Gulas did not want to give up the profitable western end without a fight, even if it meant promoting without talented booker Jarrett. He shipped in a tape from one of his other cities to air on WMAQ-TV. He booked the Mid-South Coliseum for the regular Monday night show and headlined the card with one of the greatest feuds of the 1970s: The Sheik vs. Bobo Brazil. Also appearing on the show were Jim Kent and The Bounty Hunters, Danny Little Bear & Chief Thundercloud with Donna Little Bear, area female legend Cora Combs and the team of Tojo Yamamoto and George Gulas.

It was still early in the game but indications after the first Memphis battle proved to be a barometer of things to come. The Jarrett card drew well while the Gulas card drew three times less than what Gulas and Jarrett drew together the week of the 14^th.

Gulas tried a few other cards in Memphis over the next few weeks. Gulas seemingly would have the edge by using long time stars Jackie Fargo and Tojo Yamamoto. Ironically, both Fargo and Yamamoto were Jarrett’s most frequent tag partners and, away from the ring, the trio were real-life friends. Business was business though. Fargo and Yamamoto stuck with the tried and tested leaving Jarrett to go at it without the area’s legends. Jarrett won out and over time, the western half of the territory fell to him (Memphis, Louisville, Evansville & Lexington). Gulas hung onto the eastern end (Nashville, Chattanooga, Birmingham and Huntsville).

The fight was a little tougher in Kentucky as Gulas took Jarrett to court over promoting there. The court threw out Gulas’ claims to keeping Jarrett out of Kentucky saying that whoever wanted to promote wrestling there could as long as they obeyed the laws of the commonwealth of Kentucky. (Thanks to Larry Dowell for this information.)

Who can say why Jarrett won the western end and why he won it fairly quickly. TV certainly played a role as Jarrett eventually orchestrated the addition of the longtime announcing team of Lance Russell and Dave Brown from WHBQ where Russell and Brown had both worked and where the TV show had aired for years to WMC, where his show was airing. Russell was in programming at the time while Brown was and, as of this writing, still is a meteorologist. The moves, made a few weeks after the split, helped the audience to tune in to familiar faces week after week and absorbed the shock of the TV show jumping from one station to another.

Jarrett’s product was also a little more exciting at this point. He hung onto Lawler, who had turned into the area’s top star while Gulas’ main star Jackie Fargo worked a limited schedule and another main star Tojo Yamamoto worked tag matches with George Gulas. Lawler, in turn, was in the midst of a feud with Rocky Johnson, who had captured the fan’s imagination with his charisma and dynamic ring ability. Their feud served as something more attractive than the Gulas offering of the Sheik vs. Bobo Brazil, a feud featuring two wrestlers area fans had seen very little through the years thus they couldn’t embrace their history together which meant their match did not mean much to the fans at this point in time.

Jarrett also had the blessing and financial support of Edward Welch (Buddy Fuller, who had at one time or another been part of successful promotions in Georgia and Florida) and by extension, Fuller’s father and area legend Roy Welch. It’s quite possible that many folks who didn’t like to deal with Gulas didn’t mind working for someone representing the Welch family, especially the well-known Roy Welch.

Jarrett won out this battle. A form of truce was apparently assumed as the two promotions mostly stayed on their own newly-cut turf the rest of the year and tried to establish their own distinctive styles. Things had changed though. Ron Fuller had bought the Knoxville office in 1974 and had weaned it off of Gulas-supplied cards by creating a new, unique territory. Now Jarrett had branched out on his own and had acquired a huge hunk of a territory, including the very profitable city of Memphis. Nick Gulas had stuck with his guns and insisted his son, George, be pushed as a main-eventer. Now with half of his territory gone, would Nick allow George to become a bigger star in the territory left behind and could Jarrett continue to provide the western end of the territory with quality action?

