#Wahoo McDaniel

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Wahoo for Wahoo McDaniel!

Yes, we at Travalanche enjoy and approve of professional wrestling. There’s an evening a section devoted to it here. It shouldn’t surprise; after all, as is well known, pro wrestling is in part theatre. Most people oversimplify the field as “fake”, and that’s on account of the admittedly deceptive use of traditional words in describing it. It would be more honest to be called what these athletes…

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No Show: The Sad Reality of Some Wrestling Funerals

No Show: The Sad Reality of Some Wrestling Funerals

Brian Damage Professional wrestling has often been referred to as a “fraternity” or a small exclusive club. A place where only a very select few who dabble in the business know each other, respect each other (for the most part) and look out for one another. Only those within this club can truly understand the successes and pitfalls that come with making their living in this business. That all…

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Most Beloved WWE Wrestler Tournament

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Wahoo McDaniels vs Arn Anderson - 1986

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Ernest Ladd (November 28, 1938 – March 10, 2007) nicknamed “the Big Cat”, was a professional football defensive tackle and professional wrestler. A standout athlete in high school, he attended Grambling State University on a basketball scholarship before being drafted in 1961 by the San Diego Chargers. He found success in the AFL as one of the largest players in professional football history at 6′9″ and 290 pounds. He helped the Chargers to four AFL championship games in five years, winning the championship with the team in 1963. He had stints with the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Oilers. He took up professional wrestling during the AFL offseason, and after a knee injury ended his football career turned to it full-time in 1969.

As a professional wrestler, he became one of the top heels in the business. He played a villainous character who would arrogantly taunt both opponents and crowds. He feuded with many popular wrestlers of the time, including Wahoo McDaniel, André the Giant, Bobo Brazil, Dusty Rhodes, and Mr. Wrestling, before retiring from the ring in 1986.

He was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Grambling State University Hall of Fame in 1989. For his professional wrestling career, he was inducted into the WCW Hall of Fame in 1994, the WWF Hall of Fame in 1995, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996, and the NWA Hall of Fame in 2013.

He was born in Rayville, Louisiana, and raised in Orange, Texas, where he was a high school football and basketball star. He was the nephew of Grambling and Houston Oilers teammate Garland Boyette. He was married to Rhonda Ladd and had four children.

He was a longtime friend of the Bush family and supported the 2000 campaign of George W. Bush. He owned and operated Big Cat Ernie Ladd’s “Throwdown” BBQ Restaurant in New Orleans. He ministered to Katrina evacuees at the Astrodome. He appeared in an episode of That ‘70s Show entitled “That Wrestling Show.” He was a basketball coach for young kids in Franklin, Louisiana. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

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WWF RAW MAGAZINE: February 2002

TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR:

THE DUDLEY BOYZ

The crowd in Greensboro, North Carolina, was pulsating as the WCW Tag Team Champions, Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley, tore into World Wrestling Federation titlists Matt & Jeff Hardy in a Survivor Series unification match. In the past, the city had seen its share of historical tag team bouts: the tandems of Ric Flair & Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood, Ray “The Crippler” Stevens & Ivan Koloff, and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express had each captured National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) gold in the stories Greensboro Coliseum, back when news of a title switch would reverberate as far away as Australia and Japan. But the intensity level seemed even higher for the 2001 Survivor Series matchup. 

After decades of operating as distinct and contentious entities, the World Wrestling Federation and WCW Tag Team Championships were about to finally, unequivocally fuse. Once, Greensboro had been as loyal to WCW as New York City voters were to the Democratic party. But the world had changed since those days, as had the aforementioned constituencies. And, just as New Yorkers discarded the past by pulling the Republican lever, the sons and daughters of Greensboro grew to accept, then embrace the World Wrestling Federation. Regardless of whether they were affiliated with the champ then loyal to Vince McMahon or his rebellious children, the Dudleys exemplified the reason fans in 2001 tuned in on Mondays to Raw and Thursdays to SmackDown!.

[Bubba Ray and D-Von (here, with Stacy Keibler) were clearly the WWF’s tag team of the year and, very possibly, the greatest duo in the history of the mat wars.]

But at Survivor Series, the old and the new were still merging. Although the Hardys are native sons of North Carolina, to much of the audience, they represented not the bygone days of Harley Race, Wahoo McDaniel and Dusty Rhodes, but the World Wrestling Federation “Attitude” of the 21st Century. By contrast, the Dudleys were the fearless brawlers who, in another age, would have bulldozed through the NWA, battering their rivals in brass knuckle, Texas Death and steel chain matches. That they came to Survivor Series as champions of WCW–the organization built from the pieces of the old NWA’s tradition–made perfect sense. 

Of course, there was another factor. Bubba Ray and D-Von were clearly the World Wrestling Federation’s tag team of the year and, very possibly, the greatest duo in the history of the mat wars. 

The competition in 2001 had been steep. The Hardys, APA, Undertaker & Kane, Test & Booker T, and Edge & Christian (until their well-publicized breakup) were all contenders for the honor. But by showing up every night and performing like one sloppy clothesline or missed shoulder-block would mean a trip back to the indie circuit, Bubba Ray and D-Von never lost their hunger and thus, in the eyes of the fans, retained their position at the top of the charts.

Their appeal did not come solely from the tables–although Fed-heads delighted to the constant spectacle of Bubba Ray and D-Von splintering their opponents through wood. For some Superstars, the move could have been overused to the point of becoming a predictable gimmick, evoking not awe, but groans. This would never happen to the Dudleys though, because everything in their arsenal was so awe-inspiring that by the time the wooden slabs were pulled out, the crowd was in a frenzy. 

