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Jim
Crockett
Promotions
put on a
holiday
spectacular
at the
Richmond
Coliseum
on
Monday
night,
December
27, 1976
that the
fans
that
were
there
and
witnessed
it would
never
forget.
The fact
that the
card was
held on
a Monday
night
was
perhaps
a sign
that
something
big
might be
in
store,
as
Richmond's
wrestling
cards
were
regularly
held on
Friday
nights.
Additionally,
there
was a
three-week
buildup
to this
card
where
typically
Richmond
had a
card
every
week. As
it would
turn
out, the
big
buildup
was
justified,
as fans
on this
historic
night
saw the
greatest
feud in
Mid-Atlantic
Championship
Wrestling
end, and
in the
same
match,
breathed
a
collective
sigh of
relief
when
their
greatest
hero
prevailed
and
would be
able to
return
to the
Coliseum
and
wrestle
again.
MAIN
EVENT---Blackjack
Mulligan
versus
Paul
Jones
for
Mulligan's
United
States
Heavyweight
Title.
While
a
terrific
bout,
this
match
would
pale in
comparison
to the
semi-final
match
that
preceded
it. This
Mulligan-Jones
tussle
saw
tremendous
heat
between
these
two, as
it came
on the
heels of
Mulligan
having
the U.S.
belt
returned
to him
two
weeks
earlier
by NWA
President
Eddie
Graham.
Mulligan
had
filed a
protest
with
Graham
after it
appeared
Jones
had
beaten
him in a
match
for the
U.S.
Title,
but it
was
ruled
that
Jones'
feet
were
outside
the ring
ropes
when he
pinned
Mulligan.
Paul was
furious,
saying
that
Blackjack
had
resorted
to a
"technicality"
to save
the U.S.
belt.
Mulligan
countered
saying
that
"the
rules
apply to
everyone."
In
this
main
event
battle,
Jones
came out
red-faced
and
determined,
attacking
Mulligan
with a
flurry
of
closed
fists
before
Blackjack
even
took his
championship
belt
off.
Paul
then
choked
Blackjack
with
Mully's
own vest
and it
appeared
that
Mulligan
would
retain
the U.S.
Title by
disqualification
before
the
match
even
officially
started!
"Number
One"
followed
up on
his
initial
advantage
and
stayed
on top
of
Blackjack
during
the
early
portion
of the
match.
It
appeared
early on
that
Jones
would
recapture
the
title
that
Eddie
Graham
had just
given
back to
Blackjack.
However,
around
the
ten-minute
mark
Mulligan
caught
Jones
and
threw
him
through
the ring
ropes
and Paul
hit the
floor
hard.
Mulligan
dominated
Jones on
the
outside,
and
threw a
weakened
Jones
back
into
ring and
soon
thereafter
was able
to put
his claw
hold on
Jones.
While
Paul
survived
the
claw, he
never
seemed
to fully
recover
from its
effects.
As
the
match
wore on,
Jones
became
enraged
when he
could
not get
Mulligan
to
submit
to his
Indian
Death
Lock leg
hold.
After
the
referee
broke
the hold
for the
third
time,
Jones
rushed
Mulligan
who was
slumped
in the
corner
of the
ring and
tore
into
him. The
referee
could
not pull
Jones
off of
Mulligan,
and
after
about a
minute
of this
had to
call for
the
bell,
disqualifying
Jones.
Paul's
volatile
temper
got the
better
of him,
and
while
Jones
clearly
won this
battle,
he lost
the war
in that
he did
not
capture
the
United
States
Title on
a night
where he
without
question
was the
better
man.
As
history
would
have it,
Paul
Jones
would
never
again
hold the
United
States
Title
that had
meant so
much to
him in
1975 and
1976. In
fact,
this
bout was
one of
the last
between
Jones
and
Mulligan
over the
U.S
belt, as
Jones
would
leave
the area
in early
1977 and
by the
time he
came
back in
the
summer
of 1977,
Mulligan
had lost
the U.S.
Title to
Bobo
Brazil.
In my
mind,
this was
the last
great
match
between
these
two in
what was
an
outstanding
feud
over the
United
States
Heavyweight
Title.
