In Georgia he is remembered for his run as Super A (involving Ole and Gene Anderson) which is discussed in the Georgia section of the Kayfabe Memories message board located on this web site.

With his career gaining momentum McCord seemed to be on his way to a long, successful career. Things though would soon change.

After a February 19, 1975 card in Miami, Florida, McCord and fellow wrestlers Playboy Gary Hart and Bobby Shane got in a plane, piloted by fellow wrestler Buddy Colt, to fly to Tampa. As the flight neared Tampa the weather conditions forced Colt to divert the flight from the Tampa International Airport to the Peter O’Knight Airport. The plane would crash just short of their destination into Hillsboro Bay. McCord, Hart and Colt would all three struggle to safety after trying unsuccessfully to rescue the trapped Shane despite their own injuries. Bobby Shane (Robert Schoenberger) would die. Colt (Ronald Read), a major heel in Florida and Georgia as Shane also was, would suffer major injuries to his right ankle and foot along with several broken bones. The injuries would halt his in-ring career, although he would eventually serve as a ringside manager in Florida and later work as a referee and announcer for the office there. Hart (Gary Williams) would suffer a broken back, arm and foot and had a major cut across his nose. He eventually would return to his career as ringside manager. McCord would also survive but with serious cuts to the heels of both feet, along with broken ribs. At first it was believed McCord’s injuries would keep him away from the world of wrestling permanently but after several months of recuperation, McCord would return.

Then suddenly he disappeared.

A few years later in 1978, a brash blonde built like a bodybuilder named Austin Idol appeared in Texas. (Idol had surfaced briefly in 1977 or early 1978 in the Pacific Northwest as well.) By the end of 1978 Idol would hit the Memphis area and step into a feud against Jerry Lawler.

The Idol-Lawler feud headlined area arenas for the first several months of the year. Idol proved to be a great opponent for Lawler since his mic abilities rivaled those of Lawler, one of the business’s best ever. In ring the two worked well enough together to keep things exciting. In a major angle, Idol would toss a chemical in Lawler’s eyes during this run putting Lawler on the shelf for awhile. Idol’s actions lead to him being placed on probation by the promotion and he would appear under a mask in some cities as The Masked Idol. Idol would also pair up with Professor Toru Tanaka and later with The Mongolian Stomper and Gorgeous George, Jr. in attempts to topple Lawler and Lawler’s partners.

Idol, though, was only out for Idol most nights in the territory. In a Texas tornado death tag match with Professor Toru Tanaka as his partner against Lawler and Robert Fuller in Memphis, Idol refused to cooperate with Tanaka, leery of the impending punishment from Lawler and Fuller. This move would turn Tanaka face (he also briefly worked as a face in the Knoxville territory in 1978) to team with Lawler to battle Idol and The Mongolian Stomper. Idol, along with Bill Dundee, won a two ring triple chance battle royal. When Dundee had his back to Idol, the Universal Heartthrob, as he wanted to be called, attacked Dundee to claim the money for himself. Austin Idol was a major-league heel.

By April, Lawler had returned to ring action from the chemical-tossing incident and decided to settle the feud against Idol. Lawler would defeat Idol in a Loser Leaves Town cage match in Memphis sending Austin Idol out of the Memphis area. Idol would primarily work circuits in the South the rest of his career. Most fans remember him for his 1979-1980 run for the Atlanta office. With the cable TV exposure provided by the Atlanta office, fans across the country had a chance to see the brash blonde talking trash and getting into weekly mischief. Other fans recall his runs in Alabama for the Southeastern group (later renamed Continental) where he remains one of the most popular stars that area has ever known. Idol also worked the Jim Crockett-promoted Mid-Atlantic region and for various other groups into the 1980s. Of course, he would also return to work the Memphis office often over the years where he also reached legendary status.

But in the late 1970s most fans did not know that Austin Idol was Dennis (Iron Mike) McCord. (Lawler, in later years, would reveal Idol’s previous ring identity in interviews to help their feud and even mention the plane crash that nearly ended McCord’s career and likely led to his career rebirth as Austin Idol.) Looking back at a young, bulky brunette Mike McCord and then at a young, trimmer blonde Austin Idol as he raised his head high and ran his forefinger and thumb along his chin and grinned, one could determine that it was quite a transformation, and one that would prove to be successful for a long time.

January, February and March 1979

Austin Idol began the year as Southern champion. His first such title reign ended when former champion Ron Fuller captured the belt when Jerry Lawler distracted Idol leading to Fuller’s win. Fuller in turn was unable to defend the title so it was passed on to oriental superstar Professor Toru Tanaka. Tanaka would be upset on TV and lose the title to newcomer Buzz Sawyer (not to be confused with Terry Sawyer, a totally different wrestler who had worked some for this office in 1978).

