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by Dick Bourne |
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The Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship was one of the great regional territory titles in the 1970s and 1980s. Some of the greatest names in wrestling history held that championship including Johnny Valentine, Paul Jones, Wahoo McDaniel, Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Dory Funk Jr., Jack and Jerry Brisco, and many others. The forerunner of the Mid-Atlantic title was the Eastern Heavyweight Championship, which was established in 1970. While Crockett Promotions had featured a singles title before, the Southern Heavyweight title during the 50s and 60s, the Eastern title was a more focused effort to push a singles championship in what had traditionally been a tag-team oriented territory.
In the fall of 1970, it was announced on television that the Missouri Mauler had defeated Pat O'Conner in New York for the Eastern States Heavyweight Championship. This was a fictitious title change, as was occasionally done when establishing a new title in a wrestling territory. It does, however, establish O'Conner as the first recognized Eastern title holder, even if he never actually held the belt. Newspaper clippings for Mauler's early Eastern title defenses in the Mid-Atlantic territory also mentioned him winning the title from O'Conner. (See link below.) As early as March 1972, Jim Crockett began to establish the brand “Mid-Atlantic Wrestling”, although for well over a year it only appeared sporadically in newspaper ads and on event posters. The final transition really took place in the final quarter of 1973, when the Mid-Atlantic titles, and their new belts, were established.
The Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight title evolved from the Eastern Heavyweight Championship on September 6th, 1973. It was on that night in Greensboro when reigning Eastern Heavyweight Champion Jerry Brisco was presented with the new Mid-Atlantic championship belt (seen above), and the Eastern Title was officially retired. Our friend Carroll Hall of WrestlingMemories.com, a long time fan of Mid-Atlantic wrestling, was in Greensboro that night. "Jerry wasn't defending the Eastern title that night," Hall told us. "He was teaming with Cowboy Bill Watts against Brute Bernard and Jay York. But after ring announcer (and WGHP High Point NC television broadcaster) Charlie Harville had finished making several announcements about changes in that night's card, he called Jerry Brisco out to the ring. They announced the change of the name of the title, and I don't remember exactly how many people were in the ring, but I believe it was Jim Crockett, Jr. who handed him the new belt."
It took a couple of months for Jim Crockett's many local promoters to all sync up with the name change. Some newspaper ads and event posters still continued to promote matches as Eastern Heavyweight title matches, even into November.
History isn't clear about what happened to that first Mid-Atlantic title belt presented to Jerry Brisco in September of 1973. Brisco, Johnny Valentine, and Paul Jones were the only three men to wear it. At some point between 3/9/75 and 6/29/75, Johnny Valentine began wearing the old Eastern Heavyweight belt again, which would be recognized from that point forward as Mid-Atlantic championship. (Those two dates are a window of time we've developed based on the date Jones was photographed with the original belt in Charlotte and the date Wahoo McDaniel won the belt in Asheville, by which time we know the Eastern title belt was being used again to represent the Mid-Atlantic title.) The Mid-Atlantic belt that had originally first been presented to Brisco simply disappeared. Perhaps it was stolen. But Valentine and successive Mid-Atlantic Champions in 1975 and 1976, which included Wahoo McDaniel and Ric Flair, also wore the old Eastern title belt and were recognized as the Mid-Atlantic champion.
The three versions of the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship Belt
In early 1977, a new Mid-Atlantic title belt was finally ordered to replace the first Mid-Atlantic belt. Wahoo McDaniel was the first to wear it. This is this belt that is most closely associated with the title, as 18 wrestlers over 9 years carried it to the ring. It was last worn by Buzz Tyler in 1985. Tyler left the promotion while still champion and never returned the title belt. A new belt (3rd of three) was ordered. Khrusher Khrushchev defeated Sam Houston at Starrcade '85 to determine a new champion, and Khrushchev was presented with the 3rd and what would be the final version of the belt.
This was the last in what was a series of sad events for fans of the Mid-Atlantic territory. Earlier that same year, the television show that bore the name "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" had changed names to "NWA Pro Wrestling". Now, with the title and belt bearing that name being dropped by the promotion, the great era known as Mid-Atlantic Wrestling had quietly come to an end.
-Dick Bourne Originally posted October 2004 Updated August 2009, June 2010 Copyright © Mid-Atlantic Gateway Updated June 2006 and March 2007 Photo of Jerry Brisco wearing Mid-Atlantic belt (below) by Bill Janosik. Photo of Jerry Brisco holding Mid-Atlantic belt (above) by Gene Gordon. Mid-Atlantic belt (1973) photo by Gene Gordon. Photo of the replica belt by Dick Bourne © Mid-Atlantic Gateway. The replica belt was crafted by Dave Millican. The original belt was crafted by Reggie Parks. Thanks to Bill Janosik and Scooter Lesley for providing photos for this article. Photo of the original Mid-Atlantic Belt © Ditch-Cat Photography; Modified graphic version © Mid-Atlantic Gateway. Special thanks to Carroll Hall for his assistance with background for this article.
RETURN TO THE MID-ATLANTIC GATEWAY
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MID-ATLANTIC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS (1973-1986)
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Jerry Brisco Johnny Valentine Paul Jones Wahoo McDaniel Ric Flair Greg Valentine Ken Patera Tony Atlas Jim Brunzell |
Ray Stevens The Iron Sheik Ricky Steamboat Ivan Koloff Roddy Piper Jack Brisco Dory Funk Jr. / The Outlaw Rufus R. Jones |
Dick Slater Angelo Mosca, Jr. Ron Bass Buzz Tyler Khrusher Khrushchev Sam Houston Black Bart Ron Garvin |
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EASTERN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS (1970-1973) The Eastern Heavyweight title is the forerunner of the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight title. Eastern Heavyweight champions were recognized by Jim Crockett Promotions as former Mid-Atlantic Champions, and are here as well. |
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Pat O'Conner* Missouri Mauler (Larry Hamilton) Danny Miller |
Jack Brisco |
Rip Hawk Ole Anderson Jerry Brisco |
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PHOTO ALBUMS OF THE CHAMPIONS
MID-ATLANTIC CHAMPIONS PHOTO ALBUM The Only Two Men to Hold Both the Eastern Heavyweight and Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championships! * PAT O'CONNER NEWSPAPER CLIPPING While Pat O'Conner never actually wore the Eastern title belt, a January 1971 newspaper article promoting an upcoming Eastern title defense at the Asheville City Auditorium further establishes Pat O'Conner as the first recognized Eastern/Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight champion. See Origin of the Mid-Atlantic Championship above for more details. |
of the main plate of the first Mid-Atlantic Championship Belt The Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship Includes the Eastern Heavyweight Title EARLIEST USE OF THE TERM "MID-ATLANTIC" IN REFERENCE TO THE CHARLOTTE TERRITORY This page documents the earliest known use of the term "Mid-Atlantic Wrestling" in advertising, well before the actual advent of the Mid-Atlantic Championship. |
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Brisco's last Eastern title defense in
Greensboro took place the month before, August 9th, against Gene Anderson.
His first defense of the new Mid-Atlantic title in Greensboro was Thanksgiving
night, November 22, 1973 against Terry Funk. Jerry's older brother Jack
defended the NWA World title against Terry's older brother Dory on the
same card. 
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