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Our most popular shows of the year are back: the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame ballot discussion.
On this opener, I talk about this year’s rule changes, the many new tag teams, discussion about Sgt. Slaughter and many others.
Part one of three has arrived.
The next match in the GKT (Greatest Kayfabe Tournament) takes place and you the listeners have voted.
Who will win when multi-time WWF Champion Bret Hart faces All Japan legend Giant Baba? Plus, a detailed look at the career and legacy of Bret Hart in Japan.
On a special DragonKingKarl Show, I look back at the old AWA Remco action figure series from the 1980s: the first mass market pro wrestling action figure series.
Next week: I present three shows in three days in a special true crime series.
I didn’t start doing these pro wrestling true crime podcasts to be funny but then, there’s Jeff Gaylord: pro wrestling star and bungling bank robber.
I had always heard that Gaylord was a little, well, not so bright. As it turns out, that was accurate. I lost count of how many banks he robbed along the way, but at some point, a detective got his number and good grief, this guy is a man after my own heart.
On this week’s true crime edition of the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling podcast, learn about the bizarre story of Jeff Gaylord. Sometimes, the truth is stranger than fiction.
On this edition of the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, I put a spotlight on southern wrestling as we visit the Florida wrestling territory as it begins its fall after the death of Eddie Graham.
It was still a viable territory at this point with NWA World Champion Ric Flair coming to town to face Wahoo McDaniel while Rick Rude was the Southern champion. Plus, Harley Race and Stan Hansen were going to team up to face The Road Warriors at Battle of The Belts.
Also: A young Tony Falk under another name, Mike Jackson, Barry Horowitz as Jack Hart and much more!
I continue with my longform history of pro wrestling podcast series with a look at March 1982.
Bob Backlund was WWWF champion and feuding with both Jesse Ventura and Adrian Adonis, Ric Flair was facing many different opponents including a memorable series with Butch Reed, and Nick Bockwinkel reigned as champion over the AWA.
Plus, I discuss Jerry Lawler, Harley Race, David Von Erich, Japan, and much more.
We begin our series on pro wrestling true crime this week by looking at the story of the late “Bruiser” Bob Sweetan.
Sweetan was a journeyman wrestler who worked many territories from the the central U.S. to the southwest U.S. He even had national exposure as “Mr. Piledriver” when Southwest Championship Wrestling was on USA Network.
But, Sweetan had a very dark side. He left his wife for his drug dealer, pleaded guilty to molesting his daughter, and expressed no regrets for his heavy drug use.
For our first look at true crime in pro wrestling, I present to you: Bob Sweetan — the opposite of a quality human being.
This week’s DragonKingKarl Show is not family friendly. Sorry, but sometimes I need to say something with an exclamation point.
I’ve been around F4W Online before Dave Meltzer even arrived and now, we have a johnny-come-lately who has been passively aggressively messing with me for some time. After his latest little jab, I ain’t taking it any more. This show will either make the Best of 2021 or get me disappeared from over here.
Also, there is wrestling history and the dream of Bob Backlund.
It’s an unforgettable show and one I hope makes you laugh. Or, mad. Or, whatever.
From the pages of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, I take a look back at the obituaries, biographies, and history pieces written by Dave Meltzer.
On this episode, I discuss the life and career of Big John Studd via Dave’s obituary from the March 27, 1995, Observer. He was a memorable TV character from the Hulkamania era and famous for his feuds with Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant.
This week kicks off our discussion of the year 1982 in pro wrestling by taking a look at January when Ric Flair was NWA World Champion, Bob Backlund was WWF World Champion, and Nick Bockwinkel was AWA World Champion.
Additionally, 1982 kicks off a really strong couple of years for Southeastern Wrestling, Jerry Lawler was feuding with Dutch Mantel over the Southern title, and Sam Muchnick called it quits.
This is a packed show that kicks off an incredible several year period in pro wrestling so join me as I pour through the early days of newsletters, magazines, video, and more to chronicle pro wrestling history.
Tuesday’s show kicks off a new series as I will be reviewing an episode of a classic southern pro wrestling promotion and what better place to start than with the first episode of Ron Fuller’s full-fledged Southeastern Championship Wrestling.
Airing throughout Alabama and in parts of Florida, we get introduced to Fuller, Bob Armstrong, Eddie Mansfield, The Big Cs (Don Carson & Dennis Condrey), Tony Charles, and many others.
Join me with his review of the first Southeastern Championship Wrestling show!
For your Halloween week enjoyment. let’s talk about a spooky match: the first-ever Buried Alive match at 1996’s WWF In Your House between Undertaker and Mankind.
Mankind was being managed by Paul Bearer at the time and both men were exceptionally good…despite the match being ridiculous. The match itself also featured appearances by Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Justin Hawk Bradshaw, Goldust digging holes, and Terry Gordy with a bag over his head.
Let’s have some fun.
We all know Sid Vicious. He looked like a million bucks, was as champion in both WWF and WCW, and was a major player during the 1990s.
However, he began his career as one of the men to play the Lord Humongous character, starting in Memphis then going to the Continental Wrestling Association.
On this week’s DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, I discuss that overlooked part of his career.
On an Old Tyme Wrestling Hour edition of the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, I look at the massive decline in WWE’s pop culture popularity and a new documentary that takes a look at the life of former lucha and WCW star Vampiro.
Then, Kid Zombie (aka Matt Mann) joins me to discuss some of our favorite angles of the 1980s and to gush over The Fantastics, the UWF and mid-1980s AWA.
This week on the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, I begin our first ‘Minus Five Stars’ reviews of the worst matches in pro wrestling history according to our Dave Meltzer.
The first comes from AAA TripleMania 23 in 2015 where the Psycho Circus battled Los Villanos, a match leaturing a dude on a unicycle, latex masks, and a very, err, fat man under a mask. I also think somebody had a stroke or something during the match screwing up a fall.
So yeah, I have a lot to get to with this kickoff to the Minus Five Stars series.
