Also listening to: Please Don't Come to Boston, A Man Walks Into a Bar
"If Steve Earle and John Prine tag teamed Bob Dylan, and Jerry Reed was pushin', Roger Alan Wade would laugh at em and say, '' y'all can't make a Sweet G.A. Brown''... - Elroy Keith
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.
For links to all available summaries and links to these TV shows on the WWE Network, visit our TV Summary Index.
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Original broadcast: 12/26/81
(taped 12/10/81 at WPCQ-TV studios in Charlotte)
WWE Network feed.
Bob Caudle & David Crockett preview the hour.
— Int. w/Bob Caudle: Sgt. Slaughter
Slaughter brags about the Cobra Clutch challenge. NWA representative Sandy Scott arrives, cutting off Slaughter. Scott isn’t satisfied with the Cobra Clutch competition. Slaughter says he has a long list of challengers: Charlie Fulton, Mike Davis, Tony Russo. Scott says they’ll pull a name out of the hat. Scott reads off the names. Slaughter goes nuts when he learns Blackjack Mulligan Jr. and Ricky Steamboat will be potential opposition.
Caudle introduces the next match via magic blue screen.
[Break]
The referee for the hour is a maroon-wearing Sonny Fargo.
Match 1 Jake Roberts & Black Jack Mulligan, Jr. d. Mike Miller & Charlie Fulton.
Roberts is announced from Denton, Texas. Scott sticks around the desk, and says Ole Anderson is on his own, regarding Ray Stevens possessing one of the World tag team belts. Roberts pins Miller with the kneelift.
[Break]
Match 2 Non- title: Billy Robinson [British Empire Champion] d. Tony Anthony
This week, they call it the British Empire championship. Crockett gives a shootout to fans in Oxford, NC. More talk about the difference of the Euro style. Anthony kicks out of a tombstone piledriver but succumbs to the inside backbreaker.
—Local promos w/Rich Landrum
More Ann Arbor promos for WIHT-31. Austin Idol spends time talking about himself. Idol botches Bo Schembechler’s name, but at least corrects himself. NWA TV champion Ivan Koloff is next. Talks about bomb shelters. Roddy Piper closes the round with a subdued (at least for Piper) words of wisdom.
[Break]
Match 3 NWA TV championship: Ivan Koloff [ch.] d. Keith Larson
Title match, of course for the first 10 minutes (there seems to be inconsistency if it is 10 or 15). Mostly Koloff, scoring the pin after driving Larson’s head into the mat.
[Break]
—Int. w/Bob Caudle: Sandy Scott; Johnny Weaver; Ray Stevens
Scott says that Gene tried a loophole to get Ninja in the match. But, Scott found a loophole to have Gene in the match. Okay, something got cut so context is lost. Johnny Weaver comes in to talk about Steamboat chasing Piper. Ray Stevens is in, still holding one of the World tag team championship belts. He threatens Ole Anderson.
Caudle introduces the next match via blue screen.
[Break]
Match 4 Terry Taylor d. Tony Russo
Tony Russo is from Milan, Italy. Sure. Taylor is the NWA Rookie of the Year. 1980 that its. Crockett lets the ladies know all his vitals. I did not know Taylor went to Gilford College, and trained by the Briscos. Runs down his championship history. Sandy Scott is back. Black Jack Mulligan, Jr. won the draw. Russo gets his offense, but Taylor wins with the flying forearm, his calling card for the rest of career.
—Local promos w/Rich Landrum
More Ann Arbor promos for WIHT-31. Babyface time. Ray Stevens, in a green Izod, talks about how great wrestlers are. Johnny Weaver says Ann Arbor is like home, because it is near his home of Indiana. Apparently he didn’t study geography. Weaver brings in Jimmy Valiant.
[Break]
Match 5 Non-Mid-Atlantic tag championship: Pretty Boy Fergie & Ox Baker [ch.] d. Vinnie Valentino & Don Kernodle
Still no belts. Good back-and-forth action. Ox actually leaves his feet to execute some wrestling holds. Go figure. Fergie somewhat looks like either a big Mike Graham, or a small 1980s Scott Hall. Baker nails Valentino with the heart punch. He tags in Fergie who collects the pin.
— Mulligan, Jr. takes the Cobra Clutch challenge
The main event for the hour. Nelson accompanies Sarge, but stay son the outside. Mulligan sits in the chair in the center of the ring. Lots of stalling. Sarge elbows Mulligan in the back of the neck. That’s cheating! Scott warns Slaughter to put the Cobra Clutch on. Slaughter yanks the hair. Finally, he applies the Cobra Clutch. Mulligan goes to the corner. No avail. An armdrag doesn’t break the hold. Another corner shot doesn’t break the hold, but dazes Slaughter.
The Network closing music plays as credits roll. Mulligan looks like he is about to break out, but we fade to black, and that’s the last show of Mid-Atlantic 1981.
Andrew Calvert at MapleLeafWrestling.com announced an exciting book project on his website in late June.
"We are excited to announce that a book on the history of the Canadian Title as defended in Toronto 1978-1984 is beginning to take shape," he wrote to his website visitors. "It will include both the champs and the bouts as well as the history of the belt alongside some features of the era."
It was during this era that many of the stars appearing regularly on Toronto cards were booked through the office of Jim Crockett Promotions, and as a result of that, we have a great deal of interest in this project here at the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.
Calvert is inviting longtime Toronto fans to contribute.
"Some friends and fellow fans will be contributing and we would love to feature other fan photos and memories of the Canadian Title and the M-A era here in general," he wrote. "It is turning into a collaborative effort and it would be great to include other fans to help tell the story."
If you would like to contribute in any way to this project, you can contact Andrew at his website or on Twitter at @mapleleafwrest1.
The beginning of the second week of August 1980 in the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling area saw on its first day the ending of a major feud, and the beginning of a brand new one. On August 8th at County Hall in the port city of Charleston, South Carolina the Iron Sheik wrote a successful ending to his Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship program with Jim Brunzell, thoroughly defeating the challenger from White Bear Lake, Minnesota in a Falls Count Anywhere/No Disqualification battle. That very same night in Lynchburg, Virginia the first salvo in the Ric Flair and Blackjack Mulligan versus Greg Valentine and "Bad Boy" Bobby Duncum brew-ha-ha was fired, with the melee that ensued being deemed a double disqualification.
The Flair/Mulligan against Valentine/Duncum four-way carried on the following night at the Charlotte Coliseum with the "bad guys" pulling out a bloody victory, but on August 12th at the Raleigh Civic Center Flair and Mulligan turned the tables and got their hands raised. On August 15th at the Richmond Coliseum the four were set to tangle again, but Duncum came to the ring in his street clothes and told the Richmond fans that he was suffering from a leg injury and that he wasn't going to compete unless he was 100% healthy. The Masked Superstar took Duncum's place in the match, but the last minute switcheroo doomed the rulebreakers to a hard fought loss.
The 11,000 or so fans that gathered in the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada on August 10th saw quite a card that featured three major bouts involving Mid-Atlantic stars. Blackjack Mulligan and Enforcer Luciano completed their final bout against each other, with Mully dominating the Enforcer one last time in a Texas Street Fight. Ric Flair battled Greg Valentine in a brutal "Death Match," finally prevailing after 34:06 of non-stop action. And last but certainly not least, Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion the Iron Sheik regained the Canadian Heavyweight Championship belt, dispatching Angelo Mosca for the title in 14:51 to the chagrin of those in attendance.
That same August 10th night in Asheville, North Carolina saw an unusual contest of the masked men, pitting the Masked Superstar putting up his NWA Television Title against the popular Mr. Wrestling II making a guest shot in the territory. The Superstar retained his TV belt on that occasion and also retained against Paul Jones, Johnny Weaver and Sweet Ebony Diamond during the course of the week.
