May 8 in the Tunnel:
Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
King Kong Cox 1902
Happy Birthday:
Truth Martini (50)
Stephen Amell (44)
Tommaso Ciampa (40)
Iyo Sky (35)
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.
Fred Ward 5-8-1992 at the age of 78
Guy Brunetti 5-8-2005 at the age of 75
Judy Grable 5-8-2008 at the age of 83
Big Bully Busick 5-8-2018 at the age of 63
Two 50-Year Championship Change Flashbacks:
5-7-1975: Ken Mantell defeated Ronnie Garvin (CH) to win the NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship at Independence Hall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
*Tony Note:
Pictured: Ken Mantell, NWA World junior Heavyweight Champion
Ken Mantell's most memorable program as NWA World Jr Heavyweight Champion was against the masked wrestler, The Wrestling Pro (Ed Baxter) which was booked in the Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling office in Mobile, Alabama. During one of their matches, the referee was knocked out and Wrestling Pro won the match, but a second referee come to the ring, reversed the decision and gave the title back to Mantell. Booker and Promoter Bob Kelly declared The Wrestling Pro as the new champion and awarded him a new title belt. This resulted in NWA President Sam Muchnick sending recorded interviews into the Gulf Coast television show demanding the Gulf Coast office and The Pro stop calling himself the World Junior titleholder. The Wrestling Pro was recognized only as champion in Gulf Coast and did not receive recognition by the NWA. In the next few weeks, the story was laid out that Muchnick was booking wrestlers from other offices to come in to defeat The Pro, which culminated in Mantell returning to defeat The Wrestling Pro claiming both versions of the title. In 1975, this program, without the disputed title angle was brought into Oklahoma and Louisiana, with references made to the conflict between the two in Gulf Coast and The Wrestling Pro wanting revenge.
Pictured: The Wrestling Pro (Ed “Tarzan” Baxter), number one nemesis of Ken Mantell
The Pro, who is also getting assistance and support in tag matches from Buck Robley. One interesting long forgotten angle and title change took place on May 3rd of 1975 on Championship Wrestling, Mantell defended the title and was defeated by Ronnie Garvin. In Baton Rouge, Louisiana on this next Wednesday night after the TV taping, The Wrestling Pro showed up thinking he was getting a match for the title with Mantell. Officials informed The Pro of the title switch and ordered him to a chair at ringside due to Mantell having an on-demand return clause in his contract for the title. Mantell beat Garvin in the match and re-claimed the NWA World Junior Heavyweight crown ending Garvin’s short days-only fun with the Championship but setting up a "title could switch again" at any time kind of aura with fans, which would become famous as one of Watts’ booking styles in later years of Mid-South Wrestling. I would give an eye-tooth to have this angle from the video tape of that studio show match between Mantell and Garvin, as Garvin isn't really very notable as having held the belt for those days in 1975.
Pictured: Ron Garvin, former NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion (undocumented or recognized by the NWA)
5-7-1975: Jerry Jarrett & George Gulas defeated Ron & Don Wright to win the NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championships at the Tennessee Fairgrounds Arena in Nashville, Tennessee
*Tony Note:
The Tennessee Tag Team Championship was primarily the tag team belts used in the Knoxville market and Eastern end of Tennessee in the Gulas-Welch and now, Ron Fuller owned territory. Even though Fuller made the purchase from Joe Cazana for the Knoxville market in October of 1974, there is still a lot of cooperation, booking and talent swapping going on across the state. On this night, those tag belts are going to change hands in Nashville, the home booking office headquarters for Gulas-Welch Enterprises. There are a couple of notable things to bring up here in this moment in time with wrestling history.
First, Nashville was always the hub of wrestling for this geography of towns. Roy Welch and Nick Gulas started promoting wrestling in Nashville all the way back in the 1940s. Roy would also have an office that booked talent located in a small town in West Tennessee named Dyersburg, Tennessee, but there was always a main office in Nashville. Even today, when fans call Jerry Jarrett's promotion "Memphis Wrestling", it's a bit of a misnomer, because Jarrett lived and had his office in Nashville and most of the talent lived and traveled from Nashville. Memphis was where the television was taped on Saturdays at WMC and Memphis had the largest arena and consistently drew the biggest crowds. At the same time, Nashville is where the brains of both Gulas-Welch and Jarrett Promotions were located.
Pictured: Nick and George Gulas
Second, it's typically cited that George Gulas' push was the reason for the Jarrett and Gulas split in 1977. Certainly, that could have been a long-standing sore subject, but here in May of 1975, Jarrett and Gulas are tag team partners and not only partners but champions. George had been in the ring for over a year by this point originally being a television commentator in Louisville, Kentucky on the live wrestling show telecast. Roy Welch's younger brother, Lester and Roy's son, Buddy had been the inaugural NWA Tennessee Tag Team Champions winning a tournament for the titles on October 24th, 1967, in Nashville, Tennessee. If I use my intra-personal skillset to switch places with Nick Gulas and put myself in his shoes, after seeing Roy push his brothers and his own son through the 1950s and 1960s, when my own son had aspirations of getting into the business, it would have taken a strong person to deny him that opportunity. As you read in yesterday's issue, Fritz Von Erich had successive sons enter the business in 1976, 77 and 78 and they were pushed to the moon. In Florida, Eddie Graham had done the same with his son Mike in 1973. In the Mobile, Alabama office, owner Lee Fields had done the same with his son, Ricky in 1973. In Amarillo, one of the most famous examples was Dory Funk Sr with Funk Jr and Terry in 1963 and 1965. It's happened in the ring and in ownership and management with the McMahons and the Crocketts. Nick gets a bad rap in my opinion with George. I have said on my podcast with other experts who were peers of mine, alive and watching wrestling at the time. If you were not a fan at the time in 1975, you cannot possibly understand this, but, watching George Gulas back then, none of us fans thought he was that bad a wrestler. We just knew he was a "good guy" who tried hard and got screwed by the evil heels. That's all we knew and that at times, was bliss and a lot of fun.
Pictured: Ron and Don Wright, NWA Tennessee Tag Team Champions
Jerry Jarrett had typically been in a tag team with Tojo Yamamoto. Before Jarrett came along in the very late 1960s to tag with Tojo, Yamamoto and Jackie Fargo would have been the quintessential baby face tag team in the South. After a vicious feud in the 60's, Yamamoto turned face and teamed with Fargo to destroy every heel team that came through and sold a lot of tickets doing it. After Jarrett's debut, he and Tojo formed a team and duplicated that success. Jerry Lawler was out of the territory, ,wrestling in Georgia at the time, so the “Big 4” babyfaces in Tennessee for the Spring and Summer of 1975 to be mixed and matched were Fargo, Yamamoto, Jarrett and Gulas. One of the issues we have as historians is that title changes were not always documented, or we don't have a record of the show on which it took place. Brothers Ron and Don Wright were Eastern Tennessee legends by this point in 1975. We believe this might have been somewhere between their 15th and 21st runs with the Tennessee Tag straps before losing to Jarrett and Gulas. We will go in depth more on the Wright Brothers soon.
Pictured: The “Big 4” Tenesseee Babyfaces of 1975
One Thing I Learned Today About Pro Wrestling History:
Abdullah The Butcher was a karate and judo expert while just in his mid-teenage years.
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!
Remember, paid subscribers get access to exclusive and special content such as to commemorate his induction to the WWE Hall of Fame, I'll be publishing some special issues including a multi-part flashback on the Georgia Championship Wrestling Territory in May 1975 including all the recorded cards for the month, some special audio and video interviews on territory pro wrestling and more.