February may be the shortest
of the year’s twelve months,
but in 1978 the second month
of the year proved to be a
noteworthy one. Memorable
feuds and angles, along with
several newcomers that would
have a great impact on the
remainder of 1978,
contributed to a month that
was very special to the fans
of Jim Crockett Promotions
and Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wresting.
The territory’s title
situation remained unchanged
in the month of February, at
least as far as the reigning
Champions holding onto their
belts throughout the month.
However, the month of
February 1978 would have a
lot to say about big changes
brewing in the area’s Title
picture as winter would
start turning into spring.
United States Heavyweight
Champion Blackjack Mulligan
was perhaps the territory’s
busiest grappler during the
month. In February,
Blackjack successfully
defended his coveted Title
against a number of the
area’s most talented
competitors, including the
likes of Ricky Steamboat,
Paul Jones, Bobo Brazil and
Wahoo McDaniel. However as
the month wore on, it became
evident that Mulligan’s
greatest threat would come
from the most skillful and
purest wrestler of the
bunch, the masked “Mr.
Wrestling,” Tim Woods. By
the end of the month, Mr.
Wrestling was proving that
he could not only outwrestle
Mulligan, but that he could
stand toe-to-toe and fight
the big Texan as well. At
the end of the month of
February, Mulligan was still
the U.S. Champion, but Mr.
Wrestling was looking like
he had what it took to lift
the belt from Blackjack.
“The Hammer” Greg Valentine
had a schedule in February
that rivaled that of
Mulligan. In fact, the
argument could be made that
Valentine’s Title defense
schedule was more brutal
than Blackjack’s, as Greg
had TWO title belts to
defend! As the Mid-Atlantic
Heavyweight Champion,
Valentine’s main nemesis
remained the big Chief,
Wahoo McDaniel. One
particularly memorable bout
between these two took place
in Richmond, Virginia on
February 19th,
with Gene Anderson being
brought in as Special
Referee. Anderson
disqualified Valentine in
that Richmond bout, giving
the match to Wahoo, but
allowing Valentine to walk
out with his Championship
intact. In many other brutal
matches during the month of
February, Valentine
maintained his hold on the
Mid-Atlantic Title, though
the beatings administered by
Wahoo clearly had Valentine
wearing down.
When Valentine wasn’t
battling Wahoo over the
Mid-Atlantic belt, he and
partner Ric Flair had a busy
month defending their NWA
World Tag Team Titles. A
large majority of Ric and
Greg’s defenses were against
another championship duo,
Mid-Atlantic Tag Team
titlists, Paul Jones and
Ricky Steamboat. Some of
these bouts were “Title
versus Title” matches, which
saw each team maintain their
respective Titles. These
four would go at it for
several months, with the
quality of the matches
always being at an
exceedingly high level.
Flair and Valentine did
defend their World Titles
against other competitors
during the month of
February, with one
particularly impressive win
coming against the world
renowned tandem of Jack and
Jerry Brisco on February 26th
in Greensboro, North
Carolina. Ric and Greg
weren’t nearly as impressive
as they took off and ran and
were disqualified in a Title
match with Wahoo McDaniel
and Ole Anderson on February
12th in
Charlotte, North Carolina,
but the result was the
same…Flair and Valentine
remained the World Tag Team
Champions.
Mid-Atlantic Television
Champion Baron Von Raschke
seemed to have dodged a
bullet in what would be the
climatic match in his long
TV Title feud with Mr.
Wrestling. In an “Amateur
Rules” Title match with Mr.
Wrestling on that same
spectacular Charlotte
Coliseum card on February 12th,
Mr. Wrestling won the match
in the 23rd
minute, but Raschke
maintained the TV
Championship because Mr.
Wrestling’s win came after
the fifteen minute mark.
Raschke likely thought he
could now breathe easy with
the TV Title, but a man
named Johnny Weaver had
other ideas.
Seemingly out of nowhere,
the veteran Johnny Weaver
became the top contender to
Baron Von Raschke’s TV Title
in the month of February. On
the February 8th
Mid-Atlantic Championship
Wrestling television taping
from the WRAL studios in
Raleigh, North Carolina,
Weaver wrestled Raschke for
the German’s TV Title, with
the match ending in a draw
with Johnny having the Baron
in his dreaded Sleeper hold
as time expired. This led to
Weaver challenging Raschke
to a “Sleeper versus Claw”
match the following week on
Mid-Atlantic Championship
Wrestling television.
In one of the most memorable
television based angles in
the territory’s history,
Weaver defeated the Baron in
the Sleeper versus Claw
contest. Electing to have
Raschke put the Claw hold on
him first, Weaver withstood
the Claw for the required
two minute time limit, and
then proceeded to put the
Baron out with his Sleeper
hold. Despite protestations
by Raschke that he was put
out with a choke hold,
Weaver pulled off a major
upset that set him up for a
brief but spirited program
with the Baron over the
promotion’s TV Tile.