The Southern tag belts became vacant when injuries to Phil Hickerson ended the longtime successful team he shared with Dennis Condrey. The subsequent tournament to name new champions saw Professor Toru Tanaka and Robert Fuller win the titles but Tanaka refused to team with Fuller, so the promotion deemed the titles would be forfeited to the top challengers, Condrey and his new tag partner Don Carson, complete with Carson’s "cousin", a loaded black glove (often referred to in other territories as "Peanut Butter"). Their reign was stopped by Bill Dundee and Robert Fuller.

Working the area for Jarrett at this time were such stars as Don Fargo, Wayne Farris, Pez Whatley, David Shultz, Koko Ware, Ricky and Robert Gibson, Tommy Gilbert, Terry Sawyer (not to be confused with Buzz Sawyer), Roger Howell, Jackie Welch, Danny Davis, Rip Smith, Chris Colt, The Mongolian Stomper with manager Gorgeous George, Jr., The Masked Assassins, Jerry Barber, Mike Stallings, Bob Armstrong, Jimmy Golden, Burrhead Jones, Tony Charles, Andre the Giant, Hans Schroder, Ric McCord, Ken Wayne, Kevin Sullivan and others.

Jarrett and Gulas seemed to finally mend fences between their territories early in the year as some established talent went back and forth between the two promoters even though Gulas ran one of his TV shows briefly in Memphis early in the year. Jackie Fargo made his long-awaited return to Memphis in late January to team with Jerry Lawler to face the unusual combination of Austin Idol and Mil Mascaras. Len Rossi, who had often worked for Gulas as a Nashville TV announcer and sometimes a ring performer, would also return to Memphis ring action during the first quarter of the year. Meantime, Don Fargo, who had worked for Jarrett, worked some Gulas cities. Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee would also make some shots in Gulas towns in April. The off and on war between the two groups seemed to finally come to an end.

On the Gulas end, Randy Savage held the Mid-America title at year’s start. He would lose the title in this time frame to Bobby Eaton, a star in the making. This was Eaton’s first major singles title.

The Jet Set: George Gulas and Bobby Eaton would enter the year as Mid-America tag champions. Their reign came to an end at the hands of the combination of Terry Gordy and Michael Hayes. Gordy and Hayes would spend the next few months as champions with Bobby Eaton and The Mexican Angel briefly holding the belts for a week in February.

Working the area for Gulas were such stars as Walter Johnson, Rick Morton (son of longtime area referee Paul Morton), Roughhouse Fargo, Eric Embry, Chief Thundercloud, Bill Smithson, The Beast, Rick Sanchez, Butch Thornton, Ric McCord, Crazy Luke Graham, Rufus R. Jones, Pampero Firpo (in for a week in February), Andre the Giant, Tommy Rich, Tommy Heggie, Robert Gibson, Chris Colt, Dennis Condrey and others, including Ginger the Wrestling Bear.

Longtime Gulas fans got a blast from the distant past when longtime area stars Jackie Fargo and Len Rossi teamed to feud some with other longtime stars Tojo Yamamoto and Gypsy Joe in this time frame. Don Fargo would get involved in the feud as well and spend the spring months working matches against Yamamoto and Joe.

Birds of A Feather Get Together

After several decades worth of great tag teams in the area, one more team made their presence known for Nick Gulas. In late 1978 the tag team of Terry Gordy and Pretty Boy Michael Hayes debuted. Within a month the duo had captured the Mid-America tag championship and, in the process, had gotten under the skin of most fans.

Gordy was the big man of the team, checking in at 6’4" and 260 pounds. His curly hair framed an innocent looking face. It was obvious upon one look at a young Gordy that he was a great athlete. Gordy had grown up just outside Chattanooga, Tennessee and had been a star baseball player in high school. His high school years also saw him active athletically in another way. Gordy became a professional wrestler at age 15. (Some sources say 14.) In order to get around regulations forbidding someone that young from participating in the business, he often wore a mask. When the UWA ran opposition against Nick Gulas in 1976, Gordy worked some dates then as Mr. Wrestling. Also in 1976, Gordy worked some IWA TV tapings as Terry Mecca. Gordy’s uncle, J.D. Kyle, a man who only had one hand and who wrestled on independent cards in and around Chattanooga billed as Captain Hook, trained Gordy for his pro wrestling career.

By 1977, Gordy had worked dates for Jerry Jarrett on the western end of the territory. While there, Gordy gained experience but was still a ways away from the main events. He then ventured to Mississippi to work for an outlaw group that featured such talent as The Great Mephisto, Tom Shaft, Troy Graham, The Mongolians (Tio and Tapu: The Samoans), Grizzly Smith and a newcomer named Lord Michael Hayes.

Hayes grew up in the Pensacola, Florida area. There he often attended weekly wrestling matches with Percy Pringle, who would eventually become better known as the WWF’s Paul Bearer. Hayes was a good athlete also whose first big break was the outlaw group in Mississippi.

When the Mississippi group folded Gordy and Hayes, who had teamed some in Mississippi, came to work for Gulas as a team. Together, the two clicked immediately and two new stars were born.

Gordy’s size and athletic ability and Hayes’ chilling voice and promos made them instant villains. Their Gulas run is extremely memorable as they feuded with The Jet Set: George Gulas and Bobby Eaton, Andre the Giant (the duo took him on and pounded him in a handicap match) and others.

The team though had their share of troubles with booker/matchmaker Tom Renesto. Renesto, who had gotten active in ring action in 1978 against Randy Savage, once again worked himself into the action.

Gordy and Hayes attacked one of Renesto’s sons, Tom, Jr., on TV. Renesto went ballistic and demanded revenge. Suddenly, Renesto’s wife came out and confronted Tom about everything that had happened in the past regarding his in-ring action by bringing up the previous year when Tom, as a member of the promotional team, was slugged by Randy Savage in 1978 and came out of retirement to wrestle again. Mrs. Renesto then reminded him of his vow to her that he would not wrestle again. She added that if he went back on that vow, even in light of what had happened to Tom, Jr., that things between them were over. Tom did not back down and said that avenging his son’s beating and his family honor would win out in this case. Needless to say, Renesto and a series of partners, including Tom, Jr., Gypsy Joe and Bobo Brazil, played to large crowds against Gordy and Hayes for weeks to come.

With Gulas and Jarrett beginning to share talent some, Gordy and Hayes moved onto the Memphis end in the summer. There, they adopted the Fabulous Freebirds nickname and added the Lynyrd Skynrd song, "Freebird" as entrance music.

Their Memphis stay though was short and mostly, unsuccessful. They rarely worked main event matches. A couple of theories exist as to why the team did not achieve a lot of success for Jarrett at this time. One theory says that as a heel tag team they had to play second fiddle to the already established top heel team there, The Blonde Bombers: Larry Latham and Wayne Farris with manager Sgt. Danny Davis. The other theory suggests that others, likely Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee, who had a lot of pull with Jerry Jarrett, were jealous of the combination and deliberately held them down. Whatever the reason, the duo stayed for a few months then left for greener pastures.

Gordy and Hayes moved on to Bill Watts’ Mid-South territory and, almost overnight, became major stars there. After adding former Hollywood Blonde Buddy Roberts the trio feuded against Cowboy Bill Watts, Ted DiBiase, Colonel Buck Robley and Junkyard Dog (known to Jarrett fans as Sylvester Ritter and Gulas fans as Leroy Rochester). From there, the trio would move to Georgia where their career as a team really took off into orbit.

April, May and June 1979

Southern champion Buzz Sawyer was injured in a match against The Mongolian Stomper, billed as "the Eighth Wonder of the World". Sawyer then could not defend the title in a rematch so the Stomper with manager Gorgeous George, Jr. claimed the title. Robert Fuller would lay claim to the title in June only to lose it to Ron Bass. Bass claimed to win the title in Bluefield, West Virginia while wrestling as the Masked Assassin. This may or may not have happened. This promotion did not run cards in Bluefield, West Virginia, so the title change seems suspect. The likely scenario appears that Fuller left the promotion before losing the title and the promotion put the title on Bass in a phantom title switch.

The Southern tag titles wound up in the possession of The Masked Assassins (Don Bass and Roger Smith) with Gorgeous George, Jr. serving as their manager when they downed Bill Dundee and Robert Fuller. Dundee and Fuller would regain the titles but they would fall victim to the combination of Professor Toru Tanaka and Mr. Fuji in May. Tanaka had turned heel when his loyal tag partner Fuji debuted in the area. By June the well-known combo of Tanaka and Fuji, former WWWF tag champions, lost the belts to Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee who in turn would lose the belts to the team of Larry Latham and Wayne Farris who eventually added manager Danny Davis.

Working the area the spring months for Jarrett were such stars as Austin Idol, Tommy Gilbert, Eddie Gilbert (for a complete Eddie Gilbert profile including his early days please visit the Kayfabe Memories Wrestlers section), Ken Wayne, Jerry Bryant, Roger Howell, Larry Cheatham, Mike York, Burrhead Jones, Ron Slinker, Koko Ware, Danny Davis, Tony Charles, Ric McCord, Tuffy Taylor, Jimmy Golden, Plowboy Frazier, Thunderbolt Patterson (who was billed as CWA champion), Kevin Sullivan, Dick Slater, Ron Fuller, Sputnik Monroe, Jr., Bob Owens, Terry Boulder (a young Hulk Hogan), Johnny Starr, Ted Allen, Steve Regal, Pete Austin, Tommy Rich, Hans Schroder, The Masked Gestapo, Dallas Montgomery, Wenona Little Heart, Lilly Thomas, Ginger the Wrestling Bear and more.

