Tag: Jerry Oates

On this new and free edition of the Portland Wrestlecast, it’s part two of our interview with former Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Champion Jerry Oates.

Part one is available for subscribers.

Oates talks about his tag team title run with partner Jesse Ventura in 1978, dealing with booking issues and politics with promoter Elton Owen and Dutch Savage while working Salem, Oregon, and the time Jonny Eagle cheated Andre the Giant at cribbage.

As you’ve heard on the Wrestlecast, Owen would pay wrestlers to shoot in the first few minutes of a worked pro wrestling match. Oates has a story of when one of those matches got very heated as The Iron Sheik and Ricky Hunter were supposed to work a shoot-style match. Situations unfolded that made the match a real shoot between two very skilled wrestlers.

Find out what happened and who won in this edition of the Portland Wrestlecast.

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This week’s Portland Wrestlecast features one of the best interviews I have ever had on the show: former PNW Champion Jerry Oates.

Oates wrestled in the Pacific Northwest in 1978, the same time as Jimmy Snuka, Jesse Ventura, Buddy Rose, and others. He held the tag team titles with Ventura and feuded with Ed Wiskowski over the heavyweight title. A Georgia native, he has wrestled in All Japan, Georgia, Mid-Atlantic, Florida, Louisiana and more.

On this episode, he tells some incredible old school stories including a real life dressing room confrontation between Jimmy Snuka and Dutch Savage. Savage wasn’t only a veteran wrestler as he also promoted wrestling for Don Owen in Washington State and, on TV, was portrayed as a mentor to Snuka.

Hear about the unique way he got into Portland and his thoughts on the territory given his vast experience. Don’t sleep on this episode as Jerry Oates stood out among a region filled with talent in 1978.

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Tag: Jerry Oates

Portland Wrestlecast free podcast: The Iron Sheik’s real shoot match

Portland Wrestlecast: Former PNW Champion Jerry Oates