Sunday, December 30, 2018

Thursday, December 27, 2018

Tessa's Fifth Anniversary

Monday, December 10, 2018

Tessa Blanchard first held gold in the EWA!

 
Former EWA Florida Heavyweight Champion Tessa Blanchard
Current Impact superstar Tessa Blanchard held the EWA Florida title in 2015, defeating Mr. Florida for the honors on 4/25/15 in St. Petersburg, FL. Or at least that's their story, and they're sticking to it. (Another great photo by Jack Roberts over at the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.)


Tessa was also a former EWA Champion and once won the Anderson Brothers Classic tag team tournament with partner George South. Photos of that to come down the road on the EWA Parade of Champions.

Don't miss our earlier posts in the EWA Parade of Champions series:

The House Crockett Built: George calls out Cactus Jack



George interrupted Cactus Jack Mick Foley in the ring during a "Big Time Wrestling" show at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium on 12/8.

George told Cactus he was in the house built by Tully Blanchard, Dusty Rhodes, and Magnum T.A. - - not the WWE!

Big pop.

Thursday, November 29, 2018

With the Champ


So happy to see Harley Race again this past weekend at WrestleCade! One of the greatest ever!

(Also Leland Race who looks vaguely familiar from a previous lifetime!)

Monday, November 26, 2018

Ricky Steamboat Jr. held EWA Gold!

Former EWA Missouri State Heavyweight Champion
Ricky Steamboat Jr.
Ricky Steamboat, Jr. held the EWA Missouri title in 2008. He spent time working and training with Harley Race at his school in Missouri, and entered a tournament there to win the title. Later that year, he made a special appearance on a big Anderson Brothers Classic show and defended the title there.

Thanks to Dick Bourne at the Mid-Atlantic Gateway who took this great photo of "little Ricky."

More in the EWA Parade of Champions:
Mr. Florida

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

The Infamous Mr. Florida is first up in our Parade of Champions

 

Former EWA Florida Heavyweight Champion Mr. Florida

Who was the man under the mask that hailed from Mascotte, Florida? Some swore they knew his identity, but no one could ever prove it. Besides, you might be surprised. More photos of Mr. Florida coming soon.


Mr. Florida is a former 4-time EWA Florida Heavyweight champion between 2008 and 2015. He feuded with Ricky Steamboat, Jr., Blackjack Mulligan, Deon Johnson and many others. The last person to beat him for the title was none other than Tessa Blanchard!

Look for more photos of the various EWA champions in future installments of the EWA Parade of Champions.

Monday, November 12, 2018

The Andersons!



Great to see Brad and Carter this past weekend.
(Former Anderson Brothers Classic tag champs!)

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

New Book!

 
I'm so happy!

My beautiful daughter Abigail with her Daddy's new Record Book! (Free model!!)

The George South Record Book
by Jason Freeman and George South
Foreword by Al Snow


You can order my book now on my site or buy one from me at my table at the matches!


Monday, November 5, 2018

Thank you Jason Freeman


Many thanks to Jason Freeman who put together this brand new record book of my entire career!

I can't imagine all the work he put into it, and I appreciate him so much.

You can order my book now on my site or buy one from me at the matches!




Monday, September 10, 2018

Football Time

Only good thing about Cowboys game Sunday was being with my girls!

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Dallas Gets His Star

Dallas got his star last night. World ain't ready for this!! Me and Garrett there to hold him back.

Monday, August 6, 2018

The Carolina Connection



An excellent local feature from WSOC-9 in Charlotte on the Highspots Wrestling School, focusing on Cedric Alexander, Tessa Blanchard, and their original trainer George South.

Features footage from Impact, WWE, the Cruiserweight Classic, the Mae Young Classic, and footage from inside the Highspots training school.


http://horsemen.midatlanticgateway.com

The Freebirds

The Freebirds
Dallas, Axl, and baby Colt

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Mid-Atlantic Wrestling show featuring Flair vs. South now on WWE Network

by Dick Bourne
from the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

The WWE Network recently uploaded a couple dozen episodes of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling from 1984 and 1985. One of those episodes is the 6/22/85 show from the famed Shelby Recreation Center, site of many Crockett TV tapings over those years.

