Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling- Feb 86

[kevinmcfl]

A perfect Southern Wrestling TV show. All of the feuds are so hot going into the Battle of the Belts. Love how Ric Flair is so desperate that he needs to attack TA in the parking lot.

[dawho5]

Great job setting up Magnum/Flair at Battle of the Belts. The Nightmares holding on to their spots with Taylor attacking Pritchard is a really good way to kill 2 birds with one stone. The Fullers vs. Superfly sounds pretty fun.

[spaldoni]

The NWA and MACW presents Battle of the Belts- 2-22-86, Eddie Graham Sports Arena, Orlando, FL

Prelim Matches

American Made def. Terry Gibbs and Scott Casey,

when Kernodle hit Gibbs with a neckbreaker and Kirchner followed with a Fallaway Slam.

David Sammartino and Bob Roop defeated Rocky Johnson and Pedro Morales,

All four men were in the ring, Morales had Sammartino covered but as the Ref was guiding Johnson back to the corner, Roop dropped a knee on Morales and rolled Sammartino on top for the pin.

TV Title Bout- Special 20 minute time limit

Terry Taylor © vs. 'Doctor of Desire' Tom Prichard w/Rock Riddle

These two were evenly matched in the first few minutes with neither gaining a distinct advantage. A distraction by Riddle on the apron allowed Prichard to nail Taylor from behind with a super kick. Prichard controls for awhile hitting Taylor with a couple suplexes and following with knee drops. He attempts several covers but cant put Taylor away. Taylor comes back after Prichard goes for a back body drop but Taylor kicked him. Taylor swings Prichard to the ropes and is able to back drop him, follows with an elbow drop and cover but Prichard kicks out. Taylor hits the jaw breaker but once again Riddle causes a distraction from the apron. Taylor nails Riddle with a forearm shot that sends Riddle flying off the apron. Prichard hits Taylor from behind with a knee then follows with a gut wrench powerbomb! Prichard covers 1..2..Taylor gets his foot on the rope. Prichard body slams Taylor then goes to the top rope. Prichard flies off attempting a diving splash but Taylor moves. Both men are lying side by side. They both rise. The announcer states there's 1 minute left in the match. Prichard grabs Taylor but Taylor hooks Prichard's arms and gets him with the backslide for 1..2..3! Taylor retains the TV title with 15 seconds left.

Tony St. Clair vs. Billy Robinson

The fans are eager for this much anticipated match up between two of UK's best. These two didn't disappoint. The match started off as a brawl as St. Clair obviously still has issues over Billy's press conference attack. Both men have a serious exchange of European uppercuts. St. Clair gets the upper hand, swings Billy to the ropes and back body drops him, Billy gets up and St. Clair sends him into the turnbuckles with a heel first drop kick. Billy staggers forward and St. Clair snapmares him over then jumps over him while executing a neck snap. St. Clair hits an elbow drop and covers but Billy kicks out. St. Clair keeps the momentum going for a bit until he charges at Billy in the corner and is met by a boot to the face. Billy regroups and takes control by hammering away with European uppercuts. Billy puts St. Clair down with a running forearm smash. Billy chokes St. Clair with his boot then picks him up with a scoop slam. Billy follows with a hangman's neckbreaker and cover but St. Clair barely gets his shoulder up. Billy starts working St. Clair over aggressively with various takedowns and pin attempts. Billy's frustration gets the best of him when he cant finish St. Clair off. He argues with the ref for awhile. Billy goes for a body slam but St. Clair cradles him for the 1..2..3! The fans erupt but Billy attacks St. Clair. Billy stomps away then hits St. Clair with a double arm suplex.

