It’s time to do the annual episode devoted to WCW Halloween Havoc. This time we go all the way back to where it began in 1989.

0:30 – Pro Wrestling in 1989

The entire wrestling business was in a bit of a transitional phase. Ted Turner had bought out Jim Crockett Promotions in 1988 so this was the first full-fledged year under his ownership. It was also the year Ric Flair was pushed as the top babyface with no Horsemen backing him up due to Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard signing with WWE. Not only that, PPV was still a relatively new concept and wasn’t nearly as established as it became in the 1990s. Thus, the inaugural Halloween Havoc helped set the stage for Sting’s rise to main event status in 1990.

9:00 – Storylines and Angles

The Main Event

Flair was in his seventh reign as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion. He had successfully regained the title from Ricky Steamboat at WrestleWar. Terry Funk, fresh off a stint as an actor, made his return to wrestling that night and challenged Flair for the title. Flair declined, believing Funk had been away from wrestling too long to be considered a top challenger. This enraged Funk, who immediately attacked Flair and piledrove him through a table. This put Flair on the shelf for several weeks, but the two faced off at The Great American Bash with Flair beating Funk to retain the title.

Meanwhile, Keiji Mutoh, aka The Great Muta, was on an excursion to the United States. Muta was at this point undefeated and had beaten Sting for the NWA World Television Championship. The villainous Gary Hart became the manager for both Funk and Muta.

After Flair retained the title at the Great American Bash, Funk and Muta ambushed Flair. Sting ran out for the save and a wild brawl ensued. This solidified Flair and Sting as the top babyfaces and aligned them against Funk, Muta, and Hart.

Tag Teams

Jim Cornette and The Midnight Express of Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane were turned babyface after being attacked by the original Midnight Express of Randy Rose and Dennis Condrey managed by Paul E. Dangerously. However, all three heels were either let go or fired soon afterwards and The Samoan SWAT Team (later The Headshrinkers in WWE) were brought in to take their place in the feud. Oliver Humperdink also joined WCW as The SST’s manager.

The Varsity Club of Mike Rotunda, Steve Williams, and Rick Steiner had disbanded with Williams and Steiner going babyface. Steiner had become infatuated with a “nerdy girl” in the audience. That turned out to be a ruse because the girl in question became Woman. She brought in a masked tag team called “Woman’s tag team of Doom”. Rick’s younger brother Scott joined the company to help him in the feud.

There were also several famous tag teams either starting out or entering their primes at this event.

The Fabulous Freebirds went through a change as Terry Gordy quit the team to go to Japan. Buddy Jack retired, leaving Michael Hayes without a partner. Longtime friend Jimmy Garvin then joined Hayes as a new incarnation of The Freebirds. 

The Rest of the Card

Johnny Ace and Shane Douglas formed the tag The Dynamic Dudes and given Jim Cornette as their manager.

The Skyscrapers formed because Sid Vicious and Dan Spivey were the last two men in a battle royal. Teddy Long (years before becoming the general manager of Smackdown) convinced them to team rather than face off.

Of course, the legendary Road Warriors were at their peak during this time.

Rounding out the talent on the card were Tommy Rich, who likely was brought in due to his history in Georgia, a young Brian Pillman, and Z-Man Tom Zenk who worked well as white meat babyface.

Under the Turner banner, WCW had the use of names and media licensed to TBS and TNT. Commercials aired on Turner programming with people like Elvira for the PPV.

30:35 – The Event

Opening Matches

Z-Man p. “Captain” Mike Rotunda after rolling through a bodypress – This was a few years before Rotunda re-joined WWE and got the IRS gimmick name.

The Samoan Swat Team & The Samoan Savage (w/Oliver Humperdink) b. “Dr. Death” Steve Williams and The Midnight Express (“Beautiful” Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane w/Jim Cornette) when Samu pinned Lane – Williams was the only one that had the toughness of the SST. Bobby had to rely on his mat technique and Stan had to use his educated feet. The finish saw Stan kick Samu and get a visual pin. Cornette hit Humperdink but then Samu hit Stan with a flying forearm from behind and Stan collided with Cornette. These days it would have just been a distraction and a roll-up.

“Wildfire” Tommy Rich p. Cuban Assassin with a Thesz Press 

Undercard

The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hays & Jimmy Garvin) b. The Dynamic Dudes (Johnny Ace & Shane Douglas w/Jim Cornette) when Garvin pinned Douglas – The Dudes tried their finishing move The Wipeout but Hayes pulled Shane’s leg out from under him causing him to collapse and Garvin to reverse onto Ace.

Doom (w/Woman) b. The Steiner Bros. when Butch Reed pinned Rick with a headbutt -. Steiners had hit their suplex when Woman loaded Butch Reed’s mask and he headbutted Scott

US Champion “The Total Package” Lex Luger p. Brian Pillman with a Stun Gun – Pillman went for a top turnbuckle dropkick. Luger seemed to sell it even though Pillman missed by a mile. The announcers covered by saying Luger was ducking to avoid the dropkick. Luger then dropped Pillman’s neck on the top rope to get the pin.

The Road Warriors (Hawk & Animal w/Paul Ellering) b. The Skyscrapers (Sid Vicious & Dan Spivey w/Teddy Long) by DQ when Spivey hit Hawk with a heavy metal key – The Warriors looked to have the upper hand when the metal object was brought into play. The match fell apart afterward because a brawl broke out. 

The Main Event

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair & Sting b. Terry Funk & The Great Muta w/Gary Hart when Gary Hart dropped the towel – Bruno Sammartino served as the special guest referee. The only way to win the match was to have one team’s manager throw in the towel. Muta awesomely put out an unexpected fire by spitting his mist onto the flames. Even though the cage was said to be electrified, all the men still climbed around on it. Flair and Sting even swung around like Tarzan. Flair had Funk in the Figure Four while Sting delivered splashes on him. Gary Hart tried to get in the ring but was punched by Ole Anderson. This caused Hart to drop his towel. Bruno saw the towel on the mat and awarded the match to the babyfaces.

Halloween Havoc would continue to be an annual PPV attraction until WCW closed in 2001.

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It’s a double-shot of tributes on this volume of CWM. Today, we talk about two men who had similarities but also had very different careers, Don Kernodle and Del Wilkes. While they never met each other in the ring, Don Kernodle and Del Wilkes had characters that would have easily made them longtime rivals. Kernodle spent most of his career as a heel while Wilkes was primarily a patriotic babyface.

1:45 – Dark Side of the Ring Thoughts

Train gives his thoughts on the new season of Dark Side of the Ring, which recently aired its famous “Plane Ride From Hell” episode. He also looks forward to the episodes on Chris Kanyon and Luna Vachon because he knew both of those people.

15:00 – Don Kernodle (1950-2021)

Don Kernodle, a North Carolina native, was probably best known for teaming with Sgt. Slaughter in the early 1980s. The story goes that he began wrestling professionally after he accepted a challenge by Bob Roop for a legitimate match. Roop always dominated these challenges and would beat his opponents in seconds. While Roop still won the match, it took him eight minutes to do so. Kernodle was still offered training by Gene and Ole Anderson.

He spent some time as the traveling partner of Ric Flair, who was still a rising star at the time.

Kernodle first made his name as part of Sgt. Slaughter’s Cobra Corps stable alongside Jim Nelson (a pre-WWF Boris Zhukoff). The duo won the NWA Mid-Atlantic tag team championship and feuded with the likes of Porkchop Cash, King Parsons, and Jay Youngblood. After Slaughter and Kernodle turned on Nelson, they went on to win the NWA World tag titles in a fictional tournament. They claimed to have beaten Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki in the finals, which of course is a ludicrous claim. and feuded with Rick Steamboat and Jay Youngblood over them. That feud ended with a famous steel cage match in 1983.

He did compete for The World Wrestling Federation in 1983 as well. He mainly won enhancement matches on regular TV but didn’t see much success against opponents that were higher on the card.

Kernodle returned to Jim Crockett Promotions and formed a team with Bob Orton Jr. under the management of Gary Hart. Shortly after, he began teaming with Ivan Koloff in an anti-American stable. They would soon be joined by Nikita Koloff. This means he is at least partly responsible for Nikita Koloff’s rise to prominence. After losing the NWA Tag titles, the evil Russians turned on Kernodle. This began Kernodle’s only major babyface run. He was in The Rock and Roll Express’s corner when they won the NWA Tag Titles from the Russians at Starrcade 85.

There was a time when Kernodle hoped to reunite with Slaughter to face the Russians, as Slaughter was at the height of his GI Joe babyface run. But by the time Slaughter had left WWF, Dusty Rhodes had taken over as booker for the Crocketts.

He went into semi-retirement and made sporadic wrestling appearances for independent promotions. Over the last three decades, Kernodle had a career in law enforcement.

58:00 – Del Wilkes (1961-2021)

Del Wiles was an All-American football player in college at the University of South Carolina. He appeared on the Bob Hope Christmas special with the rest of his All-American teammates.

Trained by Moolah in the 1980s, Wilkes won his first major title in 1990 as The Trooper when he and DJ Peterson defeated the Destruction Crew (Mike Enos & Wayne Bloome) for the AWA tag titles. They would hold the belts until the promotion folded in early 1991.

From there, Wilkes began what would become his most famous gimmick when he joined Global Championship Wrestling in Texas and donned a mask as The Patriot. The gimmick was taken from comics drawn by Jerry Lawler in the 70s. He won a tournament to become the inaugural GWF Television Champion. Towards the end of 1991, another masked man (Doug Gilbert) appeared claiming to be The Dark Patriot. The two feuded over the title, which saw Wilkes lose the title and leave the promotion.

Wilkes made a few appearances for the then World Wrestling Federation before going to Giant Baba’s All Japan Pro Wrestling. He formed a tag team with The Eagle (Jackie Fulton) and won the tag titles and feuded with Doug Furnas and Dan Kroffat.

The Patriot saw his first national exposure when he signed with World Championship Wrestling in 1994. His WCW run consisted mainly of teaming with Buff Bagwell (then Marcus Alexander Bagwell) as Stars and Stripes. The duo briefly held the tag titles twice before quietly splitting in 1995. Wilkes quit WCW and returned to All Japan shortly thereafter.

His return to All Japan again saw him form a pair of tag teams. One with Johnny Ace and one with Kenta Kobashi. The first half of 1997 had all of them in a three-man team.

In the latter half of 1997, Wilkes returned to The WWF as The Patriot and began his highest-profile run in a feud against Bret Hart. The red, white, and blue Patriot was a natural babyface against the anti-American Hart, who had formed a new heel version of The Hart Foundation. The run was short-lived, as he suffered a torn tricep that sidelined him and he was released from WWE in early 1998. Wilkes quietly retired that year.

