In The Beginning…
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After the formation of the IWA in 1969, the juggernaut wrestling council would on occasion promote shows in the Northeast part of the country. Those shows, usually in the big cities of Boston, NYC, Philly, Pittsburgh and as far down as our nation’s capitol, made decent money and the promoting was farmed out to a slick Northeast business man named Landon O’Neil, who had connections at the famed sporting arenas in those cities and promoted boxing, the circus, barnstorming sporting events, traveling shows and plays when not working with the IWA.
O’Neil was usually paid handsomely for his efforts, as were his underlings, and the IWA went on their way…
…but O’Neil had visions for more. The advent of broadcast television intrigued him, and the sudden revenue cow that the NFL turned into intrigued him more. O’Neil watched in fascination as “Broadway” Joe Namath captivated the sports nation and become not just an A-list celebrity but a box office attraction while playing for the New York Football Jets. On his promoting loop were hallowed sports halls like Boston Gardens, the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, the Spectrum in Philadelphia, and last but not least, the Mecca itself, Madison Square Garden. There was millions of dollars to be made from wrestling in these arenas, and there was a burgeoning television market that would allow him to broadcast these matches from Maine to Maryland.
He could make millions of dollars, the IWA would skyrocket it’s business, it was almost too good to be true… so when the IWA turned down O’Neil’s bid for his new territory to become a full member in fall of 1974, forgoing the probationary process, with rights to promote the champion immediately, he was shocked and outraged. Sure, he was an unlikeable weasal, but he was a great business man, and always made them money.
After sulking for a good few months, O’Neil gathered his resources and pitched a vision to some people in the wrestling business of the North East Wrestling Commission. A territory that would NOT work with the IWA in any capacity, wouldn’t recognize or promote the IWA World Champion, and would be billed as wrestling on I-95, as they would promote shows in any state that touched that behemoth interstate highway, building it’s base in the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania Tri-State Area and expanding to Boston and D.C. for big shows. A few people who were involved in the business signed on, O’Neil made some handshake agreements with a few fading stars to come on board, and on January 1, 1976, “Championship Wrestling from the Northeast” debuted from Philadelphia.
Establishing A Foothold
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Fans in the Northeast were slow to warm up to the new territory, but the first name to pop attendance gates was former IWA World Champion, Bruno Moretti. Moretti had been out of the public eye since losing the IWA World title and had been taking some time off in Canada, rehabbing and training. The heavy Italian population braved the snow and the elements to see the “Italian Stallion” in battle, and were aghast when Moretti was NOT awarded the inaugural NEWC Heavyweight championship. That honor was bestowed upon “Million Dollar” Michael Darling, a leisure suit wearing competitor who had made his name through cheating and paying people off to do his work for him. Darling alluded to the fact that he had paid off the NEWC Championship committee to give him the title, and in the aftermath of Watergate the paranoid Northeast crowd believed it and booed the hell out of him. When Moretti was announced as the first challenger, and their title match was announced to be taking place at The Spectrum in Philly, they flocked to Broad and Pattison and sold out the place, and then erupted in joy as Moretti pummeled Darling into submission and retirement, winning the title in the process!
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BEHIND THE SCENES: Michael Darling was the booker of NEWC and losing the title to Moretti was part of the deal. He had suffered a near crippling hip injury in Japan and was looking to get out of the ring entirely, but knew that he could tough it out for a few months to get business rolling. As soon as he lost to Moretti he announced his retirement on camera and settled into his role as booker and manager. Darling’s first order of business was to find someone from out of the area who would be an attraction as well as a physical threat to his Italian strongman champion.
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NEWC TV was taped the Tuesday after Moretti won the title, but the whole show was focused on Michael Darling. Darling announced his retirement to the viewers, effective immediately, but also announced that he was staying in the sport as a manager. Due to the “heinous and uncouth” tactics of Moretti, Darling would not be able to compete ever again, but he was going to spend every cent of his vast family fortune until he eliminated Bruno Moretti from the sport.
Thus began a cycle where Darling would bring in wrestlers of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds to take down the champion, none of whom were successful. But the hatred between Darling and Bruno was palpable, and the wrestlers Darling brought in were top notch. It was Darling’s signing of a Samoan warrior named Siaki that made history. Darling signed the wrestler, on and off screen, to a three match contract that just happened to take place in the biggest arenas in the Northeast. For weeks Darling aired footage of the massive Samoan destroying wrestlers, a mop of greasy black hair atop a body sculpted by hard labor, never wearing boots, fists, wrists, ankles and feet heavily taped up. When the first match was announced for the Spectrum on the 4th of July, the building sold out and the fans were treated to an absolute demolition. The tremendously strong, scientific wrestling champion was left in a bloody heap by Siaki, who tied Moretti up in the ropes and administered chops until he was coughing blood. The notoriously hostile Philly fans threw anything not nailed to the ground at Siaki, and then ran like hell when the crazed Samoan charged into the crowd and fought back!
The second bout was scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend 1976 in the sports mecca known as Madison Square Garden. The holiday crowd, along with the wrestling crowd, filled up the building and nearly blew the roof off the joint when Moretti and Siaki exchanged blows, chop for punch, in the middle of the ring. Both men connected at the same time and the champion fell on top, getting the victory but not a convincing one. The rubber match was scheduled for St. Patrick’s Day weekend 1977 at the Boston Gardens. Championship prices were in effect, beer prices were raised and Landon O’Neil rolled in the money as Bruno Moretti and Siaki battled for nearly thirty minutes. Michael Darling had been calling the champion out, cursing him for a coward and a paper champion who could not defeat the mighty Siaki. When Moretti got the clean victory after a thunderous powerslam, the rabid crowd and the champion both let out a howl of victory. The mighty Siaki had been defeated.
After the grueling matches with Siaki, along with the other demands of being champion, a weary Moretti continued to meet every challenge, even though the physical toll on his body was evident. And although Siaki did not win the title, his physical punishment of Moretti took most of the credit when the champion shockingly lost the Heavyweight title on May 14, 1977 to Prince Bandar, the hand picked challenger for Moretti after he vanquished Siaki. Michael Darling celebrated like he won the lottery as the Arabian technician reversed a small package and grabbed the ropes with his foot, and the crowd went silent as Bandar was presented with the belt.
