BLACKJACK MULLIGAN

 

THE INFERNOS FIREBALL LES THATCHER

 

HOMER'S IN HOT WATER

                                                                    October 31, 1964

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

THE KENTUCKIANS

TINY ANDERSON and BIG BOY BROWN

GEORGE BECKER

BRONCHO LUBICH and ALDO BOGNI

THE BEAST

GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS

RUDY KAYE

JESSE JAMES

The HOMER O'DELL gang may find their Halloween to be a haunting one tonight at the LEXINGTON YMCA when they face THE KENTUCKIANS, TINY ANDERSON and BIG BOY BROWN, and their hero partner GEORGE BECKER.

It's tonight's big main event.

Last Saturday night, O'DELL, after losing one fall to BECKER, tucked tail and ran like a scalded dog, bringing an abrupt ending to their match. Tonight, the 'COLONEL' will have his two rule breaking men, BRONCHO LUBICH and ALDO BOGNI, to cower behind during their SIX MAN TAG TEAM MATCH. O'DELL will need that protection in the best-of-three falls match, as BECKER wants another piece of HOMER's hide for his taking a powder last time. THE KENTUCKIANS have promised to look after BOGNI and LUBICH.

Another big crowd is expected to witness this big contest, as well as the three fine supporting matches on the card.

DOUG GILBERT will test PEDRO ZAPATA.

RUDY KAYE faces THE BEAST. *

JESSE JAMES squares off against GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS in the 8:15 opener.

* Rudy Kaye and The Beast were, in fact, brothers. Rudy's real name was Jean-Louis Cormier. The Beast was Yvon Cormier.

GENE KINISKI

 

MID-ATLANTIC WRESTLING WARS

 

TERRY KAY feels the wrath of KURT VON STEIGER.

LES THATCHER applies a headlock on RIP HAWK. That's referee ANGELO MARTINELLI, with THATCHER's partner JOHNNY RINGO in the background.

Referee TOMMY YOUNG looks as PAUL JONES applies a hammerlock on RIC FLAIR at CHARLOTTE's PARK CENTER.

A rare sight---referee SAM 'LUCKY' ROBERTS raises the hands of EL GAUCHO and TINKER TODD in victory.

P.Y. CHUNG has GEORGE BECKER at his mercy.

INFERNOS manager J.C. DYKES asks a poor fellow to check his shoe size.

JOHNNY WEAVER and DORY FUNK JR. battle for the NWA WORLD title.

"ROWDY" RODDY PIPER

 

CAROLINA CAT FIGHT

 

BELLE STARR makes her point to the hot crowd.

BARBARA and BELLE go at it while referee ANGELO MARTINELLI looks on.

BELLE got a kick out of this.

While just about every section of the country and every town in that section claims that they have the most rabid wrestling fans, few will argue the claim that the loudest and wildest of them all come from the Carolinas. What makes these fans so? Well, those wild and woolly matches that they are presented with week after week could be the reason.

A recent match between 'Blonde Venus' BARBARA NICHOLS and the saucy brunette, BELLE STARR, was an occasion for rejoicing as these two gals just plain don't like each other, and when they climbed through the ropes to do battle, the sparks really flew.

As actions and pictures speak louder than words - we will let the photos tell the story.

From a 1969 WRESTLING REVUE article by Gene Gordon.

DINO BRAVO AND MR. WRESTLING (TIM WOODS)

 

TOTAL BRUTALITY

            GENE ANDERSON and ART NELSON versus RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON

TEXAS DEATH MATCH

No Disqualification...No Time Limit. Falls don't count. The winner is determined only when one team is unable to continue.

Just consider climbing into the wrestling ring to face any of these individuals...you can count me out!

But imagine, after pairing them up, these four would go at it until the opposing team was beaten down so badly they couldn't go any more.

That's exactly what happened one wrestling night in 1972 in GREENVILLE, S.C.

At this point, GENE ANDERSON has RIP HAWK in a compromising situation.

Big SWEDE HANSON evens things up.

The match now taking its toll on everyone.

Especially RIP (that 'Profile' may be changed permanently).

But as HARLEY RACE stated at NWA FANFEST 2007, "Pound for pound, RIP HAWK was as tough as anyone who was ever in the wrestling business."

ART NELSON took a beating as well.

Referee SAM 'LUCKY' ROBERTS looks on.

GENE GORDON witnessed the match and gave the following account..."I believe this TEXAS DEATH MATCH was the roughest, most vicious and bloody match I had seen in many years, and I go all the way back to the likes of COWBOY LUTTRELL, DANNY McSHANE and STRANGLER BOB WAGNER. There was not a lot of wrestling. It was more like something out of the days of the Roman gladiators who battled to the death. No one paid any attention to any of the normal rules. The referee was knocked down several times and thrown to the floor once. He wanted to stop the match but couldn't under the stipulations. All four wrestlers looked like they had been run through a sausage grinder. They were so exhausted they could hardly leave the ring at the end. I saw one woman faint and a few others left in disgust, unable to stand the brutality and gore. I know I'll never forget it."

THE MONGOLS with MGR. GEORGE "CRY BABY" CANNON

 

BACK TO THE SEVENTIES

 

BLACKJACK MULLIGAN's "claw" does in another opponent.

RIC FLAIR stomps on THUNDERBOLT PATTERSON.

JERRY "CRUSHER" BLACKWELL ties up an adversary.

JERRY and JACK BRISCO clown for the camera.

GENE ANDERSON receives a GREG VALENTINE leg drop.

GREG VALENTINE on the receiving end of a WAHOO MCDANIEL chop.

After a match, nothing like a big cigar and good wrestling magazine for the "NATURE BOY".

