Ric Flair Vs. Wahoo Mcdaniel in the Carolinas

Wahoo held the Mid-Atlantic title until September 20, 1975, when he lost the title to a very young Ric Flair in Hampton, Virginia. In this match, Flair promised to shave his head if he lost, and resorted to knocking Wahoo out with a foreign object to take the belt and hold onto his blonde hair. This defeat was only the beginning of the epic feud between Wahoo and arch- rival "Nature Boy" Ric Flair.

1976 was arguably Wahoo's finest year in the Mid-Atlantic area, and was defined in large measure by the feud between Wahoo and Ric Flair over the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title. The feud began anew when Flair returned from his injuries occasioned by the plane crash, and wrestled his first match back on January 31, 1976 against Wahoo in the Greensboro Coliseum.

The Chief and Flair began a series of legendary of bouts, which extended into the spring of 1976 when Wahoo finally got the better of Ric and captured the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title on May 3, 1976 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The most famous match of 1976 in the Mid-Atlantic area involved Wahoo, and will always be remembered by Mid-Atlantic fans as the "table leg and forty stitches" match. This bout between Wahoo and Ric Flair occurred on May 24, 1976 in Charlotte, and saw Ric take the Mid-Atlantic Title back from Wahoo. In the process, Ric hit Wahoo with a table leg that had a nail in it that caused Wahoo to end up in Mercy Hospital in Charlotte with a gash on his head that required forty stitches to close. This bout was a rallying point for Wahoo, as he and Flair had amazing grudge and fence matches throughout the summer of 1976 as Wahoo sought his revenge against Ric.

Wahoo finally won the Mid-Atlantic belt back by summer's end, beating Flair in Greenville, South Carolina on September 11, 1976. The two continued to battle and trade the belt, with Ric coming back again to claim the title on October 16, 1976 in Greensboro where two other major titles changed hands the same night. Wahoo was out briefly with a back injury, but continued to battle Flair into the cold weather months of 1976. Wahoo finally ended this feud with Flair over the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title on December 27, 1976, when he defeated the Nature Boy in the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia for the belt. Ric Flair would never hold the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title again. Perhaps it was fitting that Wahoo scored this historic title victory against Flair so close to the end of the year 1976, as his feud with Ric Flair over the Mid-Atlantic belt clearly defined Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling in 1976.

Hope this helped a little.

Credit: Mid Atlantic Wrestling Gateway.