Tag: Portland WrestleCast

Portland Wrestlecast free show: Rip Oliver’s big 1980s run

Posted on by Jim Valley

Editor’s Note: This is a free show. Just click the red button below to listen.

When fans talk about Portland Wrestling in the 1980s, Rip Oliver is one of the first names that come to mind.

In a podcast scheduled before this week’s announcement of Oliver going into hospice care, myself and historian Rich Patterson talk about Oliver’s mid-1980s run in the Pacific Northwest as the territory’s top heel.

From his debut in 1980 as the right hand man in Buddy Rose’s Army to establishing his own heel group “The Clan,” Rich and I discuss his legendary feud with Billy Jack Haynes, his infamous “Carry Out Service” stretcher, his taped thumb, how he fit so well in the territory, and why fans in the Northwest loved to hate him.

If you want to learn more about Rip and his Pacific Northwest career, this conversation will help you understand why he is so special to the region and its history.

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Portland Wrestlecast: Rocky Johnson’s Pacific Northwest run

Posted on by Jim Valley

You know Rocky Johnson from WWF, Memphis, Hawaii and California, but he also had a very successful run in the Pacific Northwest in 1981-82 with heavyweight and tag team title reigns.

In this episode of the Portland Wrestlecast, I look at one of my favorite babyfaces who came through Portland when I was a kid. Johnson had a level of professionalism above everyone else in the territory that came from the experience of being a top star all over the world for years.

He also had one of the most memorable debuts in territory history that sent a message to the fans that the new top babyface was in town. He feuded with Buddy Rose and teamed with King Parsons, Brett Sawyer, and Andre the Giant. Rocky even challenged Ric Flair for the NWA title during a Northwest tour.

Enjoy this edition of the Wrestlecast with lots of memories of Rocky Johnson. 

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Portland Wrestlecast: Don Owen and the WON HOF, Carl Styles part two

Posted on by Jim Valley

**Editor’s Note: This is a free show. Just click the red button below to listen.

On this week’s Portland Wrestlecast, I look at how longtime Portland booker Don Owen came within just two votes from being inducted into the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame. I’m still shocked, but we have to talk about the 2019 “campaign” that was anything but and what to do next year to get him inducted.

We then transition to part two of my interview with Carl Styles, the centerpiece of some very entertaining booking by Len Denton and Roddy Piper that wasn’t what Portland fans were used to back in 1989.

We talk about Piper, The Grappler, “Beetlegeuse” Art Barr, and Billy Jack Haynes who had returned to Owen and Portland Wrestling after his short-lived Oregon Wrestling Federation went out of business. The booking in Portland had changed and Styles was right in the middle of it. You can also help Styles pay for some medical bills via his GoFundMe page.

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FREE SHOW! Portland Wrestlecast: Carl Styles vs. Portland’s bullies

Posted on by Jim Valley

FREE SHOW! In the late 1980s, Portland Wrestling completely changed its presentation that was virtually unchanged for decades. Booker Len Denton modernized the product by adding things like entrance music, improved production values, and theatrical storylines.

Carl Styles benefited from those changes. In the past, he probably would have arrived as a heel in Portland and been the generic mean muscle man standing behind The Grappler. With this new approach, Carl became the kind-hearted heel who was bullied by The Grappler’s Wrecking Crew for having a glass eye.

As the bullying continued and the fans’ frustration grew, eventually Carl couldn’t take any more and finally stood up for himself against The Grappler. The late 1980s were a unique time in Portland. Roddy Piper drew upon his creativity to help Don Owen as he and Len Denton booked Portland like it was never seen before. 

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Portland Wrestlecast: Why Austin Idol abruptly left Portland Wrestling

Posted on by Jim Valley

You probably associate Austin Idol with his famous matches and angles in Memphis or the Fuller’s Continental territory. Before he made history, Idol had a very brief run in Portland in the summer of 1978.

The northwest was only the second territory for Idol. The wrestler himself had been around earlier as “Iron” Mike McCord. On this episode of The Portland Wrestlecast, Idol talks about the changes that led to the creation of his new Idol persona, his first stop in Dallas, and what brought him to work for Don Owen.

After that, Idol details the issues with Dutch Savage and Elton Owen that caused him to abruptly quit the territory after a few weeks and how it was a blessing in disguise. We also catch up on all of Idol’s current projects including NWA Powerrr, the Universal Wrestling College, and the upcoming RetroMania wrestling video game. 

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Portland Wrestlecast: A look at the PBS wrestling doc ‘Savage’

Posted on by Jim Valley

It may be hard to imagine, but PBS once filmed a documentary at the Portland Sports Arena in the late 1970s for a fairly well-known movie called “Savage” that profiles Dutch Savage, Jesse Ventura, and The Iron Sheik.

There’s no narrator or reporter. Rather, you simply see the angles unfold, the wrestlers in total kayfabe mode, and the comments from longtime fans provide a fascinating look into another era and what motivated the diehards to come to the matches.

As we continue talking with past guest, Portland photographer and fan Lloyd N. Phillips, I tie this movie into the conversation to give you a taste of the flavor of Portland Wrestling and to also discuss one of the most famous and successful tag teams in the territory’s history: The Von Steiger Brothers and why Kurt and Karl were are so important. 

If you’re new, be sure to check out the archives for dozens of hours of Portland Wrestling history.

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Portland Wrestlecast: Remembering The Royal Kangaroos

Posted on by Jim Valley

The Royal Kangaroos (the late Norman Frederick Charles III and Jonathan Boyd) were one of the most dominant tag teams in Portland Wrestling history, dominating the Pacific Northwest in the early 1970s.

In this week’s Portland Wrestlecast, we talk to photographer Lloyd N. Phillips, who was in high school when he picked up photography as a hobby. After taking pictures at the matches, he befriended the Kangaroos and took promo shots for them with some even making it into wrestling magazines.

We talk about Charles, Boyd, Tony Borne, Lonnie Mayne, Beauregard, Sandy Barr and other Portland Wrestling stars of the late 60s and early 70s. There’s even a funny story of what Barr did to protect his promo picture business from the teen photographer Barr thought was trying to cost him money.

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Portland Wrestlecast: The case for Don Owen in the WON HOF

Posted on by Jim Valley

If you are a voter in the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame, listen to this show before you cast your ballot. On this episode of the Portland Wrestlecast, I talk to three very well respected voices in wrestling who make the case that you should vote for Don Owen.

Tom Prichard worked for Don in 1984 and 1985. Every year he votes for Don Owen. He’ll explain why and what it was like to work in the northwest.

For over 30 years, Mike Rodgers wrote the “Ring Around the Northwest” newsletter. He’ll talk about Don’s longevity and history.

Few people have researched attendance as thoroughly as historian Matt Farmer. He has attendance figures that will show that Owen has a history of drawing major crowds. After this show is done you will hear that Don Owen has the longevity, influence, and a track record for drawing that’s worthy of being inducted into the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame. 

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Portland Wrestlecast: Piper-Rose in depth with historian Rich Patterson

Posted on by Jim Valley

It was arguabably the biggest money-drawing feud in the history of Don Owen’s Pacific Northwest territory. This week on the Portland Wrestlecast, I talk with historian Rich Patterson about his memories of the famous Buddy Rose-Roddy Piper feud.

Rich was there for many of their matches. Not only that, Rich knew Buddy Rose. He talks about what Buddy told him about some of the decisions and planning that went into the feud that lit the territory on fire. We cover it all: from Rose recruiting Roddy Piper, to deciding who would be the heel and who would be the babyface, Rich has got some great insight that hasn’t been heard before.

We also talk about Buddy Rose cutting the hair of Red Bastien and other lower and mid-card babyfaces in the territory on the way to Piper cutting the hair of Rose. Learn more about history on this edition of the Portland Wrestlecast. 

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Portland Wrestlecast: The legendary Roddy Piper-Buddy Rose feud

Posted on by Jim Valley

Roddy Piper once told me that his feud with Buddy Rose in Portland made both men. And when Piper turned babyface and went after Rose, it set Portland and the Pacific Northwest on fire.

On this edition of the Portland Wrestlecast, I’ll take you through the botched finished that started it all the way to the loser leaves town match that sent Piper packing and across the country to Jim Crockett Promotions. We’ll detail the passionate promos, the series of hair matches that shaved the heads of most wrestlers in the territory at the time and led to Portland’s biggest blowoff and biggest feud ever when Piper vanquished his foe and, even worse, shaved off the golden locks of the “Playboy”.

Enjoy this look at the Piper-Rose feud on the podcast that takes you inside the history of the Portland, OR, wrestling territory.

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Free Show! Portland Wrestlecast: Tonya Harding’s controversial wrestling appearance

Posted on by Jim Valley

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the only time the late Perro Aguayo wrestled in the pacific northwest. Not only that, he was also on the same show where the very controversial Tonya Harding made her first public appearance since the 1994 Nagano Olympic Games and the very publicized attack on rival skater Nancy Kerrigan.

The Kerrigan attack was one of the biggest tabloid stories of the decade. Being a local northwest woman, Harding’s friendship with Art Barr would seemingly be a natural collaboration to give Sandy Barr’s Championship Wrestling USA promotion the publicity it needed to draw fans. While the wrestling card featuring Konnan, Blue Panther, Aguayo, Billy Jack Haynes, and others garnered a lot of national and local media coverage, it didn’t draw many paying customers.

I talk with historian Matt Farmer who was at the show and also wrestled for promoter Sandy Barr at the time. 

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Portland Wrestlecast: Buddy Rose starts shaving heads

Posted on by Jim Valley

In the third and final part of our interview with Rip Rogers on his time in Portland Wrestling, we talk about the beginning of the build up to the famous hair match between Rowdy Roddy Piper and Playboy Buddy Rose.

It took months to build heat for the blow-off match as Rose was challenged by rookie Steve Pardee, veteran Red Bastien, and other babyfaces in the territory. Buddy did a masterful job of convincing fans that Pardee or Bastien could shave his head.

Rip Rogers got his nickname Hustler while in Portland. He’ll tell the story of its origin. In addition, Rip discusses what he learned from Buddy and other veterans in the territory at the time. It’s the 40th anniversary of the legendary Rose-Piper feud and Rogers is one of the few people there at the time who is still with us today. 

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Portland Wrestlecast: How Roddy Piper helped Rip Rogers

Posted on by Jim Valley

On this week’s Portland Wrestlecast, it’s part two of our interview with “Hustler” Rip Rogers.

In part one, Rip, one of the most respected wrestlers and trainers in the world, talked about teaming with Buddy Rose.

In 1979, Rogers called himself a “greenhorn” who needed advice and guidance from veterans in the territory like “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. Rip talks about how Piper helped him get more money from promoter Elton Owen and also helped him deal with Adrian Adonis, who wasn’t used to being a babyface and didn’t like how the young heel Rogers called their matches.

He also discussed how he liked the weather in the Pacific Northwest, the drives, and what he learned while working the territory in 1979.

Enjoy this look back at 40 years ago as we build towards one of the most historic feuds and matches in Portland Wrestling history: the hair match between Piper and Rose. 

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Portland Wrestlecast: Rip Rogers on teaming with Buddy Rose

Posted on by Jim Valley

On this week’s Portland Wrestlecast, I talk to the one and only Rip Rogers for some great stories from a legendary time in the history of Northwest U.S. wrestling.

He first arrived in Portland, OR, in June 1979 when the territory was really starting to heat up thanks to the feud between “Playboy” Buddy Rose and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.

Rogers had been wrestling less than two years when he replaced Ed Wiskoski as Rose’s regular tag team partner. He joined a ton of talent in the territory at the time like Adrian Adonis, Ron Starr, Sal Bellomo, King Parsons, Killer Brooks and The Kiwi Sheepherders (better known as The Bushwhackers) Butch Miller and Luke Williams.

On the podcast, Rogers talks about how he got into Portland, teaming with Buddy, what he learned on the car rides, his thoughts on Dutch Savage, Don Owen, and the Portland Wrestling in-ring style. 

Note: this is an unedited interview which features some strong language that may not be appropriate for everyone.  

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Portland Wrestlecast: Jerry Grey and Bobby Jaggers’ tall tales

Posted on by Jim Valley

We continue our conversation with Jerry Grey. On this episode, he talks about how his relationship with Billy Jack seemingly affected his career in Portland Wrestling as he was stuck in the middle of disagreements between Billy Jack, Rip Oliver, and Playboy Buddy Rose.

In May 1985, Don Owen sold out the Portland Memorial Coliseum with his 60th Anniversary show that featured Roddy Piper, Ric Flair, Rick Martel, The Road Warriors, Sgt. Slaughter, and more. Jerry Grey was also on that card and gives us his memories. In addition, he discusses Bobby Jaggers, who had a reputation as quite the storyteller even by pro wrestling standards. We talk about Jaggers, his stories, and what other wrestlers thought about it.

Jerry Grey is dealing with Stage 4 cancer. He’s set up a Go Fund Me page for donations to help cover tests, treatment, medicine, etc.

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