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Friday, July 3, 2015

"The Best of NWA Wrestling" with Johnny Weaver (1978)


Lots of folks remember that Johhny was a popular co-host of wrestling programs in the Mid-Atlantic area, first with Rich Landrum on World Wide Wrestling in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and then with Bob Caudle on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and NWA Pro Wrestling throughout much of the the 1980s. Not many folks may remember that Weaver briefly hosted his own wrestling show in the fall of 1978 called "The Best of N.W.A. Wrestling".

Originating from the studios of WCCB-18 in Charlotte, NC, Weaver would review tapes from the other Mid-Atlantic TV shows as well as special arena film, and would have studio guests there to offer commentary as well.

The program only lasted 13 weeks, and aired only in a few markets.  David Crockett conducting some of the interviews. Weaver had a different co-host each week, and they would review tape and film of matches both from the arena and also from previous broadcasts of Mid-Atlantic and World Wide Wrestling. Occasionally, tapes would be shown of matches from other NWA territories, usually from Florida or Georgia.

The studio was very small, and there was no ring set up for wrestling. There was a desk-set with an NWA logo behind it, and a separate interview set as well.

As a matter of trivia, WCCB was the original choice location for the weekly TV tapings when Crockett moved them from WRAL in Raleigh to Charlotte in 1981. That deal fell through, and the decision was made to move to the tiny confines of WPCQ-36 in Charlotte.

WCCB was located right next door to the old Charlotte Coliseum (now the Independence Arena/Cricket Arena).

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For more information on this program, including several photographs of Johnny on the set of his show, check out the following link on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway: