Welcome to the final blog of the week- I have stayed quite busy this week with this, and I'm having a great time sharing my opinions & viewpoints, and hearing yours as well.

I remember a time when pro wrestling sparked alot of interesting conversation points, amongst those of us who truly watched & studied this fascinating business. Alot of that spirit has been lost, due in large part to the destruction of the"territorial system" by WWE, and the overwrought nature of the "script writing" by WWE, TNA, & before that, WCW.

I've long had conflicting feelings about the destruction of WCW- previously NWA ( Jim Crocket Promotions) the lone rival, on a national basis, to Vince McMahon's total domination of the wrestling business ( which, according to Vince, is a business he's no longer in...oh ok)

In the mid-late 1980's, The NWA/WCW brand of wrestling was generally considered a grittier, less glamourous alternative to the flashy, cartoony WWF, featuring top in ring talents & generally, feuds that revolved around a title or personal issue.

Even after the turner takeover ( Nov 1988) although talent was switching sides rapidly ( Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard most notably) the action remained exciting, despite the fact that backstage & business issues were in a state of turmoil.

1989 represented the official "fresh start" of WCW, as Dusty Rhodes was removed from power as the "booker" & replaced by a Committee headed by George Scott.

If you are unfamiliar with the name George Scott, you may not be alone amongst contemporary wrestling fans,but whether you're aware or not, you are definitely familiar with alot of the talent he discovered or molded into national, and international wrestling superstars.

A native of Hamilton,Ontario, George Scott cut his teeth wrestling all over Canada & the United States, under the monniker , The Great Scott. Later, alongside younger brother Sandy, as The Flying Scott Brothers, they blazed a trail across Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling, & made a significant mark in The Carolinas & Texas,amongst other stops.

In the early 1970s, the Crockett Family wrestling empire was thrown for a loop when Jim Crockett Sr died somewhat suddenly from a heart attack. The man earmarked to take over the operation was Mr. John Ringley, the husband of Frances Crockett, Big Jim's daughter.

However, Ringley got caught with his hands in the honeypot, so to speak, when it was discovered he was bedding a stewardess, while Frances was,obviously, none the wiser. Until, of course, Ringley got sloppy & got figured out.

This left the family operation to Jim Jr, a good "bottom line" guy (at least then) but, by his own admission, not a wrestling guru and certainly, not a "booker"- and crowds dwindled in this aspect of an important family business. Contrary to much belief, The Crocketts were not exclusively wrestling promoters- they ran an entire stable of entertainment entities thru the mid atlantic, including the Harlem Globetrotters; Big Jim also initially made a considerable fortune by selling "steam wells", which are used in virtually every restaurant in the world to keep hot foods hot.

Enter George Scott- winding down his in ring career, Scott had established a good reputation as a booker by working for Fritz Von Erich in Texas, which was by no means a dream job, given that the Dallas booking office, at that time, before the fragmentation that would happen within a few years, booked out talent to five separate offices, and had 5 separate tv shows....wow.

Scott first two significant "signings" ( which wasn't a term then; everyone worked on handshake deals) were Native American & former NFL standout Chief Wahoo McDaniel, & the super tough, hard as nails johnny Valentine.

Valentine & Wahoo were put on a collision course, but as was common in those days, it wasn't an immediate program; the two had considerable history together, in particular headlining, along with Fritz von Erich & The Spoiler, the very Texas circuit that Scott had just handled so expertly the prior 3 plus years.

The initial reaction to Johnny Valentine was not an overwhelming success- being known as a "tag team territory", Mid Atlantic had its certain set pattern of how both tv & live events were presented- it was nothing for there to be 6-8 tag teams headlining the huge circuit at a given time- so the "reeducation" process for the long time area fans was a painful one. It was literally a case of tearing it down to rebuild it properly.

Ultimately,though,Valentine & Wahoo paid dividends- as did a young preliminary wrestler Scott brought to the area, on Wahoo's recommendation, by the name of Ric Flair. I'm pretty sure most of you would be familiar with his body of work.

Scott was also the first booker to give a impressive young babyface from Tampa by the name of Rick Blood, who had already changed his name to Rick Steamboat.,his first chance to shine as a star.

After his time working for the Crocketts had passed (1981) he would make a few stops before landing in the WWF during its first national expansion, and staying until a series of differences between he & a cash cow by the name of Hulk Hogan ended his tenure in 1986.

It was in 1989 that, with Scott as booker, that Ric Flair & Rick Steamboat reignited one of the greatest,if not the greatest, in ring rivalries in modern wrestling history, with a series of bouts that set the bar for what true hard hitting, intense, & captivating pro wrestling is all about.

I witnessed onee these classics in person in March 1989 at the Capital Centre in Landover,Md, and I'm thankful that someone had the guts the record this epic on a camcorder- a copy of which I have in my personal collection.

George's 1989 run was proof positive that you must evolve to stay successful, as his ideas about television & live events were not up to the then modern standard- nonetheless, he remains a important,and forgotten, figure in the success of both the Crockett & McMahon promotional wheels.

Until next time....
SSS