The
month
of
August
1975
started
off
in
an
eventful
fashion
in
both
the
northern
and
southern
ends
of
the
Mid-Atlantic
area.
In
the
southernmost
portion
of
the
territory,
the
Super
Destroyer
wrestled
his
final
match
for
Jim
Crockett
Promotions
on
August
1,
1975
in
Charleston,
South
Carolina.
By
the
end
of
the
month
of
August,
there
would
be
an
unusual
television
“unmasking”
of
the
Super
Destroyer
by
Rufus
R.
Jones,
and
mere
days
after
that
happened,
a
huge
masked
newcomer
arrived
in
the
area
whose
express
purpose
in
coming
to
the
area
was
to
exact
revenge
on
behalf
of
the
departed
and
exposed
Super
Destroyer.
CHAMPIONSHIPS
At
the
other
geographical
end
of
the
territory,
August
1,
1975
saw
a
tremendous
90
minute
draw
between
NWA
World
Tag
Team
Champions
Gene
and
Ole
Anderson
and
challengers
Wahoo
McDaniel
and
Paul
Jones
in
Richmond,
Virginia.
A
number
of
these
90
minute
classics
were
repeated
in
early
and
mid
August
across
the
area.
By
the
end
of
August,
the
time
limit
for
championship
bouts
between
these
two
teams
had
been
extended
at
times
to
an
amazing
two
hours,
and
matches
with
two
hour
time
limits
occurred
in
a
number
of
the
larger
Mid-Atlantic
venues,
including
Columbia,
Greenville
and
Richmond.
It’s
no
stretch
to
say
that
these
battles
in
August
between
the
Anderson’s
and
Jones
and
Wahoo
were
some
of
the
greatest
tag
team
bouts
in
wrestling
history.
Richmond
was
not
only
the
site
of
two
classic
tag
team
battles
in
August,
but
it
was
also
the
site
of
the
area’s
only
title
change
in
the
month
of
August.
On
August
8,
1975
in
the
Richmond
Arena,
Paul
Jones
defeated
Ric
Flair
for
the
coveted
Mid-Atlantic
Television
Title.
The
stipulation
for
this
bout
was
that
Jones
would
have
his
head
shaved
if
he
didn’t
win
the
title.
To
avoid
that
indignity,
Jones
had
to
wrestle
a
near
perfect
match---and
he
managed
to
pull
it
off.
Jones’
victory
ended
a
six
month
back
and
forth
battle
over
the
TV
Title
with
Flair.
The
Nature
Boy
proved
to
be
a
formidable
holder
of
the
TV
belt---his
first
singles
title.
Jones’
first
defense
of
his
newly
won
TV
Title
was
on
August
16th
in
Spartanburg,
South
Carolina
against
the
Missouri
Mauler.
United
States
Heavyweight
Champion
Johnny
Valentine
was
active
in
the
month
of
August,
which
was
the
first
month
that
he
defended
his
U.S.
belt
for
an
entire
month’s
time.
Valentine
had
a
variety
of
opponents
in
August,
but
two
opponents
that
gave
him
a
difficult
time
were
Ken
Patera
and
Rufus
R.
“Freight
Train”
Jones.
Patera’s
strength
gave
Valentine
some
real
fits
early
in
the
month
of
August.
Later
in
the
month
of
August,
the
unorthodox
style
of
the
“Freight
Train”
gave
Valentine
some
anxious
moments
as
well.
But,
through
it
all,
Valentine
would
retain
the
U.S
belt
without
interruption
throughout
August.
Wahoo
McDaniel
had
perhaps
the
busiest
month
of
anybody
during
the
month
of
August.
In
addition
to
pursuing
the
World
Tag
Team
Titles,
the
Chief
had
several
superlative
matches
in
August
for
the
U.S.
Title
against
old
nemesis
Johnny
Valentine.
During
the
month,
the
Chief
also
had
a
number
of
successful
defenses
of
his
newly
captured
Mid-Atlantic
Heavyweight
Title
against
the
likes
of
Ric
Flair
and
Ole
Anderson.
While
Gene
and
Ole
Anderson
had
a
number
of
classic
bouts
with
Wahoo
and
Paul
Jones
during
the
month
of
August
1975,
they
also
had
some
issues
with
the
NWA
arise
over
their
in-ring
behavior.