Rocky Johnson began the year as Southern champion feuding with Jerry Lawler. Lawler, in an attempt to regain the title, formed his own army, complete with his very own private, Private Diamond (long time area jobber Buddy Diamond). Also assisting Lawler by this time was Gorgeous George, Jr. (often billed as George Wagner) and Porkchop Cash. Lawler also reached into professional wrestling’s closet of strangeness and brought in a wrestler billed as Dr. Frank, a takeoff on Frankenstein. (In 1974, Lawler battled another strange creature, The Mummy.) Lawler was in rare form during this time frame even dressing up as superhero The Super King to verbally battle TV’s Batman, Adam West in full costume, during the TV show one week.

Lawler called on former Southern champion and one-time rival The Mongolian Stomper to help battle Johnson and Dundee. While the idea of a team with the Stomper may have sounded like a great idea it turned into a disaster as the Stomper became fed up with Lawler and turned on him. Despite the efforts of Lawler and his Army, Rocky Johnson held onto the Southern title.

Tommy Rich held the other major singles title in the area, the Mid-America title, as the year started. After finishing off a feud with Eddie Sullivan, Rich stepped into a feud with newcomer The Russian Stomper who was managed by Al Greene. Rich eventually lost the title to Greene’s charge. The Stomper would then drop the title to the returning Ken Lucas. Lucas then battled a masked man billed as The Boston Strangler. Lucas unmasked this man to reveal Don Bass.

The Southern tag title was a mess the first few months of 1977 with Danny Little Bear & Chief Thundercloud, Dutch Mantel & David Shultz, Jerry Lawler & Gorgeous George, Jr., Porkchop Cash & George Wagner, Bill Dundee & Tommy Rich and Phil Hickerson & Dennis Condrey all making claims on the titles during this time frame.

The Mid-America tag titles were held at the beginning of the year by Bill Dundee and Ricky Gibson. They were upended though by the team of the Samoans (Tio and Tapu), who were managed briefly by Jim Kent. The Samoans were an interesting team. They had appeared on undercards throughout the South for a few years including in the Carolinas. After working in this area for the next few years they changed their appearance and wrestled as The Manchurians in the Knoxville territory, and later in Memphis. Still later, they appeared in the ICW promotion as Chief Tapu and The Great Tio, and likely under different names and gimmicks in years to come.

Also appearing in the area during this time were The Masked Executioner who formed a team with Eddie Sullivan, Tommy Gilbert, Tojo Yamamoto, Mike Stark, Plowboy Frazier, Haystack Calhoun, Jerry Barber, Billy & Benny McGuire, Harley Race, Ricky Fields, Haystack Calhoun and others.

The once huge territory had been split by mid-March. Jarrett retained the Southern singles and tag titles while Gulas kept the Mid-America singles and tag titles. Both Gulas and Jarrett made tough decisions in the first few months of the year. Now with both on their own, after years of success working with each other, how would they would fare individually?

With the split between the two ends of the territory came the reemergence of the area’s top star, Jackie Fargo. Fargo had cut back on his in-ring appearances the previous few years. In a very real sense, he had passed the torch of being the top superstar in the area to Jerry Lawler. Now though, Nick Gulas needed him to recreate some magic for area fans.

Gulas’ major title fell into the hands of a masked terror in April known as The Executioner as he defeated Ken Lucas. The Executioner then ripped through opponent after opponent. Finally, he ran into Jackie Fargo and their feud was off and running. The feud even had Jackie putting up his hair if he didn’t win matches against the masked man. Longtime area fans recalled the Fargo-Al Greene feud from 1972 that featured Fargo losing his hair.Their feud culminated with Fargo winning the title and unmasking The Executioner as Curtis Smith. This feud was just the start of Jackie’s last great run for Gulas.

Jackie began defending the title and picking up win after win. The Sheik, Detroit’s U.S. champion, showed up in the area and Fargo signed on to battle him. Jackie and The Sheik had faced each other in previous years in some wild encounters and this go-round seemed to bode the same. Before the feud really kicked in though, one of Fargo’s arch rivals from the past showed his face to stir things up even more.

