The
night of May 1, 1981 provided
plenty of excitement and
historic moments for the many
Mid-Atlantic faithful that
packed the Richmond Coliseum
this night. An NWA World’s
Title changed hands, and several
out of town stars were flown in
to bolster an already strong
lineup. The bouts were
significant and entertaining
from top to bottom, sure
ingredients for a Top 15 card!
MAIN EVENT---Paul Jones &
The Masked Superstar (Champions)
vs. Gene & Ole Anderson
(Challengers) for the NWA World’s
Tag Team Titles.
The rather unlikely duo of
Paul Jones and The Masked
Superstar had held the NWA World’s
Tag Team Titles for
approximately five months
leading up to this match. Jones
and Superstar had both done
separate baby face turns in the
late summer of 1980, and had
started teaming soon thereafter.
In February of 1981, Ole
Anderson came back to the
Mid-Atlantic area to join his
brother Gene, who had been a
manager for the last year or so.
The "Minnesota Wrecking
Crew" was back together!
Despite Gene looking dreadfully
old, slow and overweight, the
"Wrecking Crew" got an
immediate hard push.
We in Richmond knew something
was likely up by the way this
match was promoted. A weirdly
worded stipulation of "the
titles can change hands only on
a pin fall or submission"
was later "amended" in
the pre-match interviews to be a
"winner take all"
match. One just got the sense
that a major title change was
coming.
Sure enough, Gene and Ole
would become champions again!
Ole handled the bulk of the
match for his team. In classic
Anderson fashion, Gene and Ole
did an impressive job of
punishing the arms of both Jones
and Superstar. The "good
guys" had their moments as
well, and the match was a fairly
long one, particularly
considering the poor condition
of Gene.
This match marked the end of
the Jones/Superstar combination,
and interestingly enough would
be the last reign of Gene and
Ole as NWA World Tag Team
Champions. Gene would be injured
within several months time,
effectively dissolving for good
the greatest team in
Mid-Atlantic Championship
Wrestling history.
Ivan Koloff (Champion) vs.
Dusty Rhodes (Challenger) for
the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight
Title.
Dusty was very close in time
to winning the NWA World’s
Heavyweight Title. Rhodes was
one of a number of stars that
Jim Crockett was bringing into
the area during this time frame.
Some would not stay around long
(Rhodes, Austin Idol, Mr.
Wrestling # 2, the Russians,
Angelo Mosca). Others would come
in and remain fixtures in the
area for years (Jimmy Valiant,
Wahoo McDaniel).
Ivan Koloff was embroiled in
a feud with Ric Flair at this
time, where Koloff had attacked
Ric from behind with the
assistance of the Anderson’s
and Roddy Piper.
No one expected Rhodes to win
the Mid-Atlantic title, and the
match ended predictably with
Koloff being disqualified and
retaining his title. However,
the action was outstanding and
truly showcased two of the
greatest attractions in
professional wrestling. And this
was just the semi-final match of
the evening!
Sweet Ebony Diamond
(Champion) vs. Greg Valentine
(Challenger) for the NWA
Television Title.
This match between Diamond
(Rocky Johnson) and Valentine
was another chapter in a long
running program between these
two over the vacant television
title. The two had several
inconclusive matches on
Mid-Atlantic television. Diamond
actually defeated Valentine in
the WRAL studios for the TV
title on the Wednesday night
before their match in Richmond
on Friday night. The
Mid-Atlantic fans would not see
that result until they turned on
their TV sets the following
Saturday, the next day after
their match at the Coliseum.
This bout was another strong
one between these two, with
Diamond’s superior athleticism
really showing through.
Valentine was not able to hold
his composure while facing
Diamond’s onslaught, and was
disqualified giving the victory
to Diamond. This match was not
particularly long, but was a
highly entertaining encounter
between these two with
distinctly different wrestling
styles.
Ric Flair vs. Angelo Mosca
When was the last time you
remember Ric Flair during this
time frame having the FOURTH
match from the top!! Ric was
less than five months away from
his first reign as NWA World’s
Heavyweight Champion, but at
this juncture he was embroiled
in a feud with Ivan Koloff.
Mosca, now referred to as
"King Kong," was not a
regular in the area at this
time, and ironically he and
Flair were often tag team
partners during Mosca’s
previous stint in the
Mid-Atlantic area.
This was an extremely stiff
match, with Flair content to
slug it out with the bigger
Mosca for the victory.
Preliminary Matches
Dewey Robertson from Canada
defeated Ricky Harris.
Ironically Harris, later
referred to as "Black
Bart," would ultimately
become the bigger star for Jim
Crockett Promotions.
Swede Hanson, very close to
the end of his lengthy
Mid-Atlantic career, pinned
Richmond’s very own Cy
Jernigan.
The opening bout saw two
legendary Mid-Atlantic
underneath performers go at it as Frank Monte defeated
Charlie Fulton.
_____________________
Next Up: Number 11 (February
18, 1977)
|