February of 1978 also saw an
influx of new talent enter
the Mid-Atlantic area,
across a wide spectrum of
the business. As far as in
ring performers, February
brought with it the
reappearance in the area of
two strong main event
wrestlers to the “good guy”
side of the
ledger---“Sensational” Dick
Murdock and Ken Patera. Both
Murdock and Patera would
have a major impact on the
promotion during 1978.
Murdock appeared briefly in
the Mid-Atlantic area late
in 1977, and wrestled as a
“bad guy” in those
appearances. When he
reappeared several months
later in 1978, he was
clearly acting and wrestling
as a fan favorite. While
Murdock entered the
territory in earnest in
March of 1978, he wrestled
in Asheville, North Carolina
on February 12th,
teaming with Mr. Wrestling
to defeat Crusher Blackwell
and the Missouri Mauler.
Later that same day in
Charlotte, North Carolina,
Murdock bested the tough
veteran Bill White.
Ken Patera appeared back in
the territory in February as
a main event regular for the
first time since his run in
the Mid-Atlantic area in
1975 and early 1976.
Sporting blond hair, Ken
came back to Jim Crockett
Promotions after an
impressive stint in the WWWF
as a bad guy. In his two
Mid-Atlantic matches in
February, both on
Mid-Atlantic Championship
Wrestling television, Patera
won using scientific
wrestling. On February 15th,
Ken bested Tony Russo, and
on the next week’s TV show,
Patera teamed with the
popular Johnny Weaver to
defeat Scott Irwin and
Hartford Love.
A new manager was added to
the promotion’s ranks in
February, as the Missouri
Mauler was introduced on the
February 22nd
edition of the Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wrestling TV
show as the manager of the
rugged Cyclone Negro.
Referring to his new charge
as the “Black Bomber,” the
Mauler touted the rigorous
training regiment of Negro,
and promised a long line of
championships for Cyclone.
Now having his managerial
responsibilities, the
Missouri Mauler’s long and
illustrious in-ring career
in Jim Crockett Promotions
was effectively over.
A new television announcer
also hit the airwaves for
Jim Crockett Promotions in
February. Rich Landrum, the
long time ring announcer for
Mid-Atlantic wrestling
events in Richmond,
Virginia, joined the
promotion’s television
announce team in the month
of February 1978. Rich would
be the voice of Wide World
Wrestling, later World Wide
Wrestling, for about four
years into the year of 1982.
Landrum was also the primary
voice for “In Your Area”
promos on the Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wrestling
television program during
those same years.
In the final match of what
was a great Mid-Atlantic
feud for most of 1977 into
early 1978, the Masked
Superstar defeated the
Mighty Igor in a No
Disqualification match in
Lynchburg, Virginia on
February 17th. At
this point in time, Igor was
winding down his stint in
the area wrestling mainly
mid-card matches. The
Superstar, along with his
manager “Professor” Boris
Malenko, was at that same
time about ready to embark
on a successful tour of
Japan.
February of 1978 was a month
of transition and excitement
for fans of Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wrestling. Many
of the monumental changes
the area would experience in
the coming months of 1978,
were ushered in by events
that squarely had their
infancy during the month of
February.
- David Chappell
WHO’S HOT
-
JOHNNY WEAVER---The
steady veteran took a
major step up the ladder
by defeating Baron Von
Raschke in the “Sleeper
versus Claw” challenge
match on Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wresting
television. This would
be the springboard to a
memorable month of March
1978 for Johnny.
-
MR. WRESTING---The
white masked Tim Woods
began making a serious
push for Blackjack
Mulligan’s United States
Heavyweight Title during
the month of February
1978. Much like Johnny
Weaver, February would
be the springboard for a
very special month of
March for Mr. Wrestling.
-
KEN PATERA---Coming
back to the area after a
successful stint in the
WWWF as a bad guy, the
question was which Ken
Patera would we see in
Jim Crockett Promotions.
The good guy we came to
know in 1975, or the
heel in New York in
1977?
WHO’S NOT
-
MIGHTY IGOR---The
Polish strongman
continued to slide down
the cards in February,
wrestling primarily in
mid card matches after
having been a main event
performer for most of
1977. Igor would not be
involved in any more
angles during his
remaining days in Jim
Crockett Promotions.
-
BOBO BRAZIL---Much
like his buddy Igor,
Brazil continued to
slide from his main
event perch in the
territory that he
enjoyed during much of
1977. While wrestling an
occasional main event
match, Brazil was
relegated to angle-less
mid card matches during
most of the month of
February.
-
BARON VON RASCHKE---The
Baron’s loss to Johnny
Weaver in the “Sleeper
versus Claw” TV match
was a shock. And
unfortunately for
Raschke, the worst was
yet to come in his
battles with Weaver over
the TV Title.
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Posted 8/23/06
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2006 David Chappell /
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