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BEHIND THE SCENES: The three match series with Moretti and Siaki did such great business that Landon O’Neil capitalized on the good feelings and locked in all three buildings for a loose date around the same time every year. Boston Gardens had St. Paddy’s Day weekend, the Spectrum had July 4th weekend and MSG had the Thanksgiving-ish weekend.
Bandar was actually an Italian with dark features who won a few local bodybuilding competitions. Moretti handpicked him to be the guy to get the strap, although business went down, and the power team of Darling and O’Neil began to question Moretti’s acumen outside of the ring. This was supposed to be the bell cow for the next year that would fill the aforementioned big arenas, but the instantly declining houses sent Darling and O’Neil into a panic, and they reversed field quickly.
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Bandar defended the belt for a few months around the loop against any number of local challengers, and as the houses turned down a rematch was set for the Spectrum, the sight of Moretti’s first title win. Moretti was scheduled to take a few months off to freshen up, but was hastily thrown back into duty, and a noticeably hobbling Bruno Moretti hit the big powerslam for the big title victory to become a two time champion. But Moretti was now 44, had bad knees and had already once been knocked out of wrestling for a long stint once before. The decision makers, and Moretti, knew that a change was on the horizon.
Regional Hatred
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Moretti appealed to the cross section of second generation immigrants that found their way into the Northeast, and he was cheered by everyone of every color and creed. He was everyone’s champion.
The tag team division was WAAAAAAAAY different.
The popular team was a pair of brawling Irishmen out of Boston who wore the white shamrock on their green tights and called themselves the South End. Charlie O’Rourke and Bernie Costello were of average size and height, but fought like madmen in the ring and were cheered all throughout the territory. They were declared the NEWC Tag team champions after winning a one night tournament in Maine that was untelevised (because it never happened), and they defended the titles with honor and guts and integrity. They were beloved.
Except in New York. The South End were treated like criminals and murderers the moment they showed up in New York for a match of any kind. The New York audience was fully behind Tommy Smart and David Morgans, who hailed from the Bronx, wore pinstriped white and blue tights, and called themselves the Big Apple’s Finest. They were swift and sudden, tag team specialists and terrible cheaters who were rightfully booed everywhere… except in New York, where they were loved, especially when they were across the ring from the South End.
The teams had great chemistry and great matches, but were kept apart. The Southies dropped the straps in Albany, NY during April 1976 to the Falcon Brothers, who in turn dropped the belts a month later to Big Apple’s Finest. The Finest carried the straps for the rest of ’76, defeating the California Hippies at MSG to a rousing ovation, then brawling with the Hippies in Pittsburgh two weeks later to a chorus of boos. The two teams finally crossed pathes in the beginning of 1977, and the South End won the belts for a second time in a classic matchup at the St. Paddy’s Day Boston Garden show, in front of a crowd dressed in green and powered by Guinness. O’Rourke hit an elbow shot from the outside and Costello cradled the reeling Morgans for the pinfall, setting off a raucous celebration. The rematch took place July 1, 1977 at the Spectrum, on the same show headlined by Moretti-Prince Bandar. This time it was Tommy Smart hanging onto Costello’s leg from the outside as Morgans was pinning him, and the Finest reclaimed the titles for a second time. The rubber match?
Madison Square Garden, November 19, 1977.
Goodnight, Sweet Prince
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After Moretti regained the title from Prince Bandar, the Prince was publically fired by Michael Darling, who took a few months off to find the man to exact the revenge he needed. During that time, Moretti wrestled sparsely, instead doing promotional appearances while his body mended. It was during that time he introduced his protege, another man of Italian descent named Nico Barrone. Barrone was strong and virile, and had idolized Moretti as a kid, finding ways to bump into him until finally Bruno got the hint and paid attention to him. Barrone and Moretti trained together, and Barrone learned everything he knew from Bruno, who regarded him as a son. Barrone got thrown right into the fire, wrestling matches with men like Crusher Roman, “Dangerous” Doug Danielson, Roy Lenton and “Iron Man” Jack Fields, who had been lured out of retirement to take down Bruno. Fields was incensed after losing to Barrone, and their return matches, with Moretti in Barrone’s corner, headlined the house show loop for some time.
After a year in business, the NEWC commissioned a second singles title, to be simply called the Atlantic title, and set up a tournament in the fall of 1977. The sixteen man tournament spanned September and October, and would culminate at the November 19, MSG show, that was now being referred to on television as “The Parade of Champions.”
The final match to be crowned inaugural NEWC Atlantic champion would feature Nico Barrone, the hot youngster from Queens who’d been trained by Moretti, against “Pitbull” Billy Arnold, a former outside linebacker for Auburn who had made a name in Florida. Arnold at 6’3, 255, was an inch taller and a few pounds heavier than Barrone, and on TV leading up to their title match in the Garden they had a ten minute wrestling “exhibition”, where they got in the ring for ten minutes without and pinfalls or submissions, just to feel each other out.
Barrone took the exhibition at face value and went slow, ironing out the kinks and trading mat work with Arnold. Arnold played along at first, and then opened up on Barrone from the mount, beating him into a heap, not letting him up and standing over his body as the show ended. The fans were jacked up for the Parade of Champions show, as not only would the TV title be decided, but the South End would face the Big Apple’s Finest in a Loser Leaves Town match, and a hobbling Bruno Moretti would try to fend off the challenge of Michael Darling’s latest find, Kai Alana.
The Hawaiian Hercules
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Kai Alana was a wrestling sensation in California, the Pacific Northwest and in Hawaii. A native of Oahu, Hawaii, Alana’s name was a combination that meant “unbreakable” and “rock”, and he fought with a ferocity that made fans think that Kai himself believed it. He flew off the top rope and gained such height that people who described it were thought to be exaggerating when they told a friend. His deadly double chop left welts on the chest of it’s recipient, and anyone who dared headbutt him usually needed medication and alcohol afterwards to numb the pain. He was lightning quick and unafraid to take punishment, which in later years would have made him more hero than villain. But when Kai Alana walked into the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden for the first time and took off his flowered robe to show off a sculpted body, the women squealed with delight and the men gaped in fear. Here was the man to unseat Bruno Moretti.
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BEHIND THE SCENES: Alana had done HUGE business in LA and Portland, and his graceful savage persona drew thousands of people for the better part of three years on the left coast. In reality, Alana was a thoughtful, delicate man who brought his family with him, and enrolled his children at a private school in New Jersey once he agreed to come across the country. The decision makers wanted to rekindle the magic of Siaki and Moretti from years ago, and in Alana they had a proven draw.
It was also at this time that Bruno Moretti tried to edge out Darling as head booker, and their once cordial relationship went sour in a hurry. Whereas Moretti wanted to go around the loop with Alana and get one more good year on top to help himself into retirement, that was not in the plans for O’Neil and Darling. Things got so heated in fact that Bruno Moretti initially refused to work the MSG show, and missed the previous two weeks of house shows. It took $25,000, in cash, to get Moretti into the Garden and to do what they wanted him to do.
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The Parade of Champions show in MSG featured a double main event and a loaded undercard, although many business insiders thought that the house should have been attributed to Barrone and Arnold, who had headlined the house show circuit, or the tag team blowoff match, which caused brawls in the crowd during the introductions and had unreal emotion attached.
The prelim matches introduced a tag team called Soul Power to the MSG crowd, as two cut up black guys in Jimi Hendrix garb and flashy outfits took the crowd by storm. In another match, the Northeast got it’s first taste of James Myers, a former bodybuilder in plain green trunks who won with a full nelson. When they’d see him again, it’d be in completely different get up.
The Atlantic title match was a fifteen minute sprint, with both men throwing bombs from the time the bell rung. The crowd applauded and cheered as Nico Barrone countered a suplex into a rolling reverse cradle, and won the first Atlantic title! After a brief intermission, the first part of the double bill unfurled, as the South End came out to a hail of boos, newspapers, papers cups and cold beverages, while the Big Apple’s Finest got the heroes treatment. The two teams went at it tooth and nail, with the usually hated Finest playing the virtuous heroes, and when Smart and Morgans hit their double team flapjack on Bernie Costello, and forced the South End to leave the territory, there was more than joy in Mudville. There was euphoria.
As the stewards and attendants cleaned up the ringside area — the myriad cups, programs, newspapers (and even one shoe) that had been thrown were not conducive to a heavyweight title bout — the fans grew restless and began to buzz. They were excited, and nervous, to see the title match, and as the last few maintenance crew workers swept out the ring, the chant began.
“BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!”
“BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!”
“BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!”
“BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!”
The fans were so loud and so boisterous that Michael Darling nearly had a heart attack screaming for them to quiet down, and when Moretti emerged from the curtain the sounds were so loud that people who were there will swear the Garden shook. The introductions were made, the bell rang, and Kai Alana went on the attack, bouncing off the ropes with incredible velocity, pummeling Bruno with chops and even busting him open with a jumping headbutt. But the fans stuck by the champion, chanting “BRU-NO, BRU-NO, BRU-NO, BRU-NO” the entire time, willing life and energy into the champion’s aging body.
Moretti withstood the charge, wiping the blood out of his eyes and blocking the pain from his buggered knees out of his mind. When Alana missed a charge into the corner, and the champion took over with a pair of hiptosses and then pounded the mat with his hands, the fans were in a frenzy.
“BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!”
Moretti limped around the ring, gnashing his teeth and waving for Kai Alana to get up. Every time the Hawaiian Hercules got to his feet, Moretti knocked him down with a hard right hand. Now Kai Alana was busted open, and the crowd was on their feet, having seen Moretti’s comeback a hundred times before. Bruno whipped the challenger into the corner and charged in, but the swift Alana leapfrogged out of the corner, over the on coming Moretti (something the crowd had never seen done before) and struck an open hand upper cut type chop, driving the points of his fingers into the under part of Moretti’s chin. Following Darling’s instructions, Kai Alana then kicked Moretti behind his knee, crumbling the champion to the mat.
“BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!” “BRU-NO!”
The crowd stood at attention, chanting like zealots but also keenly aware that Moretti might lose. Alana went for the cover, hooked both legs… and was the most shocked person in the building when Bruno Moretti KICKED OUT at two and nine hundred and ninety nine one thousandths. The chants were deafening, Alana reeled back in shock as the bloody Moretti got to both knees and pounded the mat again, Michael Darling was on the verge of the big one that would send him to heaven with George Jefferson…
…and when Moretti sent Kai Alana into the ropes for the big powerslam, he knew his meal ticket had failed…
…but when Moretti’s knee gave out in mid slam, and Kai Alana cradled the head and near leg for a crystal clear and clean pinfall in the center of the ring, Michael Darling jumped for joy. The Mighty Bruno had struck out.
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BEHIND THE SCENES: That match closed the show and closed Bruno Moretti’s career. The former champion took his bag of cash, went home, and never took a booking again. He died of cancer in 2010, in his home near Pittsburgh, PA. Nico Barrone was a pallbearer at his funeral, which was an open ceremony and saw nearly 5,000 people come to pay their final respects. Also in attendance was Landon O’Neil, who looked like he was 50 and hadn’t lost a step. Life isn’t fair.
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The crowning of Kai Alana as Heavyweight champion opened up the territory to a different kind of promotion. Moretti was popular and respected, and sold out the three sacred venues throughout the Northeast consistently during his two years on top. But his draw was a regional one. He struck a chord with the heavy first and second generation immigrant population in the Northeast and was particularly huge in Philly and NYC where the Italian population was high. Kai Alana, as a villain, had a different appeal. He had beaten the revered Bruno Moretti cleanly and shown an athleticism that was not seen before, and the fans hated him more for it because that damned Michael Darling was calling the shots and leading him to the ring. And, in truth, they hated him because he was the guy to beat Bruno.
That accomplishment gave him notoriety and his exotic look and skill set made him a hot commodity. For the first time, the NEWC Heavyweight champion was someone who other territories would pay to have for a week. On his voyages back to the West Coast he was booked as a hero, conveniently leaving Michael Darling behind, and he spoke openly to the large islander crowds about defending his title with honor and pride, and being a role model for athletes from the South Pacific.
