June 25th in the Tunnel:
Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
"Whipper" Billy Watson 1915
Samuel Thomas Hesser\Mighty Jumbo 1923
Happy Birthday:
Phillip Theis\Damien Demento (67)
Bobby Blaze (62)
Layla El (48)
Jessika Heiser\Jessika Carr (34)
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.
James "Rex" Mobley 6-25-1980 at the age of 74
Sika Anoa'i the Wild Samoan 6-25-2024 at the age of 76
Select Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel Match and Event Flashbacks
50-Year Flashback: 1975
6-23-1975 Bill Watts defeated Dick Murdoch (CH) by DQ with two referees for the NWA North American Heavyweight Title at the Fairgrounds Pavillion in Tulsa, Oklahoma
We haven't checked in on the McGuirk\Watts Oklahoma Territory in a couple of weeks since the Murdoch and Danny Miller title switch in Chalmette (New Orleans) Louisiana on June 5th. After going around the weekly loop giving Miller return shoots at the title, Watts, the booker now has his number one program in place, booking himself on top as the babyface challenger against the heel champion, Murdoch.
Watts, being the established hometown Oklahoma hero returning after a long absence, Murdoch is the brash Texan rulebreaker who just won the Territory’s top prize, the North American Heavyweight Championship, which at one time had been around Watts' waist. Let's do a flashback within the flashback to 1970. Watts, who had been on top in many major cities of the United States as the WWWF United States Champion and challenger to Bruno Sammartino, Bobo Brazil and Gorilla Monsoon returned home again to defeat a masked Spoiler (Don Jardine) who had held the title for a couple of months. Watts then faced a heel, Texas Outlaw, Dusty Rhodes, who he lost the championship to after holding the title for 400 days in a row on May 17th, 1971. Rhodes was able to defend the title for quite a long stretch, slightly over four months losing it back to Watts on September 22nd.
Watts then had another long title reign on top with the North American Title for 226 days before losing it to another Oklahoma hero, Dale Lewis. Lewis had competed in both the 1956 and 196o Summer Olympics as well as winning the 1959 Pan American Games in Greco-Roman Wrestling. Lewis was an 11-year veteran when he defeated Watts for the belt on May 15th, 1972. Watts had his final run with the title regaining it from Lewis just one week later on May 22nd at the Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, the exact same place that Lewis had one it the week before. Watts then started working between the Tulsa office and the Georgia office in December of 1972 when the Georgia Wrestling War started between the NWA Office and Ann Gunkel's All South Wrestling Alliance. Watts taking over the book and working in Atlanta full time starting in March of 1973, at which time he vacated the North American Title, never having lost it, which he never failed to remind Murdoch on television interviews.
Pictured: Dick Murdoch, NWA North American Champion 1975
Watts, a booker who was a master of callbacks to storylines and points in history reminded the television audience and fans of his program against Dusty Rhodes, Murdoch's one time partner in the Texas Outlaws tag team. "I will eventually catch you and whip you for my title just like I did your former riding partner, that Dusty Rhodes. It's just a matter of time, Murdoch, I'm comin for ya" Watts would calmly say into the cameras and microphones. Murdoch would reciprocate in his television time, taunting Watts with the title and extolling the virtues of Texans' superiorities over Oklahomans. It was a wonderfully produced and booked feud and just what Watts needed to get the Territory back up on its feet.
The feud had started without the title being involved at the home base of Tulsa back on April 28th with both men being DQ'd in a hard-fought match. The next night in Shreveport, as Watts was on his way to the ring to have a match with Skandor Akbar, who was the current Champion at the time, Murdoch cracked a chair over Bill's head. Vic Muehler volunteered to take Watts' place in the match and had Akbar on the ropes for the belt, when Watts recovered from Murdoch's chair shot and returned to the ring with a freshly taped fist to clock Akbar, but not win the title. Blaming Murdoch for his lost opportunity, Watts beat Murdoch in Wichita Falls, Texas on May 3rd and a week later on May 6th in Shreveport, Watts pinned Murdoch for revenge and to heat up their feud even more.
Watts took Danny Hodge as his partner to defeat both Akbar and Murdoch in a tag match the next week on May 13th in Shreveport at the Municipal Auditorium to keep the program going. The next week, Murdoch and Danny Miller started their program for the North American Title, while Watts took care of his booking and office ownership duties allowing the title change program between Murdoch and Miller to play out through early June.
Pictured: Cowboy Bill Watts
Watts and Murdoch picked it up again in Tulsa on Monday night, June 16th with Murdoch now the North American Champion after his title win over miller with Murdoch winning the match by pinning Watts. The next night, June 17th in Shreveport, where a lot of this all began, Watts beat Murdoch by DQ after Murdoch's friend, Killer Karl Kox made his debut in the Territory and interfered in the match. Which brings us to today's flashback match on Monday night, June 23rd, 1975, where with two referees to officiate the match, keeping outside interference from both Akbar and Kox neutralized, Watts won the match but when Murdoch got himself DQ'd and therefore holding on to the championship.
Bill Watts had returned home to Tulsa to work with his partner LeRoy McGuirk to cultivate his ownership stake in the company and completely re-work the booking and talent roster to draw more people and generate more revenue for NWA Tri-States Wrestling. So far, the plan is working and coming together.
One Thing I Learned Today About Pro Wrestling History:
1973 was a great first year of championships for Sika Anoa'i along with his brother, Afa held the Calgary Stampede International Tag Team Titles several times in 1973, the NWA Florida Tag Team Titles in the Summer and the Canadian Tag Team Titles in November of 1973 proving a great year of their first round of tag team championships.
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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