1. Dusty Rhodes And Blackjack Mulligan Win
2. Dusty Rhodes And Blackjack Mulligan Poker
3. Dusty Rhodes And Blackjack Mulligan Slot Machine
4. Dusty Rhodes Vs Blackjack Mulligan
5. Dusty Rhodes Vs Blackjack Mulligan
6. Dusty Rhodes And Blackjack Mulligan Wife

TOURNAMENT BRACKETING & RESULTS

PARTICIPANTS WERE NOT SEEDED. PAIRINGS WERE DETERMINED IN ADVANCE THROUGH A RANDOM DRAWING.

DETAILED RESULTS

ROUND ONE

Dusty Rhodes/Blackjack Mulligan vs Zambuie Express (Florida 1982) Roy Lucier's Wrestling Classics. Dusty Rhodes/Bugsy McGraw vs Ox Baker/Assassin #2 (Florida 1981). The sons and grandsons of Blackjack Mulligan have all claimed gold in one shape or another. Blackjack Mulligan is the father of former WCW tag team champion, Kendall Windham and former Four Horsemen member Barry Windham; whom many have said was one of the smoothest in the ring. Dusty Rhodes vs. Blackjack Mulligan for the United States Heavyweight Championship Sunday Night, September 5 - Greensboro NC Dusty Rhodes and Rufus R. Gene and Ole Anderson for the NWA World Tag Team Championships.

Rufus R. Jones defeated Steve Strong by pinfall. Rufus pinned Strong with a backslide.

Terry Funk defeated Red Bastien by pinfall. Funk and Bastien wrestled clean until Funk turned, kicking Bastien until finally pinning him.

Blackjack Mulligan defeated Ken Patera by pinfall. Mulligan pinned Patera after coming off the top rope with a knee to Patera's throat.

Dusty Rhodes defeated Professor Boris Malenko by pinfall. Dusty pinned Malenko after delivering the bionic elbow drop.

Wahoo McDaniel defeated Superstar Billy Graham by pinfall. Graham had Wahoo in his full nelson when Wahoo kicked off the turn buckle. Both men fell to the mat with Graham maintaining the full nelson on Wahoo. Wahoo was on top of Graham and Graham's shoulders were to the mat, and the referee counted him out.

Harley Race defeated Tiger Conway Jr. by pinfall. Conway rolled Race into a reverse cradle out of the turnbuckle. Race continued the roll, and cradled Conway for the pin.

Paul Jones defeated Ole Anderson by pinfall. Anderson Irish-whipped Jones into the ropes and Jones caught him with body press coming out of the ropes for the pin.

Johnny Weaver defeated Gene Anderson by Judge's Decision following a 20 minute draw. Weaver had Gene Anderson in the sleeper when time ran out. The panel of five judges voted Weaver the winner. The judges were (1) NWA President Jack Adkisson, (2) Raleigh promoter Joe Murnick, (3) wrestler and broadcaster Les Thatcher, (4) longtime Crockett Promotions associate and ring announcer Wally Dusek, and (5) New Jersey State Athletic Commissioner (and father of Larry Sharpe) Augie Wilde.

ROUND TWO - QUARTER FINALS

Terry Funk defeated Rufus R. Jones by pinfall. Terry Funk was re-entering the ring and Rufus picked him up for a slam. Funk held to the ropes causing Rufus to lose his balance falling backwards with Funk on top of him. Funk held him for the three count.

Dusty Rhodes defeated Blackjack Mulligan by pinfall. Rhodes had Mulligan in a headlock when Mulligan shot him into the ropes. The two collided and Dusty fell to the ringside floor, landing on top of one of the official judges Augie Wilde. Blackjack fell to his back in the ring. The referee was distracted by Rhodes and Wilde, and began issuing the ten-count on Rhodes to return to the ring. While this was going on, Tim Woods, who had his hand broken by Mulligan some weeks earlier, entered the ring. Woods hit Mulligan with his cast, knocking Mulligan unconscious. Rhodes beat the ten count and returned to the ring, and then covered the unconscious Mulligan for the three count.

Harley Race defeated Wahoo McDaniel by disqualification. Wahoo threw Race into the ropes. Rather than bouncing off the ropes back toward Wahoo, Race jumped slightly, falling backward over the top rope to the floor, making it look as though Wahoo had thrown him over the top rope. The referee made the judgment that Wahoo had intentionally thrown Race over the top rope and disqualified McDaniel. An angry Wahoo brawled with Race outside of the ring, hitting him with a chair and also hitting referee Greg Peterson with a chair. Wahoo was later fined for these actions.

Paul Jones defeated Johnny Weaver by pinfall. Jones and Weaver wrestled a very scientific match with Jones pinning Weaver with an inside cradle.

ROUND THREE - SEMI-FINALS

Terry Funk defeated Dusty Rhodes by disqualification. This match was a brawl from the beginning, much of it taking place outside the ring until Rhodes was eventually disqualified.

Paul Jones defeated Harley Race by pinfall. Race held the advantage most of the match, using his trademark flying head butts and knee-drops. Jones caught him by surprise with the same maneuver he used earlier to defeat Ole Anderson, coming out of the ropes with a body press for the pinfall. A major advance for Jones as he defeats former United States champ and former NWA champ Race to advance to the finals.

FINAL ROUND - CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

Dusty Rhodes And Blackjack Mulligan Win

Terry Funk defeated Paul Jones by pinfall to win the United States Heavyweight Championship. Both wrestlers, exhausted from their earlier encounters, wrestled a methodical, scientific match early on. At the end, there were several back-and-forth near falls. Referee Greg Peterson was inadvertently knocked down, and while he was down, Jones was able to pin Funk for what seemed like a five or six count. Peterson, who was also physically involved earlier during the Wahoo/Race brawl, was unable to get into position to count the pin. Eventually, an exhausted Jones lifted Funk for a vertical suplex, but could not get Funk over. Funk quickly cradled Jones for a three count to win the match and the United States Heavyweight Championship.

Dusty Rhodes And Blackjack Mulligan Poker

* * * * *

ORIGINAL PUBLISHED BRACKET

Ray Stevens and Tim Woods were scheduled to meet each other in the opening round of the tournament. Stevens was announced as having 'travel difficulties' and did not make the show. he was replaced by Johnny Weaver. Woods was injured prior to the tournament, but was not replaced. Instead, Weaver (replacing Stevens) met Gene Anderson in the first round. Anderson was originally scheduled for a bye in the original 19-man field.

This is what the original tournament bracket looked like before the substitution of Weaver for Stevens and the re-bracketing to 18 participants:

Historical note: Weaver made it to the finals of a previous tournament held in Florida for the vacant US title. He was defeated by Harley Race in the finals of that tournament, which was a fictitious tournament created as the back-story for Race when he first brought the title to Greensboro in July 1975 and lost it to Johnny Valentine. Also see United States Title History.

A FAN'S BRACKET:

DAVE ROUTH'S ORIGINAL FILLED OUT BRACKET FROM THE NIGHT OF THE TOURNAMENT

OFFICIAL JUDGES:

Dusty Rhodes And Blackjack Mulligan Slot Machine

(1) NWA President Jack Adkisson

Dusty Rhodes Vs Blackjack Mulligan

(2) Raleigh promoter Joe Murnick

(3) longtime Crockett Promotions associate and ring announcer Wally Dusek

Dusty Rhodes Vs Blackjack Mulligan

(4) wrestler and broadcaster Les Thatcher

Dusty Rhodes And Blackjack Mulligan Wife

(5) New Jersey State Athletic Commissioner (and father of Larry Sharpe) Augie Wilde. (Not Pictured)