When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by DragonKingKarl

Generally speaking, this is my most listened to show of the year, so thank you and strap in. Over the past several months this podcast has focused on many of the people who had not yet made the ballot. That gives me much more latitude on today's show to dive into the people and process of the Hall of Fame, examine the ballot, and on the second half of the show I throw a curveball to the process which makes for a very interesting segment. Also, I am preparing a suggestion for Dave Meltzer about how to handle the pioneer era of wrestling.

The extended Patreon edition with an over 20-minute discussion about morality in pro wrestling and if that should affect voting can be found here.

Today we hop in the time machine and set it for the fall of 1990. Pro Wrestling was slumping but not yet bottoming out. When the December 1990 issue of the WWF Magazine hit the stands, The Texas Tornado (Kerry Von Erich) graced the cover. Inside was tons of hype for the now four-man Survivor Series where Teams of Four Strive to Score or something like that. Anyway, the magazine seems hyper-fixated on getting over Samba Simba which makes for some pretty weird reading in 2025.

Today on my 1000 Hours podcast series looking back at the pioneer era of pro wrestling (the era before Frank Gotch) from my latest book DragonKingKarl's Pioneer Era Pro Wrestling Omnibus, I look at correspondence from two top pro wrestling historians which include new information on pro wrestling pioneers Duncan C. Ross and Homer Lane. Who were these pioneer champion pro wrestlers? All of this plus more on William Muldoon, Prof. Thiebaud Bauer, Joe Acton, and more!

YOU CONTROL THIS SERIES! It will only run as long as it is supported. In order to get another hour of 1000 hours we need a new Patreon supporter at any level or a cash donation via the front page of WhenItWasCool.com to either PayPal or CashApp (Please put "1000" in the note). As soon as it is received, I will produce a new hour. Presently, we are funded up to hour 102.

Today my classic wrestling podcast takes a detailed look back at September 1992 through the pages of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter. WCW was having an identity crisis. The pro wrestling world was crumbling down. The WWF (WWE) was plagued with multiple scandals and business was down around the globe. Bill Watts was running WCW and had taken it backward instead of forward. Bill Watts instituted weird, outdated rules and even tried to elevate the now irrelevant NWA back to some sort of stature. It was an effort in futility as Bill Watts would soon be removed due to inflammatory comments which would be brought to light by a baseball legend.

Tons of great questions and topics submitted by our Patreon supporters this month. A wide range of pro wrestling history questions including a few great ones on the pioneer era of pro wrestling plus other topics including: The Wrestler movie, Gulf Coast wrestling area, and much more! These questions and answer shows work best when we get lots of good questions and that is exactly what I have for you on this show!

On hour 80 of my 1000 Hours podcast series covering the pioneer era of pro wrestling, we continue in my latest book DragonKingKarl's Pioneer Era Pro Wrestling Omnibus further into the 1880s. For years now, Collar and Elbow had been the dominate style until the more flashy Greco-Roman style passed it in popularity. Now, there is a new rougher and more dangerous style on the field: Catch-as-Catch-Can!

YOU CONTROL THIS SERIES! It will only run as long as it is supported. In order to get another hour of 1000 hours we need a new Patreon supporter at any level or a cash donation via the front page of WhenItWasCool.com to either PayPal or CashApp (Please put "1000" in the note). As soon as it is received, I will produce a new hour. Presently, we are funded up to hour 100.

On this weeks show I continue my long form history of pro wrestling series taken from my book DragonKingKarl's 1984-1985 Pro Wrestling Omnibus. I take a deep dive into October 1985 where Vince McMahon buries Uncle Elmer during his own (real!) wedding! Plus, both the NWA and AWA World champions are in Japan at the same time and wrestle, as well as, tag team with each other. Plus, the Mike Von Erich saga continues.

Join me today for a look back at one of the most significant and impactful years in pro wrestling history - 1996! WCW was exploding in popularity with the formation of the NWO, the heel turn of Hulk Hogan, and much more. WWF was trying to find the right combination to fight the rise of WCW and putting on some incredible matches. I have grabbed a copy of the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Almanac for guidance, so let's see what was so special about 1996.

1000 Hours is my series on the pioneer era of pro wrestling history and is taken from my latest book DragonKingKarl's Pioneer Era Pro Wrestling Omnibus available from Amazon. On this episode, hour 79, we take a look back at the very successful exhibition tour put on by World Greco-Roman champion William Muldoon along with his troupe of wrestlers including Clarence Whistler. Clarence, however, kept beating up poor Andre Christol and finally William Muldoon had to step in which led to a public brawl between the two.

YOU CONTROL THIS SERIES! It will only run as long as it is supported. In order to get another hour of 1000 hours we need a new Patreon supporter at any level or a cash donation via the front page of WhenItWasCool.com to either PayPal or CashApp (Please put "1000" in the note). As soon as it is received, I will produce a new hour. Presently, we are funded up to hour 100

Welcome to my pro wrestling history podcast where, this week, I am going to look back at 1992 when Ron Simmons defeated Big Van Vader for the WCW World championship in an angle that also involved Sting. Plus, we dive into that same issue of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter for a breakdown of the latest scandal revelations concerning the WWF (WWE). A packed episode with tons of pro wrestling insider information about a very volatile time in pro wrestling history.