NO DQ

Bob Backlund vs.The Iron Sheik

Of course the match starts out with fists flying. Backlund spends the early portion out wrestling the Sheik. The Sheik comes back and makes the most of this stipulation. He chokes Backlund with his robe and then body slams him down and follows with more choking. Because it's the Sheik, he hits Backlund with a gut wrench suplex. Backlund makes a comeback with several body slams then drop kicks Sheik out of the ring. Backlund goes out after him, Sheik rakes the eyes and swings Backund into the steal post. Sheik grabs a chair and wedges it in the corner. Sheik grabs Backlund but Backlund pushes Sheik into the steel post. Both men are still on the outside. They finally get up and slowly roll back into the ring. The fans boo as Alexis Smirnoff hits the ring. He body slams Backlund and stomps away. The fans cheer as American Made runs in. They grab Smirnoff and hurl him over the top rope! American Made exit the ring. Sheik slowly gets up and walks over to Backlund. He grabs Backlund and runs with him towards the chair wedged in the corner but Backlund grabs Sheik and rams him into the chair! Sheik staggers back, Backlund hits him with a back suplex and gets the pin!

Tully Blanchard w/JJ Dillon vs. Michael Hayes w/Buddy Roberts

They start fighting right away but Hayes quickly gets the upper hand with a hard right fist to the face. Hayes takes control by wailing away on Tully. Hayes then stomps on Tully, body slams him and covers but Tully kicks out. Hayes swings Tully into the turnbuckles and charges in but Tully lifts both legs and nails Hayes in the face. Tully regroups and suplexes Hayes then drops several elbows. Tully swings Hayes to the ropes, misses a clothesline, Hayes swings back and rolls Tully over with a shoulder block. Hayes puts Tully in a headlock, runs with him and hits the Bulldog. Hayes covers but JJ Dillon gets up on the apron and is yelling. Hayes gets up and heads towards JJ but Buddy runs over, grabs JJ's legs and swoops them out from under him. Buddy clocks JJ. Tully hits Hayes from behind with a high knee then rolls him up with a hand full of tights and gets the pin! Tully rolls out of the ring, grabs JJ and drags him out of there.

Mid Atlantic Title Bout

Harley Race © vs. Wahoo McDaniel

This is as stiff as can be. They trade hard blows for awhile when Wahoo wins the exchange with chops. Wahoo continues the chopping then scoop slams Harley. Wahoo drops a knee and covers but Harley kicks out. Harley shines with headbutts and a delayed knee drop but cant put Wahoo down. Wahoo swings Harley to the ropes and hits him with a back elbow smash then follows with an elbow drop but Harley kicks out. Harley goes on a long stretch as he hits Wahoo with a variety of suplexes then caps them off with a swinging neckbreaker. He covers 1..2..No! Wahoo manages to get a shoulder up. Wahoo is hurting but starts chopping away on Harley then hits Harley with a hanging suplex. The crowd gets behind Wahoo as he swings Harley to the ropes and nails him with an overhead chop! Wahoo covers 1..2..No! Harley rolls his shoulder up. The two men have another slugging exchange this time Harley wins it with a headbutt then hits Wahoo with a running knee. Harley hits Wahoo with a diving headbutt then picks him up and hits the piledriver! The ref counts 1..2..3! Harley retains the Mid Atlantic title.

Special Attraction Match

Stan Hansen vs. Antonio Inoki

Inoki gets a good pop from the crowd and Hansen just seems to terrify the crowd as he runs down the aisle hitting anything in his way with his rope and cowbell. The bell rings and Hansen charges over and the two men start going at it. Hansen just hammers away on Inoki and pounds on him but Inoki stops that with an Enzuiguri. Inoki comes back with bare knuckle punches then hits Hansen with a drop kick and follows with a diving knee drop and cover. Hansen kicks out then takes the brawl to the outside. Both men are trading fists. Hansen body slams Inoki on the outside. The ref is telling him to get back in the ring. Hansen throws Inoki back in. Hansen kicks away and drops an elbow but cant put Inoki away. Hansen swings Inoki to the ropes and ducks down for a back body drop but Inoki kicks him then clamps on the sleeper! Hansen is flailing his arms and hits the ref, the ref goes down. Hansen backs Inoki up and rams him into the turnbuckles to break the sleeper. Inoki quickly grabs Hansen, spins him around and executes a Bridging Fallaway Slam! Inoki is covering but the Ref is still down. Inoki gets up and checks on the Ref. Hansen rolls over and out of the ring. He grabs his cowbell and heads back into the ring. Inoki turns around and WHAM! Hansen nails him with a cowbell clothesline! Hansen throws the rope and cowbell out of the ring and covers Inoki. The Ref slowly rolls over and counts 1....2.....3!