As Fargo was entering the ring to battle The Sheik, Crazy Luke Graham and his new cohort King Ripper Collins attacked Jackie and knocked him out of the U.S. title match. Pistol Pez Whatley filled in for Fargo. Whatley would battle The Sheik off and on most of the summer, elevating the Chattanooga native up the ranks a notch in the eyes of many fans.

Fargo bounced back, and while he still had his eyes set on The Sheik, he had other business to conduct avenging his attack by Graham and Collins. Jackie placed a call to brother Roughhouse and the two reunited to war with Graham and Collins. Jackie continued to hold the Mid-America title and defended it often against Graham and Collins.

Toward the end of the summer, Fargo prepared to battle the Sheik again but things would turn too hot for Fargo. After wrestling a Chattanooga TV match, Fargo approached announcer Harry Thornton’s desk. Fargo always had a unique charisma that shone through in interviews. He would challenge his opponents to "put up your dukes" and called them "Pally" in his gruff voice. He would close out Chattanooga interviews with a reminder to area fans to support the 365 Club (a local charity that provided physical therapy to injured children). Before this interview went very long The Sheik ran onto the set and threw fire at Fargo burning the fan favorite and putting Fargo out of action for awhile. Fargo would get a measure of revenge after his return when he squared off against The Sheik in some wild matches.

Still holding to the Mid-America title Fargo battled another old rival in September. Phil Hickerson and Dennis Condrey came back to the area for Gulas for a few weeks. Some weeks, Hickerson and Condrey worked singles matches and often Fargo wound up battling Hickerson in these matches before Hickerson and Condrey returned to work the western end for Jarrett.

Meantime, during the fall it was announced that Fargo was injured. A little time went by before the Mid-America title was declared vacant. With this Fargo’s last big run for Gulas ended. He would return in years to come but never with any great regularity or for very long. For the most part, the fabulous one’s last major run for Gulas, complete with mischievous grin, flying fists, his finishing hold--the Atomic Drop and the famed Fargo strut, ended in 1977.

April-June

Rocky Johnson and Jerry Lawler feuded over the Southern title during this time frame. Johnson even lifted Lawler’s crown and strutted around with it on his head but Lawler eventually regained the title and crown. Bob Armstrong would return and briefly hold the Southern title but dropped it back to Lawler almost as quick. Rookie Paul Orndorff, later to become a major force in the business, debuted and upended Lawler for the title as the summer started. Lawler, meantime, added preliminary wrestler Mickey Poole as his manager at this time.

Phil Hickerson and Dennis Condrey, who had spent most of 1976 working in the eastern end of the territory, held onto the Southern tag titles during this time period. For awhile, they were managed by Rock Hunter, a big name star in Georgia and the Carolinas. The Southern tag titles were also briefly held by Ricky and Robert Gibson.

Working for Jarrett during this time frame were such stars as Bill Dundee, Tommy Rich, Plowboy Frazier, George Wagner (Gorgeous George, Jr.), Porkchop Cash, Pat McGinnis, Jim Garvin, Jake Smith, Jr. (later to hit it big as Jake Roberts), The Wrestling Pro, Giant Frazier, Ratamyus, Cowboy Bob Ellis, Norvell Austin, Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, The Masked Exterminators, Chief Bold Eagle, Mike Stark, Sylvester Ritter, David Shultz and others.

The Knoxville office also supplied some talent from time to time for Memphis cards. In return, the Knoxville cards were often supplemented with appearances by Lawler, Dundee and Rich, among others. Dundee and Rich even held Knoxville’s Southeastern tag titles for a few weeks.

The eastern end of the territory retained the Mid-America title and Mid-America tag titles. Ken Lucas held the Mid-America title but ran afoul of The Masked Executioner, who eventually won the title. The Executioner then went on a tear through the area before running into area legend Jackie Fargo.

The Samoans held the Mid-America tag titles. Initially, they were managed by Jim Kent and later by Ken Hawk. The Samoans battled various combinations of Ken Lucas, Ricky Fields and Ray Candy in title matches.

For a few months during the year, Gulas recognized the Tri-State tag titles. Tojo Yamamoto and George Gulas held the titles, defended them often and apparently never lost them before the promotion dropped about the titles.

Working for Gulas these months were such stars as: The Bounty Hunters, Danny Little Bear & Chief Thundercloud, Cowboy Frankie Laine, Buddy Diamond (Lawler’s one-time "Private"), Dennis Hall, Jon and Ric Davidson, Bruce Swayze, Pez Whatley, Don Greene, Joey Rossi, Gypsy Joe, The Zebra Kids (later unmasked as Leon Chandler and Wayne Petty) and others. Luke Graham returned at this time and brought with him his new tag partner, Ripper Collins, a major star on the West coast. Graham and Collins even turned on heel The Russian Stomper, making Stomper a face for a brief time. (This seemed to be an apparent move to really get Graham and Collins over as major heels, since "Russians" were rarely, if ever, fan favorites in pro wrestling in the 1970s, Boris Malenko in Florida being an exception.) Graham was briefly recognized as Western States champion upon his return to the area.

It is also interesting to note that Andre the Giant made appearances for both Jarrett and Gulas during this time frame, often one night for Jarrett and the following night for Gulas. Andre, booked by Vince McMahon of the WWWF, had apparently been booked weeks or months prior to the fallout between Gulas and Jarrett.

After the split, Jerry Lawler was without a doubt the major attraction for Jerry Jarrett. His early year feud with Rocky Johnson helped cement Lawler as the area’s top heel also. By the summer Lawler wound up in a feud with an area mainstay since 1975, Superstar Bill Dundee.

Lawler and Dundee had met before prior to this feud, most notably at the end of 1975 and into the beginning of 1976. It was this go-round in 1977 though they really kicked off the feud that would remain in the background, and often foreground, of the area for many years to come.

Dundee, who had spent a good part of the year teaming with Tommy Rich, seemed an odd choice to step into the lead face role for the company. He was Australian in the southern United States. He was short and stocky. He had proven to be a tough customer with some charisma. With much of the territory’s action occurring in Memphis, it probably didn’t hurt that Dundee had a passing resemblance to Elvis Presley, and played that up with big-frame sunglasses and jumpsuits. Whatever all this added up to boiled down Bill Dundee becoming very popular with the fans.

During the 1977 feud the two met in Lights Out matches, Bull Wire matches and other specialty matches, even matches with special referees and with Lawler’s manager, Mickey Poole, barred from ringside. Dundee and Lawler mostly battled over the Southern title. As the feud escalated, things became more personal and other things became involved. Dundee put up cash to face Lawler. Lawler put up his Cadillac against Dundee. Dundee put up his own Cadillac to get Lawler in the ring. Lawler even put his manager’s hair on the line in a match against Dundee.

Lawler lost that match and Mickey Poole lost his hair. On the following Saturday’s TV show, Lawler and Poole came out for an interview with Lance Russell. Oddly enough, Poole had a full head of hair. Lawler explained that his late manager Sam Bass had inherited a hair growing tonic and had passed the tonic on to him. As the interview progressed an angry female stormed onto the set and got in Lawler’s face. Bill Dundee then rushed out to drag the woman off the set. The female was Beverly Dundee, Bill’s real life wife.

During the course of the feud in 1977 Lawler’s hair would end up at stake. He kept his hair. Bill put up his hair, lost the match and ended up having his head shaved. Even Beverly Dundee put her hair up in the feud and ended up losing her hair. After the match where Beverly lost her hair, Lawler announced his retirement from ring action to pursue other interests.

During the years to follow, remnants of this feud would appear from time to time. In 1990, Eddie Gilbert brought out his brother Doug after Doug had lost a hair match but suddenly, Doug’s hair was "restored" thanks to Granny Gilbert’s Hair Tonic. In 1994, Mickey Poole returned to avenge his haircut by helping Tommy Rich defeat Lawler on a Memphis show. The footage of the match where Poole lost his hair would be shown at this time. Highlights of the 1977 feud would be shown from time to time when the feud would be restarted.

