The Wrestling Archives

One of the most notorious and infamous wrestling shows ever. In 1995, six months before the start of the Monday Night Wars, WCW decided to bring peace and harmony through violence. The great Antonio Inoki contacted Eric Bischoff with the terrible idea of taking professional wrestling to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, street name North Korea. Not only did we watch the wrestling show, we watched the Dark Side of the Ring episode on this event. If you're curious about what happens when you take wrestlers who play loose with the rules in the US to a totalitarian Asian culture, take a listen. Ever wonder what happens when you show wrestling to a compulsory crowd of 150,000 people who have never seen wrestling? This is the show for you. As if that wasn't enough, one performer on the show goes into a murderous rage against another! Thanks for listening!

Hey y'all we made a friend! The Hoss of all Hosses and former Virginia Championship Wrestling United States Champion, Devantes stops by to have a chat. He's been burned by his former manager, scum of the Earth Neil Sharkey, and is looking for vengeance. While we do talk a lot of wrestling, our boy is from Philly, so that leaves us with no choice but to talk food. The go-to cheesesteak, steak preparation, mid-tier steakhouses of old, we touch on all things red meat. The dude is real cool and we really had a great time talking with a new friend of the show who we think will probably be back on in the future to talk more food. Someone please help us with this Amish chicken business. 

 

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Look, some strange stuff has happened over the years in pro wrestling; Mae Young birthing a hand, the Gobbledy Gooker, Kane beating up Pete Rose, but nothing has become quite as infamous or part of the wrestling lore as Capital Combat ’90: The Return of RoboCop. Tim and Rich break down this show which had a pretty solid card for an early WCW show. Ric Flair and Luger, the Four Horsemen running amuck, and Doom and The Steiner brothers nearly destroy humanity. It’s pretty run of the mill until RoboCop shows up to keep the peace. All we can say is take a listen to Tim and Rich try to make sense of a show that really pushes kayfabe to its breaking point. Thanks for listening!

New Year, new show name! New guest! We welcome Celine Dion's favorite pro wrestler to the Archives, Vince Valor. While skimming the socials, Rich picked up a distress call from Vince Valor. Vince had recently suffered a devasting injury and was needing support and was offering to do interviews since he couldn't do any ring work. The Invincible One shares some great insights into the wrestling business and tells his story, as well as putting over his cat, Eddie. Vince just won the Empire State Wrestling Heavyweight Championship while dealing with a torn pectoral muscle. Vince details not just his in-ring philosophy, but his teaching one as well, as he runs the Buffalo Wrestling Academy. Take a listen, he's a great guest, and new friend of the show. Thanks for listening!Support Vince's GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/vince-valor-and-the-tale-of-the-torn-pec

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Here we are, at the end of 2023. A year dominated by wrestling drama. In what has become a tradition, we sat down and had a talk about the wrestling year that was 2023. The high spots, the low spots, those we lost, those we gained. The people we talked to, the stories we shared. The matches we loved and the ones we didn't. It's been an incredible year. We're retiring the name "All The WrestleManias" after this episode and growing into our new name, The Wrestling Archives. Follow us along on the journey.

As we say farewell to the name "All The WrestleManias," another icon of the wrestling business is saying farewell. Though we talked for almost 2 hours, we barely scratched the surface of the story of the man that is George Pantas. You may not have heard of George, but everyone that you have heard of has heard of him. George is the source of some of the greatest wrestling footage Vice TV and the WWE ever acquired to tell the story of the lost days of the territories. A young Greek immigrant, son of a tinsmith, locked on to wrestling because you didn't need to know English to understand what was happening, and that blossomed into an incredible love affair. George is finally hanging it up after 50 years active in the wrestling business. He will be saying his goodbyes on December 2 at VCW's Tidings of Destruction. George has agreed to bear witness to us about the incredible wrestling moments he has experienced and provides insight to the greatest minds of wrestling. Of course, George knows everyone, from Ric Flair to Billy Corgan, Wahoo McDaniel to Tony Schiavone, and countless others. His story dovetails beautifully with our conversation with David Crockett. You don't want to miss this. George is an incredible human being and an absolute delight.Support the Show: http://www.ko-fi.com/wrestlingarchives

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It is our pleasure to give to you this interview of wrestling royalty. David Crockett is the son of Jim Crockett, Sr. who created an entertainment empire in the south, but is most famous for running the "Charlotte" territory in wrestling, better known as Mid-Atlantic Wrestling/Jim Crockett Promotions/NWA/World Championship Wrestling. He came to us to let the world know he'll be at the Virginia Championship Wrestling's Tidings of Destruction on December 2nd to wish his good friend George Pantas well in his retirement after 50 years in wrestling. David shares with us some great stories from both his territory days and his days with Ted Turner's WCW. He shares with us the anxiety surrounding Vince McMahon's aggressive push into the southern territories and television. David doesn't hold back about the business of the past and present. Rich and Tim talk everything from Broadway, to James Brown, to ACC Football, to Ric Flair at the Baltimore Marriott. He even sheds a little more light on WCW's decision to pass on The Rock. Mr. Crockett is the genuine real deal and came to us to share his story and his family's legacy and influence over the athletic theatrical art that we love so much. We are honored to bestow upon him the title of "Friend of the Show."

 

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With the new year upon us, we felt it was time for a fresh coat of paint, so to speak. Our scope has expanded so much from just covering WrestleManias that the name is feeling restrictive. Starting in the 2024, we will become known as "The Wrestling Archives!" We discuss why we're making this change and some of the great content we have coming soon, including interviews with the one and only David Crockett and the delightful George Pantas. Keep a look out for the new name and new stuff!!!

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This week we sit down with the other half of the VCW tag team champs, the man hailing from a gated community within a gated community, Logan Easton Laroux. Logan is hanging it up, leaving his boots in the ring, and walking away from the business (well, unless a large contract comes his way). He may only be 33 years old, but he's been working the squared circle since he was 16. He has seen it all, done it all, and worked with some of the best in the business. Whether you know him as Logan Hodge, Race Jaxon, Barf, or The Blank, you don't want to miss this interview. Logan talks honest and frank about his career and is just about as genuine of an interview you can expect from a professional wrestler. We definitely wish him the best in his future endeavors! You won't want to miss his VCW retirement match on November 11 in Alexandria, VA against AEW star and friend, Wheeler Yuta!VCW: https://vcwprowrestling.com/

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We hop in the time machine and drive up I-95 to 2300 South Swanson Street in Philadelphia to bear witness to 1997's ECW Barely Legal, Extreme Championship Wrestling's first Pay-Per-View. We are treated to some of the bloodiest, and most violent action we've watched on this podcast. We had to watch through our fingers a few times! But we meet young stars like Rob Van Dam, Lance Storm, Raven, and Taz. Plus there's some familiar faces like Terry Funk, Bill Alphonso, and Rick Rude. We experience one of the hottest crowds we've ever encountered, with such enthusiastic chants that we can't repeat them here. Plus, what the hell is the deal with The Sandman?Support the Show: http://www.ko-fi.com/allthewrestlemanias