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QUARTER 1977 - An Overview
As the year 1977 arrived, Jim Crockett Promotions
was presented with the task of building upon the
tremendous success that the promotion enjoyed in
1976. It would prove to be a difficult task. During
a record-breaking cold snap around the area,
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling would start the
new year of 1977 breaking in two new main eventers,
Kim Duk and the Mighty Igor. The promotion would
lose two of its biggest stars during the first
quarter of 1977, as Tim Woods and Paul Jones both
left the area for several months. Additionally, Ric
Flair was inactive for most of the first quarter
nursing a surgically repaired shoulder. However, the
Mid-Atlantic area would have one of its brightest
moments ever in February of 1977 as an unheralded
rookie by the name of Ricky Steamboat entered the
area. Steamboat, referred to as "The Young
Lion," would certainly "roar" into
the forefront of Mid-Atlantic action by the middle
of 1977 and would continue to be a huge star for Jim
Crockett Promotions for the next eight years.
JANUARY 1977
The first Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
television show of 1977 was an eventful one and
interestingly enough, the show aired on New Year's
Day. On that show, two newcomers who would be
important to the promotion in the early part of 1977
made their debuts.
The Mighty Igor entered the ring on January 1
with theme music, which was unheard of at the time.
Igor would become one of the area's biggest stars
during the year of 1977. Igor was managed briefly at
this time by Ivan Kamikoff. Three weeks later, Igor
returned to Mid-Atlantic television and awed the
television audience with a number of incredible
feats of strength.
The "Korean Assassin" Kim Duk also made
his television debut on January 1, 1977. Duk was
managed by Professor Boris Malenko, and would team
often with the Masked Superstar forming the Malenko
"family." Duk would be a main event
performer for Jim Crockett Promotions during the
first half of 1977. Duk had a great feud with
Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion Wahoo McDaniel
during the first quarter of 1977. These bouts
featured some of the stiffest chops ever thrown
during the Mid-Atlantic era!
A new tag team of note entered the area during
January, calling themselves the Hollywood Blondes.
The team was composed of Jerry Brown and Buddy
Roberts. Almost immediately upon entering the area,
the Blondes captured the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team
Titles, defeating the highly respected team of
"Mr. Wrestling" Tim Woods and Dino Bravo
on January 17, 1977 in Greenville, SC. Woods would
soon thereafter leave the Mid-Atlantic area. The
Hollywood Blondes would continue to hold these
titles through the first quarter of 1977.
The Mid-Atlantic area lost perhaps its biggest
star for about six weeks, as Ric Flair had shoulder
surgery in late January of 1977 and did not return
to action until mid March. The promotion
acknowledged the surgery, but opted not to strip
Flair and partner Greg Valentine of their NWA World
Tag Team Titles, which could not be defended during
this time frame. Rather, upon Flair's return, a
major buildup began between Flair and Valentine and
the Anderson Brothers over the World's Tag Team
Championship.
Finally, the month of January 1977 saw Greg
Valentine defeat Rufus R. Jones for the Mid-Atlantic
TV title in a televised match that aired on January
22, 1977. Valentine and Rufus thus continued to
trade the TV Title, which they had been doing since
November of 1976. With this victory, Valentine
accomplished a rare feat, holding two titles at the
same time. However, with Ric Flair on the disabled
list, Valentine did not have to worry about
defending his other title at this time, which was
being one half of the World Tag Team Champions.
FEBRUARY 1977
February of 1977 was by far the most eventful
month of the first quarter of 1977.
On February 6, 1977, a new NWA World's
Heavyweight Champion was crowned as Harley Race
defeated Terry Funk in Toronto, Canada for the
prestigious title. Almost immediately, Race came to
the Mid-Atlantic area and defended his new title. On
February 18, 1977, Race risked his new belt in
Richmond, Virginia and escaped with a win over top
challenger Wahoo McDaniel.