NWA World Tag Team Title Bout

The Andersons © w/JJ Dillon vs. UWF Champs The Road Warriors w/Paul Ellering

JJ comes out with a bandage on his forehead from the Robert's punch. The crowd roars as the Road Warriors head down the aisle. The bell rings and the Road Warriors attack the Andersons. They pound away on the Andersons, swing them to the ropes, hoist them both up with Gorilla Presses then slam them down. They both jump up and hit fist drops on them. JJ is having a fit and yelling at the Ref. Ellering is nodding with approval. The Warriors just dominate the early part of the match as Arn is a bumping fool. The Andersons are taking shoulder blocks, clotheslines, body slams and fists to the face. The Andersons finally get some control and work over Animal's leg. Ole grabs Animal's leg and kicks away then tags in Arn. Arn jumps off the 2nd rope with a knee drop to Animal's leg. Arn pushes Animal into the corner, Ole chokes away, Animal staggers back and Arn hits him with a belly to back suplex. Arn tags in Ole, Ole jumps off the top rope with a knee drop on Animal. Ole covers 1..2..Animal bench presses Ole up off him. Animal makes the tag to Hawk. The crowd goes insane as Hawk clotheslines anything in front of him. JJ tries to get involved but Ellering stops that. The Andersons try to double team Hawk but Animal runs in and hits them with a double clothesline. Ole rolls out of the ring. Animal's still feeling the effects on his leg but still manages to puts Arn up on his shoulders, Hawk flies off the top rope and flips Arn off Animal's shoulder with the flying clothesline!!! Hawk covers 1..2..WHACK! Ole hits Hawk with a chair. The Ref rings the bell signaling for a Disqualification. The fans are booing. Animal grabs the chair from Ole and nails him with it. The Road Warriors grab Arn and hurl him out of the ring. The crowd cheers as Ellering runs in and raises the Road Warriors arms in the air.

United States Title Bout

Magnum TA © vs. Ric Flair w/JJ Dillon

A shaken up JJ Dillon leads Flair down the aisle. Flair gets some scattered cheers but mainly boos due to the parking lot attack. Flair and JJ are waiting in the ring. JJ grabs the mic.

JJ: Stop wasting our time, it's obvious Magnum isn't going to show so just hand the US title over to Ric Flair.

 

The boos turn to a thundering roar as Magnum TA heads down the aisle. His left knee is heavily taped under his knee pad. The US title is around his waist as he steps into the ring. Flair looks a bit surprised but points and says some words to Magnum. The bell rings and Magnum is all over Flair. Magnum is limping but his adrenaline is running high as he just pounds away on Flair. Magnum is hitting Flair with such a flurry that Flair is busted open. Magnum continues the assault. Magnum body slams Flair, limps around then body slams him again. Flair hobbles up and Magnum drop kicks him out of the ring. JJ is yelling at Magnum. Magnum heads out and JJ takes off. Magnum grabs Flair and rams his head on the outside table. Flair falls back and down. Magnum drops a right knee on Flair's bleeding head. Magnum puts his knee on Flair's chest, grabs his hair and proceeds to punch away on Flair's bloody head. Magnum rolls Flair into the ring. Magnum swings Flair to the ropes and hoists him up in the Gorilla Press position but his left knee gives out and he tumbles down. After Flair clears the cobwebs he starts working over the knee. Flair regroups some more then continues to work the knee. Flair picks Magnum up and pushes him into the turnbuckles. Flair hits Magnum with a series of chops then picks him up in a vertical suplex position, pauses and takes him back. Flair backs up then hits Magnum's knee with a running knee drop. Flair then goes down, grabs Magnum's head and pounds away. The crowd is cheering Magnum on. Flair picks up Magnum and hits him with a chop that puts Magnum down. Flair struts around the ring then climbs up the turnbuckles. Magnum gets a surge and hobbles over, grabs Flair and slams him off the top rope! Magnum falls back against the turnbuckles. Flair slowly gets up and turns around, Magnum nails Flair with a running clothesline. The crowd is going crazy! JJ gets up on the apron and Magnum nails him with a forearm blast that sends JJ flying off the apron. Flair comes from behind and clips Magnum's left knee. Magnum goes down. Flair staggers around then rolls to the outside. He pulls Magnum's legs towards the ring post then swings Magnum's left leg and rams the knee on the post. Magnum is screaming in pain. Flair goes back in, picks Magnum up and hits the Shin Breaker. Flair grabs the leg and clamps on the Figure Four! Magnum is screaming in pain. Flair is wrenching away. The Ref is looking over Magnum and asking him if he wants to submit. Flair wrenches away more. The Ref signals for the bell. The bell rings. The Ref gets the US title, hands it to Flair and raises his arm. The crowd is booing but also stunned. Ric Flair has won the US Title! The Andersons and Tully run down the aisle, pick JJ up and go to the ring to celebrate while officials are checking on Magnum.

 

 

NWA World Heavyweight Title Bout

Rick Martel © vs. NWA National Champ Terry Gordy

The crowd still has a lot left for this huge bout and these guys gave them their money's worth. Gordy brings the fight right away but Martel doesn't back down and the two go toe to toe. Martel gets control with several hip tosses and drop kicks. Martel body slams Gordy and jumps up and down shaking his fists. Martel swings Gordy into the turnbuckles but Gordy runs forward and nearly decapitates Martel with a clothesline! Gordy takes Martel up and back with a belly to back suplex, Gordy repeats this then covers but Martel barley kicks out. Gordy slams Martel hard, backs up and crashes down with a running leg drop. Once again he cant put Martel away. Gordy goes for the piledriver but Martel back drops him. Martel regroups and hits Gordy with a belly to back suplex of his own. Martel covers but Gordy kicks out. Martel body slams Gordy and follows with a diving knee drop. Martel covers 1..2..Gordy kicks out. Gordy rakes the eyes, hoists Martel on his shoulders and falls back with a Samoan Drop! Gordy is still reeling and takes a while to cover. Martel kicks out. Gordy drops down and applies the Oriental Spike. Gordy releases picks Martel up, swings him to the ropes and nails him with a big boot to the face that sends Martel out of the ring. Gordy goes out and swings Martel towards the steel post but Martel reverses it and Gordy's head slams into the post, busting him open! Martel rolls in the ring and tries to regroup. The Ref starts the count on Gordy. Gordy rolls back in at the count of 9. Martel picks up Gordy and hits the backbreaker. Martel covers 1..2..Gordy gets his foot on the ropes. Martel picks up Gordy but Gordy grabs Martel's head and snaps it down on the top rope. Martel flies back and Gordy clears the cobwebs. Gordy is bleeding bad. Gordy picks up Martel and hits the piledriver! Gordy's blood lost shows as it takes awhile for him to cover. Gordy rolls over 1..2..No! Martel gets his foot on the ropes. Both men are laying there. Gordy manages to get up and swings Martel to the ropes but Martel comes back with a flying body press that sends both men over the top rope! The Ref starts the count. Both men wobble up and start trading punches. They keep fighting as the ref reaches 10. The bell rings signaling for a Double Countout. Martel and Gordy keep fighting. They even fight into the cheering crowd. They bring the fight back towards the ring. They keep hammering away on each other. Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts come out and start throwing punches at Martel. They triple team Martel and throw him into the ring. Bob Backlund and Wahoo McDaniel come out to even things up. More wrestlers come out to break it up. While all the wrestlers are on the outside, Harley Race enters the ring. He picks up Martel and hits him with a swinging neckbreaker. Race looks down and says something then walks out. The Freebirds are yelling at the other wrestlers and raising Gordy's arm.

Ring Announcer: The official ruling of the match is a double countout. Rick Martel is still the NWA World Champion. Thank you for attending the Battle of the Belts.

[gordi]

That was great. Just a well-booked and entertaining show from top to bottom. A nice run of faces winning clean to start us off, then a balance of heels cheating to win, a DQ, a DCOR...

 

Magnum's loss feels appropriately heart-breaking. Harley vs Wahoo sounds like the match I'd have been raving about the next day.

[kevinmcfl]

Great card!!! As I was reading this as a fan, my energy was growing and growing from the win by American Made to Terry Taylor to Bob Backlund. I was a little disappointed, (as a fan only) that Wahoo didn't get the title and then my heart sank as Flair won the title from TA. In the end, I was left wanting more and more as Gordy vs Martel was epic!

[dawho5]

Flair winning the title from Magnum had to make more than a few people unhappy. Great card that wraps up a lot of the stuff that has been going on in Lutte and MACW for a while. Robinson vs St.Clair or Wahoo vs Race would be my matches of the night. Loved the finish to Hansen vs Inoki.

[spaldoni]

Post Battle of the Belts Recorded Promos

Jim Crockett: Hello fans, first off I want to thank everybody involved that helped make battle of the belts a successful card. Also, thank you to all the fans for coming out and supporting Mid Atlantic and the NWA. Now, I had a long conversation with the Referee of the Magnum TA, Ric Flair US title bout. He was very clear that Magnum never submitted but that he made a judgment call to stop the match. He saw the amount of punishment that Magnum's knee took and knew his career was in jeopardy. I agree with the call and it's a shame the knee injury was the result of a horrible attack by the four horsemen. I want everybody to hear comments that were made earlier tonight after the card and I'll address this situation further.

 

Magnum TA: (On crutches) Tonight I lost a title that was very dear to me. A title that I defended with honor and pride. Now I'm not going to sit here and cry about it and throw myself a sympathy party. However, I can be upset about the fact that the parking lot attack had a lot to do with this! You couldn't beat me straight up Flair, No! You and your henchmen had to do a job on me. So instead of dwelling on my loss tonight, I'm going to dwell on getting some serious payback! I owe all the Horsemen and that worm JJ Dillon some payback! So here's the deal, I want all of you in the ring. I'm talking about a match with myself and four partners going against the four horsemen and that coward JJ Dillon. I know all of you are short on guts but if you have just a little then lets do this. Ten man tag match, survival of the strongest! But to tell you the truth, I don't think any of you have the intestinal fortitude to meet this challenge.

 

Ric Flair: (surrounded by JJ and the Horsemen with the US title on his shoulder and head bandaged up) WHOOOO! I told you what I was going to do and I walked that aisle tonight and did it. Now Magnum, you sore loser, I heard your comments and I was right, you're stupider than you look. What, you don't think the most dominant group in wrestling wont accept the challenge from a whiner like you and his four underachieving friends? Guess what pal? We accept! However, JJ Dillon is not a wrestler, he's a licensed manager. Our argument was heard and our request was granted. So I will be handpicking a partner for the four horsemen and boys do I know the right guy for this job. I'm telling you all, you will love this guy, defiantly horsemen material. So Magnum, pal, you better call in the cavalry because you're not coming after the horsemen, WHOO, the horsemen are coming after you! WHOOOO!

 

Jim Crockett: Ok after hearing both sides I'm making it official. On March 11th at the Omni, Magnum TA and four partners will face the four horsemen and a partner of their choosing in a 10 man tag team match. Also on that night, Rick Martel will defend the NWA World Heavyweight Title against Mid Atlantic champ, Harley Race. It should be an outstanding night of action as Mid Atlantic returns to the Omni in Atlanta.

[gordi]

Yeah! Way to keep the momentum going after a big show.

[SirEdger]

Now, I'm really curious to see who the Horsemen will pick as their partner on March 11th. And of course, Martel vs Harley should be one helluva match as well!

[dawho5]

Flair knows a guy. I wonder who that could be?

[spaldoni]

Thanks everybody, yea I'm really looking forward to the 10 man tag and I'm sure all of you will get a kick out of the Horsemen's partner. But don't worry, Magnum has some heavy hitters coming in.

[GeneJackson95]

Wow, what a show! Super build up for this show and you really delivered with a solid show. Great TV title match with Taylor and Prichard.

 

Huge win for Flair that really heats up the Horsemen vs. Magnum feud...can't wait for this 10 man tag match!

[rainmakerrtv]

So much greatness, Flair vs. Magnum is probably my favorite.