Mark Fleming knew he wanted to be a professional wrestler.
Growing up in Crockett Country, Fleming was mesmerized by the stars of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.
To pursue his dream, Fleming became involved with amateur wrestling, and he was a top-notch amateur wrestler in high school, but unlike his peers, Fleming never aspired to wrestle in the collegiate ranks.
Instead, Fleming’s dream was to become a professional wrestler.
For Fleming, amateur wrestling was a foundation that would eventually lead him to the doors of Jim Crockett Promotions, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, UWF International, and beyond.
Foot in the door
While he was progressing in the amateur ranks, Fleming continued to attend Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling shows in Norfolk. Over time, he began to foster a relationship with Ricky Steamboat that would change his life forever.
“Back then, the guys would come out and watch other matches. I was so eager and so determined to meet or talk to one of them. I would just talk to them from the sidelines, like hanging over the balcony talking to ‘em. And, everytime [Steamboat] would come to town, I would talk to him and he would recognize me. So, I told him I wrestled amateur and he got interested. We would talk about amateur wrestling and he liked that. He knew I wasn’t just a fan of the [pageantry], I was there as an athlete trying to get in, because I knew how wrestling worked. He knew that, I guess he realized it.”
Eventually, Steamboat gave Fleming the offer a lifetime.
“He said, ‘Look, this is a hard business.’ He said they were having a tryout camp, he told me a date and everything, so I called the office and you gotta kinda be invited. They ask you your background, do you have a wrestling background or an athletic background. They invited me there, December of ‘81, and it was 27 guys there. I was second to the smallest. Ole and Gene Anderson were in charge of the tryouts. It was an all day affair[…] It was a rough workout. Then we had to get in the ring and do a round-robin tournament. Like I said, I didn’t weigh but 200 pounds and I ended up pinning everyone I wrestled[…] At the end of the day, a lot of them had already quit during the exercises and walked out, but at the end of the day there were three of us left, and Ole Anderson picked me.”
It’s Wrestling, Not Rasslin’!
Fleming released his own biography, titled It’s Wrestling, Not Rasslin’! in 2016, under pro-wrestling historian Scott Teal’s publication, the Crowbar Press.
The biography is currently in its second printing, which can be purchased on the Crowbar Press’ website. The digital version can also be found on Amazon. Fleming also has a variety of photographs for sale, which can be purchased through his email: [email protected].
Fleming spent six months training with some of the toughest competitors that Jim Crockett Promotions had to offer, like Jake Roberts, Mike Rotunda, Ole Anderson, Gene Anderson, Don Kernodle, and Jack Brisco. Eventually, Gene Anderson decided Fleming was ready to make his debut. While Fleming didn’t feel adequately prepared for the road, Anderson assured him that the best way to learn was on the road.
Early in Fleming’s career, Jim Crockett Promotions experienced a gamut of bookers — from Dory Funk Jr. and Johnny Weaver to Ernie Ladd and Wahoo McDaniels. Fleming was learning the ropes, at a pivotal time in both Jim Crockett Promotions’ and the National Wrestling Alliance’s history. Not only were a new generation of wrestlers emerging in a business dominated by the old-guard, but the territories were rapidly declining. Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling had become the heartbeat of the NWA and Fleming was at the center of it all.
Everything changed for Fleming in 1984, when Jim Crockett Promotions hired “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes as its booker. Rhodes led a mass exodus from Championship Wrestling from Florida, bringing some of the promotion’s top talent with him to Jim Crockett Promotions. With new stars like Magnum T.A. and a more sports-entertainment oriented approach to booking, Fleming quickly found himself lost in the shuffle. Fleming believed Rhodes’ philosophy undermined wrestling’s sports-based presentation and its roots in mat wrestling. Fleming and Rhodes often clashed, leading to his diminishing role in Jim Crockett Promotions.
Lou Thesz
It was during this tumultuous time in his career that Fleming made the acquaintance of Lou Thesz. Known as a “hooker,” Lou Thesz was well versed in freestyle, catch, folkstyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling: having been trained by Ray Steele, Ad Santel, George Tragos, and Ed “Strangler” Lewis. At just 21 years old, Thesz won the World Heavyweight Championship from Everett Marshall in 1937, becoming the youngest world champion in professional wrestling history. On Nov. 27, 1949, Thesz won his first NWA World Heavyweight Championship, holding the championship for a staggering 2,300 days. Thesz would proceed to hold the title two more times, for a combined 3,794 days.