He was loaned out to the northern territories like Detroit and Minnesota, where he would throw his flowered robe down in the aisle, fling his headband off and commence to a high flying/brawling savage style that he was billed as.
And back home, in the Northeast, he was a hated, but feared, champion who had retired Bruno Moretti and could not be beaten. He headlined the St. Patrick’s Day show in Boston against Bruiser McCoy, a former boxer who had been a notorious rule breaking villain in the New England area. But McCoy did an about face, declaring that no foreigner would walk into Boston on their holiday and walk out with the belt. The Boston show did good business and Alana won a grueling match, then had to fight his way out of the building and be hidden in the trunk of a Cadillac to leave.
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BEHIND THE SCENES: Alana was a consumate professional and drew GREAT money for O’Neil when he was loaned out for periods of time. He drew good houses in the territory as well and played more like a traveling champion, going from town to town, taking the best that the local tough guys had to offer. However, he did not draw the regional press and publicity that Moretti did, and O’Neil coveted that. Bruno Moretti ruled the back page of the sports sections wherever he went, and was doing car commercials, public appearances and radio advertisements on a daily basis. Alana showed up, won and did good business in the territory, and GREAT business on loan. Bruno Moretti did GREAT business in the territory, and could never be loaned out because of it. They both made money, but in different ways.
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Alana defended the title everywhere, in the territory and out, and soon the title was renamed the NEWC National Heavyweight title. As an attraction who was sometimes booked elsewhere, the Hawaiian Hercules was not the central figure of the territory’s TV and house show schedule.
Bankrupting Million Dollar Darling
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The central figure of the TV and house show schedule was Nico Barrone, who defended the Atlantic title against everyone who wanted a shot. With Alana on the road, Barrone fended off challenges from “Sunshine” Eddie Palmer, Ronnie Hines and Larry Collier in between a run of rematches with “Pitbull” Billy Arnold. Arnold won the title from Barrone in the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, and then they hit a series of milestones, as they culminated their feud by settling the score in the first ever NEWC cage match in the NEWC’s first venture to the Washington D.C. area, drawing nearly 10,000 people to the Capital Centre.
The summer Spectrum show on July 6, 1978 show was headlined by Kai Alana dispatching the challenge of “Desperado” Matthew Johnson (the given name of famous Texan Blackjack Lynch, who didn’t want to ruin his IWA ties by using his more well known alias) and the Soul Power team of Andre Price and “Sugar” Ray Harris defeating the Big Apple’s Finest to win the NEWC National Tag team titles.
On the following NEWC TV, Michael Darling opened the show to celebrate his client’s success and go through a laundry list of accomplishments, which started with retiring Bruno Moretti and included victories over Ken Keening, Oliver Strickland, Bruiser McCoy, setting the all time attendance record in three California cities, pinning Matthew Johnson in the middle of the ring, shutting down the Detroit metro system due to the amount of people who were driving in to see his One Night Only match for charity against Brett Bryant, and becoming, in Darling’s words, the most in demand professional athlete in the history of planet Earth, the solar system or the universe.
The next logical step was enacting what Darling called a “scorched Earth policy” and that entailed not just ridding the world of Bruno Moretti, which had already been done, but running off his protege as well. Kai Alana, the Hawaiian Hercules, wasn’t just going to defeat Nico Barrone but INJURE Nico Barrone and send him scurrying with his tail between his legs just like his stinkin’ phony of a mentor. Later on that same TV show, Barrone had an interview interrupted by Darling, who got up in his face. When Barrone grabbed Darling by his lapels, Alana came out from nowhere and the two men brawled out of the interview area and into the ring. Once there, Barrone got the better of Alana, blocking the finger type uppercut with his elbow and hitting his reverse neckbreaker. The crowd exploded as the TV show went off the air, and a hot main event was born.
Darling agreed to a National title match on behalf of Alana, to take place at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena on August 15th. Until then, he wished Barrone luck defending his Atlantic title… and then promptly ran interference on his next title defense, offering his managerial services to the challenger, Charlie Heyward, for the night and then pulling the ropes down when Barrone was sent to the ropes. Nico flipped over the ropes and slammed his head against the concrete floor, which set the table for Heyward to get the victory.
The Civic Arena was rocking on August 15th, and many felt that Bruno’s protege would be the one to avenge his defeat. In the week’s leading up to the match, Darling kept reminding the fans that Barrone had signed for one match and one match alone, and this would be his only shot. So when Michael Darling distracted the referee and Kai Alana threw a fireball (!!!!!) at Barrone, then got the pin, a full scale riot ensued. Darling got on the house microphone and screamed at Barrone, telling him that he BLEW his one opportunity and that he was a loser, just like his mentor! First it was one, then two, then five and suddenly the entire front row was now in the ringside area, chasing after Michael Darling. Kai Alana fought off the fans to protect his manager, and as they ran through the entrance, out the door and into a waiting car, the NEWC faithful had a battle cry.
“ONE MORE MATCH!”
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BEHIND THE SCENES: Nico Barrone was anointed “the guy” to take over as the regional hero of the masses, as he had many of the same background characteristics that his mentor, Bruno Moretti had. However, his charisma and interviews were not where they needed to be, and when he didn’t have someone to play off of Barrone didn’t do well at the box office. This dog and pony show as orchestrated by Darling took care of that problem. The NEWC Office in Trenton, New Jersey was positively overwhelmed with phone calls, letters and petitions. On more than one occasion fans barged into the second floor of the Radisson Hotel where Landon O’Neil kept his headquarters and had to be taken out by security.
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Due to the effects of the fireball, Barrone would be out of action for the rest of August and September. As the holiday season approached, there was only one match fans wanted to see: Barrone vs. Alana, for the gold. The chants of “ONE MORE MATCH!” rang down anytime Darling or Alana showed their face in a wrestling ring, and with Barrone out of action (strategically, he was actually fine) different challengers took up his cause. Andre Price, of the Soul Power tag team, challenged Alana twice and nearly pulled off an upset in Newark. Bruiser McCoy made a rare trip out of New England for a bloody brawl in Allentown, Pennsylvania and even “Pitbull” Billy Arnold, normally a hated heel, took umbrage to the efforts of Darling and Alana and challenged the champion in Buffalo, New York.
