43-606: Professional wrestling championship NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship Details Promotion Southeast Championship Wrestling Date established March 10,1978 Date retired After May 4, 1980 Other name(s) NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Championship Statistics First champion(s) Bob Armstrong Final champion(s) Mongolian Stomper Most reigns Ron Fuller (5 reigns The NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship or Gulf Coast Heavyweight Championship
86-558: A cage match against Katsuzo Oiyama in Isehara, Kanagawa and a handful of matches against Animal Hamaguchi that ended in double count-outs or disqualifications. During the tour, he teamed on several occasions with Ox Baker . Although losing to Bob Armstrong in a match for the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship in 1978, Schultz later regained the title the following year feuding over
129-651: A falling out with promoters in Louisiana with Mobile-Pensacola only running in the summer months. Kelly turned the promotion around from holding monthly and seasonal shows in a few towns which only drew a few hundred people to holding weekly shows in a different town night after night with local television exposure in each market, which led to each arena drawing thousands. Bob Kelly left the wrestling business in 1976 to enter real estate and spend more time with family, and Lee Fields found it more difficult to operate both his wrestling promotion and Mobile International Speedway at
172-465: A hearing before the commission, Kohn later reported that Schultz had written a letter to the commission admitting "that he had acted improperly and apologized both to the commission and to Mr. Stossel" and further stated "I admit the allegations ... I intend the commission to know that I did not intend to hurt John Stossel. I apologize to the commission and to John Stossel." Stossel stated that he suffered from pain and buzzing in his ears eight weeks after
215-587: A large amount of media coverage, was later aired on national television including ABC News which reported that the network had received more than 1,000 calls from viewers inquiring about Stossel's health. Marvin Kohn, a deputy commissioner at the New York State Athletic Commission , had been present at the arena during the incident and immediately suspended Schultz for his actions. Although called by Commissioner Jose Torres to attend
258-435: A notorious encounter on December 28, 1984, with 20/20 reporter John Stossel while Stossel was backstage at Madison Square Garden doing a story about professional wrestling's secrets. During an interview Stossel told Schultz that he thought pro wrestling was fake (which was already widely assumed) and Schultz's response was to slap Stossel in the head twice, knocking him to the floor each time. The attack, which attracted
301-561: A six-month promotional war over the Knoxville territory. Many of these defectors later joined the Kentucky based outlaw promotion International Championship Wrestling owned and operated by Angelo Poffo . After this, the Knoxville end of Southeastern experienced financial losses, and sold to promotions such as Jim Crockett Promotions and Georgia Championship Wrestling for the next five years. Fuller then made Birmingham his main end of
344-728: A storyline in which he had been "bought" by manager J.R. Foley. Schultz wrestled for Stampede Wrestling until May 1983. In June 1983, Schultz continued his feud with Honky Tonk Wayne in Vancouver All-Star Wrestling, ultimately defeating Wayne in a cage match in Vancouver, British Columbia . Schultz subsequently returned to the United States to join the American Wrestling Association . In July 1983, Schultz began wrestling for
387-733: A week later. In June 1980, Schultz returned to The Maritimes , where he wrestled as "David Von Schultz" in Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling . Later that month he became the inaugural AGPW United States Heavyweight Champion. After defending the title against veterans such as Leo Burke , Stephen Petitpas , and the Great Malumba throughout the summer, he eventually lost the title while he and the Cuban Assassin feuded with AGPW North American Tag Team Champions Leo Burke and Stephen Petitpas during his last weeks in
430-627: Is an American retired professional wrestler . Nicknamed "Dr. D", he competed in North American regional promotions Stampede Wrestling , the National Wrestling Alliance , and the American Wrestling Association in the late 1970s and early 1980s. During his short stint in the World Wrestling Federation in 1984, he gained notoriety by assaulting 20/20 reporter John Stossel during a report on
473-607: Is recorded defending his title in Mobile, Alabama two days later Championship history is unrecorded from May 6, 1979 to May 23, 1979 . 12 Ox Baker May 23, 1979 SCW show Mobile, Alabama 1 14 13 Terry Boulder June 6, 1979 SCW show Mobile, Alabama 1 7 14 Austin Idol June 13, 1979 SCW show Mobile, Alabama 1 N/A Championship history
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#1732783867671516-3858: Is unrecorded from June 13, 1979 to October 31, 1979 . 15 Terry Boulder October 31, 1979 SCW show N/A 2 N/A 16 Toru Tanaka November 1979 SCW show N/A 1 N/A 17 Bob Armstrong November 23, 1979 SCW show Mobile, Alabama 4 14 18 Jos Leduc December 7, 1979 SCW show Mobile, Alabama 1 60 19 Ron Fuller February 5, 1980 SCW show Mobile, Alabama 4 25 20 Jimmy Golden March 1, 1980 SCW show Dothan, Alabama 1 3 21 Ron Fuller March 4, 1980 SCW show Mobile, Alabama 5 N/A 22 Jos Leduc March 16, 1980 (NLT) SCW show N/A 2 N/A 23 Mongolian Stomper April 1, 1980 SCW show Mobile, Alabama 2 21 24 Georgia Jawjacker April 22, 1980 SCW show Mobile, Alabama 5 12 25 Mongolian Stomper May 4, 1980 SCW show N/A 3 N/A — N/A — — See also [ edit ] National Wrestling Alliance Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling References [ edit ] ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4 . External links [ edit ] Wrestling-Titles.com v t e Gulf Coast / Southeastern Championship / Continental Championship / Continental Wrestling Federation championships GCCW NWA World Heavyweight Championship NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship NWA World Tag Team Championship NWA United States Tag Team Championship NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship NWA Southern Tag Team Championship NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Championship NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship NWA Southeast Alabama Heavyweight Championship NWA Louisiana Heavyweight Championship NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Championship NWA Mississippi Tag Team Championship NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship SCW CCW NWA World Heavyweight Championship AWA World Heavyweight Championship NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship NWA Southeastern Continental Heavyweight Championship NWA Southeastern Television Championship NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship NWA Southeastern Continental Tag Team Championship NWA Southern Tag Team Championship NWA Southeastern United States Junior Heavyweight Championship NWA Southeastern Alabama Heavyweight Championship NWA Southeastern Tennessee Heavyweight Championship NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship CWF AWA World Heavyweight Championship CWF Heavyweight Championship CWF Tag Team Championship United States Junior Heavyweight Championship Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NWA_Southeastern_Heavyweight_Championship&oldid=1165857266 " Categories : Continental Championship Wrestling championships National Wrestling Alliance championships United States regional professional wrestling championships Heavyweight wrestling championships Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Articles with hCards Southeast Championship Wrestling Continental Championship Wrestling
559-401: Is unrecorded from November 19, 1978 to April 27, 1979 . 9 David Schultz April 27, 1979 SCW show Dothan, Alabama 1 7 10 Ron Slinker May 4, 1979 SCW show Dothan, Alabama 1 2 11 David Schultz May 6, 1979 SCW show Mobile, Alabama 2 N/A Title change in dispute as Shutlz
602-558: The American Wrestling Association (AWA). His early opponents included Brad Rheingans , Jim Brunzell , and Buck Zumhofe . In August 1983, Schultz and Mr. Saito began feuding with Hulk Hogan , facing him in a series of handicap matches . The feud lasted until November 1983 when Hogan and André the Giant defeated Schultz, Mr. Saito, and Jerry Blackwell in a handicap match in the Salt Palace . Schultz made his final appearances with
645-695: The Maritimes , Schultz defeated Terry Sawyer for the Canadian Heavyweight Championship in Halifax, Nova Scotia on August 9, 1977. Feuding with Sawyer over the title, he would briefly lose the title back to Sawyer before regaining it on August 13 and remained champion until the title became inactive before the end of the year. From September to October 1978, Schultz toured Japan with International Wrestling Enterprise as part of its "Dynamite Series". His matches on this tour included
688-775: The Sunshine Network , a regional sports cable channel that served the Southeastern United States . Their last TV episode aired on November 25, 1989. The promotion closed after their final show on December 6, 1989. Despite many huge angles over the years, this territory often has the status as "the lost promotion". Such obscurity was due to the lack of media coverage during the Gulf Coast and Southeastern years since both Lee Fields and Ron Fuller believed that their promotions should not be covered by wrestling magazines and often did not allow reporters in
731-520: The home video boom of the 1980s, much of the footage from the Gulf Coast era and the Knoxville portion of Southeastern no longer exists, despite a few bits of rare footage turning up here and there. However, almost all of the Dothan portion of Southeastern along with the majority of Continental footage still exists. They are still owned by David Woods and Woods Communications. David Schultz (professional wrestler) David Schultz (born June 1, 1955)
774-628: The 1970s and 80s. During the event, he would participate on a Q&A panel discussing the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and taking questions from audience members as well as conducted a "shoot interview" with RF Video. As part of their agreement, RF Video donated $ 500 in his name to the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Building Fund and later presenting a check to Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame President Tony Vellano. Schultz released his book, Don't Call Me Fake , on January 23, 2018. On April 28, 2020, Dark Side of
817-704: The AWA in December 1983, defeating Baron von Raschke in Green Bay, Wisconsin . World Wrestling Federation (WWF) promoter Vince McMahon had become impressed with Schultz after watching an interview in the American Wrestling Association in which Schultz had made derogatory remarks about Hulk Hogan. Schultz debuted in the WWF in December 1983, defeating Jimmy Jackson on an episode of Wrestling at
860-723: The Chase . Within a short time, he had become one of the top "heels" in the promotion being aligned with Roddy Piper , Bob Orton and Paul Orndorff in their feud with "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka and later teamed with Piper and Orndorff to defeat S. D. Jones , Rocky Johnson and Bobo Brazil in a 6-man tag team match at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland . On June 17, he would also face WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan in Minneapolis, Minnesota . Schultz had
903-614: The Eastern Tennessee territory he already established. This was initially labelled ”the Southern Division” of the SECW treating them as two separate entities despite the original plan to run a talent exchange between the two involving talent spending sixteen months in one end of the territory and then spend eight months in another to regain momentum after losing steam in the previous one. In June 1979, several members of
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#1732783867671946-418: The Knoxville end of the territory, with this expansion came a name change to Continental Championship Wrestling . After a failed negotiation with CBS , he settled on moving the television show out of the small television studio and into the big arenas where they did house shows in order to give the promotion a national look and feel. While the name Southeastern restricted the promotion to a more regional feel,
989-711: The assault. Stossel later claimed he was unaware of Schultz's apology and would pursue his action in court although commented he would be "less likely to sue" if the after-effects of his injury disappeared. Stossel eventually filed a lawsuit against the World Wrestling Federation, and settled out of court for $ 425,000 (equivalent to $ 1,203,991 in 2023). Although Schultz has consistently maintained that World Wrestling Federation officials told him to hit Stossel (specifically, he insists that Vince McMahon himself said, "Blast him (Stossel), tear his ass up, stay in character -- 'Doctor D'..."), Schultz ultimately
1032-664: The following month, attended the Fan Slam Convention in Totowa, New Jersey on December 6, 2003. During the event, he participated in a Q&A panel which included Ted DiBiase , Virgil , Gary Michael Cappetta , Chief Jay Strongbow and The Missing Link . In October 2006, Schultz was honored along with J. J. Dillon and Missy Hyatt at a dinner banquet hosted by the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and attended by former WWF wrestlers from
1075-749: The legitimacy of professional wrestling. Trained by Herb Welch, Schultz began wrestling in NWA Mid-America during the mid-1970s eventually teaming with Roger Kirby to defeat Bill Dundee and Big Bad John for the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship in May 1976. He would also team with Bill Ash to win the NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship before losing the titles to George Gulas and Gorgeous George Jr. later that year. While in
1118-491: The locker room to interview the wrestlers. This was to prevent the exposure to kayfabe and preserve the illusion of wrestling as a sport in the area. However, Fuller relented with the changeover to Continental in order to get national exposure for the promotion from the magazines. Such exposure was at an all-time high during the Eddie Gilbert period. Due to the expensive nature of archiving at television stations before
1161-497: The name Continental gave fans the impression they toured all over the country, except Alaska and Hawaii. In 1988, WCOV-TV owner David Woods bought the controlling interest in the promotion from Ron Fuller, and he renamed it Continental Wrestling Federation in a further attempt to compete with Vince McMahon and appear to resemble a nationwide promotion, even to the point of getting a national TV deal with Financial News Network . Episodes also aired every Monday at 1:30 a.m. ET on
1204-607: The promotion to David Woods in 1988, the name was changed to Continental Wrestling Federation . Nashville promoter Roy Welch had purchased the Mobile-Pensacola end of Leroy McGuirk's Tri-State Wrestling. Unlike McGuirk, who only promoted in the Mobile-Pensacola area on special occasions called spot shows, Welch decided to make promoting in Mobile-Pensacola a frequent attraction in the summer. However, due to his obligations in Nashville, his son Buddy Fuller (Edward Welch)
1247-618: The region. In October 1980, Schultz moved on to Stu Hart 's Stampede Wrestling. Schultz became part of Foley's Army feuding with Leo Burke and Mr. Hito over the Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Championship during 1981 and also faced AWA World champion Nick Bockwinkel in a non-title interpromotional match. He also briefly teamed with Honky Tonk Wayne as the Memphis Mafia before Wayne turned on him in
1290-564: The same time.. So he sold it to his cousin Ron Fuller around 1977-1978. In 1974, Ron Fuller purchased Southeastern Championship Wrestling based in Knoxville, Tennessee from John Cazana, where he focused mainly on the east Tennessee area. In 1977, Ron Fuller took over the territory his grandfather and father had founded when GCCW folded and Fuller expanded the SECW to run in the Southern Alabama, Northern Florida area in addition
1333-1144: The specific champion Days Number of days held No. Champion Championship change Reign statistics Notes Ref. Date Event Location Reign Days 1 Bob Armstrong March 10, 1978 SCW show Dothan, Alabama 1 N/A defeated David Schultz to become the first champion 2 Ken Lucas April 1978 SCW show N/A 1 N/A defeated David Schultz to win title 3 Ron Fuller April 5, 1978 SCW show Mobile, Alabama 1 70 Won Tournament 4 Bob Armstrong June 14, 1978 SCW show Mobile, Alabama 2 35 5 Ron Fuller July 19, 1978 SCW show Mobile, Alabama 2 56 6 Bob Armstrong September 13, 1978 SCW show Mobile, Alabama 3 N/A 7 Mongolian Stomper October 1978 SCW show N/A 1 N/A 8 Masked Superstar 1978 SCW show N/A 1 N/A Championship history
NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
1376-529: The spotlight in the early 1990s when he testified at McMahon's trial . Although Hulk Hogan was considered to be the prosecution's major witness, Schultz was one of several former WWF wrestlers called to testify against McMahon at the trial although McMahon would eventually be acquitted of all charges against him. During the early 2000s, Schultz was under consideration for induction into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in November 2003, and
1419-506: The talent roster and behind the scenes personnel left SECW over frustrationd involving backstage politics with Ron's brother Robert Fuller who was considered lazy in terms of booking the territory, and spent many nights partying and felt his spot in Southeastern was owed to him since he was a member of The Welch/Fuller family. Led by Bob Roop , Ronnie Garvin , Bob Orton Jr. and Boris Malenko , All-Star Championship Wrestling fought
1462-467: The territory from his father Roy Welch. Buddy's cousin Lee Fields (Albert Lee Hatfield) would save the territory and gave it the name "Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling". Lee Fields would eventually buy the territory from Roy Welch and Buddy Fuller, and run shows in the area for almost two decades with Rocky McGuire booking Dothan-Panama City and Bob Kelly booking Mobile-Pensacola and Mississippi after
1505-646: The territory with the Dothan end continuing to flourish, giving early exposure to future stars such as The Fabulous Freebirds , rising stars in the territory along the lines of Austin Idol , and appearances by Ric Flair who would defend the NWA World Heavyweight Title in the area each year. Five years later, Fuller decided that it was time to reach beyond the Southern Alabama/Northern Florida area and re-purchased
1548-492: The title with Ron Slinker in mid-1979. Teaming with Dennis Condrey , the two later won the NWA Southeast Tag Team Championship after defeating Dick Slater and Paul Orndorff in November 1979 and successfully defended the titles for several months before the title was held up during a match against Mike Stallings and The Matador on February 3, 1980, and lost the titles to them in a rematch
1591-697: The tour included Antonio Inoki , Kantaro Hoshino , and Kengo Kimura . After returning from Japan, he divided his time between the Continental Wrestling Association and the Northeastern United States –based International World Class Championship Wrestling for the remainder of the year. In mid-1986, Schultz returned to Stampede Wrestling, where he feuded with Duke Myers, including facing him in coal miner's glove matches . In late-1985, Schultz moved to Lutte Internationale , where he defeated Samula Anoa'i to win
1634-620: The vacant Canadian International Heavyweight Championship . Schultz wrestled sporadically over the following years, making a handful of appearances with the North American Wrestling Association , Central States Wrestling , and the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance . He retired in 1989. Moving to Connecticut , Schultz opened a successful bail bonds business and began a second career as a professional bounty hunter . In 1992, Schultz
1677-646: Was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee , and Dothan, Alabama , from 1985 until 1989, owned by Ron Fuller . The promotion evolved out of the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship Wrestling and Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling territories owned by Fuller, who purchased the Knoxville territory from John Cazana in 1974 and the Alabama/Florida territory in 1977. When Fuller sold
1720-450: Was accused by the WWF of conspiring with former WWF referee Rita Chatterton to extort $ 5 million from the company. Vince and Linda McMahon filed a lawsuit against journalist and TV personality Geraldo Rivera after Chatterton aired a rape allegation against Vince McMahon during Rivera's programs. The lawsuit was abandoned after McMahon was indicted for allegedly illegally distributing anabolic steroids . Schultz briefly reappeared in
1763-435: Was fired. Many industry insiders believe that it was not because of his actions against Stossel, but rather because it was alleged, but never proven, that he challenged Mr. T to a fight backstage at a WWF event at Madison Square Garden . After leaving the WWF at the end of February 1985, Schultz immediately embarked on another tour of Japan with New Japan Pro-Wrestling as part of its "Big Fight" series. His opponents during
NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
1806-737: Was made booker for Mobile-Pensacola, and Fuller eventually expanded the territory into Mississippi-Louisiana as well. At this point, the territory didn't even have a name, its own belts, or even its own wrestlers (aside from members of The Welch Family of course). They often relied on wrestlers and champions from Buddy's and their Uncle Lester Welch's territory. He ran in places like Tampa, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia (which would eventually become Championship Wrestling from Florida and Georgia Championship Wrestling), as well getting help from his father in Nashville, Tennessee, and some occasional help from his Uncles Herb and Jack. These early attempts would start to unravel when Buddy Fuller failed to make payments to
1849-672: Was one of two identically named regional championship titles, a Southern and Northern division promoted by Southeast Championship Wrestling . The Southern division was established in 1978 as a continuation of the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Championship and existed until its merge with the Northern division in 1980. The unified championship continued to be active until 1988 when it was abandoned. Title history [ edit ] Key No. Overall reign number Reign Reign number for
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