The legends of
TV Wrestling!

All Star Wrestling

Harley Race

Wahoo McDaniel

Ernie Ladd!

Johnny Weaver

The Horsemen!

Dusty Rhodes

Magnum TA

George 'Two Ton' Harris

Tim Woods

Jimmy Garvin

Brute Bernard

Johnny Valentine

Nature Boy

Arn Anderson

The New Breed

Johnny Hunter

Terry Funk

Diamond Dan and Hoss

Rick Link

Bingham Brothers

... and more in John Hitchcock's
decades spanning look at
Mid-Atlantic Wrestling!  

 Talk about wasted youth - when the advertising for the Great American Bash first began I knew I had to be there. This promised to be quite a trip to Charlotte as it was an outdoor event and it was raining in Greensboro ninety miles away. Man, that show was a horror to get to but the weather got better as we got to the football stadium.

I mean we had to go; we already had paid for the tickets and it was going to be a huge show with Flair verses Nikita with David Crockett as special referee in the main event. We all felt very lucky because we had second row seats.

The parking was the ultimate nightmare, as we had to park about twelve blocks away on a side street and walk to the stadium I was sure we were going to be towed away but we went anyway. If they got me they would have to tow about two thousand cars so it was on to grappling heaven.

 As we got close to the event you could hear the crowd popping and the matches had started. Imagine that, they didn't hold the start for it's biggest fans! We did get our seats and we were sitting on the grass and in the mud.

This was going to be a real strange show.

The Road Warriors were fighting the Russians, Ivan and Crusher and we soon noticed that Road Warrior Hawk had eaten an orange for lunch. Why did I know that? Because he threw it up in the first twenty seconds of the match! Man, that was an ugly sight. Kind of made me a little hungry, so I ordered a chili dog.

Thes Russian/ Road Warrior feud was real hot and the fans really hated the commies. Heat was everywhere that night and it got really hairy when suddenly about fifteen Harley David son Hells Angels decided to kill Ivan and Crusher!

I am not kidding. These roughnecks just went though the crowd knocking people on their cans as they made their way towards the ring. It was a near riot situation and the Hells Angels started throwing bottles and beer cans at the Russians from ringside. I couldn't believe the hatred these guys showed.

I could see Ivan yelling at David Crockett to get some security up there to stop this madness. Fortunately, the Hells Angels decided to leave on their own because nobody was trying to stop them. If they would have gotten in the ring well then I might have just stood up and kicked some ass but as you folks know by now that I am a pussy and sober so everything seemed to fall in order.

 For a short while.

  Kamala the Ugandan Giant battled Magnum TA and, thank God, Uganda was not good friends with the USSR. Magnum won with another belly to belly finish that had been shown about a thousand times on television.

At last came the big main event with Flair verses Nikita.

Nikita was in the ring with his uncle Ivan Koloff while Flair arrived at the stadium in a helicopter. Man, what a way to enter a main event and the crowd loved it. Well, some of the crowd did.

That place was a nuthouse with fans in the crowd breaking into fistfights all over the stadium! The police would go into the crowd and use their billy clubs on them and drag the troublemakers out feet first. I can still remember the sound of people's heads banging down concrete steps as Charlotte 's finest yanked these people down the steps.

Come to think of it where were those same cops went Ivan and Crusher were getting killed?

 Maybe the cops believed the hype?

 The main event was a really great match until Ivan started to interfere then it got crazy again. I was sitting on the second row right on the outside isle and suddenly this crazed fan hit the ring! He tripped over me, I could have lied and said I tried to stop him but he went by in a blur. This guy ran right into the ring and gave Ivan a knee in the balls. Ivan doubled up yelling at David Crockett once again about the lack of security.

This guy would not back down so Nitkita went after him. Nitkita didn't catch him but the cops did and they kicked the shit out of this guy. It was brutal.

Now you know why I only hit the ring once in my career but that is another story. Flair won the match with the cheap help of Crockett but that was not the action I will remember.

 Next time,
We Have HERD Enough!

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