Tag Archives: 1980’s

Episode 135: The WWF MVPs, Part Two

This week STICK TO WRESTLING is joined by Steve Generalli, a knowledgeable longtime WWF fan. In the second segment of a two part series, we talk about the Most Valuable Players of the Bob Backlund era, year by year. We cover:

–Captain Lou Albano, and how if managers qualified for the MVP he might have won it in 1982.

–Magnificent Muraco’s arrival in 1981, and how he looked like the next Superstar Billy Graham.

–Pedro Morales becoming the rock-solid number two babyace in the WWF.

–1983 feeling like reruns with tried and true stars like Sgt. Slaughter, Magnificent Muraco, The Samoans, and more coming back.

–Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito being absolute heat machines in the territory.

–How Greg Valentine’s return in 1981 looked like the end for Bob Backlund.

And more, plus Steve and I give you the top five on our WWF MVP ballot for 1981, 1982, and 1983, so what are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN TO this wicked good bad boy!

Stick To Wrestling- give us sixty minutes and perhaps indeed, we’ll give you a rawbone podcast.

Produced by Lou Kipilman

Stick To Wrestling with John McAdam is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network

Episode 134: The WWF MVPs, Part One

This week STICK TO WRESTLING is joined by Steve Generalli, a knowledgeable longtime WWF fan. In the first segment of a two part series, we talk about the Most Valuable Players of the Bob Backlund era, year by year. We cover:

–Bob Backlund, and how he was a huge success as Bruno Sammartino’s successor.

–Bruno Sammartino, as he disappears when Backlund wins the title and re-appears when the time is right.

–Ivan Koloff, and why he was so valuable as a challenger.

–Peter Maivia, and the turn that made him a main eventer.

–Greg Valentine, and how his first WWWF run made both he and Bob Backlund bigger stars.

–Pat Patterson, and how his four match series vs Bob Backlund at Madison Square Garden was so brilliantly booked.

Steve and I give you the top five on our WWF MVP ballot for 1978, 1979, and 1980, so what are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN TO this wicked good bad boy!

Stick To Wrestling- give us sixty minutes and perhaps indeed, we’ll give you a rawbone podcast.

Produced by Lou Kipilman

Stick To Wrestling with John McAdam is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network

Episode 131: Pat Patterson’s WWF Run

The week STICK TO WRESTLING is joined by Ron Lemieux! It’s a wicked good hour as we talk about the late, great Pat Patterson and what it was like to see him in the WWF. We discuss:

–The brilliant booking where Patterson won the North American title from Ted Dibiase, and how he then deployed that same strategy in his attempt to win the WWF title from Bob Backlund.

–The angle that turned Patterson babyface, where the Grand Wizard literally tried to sell Pat to Captain Lou Albano.

–Pat becoming a part time wrestler and a full time announcer.

–How his legendary feud with Sgt. Slaughter started with a slow burn and eventually exploded, ending with his series of Alley Fights with Slaughter. These were some of the best matches in WWF history and still hold up today.

–Patterson’s subsequent feuds with Angelo Mosca and Ivan Koloff.

–His slide into full time retirement as a wrestler, but remaining one of the most important people in the business.

Plus Ron refers to Angelo Mosca as a “big galoot”, AND we talk about the best and worst Red Sox free agent signings of all time, so what are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN TO this wicked good bad boy!

Stick To Wrestling- give us sixty minutes and perhaps indeed, we’ll give you a rawbone podcast.

Produced by Lou Kipilman

Stick To Wrestling with John McAdam is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network

Episode 130: The Brock Brothers

This week STICK TO WRESTLING is joined by The King of Baltimore himself, John Fell! It’s a wicked good hour as we discuss:

–Roddy Piper making John’s wife furious.

–The 1987 Crockett Cup

–Ric Flair luring females to the Baltimore Marriott hotel.

–Wrestlemania 3

–J.J. Dillon, an underrated asset with the Four Horsemen.

–The 1991 Great American Bash.

–Barry Windham’s initial run as a heel.

Plus John Fell shares a heartbreaking memory about meeting Road Warrior Animal, so what are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN TO this wicked good bad boy!

Stick To Wrestling- give us sixty minutes and perhaps indeed, we’ll give you a rawbone podcast.

Produced by Lou Kipilman

Stick To Wrestling with John McAdam is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network

Episode 128: Mixing Up The Daves

This week STICK TO WRESTLING is joined by longtime fan Will Rickard, who shares his experiences growing up watching Mid-Atlantic Wrestling and attending the shows there. We discuss:

–The infamous traffic jam caused by the sold out show featuring Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood vs Sgt. Slaughter and Private Don Kernodle in a Cage Match.

–The brilliant angle where Jack and Jerry Brisco turned heel.

–The day Will was “smartened up” to the business.

–The angle where Bob Orton Jr turned on Ric Flair, allowing he and Dick Slater to collect the bounty Harler Race placed on Ric.

–The WWF’s invasion of the Carolinas.

–Hulk Hogan getting booed out of the building in Greeensboro as a babyface during the early Nitro days.

And more, plus Johnny Mac debunks an old rumor about The Freebirds, so what are you waiting for? Download and listen to this wicked good bad boy!

Stick To Wrestling- give us sixty minutes and perhaps indeed, we’ll give you a rawbone podcast.

Produced by Lou Kipilman

Stick To Wrestling with John McAdam is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network

Episode 127: Shaving Bobby’s Back

This week STICK TO WRESTLING is joined by Al Getz of the “Charting The Territories” Arcadian Vanguard podcast! We had a blast doing the show as we discussed:

–Al’s background as a wrestling manager and someone who handled various behind-the-scene tasks.

–How Al uses actual metrics to accurately represent a wrestler’s spot in a territory.

–Modern Wrestling vs Classic Wrestling.

–How Al does off-internet historic wrestling research.

–The 1984 “Mr. R” angle in Georgia.

–All Elite Wrestling, and why the Orange Cassidy persona works.

Plus Johnny Mac talks about his adventure in Kenosha, Wisconsin so what are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN TO this wicked good bad boy!

Stick To Wrestling- give us sixty minutes and perhaps indeed, we’ll give you a rawbone podcast.

Produced by Lou Kipilman

Stick To Wrestling with John McAdam is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network

Episode 126: Frumpy’s Advice

This week STICK TO WRESTLING is joined by Jeff Bowdren! It’s a Georgia Championship Wrestling episode, and we discuss:

–The Mount Rushmore of Georgia Wrestling.

–Roddy Piper’s impact on the territory.

–Pushing Buzz Sawyer and Brett Sawyer as the promotion’s top stars.

–The arrival of The Road Warriors.

–Black Saturday.

–The demise if the territory, and the awful early Saturday morning show they tried to run with.

Plus Johnny Mac does a PERFECT impersonation of Austin Idol’s dog, so what are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN TO this wicked good bad boy!

Stick To Wrestling- give us sixty minutes and perhaps indeed, we’ll give you a rawbone podcast.

Produced by Lou Kipilman

Stick To Wrestling with John McAdam is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network

Episode 125: Valentine’s Favorite Stereo Salesman

This week STICK TO WRESTLING is joined by Mike Gunter, who grew up in North Carolina in the 1970’s as a big fan of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling! This week we discuss:

–The ascent of Ric Flair as a superstar.

–The territory transitioning from a tag team based territory to a singles territory featuring the United States title.

–Roddy Piper’s arrival in the Carolinas.

–Dusty Rhodes arrival as booker and top star.

–Ric Flair’s turning full-fledged heel in 1985.

And more, including Mike opening up about his friendship with Jack Brisco, so what are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN TO this wicked good bad boy!

Stick To Wrestling- give us sixty minutes and perhaps indeed, we’ll give you a rawbone podcast.

Produced by Lou Kipilman

Stick To Wrestling with John McAdam is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network

Episode 124: Starz

This week STICK TO WRESTLING keeps it local with Natick, MA’s own Dave Flaherty! Dave moved from Natick to Florida over fifty years ago, so he’s more than qualified to talk classic wrestling from the Sunshine State! We discuss:

–Jack Brisco getting a monster push in the 70’s. Dave said Jack was forced down everyone’s throat!

–Dusty Rhodes’ famous turn in 1974.

–Jim Crockett lending talent to the group in 1987.

–Dave being present when Terry Funk won the NWA title in Miami Beach in 1975.

–Dusty Rhodes trying to resurrect the territory in 1989.

And more, plus Johnny Mac talks “Bedlam From Boston” and Dave shares a memory that makes John seek out a song that he hadn’t heard or thought of since sixth grade, so what are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN TO this wicked good bad boy!

Stick To Wrestling- give us sixty minutes and perhaps indeed, we’ll give you a rawbone podcast.

Produced by Lou Kipilman

Stick To Wrestling with John McAdam is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network

Episode 123: Of Course You Should Buy A House

STICK TO WRESTLING is once again joined by Brad Breitzman. Brad grew up right in the heart of the AWA territory, and we discuss that promotion. Topics included are:

–Bobby Heenan’s departures from the AWA in 1978 and again in 1984.

–Verne Gagne’s retirement and his subsequent vacating the AWA title.

–When the AWA stopped being “major league” in our eyes.

–How the “Dusty finish” played out in the Twin Cities in 1983.

–Stan Hansen’s reign as AWA champion, what went right and what went wrong.

Plus Brad has a cool story about the night Otto Wanz won the AWA title, so what are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD AND LISTEN TO this wicked good bad boy!

Stick To Wrestling- give us sixty minutes and perhaps indeed, we’ll give you a rawbone podcast.

Produced by Lou Kipilman

Stick To Wrestling with John McAdam is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network