📼 THE YEAR OF THE CASSETTE 📼
What happens when someone sends you a box of wrestling cassettes from the 1990s?
👉 You turn them into a podcast.
We’re officially launching The Year of the Cassette, a deep dive into Cassette Wrestling News — the OG audio wrestling experience that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin once called the first ever podcast.
📅 Here’s how it works:
• Episodes will drop on the MAIN FEED every other week starting February 11th, 2026
• BUT… they’re available RIGHT NOW on Patreon — WEEKLY!!
https://www.patreon.com/c/shootintheshiznit
These cassettes were mailed to subscribers during the heyday of wrestling fanzines, featuring Jeff Osborne & John Seaton delivering zany fun, real talk, and raw 90s wrestling energy.
Sit back, hit play, and take a trip to the past with the usual gang of CWN.
📼 The Year of the Cassette has begun.
👉 Patreon listeners get it first.
https://www.patreon.com/c/shootintheshiznit
Cassette Wrestling News – Episode #20
(Originally released as Issue #61 — Archive / Patreon Edition)
Episode #20 of Cassette Wrestling News captures the wrestling world entering a strange new phase: the initial shock of industry-wide upheaval has passed, but the consequences are now fully visible. With Ric Flair entrenched in the WWF, WCW struggling to redefine itself, and independent wrestling thriving on chaos and creativity, CWN documents a business at a crossroads.
Jeff Osborne and John Seaton continue their role as real-time historians, blending news, rumor, opinion, and firsthand reports as they track the ripple effects of consolidation, scandal, and creative burnout. The tone of the episode reflects a wrestling culture that has grown cynical — yet still hopeful that the sport can rediscover its identity.
Major topics and themes include:
Ongoing fallout from Ric Flair’s WWF arrival, including early reactions to his presentation and speculation on long-term booking direction
Continued dissection of WCW’s creative collapse, declining attendance, and internal dysfunction
Talent frustration and movement rumors involving key names caught between loyalty and survival
Analysis of WWF’s evolving style — balancing cartoon spectacle, media scrutiny, and star power
Continued spotlight on Cactus Jack, whose performances symbolize both the excitement and danger of wrestling’s new extreme edge
Expanded coverage of independent supercards, particularly Tri-State Wrestling Alliance and Dennis Corluzzo–promoted events, positioned as the most authentic wrestling alternative
Commentary on wrestling media itself — newsletters, hotlines, tapes, and the growing tension between promoters and the emerging “insider press”
Episode #20 also reinforces Cassette Wrestling News’ identity as more than just a rumor tape. CWN increasingly functions as a cultural sounding board for disillusioned fans — those watching the territory system die, the national promotions grow colder, and wrestling’s soul feel increasingly commodified.
Rather than explosive chaos, this episode presents something more sobering: normalization. What once felt unthinkable is now routine, and CWN captures that emotional shift with remarkable clarity.
Episode #20 stands as a document of wrestling’s early-1990s growing pains — when fans were forced to decide whether to adapt, resist, or walk away entirely.
This transcript is preserved for historical and archival purposes as part of an ongoing effort to document Cassette Wrestling News as one of the earliest and most important precursors to modern pro wrestling podcasts.
