September 7th in the Time Tunnel:
Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
Micheal James Penzel\Corporal Kirchner 1957
Happy Birthday:
George South (63)
Nora Greenwald\Molly Holly (48)
Colin Delaney (39)
RIP Memorial: We stop & remember those who have passed on this day and gave themselves to the business for us, the fans. We salute you and thank you.
Eduardo Perez 9-7-1989 at the age of 61
Frankie Talaber 9-7-1994 at the age of 82
Jean Kennedy\Gypsy Tanya at the age of 79
The Great Antonio 9-7-2003 at the age of 77
Billy Darnell 9-7-2007 at the age of 81
48-Year Flashback Year Flashback
9-7-1977: Greg Valentine defeated Wahoo McDaniel (ch) for the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship at the WRAL Television Studios in Raleigh, North Carolina
Every year or so, Booker George Scott would book a title change on television and this was such a case. Besides the unexpected title change also came a storyline injury to Wahoo.
Valentine, who carried the nickname "The Hammer" had his tag team partner, Ric Flair in his corner for the match. The feud between Valentine and McDaniel had been building throughout the year of 1977, centering around the title. Valentine had held the title after defeated McDaniel on June 11, 1977, but McDaniel had regained it on August 9th. The match on television was a rematch and borrowing from an angle his father, Johnny Valentine had used in the territory two years before in 1975, Greg Valentine put up 2,000 silver dollars against the title belt in the match. This was all to establish Greg as a vicious heel successor to his dad, who had retired due to a plane crash accident in October of 1975.
Pictured: Wahoo McDaniel (ch) vs Greg Valentine, September 7th, 1977, WRAL-TV, Raleigh, North Carolina
In the following weeks, Greg Valentine escalated the heat by wearing a custom black t-shirt reading "I Broke Wahoo's Leg" on the front and "No More Wahoo" on the back during TV appearances, arena shows and magazine photos. He claimed the shirts were made in Las Vegas and even threw change at Wahoo in one interview, mocking him about needing a wheelchair to get around. McDaniel was sidelined until November of 1977 when he returned to seek revenge, leading to a series of heated rematches into 1978. The match and angle drew massive heat for Valentine and sold millions in tickets to arena shows.
Pictured: Greg Valentine, NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion and iconic T-shirt
The T-shirt has become iconic in the last few years and fans still request autographs with the phrase and replicas are available for action figures.
One Thing I Learned Today About Pro Wrestling History
Greg "The Hammer" Valentine broke into the professional wrestling business having his first match in 1971.
Thank You for Reading
I'm Tony Richards, Pro Wrestling Historian, Author and Storyteller. I share pro wrestling historical items in each issue of the Time Tunnel Pro Wrestling History Newsletter. Thanks for reading! If you enjoy my information on select events, matches and insights, please share it with folks you think might like to be a subscriber!
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