What a BIG show we have for you today!

In the broadcasting business, especially with the music formatted stations, we used to have a term when we “went outside the rules” or “played a song or songs not on the authorized playlist”, we called that “breaking format”. It was just a term for going outside the norm and doing something outside the box or beyond the regullar programming.

Well we are “breaking format” today and doing something a little different. I kick off the show with a visit with a first-time guest on the show, John Mayor McCall who has been doing a podcast for the last three years centered on the Memphis Territory in the 80s and 90s. John recently accounced that these next 4 or 5 shows will be the last and before he does that, I wanted to have him on the program here at The Rance for a conversation. He’s such a good dude, I dont think you are going to want to miss this.

Then, I also recently had my wrestling buddies, Steve Gennerelli and Brian R. Solomon over to the Bunkhouse for a roundtable discussion about Wrestlemania 42. We talk all things Wrestlemania, from the basics of the brand, to what have become fans’ expectations for the show, how the show started and many of its changes through the years and we discuss this weekend’s line-up from Smackdown to Raw and the Two-Day Card over the weekend match by match. We will also run the down this year’s Hall of Fame inductees and provide plenty of analysis and commentary around those.

Its a little something different and we had a whole lot of fun doing it and I hope you’ll enjoy it as well. We will return to 1976 next week with a little layover this week in Las Vegas!

Welcome everyone to the kick-off episode of our 1976 Territory Review Series! We will start our tour of the territories in ouir bicentennial year in the wrestling capital of the world, St. Louis, Missouri.

In 1976, St. Louis was still going strong in the second year of the Fragmentation Era of the Territory Era in Pro Wrestling. Sam Muchnick had been retired as President of the National Wrestling Alliance for about six months, but in St. Louis, he was still very active and going strong as a promoter locally. Shows at the Kiel Auditorium were drawing between 8,000 and 10,500 for most big shows, they took July off from house shows, experienced a little lull in the Fall but were rolling again by Thanksgiving. The new NWA World Champion, Terry Funk was drawing well in The Gateway City, along with the other major names in the NWA such as other NWA World Champions brother Dory, Jr., Harley Race, and Jack Brisco. Also special supplementation by former NWA World Champion and booker Pat O’Connor as challenger and special referee. The other primary push would be for Bob Backlund, which we will explain during the show.

My two special co-hosts for this trip in the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel will be SICW Promoter Herb Simmons and Califlower Aller Board Member, Darla Staggs. Herb is once again presenting Fan Fest IV this year, just outside St. Louis in Fairview Heights, Illinois. We will talk about the wide array of superstars who will appear there as well as this year’s inductees to the St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame. Herb will also share his memories of the cards at the Kiel in 1976.

Darla Staggs works tirelessly as a productive member and driving force in the Caulfiflower Alley Club in assisting members of our wrestling community who need assistance. Darla also was a lifelong fan who attended here first Kiel Auditorium card as just a baby, then grew up as a fan going to shows and attending television tapings for Wrestling At The Chaase on KPLR-TV.

Join us as we travel back in the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel this week to the historic Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri for Terry Funk World Championship title defenses, epic Funk and Brisco battles and a tag team match that may be one of the greatest of all time in the squared circle in the history of St. Louis Wrestling. And that takes in some ground! Enjoy this awesome ride as we kick off our 1976 Series in the Pro Wrestling Territory History Show!

On Friday, March 20th, 2026, our Pro Wrestling Community lost one of the all time greats, Dennis Condrey of The Midnight Express, passed away at his home in Nirth Alabama at the age of 75.

I don’t have to introduce this episode by telling you all about the attributes and wonderful talents of Dennis, by now you have undoubtedly heard and seen many wonderful tributes and salutes to his storied career, including the emotional delived by his partner\manager Jim Cornette and my own feature article on his life and career here in the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel. If you haven’t had a chance to read and review that piece, you can access it here.

This show will be a retrospective of sorts with four different friends stopping by The Ranch today to talk about Dennis and what he meant to them. First of all, there’s Greg Anthony from Dyersburg, Tennessee, who runs wrestling shows each week in Dyersburg and Ripley at the building known as the Herb Welch Wrestleplex. Greg shares his connection to Dennis and how Dennis shaped his own life and career in the businsss.

Then. there is my longtime frined, Michael St. John of Talking Memphis Wrestling, who also was a television announcer for Nick Gulas both in Nashville and Chattanooga, and Jerry Jarrett in Memphis. Michael was a co-worker with Dennis and also the recipient of one of Dennis’ famous ribs.

Next, our Tennessee Historian and Analyst, Tim Dills will be here to document muct of Dennis’ career with Phil Hickerson as the Bicentennial Kings from 1975 to 1979 and we will also talk about his tag team with David Schultz and the infamous angle that was first done in Tennessee that later became famous in Mid-South Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions.

Last, Ron Fuller the owner, promoter and booker of Southeastern Championship Wrestling will be here to visit about Dennis and Phil Hickerson in the Knoxville end of his promotion and the inception of The Original Midnight Express in the Pensacola Territory, the famous angle with Norvell Austin and the armstrong Family that made The Original Midnight Express a 3-Man team using the “Freebird” Rule.

We are all set to pay our respects to Dennis Condrey today in a little longer show than usual, but Dennis deserves it! I think one of things that is special about our show giving respect to Dennis is that he was one of our own here in the Tennessee Territory.. He started here, became a star here and went out to achieve fame and fortune from here along with other hometown guys, Bobby Eaton and Jim Cornette as the greatest tag team of all time, The Midnight Express.

I hope you enjoy today’s show in honor of Dennis Condrey.

This week on my podcast I am exited to welcome a very accomplished and talented friend, the author of ten pro wrestling books, both biographies and historical-focused materials, the author, Ian Douglass.

Douglass is originally from Southfield, Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 2001, earned a master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 2005, and completed an MBA at the Quantic School of Business and Technology in 2021. He also graduated from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts (now the Michigan Media Arts Center) in Southfield in 2002.

He began his professional career as a reporter for WEYI-TV in Flint, Michigan, in early 2006, then worked on the staff of Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillon. Later he became a freelance writer and editor with a focus on fitness, health, nutrition, and professional wrestling. He served as the final fitness editor of MEL Magazine, has contributed to The Ringer, Men’s Health, InsideHook, and other outlets, and has done SEO, communications, and project-management work (including for Firepoint Energy). In 2020 he began contributing to Splice Today, and in 2021 he joined MEL Magazine’s writing staff. He is also a Webby Award–winning content creator as part of TNBAST’s 2025 sports-documentary team.

Douglass has published or co-published approximately 11–13 titles:

The Realest Guy in the Room: The Life and Times of Dan Severn (2016) — co-authored with UFC/PW legend Dan Severn

Brute Power: The Autobiography of Bugsy McGraw (2019) — co-authored with Bugsy McGraw (co-published with Kenny Casanova’s WOHW)

Life Is Short and So Am I: My Life Inside, Outside, and Under the Wrestling Ring (2019) — autobiography of Dylan “Hornswoggle” Postl; co-authored with Ross Owen Williams (ECW Press).

The Incredible Brute (circa 2020) — wrestling-themed coloring book/comic tied to the Bugsy McGraw project (illustrated by MW Leitzel).

Truth Bee Told: The Autobiography of B. Brian Blair (2021) — co-authored with B. Brian Blair.

Bahamian Rhapsody: The Unofficial History of Pro Wrestling’s Unofficial Territory, 1960–2020 (2022) — solo historical work on Bahamian pro wrestling.

Keirn Chronicles Volume One: The Fabulous Wrestling Life of Steve Keirn (2023) — co-authored with Steve Keirn (Darkstream/WOHW).

Keirn Chronicles Volume Two: The Phenomenal Wrestling Resurgence of Steve Keirn (2024) — co-authored with Steve Keirn (Darkstream/WOHW).

A Decided Novelty: The Essential Guide to Black Pro Wrestling History, 1880–1950 (2025) — solo deep historical guide.

Gentleman Jack and Rough Rufus: The Rise of Black American Wrestling (February 2025) — solo biography/history of pioneers Jack Claybourne and Rufus Jones (Darkstream Press).

Highland Games and Hippodromes: Scottish Identity and Influence at the Dawn of the American Pro Wrestling Industry (recent, circa 2025–2026) — solo work on Scottish contributions to early U.S. pro wrestling.

In June 2024 he was inducted into the Pro Wrestling Authors Hall of Fame.

In this visit together at The Ranch this week, we get into all his books, his background and what we might want to do in the future. I hope you enjoy my visit with a great guy, Ian Douglass as much as I did.

This week on the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel History Show, I am excited to present the first of our Mailbag Shows for 2026! Our great viewers, listeners and members of our various communities have submitted questions that we have curated for the show. Steve Gennerelli, our WWWF Analyst and Time Tunnel family member is here to assist with the fun.

Come along for this week’s show as we dive deep into the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel Mailbag to answer the questions our community members want to know!

This week on the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel History Show, I am pleased and thrilled to welcome back one of my best friends and esteemed colleagues in the professional wrestling history space, it’s Brian R. Solomon, host of the Shut Up and Wrestle Podcast.

Brian just was announced as the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Book of the Year Award for 2025 for his excellent biography of WWE superstar, announcer, owner and executive, Gorilla Monsoon. Brian is the first two-time winner of the Observer Book of the Year Award, having previously won for his book on The Original Sheik, Ed Farhat.