On the first Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
television program of February 1977, which aired on
February 5th, a challenge occurred between Kim Duk
and Wahoo McDaniel. Duk came out and attempted a
demonstration where he attempted to break concrete
blocks with his bare hands. Duk stumbled through the
demonstration, but in the end was able to break a
block after failing on his first two attempts while
the Masked Superstar and announcer Bob Caudle tried
profusely to explain away Duk's earlier failed
attempts. Wahoo told the Malenko family he could do
as well or better than Duk with breaking blocks with
his chop. Predictably on the next Mid-Atlantic
television program, the studio was set up for Wahoo
to attempt the same feat as Duk did the week before,
but Duk sneak attacked Wahoo before he could get
started. Duk's attack on Wahoo started a nice feud
between the two that lasted through the first
quarter of 1977.
On the same February 5, 1977 Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wrestling television program, Gene and
Ole Anderson made a rare TV appearance. While the
Anderson's were no longer Mid-Atlantic regulars,
they did appear in the arenas periodically and were
no doubt looking to regain the NWA World Tag Team
Titles from Ric Flair and Greg Valentine.
Unfortunately for the Anderson's at this juncture,
Ric Flair was out of action and the World Tag Team
Titles were not being defended.
February also saw the return to action of a
Mid-Atlantic mainstay, Johnny Weaver. Greg Valentine
had injured Weaver in November of 1976, and Weaver
had been nursing injuries since that time. Weaver's
comeback sparked a series of "revenge"
matches between Johnny and Greg during the next
several months. These bouts presented an interesting
contrast between the aging veteran Weaver, and the
young but maturing star Valentine.
One of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling's most enduring
angles was presented to fans of the area on the
February 25, 1977 edition of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling
TV. A tape was shown by NWA "Trouble
Shooter" George Scott of a match in Charlotte,
NC between the Masked Superstar and the Mighty Igor.
During the match, Superstar's manager Boris Malenko
stuck his lit cigar into the eye of Igor causing
extensive damage. While Malenko and Superstar
adamantly claimed that the incident was an accident,
George Scott disagreed and suspended Superstar
indefinitely. This situation set up a blazing feud
between the Masked Superstar and The Mighty Igor
that would last into the fall of 1977.
*
* * * * * * *
The biggest happening of the first quarter of
1977 occurred in February, but at the time it did
not appear to be anything spectacular. A green
rookie by the name of Ricky Steamboat made his debut
in the area during the end of the month. Steamboat
arrived on the scene with no real fanfare, and in
fact wrestled preliminary bouts during his first
weeks. While this young man's first push would be
several months away, his vast potential was evident
from even his earliest matches. A superstar was
developing right before our eyes!
MARCH 1977
The month of March 1977 started out fast and
furiously as Dino Bravo pinned Blackjack Mulligan
twice on the same March 5, 1977 airing of
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling from the WRAL
studios! The angle had started the week before on
Mid-Atlantic TV where David Crockett told Mulligan
that he had to honor a "Dream Match" on TV
against either Wahoo McDaniel, Paul Jones, Rufus R.
Jones, Tiger Conway or Bravo. Mulligan selected
Bravo, presumably because he felt Dino would be the
easiest opponent. Bravo surprised Mulligan by pining
him in the "Dream Match," and then when
Mully attacked Dino in anger after the match, Bravo
rolled him up and pinned the big man from Eagle
Pass, Texas a second time! This was a terrific
angle, and one that was a springboard for a
significant program between Bravo and Mulligan in
the weeks and months to come.
The same March 5, 1977 Mid Atlantic TV show saw
the promotion brag about winning a number of awards
from the NWA on its television production. The fans
were told that Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
won the award for "Best Television
Production," Robert Parnell won "Best
Director," George Scott won "Best
Technical Supervisor," and Bob Caudle and David
Crockett won "Best Television Commentating
Team."
Wahoo McDaniel had a strong month of March as he
continued an impressive run as the Mid-Atlantic
Heavyweight Champion. This was by far the Indian
Chief's strongest showing as a singles champion
during his tenure in Jim Crockett Promotions. Wahoo
was particularly impressive in his title bouts
against Kim Duk, where the chops thrown by both men
were devastating!
Rufus R. Jones ended the back and forth switching
between himself and Greg Valentine over the
Mid-Atlantic TV Title by defeating Valentine for the
title during the middle of the month. This switch
enabled Greg to concentrate on an upcoming program
that he and Ric Flair would have against Gene and
Ole Anderson for the NWA World's Tag Team Titles.
Ric Flair returned to the mat wars in late March,
and as was typical for Ric, hardly looked like he
missed a beat after his surgery. However, the
promotion lost one of its top performers at the end
of March, as Paul Jones left the area after being
unable to regain the United States Heavyweight Title
from Blackjack Mulligan. Mulligan was in the midst
of another strong reign as U.S. Champion, after
defeating Jones in controversial fashion in December
of 1976. Paul Jones would return to the area in the
late summer of 1977, and would reestablish himself
then as a top name for Jim Crockett Promotions.
The first three months of 1977 had newcomers
establishing themselves, and old names leaving the
area. Two of the greatest angles in the promotion's
history, the "cigar in the eye" angle and
the "beat him twice on the same TV
program" angle had their genesis during the
first quarter of 1977. Additionally, one of the
biggest names in the history of Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wrestling, Ricky Steamboat, debuted for
the promotion during this time period. Also, as
March turned into April, the beginnings of major
feuds between Blackjack Mulligan and Dino Bravo, and
the Andersons against Ric Flair and Greg Valentine
assured fans that there would be no drop off in
excitement as the promotion headed into the second
quarter of 1977!
WHO'S HOT - First Quarter 1977
1. DINO BRAVO---Bravo shocked everyone by
defeating Blackjack Mulligan twice on TV within
seven minutes. At this time, it appeared that Dino
would be the man to take the U.S. Title away from
Mulligan. Towards the end of the quarter, Bravo also
formed a successful tag team with Tiger Conway, Jr.,
a team that would shortly thereafter win the
Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Titles.
2. WAHOO McDANIEL---Wahoo had an outstanding run
during the first quarter of 1977 as the Mid-Atlantic
Heavyweight Champion. McDaniel took on a number of
top challengers during this time frame, but always
emerged with his belt. Wahoo was also the first
Mid-Atlantic challenger for the new NWA World's
Heavyweight Champion, Harley Race.
3. MIGHTY IGOR---Despite being burned by
Malenko's cigar, Igor emerged as a major player for
Jim Crockett Promotions during this time frame.
While his character was different than what many
fans had grown accustomed to while following Jim
Crockett Promotions, Igor's popularity at this time
could not be denied.
WHO'S NOT - First Quarter 1977
1. TIM WOODS---"Mr. Wrestling" lost his
share of the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Titles in mid
January 1977 and was not a factor for the promotion
again. He left the area completely in February of
1977. Luckily for the fans of "Mr.
Wrestling," he would return to the area in the
fall of 1977 and once again established himself as a
major player for Jim Crockett Promotions.
2. PAUL JONES---Jones was unable to defeat
Blackjack Mulligan for the U.S. Heavyweight Title
during the first quarter of 1977, and Paul left the
area by the end of March. Much like Tim Woods, Jones
would return to the area in several months and at
that time would become a major Mid-Atlantic star
again.
3. RIC FLAIR---It is hard to imagine Ric Flair in
this "Not" category, but after an amazing
fourth quarter of 1976, the Nature Boy slowed down
considerably during the first months of 1977. Of
course, this slowdown was caused principally by his
being out of action due to shoulder surgery. By the
end of the period, Ric was regaining his old form
and positioning himself for another remarkable year
in 1977.
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