SEMI-FINAL---Ric
Flair
versus
Wahoo
McDaniel
for
Flair's
Mid-Atlantic
Heavyweight
Title. Stipulations:
No Time
Limit,
No
Disqualification,
There
Must Be
A
Winner,
and
Wahoo
would
never
wrestle
in
Richmond
again if
he
didn't
win the
title.
This
match
"stole
the
show"
and was
really
what
packed
the
Coliseum
on this
cold
late
December
night.
Ric and
Wahoo
had a
number
of
classic
confrontations
during
1976,
but none
of them
had the
stipulation
that had
all the
fans on
edge
this
night.
If Wahoo
didn't
win the
belt, he
would
never be
able to
wrestle
in
Richmond
again.
Everyone
who
entered
the
Coliseum
knew
that
when
they
left the
building,
they
would
either
be
euphoric
with
Wahoo
being
the new
Mid-Atlantic
Heavyweight
Champion,
or
crestfallen
knowing
they had
seen
Wahoo
wrestle
his last
match in
Richmond.
With
these
stipulations,
there
would be
no
"in
between"
emotions
after
this
bout was
over.
Bill
Janosik
Photo
The
"Nature
Boy"
entered
the ring
cockier
than
ever, as
the
night
before
he had
become
one half
of the
NWA
World
Tag Team
Champions
with
partner
Greg
Valentine.
Even
before
the
referee
had
finished
giving
the
wrestlers
their
instructions,
Ric
reached
over and
slapped
Wahoo in
the
face.
The
"Chief"
retaliated
in kind,
and the
match
got off
to a
rousing
start.
Wahoo
controlled
much of
the
early
going
with his
patented
chops,
keeping
Ric off
guard
and
making
it
difficult
for the
champion
to mount
much of
an
offense.
The tide
didn't
turn
appreciably
until
Flair
utilized
a
foreign
object
and cut
Wahoo on
the
forehead
badly.
The
Nature
Boy
taunted
the
enraged
crowd,
seemingly
having
Wahoo on
the
verge of
defeat.
At this
point,
Ric was
even
able to
get on
the
house
mic,
telling
the
crowd
that
they
better
say
goodbye
to Wahoo
forever.
Flair
then
looked
at a
bloodied
Wahoo
and
yelled,
"bye
bye
Wahoo."
But
Flair
made a
fatal
mistake
of
giving
the
proud
Indian a
chance
to
recoup,
and
Wahoo
hit
Flair
with a
low blow
and
immediately
threw
Flair
over the
top
rope. In
any
other
match,
Wahoo
would
have
been
disqualified
for such
a
tactic,
but in
this no
DQ match
this
maneuver
gave the
Chief an
advantage
he would
never
relinquish.
While
outside
of the
ring,
Wahoo
rammed
Flair's
head
into one
of the
ring
posts,
bloodying
Ric's
head
badly.
When the
two
finally
got back
into the
ring,
both
were
bloody
messes
but the
intensity
of the
match
even
intensified!
From
this
point
on, the
battle
was
ferocious
as Wahoo
chopped
and
Flair
punched.
Finally,
the
Chief
was able
to catch
Flair in
position
for a
devastating
suplex,
and from
there
followed
up for a
clean
pinfall
victory!
While
the
noise
from the
Coliseum
crowd
was
deafening
as Wahoo
was
presented
with the
prized
Mid-Atlantic
Heavyweight
Championship
belt,
there
was also
mixed in
with all
that
noise a
huge
sigh of
relief
that
Wahoo
would be
coming
back to
Richmond
again to
wrestle.
This
match
between
Wahoo
and
Flair
ended
their
epic
feud
over the
Mid-Atlantic
Title
that
began in
the
summer
of 1975.
While
the two
would
still
wrestle
periodically
over the
next
decade,
this
match
marked
the end
of
arguably
the
greatest
program
in
Mid-Atlantic
Championship
Wrestling
history.
After
this
classic
bout in
Richmond,
Ric
Flair
would
never
again
hold the
Mid-Atlantic
Title,
and for
the next
few
months
thereafter
concentrated
on being
one half
of the
World
Tag Team
Champions.
Wahoo
would
use this
match as
the
springboard
for his
most
dominating
period
while in
Jim
Crockett
Promotions,
holding
the
Mid-Atlantic
Title
for the
first
half of
1977 in
ultra
impressive
fashion.
This
match in
many
respects
set the
course
for the
promotion
for the
highly
successful
year of
1977.