Del was very open about his drug abuse history and claimed to take 100 pills a day while working for WWE. He also admitted to a long history of cocaine use dating back to his college days. Del Wilkes passed away on July 1st, 2021 from a heart attack.

Do you have any memories of Don Kernodle and Del wilkes? Sound off below!

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The inaugural edition of The Great American Bash was held on July 6, 1985, at The American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Much like the early Starrcades and the first WrestleMania, the show was carried on Closed Circuit television because Pay-Per-View TV was still largely a new concept.

2:15 – The Event

Jim Crockett Promotions had great success with Starrcade. Shortly after they bought the 6:05 PM timeslot Dusty convinced them to run a second major show, this time in the summer. After all, JCP still had their own territory in The Carolinas and now they had control of a Georgia territory as well. It only made sense to use talent from both territories under the GAB banner. On top of that, The Crocketts already owned a baseball stadium so they had a large venue to hold it in. As for the programming, it is worth mentioning that wrestlers, especially heels, would have multiple feuds at once. So when going over these storylines and feuds, other names will be involved that might not make the card.

12:15 – The Angles

JJ Dillon was the manager of Ron Bass. Approximately one month prior to the event, Bass unsuccessfully challenged Ron Garvin for the NWA National Championship. Shortly after that, Dillon started courting Landell as a new protege over Bass. This caused Bass to turn on his manager.

Ole and Arn Anderson were the third incarnation of The Minnesota Wrecking Crew. Buzz Sawyer and Dick Slater had been feuding with them over the titles. The Andersons had tried to blind Buzz Sawyer and even attacked Buzz’s brother Brett.

Paul Jones had his Army, which consisted of Superstar Billy Graham, The Barbarian, and Abdullah The Butcher. Manny Fernandez, Sam Houston, and Buzz Tyler were all relatively new to the scene. Houston scored several victories that garnered a lot of fan attention on television.

Paul Jones and his Army also had an enemy in “The Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant. They attacked Valiant and struck him in the neck with a cane. The blow caused so much damage to his throat that he was unable to speak. As a result, Valiant had to write his thoughts on a chalkboard instead of talking. Valiant challenged Jones to a match to get revenge. Jones promptly accepted the challenge. What Jones did not realize was Valiant specifically asked for a Dog Collar Match instead of a standard match. Once jones learned of the match stipulation, he desperately wanted out of the match. Both men were allowed a second man to be in their corner as a compromise. Valiant chose Buzz Tyler while Jones picked Abdullah The Butcher.

The Russians (Ivan Koloff, Nikita Koloff, and Krusher Kruschev) held both the NWA World Tag Team Titles and the NWA World Six-Man Tag Titles. They also had the advantage of The Freebird Rule where any two of the three could defend the Tag Team Championships. The Road Warriors were the AWA tag team champions and were effectively making their in-ring debuts for Crockett on this show. AWA promotor Verne Gagne sent tapes of Road Warrior highlights and promos to set up a title-for-title match.

Another up-and-coming superstar was Magnum TA. He was gaining popularity very quickly because he would often win his matches in under a minute. This made him a “dragon slayer” of sorts because he would take on all comers. “The Ugandan Giant” Kamala was one of those dragons.

Ric Flair and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship were in the US Champion Magnum TA’s sights. Koloff wanted to capture the NWA World Title from Ric Flair for the glory of The Soviet Union. A series of vignettes aired that showed Koloff vigorously training. Nikita even knocked out David Crockett on television. Flair petitioned that Koloff not be suspended or fired for the incident because he wanted to get revenge for David in the ring. Flair put the title on the line against Nikita in a match with Crockett as the special guest referee. So Flair was a babyface in the Carolinas and in the context of this match, even though he was a heel just about everywhere else.

Dusty was a constant presence on Crockett programming, often cutting multiple promos during a single episode. On the 6/8 edition of WCW, Dusty was part of the commentary with Tony and David. He had suffered cracked ribs at the hands of Abdullah The Butcher. Blanchard, knowing Dusty was injured, would taunt him from the ring during matches. Dusty eventually hit the ring to go after Tully. Baby Doll scratched Dusty in the eyes with her nails and Blanchard attacked the ribs. Afterward, Tully would question how Dusty could deal with him if he got stopped so easily by a woman. Dusty managed to up the ante and added a stipulation that if he won the title, he would get Baby Doll as a valet for 30 days. It’s a pretty safe bet this angle probably couldn’t be done today.

1:03:45 – The Card

“Nature Boy” Buddy Landell d. “Cowboy” Ron Bass – Most of the match saw Landell Bass smack around Bass and Dillon attacking him when Landell would throw him to the outside. Bass fired up and was making a fiery comeback when the bell sounded to signify the time limit expiring. After the match, Bass got a measure of revenge by putting Dillon in The Claw.

NWA National Tag Team Champions The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Ole & Arn Anderson) b. “Mad Dog” Buzz Sawyer & Dick Slater when Ole pinned Sawyer – All four men brawled before the match began. The babyfaces dominated the opening minutes. The heels managed to cut off Slater and got the heat on him. Sawyer eventually got the hot tag and twice seemingly had the pin on Arn. Ole broke the pin with an elbowdrop behind the referee’s back. He and Arn then switched places before the referee turned around. Unfortunately, the ref did not see that the illegal man was making the cover and counted the fall anyway.

“The Raging Bull” Manny Fernandez, “Avalanche” Buzz Tyler, & Sam Houston b.”Superstar” Billy Graham, The Barbarian, & Abdullah The Butcher when Houston pinned Graham with a roll-up – Going by the names involved it would seem that Fernandez was the most experienced guy on the babyface team. The heels got the heat on Houston, who looked like he weighed 160 pounds. However, unlike the last match, there was no hot tag. Houston hit a body press on Graham. The heels broke the pin, leading to all six men getting into the ring and brawling. During the melee, Houston managed to roll up Graham and get the pin.

“The Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant p. Paul Jones in a Dog Collar Match – Jones tried to put the collar on Abdullah rather than wear it himself. While the referee was trying to keep Jones and Tyler apart, Abdullah hit Valiant with a spike before the match even started, putting Jones at an advantage when the bell finally sounded. Jones dominated the early part of the match until Valiant made a comeback and caused Jones to collide with an interfering Butcher. Valiant managed to follow up with an elbow drop to get the pin.

AWA World Tag Team Champions The Road Warriors (Hawk & Animal w/ Paul Ellering) d. NWA World Tag Team Champions The Russians (Ivan Koloff & Krusher Kruschev) in a double-disqualification – The Russians got the heat on Animal until Hawk got the hot tag, and ran wild. The Road Warriors lifted Koloff for a top rope powerslam when Kruschev struck Animal from behind with a chair. Hawk managed to wrest the chair away from Kruschev and used it himself. The bell rang while The Road Warriors cleared the ring of the Russians, signifying a double-disqualification.

NWA United States Champion Magnum TA b. Kamala (w/Skandor Ackbar) via disqualification – The challenger brutalized the champion from the outset. A bloodied Magnum made his comeback and hit a series of dropkicks. Ackbar broke a pin attempt, causing a disqualification. While Magnum did not get the pin, he still was able to bodyslam Kamala and hit the Belly-To-Belly Suplex.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair p. Nikita Koloff to retain the title – Koloff dominated much of the match with Flair getting occasional bursts of offense. Ivan tried to help Nikita hit a spike piledriver on Flair. It looked like Ivan missed. A fan ran into the ring but security quickly intervened to break it up. Nikita lifted Flair for a slam only for Flair to fall on him for a quick pinfall.

After the match, Kruschev ran out and helped triple-teamed Flair. Other wrestlers unsuccessfully tried to make the save.

“The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes p. NWA Television ChampionTully Blanchard (w/Baby Doll) in a Steel Cage Match to win the title and the services of Baby Doll for 30 days – The men battled back and forth with both of them getting bloodied. Dusty pinned Tully with a piledriver. That is notable because, at the time, the piledriver was a banned move. However, since this was an unsanctioned cage match, moves that were normally illegal could be used.

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To tell the story of Jim Crockett Jr. (or “Jimmy”) we first have to look at the family and the business at the time. Jim Crockett Sr. (aka “Big Jim”) was a promoter of many sports and entertainment genres, including pro wrestling. Vince McMahon talked about how much his dad respected Big Jim, and that he was a good promoter and a good man.

Big Jim ran Jim Crocket Promotions from 1935 until his sudden untimely death of a heart attack in 1973 at the age of 63. The company was originally meant to go to John Ringley. who was married to the oldest sibling, Frances Crockett. However, he got caught cheating on her and the reigns were handed over to Jim Jr.

It’s worth noting that even in the 1970s a woman owning and running a business was still uncommon. It’s also worth noting that Ann Gunkel also tried running a wrestling promotion after her husband Roy passed away and was not very successful.

Rise to Prominance

One of the changes Jimmy made after taking over the promotion was to bring in George Scott as head booker. He focused on singles feuds for shows in larger arenas. Jimmy is also credited with creating the NWA Mid-Atlantic US Title, which is still recognized by WWE to this day. He also helped forge what would become a vital part of wrestling, the major show PPV like Starrcade.

When you look at it from a per capita standpoint, Jimmy ran the #1 territory for a while. He famously bought the 6:05 PM on TBS to replace a WWF show on Saturday Nights. The first two or three years after that were some of the best years of any wrestling promotion ever. While JCP still was running in the southeastern part of the US (Georgia, The Carolinas, Virginia, and Florida), they still managed to sell more tickets to wrestling events than Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation, which had expanded nationally.

Unfortunately, despite outselling WWE in ticket sales in 1986, Jim Crockett Promotions wound up over one million dollars in debt in 1988. The family had no choice but to sell the company to Ted Turner’s media company.

As mentioned during the show, Crazy Train was a guest on The Willis Show.

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Pat Patterson, widely considered to be one of the most influential men in wrestling for the 20th Century, passed away on December 2nd, 2020. He was also looked at as Vince McMahon’s best friend and the right-hand man from the WWF Expansion through the Attitude Era and into the 21st Century. His contributions over many decades are too numerous to name. No matter what style or era, Patterson had some level of impact on the wrestling world.

Modern fans will likely remember him most as being one of Vince’s “stooges” along with Gerald Brisco. The previous generation would remember him as the first-ever WWF Intercontinental Champion. The generation before that would remember his legendary tag-team with Ray Stevens as The Blond Bombers in Roy Shire’s Big Time Wrestling. And the generation before THAT might remember his run in Portland for Don Owen’s Pacific Northwest.

Pierre Clemont was born in Montreal Quebec in 1941 and started his wrestling training as a teenager. He was inspired by Buddy Rogers and Killer Kowalski, so he took the bleach blond hair and the moveset of Rogers, but also wore Kowalski-like purple tights. Clemont used the name Pat Patterson because he figured it would be easy to remember. He quickly developed a reputation of making others look great in the ring, which impressed a young Mad Dog Vachon.

