It’s not Arsenio from LA, it’s not Oprah from Chicago, it’s not Joe Franklin from Secaucus! This week it’s a look at WWF Prime Time Wrestling from June 17, 1991!

- A brief history of the Prime Time format that featured a studio audience, meditating on the lives of those in the audience, and wishing to be a part of that

- The fall of the Tugboat and Vince McMahon’s attempt to join the great play by play calls in sports history

- Virgil and “Virgilina”: a round of applause for an American hero

- Reasons for Hacksaw Jim Duggan’s over the top patriotism

- Gary Strydom cuts a “promo” at the WBF Championship

- Jake Roberts works with an unlikely ally against Earthquake

- Bobby Heenan channels Ted Knight’s character from the 1980s sitcom “Too Close For Comfort”

Plus:

- The return of the “Andre to English” dictionary!

- Lord Alfred Hayes does something very unusual to pick up women

- Sean Mooney asks important questions on play by play about cemeteries and the Ted DiBiase/Sensational Sherri relationship

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This week 1989 WWF is in the spotlight as we take a look at WWF Wrestling Spotlight from December 16, 1989!

- The Sensational Queen Sherri has a freakout: assaulting Ian Mooney and climbing cages

- Gorilla Monsoon as the Pat Buchanan of wrestling announcers and imagining Gorilla running a supermarket

- Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake tell a fanciful tale of an alleged motorcycle trip to the North Pol

- Al Burke: the Renaissance man of late 80s enhancement talents

- Bad News Brown invokes President George H.W. Bush, Pope John Paul II, and Hollywood Hogan in asking for title shots

- The bizarre commercial airing immediately before the Jake Roberts match

- Why 1989 was a bad year to be a Bolshevik both in kayfabe and in real life

Plus:

- Explaining away what seems to be a spoonerism by Zeus

- The true meaning of the timekeeper ringing the bell constantly during an angle

- Trying to understand Lord Alfred Hayes’ use of the English language

- Jesse Ventura (accidentally?) books a match for WrestleMania VI

- YouTube Comment Theater and a Not Vinnie Vegas Corner!

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Twitter: @GFAllentownPod

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This week we re-visit the year 1986 for a look at Jim Crockett Promotions with an episode of NWA Worldwide from March 29, 1986!

- The great missed opportunity of JCP in 1986, why it went down that way and why 1987 was too late

- Paul Jones, Jimmy Valiant, and the Manchurian Candidate

- Breaking down the Pez Whatley attack on Jimmy Valiant, including theories on why Pez was carrying scissors

- Joe “Nighthawk” Coltrane’s promo goes on and on and on and on

- If Arn Anderson wants to destroy your left arm, he’s going to destroy your left arm

- Jimmy Garvin does a comedic bit using the telephone

- The Midnight Express: equal opportunity squash artists

- Dusty Rhodes and Tully Blanchard have interesting things to say about each other

- The more interesting teams from the 1986 Crockett Cup tournament

- David Crockett can’t even get excited about a Ronnie Garvin squash

Plus:

- How doing this podcast has changed what I value and the way I watch wrestling

- Earnestly fact-checking Jimmy Valiant’s assertion about Pistol Pez Whatley

- Judging people by their use of “Wahoo McDaniel”

- Considering the mechanics of the real-life Baby Doll and Sam Houston relationship

- YouTube Comment Theater!

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Twitter: @GFAllentownPod

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Grab a turkey leg and sneak away from the family to take in some WWF Superstars from December 1, 1990!

- The Undertaker talks on WWF TV for the first time but no one can settle on if he is Kane the Undertaker, Cain the Undertaker, or just plain ol’ Undertaker

- Examining the Gobbledy Gooker: what they were trying to accomplish and different steps they could have taken to make it work

- A rundown of the Texas Tornado’s IC title reign and wondering if it is the worst singles title reign in pre-1992 WWF history

- Theorizing on a faux pas leading to the end of Tugboat’s 1990 push

- The nuanced acting of Wrestling Superstar Virgil

- Fact-checking Hacksaw Jim Duggan’s remarks on Operation: Desert Shield and Iraq

- A bizarre exchange on commentary about Superfly Jimmy Snuka

- Why Power and Glory was likely doomed from the start

Also:

- Earthquake leaves a voicemail for Hulk Hogan

- Feeling bad while researching Akio Sato

- Taking in the varied crowd at an independent wrestling show

- A real life TV invasion angle from 30 years ago

- YouTube Comment Theater!

Email: [email protected]

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Get ready for Thanksgiving with a special holiday-themed edition of WCW Prime from November 20, 1995!

- Dusty Rhodes is hyper on color commentary even by his lofty standard: talking to turkeys, shoutouts to the ring crew, and identifying as Jewish(?!?)

- What exactly is the turkey doing behind Dusty Rhodes?

- Early WCW Eddie Guerrero and regrets about missing the key part of his career

- The biggest problem with the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame

- Bart Sawyer: From Bart Simpson to the Scorpion King

- Mr. Wonderful deals with an internal crisis as anyone else would: by calling for a psychic

- Trying to make sense of Ric Flair’s color and gear choices

Also:

- Classic commercials and discussion of 1-800-Collect, video game Vectorman, Ovaltine, and Time Life music infomercials

- Pitching a movie based on the madcap adventures of WCW Prime hosts Chris Cruise and Dusty Rhodes

- Yet another Dungeon of Doom promo leaves the viewer scratching their head

- Surprise at how fun the 1995 World War 3 PPV was

- YouTube Comment Theater!