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BEHIND THE SCENES: Arnold left the territory soon after. His return in a few years would make national headlines.
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The Board of Directors, under siege by an enraged fan base who were storming the ring nearly every time Alana had a match, decided that there would be a rematch.
November 22, 1978. Madison Square Garden. For the title. One fall to a finish by pinfall or submission.
The Garden box office was sold out within days, and when a returning Nico Barrone announced that he’d only sign the contract if the Loser Left Town, whatever remaining tickets were sold in minutes. If Alana won, Nico Barrone would be gone from the territory for a year. If Barrone won, not only would Alana leave for a year, BUT, so would Michael Darling. The stakes were never higher. The New York Daily News printed a picture of Barrone and Alana face to face on the back of the sports section, and the NEWC had captured the public once more.
The Rising
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While all were focused on the main event of Thanksgiving weekend in NYC, with Nico Barrone taking on the great Kai Alana, the undercard featured a host of new talent who would make an impact on the territory for years to come. In the tag team title match, Soul Power lost to the North Stars from Minnesota, and for months had been showing friction on television and in person. After Larry Collier and Andy Erickson won the straps, “Sugar” Ray Harris and Andre Price got into a momentary heated exchange. Cooler heads prevailed and the two men shook hands and hugged… and then Harris clocked his former partner in the back of the head, and began to stomp on him. The fans doused him in boos and Harris left on his own accord, threatening to backhand anyone who looked at him wrong.
The Atlantic title was defended as well, and Charlie Heyward lost the title cleanly in nine minutes to Jose Liriano, from the beaches of San Juan, via the number eight bus out of Brooklyn, New York. Liriano was a handsome, proud Hispanic who spoke perfect English and Spanish, fired up like a Roman candle and flew off the top turnbuckle with his patented cross body block unlike anything the territory had ever seen. When he wrestled, the Hispanic fans came to the fore and gave his matches a feel unlike any other. They sang, they danced, they cheered and chanted like they were at a soccer match, acting as his own private Greek chorus, providing exclamation points, commas and periods on his wrestling sentences. When he bounced on his toes before the match, the crowd would scream “Oooohhh, ooohhh, oooohh, oooohh, ooohhh” in sync with him, like a crowd at a football game before kickoff. For his part, Liriano wrestled with a flair and fluidity that the territory had never seen. He flung himself off the turnbuckles, he would cry out in Spanish as villains were bearing down on him, he would add in two steps of the Bachata before delivering a knock out blow. He showed off his emotions and his fire for all the world to see. And the crowd was mesmerized.
After he defeated Heyward with the high cross body, he got on the house mic and thanked the fans, in both languages, for being there on such a big night, and promised them that many more were to come. As he exited the ring, the fans began a chant that would follow him for many years, in many of the hallowed wrestling halls he would ply his trade in.
“LI-RI-A-NO!” *clap*clap*clapclapclap*
“LI-RI-A-NO!” *clap*clap*clapclapclap*
“LI-RI-A-NO!” *clap*clap*clapclapclap*
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BEHIND THE SCENES: Liriano, who still lived in Brooklyn, would visit schools and playgrounds, and never charged for an autograph. As the Hispanic population continuously grew, the wheels in Landon O’Neil’s head started to turn. He had the Puerto Rican Pied Piper handed to him. There was money to be made.
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One year ago, in Madison Square Garden, the crowd had been buzzing with nervous energy as their hobbled hero defended his belt one last time. Fast forward twelve months, and the crowd knew they were backing a thoroughbred, a stud in the prime of his career who had been physically and mentally scarred by the actions of Michael Darling, who had screwed him at EVERY turn and seemed to have gone out of his way to ruin his life. They just KNEW that Nico Barrone was going to get revenge, this HAD to be the night.
And what they got was Kai Alana dominating nearly the entire first fifteen minutes of the match. Alana was never better than on this night in the Garden, as his reign was about to hit the one year mark. Every chop, every kick, every open hand finger tip strike hit its mark, and Barrone gasped for air and cried out in pain. A fan slipped over the railing and tried to help Barrone as he lay on the mat clutching his throat, but a harsh boot from the trained foot of Kai Alana ended that. Now security was running down the aisle, encompassing the ringside area, making sure there was no more fan intervention. Alana would choke Barrone on the ropes and leave him hanging on the second rope, then turn around and block the referee as Darling would slug him in the face. The crowd was incensed, the fans were impatient, maybe this WASN’T the night they had thought it would be, maybe there was no beating this Islander, maybe he WAS superior as his manager had spouted. But prde always comes before the fall…
…and when Michael Darling went to grab the leg of Barrone on an Irish whip without looking, as he’d done so many times before, he didn’t realize that Barrone had reversed the maneuver and he in fact tripped up his own guy. Alana turned around to see what happened and was totally thrown off his game. He kicked out of the school boy attempt from Barrone, but was a step slow to get up, and after sustaining every bit of punishment a man could take for nearly twenty minutes, Nico Barrone made ever last shot count for the rest of the night. He slammed Kai Alana, he suplexed Kai Alana, he atomic dropped Kai Alana, he elbowed Kai Alana. For seven straight minutes he beat the brakes off the reigning champion, and when Darling got up on the apron to interfere, Nico Barrone punched him so hard his glasses flew off. The crowd came UNGLUED at Darling finally getting physical comeuppance for his dirty deeds (it was the first time someone had hit him since he retired) and raised the volume a moment later when Nico Barrone hit his neckbreaker, and covered for the one, two, three. The great Kai Alana had been dethroned, Michael Darling had been chased out of the territory, and Nico Barrone had ascended to the throne of his mentor. All was right in the world.
Take My Champion, Please
=========================
The Michael Darling Dog and Pony Show had been run out of town, and Darling now sat comfortably in his role as booker of the territory and had options. The success of Kai Alana’s reign, and the money they had made by loaning him out elsewhere, made other territories think that Barrone would be handled in the same manner. Landon O’Neil had wanted Barrone to be the regional presence that Bruno Moretti had been, but he also liked that stack of checks and notoriety that Kai Alana brought with him. So he allowed Darling to loan out Barrone, but also wanted to make sure that the houses in the Big Three Arenas of NEWC were packed.
Except that he missed the first leg of the Big Three Arena tour.
Kai Alana went to Japan after losing the strap and raved about the matches he had with Barrone, and the money they made. Once Great Japan Pro Wrestling promoter Toji Tazaki saw a video of it, he got in touch with Landon O’Neil and made an offer too good to refuse. He wanted to run the Barrone/Alana match on a loop of big arena shows in Japan, he would pay Barrone a huge sum of money, he’d pay NEWC a big sum of money, and after his loop was over, he’d send one of his best matches over to the states for three months in the summer.
It was a slam dunk on both ends. The only drawback is that Barrone would miss the St. Paddy’s Day weekend show in the Boston Garden. Barrone protested but O’Neil told him it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Barrone relented, went to Japan, had a great time, fathered an illegitimate child (whoops!), tore the house down every night and was offered a chance to come back in a few months time to partner with Alana in a tag team tournament. The Japanese loved Barrone, and as Keiji Barrone is proof of, he loved them right back.
Stateside, Jose Liriano filled the role of head good guy brilliantly. He defended the Atlantic title against all comers, and as St. Paddy’s Day rolled around he was embroiled in a hot angle with Ronnie Hines. Hines had earned an Atlantic title shot on NEWC TV, and when the match came to be, Liriano won in under thirty seconds with a flying forearm and a top rope cross body block. When Liriano went to shake his hand, an enraged and embarrassed Hines cheap shotted him and left him in a heap. The Boston Garden had historically been a hot wrestling region and the Hispanic community came out in full force to support their boy. Before a rabid crowd of 19,000 on St. Paddy’s Day, the heavily Spanish crowd threw beer bottles at Hines as he walked to the ring, sang and chanted for Liriano the whole match and then roared for twenty minutes as he exacted a bloody revenge on Ronnie Hines.
The receipts didn’t lie. Jose Liriano was a draw. A huge draw.
The first NEWC TV with Nico Barrone back on April 3, 1979 saw his interview with lead commentator Bill Mitchell get interrupted by Sir Walter Campbell, a manager from England who was interested in acquiring premium talent. Campbell offered his services to Barrone, and promised that he would make him the crown jewel of what he called Campbell Corporate Enterprises. Barrone flatly refused him.
The next week on TV, Campbell approached him again and Barrone flatly refused. The next week, during a rare match from the champion on TV, Sir Walter Campbell interfered and caused him to be counted out, and then said that he was showing Barrone how useful he could be. That would NEVER happen to him if he allowed Sir Walter Campbell to manage his career!
A frustrated Barrone decked the bespeckled manager and stomped off to cheers. Campbell slinked away and swore revenge, in between sobs and a busted lip. A few weeks later, when Campbell was scheduled to come out and apologize to Barrone, he did. Sort of. He apologized for ever wasting his time on Barrone and then moved out of the way just as the first client of Campbell Corporate Enterprises blindsided the champion.
That first client was a 6’3, 295 pound insane Canadian lumberjack named Paul Tremblay, who pounded on the champion with double axehandle after double axehandle after double axehandle, ripping off the champion’s shirt and then bloodying him up in the ring. July 4th was around the corner, the match was set, and in the Cradle of Liberty the champion won a brutal cage match with Tremblay, who bled like a stuck pig. The match went around the loop, to the Capital Centre, the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, the Nassau Coliseum. Each time Barrone won, each time Campbell threw a fit.
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BEHIND THE SCENES: Darling tried to recreate the Moretti-Siaki magic, to not the same gate. Business was good, not great, and the price for producing TV was going up…
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Sir Walter Campbell did not go away. His next acquisition was bringing in a tag team from Florida called the Gifted Ones. Rick “Precious” Perle and “Dream Machine” John Preston made their debut by beating the holy hell out of Jose Liriano after a title defense, and the roof about blew off the place when Nico Barrone made the save.
The Gifted Ones were a tag team ahead of their time, both men weighing no more than 220, but moving around at Mach 5, tagging in and out, cheating like hell, distracting the referee and going on quite a run. With Sir Walter Campbell in their corner, the Gifted Ones took their chicanery to another level, and after debuting in mid July, they had captured the National tag team titles by the time school was in session.
The Gifteds and Barrone/Liriano squared off in singles matches of every kind, wrestled all throughout the fall months. Barrone and Liriano were dubbed the Superpowers by fans and media alike, and the Superpowers vs. Gifted Ones tag team program drew as well as anything the NEWC had ever seen. To change it up, Campbell would add in Tremblay for a six man match against the Superpowers and any number of partners. It was the hottest match the territory had seen in three years, and no one was surprised when the main event of the Thanksgiving MSG show was The Gifted Ones vs. Barrone and Liriano, the Superpowers, in a cage, all titles on the line.
Obviously, if the Superpowers won, then they would claim the tag team gold. However if the Gifted Ones came out victorious, the National and Atlantic titles would be vacated.
What Of The Others?
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The main event of MSG was star studded and featured every title in the territory. But the seeds that were planted a year earlier at MSG were starting to come to fruition. Obviously Liriano was already a star, and a draw, in his own right. And there were other stars starting to shine as well.
After being defeated by Nico Barrone, Paul Tremblay went on a rampage. He tore through enhancement talent week after week, leaving blood stained mats throughout the territory. His matches lasted three minutes at the absolute maximum, and his moveset consisted of beating the shit out of someone until they couldn’t move and then covering them with one foot. Sir Walter Campbell appeared legitimately afraid of his charge and would routinely tell him to stop the carnage during his matches. Tremblay would shove him away, sometimes violently, but Campbell would always come back. The beatings would continue until someone put a stop to them.
The man to put a stop to them was “Soul Man” Andre Price. Price had dispatched of his tag team partner who had turned on him the previous year and found his way as a single, growing out his afro, wearing clothes of the people and talking about the ups and downs of every day life. He always said that he was “one o’ y’all, a workin’ man with a little bit o’ soul”, and the people loved him. What made Price even more appealing to the people is that while he was in shape, he did not have the sculpted physique of your average wrestler. He had a little padding around the midsection, and his caboose was hard to miss. But when he taped up his hands and walked down the aisle with that swagger, the people knew they were about to see the Soul Man lay some wisdom on a body, and maybe a beatin’ too.
