Cage Match- Ric Flair & Greg Valentine vs Ole & Gene Anderson

[uncl3m0key]

this is tremendous footage i wish this was on at 9pm on the usa network on monday nights

[tobar9561]

blackjack mulligan won the feud against paul jones.

[str009]

You taped it in 1977? Man, who had VCRs in the 1970s? I think I had a 13-inch B&W T.V. with rabbit-ears and considered it high-tech. I don't remember VCRs until the early 1980s. I'm going to Google. :-)

[melbz1266]

@str009 i think they did have them, but they weren't mainstream and they were very expensive. i'm not sure what year they were made. but like the computer who had a few thousand dollars to buy one? same thing with the vcr and they were big. and wide.

[tobar9561]

the wrestler that ran in is paul jones. i have an audio tape where rick flair and valentine are on mid atlantic wrestling showing the film and comenting on it.

i taped it off of tv in the late 70s.

[anthony1468]

i agree @ matthew. the ONLY cage match WWE has like that is HELL IN THE CELL & even that getting crappy now.

[matthewmayhem]

These are the good old days in the NWA when cage matches meant the guys were forced to stay and fight until the score was settled. No escape the cage to win like the pussy wwe rules. The whole point of the cage was to stop outside inteference and the bad guy from leaving and taking a cheap count-out loss. The bad guys would try to climb out and escape but that was just to get over the cowardly heel persona, they never made it. They were forced to stay and fight. To hell with the pussy wwe rules.

[tdelacruz61]

I've always wanted to see video of this feud. Flair and Valentine as a tag team is the prototype for HHH/HBK, Outsiders, all the monster heel teams. How bad-ass were they that they turned the hated Andersons into faces?

[ltrott3]

May 8, 1977- This was a transitional angle as this led into the summer feud of Valentine and Wahoo for the Mid-Atlantic belt and the infamous I BROKE WAHOOS LEG shirt.

[RSXemperor]

@ltrott3 CM Punk actually paid tribute to that on Smackdown. When he broke Big Show's arm, he wore a shirt that said "I Broke Big Show's Arm" and he even did a photo shoot that resembled the infamous photo where Greg Valentine wore the shirt and was smiling.

[mechalechahi]

that's a nasty suplex and pile driver

[CadillacL]

old-school cage match at its best!

[litehouse6]

Ole and Gene are not related. Gene was wrestling in a team with his "brother" Lars in the Carolinas and the promoter wanted Lars gone as he was a pita. Ole was wrestling under his real name, Al Ragowski, up in Minnesota and was invited to come down south. When he got here, he was told his name would be Ole Anderson. Ole said he didn't like it but thought "What the hell, it's a paycheck."

[leomarentette]

Now this IS a classic! Steel cage....blood...NO bs........this is what wrestling is supposed to be!

[kyd973]

Flair was a cousin early on. The Minn tie-in. It was meant to lift Flair and make him more important. Simply put the feud was old vs young. Battle of the bullies was often done in MAW. Easy way to figure out how the biggest heels were. And the person jumping in the ring at the end was Ricky Steamboat. Also, Flair and Valentine did lose the belts to Orndorff and Snuka on their 1st title run. Lost on tv.

[ed2kou1]

Why is Flair fighting the Andersons. I thought when Ric started he was a cousin. I know they played that to in the NWA with the horsemen. He was their cousin.

[soooprettynpink]

ole and gene r related but arn was discoverved by flair n da georgia territory then he convinced arn to cum to da carolinas

[ed2kou1]

Yeah I knew that. My question was when Flair started he was the cousin of the Andersons. So I'm asking why are they fighting? What started this feud. Thanks

[starwars518]

The cousin angle was used when the horsemen were born.About 8 years or so after this if the date here is right.

[raginbullaa]

From what I read, the storyline was this. Back in October 1976, the Andersons and Flair were teaming up and Flair slapped Gene Anderson in the face for "telling him what to do". As a result the feud started with the Andersons becoming faces and Flair/Valentine staying heel. In December 76, Flair/Valentine beat the Andersons for the belts, and this is the rematch from May 1977.

[bigcg98]

@raginbullaa Yeah, Flair was such a cocky young punk that he thought he was greater than anyone (which he was). He eventually turned on the Andersons with the help of Valentine because he thought the Andersons were past their prime. Same thing he did to Blackjack Mulligan several years later, starting the great "robe vs. Hat" feud.

[Wayneman117]

No one loves Classic wrestling more than me-But to show ya how cheesey this was.The dag gum cage is about to fall on its on.

[ccie12933]

The legendary Wahoo McDaniel is the referee. That might just be Tony Atlas at the end of the match, it's really hard to tell and it's one piece of Mid-Atlantic wrestling trivia that even I have forgotten. :)

I was fortunate enough to see two matches between these two teams and the electricity and atmosphere around the matches was just incredible.

[raginbullaa]

Actually, it looks to be Paul Jones coming in to aid the Andersons. I'm not sure though.

[sanstitle]

@raginbullaa Thats Jones alright......Wasn't Wahoo the special Ref?

[ltrott3]

@sanstitle I doubt as that was Jones as he was not on the card that night. according to the mid-atlantic gateway almanac

[sanstitle]

@ltrott3 Thanks...He looked a little heavy and tall to be Paul Jones

[timcrtr]

@ltrott3 looks to me like its Steamboat that comes in. He was big in 1977 in Mid Atlantic and always feuding with Flair.

[ccie12933]

@sanstitle That is Wahoo as the ref.

[aj31313]

Nobody ever beat Valentine and Flair for the NWA titles

[Augustus212]

This was unique because prior to the start of this fued, the Andersons were probably the hottest heel tag team in the country so to face them against another heel team it was expected that they would be the more hated of the 2 teams. However, it says much about Flair and Valentine in their early day in-ring psychology, they were able to generate so much heat that turned the Andersons baby face during this fued.

[melbz1266]

boy these were the times that will never come back.

[mikemike4315]

is that tiger conway that jumps in at the end?