The year began with the Dudleys defeating old foes Edge & Christian for the World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship at Royal Rumble. The next month at No Way Out, the unruly partners retained the title in a three-way fracas with their Rumble adversaries, as well as the Undertaker & Kane, in a match featuring tables, ladders and chairs. 

They then lost the titles to Matt & Jeff Hardy, who subsequently lost the championship to Edge & Christian. But on March 19, the Dudleys captured the titles once again–when their half brother Spike Dudley interfered on their behalf in the finish.

[Everything in the Dudleys’ arsenal was so awe-inspiring that by the time the wooden slabs were pulled out, the crowd was in a frenzy.]

The presence of Spike created an entertaining sidelight to the Dudleys’ brutal matches. The slightly built daredevil was first an integral part of the Dudley Boyz’ conflicts, amusing and thrilling fans with his Dudley Dog, a maneuver that involves catching a foe in a headlock, running up the turnbuckles, twisting around, and smashing the opponent face-first into the mat. But while the Dudleys were scuffling with Hardcore & Crash Holly, little Spike announced that he’d fallen in love with their cousin Molly Holly. Asked to choose between his family and his girlfriend, Spike chose love, inciting a war with Bubba Ray and D-Von that saw the elder Dudleys regularly batter their little sibling, administering the dreaded 3D through tables, and gorilla-pressing the youngster and hurling him into the audience. 

Spike aligned himself with a number of larger allies-among them, Kane and Big Show–to seek revenge. But by the end of the year, the young man was proved a fool for letting a woman separate him from his blood; Molly dumped the young romantic for the self-styled superhero The Hurricane. 

Along the way, Bubba Ray and D-Von participated in what some called the most controversial incident of the year, returning to their roots in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and joining forces with one time WCW members to form the Alliance. Their goal: aiding Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley in their plot to destroy their father Vince McMahon and his World Wrestling Federation. 

The Dudleys’ effort was aided by perhaps the most visible member of WCW: sexy Stacy Keibler, a.k.a. “The Duchess of Dudleyville.”

[On October 23 in Omaha, Nebraska, Bubba Ray and D-Von defeated the Hardy Boyz to capture the WCW tag titles–becoming the first team in history to snare the prize in WCW, ECW and the World Wrestling Federation.]

By the time Survivor Series occurred, Bubba Ray and D-Von had won the World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship four times in 2001. On October 23 in Omaha, Nebraska, they reached another milestone. The devious Dudleys defeated the Hardys to capture the WCW Tag Team Titles–becoming the first team in history to snare the prize in WCW, ECW and the World Wrestling Federation. 

As the steel cage was lowered for their Survivor Series clash, fans braced themselves for a match they’d recollect a generation from now. The Dudleys did all they could to live up to expectations.  Standing on the turnbuckles on opposite sides of the ring, D-Von drove Matt Hardy to the canvas with a side Russian leg sweep, while Bubba delivered his Bubba Bomb to Jeff. Later, when Matt tried climbing out of the cage, Bubba charged across the ring, mashing his rival’s face against the steel. 

All along, fans were hoping that the Dudleys would insert their signature tables into the action, but with a massive pen surrounding the squared circle, the possibility seemed remote. That is, until Stacy wiggled her alluring posterior at referee Nick Patrick, pickpocketing the keys to the cage from him as he gawked, then opening the door and slipping in a table. 

[In 2001, the Dudleys became the unified champions, joining duos like Demolition, Crusher & Bruiser, and Stan “the Lariat” Hansen & Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy, among the toughest and greatest tag teams of all time.]

With both the WWF and WCW Tag Team Championships at stake, demanding viewers expected a dramatic ending. It occurred after Matt scampered over the side of the cage. Jeff seemed well on his way to escaping as well, when he stopped at the top of the enclosure, spider D-Von sprawled atop the table in center ring, and attempted a Swanton Bomb. At the last moment, D-Von slipped out of the way, causing Jeff to plummet through the wood. The younger Hardy lay motionless on the canvas while Bubba Ray crawled over and scored the pin. 

Despite the Dudleys’ despicable ways, even the Hardys’ most ardent fans couldn’t resist exploding in applause at the mastery displayed in the match. Bubba Ray and D-Von were the unified champions, and–along with duos like Demolition, Crusher & Bruiser, and Stan “the Lariat” Hansen & Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy–among the toughest and greatest tag teams of all time.

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Chief Wahoo McDaniel

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Wrestling Icons: Jim Duggan & Wahoo McDaniel – USA Grapplers in October on PPV via Stonecutter Media

http://dlvr.it/TFVTj6

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Bruiser Brody vs Wahoo McDaniel from 1986. A sensational match from two of the all-time best.

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The Legendary I Broke Wahoo's Leg Shirt

Step back into the golden era of wrestling with our homage to one of the most iconic moments in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling history: the infamous I Broke Wahoo's Leg Shirt. Crafted to pay tribute to the unforgettable showdown between Greg Valentine and Wahoo McDaniel in 1977, this shirt immortalizes the clash that defined an era.

Picture it: Greg Valentine, grinning from ear to ear, adorned with his newly acquired Mid-Atlantic championship belt, and sporting this bold declaration of victory. The shirt's simple yet provocative design, with its unmistakable lettering proclaiming "I Broke Wahoo's Leg," became a symbol of Valentine's audacity and the intense rivalry that gripped wrestling fans nationwide. Whether you're a die-hard fan of classic wrestling or simply appreciate the nostalgia of a bygone era, the I Broke Wahoo's Leg Shirt is a must-have addition to your collection. Join us in celebrating the glory days of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and the unforgettable showdown that inspired this enduring symbol of victory.

Click here & Get yours: Teemoonley