In 1977, the wild action and antics of the Lawler-Dundee feud caught on big with fans. Crowds began really turning out for the regular Monday night cards in Memphis as attendance at the Mid-South Coliseum averaged over seven thousand weekly for the year, often drawing 11,000 plus for loaded cards. The ring action between the two was very good and just unpredictable enough to interest the paying public. The feud ended in the early fall and Lawler and Dundee ended up teaming some by year’s end. The feud though would be reprised several more times during the years to come. After some searching by Jarrett for the right combination to bring in fans after the split with Nick Gulas the Lawler-Dundee feud seemed to set things into motion for the area to become a major territory in the wrestling business.

Bill Dundee laid claim to the Southern title as his war with Jerry Lawler heated up. The title would be held up in September with Jarrett newcomer Jimmy Valiant winning a Louisville tournament to cop the title.

The Southern tag titles wound up in the possession of the unusual combination of Cowboy Bob Ellis and Jim Garvin. Ellis was a ring veteran while Garvin was fairly new to being an in-ring participant. Garvin, of course, had been around the business for years having served as manager in the early 1970s to the combinations of Duke Myers & Terry Garvin and Ronnie & Terry Garvin but by 1977 he was beginning to make waves as a singles star on his own. (Ronnie Garvin is Jim’s step-father, not brother, while Terry was never related to either.) Ellis and Garvin would drop the titles to The Hollywood Blondes: Jerry Brown and Buddy Roberts.

Also appearing briefly at this time for Jarrett were some interesting stars. Mr. Wrestling Tim Woods made some appearances in the area. Mr. Wrestling would continue to appear some in the fall for the group but Woods left and worked dates for Jim Crockett’s Mid-Atlantic promotion in this time frame. Donning the trademark white mask as Mr. Wrestling in the Jarrett territory was Dick Steinborn replacing Woods.

Also debuting were the unusual team of Brute Bernard and The Angel (longtime area star Frank Morrell) with their manager Homer O’Dell. This veteran duo was billed as North American tag champions upon their entry but they only stayed a few weeks (and the tag titles were forgotten). Their appearance is noted for an angle on TV where the trio painted a yellow streak down Arman Hussein’s back but the tables were quickly turned as Plowboy Frazier held O’Dell while Hussein dumped the bucket of paint all over the veteran manager.

Others appearing for Jarrett at this time included Irish Pat Barrett, Tommy Marlin (Eddie Marlin’s brother and longtime area referee who wrestled from time to time), Dr. X, Scott Casey, Bruce Swayze, Terry Gibbs, King Cobra, Jerry Bryant, Ricky and Robert Gibson, Roy Lee Welch and others.

The Exterminators who had worked mid-card matches ran into a feud with the team of Norvell Austin and Pat Barrett. Austin and Barrett would unmask one of the Exterminators as Jim Dalton. Dalton would then avenge his unmasking by unmasking his partner to reveal Butch Malone.

Mickey Poole, who had been in the middle of the Lawler-Dundee feud and came out the worse for wear, turned to managing others besides Jerry Lawler. He brought in The Samoans in September after they had finished working for Gulas. Meantime, Jarrett also employed a young talent who was nothing more than raw potential at this point in time, Terry Gordy.

The Mid-America title scene was ruled by the Fabulous Jackie Fargo. Fargo’s most persistent challenger was old arch-rival Crazy Luke Graham. By September, Phil Hickerson and Dennis Condrey returned to Gulas and Hickerson renewed his feud with Fargo.

Ray Candy and Pez Whatley won the Mid-America tag titles from the Samoans. The two teams would battle each other for the belts. Candy would leave the area in August leaving the titles vacant. Tojo Yamamoto and George Gulas would win a late August Nashville tournament to lay claim to the championships.