In
early
August,
the
NWA
fined
both
Gene
and
Ole
$500
each
for
continually
punishing
an
opponent
after
the
final
bell.
As
part
of
the
NWA’s
sanction,
the
Anderson’s
were
also
prohibited
from
appearing
on
Mid-Atlantic
Championship
Wrestling
television
programming
for
two
weeks.
During
this
time,
the
Anderson’s
made
a
brief
appearance
in
Florida
before
returning
to
Mid-Atlantic
TV
to
denounce
the
NWA’s
penalty
against
them.
OTHER
FEUDS
The
new
tag
team
of
Professor
Boris
Malenko
and
the
Missouri
Mauler
was
extremely
impressive
during
the
month
of
August.
With
Malenko’s
“Russian
Sickle”
and
the
Mauler’s
“Missouri
Knee
Drop,”
it
was
clear
that
it
would
take
a
supreme
effort
from
any
of
the
area’s
best
to
knock
this
duo
off.
As
the
month
was
winding
down,
the
Mauler
and
Malenko
were
beginning
to
face
tougher
competition.
Malenko
was
also
active
in
the
singles
ranks
during
August.
On
the
August
20th
taping
of
the
Mid-Atlantic
TV
show,
the
“Professor”
ripped
and
tore
up
Ken
Patera’s
ear,
causing
a
large
gash
requiring
stitches.
On
August
23rd,
Malenko
had
his
patented
“Russian
Chain
Match”
against
Rufus
R.
Jones,
in
Jones’
backyard
of
Florence,
South
Carolina.
The
top
singles
feud
that
played
out
in
August
was
between
“Mr.
Wrestling”
Tim
Woods
and
U.S.
Champion
Johnny
Valentine.
Woods
was
seeking
revenge
for
Valentine
previously
breaking
his
leg
in
a
leg
hold.
Woods’
challenge
concerned
Valentine
so
much
that
“The
Champ”
put
a
Bounty
on
Woods’
head
in
August
so
he
wouldn’t
have
to
get
into
the
ring
with
the
raging
Woods.
The
primary
bounty
hunter
early
on
was
Valentine’s
good
friend,
Ric
Flair.
In
the
middle
of
the
month,
it
appeared
that
Woods
was
about
to
get
his
revenge
against
Valentine.
In
a
match
between
the
two,
Woods
had
Valentine
in
the
figure
four
leg
lock
in
the
middle
of
the
ring
with
nowhere
for
Valentine
to
go.
Woods
was
determined
to
keep
the
hold
on
Valentine
until
Valentine’s
leg
was
broken
just
the
same
way
Johnny
had
done
to
Woods
months
earlier.
But
Ric
Flair
came
to
the
ring
to
bail
Valentine
out,
and
then
both
of
them
were
able
to
double
team
Woods.
Woods
called
both
Flair
and
Valentine
cowards,
and
this
feud
was
really
heating
up
by
month’s
end.
THE
UNMASKING
OF
THE
SUPER
DESTROYER
While
the
Super
Destroyer
wrestled
his
last
match
in
Mid-Atlantic
Championship
Wrestling
on
August
1st,
he
was
back
in
the
forefront
of
Mid-Atlantic
Wrestling
by
the
end
of
the
month.
And
in
an
extremely
unusual
way.
At
the
Mid-Atlantic
Championship
Wrestling
television
taping
on
August
20th,
Rufus
R.
Jones
came
out
and
told
the
area’s
TV
audience
that
he,
Wahoo
McDaniel
and
Paul
Jones
had
unmasked
the
Super
Destroyer.
If
that
wasn’t
shocking
enough,
a
large
picture
of
the
Super
Destroyer
without
the
mask
on
was
put
on
the
television
screen.
In
a
final
indignity
for
the
Super
Destroyer,
announcer
Bob
Caudle
told
the
viewing
audience
that
the
Super
Destroyer’s
real
name
was
Don
Jardine.
Rufus
Jones
confirmed
that,
and
laughingly
told
Caudle
that
the
picture
shown
was
the
Super
Destroyer,
“the
ol’
cotton
picker.”
Jones
said
the
Super
Destroyer
was
so
embarrassed
by
being
unmasked
that
he
left
the
area
and
kept
going.