Sweet Ebony Diamond
Speaking of Sweet Ebony Diamond, the masked man also got shots at the area's other singles titles during the week, but came up empty handed. On August 11th in the Greenville Memorial Auditorium Greg Valentine pinned Diamond in a U.S. Title confrontation, but in Sumter, South Carolina on August 14th Diamond dominated the "Hammer" but Greg went the disqualification route to hold onto his coveted belt. In Charleston, South Carolina the following evening it was more of the same as Diamond had the Iron Sheik on the ropes in a Mid-Atlantic Title bout, but the Sheik also got himself purposely disqualified and left the "Sweet man" thoroughly frustrated after a tough week seeking championship gold.
The battle over the NWA World Tag Team Titles between champions Ray Stevens and Jimmy Snuka and challengers Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood formed bookends around the second week of August, with a wild double disqualification finish happening in Greenwood, South Carolina on August 8th, while on August 16th at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium the challengers were at their best but the "bad guys" nevertheless maintained hold of their belts through the middle of the month.
The Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling television program of the week was taped at the WRAL TV studios on August 13th, and featured a surprisingly competitive opener between Paul Jones and Ricky Ferarra and a final bout that featured an unusual six man team made up of the Superstar, the Iron Sheik and Greg Valentine. In between, there were separate matches featuring the combatants over the World Tag Team Titles, the champs Ray Stevens and Jimmy Snuka and the primary team chasing them, Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood.
During the week's TV show, the initial interview segment featured Sweet Ebony Diamond and Paul Jones, primarily focusing on Paul's recent turn back to the "good guy" side. Diamond complimented Jones on his change of heart, telling him that, "When you've seen the light, you can't walk in the dark." Paul told announcer Bob Caudle that he knew how the bad guys thought, and that he believed that they had selected the Iron Sheik to go after him before he got re-started back in the territory. "Number One" warned the Sheik that, "If you mess around with me you're gonna lose that Mid-Atlantic Title, and that's a promise."
The final interview segment of the August 13th television taping involved the victorious six man team of the Superstar, the Iron Sheik and Greg Valentine. The most noteworthy comments came from the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight champion and the newly crowned Canadian champion, the Iron Sheik. Hossein the Arab put a bow on his feud with Jim Brunzell, saying he beat him and was "sick and tired of Jim Brunzell," and that Brunzell was "too sissy" and was on his way out of the Mid-Atlantic area and over "to Hollywood." The Sheik also responded to Paul Jones' comments earlier in the show, joined the impending battle with Jones and bellowed, "Mr. Paul Jones, you better be ready!"
Mike Rickard is writing a multi-part feature fantasy booking a big tournament that will declare the winner to be "The Greatest U.S. Champion of All Time." The feature will be a weekly post to the Canadian Bulldog's World website.
The tournament will go on all summer and will feature the 21 U.S. champions from the Crockett era competing in single elimination bracketing.
Because there are 21 entrants, Rickard (the author of "Wrestling's Greatest Moments") declared that three of them will get a first round bye: Ric Flair, Blackjack Mulligan, and Wahoo McDaniel. "These three wrestlers receiving a bye are the ones who held the title the most time," he explains.
We'll update links each week as each match moves along and the bracketing progresses. The results should be interesting, and since we all have our own favorites and opinions, could stir some controversy as well. Should be fun!
Mike Rickard is the author of "Wrestling's Greatest Moments", as well as the autobiographical "Laughing All the Way to the Bank (Robbery): How An Attorney Survived Prison" and the new novel "Flunky: Pawns and Kings." His website is located at MichaelRickard.com.
Originally posted July 3, 2015 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Late Edit: The WWE Network has just added this complete show from 7/5/86 to the Hidden Gems section of the Vault, as well as the complete Greensboro show from 7/26/86.
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.
For links to all available summaries and links to these TV shows on the WWE Netowrk, visit our TV Summary Index.
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Original broadcast: 12/19/81
(taped 12/09/81 at WPCQ-TV studios in Charlotte)
WWE Network feed.
Caudle & Crockett run down the action for the hour.
— Int. w/Bob Caudle: Sgt. Slaughter
Slaughter goes over the Cobra Clutch challenge. $1,000 for the winner. Caudle reminds him last week about Jay Youngblood. Slaughter says Youngblood had his chance.
Stu Schwartz is the referee for the hour.
Match 1 Jake Roberts & Black Jack Mulligan Jr. d. Charlie Fulton & Kris Markoff.
Markoff no longer has the water polo cap. Caudle & Crockett note Gene Anderson is now managing Ninja. No word on Bob Holliday. Mulligan pins Fulton following a bulldog.
[Break]
Match 2 The Ninja (w/Gene Anderson) d. Mike Davis
Davis gets one brief defensive flurry, but Ninja thwarts it with a kick to the upper ribs. Ninja then goes for a second rope headbutt for the pin.
[Break]
Match 3: Terry Taylor d. Mike Miller
The elder Blackjack Mulligan joins the announce desk, wanting to take Slaughter up on his Cobra Clutch challenge. He could use the money. Mulligan also praises Taylor, calling him World championship material. A somewhat competitive match, mostly ignored by the commentary. Taylor gets the submission with something that looks like a Figure Four, but not quite.
—Local promo w/Rich Landrum
Landrum mentions this is airing on WIHT-31 in Ann Arbor. Sgt. Slaughter (with Pvt. Nelson holding the U.S. championship in the background) talks. No cards in Ann Arbor, so Slaughter spends time talking about his friend, the former President Gerald Ford, a Univ. of Michigan alumni. Slaughter reminds us the show airs Saturdays at 9:30 a.m.
[Break]
Match 4 Jimmy Valiant d. Tony Russo
Network had the Dixieland overdub music for Valiant. Valiant has a bowtie and fancy coat, with “First Class Male” on the back. “Watch It” is his message on the back of the tights. Running elbow wins it for “Handsome” Jimmy.
— Int. w/Bob Caudle: Rick Steamboat & Paul Jones; Jake Roberts
Jones talks low key about Ole Anderson. We go to last week’s video of Ray Stevens saving Steamboat from a double-team sneak attack by Ole & Piper. After the clip, more comments about Ole, as Roberts joins in as well.
[Break]
— Int. w/Bob Caudle: Big John Studd and Roddy Piper
Fans chant “We want Blackjack.” Studd wants him too. He wants to get the last laugh. Studd is wearing a maroon leather coat. Piper joins in, and somewhat incoherent rambling.
Caudle introduces the next match via magic blue screen.
[Break]
Match 5 Non-Title: Billy Robinson [European Champion] d. Don Kernodle
Of course, no title belt accompanies Robinson. Caudle & Crockett discuss the differences in the European style. Another longer-than-expected competitive match. Robinson hits the inside backbreaker while in a side headlock of Kerndole for the pin.
Sgt. Slaughter demonstrates the Cobra Clutch on Tony Anthony.
Anthony volunteers as he sits in a chair in the ring. Caudle is befuddled, when Slaughter asks him to bring the mic in the ring. We see a technician help Caudle make it happen.
Caudle narrates everything about the Cobra Clutch. Slaughter asks Anthony to tap his arm when the Cobra Clutch gets to tight. Very deliberate segment. Of course, Slaughter doesn’t feel it when Anthony slaps. Slaughter lets go, then kicks the chair out and applies the hold on for reals. Pvt. Jim Nelson, in the ring prevents referee Stu Schwartz from breaking it up. Jay Youngblood, Jake Roberts, Terry Taylor and Blackjack Mulligan Jr. storm the ring. Slaughter and Nelson split.
—Local promo w/Rich Landrum
More introduction of the Ann Arbor audience to the Mid-Atlantic stars. Jay Youngblood says it best “I have no idea when we’ll come to Ann Arbor.” Try never. Youngblood talks about Indians living in Pontiac, Michigan and screws up the channel number (don’t worry, Slaughter and Landrum did it earlier). Porkchop Cash comes in and fares a little better. Jake Roberts says he’s only flown over Ann Arbor.
The great questions remain: how did Mid-Atlantic find its way to Ann Arbor TV? Why bother with local promos for a market they would never run (albeit, they did do promos later for a GCW show in Lansing).
[Break]
Match 6 Non-Title: Pretty Boy Fergie & Ox Baker [Mid-A Tag Champs] d. Keith Larson & Jay Youngblood
Fergie is now known as “Pretty Boy.” No word on when, where and whom Fergie & Baker won the championship from. A rarely acknowledged championship on TV at this time. Baker heart punches Larson, and Fergie makes the pin.
— Int. w/Bob Caudle: Paul Jones, Jay Youngblood, Jake Roberts and Blackjack Mulligan Jr.
Rapid fire interview time: Jones mumble about Sgt. Slaughter. Youngblood says Slaughter owes him $1,000 for surviving the Cobra Clutch challenge from last week. Mulligan & Roberts challenge any tag team competitors. Roberts says Baker & Fergie looked impressive.
“So long for now!”
Results for the week: None.
Crockett took an apparent Christmas break between Dec. 14 and Dec. 24. That’s why they went two weeks in a row with back-to-back taping days in Charlotte.
On the February 14, 1976 episode of Jim Crockett Promotions' "Wide World Wrestling", host Ed Capral interviews NWA world champion Terry Funk. Funk was frustrated with the fact that Paul Jones held a victory over him which took place only a few weeks before Funk won the NWA title from Jack Brisco.
Funk calls out Paul Jones and a brief confrontation occurs. Jones had indeed defeated Funk for the United States Championship less than three months earlier and was the top contender in the Mid-Atlantic area for Funk's title.
This is classic audio and a classic Terry Funk promo.
Originally published on the Domed Globe website on October 5, 2012. The Domed Globe is part of the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.
"Nature Boy" Ric Flair Mid-Atlantic TV Champion (1975)
One of the big misconceptions out there is that Ric Flair first took on the "Nature Boy" moniker when he returned to action in early 1976 after the October 1975 plane crash in Wilmington, NC.
Not true.
You'd have to forgive anyone for thinking that. It's been written that way for awhile. Until years ago, I thought that as well and even Ric himself has said so on occasion.
The commonly held misconception is that during his four month lay-off in late 1975 and early 1976 recuperating from injuries suffered in the plane crash, George Scott came up with the idea of giving Ric the "Nature Boy" gimmick, an homage to "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers, the famous NWA and WWF World Champion in the 1960s.
However, it's been verified that Ric Flair had been calling himself the "Nature Boy" for nearly a year earlier.
By all accounts, it was indeed booker George Scott who came up with the idea, that part is apparently true. But Ric was referring to himself as the Nature Boy in local promos and on TV interviews as early as April of 1975 (perhaps even earlier), a full six months before the infamous plane crash.
May 2, 1975 Richmond, Virginia
That time frame was confirmed when David Chappell came across an audio recording (embedded below) of a local promo Ric did for a May 1975 match in Richmond, VA. Ric actually did the promo in late April for a match to take place on May 2. He was defending his Mid-Atlantic TV title in the Richmond Arena against the man he beat for that belt, "Number One" Paul Jones.
After Jones had called Flair a "drugstore wrestler" (an offhanded reference to an earlier promo where Flair had called Jones a "drugstore cowboy"), Ric responded in a promo of his own, referring to himself as the "Nature Boy" right at the end of his promo:
"Jones, I'm gonna take you like any wild animal would. I'm gonna break one of your arms and then maybe you'll be walkin' around the drugstore looking for someone else to beat up on, because it won't be the Nature Boy. Wooo!" - Ric Flair, April 1975
All of the signature elements of the "Nature Boy" persona were taking shape before the plane crash. His trademark "Wooo!" was more of a quick high-pitched shout at that point. And his cocky strut was more subdued and less pronounced than in later years. (I actually liked the 70s and early 80s Flair strut much better than the exaggerated Fargoesque style of strut that he later morphed into.) He had a robe or two, but nothing like the number of extravagantly styled robes he would acquire beginning in 1976. Within a year or so Flair had nearly a dozen of the Olivia Walker creations.
This is the earliest reference we've found. We'll keep digging to see
how far back things go. Our main goal was to document that Flair's
"Nature Boy" persona existed well before the plane crash and his
subsequent recovery and return to the sport. The audio recording from April 1975 should put that to rest.
And now you know -- as the great Paul Harvey was famous for saying - - the rest of the story.
Originally Published on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway May 16, 2018.
