Memphis/CWA History Page

When the nuclear bombs fall, two things will remain. Cockroaches and wrestling in Memphis, Tennessee. A hotbed of mat action since the 1940's, promoters Nick Gulas and Roy Welch ran a wide-reaching circuit that lasted well into the 1970's.

A long-standing member of the National Wrestling Alliance, the Gulas/Welch Wrestling Enterprises, Inc. (later Gulas Wrestling Enterprises, Inc.) was a successful but notoriously low-paying territory. By the mid-70's, a mutiny arose and wrestlers Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler jumped ship to form a new company, Jarrett Promotions, Inc., to run the Memphis wing of the Gulas circuit. Gulas continued to operate in Nashville for several more years before throwing in the towel in that market as well.

Running on the strength of a successful live Saturday morning television show, Jarrett Promotions operated well into the late-1980's, under the CWA promotion name. In 1989, Jarret bought out Texas promoter Fritz Von Erich's WCCW , merging the two into what became the USWA . Eventually, Jarrett sold the territory back to the Von Erichs, continuing to run the Memphis end of the USWA until 1995 when he sold it to a Cleveland, Ohio-based group called XL Sports.

A glance at the Memphis territory in the 1950's

Stars of the 1950s who worked for Gulas include Tex Riley, Lester Welch, Roy Welch, Herb Welch, Rowdy Red Roberts, Don McIntyre, Farmer Jones, Al Spider Galento, Freddie Blassie, Wild Red Berry, Art Nelson, Mike Paidousis, Wild Bill Longson, Brother Frank Jares, Al and John Smith, Irish Mike Clancy, Tor Yamato, Corsica Joe and Corsica Jean, Chris Tolos, Joe Scarpa (later to gain greater fame as Chief Jay Strongbow), Dick Beyer (later to gain greater fame as Dr. X and The Intelligent, Sensational Destroyer), Johnny Walker (later to gain fame as Mr. Wrestling II), Ray Stevens, Don and Luke Fields, Lee Fields, Kinji Shibuya, Don Kent, Billy Wicks and others too countless to mention.

Major attractions such as Argentina Rocca, Gorgeous George, Ginger the Wrestling Bear, Hillbilly Calhoun (later known as Haystack Calhoun), Verne Gagne, Dick Hutton and Lou Thesz all made appearances in the territory.

Female stars such as Mildred Burke, Lillian Ellison (later known as Slave Girl Moolah and then later known as The Fabulous Moolah), Mae Young, Cora Combs (who became the most frequent female grappler for the territory, continuing to work in the area into the 1990s), Penny Banner and June Byers also were frequent visitors to Tennessee in the 1950s.

Some significant things came out of the decade that would benefit the territory and the business for many years. First, a Chattanooga-area youth named Eddie Gossett, worked the territory for awhile. Gossett would change his ring name a few times before settling on Eddie Graham. He would become a major star in the Northeastern United States as part of the Golden Grahams team with Dr. Jerry Graham. Later, he would move to Florida and eventually ran the territory there with Cowboy C.P. Luttrell. He was considered one of the most powerful men in pro wrestling in the 1960s, 1970s and into the 1980s. Graham even served a term as president of the National Wrestling Alliance. He passed away in 1985 but many still consider him a genius when it comes to pro wrestling matchmaking and booking.

Professional wrestling has long been home to individuals who were nothing short of colorful. One of the sport’s most flamboyant talents made a name for himself in the territory in the 1950s. His nicknames included "the Sweet Man" and "the Diamond Ring and Cadillac Man". He was Sputnik Monroe. Not only did Monroe sport a colorful personality but also a colorful appearance. It was hard not to notice Monroe’s cocky swagger and the menacing look on his face but more often than not what many fans recall was his hair. Monroe had black hair with a blonde streak right down the middle. Especially popular at being unpopular Monroe long held the attendance record for pro wrestling in Memphis for his 1959 feud with Billy Wicks. Monroe would frequent the area off and on until the early 1980s. His success spawned a series of "relatives", some who would appear for Gulas, all with catchy names such as Rocket Monroe, Jet Monroe, Flash Monroe and Mars Monroe. None though ever could match the success or flamboyance of "the Sweet Man" Sputnik Monroe.

The 1950s also brought about the debut of Len Rossi. Len was a superb junior heavyweight originally from New York. Fans took an instant liking to Len and Tennessee quickly became his home. He worked for Gulas until a car accident in 1972 cut his career short. After that he often appeared as a TV commentator for Gulas in Nashville.

Saul Weingeroff also debuted for Gulas in the 1950s. Many longtime fans consider Weingeroff to be the best ringside manager they have ever seen. Saul had a knack of annoying the fans to the point they wanted to clobber him with their own hands. Saul debuted as a wrestler for Gulas but received greater fame as a manager for Gulas managing such heel teams as Kurt and Karl Von Brauner, The Spoilers and Tojo Yamamoto and Johnny Long, among others. Weingeroff’s most successful run in the territory was probably with the German team of Kurt and Karl Von Brauner. The two bald-headed grapplers worked the territory for many years. Their rough tactics and anti-American rhetoric coupled with Weingeroff’s constant complaining and interference with his trusty cane made them arguably the most disliked trio to ever appear for Gulas. Weingeroff is well remembered for his many verbal battles with TV announcers, most especially Chattanooga’s Harry Thornton. Weingeroff and the Von Brauners would work for Gulas into the 1970s and also enjoyed success in other territories.

Don and Al Greene, the original Heavenly Bodies, became one of the longest running tag team combinations anywhere when they began working for Gulas. Together they were a rough heel team who teamed off and on for Gulas until the 1970s holding at one time or another all three of the area’s major tag championships (World, Southern and Mid-America tag titles), along the way. In the early 70s they added Englishman Sir Steven Clements and his ever-present umbrella as their manager. Later, they were briefly managed by Rock Riddle. Since the territory was so full of good tag teams the Greenes ended up facing most all of them as they passed through from the late 1950s until the early 1970s. Over time Don turned into a fan favorite while Al formed a team with Phil Hickerson and later became a ringside manager for Gulas. By the way, Don and Al weren’t really brothers although the resemblance is striking. Don is really Don Greene while Al is Al Denney.

Jackie, Don and Sonny Fargo all made their debuts for Gulas in the 1950s. In various combinations, the Fabulous Fargos held the area’s major tag titles also. Don became the traveler of the three and appeared all over the world, often under different ring names. Sonny stuck closer to home and eventually became a referee for Jim Crockett’s Mid-Atlantic promotion in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He would return in the 1970s as Jackie and Don’s "crazy" brother Roughhouse Fargo, nicknamed "Nuthouse". Jackie also mainly stuck to Tennessee, although he did have a stint for Jack Pfeffer and held Pfeffer’s version of the world title. Jackie eventually settled into working for Gulas and became Nick’s biggest attraction until both he and Nick retired (both for the first time) in 1980. Jackie’s "Fargo strut", whether originated by him or someone else, remains a crowd pleaser to fans even today. In 1963, a fourth Fargo brother appeared, Joey. He worked the territory for awhile before reverting to a more familiar ring name, Louie Tillet. Initially reviled by the fans, the Fargos eventually became the territory’s lead babyfaces whenever they appeared together. It should also be noted that the Fargos are also not brothers in real life.

A glance at the Memphis territory in the 1960's

The 1960s saw such stars as Rocky Smith, Kurt & Karl Von Brauner, Oni Wiki Wiki, Frankie Cain (later to achieve fame as Mephisto of the Mephisto & Dante team and also as one of the Masked Infernos as well as The Great Mephisto), Rocket Monroe, Lorenzo Parente, Steve Kovacs, Mario Galento, Billy Boy Hines and Bad Boy Hines, The Scufflin’ Hillbillies, Treacherous Phillips, Sam Steamboat, Don Carson, Mario Milano, Carzy Luke Graham, Alex Perez, The Kentuckians (Grizzly Smith and Luke Brown), Ronnie Etchison, Roger Kirby, Sailor Art Thomas, Gory Guerrero, Kanji Inoki (later to become known as Japanese legend Antonio Inoki), Hiro Matsuda, Jack Brisco, Al Costello, Tarzan Baxter, The Mysterious Medics, The Blue Infernos, The Mighty Yankees, Bill and Joe Sky, Bob Armstrong, Rip Tyler, Bobby Shane, Dennis Hall, Ken Lucas, Les Thatcher, Giant Frazier (also known as Plowboy Frazier and Uncle Elmer, among other names), Mike Pappas all appear throughout the territory.

Major attractions such as Danny Hodge, Pat O’Connor, Eddie Graham, Buddy Fuller, Gene Kiniski, Haystack Calhoun, Johnny Valentine, Harley Race and Dory Funk, Jr. also worked shows for Gulas during the decade. Gulas even used boxing legend Joe Louis on cards as a special referee in various cities. Late in the 60s, Gulas used Dr. Sam Shepherd on cards teamed with longtime Gulas regular, George Strickland. Shepherd had been imprisoned after a murder trial heavily covered by the media. Errors were discovered in Shepherd’s first trial so a retrial was ordered. In the second trial Shepherd was acquitted and released. The events of his life influenced the TV show "The Fugitive" and later a movie of the same name.

Notable among those who made great impacts on the business later on who worked for Gulas in the 1960s include a man known in the territory as Ron Carson. Early in his career, this man left Texas and came to Tennessee to work for Nick Gulas. Not long after his arrival he teamed with Tennessee native Don Carson as Don’s brother and this team won the World tag titles. In reality Ron Carson was future international superstar Dick Murdoch. Murdoch was the son of wrestler Frankie Murdoch, famous in the Amarillo, TX territory.

Sam Bass also debuted in the 1960s. Initially, he didn’t make much of a splash for Gulas appearing mainly as an undercard performer. He would though become a major star for Gulas in the 1970s as the manager of the team of Jim White and Jerry Lawler.

Also appearing some for Gulas were the true-life brother team of Ron and Don Wright, natives of Kingsport, TN. Low-key Don and motor-mouth Ron riled fans like few teams could. Ron, who often referred to himself as "the number one hillbilly", had a run in the eastern half of the territory in 1969 that even featured him receiving a shot at NWA World champion Dory Funk, Jr. in Chattanooga when he and Don were billed as Ron and Don Hayes. Ron’s ability to incite the fans during interviews was matched only by his ability to do the same through illegal tactics in the ring. Although the Wrights and fellow east Tennessee wrestling legend Whitey Caldwell mostly appeared in the Knoxville territory, Gulas would use them from time to time for several years mainly on the eastern end of the territory.

The 1960s were turbulent times for race relations in most Southern cities. Several of the cities Gulas ran cards in were no exception, especially Memphis and Birmingham. Gulas had used African-American stars for many years, including a young man named Matt Jewell. In 1969 a young African-American named Bearcat Brown debuted for Gulas and was given a major push. In reality Bearcat Brown was Matt Jewell. While Gulas had used an African-American in main events before he used Jewell (such as Art Thomas in 1964), he had never had an African-American become a regular headliner throughout the territory. Jewell, as Brown, headlined cards in Gulas cities for years and was often paired with such popular headliners as Don Carson, Johnny Walker and Len Rossi.

Conversely in 1971, Gulas turned to the legendary Sputnik Monroe to introduce the territory’s first regular African-American heel. Monroe, controversial and cocky, teamed with Norvell Austin to form the area’s first successful integrated heel team. Monroe, known for his black hair with a blonde streak down the middle, saw to it that his new partner followed suit. Soon Monroe and Austin were one of the area’s hottest heel teams. They were so successful they toured other territories as a team.

Debuting in the early 1960s in the territory was a Japanese heel named Tojo Yamamoto. Yamamoto quickly became known as sly and evil, a stereotype from the World War II time period. In real life, Yamamoto was Harold Watanabe, a native Hawaiian. A short man, Yamamoto was a great ring psychologist and quickly became one of Gulas’ lead heels and would remain so for a long time, even after a stint in the Carolinas for Jim Crockett where he appeared as P.Y. Chung and in Texas as T.Y. Chung. Yamamoto was likely the most disliked man in the Gulas territory for a good part of the sixties (with only Saul Weingeroff and the Von Brauner Brothers able to rival such fan heat) Those who follow the logic of wrestling realize when a wrestler is utterly despised by the fans it likely means he would someday make a great babyface. All that matters is timing. In late 1969 the time was right. Nick Gulas promoted a specific match area fans loved. The match was a "Battle of the Brutes" tag match. The fans loved this match because it pitted two teams they disliked against each other. The two teams were The Masked Spoilers and Tojo Yamamoto and Johnny Long. The match lead to the fans siding with Yamamoto and Long, so the crafty Yamamoto became a fan favorite. Yamamoto would then solidify his status as a true fan favorite when it was revealed in an angle that he was training with the popular babyface Jerry Jarrett. Jarrett was then destroyed by a group of heels which led to Yamamoto rescuing Jarrett. Yamamoto even carried Jarrett out of the ring in his own arms to safety. This led to Jarrett and Yamamoto teaming to face the heels who had tried to eliminate Jarrett. The fans, longtime vocal opponents of Yamamoto, then proudly cheered their new hero and his protégé. The Yamamoto-Jarrett tie was never forgotten by the promotion and was used in various ways through most of the 1980s.

A glance at the Memphis territory in the early 1970's

The early 1970s saw business boom for Gulas. As mentioned earlier Christine Jarrett became more involved in the business end of the company by helping open up and run shows in Kentucky and Indiana. Jerry Jarrett became more involved in the behind the scenes end of things by basically becoming co-promoter Roy Welch’s assistant. Jerry ended up booking the shows in Memphis, which became the city that drew the largest attendance week in week out on the circuit.

Major stars for Gulas during the early 70s include Dr. Ken Ramey and The Interns, Buddy Wayne, Big Bad John, Pepe Lopez, Sir Steven Clements (known later in Georgia as Sir Dudley Clements), Eddie Marlin, Tommy Gilbert, The Alaskans: Frank Monte & Mike York, The Samoans (Tio & Tapu), Norvell Austin, Cowboy Frankie Laine, David & Jerry Novak (better known as The Bounty Hunters from Tombstone, Arizona), Bill Dromo, Ronnie Garvin, Terry Garvin & Duke Myers with manager Jim Garvin, Rufus R. Jones, Charlie Cook, The Fabulous Kangaroos: Al Costello & Don Kent with manager George "I Am Right" Cannon, Ben Justice, The Masked Infernos and manager J.C. Dykes, Phil Hickerson, Dennis Condrey, Johnny Grey, Tex McKenzie, Johnny Weaver, Ray Candy, Jerry Barber, Ernie Ladd, Billy and Benny McGuire and more.

A young Kevin Sullivan also worked the territory for Gulas in the early 70s. Around the same time another young man made his debut. He was known as Dennis McCord. He gained some further fame as Iron Mike McCord but even greater fame several years later as Austin Idol. Many fans saw Idol feud with Sullivan in the early days of Atlanta’s TV superstation, WTBS. Sullivan would have a long successful career both in-ring and behind the scenes. McCord would return to the area as Idol years later and become a major attraction for the promotion.

Nick Gulas’ son, George, debuted in ring in 1973 as a "special referee" on cards throughout the territory. By 1974, George, a tall, thin man, made his debut as a wrestler and immediately was placed in prominent places on cards teaming with such stars as Jerry Jarrett, Tojo Yamamoto and Jackie Fargo, the three biggest babyfaces of the time for Gulas.

Also making their presence known in the early 1970s were the younger members of the Welch family. Buddy Fuller’s two sons, Ron and Robert debuted. Buddy was the son of Gulas promoting partner, Roy Welch. Ron and Robert’s cousin, Jimmy Golden also worked the area as did Lester Welch’s two sons, Jackie and Roy Lee Welch. Also appearing from time to time were Johnny, Marshall and Ricky Fields, nephews to Roy Welch.

The Welch family plays a vital part of pro wrestling throughout the South for many decades. Not only was Roy Welch part of a successful promotion with Nick Gulas but other members of the Welch family became part of the business of wrestling promotion.

Lester Welch had bought into the Florida wrestling office based in Tampa and operated by Cowboy C.P. Luttrell and Eddie Graham. Meantime, Edward Welch, a/k/a Buddy Fuller, bought into the Georgia wrestling office based in Atlanta along with Paul Jones, Fred Ward and Ray Gunkel. Gunkel and Fuller became one of the area’s top tag teams of the 1960s. There was just one problem though, away from the fans Gunkel and Fuller often clashed on how business should be conducted. In 1972, Buddy Fuller, wanting out of the constant bickering with Gunkel, which no doubt included how his sons, Ron and Robert, would be used in the promotion, arranged a deal with his brother Lester Welch. Lester would trade his Florida shares with Buddy’s Georgia shares. Lester came to work in the Atlanta office while Buddy moved to work in the Florida office.

Later in the year, one of the remaining owners of the Atlanta office, Ray Gunkel, died. His part of the company fell to his wife, Ann. The Georgia office split when Ann Gunkel formed All-South Wrestling and acquired much of the Atlanta-based talent. The one thing she did not take was the sanction of the National Wrestling Alliance, who had long, well-established ties to the Welch family. The NWA sent in stars from around the country to assist Welch in Atlanta. By January 1973, the NWA put into place a new team to help run the Atlanta office complete with new booker Cowboy Bill Watts. Until late 1974, the NWA and All-South ran weekly wrestling cards against each other in many Georgia cities. Some of Gulas’ stars made appearances for the NWA in Georgia including Don Greene, Jackie Fargo, Tojo Yamamoto, Jerry Jarrett, Ron and Robert Fuller, Jimmy Golden, Roy Lee Welch, J.C. Dykes and The Infernos and even a young Jerry Lawler. The NWA eventually won the war and along the way Lester Welch sold his part of the Atlanta promotion to Jim Barnett.

Looking for a booker for Atlanta, Barnett approached Jerry Jarrett, who agreed to book Atlanta but only if he could continue working for Gulas. Not long after this development Jerry was approached by Gulas and Buddy Fuller about buying Roy Welch’s part of the promotion in Tennessee since Roy’s health was in decline. Jarrett bought into the Gulas promotion and for awhile, all was well as Gulas, Jarrett and Buddy Fuller, serving largely as a silent partner, continued to give the fans what they wanted to see.

Obviously, Jerry Lawler made a name for himself in the Tennessee territory in the 1970s. Lawler is truly a versatile performer. He ranks very high on the lists of many who think he is the business’s best talker. As he grew older he became somewhat more cautious in ring of what he would do but early in his career Lawler was one of the best bump takers in the business. (Bump taking is important for the heel since he must really sell the offense of the babyface as something that the heel cannot overcome, thus he must be able and willing to take more dangerous and exaggerated falls.) Discovered by Jackie Fargo at a Memphis radio station, Lawler worked for Gulas as an undercard performer. Lawler was advised to gain some more experience by working a territory that had just opened. The territory was based in Montgomery, Alabama and was operated by Bill Golden, father of Jimmy Golden. Jimmy was the grandson of Gulas’ partner, Roy Welch. While in Alabama, Lawler teamed with Steve Lawler (No relation, Steve was known later as Steve Kyle). While there Jerry came in contact with veterans Jim White and Sam Bass in this territory. White and Roy Klein were working the area as The Green Shadows. When they were unmasked they were billed as Woodrow and Roy Bass. Sam Bass was then brought in as their manager. Roy soon left and was replaced by Jimmy Hydes working as Percy Bass. White eventually went to work for Gulas and Lawler soon followed. Eventually White and Lawler teamed and added Jim Kent as their manager for awhile before Bass took over the honors. This threesome would become trouble for Nick Gulas’ babyfaces beginning in 1972. Lawler’s talents reached beyond the wrestling ring as he drew a cartoon strip called "The Patriot" for theWrestling Monthly magazine in the early 1970s. As the history of this territory unfolds, Lawler will play an increasingly bigger role but by 1974, just three years after his debut, he was already poised to become the territory’s top star.

Gulas wrestling was wild stuff for the times. Some of the more memorable angles of the early 1970s include a long-running feud between Al Greene and Jackie Fargo. The feud featured hair vs. hair matches and shockingly, Fargo, the top star, actually lost one of these matches, and had to have his head shaved, despite an near mob-like Memphis crowd begging him not to go through with the stipulations.