Patterson moved to The States where he first worked for Big Time Wrestling in Boston, not to be confused with Roy Shire’s San Francisco promotion of the same name. There he met Louie Dondero, who became his real-life partner. He also had a rendezvous with Johnnie Mae Young.

Pacific Northwest

After spending a year in Boston, Pat got a call from Vachon, who told him to go to Oregon and work for Don Owen. Pat was not asked about this beforehand and no-showed the tryout. This angered Vachon, who called him again and threatened to beat the hell out of him if he did it again. All you have to do is look at a picture of Maurice Vachon and you can see why that would be scary. Pat was not a shooter.

Pat and Louie moved to Oregon where Pat started working for Owen. Over the next few years, Pat would work in other territories as part of a talent exchange, which was common in those days. In these other states (Washington, Texas, Oklahoma, etc.) Pat started using effeminate stereotypes to enhance his gimmick. Things like lipstick, cigarette holders, and flashy attire. Louie worked as a valet.

By the time they returned to Oregon full-time, Pat was a bonafide main-eventer. He stopped using the effeminate gimmicks and became more serious. He won several titles over the next few years before starting the next chapter in his career.

Fellow wrestlers in Portland recommended he move to San Francisco and work for Roy Shire’s Big Time Wrestling. Patterson did the common practice of losing matches before he left the territory. One such loss was to a young Antonio Inoki. Another was a Loser Leaves Town Match to his rival Pepper Martin. After that loss, Pat and Louie packed their things and moved to San Francisco

San Francisco

Shire told him that if he was going to be a top guy, he had to look the part and get his body into shape. Pat hated working out, but the philosophy of looking like a main-eventer stuck with him for the rest of his life. It was also something he passed on to the next generations of wrestlers.

One of his first matches in San Francisco was at the legendary Cow Palace. At the time, circa 1965, The Cow Palace was one of the premier venues in the country. It was like the Madison Square Garden of the West Coast. Patterson wrestled, and impressed, Red Bastien that night. So much so that Bastien sang Pat’s praises backstage over how good Pat made him look. That vote of confidence massively helped Patterson’s reputation backstage.

Big Time Wrestling held an annual battle royal every January as one of its major events. Shire would call in talent from several territories to be part of the all-star match. One year, Shire wound up on the wrong end of a fight and was out of commission. Pat stepped in and booked the match, which he had the clout to do as one of the top stars for the company. Pat would then help Roy book the battle royal every year after. These January battle royals would be the main inspiration for the Royal Rumble event WWE holds to this day.

The Blond Bombers

Eventually, Patterson did start teaming with Ray Stevens. The duo adopted the name The Blonde Bombers, which was previously used by the team of Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson. This began what was probably the biggest run in Patterson’s career. The Blond Bombers won the tag titles and held them for the better part of two years until Pat left to go on a tour of Japan.

By the time Patterson returned to San Francisco, Ray Stevens had turned babyface. The team split and the two men feuded over the territory’s United States title. Pat started to wear a mask. His cover story was that he was too good-looking for the audience to see his face. In reality, the mask was loaded, which allowed Patterson to knock out opponents with a devastating headbutt. Stevens ultimately won the title in a Texas Death Match.

Pat turned babyface after Ray Stevens left the territory to work for Verne Gagne’s AWA. He did away with the mask and feuded with top heels like Lars Anderson and Ernie Ladd. He also teamed with fellow babyface Rocky Johnson to win the tag titles. Stevens flew in on occasion to team with Pat as a babyface team for big matches. Patterson returned the favor by teaming with Stevens as heels in the AWA.

During all this time, Patterson was helping Shire book the territory in addition to being pushed as a top star. Pat asked Roy for partial ownership of the promotion. Shire refused, and Pat left the territory. He spent the following year in Florida working for Eddie Graham.

The Blond Bombers reunited in the AWA as a heel tag team, this time with Bobby Heenan as their manager. They were awarded the AWA Tag Titles after The High Flyers vacated them and held them for approximately eight months.

World Wrestling Federation/WWE

Pat Patterson began working for Vincent J. McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation in 1979 where he ultimately would remain for the rest of his life. It’s worth noting that he was still working for The AWA at the time. He defeated Ted DiBiase for the WWF North American Title and took that belt on a tour with New Japan Pro Wrestling.

This is also around the time Pat infamously “won” the newly christened Intercontinental Championship in a fictitious Rio De Jeanero tournament. It is a common misconception that the North American Title quietly became the Intercontinental Championship. What actually happened is Patterson lost the North American Title to Seiji Sakaguchi. For whatever reason, New Japan simply stopped using the belt.

Another little-known fact about the Intercontinental Championship is that it was created to give Patterson heat for his feud with WWF Champion Bob Backlund. He did not win the World Title, of course, but the matches drew big for Madison Square Garden.

Patterson also had a legendary feud with Sgt. Slaughter that culminated in the famous Boot Camp Match. Even by today’s standards, that match is very violent and bloody.

Backstage Influence

The 1980s saw Pat Patterson transition from in-ring competitor to backstage office worker. He became heavily involved with booking major events, helped talent develop their characters, and also created inventive gimmick matches. He is perhaps most known for creating the Royal Rumble concept based on his experience booking battle royals in San Francisco. In addition to helping book matches and work with talent, Pat also headed up talent relations. This was the job JJ Dillon, Jim Ross, and John Laurenitis did in later years.

Perhaps the biggest story involving Patterson in the mainstream news was a scandal in the late 1980s involving young male ring crew complaining of sexual harassment. While Pat was never formally implicated, nor was he tried for any crimes, he was let go from his job because of the scandal. Vince McMahon hired him back sometime later after the controversy had died down.

Just about any wrestler or personality that worked in WWE over the last 40 years likely has some personal story or memory of Pat Patterson. His fingerprints were all over the creative direction, especially when it came to finishes for big matches. His influence on the wrestling world is unparalleled and will continue to be felt for generations to come.

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Bob Armstrong was born Joseph Melton James in Georgia in 1939. He first saw wrestling as a child and trained to wrestle as a teen. After serving as a United States Marine in the early 60s, Bob became a firefighter. Bob Armstrong retired from full-time wrestling in 1988. He would still wrestle on independents for another 30 years and acted as commissioner for Jim Cornette’s Smoky Mountain Wrestling. He was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2010. He passed away from cancer in 2020.

Brad Armstrong was born Robert Bradley James on June 15th, 1962. He made his in-ring debut in 1980 and quickly found success teaming with his father Bob in Southeastern Championship Wrestling. In the following years, he also won tag team championships with Magnum TA and, of course, with Tim Horner as The Lightning Express.

Scott Armstrong, born Joseph Scott James in 1961, is the oldest of the Armstrong brothers. Like his father, he started wrestling in the Georgia territory. He wrestled in mainly preliminary matches and in lower card tag team matches with his brother Brad.

Like the rest of The Armstrong Family, Steve started out in Southwest Championship Wrestling. His first major program was teaming with Johnny Rich against Ron Fuller’s Stud Stable, which included a young Arn Anderson. Steve teamed with Tracy Smothers as The Southern Boys and won the tag team titles in Eddie Graham’s Florida Championship Wrestling. The two also won the tag titles in Fuller’s Continental Championship Wrestling.

Brian and Billy Gunn formed the very successful tag team that would become known as The New Age Outlaws. They spent the next four years at the top of the WWF card as part of Degeneration X where they held the WWF Tag Team Championship four times.

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Team #1 beat Team #2 in a Chamber of Horrors Match – Yes, those were the team names. Team #1 consisted of Sting, The Steiner Brothers, and El Gigante faced Team #2 of Cactus Jack, Abdullah The Butcher, The Diamond Studd, and Big Van Vader when Cactus Jack accidentally shocked Abdullah The Butcher in the Chair Of Torture.

PN News and Big Josh b. The Mysterious Creatures when PN News pinned one of The Creatures with a top rope splash – Basically a glorified squash match. Big Josh would go on to become the original Doink The Clown. Bobby Eaton p. Terence Taylor with The Alabama Jam – Taylor was part of The York Foundation, headed by Alexandra York, the future Marlena/Terri Runnels.

Johnny B. Badd p. Jimmy Garvin with a Left Hook – Garvin was accompanied by an “injured” Michael P.S. Hayes.

World Television Champion “Stunning” Steve Austin (w/ Lady Blossom) d. Dustin Rhodes – A 15-minute time-limit draw.

Bill Kazmeier s. Oz with a Torture Rack – Oz would go on to be Diesel/Kevin Nash.

Van Hammer p. Doug Sommers – Another squash match

Brian Pillman p. Richard Morton to become the first-ever Light Heavyweight Champion – Morton was also part of the York Foundation and grossly miscast as a heel.

The Halloween Phantom p. Tom Zenk – Effectively another squash match to introduce Rick Rude.

World Tag Team Champions The Enforcers (Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko) b. US Tag Champions The Patriots (Todd Champion & Firebreaker Chip) when Anderson pinned Chip with a Spinebuster – The Patriots came across as an attempt by WCW to be WWE “Sports Entertainment”.

World Heavyweight Champion Lex Luger b. Ron Simmons in a Two-Out-Of-Three Falls Match – The first fall saw Simmons quickly pin Luger. The second fall ended in a DQ when Luger went over the top rope. The third fall had Luger pin Simmons with a Piledriver.

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3:15 – Mr. Wrestling

Woods went to the Omaha territory where promotor Joe Dusek gave him the name Mr. Wrestling. Dusek wanted Mr. Wrestling to wear a mask, despite most masked wrestlers in America were villains. He gave Woods a white mask and white singlet to wrestle in because he wanted Mr. Wrestling to be a babyface. The gimmick worked, and Mr. Wrestling was born. Mr. Wrestling would see his greatest success in the south and southeast territories. Leo Garibaldi promoted for months ahead of time that this mysterious man who was such an accomplished wrestler, no major star would be willing to face him if they knew his identity.

44:42 – The Famous Plane Crash

In 1975, Woods boarded a private plane with Johnny Valentine, David Crockett, and a young Ric Flair. The plane crashed breaking the backs of the other three wrestlers and killing the pilot. Woods gave his real name of George Woodin to the authorities and claimed to be a promotor. This was to cover the fact that he was the only babyface on the plane because if word got out that a babyface was in the same plane as heels, it would hurt the image of pro wrestling being legitimate. Especially if people learned that Tim Woods and George Woodin were one and the same.

