April
of 1975
saw Wahoo
McDaniel
have his
strongest
month yet
as a
member of
Jim
Crockett's
roster.
Despite
not
holding a
championship
belt, the
Chief had
a truly
dominating
month in
April. The
two
singles
champions
of
Mid-Atlantic
Championship
Wrestling,
Johnny
Valentine
and Ric
Flair, had
unusual
months
during the
month of
April.
Valentine
traveled
outside of
the area
for a good
portion of
the month,
while
Flair had
an
inordinate
number of
tag team
matches in
April.
Gene and
Ole
Anderson,
the NWA
World Tag
Team
Champions,
continued
to have a
busy
schedule
of tag
matches in
the area
during the
month of
April.
Wahoo
McDaniel's
memorable
month of
April 1975
began with
one of the
Chief's
other
passions
in life
besides
wrestling,
as he
played
golf with
his buddy
Lee
Trevino on
April 2nd
as part of
the pro-am
portion of
the
Greater
Greensboro
Open PGA
event.
Wahoo
had a
memorable
match in
Charlotte,
North
Carolina
on April
5, 1975 in
the
Charlotte
Coliseum
against
NWA
World's
Heavyweight
Champion
Jack
Brisco.
Despite a
large
number of
near falls
by the
Chief
against
the World
Champion,
Wahoo had
to be
content
with a
sixty
minute
draw
against
Brisco.
This April
5th battle
between
Brisco and
Wahoo was
the World
Champ's
only title
defense in
the
Mid-Atlantic
area
during the
month of
April.
The
Chief was
active in
tag team
matches
this
month,
particularly
against
the NWA
World Tag
Team
Champions
Gene and
Ole
Anderson.
Wahoo
wrestled
against
the
Andersons
eight
times in
April,
four times
teaming
with Sonny
King and
three
times
tagging
with Paul
Jones. In
Norfolk,
Virginia
on April
10th,
Wahoo
teamed for
the first
time in
the area
with Rufus
R.
"Freight
Train"
Jones, as
the new
team had a
classic
battle
against
the
"Minnesota
Wrecking
Crew."
McDaniel
had a
significant
number of
outright
wins
against
Mid-Atlantic
Heavyweight
Champion
Johnny
"The
Champ"
Valentine
during the
month of
April.
While none
of these
victories
was with
the
Mid-Atlantic
Title on
the line,
Wahoo's
performances
did chip
away
somewhat
at the
aura of
invincibility
of
Valentine.
Certainly,
Valentine
had not
had a
month to
this point
in his
Mid-Atlantic
area stay
where he
had a more
challenging
series of
bouts from
his
closest
pursuers.
While
Valentine
had a
tough
month of
April
against
the likes
of Wahoo
and Paul
Jones,
"The
Champ"
spent a
significant
part of
the month
campaigning
outside of
the
Mid-Atlantic
area.
Early in
April of
1975,
Valentine
wrestled
in St.
Louis,
Dallas,
San
Antonio
and
Houston in
addition
to taking
some days
off.
Valentine
maintained
the
Mid-Atlantic
Heavyweight
Championship
for the
duration
of the
month of
April, but
he was not
at his
usual
dominating
best.
Mid-Atlantic
Television
Champion
Ric Flair
only
defended
his title
five times
during the
month of
April
1975. Two
of those
defenses
were back
to back
defenses
in
Charleston,
South
Carolina
on April
4th and
11th
respectively
against
Paul
Jones. Ken
Patera got
two title
shots
against
the
"Nature
Boy,"
in the
WRAL
studios on
April 16th
and in
Lynchburg,
Virginia
on April
18th. Abe
Jacobs
also tried
unsuccessfully
to wrest
the TV
Title from
Flair in
the WRAL
TV studios
on April
9th.
Rather
than
defending
his TV
Title,
Flair was
much more
active in
the tag
team ranks
during
April. Ric
was
involved
in a
whopping
twenty tag
matches
during the
month of
April, and
ten of
those were
with new
partner
Blackjack
Mulligan.
From
April 16th
to the end
of the
month,
giant
Haystacks
Calhoun
came into
the area
for a
quick two
week run,
and was
involved
in a match
of some
sort
nearly
every
night. In
that span,
Calhoun
wrested
ten times,
including
a wild
match in
Spartanburg,
South
Carolina
on April
26, 1975
where
Haystacks
teamed
with Rufus
R. Jones
against
the Super
Destroyer
and big
Blackjack
Mulligan.
Calhoun
also
served as
a special
referee
twice in
April,
including
being
referee in
a
Mid-Atlantic
Title
match
between
Paul Jones
and Johnny
Valentine
on April
29th in
Columbia,
South
Carolina.
NWA
World Tag
Team
Champions
Gene and
Ole
Anderson
wrestled
almost
exclusively
as a tag
team
during the
month of
April,
with both
Gene and
Ole having
only two
singles
matches
apiece
during the
month. On
the tag
team
front, the
Anderson's
had their
most title
defenses
in April
against
their
budding
nemeses
Paul Jones
and Wahoo
McDaniel.
But
overall,
the
Anderson's
faced the
new team
of Ken
Patera and
Sonny King
the most
during the
month of
April.
Rufus
R. Jones
made quite
an impact
in the
Mid-Atlantic
area
during his
first few
weeks in
the
territory.
The
"Freight
Train"
was
reintroduced
to the
area's
fans
during
April of
1975 after
being out
of the
area for
two years,
and he
immediately
became one
of the
territory's
most
popular
fan
favorites.
His
"head-butt"
was an
effective
weapon
against
many of
his early
foes in
Jim
Crockett
Promotions.
An example
of Rufus'
rapid rise
on the
cards can
immediately
be seen by
looking to
Charlotte,
North
Carolina
on
consecutive
Park
Center
cards. On
March
31st,
Rufus
started
back in
the
territory
with the
second
match
against
Frank
Morrell.
On the
next Park
Center
card,
which was
held on
April
14th,
Rufus
headlined
the card,
teaming
with Wahoo
against
Ric Flair
and Johnny
Valentine.
The
"Freight
Train"
had quite
an
impressive
month
during
April of
1975.
Like
Rufus,
another
relative
newcomer
used the
month of
April as a
major
springboard.
Blackjack
Mulligan
went from
an early
match
against
Charlie
Cook on a
March 31,
1975
Fayetteville,
NC card,
to
headlining
against
Wahoo
McDaniel
on April
28th in
Charlotte.
This
Charlotte
match
between
Mulligan
and
McDaniel
set in
place a
torrid
"Cowboy
versus
Indian"
feud that
would rage
throughout
the month
of May
1975, and
which
would
feature a
number of
specialty
matches.
Mulligan
also
battled
Dusty
Rhodes in
Greensboro,
NC twice
during the
month of
April, and
both
battles
were
rugged and
bloody
affairs.
While
April of
1975 did
not
produce
any title
changes,
its action
was the
precursor
of major
developments
that would
take place
in May
between
the
Anderson's
and the
team of
Paul Jones
and Wahoo
McDaniel.
April also
set the
table for
a short
bitter
feud
between
Wahoo and
Blackjack
Mulligan
that would
erupt in
May. But
above all
else,
April 1975
was the
month that
Wahoo
McDaniel's
star
shined the
brightest
in the
Mid-Atlantic
sky. Title
or not,
April of
1975 was
undoubtedly
Wahoo's
month on
top of the
heap in
Mid-Atlantic
Championship
Wrestling.
WHO'S
HOT
1.
WAHOO
McDANIEL---During
April,
Wahoo
closed in
on both
the NWA
World Tag
Team
Titles,
and also
the
Mid-Atlantic
Heavyweight
Title. The
Chief also
dished out
some of
the
toughest
whippings
to Johnny
Valentine
that
"The
Champ"
ever
endured
while
wrestling
for Jim
Crockett
Promotions.
2. RUFUS
R.
JONES---The
"Freight
Train"
quickly
moved from
opening
bouts to
main
events
during the
course of
the month
of April.
The way
the fans
flocked to
the
Dillon, SC
native was
amazing.
While
wrestling
mainly tag
matches in
April,
Rufus
would turn
more to
singles
competition
in the
months to
come.
3.
BLACKJACK
MULLIGAN---Mulligan
formed a
fearsome
tag team
with Ric
Flair
during
April, and
generally
looked
unstoppable
in his
bouts
during the
month. But
would the
"Cowboy"
meet his
match in
the
"Indian,"
Wahoo
McDaniel.
The month
of May
would tell
the tale.
WHO'S
NOT
1.
THE
AVENGER---The
popular
masked man
who was
headlining
cards
against
the Super
Destroyer
just a
month
before,
continued
to slip
down the
cards
during
April. As
an example
of how far
the
Avenger's
stock had
fallen by
the end of
the month,
on the
April 30,
1975
television
taping at
the WRAL
studios,
the
Avenger
was teamed
with
Charlie
Cook to
wrestle
the
ferocious
team of
Johnny
Valentine
and the
Super
Destroyer.
The
"bad
guys"
prevailed
with ease.
2. SWEDE
HANSON---April
continued
the
descent of
this
recent
main event
performer.
The big
Swede was
quickly
falling
from the
upper
mid-card
perch that
he was
occupying
since the
beginning
of 1975.
On the
same April
30, 1975
TV taping
referenced
above, the
promotion
teamed
Swede with
Don
Kernodle
against
Gene and
Ole
Anderson.
The tag
champs won
convincingly.
3. BRUTE
BERNARD---Brute
was still
entertaining
with his
antics in
the ring,
bit he was
quickly
becoming
less than
challenging
for the
younger
and bigger
"good
guys"
that were
now
operating
in the
territory.
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David
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/
Mid-Atlantic
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