Len Rossi, one of Gulas’ top stars, was injured in an automobile accident in late 1972. His injuries were severe enough to force him to retire from active competition. In the summer of 1973, a recovering Len came to watch his son, Joey, wrestle Sam Bass on Memphis TV. Joey defeats Bass with a sleeper hold. Bass’ partners in crime, Jerry Lawler and Jim White, then argue that Joey had illegally choked Bass. Tempers flare leading to Bass, Lawler and White attacking the injured Len and leaving him a beaten man. This lead to a series of matches pitting Lawler and White against Joey Rossi and Len’s longtime tag partner, Bearcat Brown. (A similar scenario played out on the eastern half of the territory around the same time featuring Terry Garvin and Duke Myers and manager Jim Garvin attacking Len on television leading to matches pitting Garvin & Myers against Joey and Brown.)

In late 1973, during the live Chattanooga TV show, announcer Harry Thornton tried to conduct an interview with the daughter of wrestler Don Greene. This would be a nice change of pace since fans rarely had the chance to hear the relative of a wrestler talk about what life is like for them. Needless to say the interview never was completed. The masked Interns and manager Dr. Ken Ramey were wreaking havoc over much of the territory at the time. The Interns and Ramey charge the announce position while Donna Greene is with Thornton. Incensed that Thornton refuses to give them interview time then, one of the Interns slaps Donna Greene. As Thornton and a horrified audience watched, Don Greene, who had just wrestled and retired to the showers, rushed out covered in soap to rescue his daughter.

Wrestlers were tarred and feathered (Bearcat Brown by Don and Al Greene). Scaffold matches were held in the early 1970s (Jerry Jarrett vs. Don Greene in Louisville). A manager was barred from appearing at ringside so he disguises himself as a woman and ran into the ring and attacked the opposition. (Sir Clements did this). Wrestlers were "run off the road while driving to the TV show" and beat up on the side of the road (There were several angles like this over the years most notably with The Bounty Hunters running Jackie Fargo off the road which lead to Jackie showing up late on the TV show but only after he called his brother, Roughhouse and requested he return to help him battle The Bounty Hunters). There was even a cake presented that ended up in the face of the honoree (The Bounty Hunters smashed Jackie Fargo into a cake). These angles may not mean much today but much of this was occurring in a day and time much tamer and conservative than now.

All these things lead us to our target start date of 1975. Almost. Before looking at 1975 it is important that we examine 1974. This appears to be the year the promotion began focusing less on tag teams and more on singles matches and titles. In particular, much of the promotion began to be focused on the past and future of the region. The past was represented ably by longtime fan favorite Jackie Fargo, the King of Memphis. The future was being represented by the upstart cocky heel, Jerry Lawler and his manager Sam Bass.

The Players

In 1975 a kindly grandmother named Christine had a lot going for her. She was one of the few women to achieve much success in her chosen field. Her bosses, Nick and Roy, had been successful in business for over twenty five years. Her son, Jerry, worked in the same business as his mother and was considered to have great instincts for that business. Despite these things Christine worked in a business known to be full of back-stabbing, dirty tricks and often, bad pay. It’s enough to make a body wonder if this nice lady named Christine Jarrett ever looked at her young grandson, Jeff Jarrett, and wondered what she was doing working in the business of professional wrestling.

Nick Gulas began promoting wrestling in Tennessee in the late 1940s and early 1950s in conjunction with Roy Welch, his promoting partner. Welch’s name lent instant credibility to most pro wrestling fans in Tennessee since the Welch family had long been in-ring favorites around the circuit. Nick was a small man with thick black-rimmed glasses and was of Greek descent. Nick and Roy owned pro wrestling’s Tennessee territory. Many who worked for Gulas didn’t like him because he came across as obnoxious and foul-mouthed. To some he was intimidating and came across as a bully. Sometimes his paydays, based on how many people actually paid to see an event or house show he promoted, were less than what were expected by those who worked those shows for him. Despite these factors most people who knew Nick Gulas admit he worked very hard to make his wrestling promotion successful. Early in his career Gulas hired Christine Jarrett to sell tickets to the weekly wrestling shows at the Hippodrome in Nashville. Gulas would also eventually add another person who would become very instrumental in how the Tennessee territory would operate over time. That person was his son, George.

Roy Welch was a member of a large family of professional wrestlers. Along with brothers Jack, Herb and Lester, he had been a star throughout the South for many years. Roy’s son, Edward, also made a name for himself in the business as Buddy Fuller. Roy partnered with Gulas in promoting wrestling in Tennessee although it appears Gulas was the major force behind the day-to-day operation of the promotion. Welch remained a partner with Gulas for many years but his eventual decline in health would, over time, lead to changes in how the territory would operate.

Memphis/CWA History Page

Christine Jarrett moved up the ranks while working for Nick Gulas and Roy Welch. In the early 1970s she ran shows for the promotion in Louisville, KY, Lexington, KY and Evansville, IN. With the addition of these towns, the territory grew. Prior to the expansion into Kentucky and Indiana, Christine had been able to witness her son, Jerry, debut in ring as a professional wrestler in the late 1960s. Christine would remain involved in the business, on some level, for many years to arguably become the longest running female involved in a professional wrestling promotion.

Jerry Jarrett attended the pro wrestling matches in Nashville from a very early age since his mother sold tickets for Nick Gulas. Jerry sold programs and later tickets for Gulas in Nashville. Later he debuted as a wrestler for Gulas in 1969. He quickly became a major attraction in the area. He often excelled in tag matches with area stalwarts Jackie Fargo and Tojo Yamamoto. Jarrett, a light-heavyweight, was an ideal good guy, or to use the much more appropriate carny lingo the wrestlers spoke, an ideal babyface. He was polite and humble during interviews. He believed in winning fairly and following the rules. In ring, Jarrett often had the role of helping his opponents, the bad guys, or heels, gather heat while he garnered crowd sympathy. Because of his smallish size and youthful appearance, Jarrett would take a beating which would sell the often illegal tactics of the heels. Fans sensing one of their favorites, the nice, good-looking and undersized Jarrett, was in trouble would became more involved in the match imploring Jarrett to tag his partner. Despite his success as an in-ring performer Jarrett became a student of the business and began to become more involved behind the scenes including booking the weekly Memphis house show. Over time Roy Welch’s health began to worsen and Jerry became the chosen one to take over Welch’s part of the business with Gulas.

The Actual Territory

By 1975 what most folks refer to as the Memphis territory included much more area than the city known as home to Elvis Presley. At various times in the history of the territory, based in Nashville, not Memphis, included regular and occasional stopovers in not only Memphis and Nashville but also Chattanooga, TN, Jackson, TN, Louisville, KY, Lexington, KY, Bowling Green, KY, Evansville, IN, Birmingham, AL, Huntsville, AL, Tupelo, MS, Jonesboro, AR, Dayton, OH, Wheeling, WV and even small towns in southeastern Missouri, northern Georgia and eastern North Carolina. For awhile in the 1950s, it even stretched to the Mobile, AL area. In addition for many years until the mid 1970s the eastern end of Tennessee, featuring the city of Knoxville promoted by John Cazana, formed a loose affiliation with the territory promoted by Gulas. Many of Gulas’ stars made regular appearances for Cazana with Gulas’ approval.

Business became so good for Gulas that the territory was split into two halves, the western end which included Memphis, Louisville, Lexington and Evansville and the eastern end which included Nashville, Chattanooga, Huntsville and Birmingham.

If you are unfamiliar with the cities mentioned please find a map and notice how far apart many of these cities are from one another. Airplanes can get us places fast now but the mode of travel for the wrestlers working the Gulas territory then was via automobile. Take another look at the map after that sinks in. It wasn’t out of reason for some of the stars to work a show in Knoxville Friday night, stay over and work Knoxville TV Saturday morning, then drive to Chattanooga to do afternoon TV and stay to work the Chattanooga house show that evening then drive to Birmingham to do a live late night TV show there. Often, some of the wrestlers had to work Memphis TV on Saturday morning and then drive to work Saturday afternoon TV and the Saturday night house show in Chattanooga. That’s a nice five and a half hour drive today!

Television

Television was an integral part of the success Gulas enjoyed throughout the region. From the 1950s forward the area had various forms of local televised wrestling. Many fans are well aware of the long-running TV show out of Memphis hosted for many years by arguably the greatest wrestling announcer ever, Lance Russell. Russell’s ability to sell angles to fans, to lead young stars through interviews and to communicate his disgust at the heinous acts of the nefarious bad guys, among his other talents, make him one of the area’s most valued performers over the years. He will long be remembered for his verbal jousting with Jerry Lawler. Russell eventually was paired with popular Memphis TV weatherman Dave Brown to form a long-running announcing duo. Russell, who worked in the Memphis TV industry for several years, eventually left that line of work and worked full time as an announcer and behind the scenes in wrestling promotion.

Much of the eastern half of the territory was treated to the announcing of Harry Thornton. Thornton was a pioneer broadcaster in Chattanooga. He became involved with Gulas in the late 1950s and became a co-promoter in the Chattanooga area with Gulas. With Thornton’s popularity from Chattanooga radio he added credibility and a local feel to Gulas’ efforts to succeed in the area. Thornton could never be called a classic wrestling announcer along the likes of a Gordon Solie or a Jim Ross. However, Thornton understood his role in the business was to make the TV show exciting and to make the TV viewers care enough about what they saw to be willing to spend their money to see the live house show that week. Thornton did not like wrestling’s heels and made no bones about it in his commentary and often in interviews with them. He often verbally sparred with the likes of Tojo Yamamoto and Gentleman Saul Weingeroff. Thornton also often worked the TV show taped in Nashville over the years adding his colorful personality to the show there.

Gulas also, at various times, had local TV shows produced in Birmingham and Huntsville, as well as in Jackson, TN and Nashville, TN. Gulas’ Birmingham announcer was Sterling Brewer. After the Atlanta office underwent some turmoil in late 1972 (detailed to some degree later due to ties to the Tennessee office) Brewer was hired as an interim announcer for the NWA Georgia office. He worked there a few weeks before a permanent replacement was chosen. Brewer was replaced by Championship Wrestling from Florida’s Gordon Solie, who became the voice of Georgia Championship Wrestling for the next decade. That show and host became fixtures on the fledgling WTCG-TV 17 station which would later evolve into WTBS and later TBS.

A short list of people who worked in some capacity or another in this territory in some capacity other than in ring as a wrestler through the years would include Bert Bates, Tony Lawo, Ron West, J.C. Dykes (as a referee), Tommy Sloan, Paul Morton, Norman Veasey, Lee Williams, Mike Duncan, Scott Teal, Honey Wilds, Jim Kent (an announcer not the manager from the 1970s) and countless others.

Opposition

From time to time a group would form and try to promote wrestling somewhere in the territory against the established Gulas. In the fall of 1972, Phil Golden opened up a promotion based out of Paducah, KY and ran several cities in opposition to Gulas using such stars as Mike Pappas, Joe Ball and Bill Helm, Mario Galento, Paul Christy, Angelo Poffo, Pez Whatley, Chico Cortez and others. The promotion was based around longtime Gulas villains Kurt and Karl Von Brauner and their manager Gentleman Saul Weingeroff, who left the Gulas promotion at the end of the summer of 1972. The promotion folded in the spring of 1973. It should be noted that Golden was the brother of Bill Golden, who opened up the Montgomery, AL territory in 1971. Bill Golden, the father of Jimmy Golden, had married into the famous Welch family that had strong ties to the Gulas promotion.

Also notable among those who tried to run opposition was Lee Fields. In 1974 Fields tried to promote opposite Gulas in Nashville. Lee had run the Gulf Coast promotion since 1958. Among the stars Fields used in his effort against Gulas was Jack Dalton, known to most Gulas fans as Don Fargo. What is interesting about this endeavor is that Fields had worked previously for Gulas, along with his brothers, Don and Bobby. Bobby, as Luke Fields, had teamed with Don to become one of Gulas’ most successful teams of the late 1950s and early 1960s. In reality, Lee, Don and Bobby Fields were Lee, Don and Bobby Hatfield, sons of Gulf Coast wrestling referee legend, Virgil "Speedy" Hatfield. Most interesting of all perhaps in regards to this attempt to run opposite Gulas is that Speedy Hatfield was married to Bonnie Welch, the sister of Gulas promoting partner, Roy Welch.

There were other attempts to run opposition against Gulas but Nick would survive them through the years. The future though would hold more opposition for Gulas from time to time.

The Titles

The Gulas territory, as most every territory, had a fairly wide array of recognized titles. Gulas was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and over the years was able to secure dates with the various NWA World Heavyweight and World Junior Heavyweight champions. Gulas had a number of titles regularly defended throughout the circuit. Among these were the World tag titles, the Southern Junior Heavyweight title (which was eventually renamed the Southern Heavyweight title), the Southern tag titles, the Mid-America Heavyweight title, the Mid-America tag titles and the United States Junior Heavyweight title.

Before discussing the various titles Gulas recognized it is important to note that the territory became known over the years as a haven for great tag teams. For years, many Gulas cards were headlined with a tag team match, often for one of the area’s top tag titles. Over the years Gulas also used many masked tag teams including Mephisto and Dante, The Mighty Yankees, The Blue Infernos, The Spoilers, The Interns, The Medics and others. Some say because masked teams drew great crowd response in the area (and, in turn, money at the ticket gate) Gulas could book a masked team in two cities on the same night and have four different men wrestle under the masks. This would make it possible, for example, to have The Yankees appear in Memphis on Monday night while a few hundred miles away in Birmingham the Yankees were also headlining a card there. It goes without saying that Nick Gulas was a very shrewd promoter. Even with that in mind it is ironic though that Gulas really dropped the ball in the late 1960s and early 1970s by failing to fully utilize one of the greatest masked tag teams ever, the Infernos, with manager J.C. Dykes. Dykes had refereed for Gulas for a number of years before becoming a manager but had to leave the area to hit it big.

The World tag titles were held by such teams as Corsica Joe and Corsica Jean, Jackie and Don Fargo, Don and Al Greene, Tex Riley and Len Rossi, Kurt and Karl Von Brauner with manager Gentleman Saul Weingeroff, Don and Luke Fields, Lester and Herb Welch, Eddie Graham and Sam Steamboat, Tojo Yamamoto and Alex Perez, The Blue Infernos, Billy and Jimmy Hines, Ken Lucas and Dennis Hall, Len Rossi and Bearcat Brown, Big Bad John and Pepe Lopez, Jackie Fargo and Jerry Jarrett, The Fabulous Kangaroos: Al Costello and Don Kent managed first by George Cannon and later by Sir Steven Clements and other teams. Research indicates Gulas stopped using the World tag titles around 1974 although throughout the 70s a few teams would pass through the area from time to time claiming to be World tag champions.

The Southern tag titles date back to the late 1940s. Champions over the years include Herb Welch and Tex Riley, Roy Welch and Eddie Gossett, Herb Welch and Roy Welch, Don and Luke Fields, Mephisto and Dante, Tex Riley and Len Rossi, Jackie Fargo and Lester Welch, The Medics, Jackie Fargo and Tex Riley, Jackie Fargo and Len Rossi, The Blue Infernos, The Mighty Yankees, Joe and Bill Sky, Don Carson and The Red Shadow (a masked Dick Dunn), Tojo Yamamoto and Johnny Long, Don and Al Greene, The Interns with manager Dr. Ken Ramey, Tojo Yamamoto and Jerry Jarrett, Kurt and Karl Von Brauner, Sputnik Monroe and Norvell Austin, Jackie and Roughhouse Fargo, Len Rossi and Kevin Sullivan, The Bounty Hunters with manager Jim Kent, Jackie Fargo and Jerry Jarrett, Terry and Ronnie Garvin with manager Jim Garvin, Jerry Lawler and Jim White with manager Sam Bass, Eddie Marlin and Tommy Gilbert and others. This title would continue to be defended consistently in the area through 1987.

The Mid-America tag titles began to be defended in early 1972 by Len Rossi and Tony Charles. Other champions include Kurt and Karl Von Brauner with manager Gentleman Saul Weingeroff, Don and Al Greene with maanger Sir Steven Clements, Len Rossi and Bearcat Brown, The Interns managed by Dr. Ken Ramey, Tojo Yamamoto and Big Bill Dromo, Lorenzo Parente and Bobby Hart managed by Don Duffy, Ken Lucas and Cowboy Frankie Laine, Eddie Marlin and Tommy Gilbert, Tojo Yamamoto and Tommy Gilbert, Terry Garvin and Duke Myers managed by Jim Garvin, Jackie Fargo and Tojo Yamamoto, The Bounty Hunters managed by Jim Kent, Terry Garvin and Ronnie Garvin managed by Jim Garvin and others. This tag title was defended in the area through 1980.

The Mid-America title was originally defended in the territory by the legendary Nature Boy Buddy Rogers in 1957. The title was defended some in the late 1950s but apparently fell inactive until around 1971 when Len Rossi was billed as champion. The title would become more prominent in the region in the mid and late 70s and would continue to be defended until 1987.

The United States Junior Heavyweight title was defended some in the Gulas area over the years, most notably in the early 1970s. It is listed here primarily because the list of men who held the title is short but prestigious and includes Johnny Walker (later known as Mr. Wrestling II), Don Greene (a long-time Gulas attraction), Lorenzo Parente (a very underrated talent who had defeated the legendary Danny Hodge in the mid 1960s to hold the NWA World Junior Heavyweight title) and Lou Thesz (former seven time NWA World champion).

The singles title that came to become the area’s major title was the Southern Junior Heavyweight title. A list of champions includes Ray Piret, Herb Welch, Tex Riley, Rowdy Red Roberts, Mario Galento, Ray Stevens, Freddie Blassie, Jackie Fargo, Jesse James, Len Rossi, Don Greene, Tojo Yamamoto, Sputnik Monroe, Tommy Gilbert, Ronnie Garvin and Lou Thesz, among others. Due to the area usually headlining shows with tag teams this title wasn’t as prominent during the 1950s and 1960s as it would become in the 1970s and 1980s. The Southern Junior Heavyweight title would be renamed the Southern Heavyweight title in the summer of 1974.

There were other titles defended in the Gulas area throughout the years but the ones listed here were the ones used in prominent positions on shows for a great amount of time.

1974

January-The year began with Tommy Gilbert winning the Southern Junior Heavyweight title from Ronnie Garvin in Birmingham. Others active for Gulas at this time included Don Greene, Bearcat Brown, Eddie Marlin, Dennis Hall who feuded with Buddy Wayne, Sir Steven Clements and The Fabulous Kangaroos: Al Costello and Don Kent, The Bounty Hunters with manager Jim Kent and The Masked Mighty Yankees with manager George Harris. Harris had worked for Gulas as a referee and wrestler dating back to the 1950s and knew the Welch family from early on in life. The Yankees would later be unmasked as Frank Morrell and Charles Morrell, supposed half-brothers. Frank had worked with Eddie Sullivan as The Yankees for Gulas in the late 1960s. Charles would later modify his name to Charles Morrell-Fulton and eventually to Charles Fulton. He would remain in the area for much of the year and later team with newcomer Bobby Mayne. This month also saw Johnny Marlin wrestle in the area. Johnny was billed as cousin to area wrestler Eddie Marlin and referee Tommy Marlin. Johnny wasn’t related to the Marlins at all. Gulas noticing the resemblance of Johnny to Eddie and Tommy decided to bill Johnny as their cousin. Hopefully, Johnny, who wrestled everywhere else as Johnny Eagles, rarely spoke in the territory because he was British. Nick’s son, George also debuted in the ring in many of the area cities mainly appearing in six man tag matches. Meantime, Jerry Lawler split his time between appearing for Gulas and for the promotion in Georgia.

February-The most significant occurrence this month was Tojo Yamamoto turning on tag partner Jerry Jarrett. Jackie Fargo ended up battling Yamamoto much of this month attempting to avenge Jarrett’s honor. J.C. Dykes’ Infernos were Southern tag champions. The legendary Lou Thesz made regular appearances in the area. New to the region was Ali Viziri, known years later as Hossein the Arab and The Iron Sheik. George Gulas formed a regular tag team with Gulas favorite Dennis Hall.

March-On the 11^th Jackie Fargo battled Jerry Lawler in Memphis in one of their early battles for the unofficial "King of Memphis" title. Fargo feuded in part of the territory with The Bounty Hunters which lead to Fargo teaming with his brother Roughhouse. Jerry Jarrett returned to ring action to even the score with Tojo Yamamoto. Yamamoto often teamed with his latest protégé a Japanese star billed as Mr. Kamikaze.

April-Jerry Lawler injured Jackie Fargo this month. Lawler continued to appear on some Georgia cards often with one-time Gulas star Art Nelson as his tag partner. Lawler did appear on a major show at Atlanta’s new arena, the Omni. The Omni card featured the first Atlanta appearance of Andre the Giant as he faced Gulas regulars The Bounty Hunters. Back in Tennessee, Lou Thesz was the Southern Junior Heavyweight champion. Phil Hickerson began to make some noise around the territory as did the Alabama-based tag team of Mike Jackson and Tony LeDoux. The legendary Bobo Brazil made some appearances in the area.

May-Jerry Lawler defeats U.S. Junior Heavyweight champion Steve Kovacs for that title in Chattanooga. Lawler then runs into a feud with newcomer Ricky Gibson. Charles Fulton teamed with Bobby Mayne and they were managed by Sir Steven Clements. Mayne achieved greater success years later as Hangman Bobby Jaggers. Fulton and Mayne attacked Jerry Jarrett and Jarrett’s mentor, Tojo Yamamoto, who had held the briefly recognized Southeastern tag titles (not affiliated with the Knoxville territory) with Mr. Kamikaze, rescued his protégé and once again fell in favor with the fans.

June-Jackie Fargo returns to be special referee for matches pitting Southern champion Jerry Lawler against Ricky Gibson. By month’s end Fargo and Lawler would battle each other in matches around the territory again. The veteran Al Greene forms a team with upcoming star Phil Hickerson. This team managed by Sam Bass was often referred to by announcers as The Sherman Tanks because both men were heavyset and plowed through much of their opposition.

July-The Lawler-Fargo feud continued this month. Lawler also battled Bobo Brazil and Mr. Wrestling II. The Southern tag title scene grew very clouded as Charles Fulton and Bobby Mayne, Tommy Gilbert and Ricky Gibson and Rufus R. Jones and George Gulas all laid claim to the titles during the month. (It is quite possible that sometimes Gulas, with a large territory available and with TV shows spread apart in those territories, carried two different sets of champions in various cities without fearing the fans would discover what he was doing.). Chris Gallegher debuts in the area. Gallegher later became more well known as Dutch Mantel.

August-Jerry Lawler’s role as lead wrestler in the company was tested this month as he fought off challenges from Jackie Fargo, Bobo Brazil, Tojo Yamamoto, the legendary Dick the Bruiser and the returning Robert Fuller, who had just finished a successful run in Georgia. Al Greene and Phil Hickerson feuded with Tojo Yamamoto and Jackie Fargo. Fargo also found time to wrestle some matches against the sport’s wildest attraction The Sheik, who debuted for Gulas.

September-Lawler, who with manager Sam Bass had faced the area’s top attractions and had also faced some of the biggest name stars in the business during the year, finally received a shot at the big prize, the NWA title. Lawler battled champion Jack Brisco on the 16^th in Memphis. Andre the Giant debuted for Gulas in many of the territory’s cities this month usually by taking on and defeating two opponents. The Sheik defended the Detroit version of the U.S. title in selected cities, while Lou Thesz, Bobo Brazil and Harley Race also were featured on cards this month. Al Greene and Phil Hickerson held onto the Southern tag titles.

October-The alliance between Jerry Lawler and Sam Bass and Bass’s other charges, Al Greene and Phil Hickerson, fell apart this month, at least in part of the territory. (Lawler’s turn into fan favorite would play out later in some cities.) Lawler accused Bass of not being totally honest with him and suggested that Bass no longer had Lawler’s best interests in mind but had instead placed a bounty on him. Greene and Hickerson objected and along with Bass turned on Lawler. Meantime, Greene and Hickerson lost the Southern tag titles to Tojo Yamamoto and Jerry Jarrett. Don Kent, who briefly held the Mid-America tag titles with Chris Gallegher in the late summer, added Sir Clements as his manager and also added the Mid-America title to his waist.

November-Gulas added another title to the mix this month by holding a tournament in Chattanooga to crown the first World Six Man Tag champions. Jackie Fargo, Dennis Hall and George Gulas down Juan Sebastian, Don Kent and Jerry Lawler in the finals to become champions. Lawler’s babyface turn occurred in other cities in the territory. Sam Bass began sending in stars to put Lawler out of action such as The Mummy, Duke Myers and Count Drummer. Lawler and Tojo Yamamoto won the Southern tag titles from Al Greene and Phil Hickerson. Sam Bass began managing a masked team called The Pittsburgh Stealers, apparently to capitalize on the success of the football team the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jackie Fargo and George Gulas won the Mid-America tag titles. New to the area: Dennis Condrey, Jerry Barber, Tex McKenzie and Johnny Gray. Ronald Welch, also known as Ron Fuller and as the grandson of Gulas promoting partner Roy Welch, purchased the Knoxville territory from longtime promoter John Cazana.

December-Jerry Lawler battled ex-manager Sam Bass in some matches this month and also defended the Southern title in Knoxville against former champion Tommy Gilbert. Also in Knoxville, Lawler served as a second to Ron Fuller who feuded with Jackie Fargo who was seconded by Ron Wright. New to Knoxville were Nelson Royal, Dutch Mantel and John Foley, Johnny Weaver and Professor Dale Lewis. Lawler also continued to feud with Al Greene and Phil Hickerson and chose Ray Candy to be his partner. Big Bad John returned to the area and along with Lorenzo Parente and Johnny Gray brutalized Jerry Barber on TV by repeatedly smashing Barber into John’s metal motorcycle helmet. Mr. Pro was unmasked as Dennis Condrey. Mid-America champion Don Kent fended off challenges from Jackie Fargo.

1974 ends with Jerry Lawler as the territory’s top singles star while the territory’s longtime singles star Jackie Fargo remained a valuable attraction. Longtime star Al Greene had formed a formidable team with the promising Phil Hickerson while longtime favorites Tojo Yamamoto and Jerry Jarrett remained in the mix. Gulas also had some raw talent rapidly developing such as Dennis Condrey, Jimmy Golden and Johnny Gray. He also had steady veterans such as Dennis Hall, Don Greene and Lorenzo Parente ready in the wings. Gulas also enjoyed the luxury of exchanging talent fairly regularly with the Knoxville office. This allowed both offices access to each others talent. Gulas’ own son, George, had a year of ring experience under his belt and had been featured in a fairly major way in some cities, but was still mostly unproven on his own since he had been featured in mainly tag matches.

1975 held some questions for area wrestling fans. Could anyone stop Jerry Lawler? Would Jackie Fargo continue to be the area’s favorite star? The answers would unfold over the next twelve months.

1975

Nick Gulas and Roy Welch, along with Christine and Jerry Jarrett ran the wrestling promotion in Tennessee. Jackie Fargo and Jerry Lawler were the top area singles stars and had feuded with each other much of 1974. As 1975 started they would continue to play a major part of what went on in the area and would be joined by a host of interesting characters including a Mongolian madman, a homegrown talent and a talented star from the land down under.

"Let’s Go Crazy"

Jackie Fargo first appeared in the territory in 1954. For years he had been a part of the team known as The Fabulous Fargos. Jackie had been an arrogant heel until he rescued Len Rossi from a beating in September 1961 from the masked duo of Mephisto and Dante. From that moment forward, Jackie was the area’s leading babyface.

Fargo had battled all the bad guys that had come down the pike over the years including a feud that ran off and on for over a decade against Don and Al Greene. Fargo partnered with many top names over the years but most often with his "brothers" Sonny (Roughhouse) and Don and also with Tojo Yamamoto and Jerry Jarrett.

Early 1975 saw the return to the area of Crazy Luke Graham. It would not take long before Fargo would cross paths with Graham.

Graham was part of the famous Graham family. In reality, Luke and his Graham brothers, Eddie, Jerry and Billy, like the Fargo Brothers, weren’t really related. (There’s also some debate that the Fabulous Fargos gimmick was a rip-off of the Golden Grahams gimmick made famous by Jerry and Eddie.) Luke had made his first appearance in the area over a decade earlier in 1964. In 1966 he returned forming a villainous team with Chin Lee.

Graham had wrestled in many territories over the years including a 1971 run in the WWWF where he and Tarzan Tyler were recognized as WWWF tag champions and also as WWWF International tag champions. Luke also headlined a main event in New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden on June 21, 1971 in a losing effort against WWWF champion Pedro Morales.

Luke had a taped thumb gimmick he used in the territory. His right thumb would be covered with tape and at the opportune time he would, away from the sight of the referee, jab his thumb into the throat of his opponent. His opponent would sell the move as if he had been leveled by a bulldozer. Fans, aware of the illegal tactic, would then reign catcalls and boos down on Graham.

Upon his return to the area, Graham paired up with Don Duffy. Duffy was another veteran who had seen action in the area in 1972 as manager to Lorenzo Parente and Bobby Hart. After the team of Jerry Lawler and Jim White split, Lawler teamed with a masked man billed as The Scorpion. Don Duffy was the man behind that mask. Duffy had also traveled the territories achieving success in the Gulf Coast area, California and Michigan.

Together, Graham and Duffy quickly began a feud with Jackie Fargo by attacking him on Chattanooga TV. Jackie called on brother Roughhouse to help out. Luke’s wild in-ring behavior was matched by the unorthodox Roughhouse and the two teams battled in several cities in the territory for a few weeks.

After a few weeks, Jackie wound up in matches against The Bounty Hunters while Graham and Duffy feuded with the team of Jimmy Golden and Johnny Gray. Then the unexpected happened.

Graham ran afoul of a new team in the area, Rocket Monroe and Randy Tyler. Graham needed a partner. He determined there was only one man he knew who could hold his own against Monroe and Tyler. That man was Jackie Fargo. Fargo was hesitant about teaming with Graham, a man who had battered him and his brother a few weeks earlier. Graham gave his word and the promise of money that he would not turn on Fargo. Fargo thought about it for awhile but then agreed and the year’s most unlikely combo was formed: The Fabulous Jackie Fargo and Crazy Luke Graham.

Fargo and Graham teamed for a few weeks against Monroe and Tyler then split on good terms. Graham would remain in the area a little while longer and formed a team with area favorite Steve Kovacs (later to gain fame in Georgia and Mid-South as Stephen Little Bear) and together they battled the Sam Bass-managed combination of Karl Von Stieger and Otto Von Heller. Von Stieger and Von Heller were a German heel team that allowed Graham to become even more popular. Graham would leave the territory later but he and Fargo would see each other again in a few years.

Meantime, Fargo’s crazy year continued as he ran afoul of Chris Colt, Mike Boyette and Bill Colt. This trio also teamed some with Bill Dundee. The Colts and Boyette appeared as hippies with long hair and a grungy look. Their physical appearance stood in stark contrast to the conservative values held by many of the area fans. Fargo called on his brothers, Roughhouse and Don to help him out in this feud.

During the summer, Jackie Fargo and George Gulas laid claim to the US tag titles. This tag title was mainly defended in the eastern end of the territory. Also, Fargo and Mr. Wrestling would become Southern tag champions. This duo would eventually lose the titles to The Interns managed by Dr. Ken Ramey.

Speaking of the Interns, Fargo also found himself partnered with veteran Pepper Gomez for a few weeks in the fall against the masked combo and their manager. The two veterans would not stay together too long as Gomez left the area after staying just a few weeks.

At some point in the late summer or early fall, Phil Hickerson and Dennis Condrey won the US tag belts. Fargo and the returning Don Carson took those titles for a brief run.

Fargo spent the rest of the year mainly in tag matches. His partners included Jerry Jarrett, Roughhouse Fargo, Bob Armstrong, Andre the Giant and Lester Welch. Fargo mainly competed in these tag matches against The Interns, The Bounty Hunters managed by Jim Kent and Hickerson and Condrey.

1976 was around the corner for the long time area superstar, Jackie Fargo. It would be the year he would get to know the fast rising team of Phil Hickerson and Dennis Condrey up close and personal.

January-March 1975 in Review

1974 had ended with a wild scene on Chattanooga TV. Big Bad John, Lorenzo Parente and Johnny Gray had attacked Jerry Barber and left him beaten and battered. John was a big man with long black hair and beard. He wore a motorcycle helmet. To batter Barber, Parente and Gray ran Barber repeatedly into John’s helmet. For revenge Barber enlisted the help of Bearcat Brown and George Gulas. The two teams met in a stretcher match on January 4^th in Chattanooga’s Memorial Auditorium. Gray, though, was injured and could not compete. His spot on the team was taken by Ed Kowalski. Kowalski would be carted off that night as Barber, Gulas and Brown won. Kowalski would only appear in the territory for a few weeks. He is just one more name on a long list of wrestlers who early in their career passed through the territory only to become a big name star elsewhere later. Kowalski would achieve some fame as Ed Wiskowski and Derek Draper before gaining more fame in the 1980s as Colonel DeBeers. Also on the January 4^th card, Jackie Fargo downed Bulldog Don Kent to win the Mid-America title. Kent would regain the title within the month.

The Southern tag titles went up for grabs in a tournament in Louisville on January 7 after champions Tojo Yamamoto and Jerry Lawler split. The tournament was won by Tojo Yamamoto and Eddie Marlin.

Ron Fuller held the Southern title. Fuller also operated the Knoxville office. Appearing in Knoxville this month were stars such as Dutch Mantel, John Foley, Les Thatcher, Nelson Royal, Dennis Condrey and Professor Dale Lewis. Fuller topped off January (on the 24^th) with a major show in Knoxville that saw NWA champion Jack Brisco, Nelson Royal, Women’s champion The Fabulous Moolah, Vicki Williams, Southern champion Ron Fuller, Cowboy Bill Watts, Mid-America champion Don Kent, Ron Wright, John Foley & Dutch Mantel, Eddie and Mike Graham, Danny Hodge, Les Thatcher, Professor Dale Lewis and Steve Keirn. Fuller also brought hot new star Ric Flair in from the Carolinas to battle Olympic strongman Ken Patera. Fuller, still using some Gulas-Welch talent, was beginning to create his own unique territory and in so doing needed Gulas-Welch talent less and less.

As Southern champion, Fuller made regular appearances all over the Gulas-Welch territory and usually every Friday night in Knoxville, as well. During January Fuller defended the title against Jerry Lawler in Memphis and Ron Wright in Knoxville. He also took time to team with Danny Hodge in Memphis to battle Dick the Bruiser and Jerry Lawler. In February Fuller battled Lawler, Steve Kovacs, Phil Hickerson, Lou Thesz and Ron Wright (one Knoxville newspaper clip even lists Wright as Southern champion). Challengers for Fuller’s title in March include Danny Hodge and Al Greene.

NWA champion Jack Brisco came to the area near the end of January to defend the title. He had a wide variety of opponents for his week in the territory. Among his defenses: in Memphis against Steve Kovacs, in Louisville against Ron Fuller, in Chattanooga against Don Kent and in Knoxville against Nelson Royal. Brisco would return to Memphis on February 3^rd to get a win against Jerry Lawler.

Veteran Crazy Luke Graham returned and feuded with Jackie Fargo. He also feuded with Tommy Gilbert in some cities around the circuit. Graham and Duffy then feuded with Jimmy Golden and Dennis Condrey in some Alabama cities early in the year. Later, Graham and Duffy would attack Golden and heel Johnny Gray would rescue Golden leading to Golden and Gray teaming to battle Graham and Duffy. During his stay in the area, Graham also had a run as Mid-America champion when he defeated Jackie Fargo.

Sam Bass, who made a name for himself in the area by first managing Jim White and Jerry Lawler and later, Al Greene and Phil Hickerson, began managing a new team, Ron and Don Bass. The Bass trio soon found themselves battling Jackie Fargo, George Gulas and Dennis Hall, among others.

Another team made an impact on the territory after debuting. This team was the combo of George Barnes and Bill Dundee. A few weeks after debuting in the area they defeated Tojo Yamamoto and Eddie Marlin to win the Southern tag championship. Prior to their championship win Barnes and Dundee got a win over Tojo Yamamoto and Dick the Bruiser in Memphis.

The team of Rocket Monroe and Randy Tyler also hit the area during the first three months of the year. They battled the team of Bearcat Brown and Joey Rossi in many cities around the horn.

Also notable in the area during January, February and March include the legendary Lou Thesz, Andre the Giant, The Bounty Hunters managed by Sir Clements and others including Billy and Benny McGuire. The McGuires were six hundred pound twins who worked the area usually a couple of times each year.

A few other significant things occurred early in 1975 affecting the territory. On February 16^th WRCB-TV (NBC affiliate) in Chattanooga began airing the syndicated version of Georgia Championship Wrestling every week. Gulas’ TV show had aired for nearly a decade on WDEF-TV (CBS affiliate) and Gulas had aired a TV show in the Chattanooga market dating back to the late 1950s. The GCW show did promote area wrestling, a weekly Thursday night GCW card in Rome, Georgia, about 75 miles south of Chattanooga. Rome was barely in the Chattanooga TV market but GCW never competed directly against Gulas in Chattanooga. Damage would be done though over the long haul. The TV show exposed area fans to a different brand of wrestling complete with better TV production. When GCW’s parent station, WTCG, went superstation status a few years later the Georgia product seemed more special to some fans since it could be watched by many more viewers than the local Gulas product. The GCW promotion also received liberal coverage in most of the national newsstand magazines. These same magazines rarely gave coverage to the Gulas territory. Gulas couldn’t have been too happy with the new TV show airing inside his territory. As members of the National Wrestling Alliance both sides, Gulas and GCW, had an understood agreement that prevented one member promotion promoting against the other promotion. This gentleman’s agreement kept the surging GCW promotion away from the southern flank of Gulas-Welch territory but barely.

On February 20, Bobby Shane was killed in a plane crash in Florida. The crash ended the in-ring career of Buddy Colt (who would return to Florida rings later as a manager, referee and announcer) and interrupted the careers of Playboy Gary Hart and Iron Mike McCord. Hart would recover and manage such stars as The Spoiler, The Great Kabuki, Maniac Mark Lewin and others and work big money territories such as Georgia, Mid-Atlantic and Texas. McCord would also recover and compete for awhile before disappearing and reappearing as Austin Idol. McCord, who had wrestled early in his career in the Gulas-Welch territory, would return to those stomping grounds in 1979 to stir things up and would return seemingly every year thereafter to wrestle for awhile in the territory. Shane had worked some in the territory in the 1960s but really became a star by working territories such as Georgia, Florida, the Gulf Coast, the Pacific Northwest and Australia. Shane, once a clean-cut fan favorite, had abandoned that gimmick to become the "King of Wrestling." During his stints in Atlanta Shane came across a young talent named Jerry Lawler. Shane and Lawler had even teamed a few times in Georgia. Lawler credits Shane with giving him a crown, part of the long-running King gimmick Lawler has used for years. Still it seems apparent that Shane had some influence, if only indirectly, on the Gulas-Welch territory by his brief association with the man who would become famous being billed as the "King of Wrestling" for years to come, Jerry Lawler.

"A Superstar is Born"

Who thought in February 1975 when the team of George Barnes and Bill Dundee debuted in the area how the fortunes of the company in years to come would be affected? The Gulas territory had long thrived on foreign heels, usually Japanese and German heels. Johnny Gray, an Australian, had debuted in 1974, as a heel, but had only achieved limited success. Barnes and Dundee would become the leading team in the area for a few months eclipsing any success Gray had achieved.

Both Dundee and Barnes were small in stature. Size, generally, was not a major factor in the Gulas territory. If it had been, Barnes and Dundee would have never succeeded here. One thing not small about the duo were their mouths. The pair was loud, arrogant and cocky. When they talked they spoke with a strange accent, a sure fire heat generator in the 1970s in the South.

Barnes and Dundee quickly won the Southern tag titles from Tojo Yamamoto and Eddie Marlin. They then moved into a feud with Robert Fuller who used an assortment of partners to combat the wily duo most notably his brother Ron, his father, Buddy and his cousin, Jimmy Golden. A few matches even saw the three Fullers battle Barnes, Dundee and fellow Australian Johnny Gray.

The territory, still mostly a tag team territory, allowed very few teams to remain champions for very long. As May ended, Tojo Yamamoto and Jimmy Golden ended the title reign of Barnes and Dundee and after a few weeks of rematches Barnes left the area. Dundee, however, remained.

The summer saw Dundee hop in the middle of things as he teamed with Chris Colt and Mike Boyette to battle area legends Jackie, Roughhouse and Don Fargo in a series of wild matches. The Fargos would come out on top in the battles but Dundee was proving to be a talent to hang on to. Earlier in the year he had waged war with Tojo Yamamoto and then by summer he had battled with Jackie Fargo. This left only one area headliner he had yet to meet, Jerry Lawler. His chance would come before the year would end.

Dundee, before battling Lawler, would go through a transformation. Dundee would become a fan favorite.

