On this episode of Get Your Bell Rung Pro Wrestling Podcast, host K.G. Landry welcomes Gene Jackson, wrestling author, podcaster, play by play announcer, archivist, and founder of the Retro Wrestling Archive, for a long form conversation about preserving the pieces of wrestling history that too often fall through the cracks. K.G. opens the episode by putting over Gene’s mission: tracking down forgotten names, territory stories, old footage, newspaper clippings, photos, memories, and the people who helped build wrestling outside the biggest spotlight.
This isn’t a standard “what was your favorite match?” interview. K.G. and Gene dig into why wrestling history matters, how much has already been lost, and why the stories of journeymen, managers, referees, announcers, promoters, photographers, TV crews, and local territory stars deserve to be preserved right alongside the legends.
A quick sidebar, at the beginning of the interview, K.G. referred to Gene as a historian. After the interview, “off air”, Gene said, he didn’t set out to become a “historian”, he admitted he has come to HATE that term and insists that he’s doesn’t like being referred to as a “historian” simply because too many people in the “pro wrestling nostalgia podcast space” in recent years have proclaimed themselves “historians” or have been christened with the title by other people, when they are basically, “just wrestling fans who watched a lot of wrestling and bought a couple of Feinstein’s Shoot Interview tapes. When pressed about details on topics they proclaim to be a “historian” of, most don’t really know s***. They know surface level information from memory, but they aren’t “studying” anything or recording any “history”, they just think it looks cool on their bio. I do a TON of research for my articles and “deep dive” shows and could justify calling myself a “historian” if I wanted to, but at this point, in my mind the title is sorta tainted. But that’s just me, I’m a bit of an a**hole, so it’s probably good we aren’t recording this.” Sorry, it’s a fun take, I had to work that in somewhere, back to the actual interview.
The strongest thread of the episode is Gene’s explanation of how the Retro Wrestling Archive grew out of genuine fandom. He was a fan who loved Memphis, Continental, Mid South, tape trading, obscure footage, and the kind of wrestlers who might not show up on every “greatest ever” list but still mattered to the people who watched them every week.
The Eddie Gilbert discussion is a major highlight. Gene talks about starting the book years earlier, shelving it out it for a number of reasons, then eventually connecting with Doug at the perfect time. What makes that story so meaningful is that the final book was able to include voices like Lance Russell, Jerry Jarrett, Eddie and Doug’s parents, and a few other whom would not have been available if the project had started from scratch years two years ago.
The interview also gets into Gene’s philosophy as an interviewer. He talks about avoiding the same recycled questions, only interviewing people he has a genuine interest in talking to, and listening closely enough to follow up on their answer instead of just moving to the next pre-written question on a list. K.G. connects with that immediately, because Get Your Bell Rung is built around those same deeper, more personal conversations.
By the end, the episode becomes as much about purpose as it is about wrestling. Gene explains that if one of his shows makes someone’s week better, introduces a fan to a wrestler they didn’t know, or helps keep a forgotten story alive, then the work matters. That’s the heart of the Retro Wrestling Archive, and it lines up perfectly with K.G.’s own mission of giving wrestlers a place to tell the parts of their story that most interviews skip.
For fans of Retro Wrestling Archive, Get Your Bell Rung, Memphis Wrestling, Continental Wrestling, Mid South Wrestling, Eddie Gilbert, Doug Gilbert, Tommy Rich, Wolfie D, Jamie Dundee, forgotten territory names, and real conversations about why wrestling history is worth saving, this episode is a must listen.
This is unfiltered wrestling history.
And Gene Jackson is still chasing the stories before they disappear.