So when Sir Walter Campbell dared someone to stop the beatings, the Soul Man showed up with his hands already taped, and he and Paul Tremblay proceeded to have one hell of a brawl that almost got the NEWC kicked off of TV in the New York/New Jersey area. The smiling face of Andre Price, blood dripping down his forehead, was the close of TV for the next two weeks, and a taped fist match was signed for MSG.
Paul Tremblay upped the ante a little bit later.
With Bill Mitchell holding the microphone, Tremblay took out a small blade and slowly, deliberately carved an “X” into his left forearm. As the blood gushed and a queasy Bill Mitchell nearly passed out, Paul Tremblay swore on his own blood to put an end to Andre Price at Madison Square Garden.
Andre Price’s retort the following week is one that is still remembered in the corners of the old territory today.
“Paul Tremblay, baby, we all seent ya come out here and do that thing, we all seent ya come out here and cut that letter in your own arm, damn near sent Billy Mitchell to the infirmary.
You swore on your own blood, daddy, you swore on your own family that you would put an END to the Soul Man in Madison Square Garden, you would put an END to Andre Price. Well here’s somethin’ you need to know, jack, here’s some wisdom for that thick lumberjack head. Andre Price is just one of many, Andre Price is one of thousands, Andre Price is one of MILlions, if you will, that go to work every day and punch that clock.
Every time you drivin’ on the street and you see a man bustin’ his butt doin’ construction, that’s Andre Price. Every time you see a man with them workin’ gloves on, doin’ the dirty work, that’s Andre Price. And every time you see a man drinkin’ a beer after a hard day’s work, with a can in his hand and some suds in his mouth, that’s Andre Price. Because a man gotta work, baby, a man gotta bleed, a man’s gotta pay the price to get what he wants.
If you think a little knife and a little flesh wound is gonna make me back out the match, you ain’t payin’ attention, jack. I walked through puddles of blood to get where I am, I swam through a river of tears and a life full of broken bones to get to where I am today.
You may swear on your blood, you may swear on your daddy, but I swear on the people, I swear on the workers, I swear on my LIFE that when they ring that bell at Madison Square Garden, there’s gonna be one man standin’ and one man wonderin’ what the hell just knocked him out, and you’re lookin’ at it, daddy.”
A close up of Price’s fist closed the program, and the back page of the New York Daily News was split in half, with the top spot reserved for the Title Match Extravaganza, and the bottom half for the Price vs. Tremblay taped fists match.
The Chaps With All The Straps
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The undercard of the MSG show, held on November 21, 1979, featured a little bit of everything. The Stampeders, consisting of “Iron” Eddie Ohlsen and “Mustang” Mitch McCray, beat the Alaskan Assassins to win the #1 contender spot for whoever walked out of the cage with the tag team titles.
Another match of note was called a Carnival Rules Match between “Iceman” Billy Wells and Wilhelm King, a German technical master. The match would have rounds lasting three minutes and the match could potentially have seven rounds. If needed, a panel of judges would decide who had won the most rounds. The match could be won by pinfall or submission.
Wells and King had been having thirty minute time limit draws throughout the territory, as King was a master shooter and submission wrestler, while Wells had been a champion amateur wrestler for Boston University. Wells weighed all of 215 pounds, and was notorious throughout the territory for being seen out at bars far past the city curfew, buying drinks and loving life. King was on the back nine of his career and weighed in that night at 251 pounds, with at least fifty of it being attached around his stomach via heavy German beer. He leaned on Billy and made him gasp for breath, digging elbows, forearms and knees into his vital organs all the while hyper extending his knee. Wells limped through the pain, and was able to lock on an armbar that evened the odds. When King went for a kind of judo throw in this fourth, his arm gave out and he dropped Wells, who landed on his feet and tightly rolled up the German with a textbook inside cradle for the win. Afterwards, King clapped for Well and raised his hand to the crowd in a show of good sportmanship.
The Taped Fist Match was next, and the fans quite frankly scurried away from the railing as Paul Tremblay trudged to ringside. But when Andre Price made his way to the ring, with the tune “Soul Man” by Sam & Dave blasting throughout MSG, the fans lit up and cheered their man on.
The match started in a collar and elbow tieup, and then featured eight or nine minutes of tremendous brawling, as the lumberjack and the Soul Man drilled one another with ridiculous taped fist shots. With both men sporting the crimson mask and Price on his knees, Sir Walter Campbell produced a fresh roll of athletic tape from his man satchel and tossed it into Tremblay, also bleeding a gusher. Tremblay dropped it, picked it up, then turned around and got kicked right in the groin by Andre Price, drawing the biggest pop of the night to that point. The Soul Man picked up the tape, quickly put a fresh wrapping across his fists, then wound up and plastered a rising Paul Tremblay right between the eyes. The lumberjack fell gracefully like one of the many trees he had cut down over the years, and Andre Price covered for the victory.
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BEHIND THE SCENES: Tremblay was fired as soon as he made it to the back. The main TV producer in NYC laid out an ultimatum: fire Tremblay for the revolting blood oath promo or lose distribution. It was an easy decision.
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NEWC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP ROLL CALL
“Million Dollar” Michael Darling – 1 – Awarded the title on January 15, 1976. Darling was hobbling from chronic back and knee injuries and was also head booker for NEWC. He defended the title once, against Bruno Moretti, and lost.
Bruno Moretti – 1 – Beat Michael Darling for the title in the Philadelphia Spectrum on February 28, 1976. Moretti’s first reign was immensely profitable and successful and featured three lucrative defenses against the savage Samoan beast Siaki. The matches headlined in Madison Square Garden, Boston Garden and the Spectrum in Philadelphia, which enabled the NEWC to lock all three buildings in for “big shows” once a year on or around fixed dates. Moretti was a hero and an icon to the first and second generation immigrant stronghold in the Northeast, and the match wherein he lost the title to Kai Alana is still talked about to this day.
Prince Bandar – 1 – Beat Bruno Moretti at a house show in Albany, NY on May 14, 1977. Bandar’s reign was short and did horrible business. Bandar did not draw well and was lousy in the ring. This reign is notable for establishing terrible tension backstage between Moretti and Darling.
Bruno Moretti – 2 – Beat Prince Bandar at the Spectrum, at NEWC’s first big Independence Weekend Show on July 2, 1977. Moretti was ailing physically but the house show business went under so quickly that he was given the title back. Notable defenses include Labor Day against Billy Arnold and a one time only match against George Rogers when Moretti was loaned out to Mid South Wrestling.
Kai Alana – 1 – Beat Bruno Moretti in Madison Square Garden, November 19, 1977. Alana was a shooting star whose title reign was profitable and brought the NEWC nation wide acclaim. He defended the title for a full year in almost every part of the country. Set attendance records in Detroit, San Francisco and San Diego, defeated Ken Keening, Brett Bryant, Oliver Strickland, “Desperado” Matthew Johnson (aka Blackjack Lynch) and Bruiser McCoy during his year long title reign.
Nico Barrone – 1 – Defeated Kai Alana on November 22, 1978, at Madison Square Garden. Barrone was the chosen protege of Bruno Moretti and had carried house show business as Atlantic champion when Moretti was injured, and later when Alana was being loaned out for large sums of money. His title reign did good business, and his cage matches with Paul Tremblay were quite the spectacle, but he did not capture the territorial media attention that Landon O’Neil hoped.
Jose Liriano – 1 – Defeated Nico Barrone on March 14, 1980, at Boston Garden. The match was a champion vs. champion clash, and when Liriano won he forfeited the Atlantic title. This was the biggest money drawing match the NEWC had ever seen, and the return bouts did another huge round of business. Liriano’s title reign lasted for over two years and he defeated a litany of challengers that were familiar in the territory. Liriano’s reign is also noted for opening up lines of communication with the IWA, and thus setting up matches with Terry Shane II, Blackjack Lynch (now unafraid to use his real name), and a 60 minute time limit draw against “Handsome” Hamilton Graham that was billed as the Super Bowl of Wrestling. He is considered to have drawn the most money in the history of wrestling in the Northeast.
“Handsome” Jimmy Myers – 1 – Defeated Jose Liriano on November 25, 1982, in Madison Square Garden. His title reign started off as a hated heel, having just unseated the iconic Jose Liriano. His matches against Andre Price and Billy Wells drew well, and his series of matches with the returning Kai Alana drew record houses in Pittsburgh and Washington D.C. Myers also refused to drop the “Handsome” moniker from his act, thus ending the relationship with IWA that had been cultivated during the reign of Jose Liriano. Had been turned into a babyface by the fans due to his inimitable interview style, infectious braggadocio and unreal physique. Was preparing to defend the title against Mad Dog Stone in late August when he legitimately broke his leg and had to forfeit the title.
—-TITLE OFFICIALLY FORFEITED SEPTEMBER 3, 1983—-
Billy Wells – 1 – Won a battle royale in the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, October 1, 1983. Transitional reign to build up the next heel. Had three successful title defenses. Did not negatively or positively move the needle.
“Pitbull” Billy Arnold – 1 – Beat Billy Wells in Madison Square Garden on November 26, 1983. The most hated champion in the history of NEWC. Dominated Billy Wells for the championship, brutalized him in rematches and then destroyed challengers on TV. Defeated former champion Nico Barrone in a cage match on New Years Day, 1983 in Washington D.C.
Jose Liriano – 2 – Defeated “Pitbull” Billy Arnold in Boston Gardens on March 17, 1984. Liriano’s title win was actually a pawn in the NEWC’s big money drawing angle of 1984. Liriano beat Billy Arnold in Boston, whose heavy Latino population gave him a vicious homefield advantage, then began to be attacked on NEWC TV by a man in a mask who was rarely seen for a long. Liriano successfully defended the title for four months before dropping it back to Arnold.
“Pitbull” Billy Arnold – 2 – Defeated Jose Liriano in the Spectrum on July 2, 1984. Was not relied upon as a draw for the summer of 1984, as the Liriano-Barrone betrayal angle drew record houses and culminated in a match in Veteran’s Stadium in Philadelphia, PA. When that angle died out, Arnold beat Liriano in rematches, and then dominated the competition. Needed police escorts for himself and his manager, “Big Bucks” Bucky Wilde, who cut incendiary promos about Northerners vs. Southerners, how soft Northern wrestling was and how messed up their way of life was. Was attacked by a fan after retaining against Liriano in MSG in ’84. He refused to wrestle on NEWC TV, and drew big houses wherever he went. Also has the record for most riots caused by an NEWC wrestler.
“Soul Man” Andre Price – 1 – Defeated “Pitbull” Billy Arnold in Madison Square Garden on November 23, 1985. Drew good business but was not the cash cow NEWC management thought he would be. Brought much positive press by speaking to inner city youthes and reaching out to poor African-American kids to talk about the importance of education and staying clean. Did bigger business as a challenger than a champion.
Ivan Kostovich – 1 – Defeated “Soul Man” Andre Price on July 4, 1986 in the Spectrum. Won the title on his first night in the territory. Drew tremendous business with Andre Price in the return matches, but his emphatic victories over Northeast favorite Billy Wells seemed to deflate crowds. Business took a turn downward. This reign is also marked by the passing of head booker/creative genius Michael Darling from a heart attack. Landon O’Neil began looking to sell the promotion soon after.
Pete Shefner – 1 – Defeated Ivan Kostovich on November 19, 1986 in Madison Square Garden. The former Marine’s victory over the Commie Kostovich provided a shot in the arm to the house show business, and the merchandising of American flag themed clothing and memorabilia made a mint. Business began to pick up, and new booker William McCoy (formerly known as Bruiser McCoy) brought in fresh ideas.
Ivan Kostovich – 2 – Defeated Pete Shefner on January 2, 1987 at the Capital Centre in Washington, D.C. This match was a clear sign of the times, as the whole thing was a set up to a what they hoped would be a sold out show at the Boston Gardens in March. NEWC TV was centered around Shefner being sick before the match, and Kostovich citing American weakness and superior Russian genetics for the victory.
Pete Shefner – 2 – Defeated Ivan Kostovich in Boston Gardens, March 14, 1987. The rubber match did fantastic business and was seen as a sign of an upswing. Shefner defended the title for three months and did fairly well at the box office before the company was sold at the end of June.