On Memphis TV the Interns and manager Dr. Ken Ramey beat up Eddie Marlin. Dundee made the save and ended up beaten down for his trouble. The Interns and Ramey, heels in the area off and on for most of the decade at this point, drew no sympathy from the fans, so Dundee, the fan favorite, was born. After a few weeks of matches with Marlin against the Interns, Dundee was about to become one half of a legendary long-running feud when he faced off against Jerry Lawler.

The Southern title had been held up and a tournament was held in Memphis on December 1^st. In round one, Lawler got past former champion Tommy Gilbert while Dundee downed another former champion, the rugged Don Greene. This set up Lawler vs. Dundee as the tournament final. The match ended in a no contest. Lawler ended up winning the belt in a few weeks in another tournament and the two squared off in a few matches around the area. It was only the beginning of a feud that would go on for years to come.

April-June 1975 in Review

Roy Welch’s son, Edward returned to the ring for some matches in April. Edward, better known as Buddy Fuller, returned to team with sons Ron and Robert Fuller against George Barnes, Bill Dundee and Johnny Gray. Robert, who had been active in Georgia in 1974, returned to a more active schedule in the territory in the spring often teaming with cousin, Jimmy Golden.

Ron remained Southern champion and fought off challenges from Professor Dale Lewis, George Barnes, Bill Dundee, Ricky Gibson, Ron Wright, and Crazy Luke Graham among others. Ron would also battle NWA champion Jack Brisco on some area cards in this time frame. Fuller’s reign would end on June 9^th when he dropped the title to The Mongolian Stomper managed by Bearcat Wright.

The Mongolian Stomper and manager Bearcat Wright jumped into the Southern title fray by defending the title against ex-champion Ron Fuller, Robert Fuller, Jackie Fargo and Jerry Lawler.

Rocket Monroe and Randy Tyler began a feud with the interesting combination of Jerry Jarrett and George Gulas. The Jarrett and Gulas team would prove interesting within the next few years as these two would become the focal point of where this territory was headed. Monroe and Tyler would then segue into a feud with the most unlikely combination the area could imagine, Jackie Fargo and Crazy Luke Graham. Monroe and Tyler would begin defending the US tag titles in May but would lose them to the team of Jackie Fargo and George Gulas. The US tag titles were then passed to Sam Bass’s new combination of Karl Von Stieger and Otto Von Heller. The US tag titles had been defended in the region in the 1960s with teams such as Les Thatcher and Bearcat Brown, The Spoilers, The Mighty Yankees and Big Bad John and Pepe Lopez holding the titles. The titles would remain active in the area for about another year.

George Barnes and Bill Dundee not only defended the Southern tag titles against various combinations of the Fullers, Buddy, Ron and Robert, but also against Tojo Yamamoto and Jerry Jarrett. Barnes and Dundee would eventually lose the titles to Tojo Yamamoto and Jimmy Golden who in turn lost the titles to Karl Von Stieger and Otto Von Heller. Yamamoto would then begin teaming with up and coming talent Tommy Rich, billed as Yamamoto’s protégé, much the same way Jerry Jarrett had been billed early in his ring career. The Southern tag titles wound up in the possession of Jackie Fargo and Mr. Wrestling by the end of June.

Changes were afoot in the territory as the summer began. George Barnes would leave the area but his partner Bill Dundee would stay. Norvell Austin returned and new talent came in such as The Outlaws: Cowboy Parker and Ken Dillenger, David Shultz, Mr. Suzuki, Chris Colt and Mike Boyette, among others. Georgia stars Abdullah the Butcher and Rocky Johnson made appearances in some cities in the territory.

"Outer Mongolia’s Favorite Son"

Billed from Outer Mongolia, the Mongolian Stomper debuted in the area in the summer of 1975. In most cities on his initial appearances in the territory he wrestled and defeated two opponents. Within a few weeks, the Stomper had garnered the area’s richest prize, the Southern title from Ron Fuller.

The Mongolian Stomper had worked a number of territories through the years. Long time fans in Calgary Canada recall his long run there. He also made plenty of noise in the Central States area for a number of years. Prior to coming to Tennessee the Stomper had had a big run in Florida.

The Stomper did not talk on interviews. This meant he needed a manager to be his mouthpiece. For much of his stay in the area, longtime mat star Bearcat Wright was given that chore. The Stomper apparently didn’t like others to talk either as he covered his ears when the crowd become noisy. Wright explained that noise hurt the Stomper’s sensitive ears. Naturally, this made the audiences cheer louder and louder against the giant bald-headed monster.

The Stomper’s stay in the area was significant. His Southern title reign came on the heels of the reign of Ron Fuller. Fuller, six feet nine inches tall and weighing 270 pounds, was really the first man to hold that title that wasn’t a junior heavyweight. Fuller, although he had appeared and headlined cards in Georgia, Florida and even appeared on the prestigious NWA showcase cards in St. Louis for promoter Sam Muchnick, was considered "local" by many fans around the country. Fuller had cut his teeth on the business in this area. The Stomper had also wrestled in other places but he had no connections to the area. So when Gulas was able to bring him in and then to have him win the Southern title it helped make the title more valuable and gave the territory a proven headliner who wasn’t local or homegrown. This shouldn’t diminish Fuller’s lengthy title reign either though. The long title reign gave value to the title and Fuller used himself as champion to not only support the Gulas-Welch cities but to help set up his own Knoxville territory to reach a level it hadn’t seen in a few years.

The Stomper turned away challenges from Ron and Robert Fuller, Jackie Fargo, The Magnificent Zulu, Jerry Lawler, Luke Graham and his eventual successor to the title, Bob Armstrong. Stomper feuded with Armstrong for a good deal of the summer and into the fall. Stomper used former WWWF champion Ivan Koloff as partner in this battle against Armstrong and Robert Fuller.

In the fall, Bearcat Wright left the area and Al Greene, longtime area star, replaced Wright as Stomper’s manager. Not much later, the Stomper lost several loser-leaves-town matches to Bob Armstrong and one or two to Jerry Lawler that sealed his departure from the area.

The Stomper would venture in and out of the territory over the next few years. His next stop would be a long, successful run for Ron Fuller’s Knoxville group where he became an area legend. The Stomper’s success was something all the folks back in Outer Mongolia could find pride in knowing. But of course this is professional wrestling where all you see and hear isn’t always the way it really is. The Mongolian Stomper, you see, was in reality a Canadian named Archie Gouldie.

July-September 1975 in Review

The summer kicked off with a reuniting of the Fabulous Fargos. Jackie enlisted the aid of brothers Don and Roughhouse against various combinations of Bill Dundee, Chris Colt, Mike Boyette and Bill Colt. While together, the Fargos also battled Al Greene and The Outlaws: Cowboy Parker and Ken Dillenger. Greene began managing this tag team.

Jackie held the Southern tag titles with Mr. Wrestling for a few weeks before they went back to former champions Karl Von Stieger and Otto Von Heller with manager Sam Bass.

The Mr. Wrestling gimmick had been around for a number of years and had been made famous especially in Florida and Georgia by Tim Woods. After the promotional war broke out in Georgia in late 1972 and early 1973 a new masked man named Mr. Wrestling II debuted and would become a state legend. II was longtime star Johnny Walker, who left the Gulas-Welch territory in early 1973 to begin his work as II in Georgia. The Mr. Wrestling in the territory in 1975 though was neither Woods or Walker but long time area star and one-time Fargo rival Don Greene. Fargo and Greene would regain the titles after Greene was unmasked but would then lose the titles in September to Dr. Ken Ramey’s Interns.

In September Fargo found himself paired with veteran Pepper Gomez. Gomez, billed as having an iron-like stomach, came into the area and challenged folks to hit him in the stomach. He even challenged folks to jump off a ladder onto his stomach while he laid in the ring. Dr. Ken Ramey’s Interns accepted the offer. Their attempts did not faze Gomez in the least. Angered at being shown up by the newcomer Gomez, the Interns asked for one last chance at Gomez’s stomach. One of the Interns climbed the ladder and jumped off onto the prone Gomez, but instead of landing on his stomach the Intern landed on Gomez’s throat. The trio then proceeded to destroy Gomez. This angle, new to Gulas fans, was hardly original. Gomez had used his iron-stomach gimmick, complete with ladder, in other territories over the years, most notably in the San Francisco area in 1962 where the angle set up that area’s hottest feud ever with Ray Stevens.

Phil Hickerson and Dennis Condrey formed a team in the summer of 1975. Hickerson had been part of a successful team with Al Greene. Condrey had had limited success as a babyface teaming with Jimmy Golden. Together, this combination would become one of Gulas’ best tag teams ever.

The Magnificent Zulu would capture the Mid-America title during the summer. He would only hold it briefly before losing it to former NWA champion Harley Race on September 9^th in Memphis.

Nick Gulas’ son, George, who had debuted in 1974 continued to get a healthy push. George, who had mainly appeared in tag matches the previous year, found himself working his first major solo program against Mr. Suzuki. Memorable in this feud were a few matches where the loser of the match had to throw money to the crowd. Suzuki won that round but lost the next round which found the loser of the match losing his hair. The feud even got some play in some national magazines, a rarity for the area, apparently an attempt to get George over as an emerging mat star.

The Knoxville office still used some Gulas-Welch talent but increasingly other stars appeared in Knoxville that didn’t appear elsewhere in the region such as The Masked Assassin II, Tommy Seigler and others. Ron and Don Wright, longtime Knoxville mainstays, made some appearances throughout the territory for Gulas.

The summer also saw appearances by such stars as Sputnik Monroe, NWA Junior Heavyweight champion Hiro Matsuda, Rip Hawk and a youngster who had debuted in 1974 as Wayne Petty.

September also saw the NWA presidency change hands to Texas promoter Jack Adkisson, a/k/a Fritz Von Erich.

"The Rich Get Richer"

1974 had seen the debut of Hendersonville, Tennessee’s Tommy Rich on TV and on some house shows. While Rich had wrestled some in 1974 he made very little impact then. 1975 would be a much different year for the young blond.

Rich had several things going for him working for Gulas. He had the look of a babyface or good guy. Clean cut with white blonde hair he instantly became a favorite of the female fans. He was also a local boy so fans took a liking to one of their own. Combine these things with some charisma and some potential and Tommy Rich began coming into his own.

