Ric Flair had been taping promos and sending them to the region. He complained that all he ever heard about from Amarillo was the Funks. He stated that he had been through the Briscoes, the Andersons, and the Grahams and that he would soon be in Amarillo to take care of the Funk family. However, Ric Flair’s much anticipated debut in Amarillo came against neither Terry nor Junior. Instead, he clashed with Abby on August 18, 1977 at the Sports Arena.

Despite his heelish promos, Flair received enthusiastic approval from the crowd. Flair made a great showing getting in plenty of offense. The action spilled outside the ring with the two grapplers trading blows. Abby managed to grab Flair and whip him into JJ. Abby rolled back into the ring. The ten count expired before Flair could crawl back through the ropes. Abby had gained a count out victory over the future NWA title holder.

The end of August marked the 56th anniversary of wrestling in Amarillo. It also marked the end of Abby’s run in the territory. A huge card was booked which included a no DQ match between the Sheik and Abby. Other matches included Dory, Jr. vs. Ox Baker, Ricky Romero and Ervin Smith vs. The Wild Samoans (who were replaced by Jake and Luke Hatfield at the Arena), Cyclone Negro vs. The Super Destroyer, and Bob Orton, Sr. vs. Dennis Stamp. Abby and the Sheik had not met in Amarillo, only in Lubbock. The Sports Arena fans were treated to a repeat of the Fair Park Coliseum parking lot brawl. The match was ruled a no contest after Sheik and Abby left the ring for good at the ten-minute mark. I’m still not sure how you can have a no contest decision in a no DQ match. The match would be Abby’s last in Amarillo.

Abby worked briefly in Ft. Worth and Dallas in late August, carving up Jimmy Snuka at the Will Rogers Auditorium and the Sportatorium, respectively. A few lucky metroplex fans even had the pleasure of being chased from their general admission seats by the Butcher. He then left Texas for nearly ten years. He first went to Japan and then Georgia, I believe. You Abby marks know the rest of the story.

Abby’s run in West Texas was marked by packed houses, great TV shows, and sensational, out-of-control brawling matches. I never saw the territory any hotter. If you have ever seen the insane All Japan Tag tournament matches between the Funks and Sheik and Abby, that’s what Lubbock and Amarillo were like on a weekly basis. Dory Jr. has stated that he and Terry broke their traditional booking procedure by paying Abby a sizeable advancement to bring him into the region. I would say it was well worth it. Unfortunately, the promotion closed a few years later and the heat created by Abby was never again duplicated by the heels brought into the region. There were some great matches to follow in Amarillo to be sure. But there wasn’t the sustained intense heat characterized by Abby’s three month run.

All right, now that I have established myself as the biggest Abby mark in Texas, its time to move on to other topics.

I’ll look back at some of Terry Funk’s most memorable Russian Chain Matches.