The Mid-America title passed from Bobby Eaton to Chris Colt. Colt, a ring wildman, was involved in one of the great angles of the year when he attacked Eaton during a live TV match in Chattanooga. Colt then proceeded to piledrive Eaton on the studio’s concrete floor. This move means nothing to modern day professional wrestling. In 1979, it meant something. The piledriver was banned by the NWA, the governing body that sanctioned Gulas wrestling. This meant when it was used, which was rare, that fans had been educated to believe it was a dangerous move. The move was considered even more severe when it was used on the cold, hard concrete floor. When Colt hit the move, TV announcer Harry Thornton, a fan of the good guys and a major Bobby Eaton supporter, went ballistic at the thought of Eaton being battered by the deadly piledriver on the concrete floor. Thornton, also a co-promoter, was so furious he suspended Colt from the area at that very moment. Eaton was then carried off on a stretcher into a waiting ambulance. This is another move that modern professional wrestling has used so often that it has lost it’s purpose but in the spring of 1979 when Gulas used the promotional tactic, it seemed very real. Colt would be reinstated and Eaton would mend and give the fans the payoff of seeing Eaton get his revenge. Colt’s Mid-America title reign would end at the hands of Ron Garfield. The title then wound up in the possession of Gorgeous George, Jr.. George’s brief title run would then be ended by Dennis Condrey.

The Mid-America tag titles remained in the grasp of Terry Gordy and Michael Hayes during these months. This team was proving to be a major attraction for Gulas as they worked programs against various combinations of Don Fargo, Koko Ware, Robert Gibson, Tom Renesto, Sr. and Jr. and The Sheik. Gordy and Hayes even battled the Jarrett combo of Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee for Gulas.

Working the area for Gulas at this time were such stars as George Gulas, The Mexican Angel, Tojo Yamamoto, Ken Hawk, Jerry Barber, The Masked Boston Strangler, Mark Roberts, Billy Starr, Jimmy Powell, Rocket Monroe, Bill Smithson, Butch Thornton, Ric McCord, Doug Vines, Pago Pago, Tommy Heggie, Bobo Brazil, Ron Garfield, Prince Tonga (later to become Haku and Meng), Sugar Bear Harris (later to become Kimala), Terry The Hulk Boulder and more.

In the early and mid 1970s, Gulas shot filmed highlights of arena matches to air on TV the following week. After the split with Jarrett he had pretty much abandoned this idea. Rarely did arena footage from a Gulas card make it to TV after the split with Jarrett. Jarrett, of course, continued this practice for many years. Gulas, though, during 1979 did try something different with his Nashville TV show. While the Chattanooga TV show remained a studio show, the Nashville TV show, once a studio show, was taped at the weekly Wednesday night house show at the Nashville Fairgrounds Arena with Michael St. John as host. Selected matches were played back over several weeks time. As professional wrestling moved into the 1980s and beyond, the studio show, a staple of the territorial system of professional wrestling, became a dying thing and was replaced with shows of matches taped at arenas.

Memphis Becomes Knoxville West

With the new year came a great deal of new faces to the Memphis end of the territory. Many of these newcomers had worked on the far eastern end of the state for Ron (Welch) Fuller’s Southeastern promotion. Ron’s father, Edward Welch (Buddy Fuller) and Edward’s brother, Lester Welch, were working with Jarrett at the time and it appears as if there was at least some sort of loose alliance to see the Memphis end and the Knoxville end work together as the two groups traded stars back and forth for several months in 1979. The groups had swapped some stars this way in 1978 as well.

Noticeable among the Knoxville group working Memphis fairly regularly were such stars as Robert Fuller, Jimmy Golden, Ron Slinker, Gorgeous George, Jr., The Mongolian Stomper, Tony Charles, Professor Toru Tanaka and Don Carson. Even Kevin Sullivan and Dick Slater made limited appearances in Memphis during the first half of 1979. These wrestlers had worked the Knoxville office much of the previous year and some had worked the Knoxville end for most of several previous years.

The Knoxville promotion was a true gem. It regularly featured some of the best workers in the United States such as Ron and Robert Fuller, Jimmy Golden, Norvell Austin, Bob Armstrong, Ronnie Garvin, Dick Slater, Bob Orton, Jr., Bob Roop, Professor Boris Malenko, Kevin Sullivan, Ron Wright and others. The promotion had draw consistently good crowds, despite rarely getting any attention in wrestling’s newsstand magazines.

Hoping to copy his Knoxville success, Ron Welch purchased the Gulf Coast territory in 1977 from the Fields family (who were actually his uncle and cousins). Now, Welch had two territories much like Gulas had for years. The two territories meant wrestlers could work for Knoxville for awhile and then move to work the Gulf Coast area, similar to how Gulas had done with the eastern and western end of his territory for years.

Meantime, Jarrett and partners Edward and Lester Welch turned to mixing in "Southeastern" talent with the Memphis talent. This move changed the face of Memphis wrestling for awhile.

