NWA World Title defenses by Kininski and Funk

[RowdyRoddy]

It seems like from the mid 1960s until the mid 1970s that the NWA World Champion (Gene Kininski, Dory Funk Jr., Harley Race, or Jack Brisco) did not put the NWA World Title on the line in a Mid-Atlantic town. They seemed to be in the area only once a month for a couple of days. It appears that were not there often..

www.wrestling-titles.com/nwa/world/nwa-h-matches/nwa-h-matches1966.html

www.wrestling-titles.com/nwa/world/nwa-h-matches/nwa-h-matches1968.html

www.wrestling-titles.com/nwa/world/nwa-h-matches/nwa-h-matches1970.html

www.wrestling-titles.com/nwa/world/nwa-h-matches/nwa-h-matches1972.html

[thegreatbolo]

I remember vividly two KINISKI title defenses at the CHARLOTTE COLISEUM...one against RIP HAWK, the other against TEX McKENZIE.

Then in '71 or '72, DORY had the big title program with JOHNNY WEAVER.

[RowdyRoddy]

Did Johnny Weaver ever get a DQ or count out win over Funk Jr? How did Rip Hawk & Tex McKenzie fair against Kininski?

[cwh47]

From the time that Lou Thesz won his last NWA Title from
Buddy Rogers in January 1963 until Terry Funk won the belt
from Jack Brisco in December 1975, I would say the NWA champ
spent about four weeks a year in the Crockett territory.When
you consider the champion defending the title in all the other
territories and abroad we probably got to see the champ more
than some of the other areas did.The other thing that was good
too was until 1967 there were four different Crockett tv shows
each week and three until the latter part of 1974.It was not at
all unusual for the World Champion to wrestle on these shows
during that era and that includes Lou Thesz.

[cwh47]

Here is the first World Title defense I got to see:




Below is a card that was scheduled before Gene Kiniski lost the
NWA World Title to Dory Funk Jr. in Tampa,Florida on Feb.11,1969.
Also the ad where the card had to be changed.

[RowdyRoddy]

When did the NWA World Title matches go from best two out of three falls to one fall? Thanks for the newspaper clippings. I liked the NWA better when Sam M was in charge & a man carried the NWA title for 2 - 3 years at a time (Thesz, Kiniski, Funk Jr., Brisco, Race, etc.).

[cwh47]

I would say that by 1972 the World Title matches became
one fall bouts.I can say for sure that when Jack Brisco defended
against Ole Anderson in Greensboro during Sept.1973 it was a
one fall match.

[RowdyRoddy]

I thought that the mid 1970s ushered in the one fall bouts, but I guess it was more toward the early 1970s

[Baltimore Jack]

It may have varied by territory, it was not an NWA mandate or anything.

[thegreatbolo]

Concerning Kiniski versus Rip Hawk and Kiniski versus Tex McKenzie---Kiniski won two-out-of-three falls clean over both opponents. I specifically remember that Rip juiced big time as that was the first match I ever saw with blood.

Johnny Weaver had a big program for Dory Jr.'s title. He was considered such a serious threat that Dory Sr. put a bounty on Johnny to anyone who could eliminate him as a contender. Jr. refused to wrestle Johnny under any circumstances, forcing Johnny to go down to Florida under a hood, pinning Junior on CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING FROM FLORIDA. I remember Coach John Heath's commentary to Gordon Solie that "this masked man wrestles very similar like the great Johnny Weaver."

There was then a three or four week series of 'Bounty Matches' at Charlotte's Park Center. Malenko tried to collect the bounty but failed. There might have been another bounty hunter brought in---I can't remember. But Dory Sr. himself came to Charlotte to put Johnny out but failed as well.

Johnny then beat Junior in a TEXAS DEATH MATCH at the Charlotte Coliseum (non-title, of course) forcing the champ to give Weaver a title shot.

Dory beat Johnny clean in 2-of-3 at that Coliseum match (I was there). It was also significant that the same night, George Becker wrestled his last match for Crockett in Charlotte, teaming with Sandy Scott to beat (I believe) Art Nelson and one of the Von Stroheims.

[cwh47]

Here are two of the bounty matches you mentioned greatbolo.

8-23-71 Charlotte,NC

Johnny Weaver defeats Terry Funk in a $2000 Bounty match.

8-30-71 Charlotte,NC

Johnny Weaver defeats Great Malenko in a $4000 Bounty match.

I am trying to remember the name Johnny Weaver used when
he wrestled under the mask.Was it "The Grappler"?

Back to Kiniski.I saw Johnny Weaver win over Gene Kiniski in
March 1968 at the Greensboro Coliseum.Gene Kiniski got DQ'ed in
the third fall.

[RowdyRoddy]

When Sam M was NWA President in the 1960s and 1970s, most of the NWA World Title defenses ended in a clean pin. Once Sam stepped down as President in the mid to late 1970s, you did not see as many clean pins by the NWA Champ in title defenses.

[thegreatbolo]

Good morning cwh47,

Sorry, but I can't remember the name Johnny used under a hood in Florida.

We can ask Johnny in Burlington in a few weeks.

[clawmaster]

Was Johnny Weaver Mr. Wrestling in Florida?

[cwh47]

That is very possible clawmaster.Do you have any Florida
results of Mr. Wrestling going against Dory Funk Sr. or Terry
Funk that would have happened around the same time as
the Charlotte Bounty matches?I saw the arena footage of
them unmasking Johnny on both the High Point and Charlotte
tv shows.I am just not sure of the name Johnny was using.