Almost lost in all this action during the early months of 1977 was the arrival of a very talented young wrestler who would make a huge impact a few months later.  Ricky Steamboat came into MACW with little fanfare and was originally billed as the “son” of former JCP star Sam Steamboat.  He was, in fact, not related to Sam…but it made for good booking!

The middle months of 1977 were highlighted by three major storylines.  Ricky Steamboat’s meteoric rise at the expense of Ric Flair, the Anderson brothers intense program with Flair and Greg Valentine, and Valentine’s assault on Wahoo McDaniel provided Mid Atlantic fans with the best action seen in this area in many years. 

Generally acknowledged as one of the turning points in wrestling history, Steamboat enticed Flair to put up his Mid Atlantic TV title.  Flair and Valentine had continued to interrupt Ricky as he was being interviewed.  As Steamboat reached the end of his rope, hit Flair with a Karate thrust and knocked out the Nature Boy!!  When he came to, Flair demanded a match with the rookie…a move he would later regret.  Steamboat surprised Flair by pinning him and taking away the TV title in the process.  This was the beginning of one of the most intense, action filled feuds ever.  For almost the next two decades, whenever Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat was on the program, fans would see the very best wrestling that this generation had to offer.

Another great matchup was the duel over the World Tag Team Championship.  Ric Flair & Greg Valentine had captured the tag titles in late 1976 and they were determined to keep them as long as possible.  As long as possible turned out to be May 8^th at the Charlotte Coliseum.  Wahoo McDaniel was the special referee for this contest and, according to Flair & Valentine, caused the title to change hands by tripping Flair so the Andersons could pin him.  Obviously this didn’t sit well with Ric or Greg and they plotted their revenge.  But, this war with the Andersons wasn’t over yet.  I had the pleasure to see one of these matches at the Carolina Coliseum in August of 1977.  The building was packed, but most people couldn’t decide who to cheer for…or rather which team they disliked least!  As you can probably expect, the match went to a double DQ with no clear winner—except the fans!

Another hot feud over the summer started out between the reigning United States champion Blackjack Mulligan and veteran Bobo Brazil.  Brazil had apparently won the title on July 7^th in Norfolk in a match that had controversy written all over it.  As he did in 1976, Mulligan filed and appeal with the NWA President (Eddie Graham), stating that guest referee George Scott had interfered with Mulligan during the match.  Scott’s actions, claimed Mulligan, cost him the title.  However, Graham saw it otherwise and allowed the decision to stand.  Mulligan was irate and said he would get Scott.  Later, when Blackjack had seemingly won the title back from Bobo, Scott stepped in again and reversed the decision!  Again, Mulligan went berserk and attacked George Scott on television!  A short while later, Mulligan challenged Scott to a match and the veteran wrestler brought out a contract for the big Texan to sign.  All too eager to get Scott in the ring, Mulligan signed the paper without reading the fine print!

George Scott had tricked Mulligan into a match…. a handicap match with Mulligan having to face Scott and a MYSTERY PARTNER!  Mulligan couldn’t believe he had been deceived so easily.  Blackjack and Scott (with several mystery partners such as Mr. Wrestling, Ricky Steamboat, and Sandy Scott) battled around the Mid Atlantic circuit for most of August.  After the loss of his US title and being humiliated in the handicap matches, Mulligan left the area for a few months.

Probably the biggest news that happened in MACW during 1977 was the hotly contested action between Greg Valentine and Wahoo McDaniel over the Mid Atlantic championship.  The brutal battles between these two fierce gladiators have been a huge part of the MACW legacy for over 25 years.  One incident in particular was the match held on MACW television in early September of 1977.  Wahoo was putting up the MACW title against Valentine’s $2,000 silver dollars.  After another hard fought match, Valentine applied a type of ankle suplex on Wahoo and broke his leg!  And, to add insult to injury, Valentine gloated about in on television for weeks ahead.  The t-shirt he wore read “I BROKE WAHOO’S LEG”, and this just made Wahoo more irate.

One other newcomer into the area was the sinister Baron von Raschke.  The German would arrive with a vengeance towards all American wrestlers.  He claimed that his superiority over the weak wrestlers in the USA would lead him to being champion in the next few weeks.  One man who took exception to this was Mr. Wrestling.  He feuded with “der Baron” over the next few months in some classic matches.  In fact, one of their televised bouts is still considered one of the most surprising angles of all time.

Mr. Wrestling had challenged Raschke to an “amateur rules” match.  Baron agreed and the match was aired in mid October.  The match was officiated by Terry Sawyer, who had some amateur experience while in the military.  The back-and-forth action was furious.  Mr. Wrestling’s strategy in the end was to execute a takedown on Raschke (scoring two points), and then allows the Baron to escape (scoring one point).  This scenario gave Mr. Wrestling the win, but Raschke didn’t let it end there.  He attacked the masked man with the ring bell as he was being interviewed.  This lead to a series of matches between the two over the remainder of the year.

Ricky Steamboat continued his rise to the top during the latter part of 1977.  He held the MA TV title for a few months in mid 1977, and captured a bigger title in the US belt in late October.  Steamboat also teamed with Paul Jones to win the MA Tag Team title from Flair & Valentine.  But, Steamboats biggest matches were still ahead of him here in the Mid Atlantic area.

Finally, the long-standing hatred between Ric Flair & Greg Valentine against Gene & Ole Anderson provided still more great action as the year came to a close.  In late October, Flair & Valentine once again took the World Tag Team titles from the Andersons, and injured Gene in the process.  In a totally unexpected and shocking move, Ole enlisted the services of one of his most bitter rivals (Wahoo McDaniel) as a tag team partner to seek revenge against Flair & Valentine!  The matches between these four men were obviously brutal encounters.  And, as usually happens, the matches would more often than not end up as a double disqualification or double count out. 

NEXT MONTH: 

My MACW Fantasy Card