ART NELSON

 

SCOTTS AND DEMONS

                                                                       June 25, 1966

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

58 Years Ago

A big tag team battle, matching two swift-moving teams against one another, headlines tonight's four bout card at the LEXINGTON YMCA starting at 8:15.

The FLYING SCOTTS, GEORGE and SANDY, will take a crack at the hooded terror duo of THE MASKED RED DEMONS.

The SCOTT brothers are known for their fantastic aerial maneuvers, while the DEMONS are gaining a local reputation for having no regard for law and order. They conceal their identities behind crimson masks and have been racking up a huge win streak since arriving in this wrestling area. GEORGE and SANDY will try to derail this runaway freight train in the best two-out-of-three fall contest. They have a one hour time limit to do it.

JAN MADRID, a strutting bully, returns after a long absence to run head-on into the able ABE JACOBS in tonight's semi-final match.

GEORGE 'CATALINA' DRAKE meets ALEX MEDINA in a one-fall encounter.

KEN HOLLIS battles TONY NERO in the evening's first match.

ABE JACOBS

 

BOILING POINT

                                                                     January 21, 1963

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

60 Years Ago

The stage is set for one of the biggest matches in the history of Charlotte professional wrestling since its debut here thirty years ago. And tonight's the night.

This match, which has building to a climax for several months now, pits the team of THE GREAT BOLO and BOLO against THE KENTUCKIANS, BIG BOY BROWN and TINY ANDERSON.

Special rules have been set for this match to insure that the BOLO team does not duck and run as they did at PARK CENTER two weeks ago. Ten wrestlers will be stationed around the ring to keep all four participants within the roped boundaries. THE KENTUCKIANS, the big fan favorites, will have two-out-of-three falls and one hour to not only defeat the hooded villains, but to unmask them and reveal their identities to the huge crowd which is expected to be in attendance.

"In the wrestling business, we call this a LUMBERJACK MATCH," said promoter JIM CROCKETT as time grows near for the big event. "No one will be able to escape if things aren't going their way."

A gigantic undercard is set for tonight's CHARLOTTE COLISEUM scene of the big showdown.

GEORGE BECKER and BILLY TWO RIVERS head it up, going against big IKE EAKINS and rugged PANCHO VILLA in the best-of-three falls semi-final tag team contest.

In single fall bouts scheduled, popular young JOHNNY WEAVER faces the Oriental villain P.Y. CHUNG.

LUTHER LINDSAY takes on EDDIE GOLD.

JOHNNY "RUBBERMAN" WALKER clashes with Japan's HOSHINO SATO.

And to add even more excitement, PENNY BANNER will face BRENDA SCOTT in a special ladies event.

A huge crowd is expected at the CHARLOTTE COLISEUM tonight, but as of press time, there were some good seats still available, according to CROCKETT.

The starting time tonight is 8:15 sharp.

TERRY FUNK

 

TWO LEGENDARY CROCKETT TEAMS TANGLE

                                                                   January 30, 1965

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

Action galore is on tap for professional wrestling fans fortunate enough to attend

the big card tonight at the LEXINGTON YMCA starting at 8:15.

GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT, known world-wide as THE FLYING SCOTTS, and victorious here last Saturday, will face long-time rivals RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON, wrestling's BLONDE BOMBERS, in the featured two-out-of-three-falls main event.

A top semifinal match is scheduled with popular young JOHNNY WEAVER taking on rugged ex-footballer MIKE PAIDOUSUS.

Two other singles matches will round out the program when Indian star CHIEF BIG HEART faces MIKE VALENTINO *, and TONY NERO will face a newcomer to Lexington when he squares off against THE ALASKAN (JAY YORK).

GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT

MIKE PAIDOUSUS

MIKE VALENTINO

JOHNNY WEAVER

RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON

* MIKE VALENTINO wrestled in the WWWF as BARON MIKEL SCICLUNA.

LES THATCHER

 

INFERNOS AND INDIANS

                                                                    November 11, 1967

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

THE INFERNOS

with Manager J. C. DYKES

CHIEF LITTLE EAGLE

BOBBY RED CLOUD

"Failure to continue" will determine the winner when top professional tag teams are matched for the fifth time in recent weeks in tonight's main event mat feature at the LEXINGTON YMCA.

It will be a TEXAS DEATH MATCH tonight when the popular Indian combo of CHIEF LITTLE EAGLE and BOBBY RED CLOUD clash with the dreaded masked duo of THE INFERNOS. In this match, falls will not count. There is NO DISQUALIFICATION and NO TIME LIMIT. The match will proceed until one of the teams is incapable of participating. This is pro wrestling's version of a "fight to the finish".

THE INFERNOS will have their red-headed manager, J. C. DYKES, in their corner. He will, no doubt, have with him his metal canteen and loud whistle. The canteen, DYKES claims, is for "refreshment" purposes for his masked men, but fans have seen J. C. use it as a weapon in the past. The whistle is to give instructions to THE INFERNOS during their match. But lately, fans have been bringing their own whistles to the matches, causing confusion between the manager and his wrestlers.

TEX McKENZIE

NELSON ROYAL

P. Y. CHUNG

HARU SASAKI

The co-feature on tonight's card is for two-out-of-three falls and will send the torrid Texan team of fan favorites TEX McKENZIE and NELSON ROYAL against the sly and crafty Oriental combo of P. Y. CHUNG and HARU SASAKI. A definite clash of cultures is present here.

BOB NANDOR

Popular RUDY KAYE meets TINY MILLS, and spectacular BOB NANDOR takes on newcomer STEVE STANLEY in the evening's single matches.

MILLS, much larger than his nickname implies, returns after a long absence.

The first bell is at 8:15.

THE ROCK 'N' ROLL EXPRESS (RICKY MORTON AND ROBERT GIBSON)