus specifically on Volume 3 Issue 3, the famous 'Valentine Trophy Case" cover and all of its amazing content. A classic, to be sure.

Check out all of the"Wrestler Weekly Presents" podcasts on YouTube!

And catch this BONUS episode with David with more discussion on the magazine: