When It Was Real

By bennyjscalaSports Wrestling

When It Was Real episodes

May 14 When It Was Real - Episode 63 - Madison Square Garden - May 16, 1977
🚨 WRESTLING WAYBACK MACHINE SET FOR NEW YORK CITY! 🚨
This Wednesday night, Episode 63 of WHEN IT WAS REAL goes LIVE at 7:30 PM on The Playa Entertainment Network! 🎙️🔥
Nikita and Benny travel back to May 16, 1977, as the Wrestling Wayback Machine lands inside the legendary Madison Square Garden for another unforgettable night in wrestling history! 🗽💥
This historic card features:
🏆 Superstar Billy Graham’s FIRST Madison Square Garden title defense as WWWF Champion!
💪 Classic battles from the golden era!
🎟️ A packed MSG crowd and the electric atmosphere only 1970s wrestling could deliver!
Join us every Wednesday night at 7:30 PM and find out…
🌎 WHERE WILL THE WRESTLING WAYBACK MACHINE LAND NEXT?
⚡ WHEN IT WAS REAL ⚡
#WhenItWasReal #WrestlingWaybackMachine #SuperstarBillyGraham #MadisonSquareGarden #WWWF #ClassicWrestling #TerritoryWrestling #1977Wrestling #OldSchoolWrestling #ProWrestlingHistory #ThePlayaEntertainmentNetwork #LiveWrestlingPodcast #WrestlingPodcast #VintageWrestling #MSGWrestling

1 hr 24 min
May 07 When It Was Real - Episode 62 -Baltimore Civic Center - April 30, 1977
🚨 WHEN IT WAS REAL – EPISODE 62 🚨
Baltimore… April 30, 1977… a night etched in wrestling history forever.
The unbeatable champion.
The working-class hero.
The man who never lost…
Bruno Sammartino.
And then… the unthinkable happened.
The flamboyant, charismatic challenger…
Superstar Billy Graham… shocked the world and ENDED the reign of a legend, capturing the WWWF Heavyweight Championship in front of a stunned, sold-out crowd at the Baltimore Civic Center.
Fans came expecting another routine victory…
They left in disbelief.
This week, Nikita Breznikov and Benny “The Playa” Scala fire up the Wrestling Wayback Machine to relive one of the most shocking title changes in wrestling history, plus the full card from that unforgettable night in Baltimore.
💥 A dynasty falls.
💥 A new era begins.
💥 Wrestling… at its most REAL.
📅 LIVE Wednesday, May 6th at 7:30 PM EST
📺 Only on The Playa Entertainment Network
👉 Tune in every Wednesday night as we take you back to a time…
…When It Was Real.
#WhenItWasReal #WWWF #BrunoSammartino #SuperstarBillyGraham #ProWrestlingHistory #WrestlingPodcast #TerritoryDays #OldSchoolWrestling #BaltimoreCivicCenter #1977 #WrestlingWaybackMachine #ThePlayaEntertainmentNetwork #ClassicWrestling #WrestlingLegends
1 hr 40 min
April 30 When It Was Real - Episode 61 - Madison Square Garden - April 26, 1976
🚨 WHEN IT WAS REAL – EPISODE 61 🚨
The Wrestling Wayback Machine stops at the legendary Madison Square Garden… April 26, 1976… and what should have been another triumphant night for the champion turned into one of the most shocking moments in wrestling history.
A sellout crowd came to see the unstoppable Bruno… but left in stunned silence. A new, dangerous force had arrived — Stan “The Lariat” Hansen — and in one devastating moment, everything changed. A broken neck. A fallen legend. And a city in disbelief.
What REALLY happened that night?
What did the fans NOT see?
And how did this moment reshape the wrestling world forever?
Nikita Breznikov and Benny “The Playa” Scala take you deeper than ever — uncovering the story BEHIND the story, only on When It Was Real.
📅 LIVE Wednesday, April 29
⏰ 7:30 PM
📺 The Playa Entertainment Network
Strap in… history isn’t just remembered — it’s relived.
#WhenItWasReal #WrestlingWaybackMachine #MSG1976 #Bruno #StanHansen #ProWrestlingHistory #TerritoryDays #OldSchoolWrestling #WrestlingPodcast #ThePlayaEntertainmentNetwork #LivePodcast #WrestlingLegends #BehindTheStory
1 hr 34 min
April 23 When It Was Real - Episode 60 - Capital Centre - April 23, 1983
🔥 WHEN IT WAS REAL – EPISODE 60 🔥
The Wrestling Wayback Machine is fired up once again as Nikita and Benny take you back to April 23, 1983, in Landover, Maryland—where the giants walked tall and the action hit HARD!
Step into a night where legends collided and the stakes were sky-high…
💥 André the Giant vs. John Studd – a true battle of behemoths that shook the ring to its core!
🏆 Don Muraco vs. Rocky Johnson – the Intercontinental Championship on the line in a clash of power, pride, and pure 80s intensity!
From the electric crowd to the unforgettable showdowns, this episode dives deep into one of the most hard-hitting cards of the era. Relive the drama, the larger-than-life personalities, and the moments that made wrestling feel… REAL.
📺 Catch it LIVE Wednesday, April 22 at 7:30 PM on The Playa Entertainment Network
🎯 Destination: When It Was Real
#WhenItWasReal #WrestlingWaybackMachine #WWF1983 #AndreTheGiant #JohnStudd #DonMuraco #RockyJohnson #IntercontinentalChampionship #ProWrestlingHistory #OldSchoolWrestling #TerritorialDays #WrestlingLegends #ThePlayaEntertainmentNetwork
1 hr 37 min
April 16 When It Was Real - Episode 59 - Madison Square Garden - April 14, 1975
The Wrestling Wayback Machine is rolling ALL THE WAY BACK to April 14, 1975…
📍 Madison Square Garden… the MECCA of professional wrestling!
This week, Nikita and Benny take a deep dive into one of the most intense nights in WWWF history…
💥 HEADLINER:
Champion vs. Former Friend turned BITTER ENEMY
🇮🇹 Bruno Sammartino
⚔️ vs ⚔️
🇬🇷 Spiros Arion
🔥 in a brutal GREEK DEATH MATCH 🔥
Once allies… now fueled by betrayal, pride, and pure hatred—this wasn’t just a match… it was WAR.
But that’s not all…
💪 7 MORE ACTION-PACKED MATCHES
💥 Legends, rivalries, and unforgettable moments
🎟️ A card that was worth EVERY penny of admission
🎙️ Join Nikita and Benny as they break it all down, relive the drama, and take you back to a time when the punches felt real… and the stakes were even higher.
⏳ Step inside the time machine…
Because this is wrestling the way it USED TO BE…
👉 WHEN IT WAS REAL 👈
📅 LIVE: Wednesday, April 15
⏰ 7:30 PM
📺 Only on The Playa Entertainment Network
#WhenItWasReal #WrestlingWaybackMachine #BrunoSammartino #SpirosArion #MadisonSquareGarden #WWWF #OldSchoolWrestling #ProWrestlingHistory #TerritoryDays #WrestlingLegends #GreekDeathMatch #ClassicWrestling #ThePlayaEntertainmentNetwork #LivePodcast #WrestlingFans #BackInTheDay #VintageWrestling
1 hr 34 min
April 09 When It Was Real - Episode 58 - Madison Square Garden - April 6, 1981
🔥 WHEN IT WAS REAL – EPISODE 58 🔥
Step inside the most legendary arena in wrestling history—Madison Square Garden—and rewind the clock to April 6, 1981… when the lights were brighter, the stakes were higher, and wrestling felt REAL.
This week, Nikita and Benny fire up the Wrestling Wayback Machine and drop you right into a night packed with pure, hard-hitting history:
👑 The WWF Championship hangs in the balance as Bob Backlund, the reigning king of the World Wrestling Federation steps into a brutal Steel Cage Match against the unstoppable Stan Hansen. No escape. No mercy. Just carnage.
🏆 The legendary Pedro Morales defends his Intercontinental Championship—proving why he was one of the most respected champions of his era.
💥 And in a clash that would ignite one of the fiercest rivalries of the early ‘80s…
Pat Patterson vs. Sergeant Slaughter—their FIRST battle at MSG. Raw intensity. Personal hatred. No holding back.
🎙️ From the roar of the Garden crowd to the bone-crushing action in the ring, this is more than nostalgia… it’s a deep dive into a time when every punch mattered, every rivalry burned hotter, and every moment felt unforgettable.
📺 Join Nikita & Benny as they break it all down, relive every moment, and take you back…
to when it wasn’t scripted hype—it was real emotion…
👉 WHEN IT WAS REAL
#WhenItWasReal #WWF #MadisonSquareGarden #StanHansen #PedroMorales #PatPatterson #SergeantSlaughter #WrestlingHistory #OldSchoolWrestling #SteelCageMatch #PlayaEntertainment #WrestlingWaybackMachine
1 hr 32 min
April 04 When It Was Real - BONUS EPISODE - Desiree Petersen!
Nikita and Benny wish everyone a Happy Easter! This is actually an interview from our former sister podcast (Classic Pro Wrestling With The WFIA) from the Fall of 2025. Our guest is the lovely Desiree Petersen, former WWF Women's Tag Team Champion. Although she wasn't in the business very long, Desiree most definitely made her mark in the world of professional wrestling!
49 min
April 02 When It Was Real - Episode 57 - Madison Square Garden - March 26, 1979
🔥 MSG. 1979. PURE WRESTLING MAGIC. 🔥
The Wrestling Wayback Machine lands in the legendary Madison Square Garden on March 26, 1979—and business is about to pick up!
🏆 WWWF Champion Bob Backlund vs. Greg Valentine
The All-American battles “The Hammer” in a hard-hitting main event for the gold!
💥 But that’s just the beginning…
This STACKED card features legends at their peak:
Bruno Sammartino
Ivan Koloff
Ivan Putski
Peter Maivia
Dick Murdoch
Dusty Rhodes
🎙️ Join Nikita & Benny as they break down all 9 action-packed bouts, the rivalries, the crowd energy, and the magic that made this era unforgettable!
🕰️ Step inside the ring…
Back when it was gritty.
Back when it was real.
📺 LIVE Wednesday, March 25th at 7:30 PM
Only on The Playa Entertainment Network
⚡ The Wrestling Wayback Machine rolls on… and YOU’RE invited!

#WhenItWasReal #WrestlingWayback #MSG1979 #BobBacklund #GregValentine #BrunoSammartino #DustyRhodes #IvanKoloff #OldSchoolWrestling #TerritoryDays #ProWrestlingHistory #ThePlayaEntertainmentNetwork #ClassicWrestling #WWWF #WrestlingLegends

1 hr 37 min
March 26 When It Was Real - Episode 56 - Philadelphia Spectrum - March 25, 1978
🚨 THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT 🚨
Step inside the legendary Philadelphia Spectrum and witness one of the most STACKED cards of the late ‘70s!
On Episode 56 of When It Was Real, Nikita and Benny fire up the Wrestling Wayback Machine and take you back to March 25, 1978 — a night where legends collided and history was made.
🔥 DOUBLE MAIN EVENT 🔥
🏆 Bob Backlund makes his VERY FIRST Spectrum title defense against “The Iron Greek” Spiros Arion
💪 “Living Legend” Bruno Sammartino goes to war once again with his bitter rival Ken Patera
💥 BONUS MATCH 💥
Lock the cage door… it’s the BRUTAL Philadelphia Spectrum Steel Cage showdown between Bob Backlund and Sgt. Slaughter held on March 21, 1981!
From sold-out crowds to hard-hitting action, this is professional wrestling the way it was meant to be…
🎙️ Join Nikita and Benny as they break it ALL down — the matches, the moments, and the magic of a bygone era.
🕰️ Take the ride… back to when it was REAL.
📅 Wednesday, March 24th
⏰ 7:30 PM
📺 Only on The Playa Entertainment Network
#WhenItWasReal #WrestlingWaybackMachine #BobBacklund #BrunoSammartino #KenPatera #SpirosArion #SgtSlaughter #PhiladelphiaSpectrum #OldSchoolWrestling #ProWrestlingHistory #TerritoryDays #ClassicWrestling #WrestlingPodcast #PlayaEntertainment
1 hr 45 min
March 26 When It Was Real - BONUS Episode - Heroes of Wrestling
Here is one of our favorite episodes for your listening pleasure! The 1999 Heroes of Wrestling event still evokes controversy, over a quarter century later! Get the straight scoop from Nikita, who was there!
1 hr 35 min

About When It Was Real

From the publisher's feed

Step into the squared circle of yesteryear with When It Was Real, the ultimate throwback podcast for fans of the golden era of professional wrestling. Each week, this deep-dive audio experience transports listeners to the gritty, unfiltered days of the 1970s World Wide Wrestling Federation, when larger-than-life characters and blood-and-guts rivalries captivated fans and made wrestling feel real.

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When It Was Real

When It Was Real episodes

About When It Was Real