Tag Archives: 1980’s

Podcast

Episode 61: No One Was More Respected

The term “legend” often gets tossed around casually, but Harley Race was truly a legend. This week Stick To Wrestling is joined by Brandon Hefner as we pay a 60 minute tribute to one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.

–In early 1986 Harley appeared on WTBS and shot an angle with Magnum T.A. It was his final appearance on WTBS until 1991, and we tell you why. It’s pretty crazy.

–A few months later, in a shocking event, Harley started with the WWF. It seemed like an odd fit, but of course Harley made the most of it.

–There were three towns wrestlers just didn’t miss: New York, St. Louis, and Houston. Harley missed two consecutive Houston shows, fracturing Houston promoter Paul Boesch’s relationship with the NWA. We give the details and a possible explanation.

–We touch upon the Harley Race / Larry Hennig team.

–The first real “world title unification” match was the 1978 Harley Race vs Superstar Billy Graham match from the Orange Bowl in Miami. We share our thoughts on that match and on unification matches in general.

–Starrcade ’83: Why Harley Race was the most logical pick to hold the title for five months to build up one of the biggest shows of all time, and how the show could have fallen apart if not for Harley Race. Also, we discuss how the cracks in the NWA’s foundation were apparent as early as 1983.

–George Gulas gets carried to an excellent 45 minute draw with Harley Race, so Nick Gulas had a nice backstage surprise waiting for Harley…followed by one that wasn’t as nice.

And more! Give STICK TO WRESTLING sixty minutes and we’ll give you a wicked good podcast every week! It’s the best classic wrestling podcast on God’s green Earth!

Stick To Wrestling with John McAdam & Sean Goodwin is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network.

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Podcast

Episode 59: Make A Million Dollars, Just Use The Z-Man Correctly

Stick To Wrestling’s Summer Series continues as John McAdam and Sean Goodwin are joined by Randy Smith. We discuss the NWA’s Summer of 1989, with the main talking points being:

–Why Terry Funk couldn’t win anything but TV squashes before his big PPV bout vs Ric Flair.
–TV did not do the Great American Bash post match brawl with Flair and Sting vs Funk and Muta justice.
–Ricky Steamboat won’t sign that extension? No problem, just have Lex Luger feud with Tommy Rich. Puh-leeze.
–The Varsity Club- it ended too soon.
–The match between Ricky Steamboat and Lex Luger from July 22, 1989 is one of the most talked about non-televised, house show only matches ever. We tell you why.
–They pulled the plug on the talented Eddie Gilbert’s turn and left him without a role.
–The greatness that was the feud between James E. Cornette and Paul E. Dangerously.
–The Great Muta was aptly named.
–Mike Rotondo’s odd transition from a charmless bully to a happy sailor.
–McAdam thinks that if he were booking WCW, he would have made a million dollars with Tom Zenk. He really said that.

Plus, John talks about the special line somewhere between Philadelphia and Baltimore. What are you waiting for- DOWNLOAD THIS BAD BOY!

STICK TO WRESTLING, the only wicked good wrestling podcast around! Give us sixty minutes and we’ll give you a slice of pro wrestling heaven!

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

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Podcast

Episode 58: The Whole Reason I Came Here Was To Get Away From That F…

On this week’s STICK TO WRESTLING John McAdam and Sean Goodwin are joined by Thomas Bane, and we discuss the WWF thirty years ago, in the Summer of 1989. We talk about:

— Zeus, who got three extremely high profile main events despite not even being a wrestler. The locker room was not happy about this.
— Dusty Rhodes, who debuted with the WWF and got over despite being given a terrible gimmick. The locker room was not happy with Dusty’s emergence.
— Terry Taylor, who did not get over with a terrible gimmick.
— Dino Bravo, who supposedly had Jacques and Raymond Rougeau looking over their shoulders. We’ll tell you why.
— Barry Windham, Arn Anderson, and Tully Blanchard, who were all major stars as members of The Four Horsemen in the NWA a year earlier. None were major stars in the WWF.
— Roddy Piper, who returns to the WWF after being courted by the NWA.
— Andre The Giant, who could barely walk but was still wrestling full time.
— Tony Schiavone, who was not good in the WWF.
— Bad News Brown, who could have had a major run as a babyface.
— Jimmy Snuka, who returned to the WWF after a four year hiatus. This was a major shock and a potential liability, braddah.
Plus a pro wrestler scares poor ol’ Johnny Mac half to death in a bathroom. What are you waiting for?

DOWNLOAD THIS BAD BOY! STICK TO WRESTLING! Give us sixty minutes and we’ll give you a WICKED GOOD podcast!

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

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Podcast

Episode 57: Good Thing Sean Opened The Box Early

Put something in front of John McAdam and Sean Goodwin and they will have an interesting conversation about it. On this show we each open a box sent to us by the fine folks at www.HotBoxCards.net and talk about what’s in there. Topics discussed:

–John meets Dory Funk Jr and his lovely wife Marti.

–He’s always meeting people! The story of John meeting Dutch Mantel at Gordon Scozzari’s ill fated Lowell, MA taping.

–In what way should JCP have used ECW’s model?

–In 1986, Tully Blanchard was the Michael Jordan of being a pro wrestling heel.

–Why he got the nickname “Softball Sid Eudy”.

–Guess who popped big(ger) crowds for his early 1991 run vs Ric Flair?

–Tatanka gets a big push. Outback Jack gets a big push. Let’s not let Vince McMahon go to the movies or watch them on cable any more.

–The top five wrestlers of the 80’s? That question is no longer unanswered.

–Pushing smaller wrestlers at the top of the card.

–Who is the hottest woman in wrestling history?

Plus Johnny Mac finds a CD he’s been searching out for years and he gets a very odd surprise. What are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD THIS BAD BOY!

STICK TO WRESTLING! Give us sixty minutes and we’ll give you a WICKED GOOD podcast!

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

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Podcast

Episode 56: They Entered As Boys, And They Left As Men

This week Stick To Wrestling is joined by Howard Baum, co-host of the Kentucky Fried Rasslin’ podcast! Howard was part of the greatest angles of all time, when back in 1984 he presented the New Fabulous Ones an award on the Memphis TV show and all hell broke loose from there.

On this episode John McAdam, Sean Goodwin, and Howard Baum take a look at:

–Adrian Street

–Chick Donovan

–Mil Mascaras

–Duke Keomuka

–Chris Champion

–Bob Backlund

–Memphis wrestling

–The death of Florida wrestling

Plus, 70’s / 80’s children Howard and John moan about today’s youth and cell phones. What are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD THIS BAD BOY!

Stick To Wrestling: Give us sixty minutes, and we’ll give you a WICKED GOOD podcast!

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

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Podcast

Episode 55: Stealing The Show At Wrestlemania XV

This week Stick To Wrestling is joined by Scott Bowden, who is a former manager in Memphis and does the Kentucky Fried Rasslin’ podcast! Discussed on this week’s episode:
 
–Tommy Dreamer, thanks for not going through with that.
 
–Jerry Lawler as a challenger to Bob Backlund? Wait, Jerry Lawler as WWF champion?
 
–Reactions to WWE bringing in Paul Heyman to run RAW and Eric Bischoff to run Smackdown.
 
–So why didn’t Jerry Lawler get a quick run with the AWA title in the early or mid 80’s?
 
–What was the best match Scott Bowden has ever seen live?
 
–What if the Memphis promotion ran Cincinnati? Remember, that city is right on the Kentucky border.
 
–Why Jerry Jarrett turned down a spot on the USA Network in the 80’s.
 
Plus Johnny Mac tells the odd story of how he came to know Scott Bowden. What are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD THIS BAD BOY!
 
Stick To Wrestling: Give us sixty minutes, and we’ll give you a WICKED GOOD podcast!
 
Stick To Wrestling with John McAdam & Sean Goodwin is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network

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Podcast

Episode 51: Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair….Black Bart

On this week’s WICKED GOOD Stick To Wrestling podcast Johnny and Seanny have wrestling historian Seth Hanson as our guest. Seth knows his stuff, is a great guest, and an even better Twitter follow!

This week we discuss the 1986 demise of World Class Championship Wrestling. Included in this conversation:

–Did the Freebirds return to World Class too soon?

–Should WCCW have pulled out of the NWA and anointed Rick Ruse as their world champion? |

–Should Chris Adams have remained as a heel, with Gino Hernandez turning babyface?

–World Class lost a lot of talent to Bill Watts’ UWF right after the 1986 Texas Stadium show, and replaced them with with some older veterans. Was this the way to go?

–Al Madril and Brian Adidas became the lead heel faction. We’re there better options? Really, were there worse options? –Black Bart was made WCCW world champion. Was there a better option? Really, was there a worse option?