Some of the important moves during this run include Robert Fuller forming a team with Superstar Bill Dundee to battle The Masked Assassins and later Professor Toru Tanaka and Mr. Fuji. Fuller would then battle The Mongolian Stomper over the Southern title. Tanaka would win the Southern title but lose it to mat newcomer Buzz Sawyer. Sawyer though was a transitional champion. He would take a beating at the hands of The Mongolian Stomper and be unable to defend the title and would have to forfeit it to the Stomper. Meantime, Tanaka would have a falling out with frequent tag partner Austin Idol turning the Oriental superstar into a fan favorite. Tanaka’s turn would be cemented in a TV battle royal. The last two contestants were Tanaka and Sawyer. Tanaka, who had lost a match to the upstart a few weeks earlier, threw himself over the top rope allowing Sawyer a win. This put Tanaka over as a nice guy and showed that Tanaka was also aware of how deserving Sawyer was of winning. It got both men over with the fans. The Stomper then hit the ring and battered Sawyer, who was saved from the attack by Tanaka, further solidifying his face turn. The Jerry Lawler-Austin Idol feud that had started in late 1978 continued into the early part of the year. When Idol left the area, Lawler was placed in a feud against Jimmy Golden, who turned heel for the first time in his career.

Despite some pretty good storylines and action, things were not working out as June neared. Attendance dipped on the Memphis end and most of the Knoxville talent was shipped out. Jimmy Golden lost a loser leaves town match against Lawler and Fuller disappeared from the TV show one week while he was Southern champion. The next week Ron Bass was announced as the new champion and unlike usual Southern title changes with this group, there was no video tape to show the actual change indicating a likely phantom title switch.

On the Knoxville end, things were beginning to spin out of control and despite the poor showing in Memphis, the Knoxville crew that had gone west were needed back east. Bob Roop, Bob Orton, Jr., Professor Boris Malenko and Ronnie Garvin all quit Southeastern and went to work for Angelo and Randy Poffo’s rival ICW group which had also recruited area legends Ron Wright and Big Jim Hess. Wright would serve as ICW Representative while Hess, the longtime TV announcer for the John Cazana promotion which preceded Fuller’s group, would fill an annoucing role for the Knoxville ICW show. Robert Fuller, Jimmy Golden, Professor Toru Tanaka, Mr. Fuji, The Mongolian Stomper and Gorgeous George, Jr. would all return to the Knoxville end within a few months of leaving Memphis. Golden would turn heel in Knoxville, team with Norvell Austin and feud against Ron and Robert in a red-hot feud. (Initially the feud also included Buddy Fuller.) The Stomper would turn face to battle George and his henchman which would include Alexis Smirnoff and Ox Baker.

Back in Memphis, Jerry Jarrett had some work to do. He had to rebuild the crowds to his shows. He would build around area cornerstones Jerry Lawler, Bill Dundee and Tommy Gilbert and also around a group of young wrestlers eager to make their way up the ladder of success. Jarrett paired Gilbert with his young son, Eddie (initially billed as Tommy Gilbert, Jr.) to feud against Buddy Wayne and his young son, Ken. The basic father-son feud connected with area fans and gave the two veterans, Tommy and Buddy, a chance to prove their value to the area while providing their sons with their first major feud in the business both had grown up in.

Jarrett’s main push in the summer though saw Lawler and Dundee together as a team against the combo of Wayne Farris and Larry Latham. While Jarrett pushed other feuds in the summer all of them were overshadowed by this feud. With veteran announcer Lance Russell guiding things, the feud between these two teams began drawing the crowds back into the arenas especially after a wild June Friday night in Tupelo when the two teams destroyed a concession stand.

July, August and September 1979

Ron Bass briefly lost the Southern title to Randy Tyler in July before he regained the belt. Bass was in turn dethroned by Bill Dundee. 

The Blonde Bombers: Larry Latham and Wayne Farris with manager Sgt. Danny Davis held onto the Southern tag titles. Their reign was briefly interrupted by Ricky and Robert Gibson who quickly lost the belts back to the blonde team who were becoming an enduring team in the area.

Working the area for Jarrett were such stars as Rick Morton, Tommy and Eddie Gilbert, Ken and Buddy Wayne, Terry and Eddie Boulder, Pete Austin, Eddie Marlin, Koko Ware, The Fabulous Moolah, The Hangman, Hans Schroder, The Masked Gestapo, Steve Regal, Jerry Jarrett, Dallas Montgomery, Sonny King, Terry Gordy and Michael Hayes, Jackie and Roughhouse Fargo, Jerry Bryant, Steve Regal, Sonny King, Pat Hutchinson, Jimmy Valiant, Hector Guerrero, Vivian St. John and others.

While Jerry Lawler didn’t have a claim on the Southern title during this time he was still heavily involved in the action. AWA champion Nick Bockwinkel came to town to defend the title against Lawler a few times in this time frame. It should also be noted that during September Jimmy Hart made his reappearance in the area (after briefly being featured in 1977 when Lawler retired and went into the music field) and began managing Lawler who turned heel.

The Mid-America title remained around the waist of Dennis Condrey during the summer. Condrey, a heel, was turned face when former champion and, sometimes tag partner, Chris Colt turned on Condrey. Condrey’s reign as champion saw him get a shot at NWA champion Harley Race in September.

The Mid-America tag titles fell out of the hands of Terry Gordy and Michael Hayes to Gypsy Joe and Tom Renesto, Jr. Joe and Renesto, Jr. had their reign end at the hands of Tojo Yamamoto and The Great Togo. In September the Jet Set: George Gulas and Bobby Eaton regained the straps.

Working the area during the summer for Gulas were such stars as Ricky and Robert Gibson, Joey Rossi, Prince Tonga, Jerry Barber, Hans Schroder, Ken Lucas, Terry the Hulk Boulder, Rick Sanchez, Tom Renesto, Sr., Ken Hawk, David Shultz, Billy Starr, Jimmy Powell, Mark Roberts, Chief Thundercloud, Ted Allen, Pat Smith (better known later as Pat Rose), Butch Thornton, Bob and Don Fulton, Dutch Mantel, The French Angel and others.

During 1979, Nick Gulas sold the southern end of his promotion to a man named McKenzie. Birmingham, which ran weekly Monday night cards, and Huntsville, which ran weekly Friday night cards, were the major cities affected with this move. Gulas still supplied the area with some of his Tennessee talent but not as generously as when he owned the area. In turn, McKenzie began using local talent such as Mike Jackson, Tony LeDoux, Bobcat Brown (billed as the brother to area mat legend Bearcat Brown), Arvil Hutto, Jimmy Jones and others to headline his cards. Attendance on the Alabama end would decline.

Bouldermania!

As mentioned in the Continental section of this web site, Terry Bollea got his first big break in professional wrestling working in the Gulf Coast area in 1978 and into 1979. Trained by the legendary Hiro Matsuda, the former bouncer and bass guitar player seemed destined to be a major force in the business of professional wrestling. After all, Bollea, working as Terry "The Hulk" Boulder, had a lot of things going for him. Boulder, a big blonde, fit his image as a beach-loving muscle monster nicely. He was depicted as a strong, powerful individual billed after the comic book character (and by the late 1970s, TV character) The Incredible Hulk. He became a physically larger version of Superstar Billy Graham, one of the biggest attractions in the business in the 1970s.

In 1979, Bollea appeared for Nick Gulas as a special attraction on some cards. His size, 6’7" and 300 plus pounds, seemed to be his initial drawing power since those that size in the business, and most assuredly in this territory, were few in number. Those who were that size or larger, such as Andre the Giant and Ernie Ladd, rarely made appearances in this area except as special attractions much like Bollea was doing at this time here.

Before his first appearance in the area for Gulas, a videotape clip was shown from the Gulf Coast area where Boulder arm wrestled Andre the Giant. The clip got over Boulder as someone who could more than hold his own against the business’s largest star. While a heel in the Gulf Coast clip, Boulder was pushed as a fan favorite in his Tennessee appearances.

In May, Bollea made his Memphis debut and off the bat battled Southern champion The Mongolian Stomper, winning the match when the Stomper was disqualified. He would work most of the regular cities in the circuit the week he was in, even teaming with Lawler in a few matches against the Stomper and Gorgeous George, Jr.. Later in the summer, Boulder returned to the Memphis area, this time as a regular where he often teamed with his "brother" Eddie Boulder. Eddie would wrestle later as Dizzy Hogan, Eddie Hogan, Brutus Beefcake and under a long list of other names. Eddie, real name Ed Leslie, is not related to Bollea. They had worked the Gulf Coast area together and likely had known each other before then from time they spent before their wrestling careers in Florida. Bollea and Leslie would be billed as brothers during their 1979 Memphis stay, and consequently be confused as real-life brothers for years to follow. This urban legend of professional wrestling also seemed to grow as Bollea went from territory to territory. Leslie, it seemed, would then follow Bollea almost move for move.

Because of his physical appearance Bollea was pushed fairly strong in the area almost from the get-go although not quite to the top as he was used mainly underneath on cards in August and September. While the area couldn’t hold onto the talented duo of Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy they would also be unable to hold onto Terry Boulder. In the fall, Bollea would leave the Memphis area, and the Terry Boulder name, to debut in Georgia billed as the egotistical heel Sterling Golden. After a few weeks there, where he received a minor push (where he ironically wrestled underneath on cards where an eventual rival Bobby Heenan headlined as manager), he debuted in Knoxville’s Southeastern territory. There he won the area title before a brief reign was ended by Bob Armstrong. At almost the same time, Bollea appeared with manager Freddie Blassie in the WWF billed as Hulk Hogan. Bollea’s size and obvious emerging charisma immediately caught on in the northeast, and as Hogan, Bollea started a run that would change professional wrestling in a number of ways in a few short years.

October, November and December 1979

Bill Dundee’s Southern title reign came to an end at the hands of Jerry Lawler now managed by Jimmy Hart, who debuted as a manager in the area in September. This re-ignited their long running feud which had helped set the territory on fire in 1977. Despite their battles, Lawler would hang onto the belt the rest of 1979, and by year’s end Lawler would poor-mouth Ken Lucas, who would hand him a beating, creating some sparks between the two. Lawler would also get a few shots at AWA champion Nick Bockwinkel again before the year ended.

The Southern tag titles remained with The Blonde Bombers: Larry Latham and Wayne Farris with manager Sgt. Danny Davis until Steve Regal and Hector Guerrero took the titles. By year’s end The Masked Assassins had regained the titles.

The CWA (Continental Wrestling Association) title became more prominent at this time. The title was introduced in the area in April as Thunderbolt Patterson was billed as champion. In an interview Patterson claimed to have won the title in January in Melbourne, Australia after defeating Mark Lewin. (A discussion of the legitimacy of this claim is open in the CWA/Memphis message board.) Patterson though apparently fell out of favor with the promotion around mid-year and disappeared. The title was then apparently shelved. By October, journeyman Irish Pat McGinnis was billed as champion. He lost the title to former WWWF champion Superstar Billy Graham who in turn lost the belt to Jerry Lawler. Since Jerry Jarrett was the main promoter recognizing the CWA title it is interesting to note that his one-time boss and one-time rival Nick Gulas was listed as President of the CWA.

Appearing for Jarrett during the last quarter of the year were such stars as Jimmy Valiant, Terry Gordy and Michael Hayes, Ron Bass, Sonny King, Ricky Morton, Ricky and Robert Gibson, Tommy and Eddie Gilbert, Buddy and Ken Wayne, Pat Hutchinson (who worked a low card feud against Jimmy Hart), Tommy Marlin (Eddie’s brother, who worked as referee and at this time also worked a low card feud in some cities against Jimmy Hart), Plowboy Frazier, Tojo Yamamoto, Steve Kyle, Billy Robinson, Austin Idol, David Shultz, Dennis Condrey, Big Red, Paul Ellering and others.

Dutch Mantell took the Mid-America title from Dennis Condrey in October. Dutch then lost the title to the newly turned heel Bobby Eaton. Eaton, now managed by Tojo Yamamoto, held the title the remainder of the year with the exception of a brief run by Chris Colt.

When Bobby Eaton turned heel it caused the Mid-America titles he held with George Gulas to become vacant. A Chattanooga tournament saw Butch Malone and Jim Dalton win the titles. A week later their run ended at the hands of Ken Lucas and George Gulas. Their reign ended one week later when fresh from their run with Jarrett the team of The Blonde Bombers: Larry Latham and Wayne Farris with manager Sgt. Danny Davis latched onto the belts.

Working the area for Gulas at this time included talent such as The Sheik (US champion), Chief Thundercloud, Len and Joey Rossi, Gypsy Joe, Sam Hardy, Shawnie Beau Wynn, Jerry Barber, Bob and Don Fulton, Dean Ho, Prince Tonga, Hans Schroder, David Shultz, Mark Roberts, Pat Smith, Tommy Heggie, Jackie Fargo, Bruce Reed (later to gain fame as Hacksaw Butch Reed), Crazy Luke Graham, Tony Atlas, Thurman Dolan, Kay Roberts, Della Mums, Roger Howell, Butch Thornton, Tommy Gilbert, Ron Garfield, Joe Valiant (an apparent attempt to cash in on the Valiant name), Wee Willie, Mighty Cupid, Tom Veto, Jimmy Powell, Koko Ware, Hector Guerrero, Sputnik Monroe, Jr. and others including Jerry Lawler.

Superstar Billy Graham also worked a few dates for Gulas in the fall before backing out of appearing. Legend has it that Nick Gulas wanted the former WWWF champion to lose matches to George Gulas. This legend concludes that Graham refused to work anymore dates for Gulas after the request. Meantime, NWA champion Harley Race successfully defended the title against George in a Nashville match.

As a new decade was ready to dawn, it was almost like the good ol’ days as Jarrett and Gulas worked closer with each other than they had since their 1977 split. With Gulas free of the Alabama end of his territory a number of his stars worked the Memphis end quite often most notably Tojo Yamamoto and Ken Lucas. Yamamoto paired in Memphis with Sonny King to harass Rick Morton, whom he once acted as mentor to, and Morton’s partner, Big Red. Lucas wound up in a feud by year’s end with Jerry Lawler. Despite the newfound cooperation, Jarrett still did not call upon the services of George Gulas for his end of the territory.

Blonde Ambition

With crowds down in the early summer, Jarrett put together a heel team and pushed them like they were unbeatable. Jarrett brought in Larry Latham, mostly known at the time from his stay in the Georgia promotion, and paired him with homegrown talent Wayne Farris.

Latham had started his career in the Gulf Coast area and had bounced around the South for awhile before landing in Georgia in 1977. In Georgia, Latham’s role was mainly to put up a good fight against a good opponent on TV before losing the match, although from time to time he would get a TV win. Often a wrestler such as this is actually a better performer than the star he is putting over because in order to succeed in such a role a wrestler has to be able to make himself and his opponent look good, whereas in some cases, the star can only (or will only) make himself look good (and even some can’t do that). Latham would also work low on arena cards throughout the Georgia territory.

Farris had worked the Tennessee area for a few years. He had gained some exposure in 1978 by frequently working on TV in a similar role as Latham did in Georgia. Late in 1978, Farris’ first major push occurred when he befriended Handsome Jimmy Valiant. The two became a team and feuded against Jerry Lawler (Farris’ real life cousin) and Bill Dundee.

In May the duo appeared for Jarrett after working some matches in the Gulf Coast area. Upon arriving in the Memphis territory they began working matches mainly against Tommy and Eddie Gilbert. Latham and Farris would be on the back burner a very short time.

With most of the Knoxville talent gone, Jarrett began to rebuild the territory. While he used all he had at his disposal at the time, he pulled the trigger on a feud that would get the fans in the area buzzing.

Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee won the Southern tag titles and then stepped into a match against Larry Latham and Wayne Farris. In Tupelo, Mississippi, the two teams battled in a match that ended up in the concession stand. The two teams battled amidst trash can lids, pans and mop handles used for weapons. Mustard was dumped all over the four and onto the floor. With TV announcer Lance Russell calling the action from the sidelines, referee Jerry Calhoun and then promoter Jerry Jarrett tried to break up the fight while Jarrett’s assistant Eddie Marlin and Tupelo promoter Herman Sheffield watched in shock at the wild action. The melee continued for several minutes before it was halted. The wild brawl was shown the next day on Memphis TV unedited which helped spur interest in the feud. The clip would be shown on the Memphis TV show from time to time almost twenty years later and is perhaps, the most recognizable Memphis angle ever.

The feud would last through the heart of the summer and is not only highlighted by the Tupelo concession stand brawl but also by interviews about the feud from Lawler, Dundee and Farris, whose pronounced Southern accent and whine drew good crowd heat. Danny Davis would pair up with Latham and Farris, dubbed The Blonde Bombers, as their manager during this run. On several occasions Latham, Farris and Davis paired up in six man matches against Lawler, Dundee and Jackie Fargo, whose appearance no doubt helped spike attendance on cards. When Fargo wasn’t available, Lawler and Dundee’s other partner was none other than Jerry Jarrett, who came out of the office, and his ring retirement, to return to the ring.

With crowds up, Jarrett shifted Latham and Farris into programs against other stars such as Tommy and Eddie Gilbert, Eddie Marlin, Steve Regal and others. Meantime, Jarrett split Lawler and Dundee up over the Southern title by turning Lawler heel and adding Jimmy Hart as his manager to reprise the feud with Dundee. As the fall started the territory was pulling in good crowds again spurred on by the Lawler-Dundee feud but also thanks in part to Latham and Farris and their tactics.

As the end of the year neared, Latham, Farris and Davis went to work for Nick Gulas. They would hope to recreate the magic for him they had created for Jerry Jarrett. One of their first weeks in for Gulas, the Tupelo concession stand brawl tape was shown on TV and Lawler and Dundee, arch-enemies in Memphis at the time, were brought in as a team in some Gulas cities to try to re-ignite the fire between the two teams. As 1979 closed, the Blonde Bombers were the team to beat in the Nick Gulas territory.

Recap

1979 saw Jerry Jarrett and Nick Gulas work together by sharing talent throughout the year. Gulas’ area was rocked with the incredible tag team of Terry Gordy and Michael Hayes, who then worked for Jarrett later in the year.

Both ends of the territory got their first look at Terry Bollea, unaware of the impact he would have on wrestling in years to come. A sassy Austin Idol made waves in the area as well while Jarrett used the team of Wayne Farris and Larry Latham in a wild program against Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee that eventually included Jackie Fargo and Jarrett himself to build crowds back in his area after an unsuccessful try to integrate a good deal of Knoxville-based talent into the western end of the territory. By mid-year the Knoxville talent returned there as the established Southeastern group was in the beginning stages of a promotional war against former Gulas stars Angelo, Lanny and Randy Poffo (Randy Savage), a group that Jarrett would eventually get to know well also. By year’s end though Gulas and Jarrett seemed to be working with each other more than they had since early 1977. A new year and decade was set to dawn and it would hold a number of surprises.

NEXT MONTH:

1980: Lawler (and Jarrett) have a "Bad Break"…"He’s A Soul Man"…One of wrestling’s great "sleepers" has a notable year…A "wildfire" gets out of control…Three area legends call it "quits", kind of…

Edsel Harrison, Mark Markley, Mike Rodgers, Scott Teal, Charles Warburton and David Williamson