As Gulas often did when he saw a potential star in the making, he was quick to pair him with an established veteran in a tag team. This was done so the young star could gain experience and knowledge at the feet of a veteran. Any shortcomings the young star had could be covered up more easily in a tag match than in a singles match. Another advantage was the star rub the young star received by appearing with the older star. Gulas had done this with two stars in particular over the years, Jerry Jarrett and his own son, George Gulas. He paired Jarrett with Tojo Yamamoto and Jackie Fargo and George with Dennis Hall and Fargo and later, Yamamoto.

Gulas had another advantage in developing young talent such as Rich. His territory was so big he could always use another piece of talent. A wrestler could work one end of the territory for awhile and then work the other end without losing too much steam with the fans. If someone was willing to learn the ropes as a professional wrestler then Gulas probably had a place for him.

Gulas paired Rich with Yamamoto and the two teamed much of 1975.

The duo won the US tag titles in the summer from the team of Karl Von Stieger and Otto Von Heller. Information is unclear but it seems likely that Yamamoto and Rich lost the US titles to Phil Hickerson and Dennis Condrey during the fall of 1975.

Rich’s first full year in the business had been good. His visibility in the area had been heightened with his tag team with area superstar Tojo Yamamoto which included a tag title run. He had stepped in the ring with some of the area’s top talent and had progressed nicely. His good looks and charisma had helped make him a favorite of the fans. Was Rich ready to step into a top slot in the territory? 1976 would provide him such an opportunity. Rich’s young career was about to be burning like a wildfire out of control.

October-December 1975 in Review

Bob Armstrong held onto the Southern title for most of the last few months of the year. He got past challenges from former champion The Mongolian Stomper and then Mid-America champion Harley Race in a title vs. title match. Armstrong even won a few loser-leaves-town matches around the circuit against The Mongolian Stomper. The man who would cause some trouble for Armstrong toward the end of the year, Jerry Lawler, would also win some loser-leaves-town matches against the Stomper.

Things started off better for Armstrong and Lawler as the two teamed to battle Dr. Ken Ramey and The Interns. Then things fell apart as Lawler turned on Armstrong. Lawler, who had broken away from manager Sam Bass a year earlier joined forces again with Bass. The Southern title wound up being held up.

A tournament was ordered for the Southern title on December 1^st in Memphis that saw an inconclusive ending. Two weeks later, Lawler would get a DQ win against Dick the Bruiser to advance to another tournament final against ex-champion Ron Fuller, who had a DQ tournament win over Bob Roop. Lawler would then defeat Fuller to become Southern champion again.

Phil Hickerson and Dennis Condrey began running roughshod over area tag teams. A heel referee didn’t hurt their cause. Paul Maxwell was a referee for Gulas who apparently wasn’t on the up and up since he helped Hickerson and Condrey win a few matches. Finally, Jackie Fargo and Jerry Jarrett had enough and teamed with Jerry Lawler to square off with Hickerson, Condrey and Maxwell. Hickerson and Condrey mainly feuded with Jackie Fargo who teamed with Jarrett, Andre the Giant and Roughhouse Fargo. Jackie Fargo and Don Carson also downed Hickerson and Condrey for a short run as US tag champions. There’s also some evidence that suggests Eddie Marlin and Tommy Gilbert held the US tag titles briefly late in the year as well.

The Interns ran into trouble in Memphis on December 21^st as they lost the Southern tag belts to Bearcat Brown and Tommy Gilbert. Brown and Gilbert had held the titles before but with other partners. Brown had teamed to hold the titles with Len Rossi and Johnny Walker while Gilbert had held the title with Eddie Marlin and Ricky Gibson.

New or returning to the area at this time were: Don and Al Greene (as a team), Bill Ash, The Sheik, Professor Toru Tanaka, Buddy Diamond, Don Anderson, Gentle Ben the Wrestling Bear and two outstanding amateur wrestlers from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Pez Whatley and George Weingeroff, son of long time area star Saul Weingeroff. Also debuting as a referee for some events in the territory was Butch Thornton, son of Chattanooga TV announcer and co-promoter, Harry Thornton.

One last significant event occurred outside the territory before the year ended. On December 10 NWA champion Jack Brisco lost the title to Terry Funk in Miami, FL.

"Behind the Mask"

Jerry Lawler came into his own as a singles star in 1974. A number of folks began to notice Lawler’s quick wit on interviews and ability in the ring. Lawler began accepting appearances outside the Tennessee home base, most notably in Georgia.

The Georgia territory had been a busy one in the early 1970s due to the fallout of the partnership revolving around Ray Gunkel and Edward Welch. This situation is detailed in the overview article. It lead to a promotional war in Georgia. It was during the years of the promotional war in Georgia that some stars from the Gulas-Welch territory made their way to Georgia. Lawler was one of those stars.

By 1975, the NWA Georgia office had won the promotional war over All-South. Lawler, who first appeared in Atlanta in 1974, had worked his way to mid-card on the Georgia shows and sometimes onto the semi-final main event as a heel. Lawler, despite his appearances in Georgia, maintained a schedule for Gulas-Welch. Lawler though found no success in loosening Ron Fuller’s stranglehold on the Southern title. This found Lawler working a good number of dates in 1975 in Georgia. He battled such opponents as Don Muraco, Jerry Brisco, Rocky Johnson, Bob Armstrong, Robert Fuller, Larry Zbyszko, Bob Backlund and others while teaming with Don Greene, The Assassin II, Bob Orton, Jr. and others.

As the summer wound down it appeared Lawler’s run in Georgia was over. He would not automatically return to Tennessee though.

Lawler’s one-time tag partner, Don Greene had gone to work the Florida territory with Curtis Smith. Together the pair donned masks and were called The Superstars. (Please note: this is altogether a different team that would appear for Gulas in 1976.) Smith was a ring veteran who wore a mask virtually all his career, most notably as one of J.C. Dykes’ Infernos. Greene also had donned a mask from time to time. After a few weeks, Smith left the team leaving Greene without a partner. The team did not end there though. Greene replaced Smith with another masked Superstar. Under the mask then was Jerry Lawler.

The Superstars would last only a few months in Florida. Sam Bass would even manage them during their Florida stay. The team though rarely made it past mid-card status there. Some nights, Lawler would appear under the mask and then later on the card as himself without the mask.

1975 also saw Lawler without a mask and without much of anything. Lawler posed nude for one of the newsstand wrestling magazines (one of the Victory Sports publications or Apter mags, as more commonly known by longtime fans), with his trusty crown strategically placed to make the photo suitable for distribution. The Apter magazines had given some coverage to Lawler’s Memphis antics prior to his infamous photo shoot but coverage by most newsstand magazines was uncommon for the area. (Wrestling Revue and Wrestling News did give some good coverage, without the sensationalism of the Apter mags, to the area over the years.)

As busy as all this left Lawler, Tennessee was calling. He returned to the Gulas-Welch territory full-time in the late fall. He quickly got back into the middle of things by winning a loser leaves town match against The Mongolian Stomper in Memphis. He then teamed with Bob Armstrong against Dr. Ken Ramey’s Interns. Just as quick, Lawler turned on Armstrong reverting back to his evil ways and even added Sam Bass as his manager again.

1975 came to a close with Jerry Lawler holding the Southern title with manager Sam Bass as his manager. Lawler was back in his stomping grounds with a smirk on his face, a wisecrack on his lips and trouble on his mind. Would 1976 be the year Lawler would come to rule Tennessee wrestling?

Conclusion

1975 was a big year for the territory. Jerry Lawler had spent a good deal of time away from the territory but by year’s end he had returned full time to the area, turned heel, reunited with manager Sam Bass and was terrorizing the region as the area’s lead heel. Jackie Fargo remained viable and in the thick of things. The territory, long known as a tag team territory, saw the debut of Phil Hickerson and Dennis Condrey, who had within a few months become a major force. An unlikely hero for the territory, Australia’s Bill Dundee, had debuted as part of a heel team with George Barnes but by year’s end had turned into a fan favorite. Longtime area star Tojo Yamamoto had spent a good part of the year teaming with youngster Tommy Rich, who showed signs of great potential. The promoter’s son, George Gulas, continued to get a sizable push over the year including his first major singles feud against Mr. Suzuki and even teamed some with Jerry Jarrett. Things had changed some though. The Knoxville office, owned by Ronald Welch, grandson of Gulas partner, Roy Welch, had long shared talent with the Gulas-Welch office. This continued but as the year wore on, it occurred less frequently as the Knoxville office began to become more and more successful and needed the talent swap less and less.

1976

The United States of America turned 200 years young during the summer of 1976. Professional wrestling continued to draw good crowds in the cities promoted by Nick Gulas and Roy Welch. Welch, though, was in poor health. Welch had taken Jerry Jarrett, son of longtime Gulas employee Christine Jarrett, under his wing several years earlier and by 1976, Jarrett was not only a major in-ring performer in the area but had also acquired power and respect behind the scenes by running the western end of the territory. Meantime, the in-ring action remained wild and woolly.

The Bicentennial Kings

The 1970s were full of many great tag teams. A short list of such teams would include Ray Stevens and Nick Bockwinkel, Ole and Gene Anderson, Black Gordman and The Great Goliath, Ric Flair and Greg Valentine, Jack Brisco and Jerry Brisco and Dory Funk, Jr. and Terry Funk. More than likely that short list would not include the tag team of Phil Hickerson and Dennis Condrey. Some who remember them though say they belong on such a list.

Not many fans outside the Gulas territory ever had the chance to see the combination of Hickerson and Condrey. In a sense it poses a question similar to that age-old question: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?" Since the team of Hickerson and Condrey never appeared in a major TV market (such as New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles) as a team does that mean they weren’t a good team? The Tennessee territory received very little press in the newsstand magazines during the time period, especially in the glossy Apter magazines. Coverage in the Apter magazines often meant that whoever, or whatever territory the Apter magazines were featuring became stars in the business (or became bigger stars) since these magazines were available to more fans coast to coast. Hickerson and Condrey rarely appeared in these magazines so their reputation as a team is remembered by those who were fortunate enough to see them when they teamed in the territory.

Hickerson had made a name for himself in a tag team with Al Greene, and both men complimented each other... they were both big men, and they both hammered away at their opposition, with Hickerson being a little younger, and quicker. Actually for his size, Hickerson was a very quick man. He was from just outside Jackson, Tennessee, and was able to use his hometown to his advantage. More...