When I invited Brian to come on the show to talk about winning the award, I intentionally did not tell him I had invited another three of his esteemed friends and peers to the show to help us with this surprise celebration. Noted AWA Historian George Schire, Bob Smith, the host of the Outdated Wrestling Hour podcast and Steve Gennerelli, our WWF Analyst at the Time Tunnel and co-host of the Stick to Wrestling podcast show.

It’s a surprise party to celebrate Brian’s success and in the process, a really great pro wrestling conversation among four passionate lovers of this crazy business. I could tell Brian was touched by the celebration and I’m happy to have pulled this off and together for him. I hope you enjoy this special episode of the Pro Wrestling Tunnel History Show!

We are in the middle of our “1985 Territory Review” Series! Its a a weekly review of the territories in the year of 1985. In order to add context on where 1985 falls in the spectrum of the territory era of professional wrestling, here is my historical framework entitled: “Stages of Growth of the Territory Era”:

Stage One: Conception (1925 to 1935)

Stage Two: Formation (1935 to 1945)

Stage Three: Innovation and Expansion (1945 to 1955)

Stage Four: Investigation (1955 to 1965)

Stage Five: Re-Consolidation (1965-1975)

Stage Six: Fragmentation (1975-1985)

1985 is the first year in the last stage of the territory era, and we are reviewing what is remaining of the system as the Disintegration Stage gets started. By the time we reach the halfway point in this stage, 1990, only a bare thread of the vast network of wrestling territories will remain. By the end of the Disintegration Stage, 1995, only one territory, in Memphis, is barely breathing, and by 1997 would be gone.

Portland Wrestling is a territory that didn’t get a lot of magazine coverage during the territory era and its owners, The Owen Family, were quite content with that. They were wrestling promoters going back another generation to Herb Owen, who carved out a wrestling territory using Portland, Oregon as the center office and extending out through the state of Oregon, as well as parts of Washington as well. Herb’s son, Don Owen took over after Herb retired and was an early member of the National Wrestling Alliance. The territory drew steady money, kept a small roster of talent and featured the traveling NWA World Champion a couple of times per year. They ran every Saturday night in Portland and sometimes added an additional show on Tuesday nights.

This business model lasted multiple decades and was still drawing some decent money heading onto 1985. The Wrestling Supershow concept was sweeping through the territory booking offices and Portland was no exception, adding the Extravaganza shows in 1985 and doing some big business. Aided with help from former Portland superstar and now WWF employee, Roddy Piper, Portland Wrestling stayed relevant to its local fanbase, successfully holding the WWF at bay in Oregon, also with Piper’s promise not to work on any shows opposite Don Owen. Today, I am joined by the foremost Portland Wrestling Historian, Mike Rodgers along with Frank Culbertson and we travel in the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel back to review the year of 1985 in Portland Wrestling!

We are in the middle of our “1985 Territory Review” Series! Its a a weekly review of the territories in the year of 1985. In order to add context on where 1985 falls in the spectrum of the territory era of professional wrestling, here is my historical framework entitled: “Stages of Growth of the Territory Era”:

Stage One: Conception (1925 to 1935)

Stage Two: Formation (1935 to 1945)

Stage Three: Innovation and Expansion (1945 to 1955)

Stage Four: Investigation (1955 to 1965)

Stage Five: Re-Consolidation (1965-1975)

Stage Six: Fragmentation (1975-1985)

1985 is the first year in the last stage of the territory era, and we are reviewing what is remaining of the system as the Disintegration Stage gets started. By the time we reach the halfway point in this stage, 1990, only a bare thread of the vast network of wrestling territories will remain. By the end of the Disintegration Stage, 1995, only one territory, in Memphis, is barely breathing, and by 1997 would be gone.

One of the strongest territories left in 1985 was Mid-South Wrestling, which started off 1985, much the way 1984 ended, very strong. Bill Watts, due to his over a decade long relationship with Ted Turner, which was established during the Georgia Wrestling War in 1972, had secured a spot for his Mid-South Show on WTBS. Not only was the show performing, but there were talks of Watts and Turner teaming up to promote shows together. But in stepped Jim Barnett and Jim Crockett, worked out a deal to get Jim Crockett Promotions show on WTBS in place of the WWF and also secure exclusive rights to wrestling on the channel, which left Watts out in the cold.

This was more than likely the beginning of Mid-South’s decline, as Watts own interest in pro wrestling was slowly waning. Coming off a highly successful year in 1984, wanting to put more time and energy in his family and looking for new worlds to conquer, all made pro wrestling struggle to get Watts’ attention. On today’s show, we take a look back at the year of 1985 as I am joined by frequent guest co-host Greg Klein, who details a lot of Mid-South history on his own show, Greg Klein’s Old School Rasslin Talk. We hope you will come along for the ride as we take the Time Tunnel back to 1985 and Mid-South Wrestling!

Our podcast focuses in on a by-gone era of regional booking offices of wrestling talent in historic towns and legendary buildings around the world.

Jimmy Ault aka Frankie Cain aka The Clubfoot Inferno aka The Great Mephisto and on and on was one unique individual. Born in Columbus, Ohio in the early 1930s, Cain grew up mostly destitute and in extreme poverty, often homeless and starving. He learned how to survive on the streets, working gimmicks and cons just to stay alive with the other street kids he hung around. He learned learned how to box, became a “smoker” and became a traveling carnival worker . At one point, he learned how to become a wrestling shooter and was indoctrinated into the business in Al Haft’s Columbus promotion where he saw the guy he still considered the greatest professional wrestler he ever saw, a guy who called himself, “The Great Mephisto.”

Cain then set about traveling through almost every territory of the 20th century during the territory era becoming beloved by Cowboy Clarence Luttrall, Roy Welch and others. He became teenage friends with Eddie Gossett (Graham) while living near Chattanooga, Tennessee traveling the roads and talking about their dreams together when they made it in the wrestling business. Frankie Cain was probably the last living person in the wrestling business who dated back to Jim Londos’ time in professional wrestling.

Later in life, Cain became friends with Crowbar Press publisher, Scott Teal while the two were attending a Gulf Coast Wrestlers’ Reunion Event. After gaining Cain’s trust, Teal began to record and document Frankie’s memories both in audio and video form and published some of them in his “Whatever Happened To?” newsletter while also making Frankie a regular columnist. After Teal stopped doing the newsletter and starting publishing books, the two took their conversations about Cain’s life and published a two-volume set of books documenting the life of Franke Cain. In the last few days, Frankie Cain passed away and today, I am proud to welcome Scott Teal to the Richards Ranch to pay tribute to the life and career of his close, personal friend, Frankie Cain. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

We are in the middle of our “1985 Territory Review” Series! Its a a weekly review of the territories in the year of 1985. In order to add context on where 1985 falls in the spectrum of the territory era of professional wrestling, here is my historical framework entitled: “Stages of Growth of the Territory Era”:

Stage One: Conception (1925 to 1935)

Stage Two: Formation (1935 to 1945)

Stage Three: Innovation and Expansion (1945 to 1955)

Stage Four: Investigation (1955 to 1965)

Stage Five: Re-Consolidation (1965-1975)

Stage Six: Fragmentation (1975-1985)

1985 is the first year in the last stage of the territory era, and we are reviewing what is remaining of the system as the Disintegration Stage gets started. By the time we reach the halfway point in this stage, 1990, only a bare thread of the vast network of wrestling territories will remain. By the end of the Disintegration Stage, 1995, only one territory, in Memphis, is barely breathing, and by 1997 would be gone.

In 1985, Jim Crockett Promotions was thriving. In mid-1984, they replaced the booker, Dory Funk, Jr. with Dusty Rhodes from the Florida Territory. Although ‘84 ended in a lukewarm fashion with the terrible finish and future plan blown up from Starrcade ‘84, during the first three months of 1985, Rhodes’ talent changes and new programs were taking hold. Then, the most important catalyst for the growth of JCP happened in the month of March. Jim Barnett, then an employee of the WWF brokered a deal with Jim Crockett, Jr to buy the WWF’s contract for the Saturday night time slot on WTBS, Channel 17 in Atlanta.

With the stroke of a pen on a contract and a check for $1,000,000, Jim Crockett Promotions had national exposure beyond their syndicated television network, which primarily served the JCP loop of towns in the Mid-Atlantic Territory. Crockett, Jr. also made a deal with Ole Anderson and Fred Ward to take over the Championship Wrestling from Georgia company, which mainly included a few rings and the talent roster serving Georgia, Ohio, West Virginia and Michigan. The new WTBS contract also carried a clause giving Crockett the exclusivity for pro wrestling on the TBS channel, knocking off the Bill Watts’ Mid-South Wrestling show from the channel.

In the Summer, Crockett also acquired the Rock and Roll Express from Mid-South along with Buddy Landel and Terry Taylor, while also getting The Midnight Express with Jim Cornette from World Class. The big show concept was also expanded as Rhodes created The Great American Bash for July in Charlotte, drawing a record crowd at the baseball stadium. It was an amazing year of expansion for Jim Crockett Promotions and helping me review the year of 1985 is a new member of our Time Tunnel family, Jammie Ward. With Jammie’s help, we roll through the year, hitting the highs and the lows for 1985 for Jim Crockett Promotions!