Between The Sheets

Kris & David are guestless this week as we discuss the week that was April 8-14, 1988. We talk about the debut of The Midnight Rider and how that came about thanks to a classic NWA Board of Directors meeting on World Championship Wrestling, plus we examine how the Rider gimmick wasn't as bad as people say it was. We also talk about NWA house show issues, Lex Luger and Barry Windham having some minor issues as a team, Akira Maeda reforming the UWF in Japan, Stampede doing great business, Dave Meltzer’s thoughts on USA Wrestling in Knoxville, a wild wrestling scene in Florida, Scotty the Body getting chumped off by Missy Hyatt, the debut of the Rude Awakening (the kiss, not the wrestling move), and so much more. This is a shorter show by our standards, but it was a total blast, so we hope you enjoy it!!!!

Timestamps:

0:00:00 Jim Crockett Promotions

0:47:58 Int’l: AJPW, NJPW, UWF, South Africa, Stampede, Torreon, Tijuana, & WWC

1:17:01 Classic Commercial Break

1:21:11 Housekeeping/The Amazon Game

1:50:51 Other USA: NECW, Tony Hunter, USA, Global, AACW, WOW, Continental, CWA, Windy City, WCCW, AWA, & Portland

2:35:24 WWF

3:03:05 Patreon Preview: Sheet readers & writers lost their minds over Dustin Rhodes’s win at Great American Bash ’91

To support the show and get access to exclusive rewards like special members-only monthly themed shows, go to our Patreon page at Patreon.com/BetweenTheSheets and become an ongoing Patron. Becoming a Between the Sheets Patron will also get you exclusive access to not only the monthly themed episode of Between the Sheets, but also access to our new mailbag segment, a Patron-only chat room on Slack, and anything else we do outside of the main shows!

Shop at Amazon via our link (go here for Amazon UK if you’re in Europe)— Nothing extra comes out of your pocket; for you, it’s the same experience you’d get going to Amazon the usual way.

For the best in both current and classic indie wrestling streaming, make sure to check out IndependentWrestling.tv and use coupon code BTSPOD for a free 5 day trial! (You can also go directly to TinyURL.com/IWTVsheets to sign up that way.)

To subscribe, you can find us on iTunes, Google Play, and just about every other podcast app's directory, or you can also paste Feeds.FeedBurner.com/BTSheets into your favorite podcast app using whatever “add feed manually” option it has.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Kris & David are joined by Dominic Garrini (@dgarrinibc) to discuss the rest of the week that was April 10-16, 2000, the stuff that we weren't able to get done last year. We talk about all the major issues going on in the state of New Jersey with the attempt to regulate "extreme wrestling" and all of the political drama surrounding it. We also go over about the final Champion Carnival tournament in the pre-split era of All Japan, the tragic death of Masakazu Fukuda after a match with Katsuyori Shibata in New Japan, the great Japanese indie scene of this era, the UFC running in Japan with Tito Ortiz finally winning the under 200 lbs./middleweight title, and a crazy U.S. indie scene featuring the Insane Clown Posse, XPW, & so much more. This was a blast and a great way to finish off the week from last year!

Timestamps:

0:00:00 New Jersey “extreme wrestling” bill

0:35:15 Japan: AJPW, NJPW, BattlARTS, CAPTURE, FMW, JPWA, Osaka Pro, Toryumon, & Oz Academy

1:32:07 UFC

2:08:35 Classic Commercial Break

2:13:37 Mexico: AAA, CMLL, IWRG, & Tijuana

2:30:32 Other USA: ISPW, JerseyCW, NWANJ, FWA, ECWA, MarylandCW, MACW, MPPW, MemphisCW, NWA Michigan, NWA Southwest, Mike Rapada, JuggaloCW, XPW, & APWTo support the show and get access to exclusive rewards like special members-only monthly themed shows, go to our Patreon page at Patreon.com/BetweenTheSheets and become an ongoing Patron. Becoming a Between the Sheets Patron will also get you exclusive access to not only the monthly themed episode of Between the Sheets, but also access to our new mailbag segment, a Patron-only chat room on Slack, and anything else we do outside of the main shows!

Shop at Amazon via our link (go here for Amazon UK if you’re in Europe)— Nothing extra comes out of your pocket; for you, it’s the same experience you’d get going to Amazon the usual way.

For the best in both current and classic indie wrestling streaming, make sure to check out IndependentWrestling.tv and use coupon code BTSPOD for a free 5 day trial! (You can also go directly to TinyURL.com/IWTVsheets to sign up that way.)

To subscribe, you can find us on iTunes, Google Play, and just about every other podcast app's directory, or you can also paste Feeds.FeedBurner.com/BTSheets into your favorite podcast app using whatever “add feed manually” option it has.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Armed with his trusty King Lawler BabyFace™ Antiviral Mask, Scott Bowden hits the road to Kingsport, Tenn., for a Humongous discussion with area King Beau James. Bowden and James discuss the origins of the Road Warrior Humongous gimmick in Memphis, originating in the mind of Jerry Lawler as Hawk and Animal’s post-apocalyptic pal as the unofficial third member of the treacherous trio, gimmicks based on the “Mad Max” films. Bowden reveals his thoughts on the gimmick as a young fan as well as his interactions years later with the man originally under the hockey mask: his high-school football coach, Mike “the Mule” Stark, a former Memphis State gridiron great and late ’70s-era Memphis grappler. Bowden and James share their knowledge of how the gimmick made its way—sans Stark—to Continental and Ron Fuller’s Stud Stable and how the role was recast. Bowden and James also reminisce about the rib they pulled in Memphis on a USWA hopeful that left one would-be grappler stark naked—and still seething about it years later. All this and more on a Humongous, pandemic-pleasing episode of the KFR Podcast, Vol. 2. Special thanks to Great Scott’s Art Studio for the extra-crispy KFR Bucket in all its glory. 

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With the premiere of the Brawl For All episode of VICE TV's Dark Side of the Ring, we figured it would be a good idea to repost the special themed episode that we did about the topic about four years ago with our good friend Jordan Breen. Not only do we look at how it was covered at the time, we also take a look how the fights technically, especially with hindsight and almost two decades of evolution to fighting. Enjoy!

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Kris & David are joined by Jordan Breen (Sherdog) to discuss the genesis of the Brawl for All concept from WWF in 1998 and how everything went down. We discuss all the fights and how each competitor fared good or bad. We also talked about the aftermath of the tournament and how the WWF really screwed it up plus how Butterbean became the true winner in all of this. This is a really strong show!!!!

Timestamps:

0:00:00 Week 1 – Mero-Blackman & Bradshaw-Canterbury

0:29:58 Week 2 – Savio-Brakus & Hawk-Droz

0:45:26 Week 3 – Gunn-Holly & Severn-Godfather

1:09:49 Week 4 – Doc-Pierre & Scorpio-8 Ball

1:20:03 Week 5 – Doc-Gunn

1:27:54 Week 6 – Godfather-Scorpio

1:59:55 Weeks 7 & 8 – Savio-Droz & Gunn-Godfather

2:26:18 Week 9 – Gunn-Bradshaw

2:36:53 Aftermath & WrestleMania XV

To support the show and get access to exclusive rewards like special members-only monthly themed shows, go to our Patreon page at Patreon.com/BetweenTheSheets and become an ongoing Patron. Becoming a Between the Sheets Patron will also get you exclusive access to not only the monthly themed episode of Between the Sheets, but also access to our new mailbag segment, a Patron-only chat room on Slack, and anything else we do outside of the main shows!

Shop at Amazon via our link (go here for Amazon UK if you’re in Europe)— Nothing extra comes out of your pocket; for you, it’s the same experience you’d get going to Amazon the usual way.

For the best in both current and classic indie wrestling streaming, make sure to check out IndependentWrestling.tv and use coupon code BTSPOD for a free 5 day trial! (You can also go directly to TinyURL.com/IWTVsheets to sign up that way.)

To subscribe, you can find us on iTunes, Google Play, and just about every other podcast app's directory, or you can also paste Feeds.FeedBurner.com/BTSheets into your favorite podcast app using whatever “add feed manually” option it has.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Kris & David are joined by Alan Counihan (@Alan4L) to discuss Part 2 of the week that was April 1-7, 2006 in a show that Alan requested as part of his $100 donation through our Patreon. Part 2 consists of us talking about everything non-WWE during our week, including all the news and results from Japan, like New Japan's serious financial issues at the time. We also talk about Chris Jericho dabbling in Manitoba politics, the death of Victor Quinones, some wild indie shows, and, of course Alan's favorite part of the show: The IWA Mid-South and Ring of Honor portion of WrestleMania Weekend, featuring one of the greatest matches in wrestling history. Alan was tremendous with us, and if you are a fan of this era of wrestling, then this show is a CAN’T-MISS!!!!

Timestamps:

0:00:00 Eurasia: AJPW, NJPW, NOAH, Zero-One MAX, BJPW, DDT, K-Dojo, Osaka Pro, South Korea, & FWA

1:25:18 Other North America: AAA, CMLL, IWRG, Tijuana, Victor Quinones, & IWAPR

2:07:16 Classic Commercial Break

2:11:18 Housekeeping/The Amazon Game

2:36:45 Other USA: TNA, WEW, NWA Anarchy, PWE, FIP, Wrestle Birmingham, FNW, IWA East Coast, TWA, & Inoki Dojo

3:11:27 WrestleMania weekend indies: ROH & IWAMS

To support the show and get access to exclusive rewards like special members-only monthly themed shows, go to our Patreon page at Patreon.com/BetweenTheSheets and become an ongoing Patron. Becoming a Between the Sheets Patron will also get you exclusive access to not only the monthly themed episode of Between the Sheets, but also access to our new mailbag segment, a Patron-only chat room on Slack, and anything else we do outside of the main shows!

Shop at Amazon via our link (go here for Amazon UK if you’re in Europe)— Nothing extra comes out of your pocket; for you, it’s the same experience you’d get going to Amazon the usual way.

For the best in both current and classic indie wrestling streaming, make sure to check out IndependentWrestling.tv and use coupon code BTSPOD for a free 5 day trial! (You can also go directly to TinyURL.com/IWTVsheets to sign up that way.)

To subscribe, you can find us on iTunes, Google Play, and just about every other podcast app's directory, or you can also paste Feeds.FeedBurner.com/BTSheets into your favorite podcast app using whatever “add feed manually” option it has.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Kris & David are joined by Alan Counihan (@Alan4L) to discuss Part 1 of the week that was April 1-7, 2006, a show that Alan requested as part of his $100 donation through our Patreon. Part 1 consists of us going over all the major talking points and happenings surrounding WrestleMania XXII. We also cover RAW & Smackdown after Mania, including how they were presented in this era, which is different from what they would be like years later. We also talk about the crazy happenings surrounding the Hall of Fame ceremony, like somebody “forgetting” to invite most of the Guerrero family and Bret Hart flying home the morning after his induction in lieu of appearing at WrestleMania. Plus we also talk about Ohio Valley Wrestling and what was going on there, as well.. Really damn good stuff, and make sure you don't forget to listen to part 2, as well!!!

Timestamps:

0:00:00 WrestleMania & related

3:42:35 Other WWE: Hall of Fame & OVW

To support the show and get access to exclusive rewards like special members-only monthly themed shows, go to our Patreon page at Patreon.com/BetweenTheSheets and become an ongoing Patron. Becoming a Between the Sheets Patron will also get you exclusive access to not only the monthly themed episode of Between the Sheets, but also access to our new mailbag segment, a Patron-only chat room on Slack, and anything else we do outside of the main shows!

Shop at Amazon via our link (go here for Amazon UK if you’re in Europe)— Nothing extra comes out of your pocket; for you, it’s the same experience you’d get going to Amazon the usual way.

For the best in both current and classic indie wrestling streaming, make sure to check out IndependentWrestling.tv and use coupon code BTSPOD for a free 5 day trial! (You can also go directly to TinyURL.com/IWTVsheets to sign up that way.)

To subscribe, you can find us on iTunes, Google Play, and just about every other podcast app's directory, or you can also paste Feeds.FeedBurner.com/BTSheets into your favorite podcast app using whatever “add feed manually” option it has.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Kris & David are joined by Beau James (@KingofKingsport) to discuss the week-plus that was March 21-31, 1986. We talk about Joe "Nighthawk" Coltrane entering JCP, as well as the major heel turn by Pistol Pez Whatley on Jimmy Valiant, which sparked some of the best promo work of both guys' careers. Beau also tells a great Paul Jones Army story that can't be missed. We also talk about Ric Flair getting Ricky Morton a training bra, the Freebirds raising hell in Montreal of all places, the birth of the Universal Wrestling Federation, Dave Meltzer disparaging Waylon Jennings, Roddy Piper getting really involved in his boxing training for WrestleMania 2, and so much more. And, of course, this week also features one of the greatest segments in Memphis history: Yes, we talk about THE BILL & BUDDY SHOW!!!!!

Timestamps:

0:00:00 Jim Crockett Promotions

2:16:04 Int’l: AJPW, NJPW, International (Montreal), Stampede, Torreon, UWA, & Tijuana

2:49:41 Halftime-ish

2:50:28 USA East: ICW, CWF, CCW, Nick Gulas, & CWA/Memphis

4:39:17 USA West: UWF, Houston, WCCW, TASW, Central States, AWA, PPCW, & Portland

6:07:34 WWF

To support the show and get access to exclusive rewards like special members-only monthly themed shows, go to our Patreon page at Patreon.com/BetweenTheSheets and become an ongoing Patron. Becoming a Between the Sheets Patron will also get you exclusive access to not only the monthly themed episode of Between the Sheets, but also access to our new mailbag segment, a Patron-only chat room on Slack, and anything else we do outside of the main shows!

Shop at Amazon via our link (go here for Amazon UK if you’re in Europe)— Nothing extra comes out of your pocket; for you, it’s the same experience you’d get going to Amazon the usual way.

For the best in both current and classic indie wrestling streaming, make sure to check out IndependentWrestling.tv and use coupon code BTSPOD for a free 5 day trial! (You can also go directly to TinyURL.com/IWTVsheets to sign up that way.)

To subscribe, you can find us on iTunes, Google Play, and just about every other podcast app's directory, or you can also paste Feeds.FeedBurner.com/BTSheets into your favorite podcast app using whatever “add feed manually” option it has.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Kris Zellner & Rob Naylor are back with the latest episode of Cover 2 Cover as we look back at the November 1982 issue of Inside Wrestling. We talk about Ric Flair and the wide variety of opponents he was facing at this time, including how they felt about him, Ole Anderson's experience meeting with fans at Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, Blackjack Mulligan's startling revelation about Barry Windham, Wahoo McDaniel vs. Sgt. Slaughter and their bloodbaths, Captain Lou Albano wrecking a secret Jimmy Snuka interview in a restaurant, Rob's hatred of the Strongbows, and so much more. An extremely fun show that you just can't miss!!!!!

To support the show and get access to exclusive rewards like special members-only monthly themed shows, go to our Patreon page at Patreon.com/BetweenTheSheets and become an ongoing Patron. Becoming a Between the Sheets Patron will also get you exclusive access to not only the monthly themed episode of Between the Sheets, but also access to our new mailbag segment, a Patron-only chat room on Slack, and anything else we do outside of the main shows!

Shop at Amazon via our link (go here for Amazon UK if you’re in Europe)— Nothing extra comes out of your pocket; for you, it’s the same experience you’d get going to Amazon the usual way.

For the best in both current and classic indie wrestling streaming, make sure to check out IndependentWrestling.tv and use coupon code BTSPOD for a free 5 day trial! (You can also go directly to TinyURL.com/IWTVsheets to sign up that way.)

To subscribe, you can find us on iTunes, Google Play, and just about every other podcast app's directory, or you can also paste Feeds.FeedBurner.com/BTSheets into your favorite podcast app using whatever “add feed manually” option it has.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Being that our Patreon specials play out differently from how our regular shows go, we've started to start giving everyone a free taste of the full shows from time to time so you can get an idea of what they're like before becoming a patron. There's nothing better to get us started than the show from two years ago, which is one of our best: March 2018's Between The Sheets Patreon Special #18: The Genesis of the Global Wrestling Federation. It's as deep a dive as we've ever done, and you'll quickly notice one of the key benefits to these deep dive shows: It quickly becomes very obvious that something isn't right with the GWF's financing...so why didn't anyone notice this back then?

For more shows like this, including the other two parts of our GWF series, go to Patreon.com/BetweenTheSheets and support us at the $5/month level or higher.

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You've asked for it for years. We've promised that we would eventually do it almost as long. And finally? IT'S HERE! Yes, Kris and David go back in time to 1990, when a mysterious Nigerian man named Mr. Olu Oliami visits Joe Pedicino's office and offers him $25 million to run a new national wrestling promotion. From there, just about everything falls apart. Where, exactly, is Mr. Oliami's funding coming from? Where is the trust that Joe thinks it's coming from headquartered and why does it keep changing? Just how suspicious was this before the internet made knowledge of Nigerian 419 scams widespread? Who was in on what? How were the wrestling newsletters complicit? Was Mr. Oliami real and is he still alive? What the hell does Jim Cornette have to do with all of this? What was Jerry Jarrett ever planning to sell to Joe and Olu's Kongi Sports and Entertainment?

All that and a whole lot more in the best Patreon special yet. We hope you have as much fun listening to this as we had recording it.

Timestamps:

0:00:00 Part 1: Initial hype (September-October 1990)

0:32:01 Part 2: Kongi buys the USWA? (November to December 1990)

1:25:45 Part 3: "USWA purchase” falls apart (January 1991)

2:07:32 Part 4: Actually the GWF is happening now (June-July 1991)

3:27:58 Part 5: Joe Pedicino: Fool or liar? (August-September 1992)

To support the show and get access to exclusive rewards like special members-only monthly themed shows, go to our Patreon page at Patreon.com/BetweenTheSheets and become an ongoing Patron. Becoming a Between the Sheets Patron will also get you exclusive access to not only the monthly themed episode of Between the Sheets, but also access to our new mailbag segment, a Patron-only chat room on Slack, and anything else we do outside of the main shows!

Shop at Amazon via our link (go here for Amazon UK if you’re in Europe)— Nothing extra comes out of your pocket; for you, it’s the same experience you’d get going to Amazon the usual way.

For the best in both current and classic indie wrestling streaming, make sure to check out IndependentWrestling.tv and use coupon code BTSPOD for a free 5 day trial! (You can also go directly to TinyURL.com/IWTVsheets to sign up that way.)

To subscribe, you can find us on iTunes, Google Play, and just about every other podcast app's directory, or you can also paste Feeds.FeedBurner.com/BTSheets into your favorite podcast app using whatever “add feed manually” option it has.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Kris & David are guestless this time out as we discuss the week that was March 18-24, 1994, a Patreon request show picked by Cory Gibson. We start with the WWF and the tremendous Wrestlemania X show featuring amazing performances by Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Shawn Michaels, & Razor Ramon as well as drunk Burt Reynolds, scared Jennie Garth, horny Rhonda Shear, and so much more. We also talk about Lex Luger getting screwed yet again, Vince McMahon dropping his lawsuit against Phil Mushnick, whether or not Doug Furnas really injured Mitsuharu Misawa, Rick Rude regaining the WCW International Title from Hiroshi Hase in New Japan, Dirty White Girl & Tammy Sytch going to war in SMW, Mike Samples (literally) catching fire in Indianapolis, WCW finishing up their big tour of Germany, and more on a tremendous episode of BTS!!!!

Timestamps:

0:00:00 WWF

2:02:24 Japan: AJPW, NJPW, FMW, Michinoku Pro, RINGS, Tonya Harding, & AJW

2:56:01 Classic Commercial Break

3:00:01 Housekeeping/The Amazon Game

3:29:52 Latin America: AAA, CMLL, UWA, & WWC

3:53:24 Other USA: CWA, Dennis Coralluzzo, ECW, SMW, Peach State, USWA, Circle City, Windy City, & GWF

4:32:09 WCW

To support the show and get access to exclusive rewards like special members-only monthly themed shows, go to our Patreon page at Patreon.com/BetweenTheSheets and become an ongoing Patron. Becoming a Between the Sheets Patron will also get you exclusive access to not only the monthly themed episode of Between the Sheets, but also access to our new mailbag segment, a Patron-only chat room on Slack, and anything else we do outside of the main shows!

Shop at Amazon via our link (go here for Amazon UK if you’re in Europe)— Nothing extra comes out of your pocket; for you, it’s the same experience you’d get going to Amazon the usual way.

For the best in both current and classic indie wrestling streaming, make sure to check out IndependentWrestling.tv and use coupon code BTSPOD for a free 5 day trial! (You can also go directly to TinyURL.com/IWTVsheets to sign up that way.)

To subscribe, you can find us on iTunes, Google Play, and just about every other podcast app's directory, or you can also paste Feeds.FeedBurner.com/BTSheets into your favorite podcast app using whatever “add feed manually” option it has.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands