When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by DragonKingKarl

Mario Galento was a big pro wrestling star all over the southern United States including giant sell-outs in Mobile, Memphis, and elsewhere. He was also a very unpredictable and often contentious wrestler and getting into scraps and fights was no uncommon for him. In 1974 he got fed up with the Memphis promotional office and went on a local sports talk radio and spilled the kayfabe beans on pro wrestling. He took calls from listeners and aired the dirty laundry of many of the top pro wrestlers of the day.

Karl Stern presents five full length pro wrestling biographies of the pioneers of wrestling. G.W. Flagg, William Muldoon, Col. James H. McLaughlin, Frank Gotch, and George Hackenschmidt. These are five of the men who laid the foundation of pro wrestling as one of the most successful forms of entertainment for the next 100 plus years.

They are two of the smartest and most experienced people in pro wrestling. Both are brilliant wrestling historians. Dave Meltzer has published the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for over 3 decades and it is THE definitive insider trade publication in pro wrestling. Jim Cornette was a manager of the highest level, a promoter, and now a podcaster. Both men collectively know more about pro wrestling than any other two men alive. So why has their multi-decade friendship ended over pro wrestling opinion? In this Saga of... series, historian and podcaster Karl Stern examines both men and their opinions and methodology. Is Dave biased toward AEW? Kenny Omega? The Young Bucks? Is he too close to his subject matter? Why is Cornette so profane and outrageous and, in the end, which of them is right or are both wrong.

Our biggest Saga of wrestling special clocking in at over three hours covering in detail every aspect of the career of the wrestling character Lord Humongous. Humongous was played by multiple people during the 1980s, first Mike Stark, then Jeff Van Camp, then a dude out in Texas for minute, then Sid Vicious, then a few other people (even Scott Hall!) Based on the character by the same name from Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, the monster brute terrorized Memphis, SECW, Continental, Mid-South, and more!

Two of the most ridiculous 1990s pro wrestling Pay Per Views were brought to us by WCW in 1991 and 1992.  Halloween Havoc in both those years featured some unforgettably strange stuff narrated by pro wrestling historian Karl Stern. Abdullah the Butcher gets baked in an electric chair, Mick Foley can't work a light switch, Jake Roberts get bit in the face by his own snake, and Sting and Vader must plow through this mess... and the debacle of the debut of Rick Rude.

It's time for historically our most popular show of the year. Karl Stern (DragonKingKarl) has been a voter in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame for over a decade and every year discusses the ballot on his podcast. If you've ever wondered about the wording, criteria, and structure of the ballot then all is explained here. Plus discussion on candidates such as: Junkyard Dog, Rocky Johnson, Sgt. Slaughter, Kerry Von Erich, Bob Armstrong, the Hardys, Edge, C.M. Punk, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Big Daddy, Adrian Street, Jun Akiyama, Kenny Omega, and much more! Free show so pass it around and help us spread the word about WhenItWasCool.com

You may have heard rave reviews about the time Eddie Gilbert and Paul Heyman came to book the newly purchased Continental Wrestling Federation. David Woods bought the company from Ron Fuller and turned over the creative reigns to hot young creative minds Gilbert and Heyman. The newsletters gushed over the creative direction but... the reality was a little different. Today we discuss the reality behind the mesmerized newsletters and why the Road to Birmingham self destructed.

Nobody thought it would ever happen but it did. Ric Flair reaches an stalemate with WCW and signs with WWF while still NWA and WCW World heavyweight champion. He shows up on WWE (WWF) TV with the Big Gold belt and the lawsuits begin to fly. Historian Karl Stern discusses everything that lead up to the break with Ric Flair, his arrival, and the program with Hulk Hogan that didn't make it to WrestleMania and discusses the facts and often repeated fiction of the story of why we never got Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair at WrestleMania.

The story of David Von Erich is a powerful story. He was young and destined for greatness. Perhaps he was even the heir apparent to the NWA World heavyweight championship. But then an ill fated trip to Japan for a tour with All Japan Pro Wrestling ended his story. We will examine in detail the last few months of the life of pro wrestling star David Von Erich and explore where he was, where he was headed, and how it all ended.

Did Hulk Hogan really win the AWA World heavyweight title from Nick Bockwinkel and was it erased from history? It's very complicated. There were actually two controversial AWA World title wins by Hulk Hogan and the stories are very confusing. With conflicts arising with New Japan Pro Wrestling, merchandising with Verne Gagne, and more. Plus, the myth of Hogan going directly to the WWF are all explored here in this saga of Hulk Hogan and the AWA World wrestling championship.