Greg
Valentine
versus
Tiger
Conway
Like
his
buddy
Ric
Flair,
Valentine
was
riding
high
when he
entered
the
Coliseum
this
night.
After
being in
the area
for only
three
months,
Valentine
was now
one half
of the
NWA
World
Tag Team
Champions.
Most in
attendance
didn't
seem to
give
Tiger
Conway
much of
a chance
in this
match.
Tiger
almost
surprised
us all!
This
match
rivaled
the
Flair-Wahoo
match in
many
respects.
It was
that
good.
While
Tiger
was an
upper
mid-card
competitor
at this
point in
time, he
clearly
brought
his
"A"
game to
the
Coliseum
this
night.
And
perhaps
Valentine
was a
bit
overconfident.
At any
rate,
Tiger
dominated
the
majority
of this
match
and
captured
an
untold
number
of near
falls on
the
"Hammer."
Bill
Janosik
Photo
The
bout
between
these
two was
a
classic
contrast
in
styles,
with
Tiger
pushing
a fast
pace
with
maneuvers
off the
mat,
while
Valentine
was slow
and
methodical
and
tried to
beat
Tiger
into
submission.
While
Tiger's
style
prevailed
for the
majority
of the
lengthy
bout, he
seemed
to tire
more
than
Greg as
the
match
wore on.
A
fatigued
Conway
fell
victim
to a
vicious
kick to
the
abdomen,
and from
there a
devastating
bionic
elbow
from
Valentine
while
perched
on the
second
turnbuckle
ended
Tiger's
night.
While
the
outcome
of the
match
may not
have
been
surprising,
the
match
itself
was
outstanding
and
tremendously
competitive.
Dino
Bravo/Ken
Patera/Cowboy
Frankie
Lane
versus
Sgt.
Jacques
Goulet/Crusher
Blackwell/Brute
Bernard
For
sheer
non-stop
action,
this may
have
been the
best
match of
the
night.
It was
definitely
entertaining.
Six man
tags
were not
terribly
commonplace
at this
time,
and the
match
itself
in this
format
was a
treat.
Ken
Patera
was not
a
Mid-Atlantic
regular
at this
time,
but he
was
welcomed
back
warmly
by the
Coliseum
fans.
Dino
Bravo
seemed
to spend
the
longest
stints
in the
ring,
and Dino
ultimately
got the
win for
the
"good
guys"
by
taking
the fall
on Brute
Bernard,
who
looked
old and
feeble
in this
match.
The
most
impressive
wrestler
in this
match
though,
was
Crusher
Blackwell.
Performing
maneuvers
that
belied
his huge
size,
Blackwell's
agility
amazed
those in
attendance.
While he
ended up
on the
losing
team,
the big
man
raised
more
than a
few
eyebrows
on this
night.
Other
Matches
The
veteran
Danny
Miller
won by
submission
over a
surprisingly
tough
Doug
Somers.
This was
a
competitive
match,
with
Somers
coming
very
close to
pulling
the
upset.
Was it
the
young
Somers
improving,
or the
older
Miller
continuing
to
slide?
Probably
a little
bit of
both.
Tony
Russo
got the
win over
young
Joey
Rossi,
and any
pinfall
win by
Tony
Russo
was of
note.
Tony
just
didn't
win
often!
Rossi
always
seemed
to give
maximum
effort,
as he
did this
night,
but he
could
never
seem to
get over
the
hump.
The
curtain
raiser
pitted
Richmond's
favorite
"bad
guy"
George
"Two
Ton"
Harris
battling
Francisco
Flores.
"Two
Ton"
was at
his
best,
and got
the
massive
crowd
geared
up for
what
would be
an
historic
night of
wrestling
as only
he could
do.
Flores
won the
match;
"Two
Ton"
won our
emotions.
Next
Up #
7---July
14, 1978
|
Listen
to
the
Audio
Promos for
this
card:
The
Complete
Line-Up
from Ed
Capral
Ric
Flair
vs. Wahoo
McDaniel
Blackjack
Mulligan
vs. Paul
Jones
See
photos
from the
Valentine-Conway
match in
Richmond
in the Bill
Janosik
Photo
Album.
Read
all
about
the big
angles
that led
up to
this
huge
card in
Richmond
in the Mid-Atlantic
Wrestling
Almanac
for the 4th
Quarter
of 1976
|