The
month of February 1975
provided Mid-Atlantic
Wrestling fans tons of
hot action, despite
the frigid weather.
From the first days of
February, where ice
and snow played havoc
with cards as far
south as Columbia,
South Carolina, to the
last days of the month
where there was the
promise of spring in
the air, February 1975
provided us with a
wealth of fantastic
memories.
Anderson
Brothers Make First
Defense of NWA World
Tag Team Championships;
also win Mid-Atlantic
titles.
Early
in the month of
February, February 7th
to be exact, Gene and
Ole Anderson made the
first defense of their
recently won NWA
World's Tag Team
Titles in Richmond,
Virginia against the
tandem of Wahoo
McDaniel and Sonny
King. In that match,
as well as in the rest
of their title
defenses through the
month, the Anderson's
successfully defended
their titles. By the
end of the month, the
Anderson's began
facing the formidable
duo of Paul Jones and
Wahoo McDaniel, a team
that would become a
thorn in the sides of
the Anderson's through
much of 1975.
The
Andersons also won the
Mid-Atlantic Tag Team
Championships
defeating the team of
Paul Jones and Tiger
Conway Jr. in
Greensboro on February
20th.
History
Made in Winston-Salem:
Ric
Flair wins his First
Singles Championship
A
MID-ATLANTIC GATEWAY
EXCLUSIVE
February
of 1975 was a historic
month for "Nature
Boy" Ric Flair.
On February 8, 1975,
Flair took the measure
of "Number
One" Paul Jones
by winning the
Mid-Atlantic
Television Title from
Jones in
Winston-Salem, North
Carolina. Although
widely reported as
happening later in
1975, this was Ric
Flair's first ever
singles title in
professional
wrestling. After
winning the TV title
from Jones, Flair
defended his new title
successfully in a
series of title bouts
with Tiger Conway
later during the month
of February. Ric also
wrestled Dusty Rhodes
in Greensboro, North
Carolina on February
20, 1975, starting a
feud between the two
that was confined
primarily to
Greensboro for the
next few years, but
one that would become
much wider in scope in
the years to come. For
much more information
on Ric Flair's TV
Title victory, see the
"February 1975
Spotlight"
article that is
included with this
month's materials.
A
major newcomer
appeared on the scene
in February of 1975,
and his name was Ken
Patera. Soft
spoken and friendly,
Ken made his first
appearance on
Mid-Atlantic
television on February
12, 1975. The
promotion hyped his
Olympic weightlifting
background, and
promoted Patera as
"The World's
Strongest
Wrestler." Before
long, Patera would be
performing feats of
strength for fans in
the area that were
quite amazing. But in
February, Patera
wrestled primarily in
mid-card matches and
dominated them. The
strongman from Oregon
would take off in
earnest in the month
of March.
Johnny
"The Champ"
Valentine
continued to maintain
a stranglehold on the
Mid-Atlantic
Heavyweight Title
during the month of
February, despite a
number of grueling
defenses against Paul
Jones, Sonny King and
Wahoo McDaniel.
Valentine also
maintained his 2,000
silver dollars in his
continuing
"challenge"
matches on
Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wrestling
television; however,
the opponents in these
TV matches were less
than stellar. Johnny
suffered a rare defeat
in the month of
February when he lost
a brutal Indian Strap
Match to Wahoo
McDaniel in Hampton,
Virginia on February
15th.
The
battles between the
Super Destroyer and
the Avenger were
as hot as ever, as
this great feud
between the masked
wrestlers expanded
into the month of
February 1975. In
fact, the matches
between these two were
never as even as they
were in the month of
February, as in
several towns around
the territory the two
went to sixty-minute
time limit draws. In
many of these matches,
the promotion made the
Super D. post a cash
bond to ensure that he
would not run out of
the ring when the
action got too hot and
heavy! While the bouts
between these two in
February were highly
competitive, the
upcoming month of
March would prove to
be a decisive turning
point to this classic
feud.
Feb.
20th An Interesting
Night In Mid-Atlantic
History
In
addition to the
Greensboro card
mentioned previously,
Thursday, February
20th was also a
significant date for
the promotion in both
Norfolk, Virginia and
Charlotte, North
Carolina. In Norfolk,
the promotion
interestingly renewed
an old feud that was
rooted in 1974, and
was over in almost
everybody's mind.
Bearcat Wright was
brought back to the
area to team with his
brother Sonny King, to
avenge Bearcat's 1974
injuries at the hands
of the Super Destroyer
and Johnny Valentine.
In mid 1974, when
Johnny Valentine put a
bounty on Bearcat's
head and the Super D.
collected it, Sonny
King came to the
Mid-Atlantic area to
get retribution for
his brother. This
angle was played out
for a number of months
in 1974, but had
pretty much run its
course by February of
1975. Thus, it was a
big surprise to see
Bearcat return for
this
"revenge"
match, and for a
couple of others in
the month of March.
The grudge matches
between these four had
inconclusive endings,
and this 1974 angle
finally expired for
good in March of 1975.
February
20, 1975 was an
amazing night in
Charlotte, NC for Jim
Crockett Promotions.
On this night, the
upstart International
Wrestling Alliance
(IWA)
"invaded"
the Charlotte Coliseum
and put on a major
card there in hopes of
beginning a takeover
of the Mid-Atlantic
area. Starting in
Charlotte so early,
the hub of
Mid-Atlantic
Championship
Wrestling, was an
extremely bold and
assertive move by the
IWA. The IWA card on
this night included
stars like Ivan
Koloff, Thunderbolt
Patterson, Dino Bravo
and the Mighty Igor,
wrestlers who had made
(or would subsequently
make) major impacts in
Jim Crockett
Promotions.
Jim
Crockett, Jr. took the
threat of the IWA
seriously, and decided
to confront the threat
head on. As a result,
Crockett ALSO
scheduled a major card
on Thursday night,
February 20, 1975 at
Charlotte's Park
Center to go directly
up against the IWA,
sandwiched between his
normal Thursday Park
Center cards that ran
on February 17th and
February 24th. And Jim
Crockett made sure
this February 20th
card was not just
another card! In
addition to a main
event of Gene and Ole
Anderson against the
"dream team"
of Paul Jones and
Wahoo McDaniel,
Crockett brought in
Dusty Rhodes, Harley
Race and Haystacks
Calhoun to bolster
this line up. Yes, as
of February 20, 1975,
the battle between the
IWA and Jim Crockett
Promotions for control
of the Mid-Atlantic
area had been joined.
It was equally clear
that from this date
and for about six
months thereafter, Jim
Crockett would do
everything necessary
to run the IWA out of
his territory.
Even
more amazing was the
fact that Crockett
held a card that same
evening in Greensboro
(mentioned earlier)
where many of the
wrestlers were
double-booked,
including the Anderson
Brothers who had an
amazing night. They
defeated Paul Jones
and Tiger Conway to
win (and subsequently
retire) the
Mid-Atlantic Tag Team
Titles and then
quickly drove to
Charlotte and successfully
defended their NWA
World Tag titles
against Jones and
McDaniel.)
February
of 1975 was eventful
for any number of
reasons, and provided
several historic
"firsts" for
the promotion and its
wrestlers. But the
upcoming month of
March would not
disappoint either,
bring in with it two
of the biggest new
stars in the history
of Mid-Atlantic
Championship
Wrestling!
WHO'S
HOT
1.
RIC FLAIR---The Nature
Boy notched what would
be the first of many
career singles titles
this month. Ric showed
in his subsequent
successful title
defenses against Tiger
Conway, that his title
victory was no fluke.
2. KEN PATERA---The
"World's
Strongest
Wrestler"
steamrolled through
all of his opponents
in the month of
February. But could
the newcomer keep this
pace up as the
opposition got
stronger?
3. GENE AND OLE
ANDERSON---The
Minnesota Wrecking
Crew were very
impressive in their
first full month as
NWA World Tag Team
Champs. By the end of
the month, Gene and
Ole were gearing up
for the formidable
challenge of Paul
Jones and Wahoo
McDaniel.
WHO'S
NOT
1.
BRUTE BERNARD---The
"unpredictable
one" no longer
had the Super
Destroyer behind him
during the month of
February. While still
an entertaining
character, the Brute
was no longer logging
victories in a regular
fashion any more.
2. TIGER
CONWAY---Losses were
creeping in more
frequently for Tiger
in February, to the
point that he was very
close to slipping into
mid-card status by the
end of the month.
3. PAUL
JONES---Reeling from
his TV Title loss to
Ric Flair,
"Number One"
began to focus more on
a budding tag team
with Wahoo McDaniel.
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©
2002 David Chappell
/ Mid-Atlantic
Gateway
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