The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

1. 1
   Number 1: Vol. 48: In Memoriam 2023

   It’s always with a heavy heart that we do this show every year. Today, we pay tribute to the wrestlers and personalities we lost in 2023. Several of whom we have on our list to do tribute shows to anyway. 2:30 – Lanny Poffo One of the worst-kept secrets in wrestling was that he was Randy Savage’s younger brother. He is probably best remembered for his time in WWE where he wrestled as Leaping Lanny Poffo and later managed other wrestlers as The Genius. But he did have a solid in-ring career in his father Angelo Poffo’s Kentucky-based ICW promotion and later in Jerry Jarrett’s CWA. 7:20 – Joyce Grable Joyce was best known for tagging with WWE Hall Of Famer Wendi Richter. Like many women trained by Fabulous Moolah, she knew the crucial things to do when playing babyface or heel. 8:30 – Jerry Jarrett We can’t say much about Jerry that isn’t already known. He was a wrestler turned promoter and was the father of Jeff Jarrett. His Memphis-based promotion ran for decades after a famous split in the 1970s. He was also Vince McMahon’s hand-picked replacement had he gone to prison for the big steroid trial of the 1990s. 8:35 – Mike Halac He didn’t have a very long career but was the infamously bad “Mantaur” gimmick in the early 90s. 17:45 – Droz Darren Drozdov was best known as a temporary third member of The Legion of Doom during The Attitude Era. Unfortunately, a horrible in-ring accident crippled him and ended his career. 20:00 – Charlie Norris Despite the name, Charlie has no relation to or play off of Chuck Norris. It was his real name and part of his Native American heritage. 22:30 – Brett Wayne Sawyer The younger brother of the late great Buzz Sawyer, Brett wrestled mainly in the southern territories and rand a wrestling school. He was a former USWA Tag Team Champion with a young up-and-coming wrestler named Flex Kavana… 24:30 – Adrian Street Adrian Street was born and raised in England. His gimmick that played off homosexual stereotypes probably wouldn’t fly today but he had a long and successful in-ring career. 31:00 – Adnan al-Kaissie He was most seen as General Adnan during Sergeant Slaughter’s “Iraqi sympathizer” gimmick in 1991, but he had a long career as a wrestler and manager in the territory days. 35:15 – Butch Miller A tag team wrestler with Luke Williams for most of his career, first as The Kiwis, then as the bloodthirsty villains The Sheepherders. But ironically their biggest money run was late in their careers as the comedy babyface duo called The Bushwackers. 40:40 – Killer Khan Billed as a brutal heel from Mongolia, Khan had high-profile runs against the likes of Andre The Giant and Hulk Hogan. He is the inspiration for the character Kin Corn Karn in the classic NES game Pro Wrestling. 43:00 – Peggy Lee Leather Peggy had runs in both the Rock ‘n Wrestling Era of WWE as well as the original incarnation of GLOW. 46:45 – Jay Briscoe One of the top tag team wrestlers in the modern era, Jay spent most of his career tagging with his brother as The Briscoe Brothers in Ring of Honor. He passed away after a car accident. 52:40 – Bray Wyatt Another one is gone in his prime and way too soon. Bray was Windham Rotundam, the real-life brother of Taylor Rotunda, aka Bo Dallas. 60:00 – The Iron Sheik Again, there is not much we can say that wasn’t already known outside of his early days he wrestled as a babyface with a full head of hair. But after relations between the USA and The Middle East became a hot-button issue, he shaved his head, grew a mustache, and wore pointy boots. 64:00 – Superstar Billy Graham Most territories had babyface challengers chasing heel champions. WWE did the opposite and depicted their champion as a babyface dragon slayer. Yet somehow Superstar managed to have a record-setting reign as a heel champion. Roman Reigns has since broken that record, but it still shows how special Superstar was in wrestling history. 74:20 – Terry Funk Terry debuted in the mid-1960s and spent a lot of time in Texas, Florida, The Carolinas, AND Japan. He and his brother Dory Funk, Jr. are the only brothers to win the NWA World Championship. He also had an acting career outside of wrestling in feature films such as Road House and Paradise Alley. The post Vol. 48: In Memoriam 2023 appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

   March 29, 2024·1h 31min
   Play
2. 2
   Number 2: Vol. 43: “The Bad Guy” Scott Hall

