Remember as a kid, you would get a box of Cracker Jack and immediately start looking for that surprise inside?  Or, on Christmas morning, getting a present that you didn't expect?  Well, the world of professional wrestling in the good old days had that feeling of the unknown when it came to title matches.  Who can forget watching a champion seemingly on his way to another successful title defense, only to have the challenger pull the upset to win the belt? 

This month, I'll take you back to some of the Mid Atlantic title matches that had a surprise ending.  They range from the mild upset to a full blown "I can't believe it" result.  The major titles we shall review will be the United States Heavyweight title (as recognized by J.C.P. starting in 1975), the Mid Atlantic Heavyweight title, Mid Atlantic Tag Team title, and the Mid Atlantic Television title.  The N.W.A. World Heavyweight title was more of a national (or global) championship, even though that division has had its share of surprises! 

Let's start with the U.S. Heavyweight Championship.  First recognized by J.C.P. in 1975 when Harley Race won a tournament.  The first surprise can two years later when the legendary Bobo Brazil took the strap from Blackjack Mulligan.  I call this a surprise simply because of the fact that Brazil was in the Mid Atlantic area for an extended period.  I certainly was surprised to see him here!  We didn't have to wait long for another unexpected title change as the Nature Boy Ric Flair downed Brazil in Richmond to capture the gold.  Flair would hold the belt until early the next year when another relative newcomer to JCP, Ricky Steamboat, would unseat him.  This was just one in a LONG string of excellent matches between these two great wrestlers. 

Next up, we have the highly coveted Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Championship.  This prestigious title was descended from the old Eastern States Heavyweight Championship.  Some of the greats to hold this belt reads like a Who's Who of wrestling:  Larry "Missouri Mauler" Hamilton, Danny Miller, Jack Brisco, Rip Hawk, and the one and only Johnny Valentine.  The surprise entry here is not once, but twice, that Jim Brunzell captured the belt.  His first victim was the Olympic strongman Ken Patera in late 1979.  Next up for the soon-to-be High Flyer was a familiar name to wrestling, "The Crippler" Ray Stevens.   We move up to 1984 for some more surprises in the Heavyweight category.  A second-generation wrestler, Angelo Mosca Jr., twice beat former WWWF Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff for the belt.  Throw in a third title reign at the expense of The Masked Outlaw (Dory Funk, Jr.), and Mosca ranks as one of the most unexpected (and forgotten) champions. 

As we look into the tag team scene, we have a definite upset that happened.  Back in 1974, long time tag team veteran Rip Hawk needed a partner.  His regular stable mate, Swede Hanson, had suffered a heart attack and was out of action.  Filling in for Swede was Hawk's "nephew"---RIC FLAIR!!  At the fabled Greensboro Coliseum that summer, Hawk & Flair unseated the reigning champions Paul Jones & Bob Bruggers.  This was the first of many championships that Flair would win during his career.  Going back further in the archives, we see that in team of Paul Jones and Nelson Royal dethroned one of the biggest names in tag team wrestling anywhere, Gene and Ole Anderson in 1970 to win the tag team belts.  So, Paul was on both ends of the Upset/Surprise gamut.