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GFAllentownPod

Facebook.com/GreetingsFromAllentown

This week it’s time for a look at WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event, FOX-style from February 8, 1992

- The motivations for FOX to jump into the wrestling game at that point and examining their usual Saturday night schedule from that winter

- Sid Justice is a man for all seasons: acting, talking, wordsmith, speechwriter, philosopher

- Deconstructing Sid’s case for being the number one contender and whether it actually holds water

- Anger at the WWF re-recording commentary on the sacred 1992 Royal Rumble to try and change history

- An appreciation of the original theme for The Mountie

- Jim Duggan’s key role in rehabbing Sgt. Slaughter all the way back from Iraqi turncoat to American patriot

- Roddy Piper’s IC title reign and why this is a case where babyface vs babyface made sense for WrestleMania VIII against Bret Hart

Plus:

- A theory on why the Barber Shop segment had to end when it did

- The Genius opens the door for some Gilligan’s Island talk

- Being annoyed at a recurring part of NHL games this season

- YouTube Comment Theater!

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GFAllentownPod

Facebook.com/GreetingsFromAllentown

Grab your Members Only jacket because Greetings From Allentown is headed back to March 7, 1981 for a look at WWF All Star Wrestling featuring Sgt. Slaughter’s Cobra Clutch Challenge!

- Breaking down one of the greatest WWF angles ever as Pat Patterson finally accepts the challenge from Sgt. Slaughter after many weeks of buildup; also paying tribute to Slaughter’s incredible versatility

- A musical tribute to Angelo “King Kong” Mosca’s time as a color analyst on Maple Leaf Wrestling

- The red hot S.D. Jones (yes!) has his hands full with the Hangman

- Vince McMahon hangs poor Freddie Blassie out to dry on a promo

- Moondog King and his brief taste of glory

- Yoshiaki Yatsu and figuring out what was in it for both WWF and New Japan with their partnership

- Tony Garea comes to the rescue, sort of

Also:

- How much money would Patterson have if he had been paid the $10,000 and invested it wisely?

- Who is this Black Demon running away from the Cobra Clutch Challenge?

- Imagining Dominic DeNucci as a 1970s sitcom character

- Recalling the 1980 Olympic boycott and the diverse group of nations that stayed away from Moscow that summer

Buckle up because it’s time for da Prime! WCW Prime that is, from August 19, 1996.

- Dusty Rhodes explains it all: Clubberin’, the nWo, Craig Pittman’s push, not taking bumps, and anything else on his mind

- The origins of the Prime Network in the Los Angeles area and how it evolved over time

- Why WCW Prime was such a unique show

- Scott Norton and a theory of why he was always stuck on the nWo B-team

- Marking time in 1996 by observing the color and length of Sting’s hair

- Recalling the Dean Malenko drinking game

- Konnan’s “Mexican Heavyweight Title”

- Kurasawa: The Lex Luger of Japan?

Also:

- Why Peter has not eaten at McDonald’s since 1996, which turns into a rant about the Frosty at Wendy’s and coffee in hotel rooms

- The delightful chemistry between Dusty and Chris Cruise

- Tom Emanski and the endorsement of Fred McGriff

- A poor choice of words about the 1996 Atlanta Olympics

- YouTube Comment Theater!

Greetings From Allentown gets extreme this week with a look at ECW Hardcore TV from February 25, 1998.

- Why ECW was important to me at that point in time and the bizarro universe the entire promotion seemed to operate in

- Taz as an alternative to Stone Cold Steve Austin and his feud with Bam Bam Bigelow

- A moment of silence turns into an all-boys high school assembly

- Suggesting a different theme song for Shane Douglas

- Discussing the in-house ads for ECW: Extreme Warfare Volume 2 and Born To Be Wired

- The importance of limiting the size of Justin Credible’s entourage

- Sunny keeps a secret from Chris Candido yet again before his match with former partner Lance Storm

- New Jack: terrifying and hilarious at the same time

Also:

- What the hell is Brakkus doing in the ECW Arena?

- Recounting various fan chants heard over the years

- Imagining Bam Bam Bigelow playing golf

- Scoring Tom and Jerry episodes on points

- A brief and sheepish Vinnie Vegas Corner

On this episode of Greetings From Allentown, Peter takes a look at WWF Wrestling Challenge from March 12, 1989.

- Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan duel on promos, with the Macho Man intense as ever and Hogan talks about being “crucified”

- A breakdown of the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers theme song with the little heard French portion

- Why it wasn’t a good idea to have the Rockers and Strike Force swap matches at WrestleMania V

- An Andre the Giant interview forces the return of the “Andre to English” dictionary

- Akeem’s critical role in the Twin Towers team

- The problem with WWF Womens’ champion Rockin’ Robin

Also:

- Childhood memories of the Dukes of Hazzard

- John Ziegler: enhancement talent/National Hockey League President?

- An idea for modern WWE merchandise for the hot stable

- A plea for an earlier start time for Wrestlemanias for the sake of fans in Europe

- An abbreviated Vinnie Vegas corner and the return of YouTube Comment Theater!