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PERFECT STORM: THE LEGEND OF THE HAT AND ROBE
Later in the same broadcast, Flair came out for his scheduled TV match, cocky as ever, figuring Mulligan had tucked his tale and left, bragging about his $7500 peacock robe, letting the crowd know they could now see what a real man looked like. The ring attendant took Flair's robe and title belt to the back as usual. As he wrestled Ted Oates in the ring, the crowd suddenly exploded again. Blackjack Mulligan was upping the ante.
Mulligan strolled out toward Bob Caudle and David Crockett's broadcast position, now wearing Flair's precious peacock robe, with a sly little grin on his face. The studio audience was going nuts, as they could clearly see where this was headed.
Mulligan began tearing the robe to shreds, as Flair helplessly watched from the ring. Ted Oates took delight in continually tying Flair up in the ring so he couldn't escape.
As Mulligan first ripped off the sleeves of the robe, he told Caudle and Crockett:
"There's only a couple of things in this whole world that we know Ric Flair loves. One is that golden mane of his, and the other is this peacock robe. You gutless little wonder. I've taught this guy everything I know, I've done everything for him, I've always backed him to the hilt, and now Nature Boy Ric Flair is going to have to be a man and beat somebody on his own. I'm going to keep some of these peacock feathers, and these are going to be in my new hat. And when you've got guts enough, Sonny Boy, sweet thing, you come and get 'em!"
After Mulligan had finally left, with the remains of Flair's robe in a heap on the floor, Flair finally tossed Oates over the top rope for the disqualification to end the match. As the crowd cheered, Flair knelt down in the middle of what were the remains of his favorite robe. He screamed that Mulligan would soon be a dead man.
And thus began one of the wildest, biggest money making feuds in Crockett Promotions history. But it wouldn't happen right away. Flair may have pronounced Blackjack a dead man, but it wasn't going to be directly at his hand. Flair wanted no part of meeting Mulligan in a title match. He disappeared from TV for awhile, sending in a tape standing on the set of Georgia Championship Wrestling with Freddy Miller, announcing that he was putting a bounty on the head of Blackjack Mulligan. $10,000 to the man who could eliminate Blackjack Mulligan from wrestling.
And for weeks, wrestlers like Baron von Raschke, Greg Valentine, the Masked Superstar and even a young, up-and-coming Crusher Jerry Blackwell would attempt to collect Flair's bounty, to no avail. Beaten and battered, Mulligan would survive every battle and continued to demand Flair have the guts to face him one-on-one for the US title. But Flair still refused to sign for a title defense.
But Mulligan had one trick left, the ace up his sleeve, and he finally played it weeks later on television.
Blackjack brought out a crumpled up, paper Bi-Lo grocery bag, called Flair out, and began to return some of his belongings to him. Blackjack had been cleaning out the van they previously owned together. One after another, he pulled out items that embarrassed Flair, including various foreign objects Flair had used in matches, a picture that Flair had autographed to himself, a blonde wig, even an old toothbrush. But finally, he pulled out a pair of panty hose, and Flair was so angry and embarrassed that he agreed on the spot to a match with Mulligan.
Mulligan and Flair toured the entire territory several times over with this match, selling out buildings across the Mid-Atlantic area. Behind the scenes, Blackjack bought the Amarillo Texas territory with friend and business partner Dick Murdoch. And so Mulligan never won the US title as he left the area later that fall to do business in Texas.
But the angle is remembered today for it's nearly flawless execution, and a text book way to build a program and sustain it for months on end. While all parties took some role in coming up with the rich detail of the hat and robe angle, Blackjack gives all the credit to booker George Scott for conceiving of the whole thing, using Mulligan's turn to both establish him as a fresh new top babyface and finally propel Flair to the top heel spot as well.
It began with the tease in 1977, and paid off with the Hat and Robe in 1978, all elements that came together like weather fronts colliding to form the perfect storm. For my money, the Hat & Robe is the greatest wrestling angle of all time.
- Dick Bourne Mid-Atlantic Gateway © 2004 Dick Bourne | Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Listen to this special audio montage, a sampling of brief audio clips from the famous Hat & Robe angle! (MP3 Format, 1:49, 657 KB)
Where did we get those screen captures? Audio & Video origins and Explanations
A rare photo of Ric Flair in that famous Peacock robe (holding the NWA TV title belt.) (Photo courtesy of Peggy Lathan.)
A rare photo of Blackjack Mulligan and the infamous van mentioned in this article that Blackjack and Ric owned as well as the hat that Willie Nelson gave Blackjack that Ric destroyed in the "Hat & Robe" angle. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Lostraglio.)
Order the Blackjack Mulligan 2-Disc Interview DVD from Highspots today! Clips from the 8mm film of the Hat & Robe angle are included on the DVD!
A lot of work went into putting this feature together. Please let us know what you think of this recreation of the Hat & Robe angle.
© 2004 Dick Bourne | Mid-Atlantic Gateway |
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