Thesz was one of the sport’s most fearsome competitors, known for his legitimate grappling prowess. Having relocated to Norfolk, Thesz would attend Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling shows in the Tidewater region and took an interest in Fleming. Thesz interest in wrestling had waned, due to its increased emphasis on entertainment. In Fleming, Thesz found a kindred spirit, and their relationship progressed. Eventually, Thesz began traveling to shows with Fleming, and when Thesz opened his wrestling academy in 1988, Fleming became his head trainer.
By the late ’80s, Fleming’s relationship with Dusty Rhodes had become so strained that he began to consider leaving Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling entirely. There were a number of outlaw-promotions in the Mid-Atlantic region, that Jim Crockett Promotions’ wrestlers were prohibited from working for. Fleming wanted to work elsewhere, but was afraid of the consequences. So, Thesz advised Fleming to work under a hood. Fleming was hesitant, but Thesz assured him that there was no shame in wearing a mask. So, Fleming wore an all-black nylon outfit to obscure his physique, and Thesz christened him as “The Phantom.” Fleming’s identity was a mystery, allowing him to simultaneously work for both Jim Crockett Promotions and the outlaw-territories without.
After years of frustration, Fleming finally decided to leave Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. As a longtime acquaintance of Antonio Inoki, Thesz arranged a month-long tour of New Japan Pro-Wrestling for Fleming. During his time in NJPW, Fleming worked with legends like Riki Choshu, Masa Saito, Hiroshi Hase, Yoshiaki Fujiawara, and even Antonio Inoki himself. Fleming’s stint in NJPW reinvigorated his love for professional wrestling, thanks to the company’s sports-based presentation and bullpen of legitimately skilled grapplers.
After Fleming returned from NJPW, he participated in a tournament held in Norfolk and organized by Lou Thesz. The winner would receive Thesz’s original world championship belt; that had been rechristened as the International Heavyweight Championship. Fleming beat Blackjack Mulligan in the tournament’s finale and held the title for several years, defending it across the United States and Japan.
At this point, Thesz had become Fleming’s full-time manager; speaking on his behalf and handling his bookings.
George Scott
There, Fleming met Ken Shamrock, then known as Vince Torelli. The two had a phenomenal match that ended in a 20 minute time-limit draw.
When Fleming returned from his tour of NJPW, Weekly Gong magazine wrote a two-page spread about Fleming — remarking that he would be perfect for the successor to Akira Maeda’s Universal Wrestling Federation, the Union of Wrestling Forces International: better known as the UWFi. The UWFi was founded and led by Nobuhiko Takada, a student of the famed New Japan Dojo and Yoshiaki Fujiwara. The promotion revolutionized “shoot-style” wrestling, utilizing a unique point-system as opposed to traditional pinfalls.
Thanks to the Weekly Gong magazine article, the UWFi sent Yoji Anjo to scout Fleming in Virginia, who had continued to train diligently with Lou Thesz. Anjo recognized Fleming’s aptitude and invited him to join the UWFi.
Like Fleming, the company was composed of wrestlers with backgrounds in combat sports. Thesz, of course, was enamored with the company’s “shoot-style” approach. So much so that he lent his name and considerable credibility to the promotion, acting as its commissioner. Thesz also lent his ’50s-era NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt, which the company used as their top-title, the Pro-Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship. Through Thesz, the UWFi also hired other well respected shooters, Billy Robinson and Danny Hodge, as trainers.
Finally, Fleming had found himself in a promotion that shared his appreciation for sports-based professional wrestling. Fleming worked with the likes of Takada, Gary Albright, and future pioneers of mixed-martial arts like Kiyoshi Tamura. However, Thesz and Fleming both lost faith in the UWFi in 1993, when the promotion hired Big Van Vader. Both men felt like Vader lacked the training and qualities that were necessary to compete in the UWFi, viewing that move as a publicity stunt by Takada.
After his stint in the UWFi, Fleming took a sabbatical from professional wrestling; focusing his efforts on Lou Thesz’s wrestling academy. He returned to Japan in 1995, working for an upstart promotion called United Nations Wrestling.
Fleming’s mentor, Lou Thesz, passed away in 2002. Fleming continued wrestling into the mid-2000’s for a myriad of promotions, including Virginia Championship Wrestling, but retired in 2006.
Video: Interview with Mark Fleming
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