Issue 69 (June 23, 2025) 1975 Flashback: Jack Brisco's Week in Mid-Atlantic, One Thing About Crazy Luke, MORE
Welcome to the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel Daily Chronicle. The daily habit for an injection of significant events that happened on this day and relative time frames in Pro Wrestling History.
June 23rd in the Tunnel:
Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
Promoter Paul Jones 1901
Tony Santos 1922
George Takano\The Cobra 1958
Happy Birthday:
Brandi Rhodes (42)
Jessica McKay\Billie Kay (36)
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 Johnson\"Crazy" Luke Graham 6-23-2006 at the age of 66
Ronnie P. Gossett 6-23-2007 at the age of 63
Larry Nelson 6-23-2014 at the age of 70
Nancy Lewis\Daisy Mae 6-23-2015 at the age of 85
Tetsuo Sekigawa\Mr. Pogo 6-23-2017 at the age of 66
Melissa Coates\Super Genie 6-23-2021 at the age of 50
Select Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel Match and Event Flashbacks
50 Year Flashback: 1975
June 17/18/19-1975: NWA World Champion Jack Brisco in Jim Crockett Promotions' Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
I was on the road last week and didn't get a chance to write about these two amazing days last week that happened 50 years ago, last Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in Pro Wrestling History with the NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
Tuesday 6-17-1975: Jack Brisco (CH) defeated Paul Jones in a No Time Limit Match to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Title at the Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina
Wednesday 6-18-1975: Jack Brisco (CH) defeated Steve Keirn in a non-title match at the WRAL-TV Studios in Raleigh, North Carolina
Wednesday 6-18-1975: Jack Brisco (CH) defeated Abe Jacobs in a non-title match at the WRAL-TV Studios in Raleigh, North Carolina
Thursday 6-19-1975: Jack Brisco (CH) defeated Sonny King to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Title at the Scope in Norfolk, Virginia
In Issue 67 of the Time Tunnel Daily Chronicle, I covered Brisco's Friday night match (6/20/75) of this week in St Louis, MO versus Dick the Bruiser. The schedule of the NWA World Champion is a hard one to process from both perspectives of the old school fan of the times and the modern fan, born after this time. While some fans in their 5th decade of living might have experienced some of Ric Flair's title reigns during the touring championship schedule, the last 25% of Flair's schedule was not as far reaching or extensive as previous champions simply due to Jim Crockett's expansion beginning about this time 40 years ago in 1985 and the world championship being controlled by one promotion rather than by the NWA cooperative. I am going to start publishing a month-by-month retrospective issue on the champion's schedule in The Vault as a project very soon. So, for paid subscribers, that will be something really cool and interesting to look forward to.
Pictured: Jack Brisco, NWA World Heavyweight Champion 1975
Brisco kicked off his week in the Crockett Mid-Atlantic territory in June of 1975 with a No Time Limit match against one of the area's top babyfaces, Paul Jones. Jones had been a top performer in Jim Crockett Promotions since arriving in 1968 and while he did go out into a handful of other territories during his career, namely Florida, the Carolinas and Virginia were, without a doubt his primary home base.
Coming off the "supreme sacrifice" TV angle with the Andersons on June 11th and losing the NWA World Tag Team Titles, both Jones and Wahoo McDaniel would be chasing the Andersons in re-matches for the belts, but both were also ready to get back to singles runs.
Stepping outside the Time Tunnel for a second—> As an aside, while I do not comment much on the current pro wrestling product in 2025, I do think one of the things missing from tag team booking is that tag teams don't interact with the singles stars in programs like this one the Mid-Atlantic booker, George Scott put together in 1975. Also, in JCP in the 1980s, Dusty Rhodes would intersperse himself, Magnum, Wahoo, Flair, Blanchard and others with the Road Warriors, Rock & Roll Express, Midnight Express and others. If you have four to six quality tag teams and then intersperse them with your 8 biggest singles stars on both sides, it elevates your tag teams in stature. That's good old school booking philosophy and it's missing as most of the tag teams are isolated from the singles and vice versa.
Back to June of 1975—> Paul Jones is put into a program with Ric Flair for the NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Title and also slides up the ladder as a contender for the World's Championship getting this shot in Raleigh. Scott will also work in tag team matches with Jones and McDaniel facing Flair and Mid-Atlantic Champion, Johnny Valentine. With a hot semi-final match of the program between Sonny King and The Super Destroyer as a lead-in, Brisco defending the World Title on top against Jones was a big Tuesday night in Raleigh.
Pictured: Paul Jones NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Champion
Fans in Mid-Atlantic had seen Brisco go to the time limit of sixty minutes a few times and even on occasion go to ninety minutes, so the no time limit stipulation was an attraction, due to the fact Brisco was such an amazing athlete and wrestler, the time limit often played in his favor. Having no time limit could possibly play in Jones' favor on this night, however it was not meant to be as Brisco held on to the title defeating Jones with his figure-four leg lock but leaving Jones in a strong position as a contender that Brisco would not want to face during his next time into Crockett Country.
As mentioned in previous newsletters, during this time frame in the Carolinas, the television tapings for the weekly television shows were held on Wednesday evenings in Raleigh. Raleigh was one of the regular weekly Tuesday night towns and guys could stay over or easily drive back to Charlotte to make the television shows the next night. In these Wednesday night tapings, the World Champion made a rare studio television appearance. In the first hour of tapings, he had a very competitive match with the NWA Rookie of the Year for 1974, Steve Keirn that was shown on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, at the time, the JCP "A-show". Then, he came back to wrestle on the second hour, JCP "World Wide Wrestling" having an even more competitive match against very competent Abe Jacobs, an extremely dangerous veteran who pushed Brisco in the match.
Pictured: Sonny King
Norfolk, Virginia was the regular weekly town for JCP during this era and one that typically drew extremely well and was always booked to have amazing cards week after week. From 1973 through 1975, Sonny King was one of the top four to six main event performers in Jim Crockett Promotions and here in June of 1975, this is one of the last big chances for King to chase the NWA Title. In front of a large crowd in Norfolk, King puts forth a maximum effort, but again, the world champion prevailed leaving King's fans disappointed but totally satisfied having seen an amazing match for the World Championship.
All in all, it was an amazing week for fans of Jim Crockett Promotions, yet just a regular week in the life of the NWA World Heavyweight Champion in 1975.
One Thing I Learned Today About Pro Wrestling History:
Crazy Luke Graham was a big man. Six foot three inches tall and weighing in at around 290 pounds. He broke into the business in the middle part of the 1950s. When Eddie Graham was not interested in continuing on in the Golden Graham brother tag team due to his increasing success in the Florida territory, both as a performer and as a minority owner with Cowboy Luttrall. Crazy Luke joined and tag teamed with his kayfabe "brother", Dr. Jerry Graham to win the WWWF Tag Team Titles in June of 1964.
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 some special issues including a multi-part deep dives on wrestling territories, wrestler bios and championship title histories, special audio and video interviews on territory pro wrestling and more available in The Vault of the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel for Paid Subscribers.