Others appearing for Gulas included: Butch Thornton, The Sheik, Angelo & Lanny Poffo, Gypsy Joe, Cowboy Frankie Laine, David Shultz, Arvil Hutto, Ted Allen, Luis Martinez, Frank Stanley, Bobby Eaton, The Cuban Assassin, Dennis Hall, Jerry Barber, Joey Rossi, NWA Junior Heavyweight champion Nelson Royal, Big Red and others. Gulas even secured a few appearances by Ole and Gene Anderson (World tag champions for the Georgia office at the time), Mr. Wrestling II, Tony Atlas, Andre the Giant and Abdullah the Butcher. Jimmy Valiant also made a handful of appearances for Gulas at this time.

Finally, during this time frame an era officially ended when Roy Welch, longtime Gulas promoting partner and one time major wrestling attraction in the area, died during the month of September after a lingering illness.

People who grew up in the southern Appalachian mountains likely have heard of "the Hillbilly Highway." After the Great Depression, and stretching on for a long time after, many native people left the often economically impoverished place they called home in search of somewhere where the work was steady and the pay was regular. Often they traveled to major industrial cities in the north. One of the major destinations for those heading north was the city of Detroit. There many found employment working in the automobile factories. In 1977, Nick Gulas turned to Detroit for help and in some form, came up with a reverse version of the "hillbilly highway" as several Detroit mat stars came south to work for Gulas.

For many years the Detroit territory was a major stopover for professional wrestling. By 1977 though there was a catch to the talent pipeline as the territory was in a serious decline. The fans there had been treated to various no-shows and rip-off finishes. While they still drew some decent crowds on occasion, their glory days seemed to be behind them. The shows were usually headlined by one of the business’s great villains, The Sheik, perennial US champion, who began defending the title fairly frequently in the area for Gulas.

Soon to follow was the tag team of Angelo and Lanny Poffo. This combination had laid claim to Detroit’s World tag titles for awhile. In some locations this team was billed as the Poffo Brothers. In reality, Angelo was Lanny’s father.

The Poffos became heels to contend with quickly. In October, Gulas persuaded longtime fan favorite Len Rossi to come out of retirement to team with his son Joey to battle the Poffos. (Injuries from a 1972 car accident caused Len’s departure from the in-ring action although he often worked commentary for Gulas on Nashville TV) A father and son versus a father and son feud seemed natural and began at this point. The feud eventually included Len’s longtime tag mate, Bearcat Brown when the Poffos were too much for Len.

Lanny would win the Mid-America title during the fall. He also formed a team with tough Gypsy Joe. Together, Joe and Lanny made quite an impression on fans. In a televised match they battled Bearcat Brown and Chief Thundercloud. After the match, the duo attacked and broke the leg of Thundercloud’s drummer boy, Chuy. As the madness continued, promoter Nick Gulas rushed to ringside to warn the pair that their deeds would get them fined, or worse, suspended. Joe and Lanny were unstoppable by this point and swatted Gulas’ thick-lensed glasses off his face. This incident lead to a series of matches pitting Joe and Lanny against the area’s top tag team Tojo Yamamoto and George Gulas.

Lanny dropped the Mid-America title to Don Kent in December. Kent was another longtime Detroit regular who had teamed with Al Costello as The Fabulous Kangaroos and were often managed by George Cannon. About that time another Detroit face appeared and helped Lanny turn over a new leaf. In the fall of 1977, Gulas aired an interview with Detroit area manager George Cannon. Cannon had a new protégé who was headed to the Gulas territory. His name was Mr. America Don Ross (known later as Ripper Savage). Ross, a legitimate bodybuilder, came into the area. In order to get Ross over with area fans, he performed strength tests on TV. For one strength test Ross needed an assistant helper. Ross called out his friend, Lanny Poffo, who graciously agreed to help Ross. Later in the show, a furious Gypsy Joe called Lanny a traitor and eventually turned on his tag partner Poffo, solidifying Lanny’s transformation to good guy.

1978 would see Lanny achieve more success in the area. He would be joined again by Angelo and also, by his brother, Randy. Randy, of course, would appear as Randy Savage. Together this trio would eventually venture north into Kentucky and begin the ICW promotion which would eventually compete against the Knoxville office in 1979-80 and then in the early 1980s against the Jarrett office. 1977 though saw the talent from Detroit provide fresh faces to Gulas fans.