It
didn’t
take
long
for
there
to
be
repercussions
from
this
TV
“unmasking”
of
the
Super
Destroyer.
On
August
26,
1975,
a
mammoth
masked
newcomer
named
Spoiler
#
2
made
his
Mid-Atlantic
Championship
Wrestling
debut
in
Roanoke
Rapids,
North
Carolina.
On
this
night,
Spoiler
#
2
wrestled
Rufus
R.
Jones,
the
man
who
had
come
on
TV
and
made
a
mockery
of
the
Super
Destroyer.
We
would
soon
learn
that
Spoiler
#
2
came
to
the
Mid-Atlantic
area
expressly
to
get
revenge
for
his
friend
the
Super
Destroyer
against
the
“good
guys”
led
by
Rufus
R.
Jones
that
had
ended
the
Super
Destroyer’s
Mid-Atlantic
stint.
Weighing
345
pounds
but
being
amazingly
agile
with
a
devastating
Stomach
Claw
as
his
finishing
move,
Spoiler
#
2
presented
a
major
threat
to
all
the
territory’s
fan
favorites.
Spoiler
#
2
would
soon
bring
in
a
masked
partner,
Spoiler
#
1,
and
the
tag
teams
in
the
area
would
not
be
safe
either.
Nobody
knew
who
Spoiler
#
2
was,
but
everybody
knew
that
he
was
trouble.
The
new
month
of
September
would
soon
give
us
an
idea
of
just
how
much
havoc
Spoiler
#
2
could
wreck.
WHO’S
HOT
1.
PAUL
JONES---After
months
of
chasing
Ric
Flair,
Jones
finally
regaining
his
Mid-Atlantic
TV
Title
from
his
young
foe.
“Number
One”
had
to
put
his
hair
on
the
line
to
get
the
job
done,
but
he
rose
to
the
occasion.
Jones’
victory
on
August
8th
effectively
ended
this
spirited
feud
between
he
and
Flair
over
the
Television
Title.
2.
TIM
WOODS---“Mr.
Wrestling”
was
unrelenting
in
his
quest
for
revenge
against
Johnny
Valentine
for
“The
Champ”
injuring
him
a
number
of
months
previously.
Even
a
“Bounty”
placed
on
his
head
by
Valentine
would
not
deter
Woods.
“Mr.
Wrestling”
vowed
to
go
through
any
bounty
hunters,
and
to
eventually
get
Valentine.
At
this
point,
nobody
was
betting
against
Woods.
3.
PROFESSOR
BORIS
MALENKO
&
MISSOURI
MAULER---This
team
made
steady
strides
throughout
the
month
of
August,
and
was
becoming
a
force
to
be
reckoned
with
in
the
tag
team
division.
As
the
level
of
competition
picked
up
for
this
duo,
it
remained
to
be
seen
how
high
their
ascension
would
go.
WHO’S
NOT
1.
THE
SUPER
DESTROYER---After
wrestling
his
last
match
for
the
promotion
on
August
1st,
the
Super
Destroyer
was
later
unceremoniously
unmasked
on
TV
by
Rufus
R.
Jones
by
way
of
a
photograph
towards
the
end
of
the
month.
An
embarrassing
end
for
an
outstanding
competitor.
But,
by
the
end
of
the
month,
Spoiler
#
2
had
come
on
the
Mid-Atlantic
scene
and
was
out
for
revenge
for
his
fellow
masked
man,
and
friend,
the
Super
Destroyer.
2.
RIC
FLAIR---The
Nature
Boy
dropped
the
Mid-Atlantic
TV
Title
to
Paul
Jones
in
early
August,
and
was
unsuccessful
in
his
efforts
to
wrest
the
Mid-Atlantic
Heavyweight
Title
from
Wahoo
McDaniel.
Towards
the
end
of
the
month,
Ric
became
Johnny
Valentine’s
chief
bounty
hunter
against
Tim
Woods.
3.
SWEDE
HANSON---The
big
Swede
continued
his
descent
down
cards
through
the
month
of
August,
which
really
had
gradually
been
occurring
throughout
the
year
of
1975.
While
Swede
was
a
formidable
opponent
for
anyone,
his
victories
were
becoming
less
and
less
frequent.
RETURN
TO
TOP
OF
PAGE
©
David
Chappell
/
Mid-Atlantic
Gateway
|