40:18 – Mr. Wrestling II

Johnny Walker began his career as “The Rubberman” due to his flexibility. Unfortunately, he physically looked older than he was. So much so that he retired at the age of 30 because he looked like he was in his mid-40s. But if you put a mask on him, his aged look went away. He and Woods formed a team for a while. When he started work in Mid-South, he turned heel against top babyface Junkyard Dog. This brought about the infamous botch where II was supposed to pin JYD with a kneelift. II unfortunately missed by a mile with the kneelift but JYD still sold it like it killed him. This infuriated the crowd and caused a massive dip in business. He also teamed with and feuded against Magnum TA for The Crocketts.

1:07:00 – Wrap Up

Mr. Wrestling II retired in the early 80s and simply went home and returned to the life of Johnny Walker. Legend has it he didn’t acknowledge his past in wrestling and simply went by his name. His wife also had a knack for making flashy robes and suits for wrestlers and entertainers.

The post Vol. 33: Mr. Wrestling I and II appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

7:08 – The WWF Goes National

Vince McMahon began his national expansion for The World Wrestling Federation in 1984. He spent the year assembling an all-star roster from several of the competing territories. The biggest acquisition, of course, was Hulk Hogan. Hogan had already established himself as an international star by working in Verne Gagne’s AWA and New Japan Pro Wrestling, and by having a memorable role as Thunderlips in Rocky III.

13:53 – The Rock n’ Wrestling Connection

It’s common knowledge that Vince used the “Rock n’ Wrestling Connection” branding during the expansion. Live specials aired on MTV that utilized Cyndi Lauper. Hogan made media appearances all over the country. Vince created Tuesday Night Titans for USA Network. He even bought the coveted 6:05 PM Saturday Night timeslot that had become a staple on TBS. Legendary manager Lou Albano appeared in Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” music video. This lead to an onscreen confrontation between the two. Albano was a heel at this time, and he played the part of a male chauvinist. The two agreed to a match with each one hand-picking their wrestlers. Albano chose WWF Women’s Champion The Fabulous Moolah, while Lauper backed Wendi Richter.

24:42 – Enter Roddy Piper

Roddy Piper debuted in the WWF in early 1984. However, he did not wrestle regularly for several months. This was due to an ear injury suffered at Starrcade in a match with Greg Valentine. Since he couldn’t wrestle, he acted as “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff’s manager. He also hosted Piper’s Pit, his talk show which often led to matches and angles on TV. By the end of 1984, Piper had become the top heel in the promotion. The Rock n’ Wrestling Connection was in full swing, so Piper naturally claimed that he hated rock music and insisted on playing bagpipe music. In December of 1984, the first shot was fired which would lead to WrestleMania. Dick Clark, another legit A-Lister in the entertainment world, presented Albano with a gold record award at Madison Square Garden. Piper, Orndorff, and Bob Orton Jr. crashed the party and smashed Albano with his own award. During the melee, Piper also managed to kick Lauper in the head. Hogan ran out to make the save.

39:43 – The War To Settle The Score

The biggest angle leading into Wrestlemania happened on February 15th, 1985 on MTV called The War To Settle The Score. This saw Piper and Hogan collide with the WWF Championship on the line. Hogan brought his friend Mr. T to sit at ringside. The match erupted into strikes right off the bat. No lockups. No staredowns. Orndorff and Orton again interfered, resulting in a disqualification. Mr. T ran in to make the save.

45:37 – The Road To WrestleMania

By this time, The WWF had gathered considerable national attention. There was this nexus or dichotomy, whatever you want to call it, with the top babyface in Hogan, and a legit top Hollywood star in Mr. T, against the two top heels. It made pages of Sports Illustrated. Hogan and T hosted Saturday Night Live.

On the heel side, what was real and what was worked may be clouded but there were countless stories of Roddy Piper not liking the outsider in Mr. T coming into the wrestling world. T went on record saying that he didn’t hate Roddy, but there was animosity between the two.

55:00 – Filling Out The Undercard

The main event of Hogan & Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff was set. As was the semi-main of Wendi Richter challenging Leilani Kai for the Women’s Championship. As for the undercard, Bobby Heenan had recently made his WWF alongside Big John Studd to feud with Andre The Giant. The US Express of Barry Windham & Mike Rotunda (years before he was I.R.S.) defending the tag titles against Nikolai Volkoff & The Iron Sheik (w/ Freddie Blassie). Junkyard Dog challenged Greg Valentine for the IC Title, despite Valentine’s feud being with Tito Santana. Brutus Beefcake faced David Sammartino, who was accompanied by his legendary father Bruno. Ricky Steamboat faced a pre-Doink Matt Borne. King Kong Budy (fresh of his run in Mid-South) facing SD Jones in the longest nine seconds in the history of time.

The post Vol. 32: WrestleMania (1985) appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

NWA Territories (1965-1980)

Johnson made his debut in Ontario, Canada for Frank Tunney. Before long, he was a major attraction in San Francisco for Roy Shire, and in NWA Hollywood for Mike Lebell. He feuded with the likes of “Classy” Freddie Blassie and Pat Patterson. Rocky Johnson gained additional fame in the Florida territory for Eddie Graham. Then, over in Georgia Championship Wrestling, he became the first African-American Georgia Heavyweight Champion. Not only that, he held the Georgia Tag Titles simultaneously with Gerald Brisco. During these years, Johnson had NWA Heavyweight Title matches with Jack Brisco, Terry Funk, Harley Race, and Ric Flair. He even toured New Japan where he had matches with Antonio Inoki and Riki Choshu.

NATIONAL FAME

Rocky was part of The World Wrestling Federation’s national expansion in the mid-1980s. Johnson teamed with Tony Atlas to form the popular tag team The Soul Patrol. They were a hit with the fans. So much so that they won the WWF Tag Team Championship in late 1983 from The Wild Samoans. While the team was popular, the two had notorious differences. As a result, they lost the tag titles and disbanded shortly afterward. Rocky would go on to feud with the likes of “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and The Magnificent Muraco.

Retirement and Post-Wrestling Life

Rocky Johnson retired from full-time competition after leaving The WWF in 1985. He made sporadic appearances for the next few years. His final in-ring WWE appearance was at WrestleMania 13. When The Iron Sheik and The Sultan attacked a young Rock, Johnson ran into the ring to protect his son. Rocky Johnson won over 25 titles in his career. In 2008, Rocky was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame along with his stepfather Peter Maivia. The Rock himself made the induction speech.

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Unpopular Opinion #1: Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat at WrestleMania III is not the greatest WrestleMania match of all time

Many fans over the years have stated that the greatest WrestleMania match of all time is Savage vs. Steamboat from WrestleMania III. However, when the story of such a bitter rivalry is factored in, the tone of the match becomes illogical. Let us be clear. THIS IS A GREAT MATCH! Anybody that knows Seth knows that Randy Savage is his favorite wrestler. Steamboat is arguably the greatest white meat babyface of all time. So this is no disrespect to either man, but both Steamboat and Savage have let it be known that even they didn’t believe it was their best match. Plus, it’s no secret that Steamboat and Savage had radically different approaches with how they wrestle.

Unpopular Opinion #2: Vince McMahon did not kill the territories

New-School fans and even many old-school fans blame WWE Chairman Vince Mcmahon for the death of the territory system. But when you look at the actual history of the territories in the 1980s, it becomes apparent that the territories were as much a danger to themselves as Vince was. From trying to sign away talent to overreaching their realistic bounds. As Seth states, even if Vince DID do it all himself, somebody else would have if he didn’t. The territories had their chance with Pro Wrestling USA, which held the inaugural Superclash event at Comiskey Park in 1985. But in the end, it folded before it even got off the ground.

Unpopular Opinion #3: Ronnie Garvin’s NWA World Title Win in 1987 was a good idea

Ronnie Garvin’s 1987 NWA Title reign is often mocked by fans and historians, many of whom did not experience the territory firsthand. Fans who saw him on Crockett Television know just how over Ronnie was at the time. And we don’t mean watching the TV that’s available on the WWE Network, we mean living in the territory at the time. One of the reasons Starrcade ’87 was moved to Chicago was to ensure that Garvin would NOT be favored by a heel-friendly crowd when Flair won the title back. As always, let us know what you think. Do you have any Unpopular Opinions about wrestling? Sound off in the comments below or on our Twitter and Facebook pages. Since we’re talking about a lot of wrestling that came from the 1980s, what better accompanying playlist than Crazy Train’s 80s One Hit Wonders!

The post Vol. 30: Unpopular Opinions appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

The Beginning

Unlike a lot of other wrestlers, Harley Race was not a stage name. It was his genuine birth name. Many fans may not know that Harley had a bout with Polio as a child. Fortunately, he was able to make a recovery. The stories of how tough he was date back to his childhood. He may not have ever truly finished a high school education. In fact, Harley was expelled from High School for getting into a fight. When the principal tried to break up the fight, Harley attacked him too.

Early Career

Harley found training with the Zbyzsko brothers, Stanislaus and Wladek. If that last name sounds familiar, these were the men Larry Zbyzsko took the last name of as a tribute. Harley also worked as a chauffeur for Happy Humphrey, a well-known wrestler at the time who weighed approximately 600 pounds. His first matches were in Missouri under the name Jack Long for promoter Gust Karras where he worked tag matches with an onscreen brother John Long. Harley was involved in a serious and tragic auto accident that killed his newlywed wife and unborn child in 1960. Doctors believed Harley’s injuries were so severe they required amputation of his leg. Karras visited the hospital and convinced the doctors not to amputate the leg. Harley was told he would not walk again, let alone wrestle. After many long months of training and physical therapy, Harley returned to the ring under the name The Great Mortimer in 1963. Shortly after this, Harley went to Texas to work for Dory Funk, Sr. There he permanently started using his real name because “Harley Race” was a much better name than “Jack Long”. This was also where he met Larry Hennig and formed a friendship.

AWA

Race and Hennig started working for Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association (AWA) where they were known as Handsome Harley Race and Pretty Boy Larry Hennig. Of course, neither man was thought of as particularly good looking so it was a perfect gimmick for a heel tag team. They won the AWA Tag Team Titles on three occasions and had a memorable feud with fan favorites Bruiser and Crusher. In fact, they frequently wrestled Verne Gagne himself, who would team with various partners.

The NWA Territories

Harley Race is regarded as one of the greatest NWA Champions of all time. What is ironic us his first run with the title was not planned in advance. It came about due to friction between then Champion Dory Funk Jr. and top contender Jack Brisco. In the early 1970s, Dory Funk Jr. was the NWA World Champion and had been for many years. Jack Brisco, who was then an up-and-coming babyface challenger, faced Junior for the title in multiple territories. Paul Bosch in Houston, Eddie Graham in Florida, and Sam Muchnick in Missouri all drew major crowds with a Dory Jr. vs. Jack Brisco main event. And they all knew that sooner or later there had to be the payoff of Jack finally winning the title. The plan was for Dory to lose the title to Jack Brisco on March 2nd, 1973 in Houston. However, one week prior to the event, Funk contacted the office and claimed to have been in a farming accident and would be unable to wrestle for six weeks. This upset a lot of people, including the promoters and Jack himself, because it came across as Dory simply didn’t want to lose the title.

Rise To The Championship

Since the highly-anticipated Junior vs. Brisco match wasn’t going to happen, The NWA board picked Harley as the man to win the title since Race had the reputation as a legitimate tough guy. The match happened on May 24, 1973 and Harley defeated Funk to win his first NWA Title. He would hold the title for approximately two months before dropping it to Jack Brisco on July 20th.

Race would not see another NWA World Championship reign until four years later. He spent those years traveling from territory to territory and winning several regional titles. Among those titles was the inaugural NWA Mid-Atlantic United States Championship, now known as the WWE US Championship.

Finally, on February 6th, 1977, Harley would finally regain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Terry Funk in Toronto Canada. This began the reign that he is probably best remembered for because outside of a handful of title losses that lasted less than a week each, Harley effectively had the title until the early 1980s. All but one of those losses were business. The one exception was the loss to Tommy Rich in Augusta Georgia on April 27th, 1981. Depending on who you listen to, it was either an accident or a power play by promotors.

Starrcade and return to AWA

Perhaps the most famous match of Harley’s career happened on November 26th, 1983 when Ric Flair defeated him in the main event of the original Starrcade. Harley cut the iconic “Take the damn money!” promo during the buildup to that match.

Vince McMahon, who had recently purchased The World Wrestling Federation from his father, actually approached Harley with an offer to no-show the event and jump to WWF. Race refused the offer because he gave his word that he would pass the torch to Flair at Starrcade.

Race actually regained the title briefly in New Zealand and lost it back to Flair a few days later. That short reign went unrecognized for several years due to the change happening without the approval of the NWA.

Harley returned to the AWA after his final NWA Title run. There he faced the likes of Curt Hennig but never achieved the success he had in the 1970s. Within a few years, he would begin his final run as a full-time in-ring competitor.

The WWF

Vince McMahon was finally able to sign Harley to work for him in 1986. For the first several months Race worked as Handsome Harley. He won the second-ever King Of The Ring tournament and began wearing a crown and scepter to the ring. Some fans found it very odd that a wrestler who took himself so seriously would start using an over-the-top gimmick like a “King”. This run was also notable for the familiar entrance music (“The Great Gates Of Kyiv”) that Jerry “The King” Lawler would use years later.

Race had his first of two WrestleMania matches at WrestleMania III where he defeated The Junkyard Dog. After that, he began a feud with Hulk Hogan over The WWF Championship. He suffered an injury during Saturday Night’s Main Event when he tried to hit Hogan with a diving headbutt on a table. Hogan moved and Harley crashed into the table. This was long before ECW made table bumps a common occurrence.

Retirement and WCW Manager run

Harley showed up in WCW around 1990 and began a new run as a manager. His first major program as a manager was working with Lex Luger during Luger’s first reign as WCW World Champion. He also had a successful run managing Big Van Vader to several WCW title reigns. He was inducted into the WCW Hall Of Fame in w994 and the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2004.

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“They say never meet your idols because you’ll end up being disappointed. Whoever said that never met Dick Beyer.” – Mike Tenay

Early Life

Dick Beyer was born July 11th, 1930 in Buffalo New York. He attended college at Syracuse University, where he was a varsity football player, as well as a wrestler. He co-captained the Syracuse Orange football team in 1952 and played in the Orange Bowl that year. Also in that same year, Beyer made the Eastern Regional Second Team. Those accomplishments helped with Syracuse University’s Athlete Of The Year. Beyer graduated with a degree in education and spent years as a teacher. Beyer coached several sports, including swimming and football. Fellow Syracuse Orangeman Jim Brown was on a team that Beyer coached during this time. Some call Jim Brown the greatest running back in history.

Breaking Into Wrestling

Beyer began what would become a 40 year pro wrestling career in 1954. He wrestled as an athletic babyface, who often would wear a Syracuse jacket to the ring. Rookie Of The Year in The readers of Wrestling Life magazine voted him Rookie Of The Year In 1955.

One of the first territories he worked was Hawaii, where he met and helped train Harry Fujiwara. There he got noticed by WWE Hall Of Famer Freddie Blassie, who was a top heel in the Worldwide Wrestling Associates in California. Blassie contacted the WWA office and told them he saw greatest babyface in the country. Blassie returned to Hawaii for a match against Neff Maivia, and Beyer was in his corner for that match. After the match, Blassie contacted California again, and told them he just saw the best heel in the country.

As if that wasn’t enough, Don Owen was at the match as well. Owen was the promoter for Pacific Northwest Wrestling in Portland Oregon. Owen offered Beyer a job when his time in Hawaii was done. A little while later, WWA promoter Jules Strongbow contacted Dick and also offered him a job in California. This put him in an awkward spot, as he had previously agreed to work for Owen and didn’t want to back down from his word. In the end, Beyer agreed to work in California, and promised Owen he would come to Portland when his time in WWA was done.

Donning The Mask

Beyer came to Los Angeles to work for WWA. Strongbow told him that he would be a masked heel under the name “Destroyer”. Beyer hated the idea and refused to do it, believing that his status as a sports star got him over and he didn’t want to use a different gimmick. Whether it was Strongbow, Blassie, or some mixture of them and other promoters that convinced him, Beyer eventually agreed to be The Destroyer.

On his first night (4/27/62) as The Destroyer, Beyer wrestled Seymour Koenig in San Bernadino California. According to Meltzer, there were 773 fans in attendance. Beyer found the mask to be uncomfortable, and difficult to work with as it restricted his vision and head movement. After the match, Beyer said he would never wear a mask again.

Ox Anderson, another wrestler Beyer knew from Texas, gave him a more proper wrestling mask. This one was much more comfortable and did no restrict his movement. Beyer and Strongbow agreed that he would continue wrestling as The Destroyer for four weeks. After that, he would be free to do what he wanted.

Rise Of The Destroyer

Over the next few weeks, The Destroyer wrestled several matches, with one of his notable opponents being a young Johnny Walker. By the end of May, the attendance had skyrocketed, and Beyer was making more money than he ever had before in wrestling. He then told Strongbow that we would continue wearing the mask.

As The Destroyer, Beyer would sometimes refuse to wrestle until he was introduced as The Sensational Intelligent Destroyer. He.claimed that nobody could escape the Figure Four, and that nobody could unmask him. If somebody managed to get out of the hold, Destroyer would claim that he hadn’t fully applied it yet/ If somebody unmasked him, he would be wearing a second mask underneath.  In just under eight weeks, attendance had risen from under 700 to over 10,000, The Destroyer had become so popular that masks and T-Shirts were sold to fans. It was around this time that Mike Tenay, as a young boy, saw Dick Beyer for the first time. To this day, Tenay calls The Destroyer his favorite wrestler.

Japan and Superstardom

Blassie defeated top babyface Rikidozan on July 25th, 1962 to win his second WWA Title. In real life, this was done because Rikidozan was traveling back to Japan and needed to drop the belt. A mere two days later, Destroyer submitted Blassie with a Figure Four to win the title. He would continue to hold the title for ten months and wrestle the likes of Dick Hutton, Lou Thesz, and Giant Baba. Even the returning Rikidozan was unable to defeat The Destroyer. Blassie finally won the title back in May of 1963.

The next few years were exceptionally big for Destroyer. His success in California and Hawaii spread around the world. The Destroyer traveled to Japan to wrestle. Despite losing the title to Blassie, he was still billed as WWA Champion. He faced names like Giant Baba and Rikidozan, who undoubtedly were the most popular wrestlers in Japan at the time. The Rikidozan match was watched by 70 million people. To this day it is one of the most-watched broadcasts of all time, let alone wrestling matches. He became a true megastar. So much so that the word “Destroyer” got incorporated into the Japanese language.

Pacific Northwest

By Summer 1963, Strongbow believed the time had come for The Destroyer to be unmasked. Beyer, on the other hand, was now against unmasking since the gimmick was still drawing well. Still, Strongbow booked Destroyer against Herculez Cortez in a Lumberjack Match in August of 1963. Rather than follow through with the finish, Beyer faked an injury when he was thrown to the outside, and when the other wrestlers stopped to see if he was OK, he sprinted to the back and rode off in a getaway car.

Through a previous phone call, Beyer arranged to finally fulfill his promise to work for Don Owen in Portland. He held several Pacific Northwest titles and faced the likes of Mad Dog Vachon and Danny Hodge. A few months later, Strongbow contacted Beyer and asked him to return to work in Los Angeles, and that he was wrong to suggest losing the mask.

Tragedy Strikes

However, November of 1963 brought very bad fortune. Destroyer faced Rikidozan in a pair of high profiles matches while on another tour of Japan, . Riki had asked Beyer to stay for a day and join him for some parties. Beyer refused and boarded a plane for home.

By the time Beyer made it back to his home, he was notified that Rikidozan had been stabbed in a nightclub the previous evening. Beyer took this very hard, because he knew Riki wanted him to stay. One week later, Riki passed away from his injuries.

Some time later, Strongbow called Beyer to reconcile, and apologized for wanting to unmask him. The Destroyer returned to California and had another run with the WWA Title.

Dr. X

After the superstar treatment in California and Japan, the next stage in Dick Beyer’s career was an unexpected one. Beyer was approached by Verne Gagne, owner and promoter of The AWA (American Wrestling Association). Gagne offered Beyer a top heel run in the territory, but with a catch: He wouldn’t be The Destroyer. Gagne believed everybody knew The Destroyer was Dick Beyer, even though virtually no fan did. Still, Gagne billed Beyer as “Dr. X” instead of The Destroyer, with the belief that he’d be seen as a different person. To his credit, Beyer furthered that gimmick by switching to a brawling based stye as Dr. X, instead of the scientific based style of The Destroyer.

In The AWA, Dr. X feuded with top babyfaces Might Igor, Bruiser, Crusher, and others. He even beat Gagne for the AWA Title in 1968. Wrestling magazines had ads for Dr. X masks and T-shirts. Perhaps you saw one of the infamous pictures of Deborah Harry of Blondie sporting a Dr. X shirt in the 70s.

Unmasking and Semi-Retirement

By the time the 1970s Dick Beyer/The Destroyer/Dr. X had achieved all the success that could be expected. He had won three of the top five world titles (AWA, WWA, and IWA), and the remaining two (NWA and WWWF) couldn’t be won by masked men. Though Blue Demon Jr. would break that NWA rule in the early 2000s.