On that show, Ric Flair wrestled George South in a nice little match that not only showcased Flair in the babyface champion role he played on in our area, but also South as the up and coming young talent that all of the big stars liked working with on TV.

Over the years, Flair has talked about how much he enjoyed working with George in those TV matches. And he was always unselfish with South, letting Mr. No. 1 have a little offense in those matches, including this one in 1985 where George got to go full-heel on the NWA champion.

The match itself can be seen on YouTube:



This match has several little things about it that make it special to me:

  • It's Flair vs. South, always a good TV match-up and one of several memorable TV matches the two would have over the years (including the time Flair told South, "Today, you're Ricky Steamboat.")
  • Bob Caudle and Johnny Weaver were doing commentary, and they were a favorite broadcast pairing of mine during that time. Johnny even sings "Turn Out the Lights, The Party's Over" at the end of the match.
  • Tommy Young is the referee, my (and many other's) favorite ref of all time. 
  • It's a rare TV match with Flair as a babyface NWA World Champion.
  • Always a hot crowd in the Shelby Rec Center!
There are several signature moments for Flair in the match, but my favorite is one he would often do during those years, particularly when wrestling as the good-guy, where he would shout out "Now we go to school!" and then apply the figure-four leglock for the victory. In this match he adds a nice little touch: as he spins into the move, he stops for a brief second to give the ringside camera a thumbs up, and then locks in the hold. South submits moments later.

Finally, a funny moment to finish it off:

After Flair's win, Tommy Young hands Flair the "ten pounds of gold" and Flair walks over and offers his hand to South, still prone on the mat. George, staying true to the bad-guy role he had thoroughly enjoyed playing in this match, waves off Flair in disgust and roles over away from him.

George laughs about that to this day. "What was I thinking," he said to me once when we watched this match together.

http://network.wwe.com/video/v2181863583?contextType=wwe-show&contextId=mid_atlantic&contentId=282391374&watchlistAltButtonContext=series
Check out that complete show on the WWE Network. The match is above is from YouTube and not from the WWE-owned footage.

If you have never tried the network, they still have a 30-day free trial. There are well over 100 complete programs in the years 1981-1985 available now, and many more reportedly to be added soon. Plus there is lots World Class, Mid-South, and other territorial wrestling action from the 1980s to enjoy.

If you already have the WWE Network, the direct link to the show is here:
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling 6.22.85 (Shelby NC)

Also on the show film footage of Tully Blanchard burning Dusty Rhodes' eye, Omni footage of Nikita Koloff challenging Ric Flair.  Plus in action: Arn Anderson, Sam Houston, the Russians, Buddy Landel, Ron Bass, and many others. And to cap it off, an interview from Florida with Chief Wahoo McDaniel, who was about to return to the area to come to the aid of Dusty Rhodes.

There is also a "World Championship Wrestling" show from WTBS in Atlanta that features another famous Ric Flair vs. George South match. You can read about it here.


http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/p/ten-pounds-of-gold.html

Monday, June 4, 2018

Front Porch


Paw paw sure has lots of fun stuff in his toy chest!

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Gateway article from 2003

This is an article the Mid-Atlantic Gateway wrote back in 2003 when I took them to visit Paul. They just reposted it. Good memories.


A Visit with Number One" Paul Jones and George South (2003)
http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/2018/05/visit-with-paul-jones-george-south.html

Monday, April 30, 2018

Slam! Wrestling article on George and Paul

Steve Johnson at the Slam! Wrestling website wrote a wonderful article about George and Paul Jones. Click the link below to read the entire thing.

To George South, Paul Jones will always be 'No. 1'   
by Steven Johnson - Slam! Wrestling
http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2018/04/28/22777222.html

Thursday, April 19, 2018

I Love You Paul Jones



The reason I wanted to be a pro wrestler was because of No. 1 Paul Jones. The reason I still want to be a pro wrestler will never change. I love you Paul Jones.

I have lots of photos I am posting on my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/george.south.16