   Scott Hall during his run as Razor Ramon in early 90s WWF “Hey yo!” Scott Hall made that common greeting a trademark catchphrase. With his signature toothpick and slicked-back hair, Scott Hall was arguably one of the greatest and most influential wrestlers of all time who never held a world championship. He was trained by the legendary Hiro Matsuda, who had also trained the likes of Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger, and The Great Muta. BREAKING IN Hall started wrestling for Eddie Graham’s Championship Wrestling from Florida in 1984. He and Dan Spivey formed a tag team called American Starship, with Hall known as Coyote and Spivey as Eagle. Both men had impressive looks but were way too green to connect with the crowd. The team disbanded with Hall going to work for Verne Gagne in The AWA. Gagne repackaged Hall as “Big” Scott Hall and gave him a look similar to Magnum TA. The TV show Magnum PI was a huge hit that made Tom Selleck (and his impressive mustache) a household name. Plus, Magnum TA was already a fan favorite in the Crockett territory. Scott was put in another tag team, this time with Curt Hennig, with the plan being to eventually make him a major singles star. While the duo did win the AWA tag team championship, it was actually Hennig that became the singles star. Hall left the AWA in the late 80s to join Jerry Jarrett’s CWA in Memphis. Hall finally saw success as a singles star in Memphis. However, since he was an outsider, he would only get pushed so far because Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee were the hometown heroes. Around this time, he started doing tours with New Japan Pro Wrestling. Scott Hall cuts a babyface promo in Memphis with a very different vibe than what he would have a few years later as Razor Ramon Hall finally saw work on a national stage when he signed with WCW. He became a heel called The Diamond Studd and Diamond Dallas Page became his manager. This is also where he met Kevin Nash, who at the time had been using gimmick names like The Great Oz and Vinnie Vegas. While the two were a physically impressive duo, they didn’t see much success in the ring, and both signed with The World Wrestling Federation in the early 90s. RAZOR RAMON One of Razor Ramon’s promo videos prior to his WWF debut Hall made his WWE debut in 1992 as Razor Ramon, a character inspired by Tony Montana from the movie Scarface. He was an instant hit with the fans and quickly became one of the company’s top stars. This is the look and persona that would stay with him for the rest of his career. It also brought him his first high-profile money feud in the form of “Macho Man” Randy Savage since Ramon claimed to be “Oozing Machismo”. By the Fall of 1992, Razor was headlining shows against Savage. He also challenged then WWE Champion Bret “The Hitman” Hart for the title at the 1993 Royal Rumble. Razor turned babyface in the summer of 1993. He would go on to hold the WWF Intercontinental Title for a then-record four times. This is also where he gained a reputation backstage along with friends Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Sean “1-2-3 Kid” Waltman, and HHH as a “clique”. Hall and Nash signed with WCW in the spring of 1996. Their final WWE appearance was with the rest of their fellow clique members. This was the infamous “Curtain Call” incident in Madison Square Garden where they all broke character and embraced in the ring. THE NWO The iconic moment when Scott Hall started The NWO invasion In May 1996, Scott Hall shocked the world by appearing on WCW Nitro to start the NWO invasion angle. He interrupted a match between Mike Enos and Steve Dunne and cut a promo that made several references that made some fans think there actually was a WCW vs. WWE program happening. We go into a lot more detail regarding The NWO in Volume 8. The first year or two of The NWO struck gold and put WCW over the top of WWE in The Monday Night War. Unfortunately, it also led to a multitude of financial problems with the company, as well as the personal issues that plagued Hall throughout his career. LATTER YEARS WCW became a revolving door for Hall in the late 90s due to his personal issues and substance abuse. He finally left the company for good in 2000. After sporadic appearances in ECW and a short-lived WWE return in 2002, he stopped wrestling full-time. He made occasional appearances in different promotions over the next decade. He was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame as Razor in 2014. We at Classic Wrestling Memories extend our deepest condolences, thoughts, and prayers to Scott Hall’s family. REFERENCES MADE The New Breed whose gimmick was that they were time travelersAWA’s WrestleRock Rumble rap video Razor Ramon vs. Ted Dibiase in what was Dibiase’s final match in WWE The post Vol. 43: “The Bad Guy” Scott Hall appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

   April 21, 2022·1h 2min
   Play
3. 3
   Number 3: Vol. 37: Jim Crockett Jr. and the Story of Jim Crockett Promotions Rise to National Popularity

   Jim Crockett Promotions 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. The post Vol. 37: Jim Crockett Jr. and the Story of Jim Crockett Promotions Rise to National Popularity appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

   July 15, 2021·1h 22min
   Play
4. 4
   Number 4: Vol. 36: Pat Patterson (1941-2020)

   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. Would you want this man angry at you? 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 was the inaugural Intercontinental Champion 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. The post Vol. 36: Pat Patterson (1941-2020) appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

   June 05, 2021·1h 22min
   Play
5. 5
   Number 5: Vol. 31: “Soulman” Rocky Johnson (1944-2020)

   Rocky Johnson may be known by modern fans as the father of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, but he had a Hall Of Fame worthy career in his own right. His in-ring charisma and ability to connect with the crowd made him a top draw everywhere he wrestled. Rocky’s six-foot-two inch 260-pound bodybuilder frame had amazing athleticism. In fact, many consider his dropkick to be among the greatest of all time. 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. WWF Tag Team Champions The Soul Patrol. Image: WWE 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. The post Vol. 31: “Soulman” Rocky Johnson (1944-2020) appeared first on Classic Wrestling Memories.

   January 21, 2020·1h 5min
   Play