Dr. X got unmasked after losing a match to Blackjack Lanza in the 1970s. “Dr. X” revealed his name to be Bruce Marshall. Of course that was a pseudonym since Dr. X was supposed to be a different person than The Destroyer anyway.

Beyer dedicated the next year touring the world with his family. He used his name as a wrestler to craft a custom championship belt that he would defend in other countries. He took his family to Mexico, Japan, Australia, Europe, etc…

Return To Teaching and Retirement

Beyer would spend the rest of his life mainly as a teacher and sports coach. He still wrestled on occasions going to the 1990s. He also became a regular at the Cauliflower Alley Club. It became an annual tradition where Mike Tenay would address the gathering, and state how much of a privilege it was to have the greatest masked wrestler in the world. Destroyer would start to stand and act proud, only to scowl when Tenay would say “…and Mil Mascaras will be joining us shortly”

The post Vol. 28: “The Destroyer” Dick Beyer appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

Well, yes. Classic Wrestling Memories exists for fans of the previous generations of wrestling. But so do Halls Of Fame. We consider anything before the end of the Monday Night War in 2001 to be fair game. And everybody listed in a WWE Hall Of Fame so far had some semblance of a career before that. Basically, it is our look at the careers of the people who are entering the highest-profile wrestling hall of fame.

LEGACY INDUCTEES

• Bruiser Brody – Brody was legitimately one of the toughest men in and out of the ring in his day. His career could easily fill up multiple volumes.
• Jim Barnett – “Mah boy…” Barnett was a successful promoter in three different territories, including Australia. In fact, he promoted the original World Championship Wrestling before The Crocketts used the name for the TBS broadcasts.
• Hisashi Shinma – Shinma was a former booker for New Japan. He was also the on-screen president of WWF from the late 70s until the National Expansion when Jack Tunney took over the role. He is probably most famous for arranging the legendary match between Muhammad Ali and Antonio Inoki, Shinma was President during the 1979 World Wrestling Federation tour of Japan, where Antonio Inoki beat then WWF Champion Bob Backlund for the title. That reign is of course not officially recognized in WWE history.
• Luna Vachon – One of the staples in the early Attitude Era programming, and arguably should have been inducted years ago. Train knew Luna and gives look at who the woman was behind the character.
• Buddy Rose – A one-time superstar of Portland, Buddy Rose was an underrated performer in mainstream wrestling. WWE fans may recognize the “Blow Away” diet, or the role he played in the original WrestleMania as The Executioner.
• Primo Carnera – Primo was a professional boxer with an 89-14 record, who had a high-profile match with Joe Loui. He also wrestled and had matches with then NWA World Champion Lou Thesz.
• “Professor” Toru Tanaka – Tanaka and Mr. Fuji were a hated and feared tag team in the mid-1970s. However, Tanaka’s list of championships more than makes the argument for a Hall Of Fame career.
• Special Delivery Jones – Jones was a charismatic performer who had good success in territories before having the infamous Squash Match with King Kong Bundy. If you have the WWE Network, check out his speech inducting Tony Atlas into the Hall Of Fame in 2006.
• Wahoo McDaniel – We devoted Vol. 20 of Classic Wrestling Memories to Wahoo. You can find out a lot about his career in that show, as he was a man Crazy Train knew very well.
• Joseph Cohen – One of the men responsible for creating The MSG Network and The USA Network.

2019 Inductees

• Sue Aitcheson – Warrior Award winner for organizing a lot of charity work for WWE including Make A Wish Foundation appearances
• Torrie Wilson – Part of the WCW Invasion
• Honky Tonk Man – The greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time.
• The Hart Foundation – Two-time WWF Tag Team Champions. Bret Hart and Nattie Neidhart gave speeches. Hart’s was interrupted by an assault that was blocked out on any broadcast.
• Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake – Former WWF Tag Team Champion and at one time the #2 Babyface under Hogan
• Harlem Heat – 10x WCW Tag Team Champions
• Degeneration X – Top Heel and Babyface Stable for the WWF Attitude Era.

The post Vol. 27: WWE Hall Of Fame 2019 appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

If Bruno Sammartino was the greatest WWE Champion in company history, there is a strong argument that Pedro Morales wouldn’t be very far behind. Pedro, who passed away earlier this month, held the WWWF (now WWE) championship for 1,079 days from February of 1971 to December of 1973. Only Hulk Hogan, Bob Backlund, and Bruno himself can claim longer reigns. Join Seth “Zandrax” Zillmann and “Crazy Train” Jonathan Bolick as they pay tribute to one of the biggest Puerto Rican stars in wrestling history.

Pedro Morales was born on Culebra, an island off the main coast of Puerto Rico. He moved to New York at a young age and was competing in amateur wrestling by the age of 13. Baseball was also one of Pedro’s sports, but somewhere around this time was when he found pro wrestling. Morales trained for the ring under Barba Rojas and made his in-ring debut at the age of 17. While it has not been confirmed as of this writing, he may have been part of the initial roster when Capitol Wrestling broke from the NWA and rebranded into The World Wide Wrestling Federation. He would also work in the Carolinas, as well as the Los Angeles-based World Wrestling Associates, not to be confused with the Indiana WWA.

In 1965, Pedro defeated The Destroyer Dick Beyer for the WWA title in what was surely at that point his biggest win to date. He also unsuccessfully challenged Gene Kiniski for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. By this time, Morales had established himself as a reliable draw at the top of the card. When you look at the people he worked with (NWA World Champions, Pat Patterson, Dick Beyer, etc…) it was clear that Pedro was drawing money as an ethnic hero babyface. Just the type of babyface Vincent J. McMahon would like in the then-World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF).

WWWF World Title Run

In 1970, Pedro Morales debuted full-time for WWWF full time. He won the WWWF United States Title (not to be confused with the current WWE US Title) in January of 1971. Approximately one month later, he famously challenged Ivan Koloff, the man who defeated Bruno Sammartino, for the WWWF Title. When Morales defeated Koloff for the title, he became only the fourth man in history to hold that championship. It may be said, even though Pedro was the champion, that Bruno was still the #1 babyface. While that may be true, that still made Pedro the #2 babyface. And the #2 babyface under Bruno Sammartino was not a bad place to be. He feuded with the likes of Blackjack Mulligan, Freddie Blassie, and Stan Stasiak. He teamed with Bruno for superstar tag team main events. And he would sell out Madison Square Garden over 20 times. A feat second only to Bruno. We do talk more about Bruno in Vol. 18.

One of the biggest matches in the history of WWE happened in 1972 at the first-ever Showdown At Shea. Bruno Sammartino challenged Pedro for the title in a near unheard-of babyface vs. babyface main event. That match made headlines and lasted 75 minutes. But in the end, the match ended in a draw due to the City Of New York’s curfew of 11 PM at the time. While the two heroes would shake hands and embrace to bring an end to their feud, the crowd did not seem happy that there was no declared winner. But the most telling part of all was the disappointing attendance at the gate. The WWWF would not run another babyface vs. babyface main event under Vincent J McMahon again.

The following year, Morales lost the WWWF Title to Stan Stasiak, who almost immediately lost it back to Bruno. Pedro would continue to wrestle for the WWWF for the next 15 months, leaving in the Spring of 1975.

Big Time Wrestling and Florida Run

Over the next few years, Pedro worked in San Francisco for Roy Shire’s Big Time Wrestling. He also worked for Eddie Graham in Florida where he faced Harley Race for the NWA World Title and teamed with “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes.

Return to WWF

Pedro returned to work for Vince Sr. in 1980. By this time, the promotion’s name had been shortened from The World Wide Federation to simply The World Wrestling Federation. In the second Showdown At Shea, Morales teamed with WWWF Champion Bob Backlund to defeat The Wild Samoans for The WWF Tag Team Titles. Their title reign was nullified due to Backlund already being a singles champion. A short time later, he defeated Ken Patera to become the third Intercontinental Champion. That made him WWE’s first-ever Triple Crown Champion (World, IC, and Tag Team Champion).

Final in-ring years

After a few years in Puerto Rico, Morales returned again to WWF to compete during Vince McMahon’s national expansion. While he did not achieve the success of the years prior, he did have the place on the card of a respected veteran. He also spent years as a color commentator for Spanish broadcasts after retiring from the ring.

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2019 has begun on a sad note. The Wrestling World lost another legendary talent with the passing of longtime interviewer and personality “Mean” Gene Okerlund. Seth “Zandrax” Zillmann and “Crazy Train” Jonathan Bolick return to pay tribute to the man some call the greatest interviewer of all time.

While millions of fans know of his work in The Wrestling World, many are unaware of his pre-wrestling days. Eugene Arthur Okerlund was born in South Dakota in 1942. He worked in radio as a disc jockey, and in TV production in Minnesota. Then in the early ’70s, he became part of the AWA and began the career he would be associated with for the rest of his life. Over the next 30 years, he would appear regularly on TV for The AWA, WWE, and WCW. Often, he would have multiple segments where he interviewed wrestlers for upcoming matches or shows. He would also host the infamous PPV pitches on syndicated shows. Occasionally on WWE programming, Gene would wind up singing on camera. Perhaps most prominently performing The Star-Spangled Banner at the first WrestleMania. What a lot of fans may not know is Okerlund did have a musical background. Sometime during the 1960s he was part of a band “Gene Caroll And The Shades” and recorded a few songs. You can tell it’s him singing here in “Is It Ever Gonna Happen”.

Do you have any favorite memories of “Mean” Gene Okerlund? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Vol. 25: “Mean” Gene Okerlund (1942-2019) appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

Dick Slater – A regular in several territories during the 70s and 80s, Dick Slater had success as both a singles and tag team star. He first broke in wrestling via Eddie Graham’s CWF before having runs in such territories as Mid-Atlantic for The Crocketts, Mid-South for Bill Watts, and Amarillo for Joe Blanchard. Perhaps his best-remembered run would be with Cowboy Bob Orton Jr. (father of Randy Orton) and their appearance in the original Starrcade. While he did have runs as a babyface, Slater spent the majority of his career as a heel.

Jose Lothario – Modern fans likely remember Lothario as the man who trained Shawn Michaels. That is of course true, but Jose had a very successful career in the 1960s Texas territories. Unlike Slater, Lothario spent almost his entire career as a babyface. His popularity was so great that the conventional wisdom of a veteran turning heel was not used with him. Instead, the young up-and-coming stars like Gino Hernandez would be the ones turning heel, and Lothario would be the grizzled veteran trying to teach the disrespectful rookies a lesson.

Larry Matysik – Larry was not an in-ring wrestler, but he was certainly successful in the business. He perhaps most notably promoted in the St. Louis area where he hosted Wrestling From The Chase for over 20 years.

In the latter half of the show, Al Getz joins Seth and Train to talk about his project Charting The Territories. As the name implies, Al gives historical looks at specific territories in certain eras. If you’re a fan of the territory days, Al has a show for you!

As mentioned in the end of the show, Train has a new Crooner’s Playlist on Spotify

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Neidhart was born in Florida but went to high school and college in California. He held a shot put state record for over a decade. When you think of the size and population of California, that is quite an accomplishment.

Jim initially sought to play in the NFL. While he participated in several pre-season activities with The Oakland Raiders and The Dallas Cowboys, he never formally made an NFL roster. However, his athleticism caught the eye of the legendary Stu Hart. Neidhart began training at the Hart Dungeon for a wrestling career in the late 1970s. He also met and married Elizabeth Hart around this time. After completing training, Neidhart wrestled for Stu’s Stampede Wrestling in Calgary. He then worked in Georgia Championship Wrestling, Bill Watts‘ Mid-South, Jerry Jarrett‘s CWA, and Eddie Graham‘s Florida territory before getting work in Vince McMahon‘s World Wrestling Federation.

At first, Neidhart was paired with Mr. Fuji as a singles wrestler and worked matches against his now brother-in-law Bret Hart. Shortly afterward, the plan changed and the two were paired together with Jimmy Hart as The Hart Foundation, where they were staples in the WWF tag division for the rest of the 1980s.

The Anvil would have several memorable, and maybe not so memorable, runs with the WWF for the next decade, and would make indie appearances into the 2000s. We here at Classic Wrestling Memories extend our deepest condolences to the Hart and Neidhart family 

The post Vol. 23: Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart (1955-2018) appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

Prologue: Macho Madness

After the legendary Intercontinental Championship match with Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat at WrestleMania III, Savage finished his year long feud with George “The Animal” Steele. In June, The Honky Tonk Man defeated Steamboat for the IC strap. Honky then began referring to himself as the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time. Since Savage was at that time the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion, he took offense at this claim.

October 3rd, 1987 – Savage challenged Honky for the IC Title. Rumors over the years claim that Honky refused to drop the title to Savage. Whether this was true or not, it was one of the biggest angles at the time. During the match, Savage landed the Elbow, but Bret Hart ran in and broke the count. The Hart Foundation and Honky triple-teamed Savage until Elizabeth ran backstage and brought Hogan in to save the day.

The Set Up: Everybody Has A Price

December 1987 – Ted Dibiase boldly proclaimed that he will buy the WWF Heavyweight Championship from Hulk Hogan. Hogan considered this offer but then gives a resounding “Hell No”. If Dibiase wants the championship, he can win it in the ring like everybody else.

January 1988 – Dibiase, frustrated at not being able to purchase the championship, reveals to the world that the WWF Championship will still be delivered to him. He then introduced the man that will do it, Andre The Giant.

Act One: The Pin Heard Round The World

February 5th, 1988 – One of the most famous angles of all time, and also the most-watched wrestling match of all time in the US, saw Hulk Hogan lose the WWF Championship to Andre The Giant after a crooked referee made a bad count. The match scored a 15.2 rating and 33 million viewers. To put that into perspective, that’s like “America Idol in its prime” type numbers. In real life, WWE had quietly hired Earl Hebner, the twin brother of referee Dave Hebner. Earl had actually been working in the Carolina territories. Since this was 1988, long before the internet was commonplace, almost nobody knew who he was. In fact, Earl had been working for the Crocketts as late as the previous week. So Earl counted a pinfall for Andre, even though Hogan’s left shoulder was clearly up. Andre then immediately relinquished the belt to Dibiase. The plan had worked!

Fans were bewildered! A world without Hulk Hogan as the champion? Dave Meltzer wrote in the Wrestling Observer newsletter dated February 15th, “All I can say is that I hope whoever came up with that finish got a nice bonus in this week’s paycheck”.

What some fans may not know, Dibiase was billed as the WWF Champion for a few weeks.

Act Two: WrestleMania IV

Jack Tunney made the decision a few weeks later to vacate the WWF Championship since none of the three major players had a valid claim to the title. He then declared a new champion would be crowned at WrestleMania IV in a 14-man tournament. Hogan and Andre drew automatic byes into the second round due to them both being former champions.

Andre’s mission this time around wasn’t to win the tournament, but to ensure Hogan did not advance. Andre accomplished this by causing the match to end in a double-disqualification. This also caused Dibiase to draw a bye into the finals. Savage was not so lucky. He had to defeat three opponents to secure his spot in the finals. In the end, Hogan stood in Savage’s corner to keep Andre at bay so Savage could finally pin Dibiase to win the title.

Act Three: The Mega Powers vs. The Megabucks

The next several months saw Savage defend the title on the house show circuit against Dibiase. Hogan took time off after four years on the road to be with his family for the birth of his daughter Brooke. He also filmed No Holds Barred during this time. Then in August of 1988, Savage and Hogan headlined the inaugural SummerSlam event against Dibiase and Andre. Heel commentator Jesse “The Body” Ventura served as guest referee. Despite the obvious payoff of Ventura to be a biased referee, the babyfaces secured the win to end the feud.

The post Vol. 22: Randy Savage vs. Ted Dibiase for the WWF Championship appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

It was his time in Japan where White truly gained his stardom. In New Japan Pro Wrestling, he was christened “Big Van Vader”, and given the now-famous mask and headgear that would become a definitive look for the rest of his career.  On April 24th, 1989, Vader became the first “gaijin” (foreigner) to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship by winning a tournament, defeating Shinya Hashimoto in the finals.  Vader would win the title on two more occasions, in 1989 and 1991. During this time, he also wrestled for Otto Wanz’s Catch Wrestling Association in Austria, and Universal Wrestling Association in Mexico. With World Title wins in all three promotions, Vader became a world champion on three continents simultaneously. He and fellow gaijin Bam Bam Bigelow won the IWGP Tag Team Championship under the name Big, Bad, And Dangerous.

Upon losing the tag titles to The Steiner Brothers in 1992, Vader began wrestling full time for World Championship Wrestling. There he defeated Sting for the WCW Title at The Great American Bash and feuded with top stars such as Ric Flair, Ron Simmons, and Mick Foley. Vader would hold the WCW Title on three occasions, with reigns totaling 377 days. After a successful run in WCW, Vader was hired by Vince McMahon to work for the then World Wrestling Federation, where he was given a much-hyped debut at the 1996 Royal Rumble.  While he did not win any championships in the WWF, he did have high-profile feuds against The Undertaker and World Champion Shawn Michaels.

The post Vol. 21: Big Van Vader (1955-2018) appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

This episode of Classic Wrestling Memories is devoted to a true legend. In fact, a legend that other legends look up to. Wahoo McDaniel was a trailblazer in the 1960s as a star in both Pro Wrestling and The NFL. Join Seth and Crazy Train as they discuss the in-ring and football career of the NWA Hall Of Famer. Wahoo was a star in the NFL, playing on four different teams from 1960-1968. During this time, he wrestled in the offseason due to NFL players not having nearly as large of a salary as they do today.

After 1968, McDaniel was making more money wrestling in the off-season than he was playing professional football the rest of the year. During his in-ring run, Wahoo was a star in every territory he wrestled in. He held the NWA United States Championship (now recognized as the WWE United States Championship) on five separate occasions. During those reigns, he feuded with up-and-coming stars like Ric Flair and Greg Valentine. This is a show with content you won’t hear in many other podcasts because Train opens up about knowing and working with McDaniel throughout the years and shares some personal stories from behind the curtain. All this and more in a must-hear edition of Classic Wrestling Memories!

The post Vol. 20: Chief Wahoo McDaniel (1938-2002) appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

Paul Jones may not be the first name that rolls off a wrestling fan’s tongue, but his contributions to the wrestling world were quite substantial. Join Seth and Crazy Train as they pay tribute to the man who had a 20+ year in-ring career, as well as a memorable run as a villainous manager. Paul Jones’ career lasted over thirty years in five decades. He had worked both babyface and heel as a wrestler and worked almost exclusively as a heel during his manager run in the 1980s.

Arguably his most memorable run as a wrestler was in the 1970s as a babyface in Mid-Atlantic for Jim Crockett Promotions. There he held numerous tag team titles with a young Ricky Steamboat. However, he also had a successful run in Florida where he held the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship, a title that has been held by far too many Hall Of Famers to list here. In fact, he held the Florida Heavyweight Championship, the NWA Florida Television Championship, and the NWA Florida Brass Knuckles Championship at the same time.

Perhaps his most known role to fans who grew up in the 80s was as a heel manager where he was the head of The Paul Jones Army. There he again managed several legends and Hall Of Famers. And of course had that legendary years-long feud with “Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant, which lead to a lot of head shaving, and a lot of BALD HEADED GEEKS! Do you have any memories or stories of Paul Jones? We’d love to hear them. Sound off below or on Twitter @twbpshow!

The post Vol. 19: “Number One” Paul Jones (1942-2018) appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

We lost a true legend this week with the passing of “The Living Legend” Bruno Sammartino. Join Seth and Crazy Train as they pay tribute to the life and career of The Hall of Famer from his amazing and tragic beginnings in Italy during World War II to his two record-setting reigns as WWWF (now WWE) Champion. Not only that, you’ll hear why Bruno Sammartino’s character was just as strong as his in-ring accomplishments. Plus you’ll understand why Bruno was an all-time great babyface. If you are a fan of Bruno Sammartino or even a fan of the 1970’s World Wide Wrestling Federation, this is a fun must-listen show. Do you have any favorite Bruno memories or stories? Sound off below, or tweet the show @twbpshow. Co-host Crazy Train can be found @crazytrain_jb. We would love to hear from you!

The post Vol. 18: “The Living Legend” Bruno Sammartino (1935-2018) appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

• The Dudley Boys – Attitude Era
• Hillbilly Jim – Rock ‘n Wrestling Era
• Stan Stasiak – World Wide Wrestling Federation
• El Santo – Legends Of Mexico
• Jim Londos – Pre-NWA
• Sputnik Monroe – 1950s-60s Territories
• Boris Malenko – 1950s-60s Territories
• Daran Singh – 1950s-60s India
• Hiro Matsuda – 1960s-70s Florida
• Rufus R. “Freight Train” Jones – 1970s-80s Territories
• Cora Combs – 1950s-60s Territories
• Lord Alfred Hayes – Just about everything
• Ivory – 1980s/Attitude Era
• Jeff Jarrett – Pre-Attitude Era Through Attitude Era
• Mark Henry – Attitude Era
• Goldberg – Nitro Era

All This and more in another history filled Classic Wrestling Memories

The post Vol. 17: WWE Hall Of Fame Class Of 2018 appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

WCW, Fall 1991. WCW introduced one of the most star-studded stables of all time. Join Seth and Crazy Train as they talk about the relatively short-lived stable, The Dangerous Alliance, who wreaked havoc on WCW from fall 1991 through Spring 1992.

The story begins in the Fall of 1991. Paul E. Dangerously had been relieved of his duties as a color commentator. Tom Zenk was set to face the mysterious “WCW Phantom” who had a Phantom Of The Opera style mask and Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue” for entrance music.

But wait, is that a mustache under the mask? That finishing move is awfully familiar…

That’s right! “Ravishing” Rick Rude, who had departed WWF the year before, made his WCW return with his target firmly set on Sting’s US Championship.

Sting was set to defend the US Title against Rude at Clash Of The Champions. Sting also began receiving “gifts” from a mysterious benefactor. The biggest gift was also to be presented to Sting at Clash Of The Champions.

At first, it seemed to be Madusa in a gypsy outfit, but the fiendish hand was played soon afterward

That’s right, the benefactor was none other that WCW World Heavyweight Champion Lex Luger! The World Champion attacked the US Champion, leaving him laying and possibly injured.

With Sting on his way to the hospital, the next phase of Dangerously’s plan began! Sting the valiant but injured champion fell, and Rick Rude began one of the longest US Title reigns in company history.

Dangerously gloated how his plan had worked. Sting was defeated, and a new Dangerous Alliance was born!

The reveal of The Dangerous Alliance culminated with a WarGames match, Sting’s Squadron vs. The Dangerous Alliance at WrestleWar ’92. All these memories and more are discussed in this can’t miss episode of Classic Wrestling Memories!

The post Vol. 16: The Dangerous Alliance appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

It’s another career-focused episode of Classic Wrestling Memories. This episode is dedicated to the career of the late great WWE Hall Of Famer, “Ravishing” Rick Rude. Seth and Crazy Train discuss Rude’s beginnings in Florida, all the way through his run in WCCW, Jim Crockett Promotions, The World Wrestling Federation, and his final years in WCW. This is a must hear show if you are a fan of Rick Rude. What are your Rick Rude memories? Sound off below!

The post Vol. 15: “Ravishing” Rick Rude appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

Classic Wrestling Memories is back for 2018 with a special look at one of Seth’s favorite wrestling events, WCW Great American Bash 1992. The event was centered around a tournament to crown new NWA Tag Team Champions, and a WCW World Title match between Champion Sting, and Challenger Big Van Vader. Here is the card. Notice all the WWE Hall Of Famers in the lineup.

• Flyin’ Brian Pillman & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat & Nikita Koloff
• The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael P.S. Hayes & Jimmy Jam Garvin) vs. Hiroshi Hase & Shinya Hashimoto
• Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes vs. Ravishing Rick Rude & Stunning Steve Austin
• WCW World Title: Sting vs. Big Van Vader

In the first segment, Seth and Crazy Train give the set-up for the event and the state of World Championship Wrestling at the time. This is a must-hear discussion for WCW and early 90s wrestling fans alike.

What do you want to hear Classic Wrestling Memories discuss? Sound off in the comments below. We want to hear from YOU!

The post Vol. 14: Great American Bash 1992 appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

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It was one of the most famous territories in all of wrestling history. From the 1960s into the mid-1980s, Eddie Graham’s Championship Wrestling From Florida was a beacon of wrestling talent. Seth and Crazy Train are joined by a special guest, former NWA World Tag Team Champion Chris Nelson to discuss the legendary promotion. Hear some of the names on the laundry list of alumni who all made their names in Florida before achieving legendary status on international levels. Gordon Solie, Jake Roberts, The Brisco Brothers, Hulk Hogan, Blackjack Mulligan, and many more are among those names. Also talked about is arguably the most definitive angle in the company’s history, the babyface turn of “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. Yes, Dusty was a heel for years before becoming “The Dream” we all loved. In the final segment, Nelson talks about the tragedy of the final year of the promotion, which was the fallout of Eddie Graham’s passing. Plus other memorable angles from the promotion’s history. If you want to check out a TON of Championship Wrestling From Florida, check out the 106 N Albany YouTube Page! Tell ’em Classic Wrestling Memories sent you…

The post Vol. 11: Championship Wrestling From Florida appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

January 1953. Before any Monday Night War, Pay Per View, or weekly live TV, Jess McMahon and Toots Mondt helped change the face of professional wrestling forever. Join Seth and Crazy Train as they tell the story of the formation of Capitol Wrestling Corporation. As you may have surmised by the name “McMahon”, the company was co-founded by Jess McMahon, the grandfather of Vincent K. McMahon. Hear the stories behind the days with the National Wrestling Alliance, and the subsequent breakaway, which lead to the formation of the World Wide Wrestling Federation. In short, Capitol Wrestling was the promotion that would eventually morph into World Wrestling Entertainment.

The post Vol. 10: Capitol Wrestling Corporation appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

The wrestling world lost a true legend this past week with the passing of Hall Of Famer Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. Join Seth and Crazy Train as they pay tribute to the man who is widely considered the greatest manager of all time. They cover the four major promotions Heenan worked for: WWA, AWA, WWF, and WCW. There are a few fun stories with each one, including a WWA story involving a fan altercation with Bobby in which The Blackjacks got involved. You may not hear this story anywhere else. This is a must-listen for any fan of Heenan, and especially any fan of old-school pro wrestling.

The post Vol. 9: Bobby “The Brain” Heenan (1944-2017) appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

It was arguably one of the greatest angles in wrestling history… At least for a while. Join Seth and Crazy Train as they discuss the background and formation of WCW’s New World Order.

Hear what inspired the concept and what laid the groundwork for the creation of the stable. How could the beloved “Training, Prayers, & Vitamins” Hulk Hogan turn evil and join a hideous villain group? And how could he, in real life, be convinced to make what was such a daring move at the time? What makes this podcast unique is you’ll get the opinion of somebody who was just a fan, and the opinion of a wrestler who was already active in the business while this was going on.

If you’re a fan of WCW, The Monday Night War, or especially the NWO, this show is a must-listen!

The post Vol. 8: The NWO appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

Have you ever wondered how magicians learn their craft? Have you ever wondered how storytellers get their style? Or more appropriately, have you ever wondered how wrestlers have gotten over with the crowd? Or why do some get put in certain places on the card? Well, the latter two fall under the Booking. Join Seth and Crazy Train as they pull back the curtain a little to explain some of the psychology behind booking a wrestling show. Plus, they mention seven famous bookers and why they were considered to be so great.

George Scott – Most famous for booking Jim Crockett Promotions and a lot of the early “Rock ‘n Wrestling” “Hulkamania Era” for WWE.

Eddie Graham – Widely considered one of the greatest minds for the business and had a very successful run in Florida.

Kevin Sullivan – A very well-respected wrestler and booker who had success in multiple territories. Also worked under Eddie Graham.

Bill Watts – Known for booking the Mid-South territory and for a brief stint running WCW. Also had tutelage under Eddie Graham.

Paul Heyman – The main booker and promoter of ECW.

Gary Hart – Helped book World Class Championship Wrestling in Texas for Fritz Von Erich. And yes, learned from Eddie Graham.

Dusty Rhodes – “The American Dream” had as much success, if not more, behind the scenes as he did in the ring. He booked arguably the greatest period of Jim Crockett Promotions,. And, you guessed it, learned under Eddie Graham.

As mentioned during the show, here is an example of George Scott utilizing a hot up-and-coming star in Sting and a grizzled veteran in The Iron Sheik.

The post Vol. 7: Booking 101 – The Art of Storytelling In Pro Wrestling appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

Memphis has always been a hot territory for wrestling, especially in the late 20th Century. Join Seth, Crazy Train, and special guest Dan “The Dragon” Wilson as they talk about the Memphis Territory. Specifically, the split that happened in March of 1977 between Promotors Nick Gulas and Jerry Jarrett. Hear the history behind Memphis dating back to the late 1940s and all the stars that came through that territory for big-money events. People like Jackie Fargo, Tojo Yamamoto, Sputnik Monroe, and many more. Then hear what lead to the parting of ways between Gulas and Jarrett. And of course the rise of WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler.

As talked about during the show, here are the results of the final show promoted by Gulas in the legendary Mid-South Coliseum, and the first show promoted by Jarrett in the same venue.

This is the type of stuff you don’t get in very many wrestling podcasts. Join us in another fun-filled episode of Classic Wrestling Memories as we provide you with exclusive insight into wrestling history. Give us a like and a review! And let us know below what you think of the show and what you’d like to hear in the future?

Dan “The Dragon” Wilson can be found on Twitter and Facebook. Be sure to take a look at Anarchy Wrestling where he is the lead play-by-play announcer.

The post Vol. 6: The Great Memphis Split appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

Classic Wrestling Memories returns with another edition in the Wrestling 101 Series: Heel 101. Seth and Crazy Train take a turn to the dark side to discuss what makes a great villain, or heel. Like last week, Seth lists four basic things a Heel would NEVER do, and four things a Heel would ALWAYS do. Also, both men list three examples of great heels, including two of the greatest managers of all time. In the final segment of the show, Seth and Train talk about arguably the greatest heel of all time, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. All this and more in another fun-filled Classic Wrestling Memories!

The post Vol. 5: Heel 101 – What Makes The Villian appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

Classic Wrestling Memories is back for a unique format this week. Seth and Crazy Train are not discussing a historical event or time frame, but are talking about the psychology of pro wrestling. Specifically, what it takes to be a babyface. Train brings 15 years of experience as a wrestler, with most of those years as a babyface. Seth lists four things a babyface would NEVER do, and four things a babyface would ALWAYS do. Plus, both give three examples of great babyfaces with specific instances where they showed these qualities. On top of that, Seth and Train talk arguably the greatest babyface of all time, Hulk Hogan. In the final segment of the show, Train demonstrates a babyface interview promo.

The post Vol. 4: Babyface 101 – What Makes The Hero appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

This episode looks at The Gold Dust Trio, Billy Sandow, Ed “Strangler” Lewis, and Joseph “Toots” Mondt. These men are widely credited with beginning what would become the modern style of professional wrestling. Hear how the trio came to be, and how their innovative approach to treating wrestling as a business helped change the face of wrestling forever. Seth and Crazy Train talk about the careers of all three men, and the roles they played during this time. This is must-hear material for fans of early 20th Century wrestling.

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The inaugural episode of Classic Wrestling Memories looks at the first American Professional Wrestling Supershow, Starrcade ’83: A Flare For The Gold. Join Seth and Crazy Train as they discuss the matches and storylines to this historic event. For the final three main event matches, Seth and Train are joined by legendary sports and pro wrestling journalist Mike Mooneyham, formerly of Post and Courier.

You can get Mike’s book “Sex, Lies, and Headlocks” via our affiliate link at Amazon!

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