Plus, we share more general knowledge and thoughts on WCCW in general, and what led up to the 1986 collapse. What are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD THIS BAD BOY!

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

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Podcast

Episode 50: Welcome To Viceland!

On this week’s WICKED GOOD Stick To Wrestling podcast Johnny and Seanny have Randy Smith as the guest. Randy has been a hardcore fan for 30 years and started reading the newsletters in the mid-80’s. He knows his wrestling, plus back in the day all of the crazy stuff happened in HIS hotel room.

This week we review the six part “Dark Side Of The Ring” series.

–Did the WWF unknowingly book Randy and Elizabeth’s divorce? Plus, don’t get Randy Savage mad at a Waffle House.

–Tony Atlas finally has a forum to talk about Bruiser Brody’s murder! We talk about how awful it must have been for Barbara Goodish, hearing the news in San Juan from Abdullah The Butcher, and having to get her husband’s remains home from a foreign land. Oh, and guess what match was on the first live card Johnny Mac ever saw?

–Was Bret Hart in on the Montreal screw job? Couldn’t the WWF have planned this any better? Who was the bad guy here, Bret or the WWF?

–Was it really a mistake bringing Lance Von Erich into World Class? Should Fritz Von Erich have overreacted so badly at the thought of The Magnificent Lance main eventing at Billy Bob’s?

–We talk about how Gino Hernandez’ Mom came across as a hero in his doc, and how everyone in the wrestling business did not. Plus, John shares some details that was left out of the documentary, and talks about a shocking story that the documentary confirmed.

–What picture was Viceland trying to paint with the Moolah doc? We’re not quite sure.

Plus, we acknowledge the 20th Anniversary of the death of Owen Hart, and share where we were when we learned it happened and our general thoughts on the tragedy, including how a bunch of petty nonsense got a husband and a father killed. What are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD THIS BAD BOY!

Stick To Wrestling with John McAdam & Sean Goodwin is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network.

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Podcast

Episode 49: Inspirational Wrestler Of The Year

This week’s WICKED GOOD Stick To Wrestling podcast starts with John and Sean discussing the Bret Hart vs Tom Magee match and documentary. Was this really a Holy Grail?

Then we take a deep dive into the 1984 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards year end awards and the Pro Wrestling Illustrated year end awards. We took a look at who did win the following awards, and who we think should have:

-Match of the Year.
-Manager of the Year.
-Rookie of the Year.
-Inspirational Wrestler of the Year.
-Most Hated Wrestler of the Year.
-Most Popular Wrestler.
-Most Improved Wrestler.
-Tag Team of the Year.
-Wrestler of the Year.

Plus we talk about why the mutants from “I Am Legend” should move to metro-Boston. What are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD THIS BAD BOY!

Stick To Wrestling with John McAdam & Sean Goodwin is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network.

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Episode 48: It’s All The Accountant’s Fault!

On this week’s Stick To Wrestling John and Sean are joined by Jon Boucher, a smart, longtime fan and a friend of the show!

This is Part Two of our mailbag show, where we take listener questions from the Stick To Wrestling Facebook group and we discussed the following at length:

–Was there an “accountant” who should have, but maybe didn’t, keep Jim Crockett up to date on how much debt they were in, or is he a non-existent scapegoat?

–What promotion should have had television in Boston that didn’t? –If you couldn’t get Terry Funk to come to WCW in 1989, who would be your choice to be the legend rival for Ric Flair after The Steamboat trilogy?

–Which wrestlers in the mid-to-late eighties who never wrestled for Jim Crockett promotions would have made the best Horseman along with Flair, Arn, and Tully?

–What were your earliest exposures to “dirtsheets” and other insider publications?

–What is the most tasteless angle or promotional tactic ever employed by a wrestling company?

–I’m dating a wrestling fan and want to show her some classics, what should I show her?

–Could Greg Gagne have made it outside the AWA?

–If you could watch any piece of wrestling footage whether an angle or specific time period of a territory that doesn’t exist on tape, what would it be?

–Could Gary Hart have been a good managerial fit for the WWF in the mid-80’s and if so what would you see him doing there?

Plus, of course, we spin off more questions from these questions, which is one of the things that makes the Stick To Wrestling podcast WICKED GOOD. Give us sixty minutes and and we’ll make it your favorite podcast.

Plus Sean describes being a live witness at the Mass Transit incident. What are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD THIS BAD BOY!

Stick To Wrestling with John McAdam & Sean Goodwin is a production of the Arcadian Vanguard Podcast Network.

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