October-December

At September’s end, a major new player arrived on the scene for Jarrett. That new face was Handsome Jimmy Valiant. Valiant won the Southern title for awhile in September and kicked off an on-again, off-again feud with Lawler that, much like the feud with Dundee, would encompass many years to come in the territory. The Southern title bounced back and forth between Jerry Lawler, Jimmy Valiant and Mr. Wrestling the remainder of 1977.

The Southern tag titles found their way into the hands of Pat Barrett & Norvell Austin, The Samoans with manager Mickey Poole (and later managed by Bruce Swayze), Phil Hickerson and Dennis Condrey (managed late in the year by Al Costello) and finally to Bill Dundee and Norvell Austin by year’s end.

Jarrett hosted such stars as Big Red, Mike Stark, Sonny King, Scott Casey, Chief Bold Eagle (Bob Boyer), Dr. Frank, Jim Garvin, Johnny Valiant (in for some appearances with Jimmy), The Great Mephisto, Cowboy Frankie Laine, Mike Stallings, Bearcat Brown, Terry Gordy and others during this time period. Doug the Pro Gilbert (not to be confused with Tommy Gilbert’s youngest son, Doug) also made some appearances billed as North American champion.

It is also interesting to note that during the fall of the year Jarrett tried to make a connection with the world of rock music. Appearing on some cards in concert with Jerry Lawler, who had "retired" to pursue other career goals, was Memphis-based band The Gentrys, a group that hit the music charts in the 1960s with "Keep On Dancin’". Lawler would cut a song and video called "Bad News" during this time. (Lawler was the subject of one of the first wrestling music videos a few years previous.)

Lawler’s "retirement" from wrestling after his feud with Bill Dundee to pursue the music business allowed Valiant to become the lead heel and top area draw. During a concert Valiant attacked Lawler which eventually led to Lawler’s ring return and would turn Lawler back into a babyface in the area at this time.

A few years after this attempt to marry wrestling with music one member of the Gentrys would enter the world of professional wrestling in Memphis and eventually would shake it up pretty good. That man was Jimmy Hart.

The Gulas end of the area saw the Mid-America title go up for grabs in a tournament in Chattanooga due to injuries to Jackie Fargo. Lanny Poffo came out the winner defeating Dennis Hall in the tournament final. By year’s end the title would be held by Don Kent.

Tojo Yamamoto & George Gulas laid claim to the Mid-America tag titles during the fall of the year until an injury put Gulas out of action for awhile. Gypsy Joe and Leroy Rochester with manager Bad Boy Billy Hines (a star for Gulas in the 1960s) won a Christmas night tournament in Nashville to claim the tag titles by year’s end.

Appearing for Gulas in this time frame were such stars as: The Cuban Assassin, Big Red, Ox Baker, NWA World Junior Heavyweight champion Nelson Royal, Jim White, The Masked Brown Bombers, Hillbilly Langford, Tom Renesto, Jr., Ted Allen, Pez Whatley, Mike Pappas, Bearcat Brown, The Hollywood Blondes: Jerry Brown & Dick Roberts (For some reason Gulas billed Buddy Roberts as Dick Roberts, the Blondes had just finished a brief stint with the Memphis office before arriving here), Buzz & Rip Tyler with manager Bad Boy Hines and others. (This Rip Tyler was not the Rip Tyler who had previously appeared for Gulas and also in the Gulf Coast area.) Abdullah the Butcher was also in for some shows. One week he teamed with The Sheik to face Luke Graham and Ripper Collins in a Nick Gulas special "Battle of the Brutes" match. Abdullah and The Sheik turned on each other in the match and came back the following week in a match against each other.

With Gulas’s talent base becoming thin, several younger stars benefited by the opportunity to work more. Obviously, George Gulas saw more headline matches, although he was still mainly used in tag matches with Tojo Yamamoto. George though did work a multi-week program against NWA World Junior Heavyweight champion Nelson Royal. Bobby Eaton, who had worked in the area for a year or so, got his first major break working a feud against The Hollywood Blondes. Harry Thornton’s son, Butch, began working his way up on some cards as well. Alabama’s Mike Jackson also worked more frequently for Gulas during this time.

Meantime, one of the area’s most promising stars, Tommy Rich, who had debuted in the area a few years earlier left the territory around this time. Rich would try his luck working for the promotion in Georgia and almost immediately would become a major star there.

Some argue that seeing stars before they become stars is a great thing while others will say otherwise. During this time frame (and the next few years) fans on both ends of the territory would see their fair share of stars before they became stars (or superstars in many cases).

During the summer of 1977, a newcomer named Sylvester Ritter worked some for Jerry Jarrett on the western end of the territory. Ritter had been trained to become a wrestler in his native North Carolina by veteran Sonny King earlier in the year. He worked a few independent dates there before venturing to Memphis.

Since Jarrett was totally on his own, he welcomed any talent he could get. Ritter, at 6’4" and 270 pounds, no doubt looked impressive. He was set into a program to battle Jerry Lawler but it was quickly determined that his lack of experience would prove to be bad for the box office. He was then placed low on cards until he could gain some experience. During the summer Ritter also worked some dates in the Knoxville territory for promoter Ron Fuller.

Late in 1977, a man named Leroy Rochester debuted for Nick Gulas. This was the new incarnation of Sylvester Ritter. (Rochester was actually the real name of Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, who had worked the Memphis territory with Ritter.) With Gulas on the constant search for the right talent combination he welcomed Ritter in as Rochester with open arms. Early in his stay he was paired with veteran Gypsy Joe.

Rochester was a rarity in the 1970s, an African-American heel, following in the footsteps of Ernie Ladd and Norvell Austin. His combination with the crafty Joe, who had just split with partner Lanny Poffo, quickly found success as they won a tournament to win the vacant Mid-America tag titles on Christmas night, 1977.

Joe and Rochester would continue to team for awhile. Rochester would feud with fellow African-Americans Pez Whatley and Bearcat Brown. Later, Rochester would make a major change and become a fan favorite.

Ox Baker reentered the area in 1978. He quickly began bullying the rookie Shawnie Beau Wynn who was managed by longtime area manager Saul Weingeroff. (After years of being possibly the most disliked manager in the area Saul was pushed here as a total babyface.) Rochester came to Wynn’s aid turning himself face in the angle which had strong racial overtones (Wynn was a fellow African-American).

Rochester remained for awhile after the brief feud with Baker but was regulated to mid-card and low-card status. By mid-year 1978 he left the area. He traveled to Germany and wrestled there. From there he ventured into Stu Hart’s Calgary promotion where he wrestled as Big Daddy Ritter and then later debuted in the Mid-South area for Bill Watts. It was there, he went through another name change. Then, three years after his work for Jarrett and Gulas, with some experience under his belt and a new gimmick as Junkyard Dog, Ritter was well on his way to becoming a major attraction in the business.

The territory split in half during the year with Jerry Jarrett laying claim to the western end while Nick Gulas retained the eastern end. Both territories scrambled to create memorable matches and often ended up using the same talent after the other had finished with them. While established stars such as Rocky Johnson, The Sheik, The Hollywood Blondes, Ripper Collins and others passed through it was young and sometimes untested talent that often made a mark such as Lanny Poffo, Bobby Eaton, Paul Orndorff, Leroy Rochester, Pez Whatley and others. By year’s end the two territories were coexisting fairly quietly but there would be a lot of noise made between the two groups in 1978.

A "handsome" stranger makes his way into the area for Jarrett. A wayward Fargo brother "dons" a new name for both Gulas' for awhile. "A Canadian Freight Train" makes a stop in Memphis. Jarrett and Gulas have a promotional "street fight" and the legendary Lou Thesz gets right in the middle of it all. "Oh, Yeah!" an ex-baseball prospect tears up the area for Gulas.