Memories
Chapter Three: Addicted To Mid-Atlantic Wrestling With Bob Caudle
#PWHS #Article #MidAtlantic #MACW #BobCaudle
Holding just scraps of masks, the bloodied Bolos were telling Bob Caudle why they were the better team; the Kentuckians were going to feel their vengeance in upcoming matches around the Mid-Atlantic area. Just then The Kentuckians come over to the announcer’s table and the fight is on again. Fists flying, few words of interview, fists flying again were seen the next few minutes as the two teams continued to maul each other without any seen victor. That’s how the best TV show went off the air. It is also the SPECIFIC show that won me over to Pro Wrestling.
That was over forty years ago. I trace my first glimpse of wrestlers back to 1963 and the above paragraph probably was in 1964 at best guess. The above show was so different than the usual I would usually catch on Mid-Atlantic Wrestling with Bob Caudle. Very rarely was there a main event type match, but usually I watched lopsided matches where the top heroes or worst villains won with ease. Between these teasers were the heated interviews of the charismatic heroes or the villainous bad guys saying how and why they would come out victorious in the upcoming matches in the nearby arenas or high schools.
Back to that great match I still relive today. The masked team of the Bolos were in a heated rivalry with a couple down-to-earth guys known as the Kentuckians. The Kentuckians were Tiny Anderson and Big Boy Brown who gave the perception of being tall Hillbillies you would like to have over for dinner. The Bolos were masked in white with black trimming around the mouth and eyes. The trimming around the eyes gave the idea of the Devil’s horns and to most of the fans it seemed that the Devil shared his hometown with these two.
The show was only one match, but disguised as the main event first, then time-remaining matches. They even named the participants in the time remaining matches, if there was time available. Their rivalry had gone back and forth with neither team giving the impression they were better. It was played off that on TV they would settle it once and for all who was truly the best team. It would be a ONE FALL, NO TIME LIMIT-NO DISQUALIFICATION match. This Saturday sounded like it would be special.
The show opened directly by going to the ring for the introductions. The special rules for this match were announced and I felt myself getting tense. The bell rings, and the next fifty minutes of wrestling were the best this golden memory can recall. The specifics are hard to recall, but the spirit of battle still rests deep in my memory banks. No disqualification. Wrestlers illegally changing. One wrestler beat the heck of his opponent, then the same opponent reverses the punishment. Wrestlers running into the ring, strike a mighty blow, and go outside again. All four become bloodied along the forehead as time progressed. Bolos losing parts of their masks. Breaking up submission holds or pins. Breaking up pins and then the fresh partner acting like he was the man supposed to be in the ring. Double teamings by both sides, frequently. All four battling it out in the middle of the ring. two battling it out in the ring and the other two battling throughout the TV studio. Bolos’ masks becoming more torn as unseen hair before becomes now apparent. Foreign objects added to the fray.
On and on they battled. When they came back from commercial, you could tell there were no TV breaks for the participants. These four mauled each other. I would have bet all my Micky Mantles that Pro Wrestling was definitely real on this date. It seemed each team truly hated the other and would only be happy to see the other hospitalized and never to return to the squared circle.
The match was finally stopped and declared no contest. Then came the Bolos’ interview holding just tiny scraps over their nose and eyes. It is a burned in memory. It was surreal.
I had never seen something like this…and I was sold. I liked this good guy versus bad guy drama. I liked how they kept giving it their all. I was inspired how the good guys were down close to defeat, but rise once again for the cause of everything good. I had become a Pro Wrestling fan no matter how much ridicule I would ever receive.
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
Memories: Chapter Three.
Author: Terry Kent.
Published: March 10, 2016.
Article: #137.
Editor: Jimmy Wheelr.
Memories: Chapter Three.
Author: Terry Kent.
Published: March 10, 2016.
Article: #137.
Editor: Jimmy Wheelr.
Memories: Chapter Four - Read Here.
Memories: Chapter Two - Read Here.
Other articles by Terry can be Read Here.