Tag Archives: Great American Bash

Episode 367: Rubber Chicken

This week on STICK TO WRESTLING, we party like it’s 1985 — because it is the 40th anniversary of the original Great American Bash! We break it down like Dusty Rhodes booking a scaffold match:

— Nikita Koloff was barely out of wrestling school. But thanks to Ric Flair he looked like a monster who’d been wrecking babyfaces since the Nixon administration.
— Buddy Landel had the talent, the timing, and a baby-girl pink robe that screamed “I’m better than Flair and I know it”.
— Around this time Arn Anderson ditched the beige and became must-see TV.
— Jim Crockett Promotions had a loaded card…and no national distribution. This show screamed closed-circuit, but Crockett missed the bus.
— Paul Jones: legend in the ring, meh as a manager. We revisit his heel turn in 1979 and ask the tough question: who would want his “army” on an actual battlefield?
— Magnum T.A. had one job: apply the belly-to-belly suplex to Kamala. But could he actually execute the move to this giant of a man? The suspense was real, and JCP actually nailed the buildup.

Plus Johnny Mac shares his tragic tale of not attending this legendary show- all that was missing was bad directions from a random North Carolina gas station attendant- so what are you waiting for? Download and listen to this wicked good podcast today!

STICK TO WRESTLING…give us sixty minutes and perhaps indeed we’ll give you a rawboned weekly classic pro wrestling podcast.

Produced by Lou Kipilman

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

Episode 266: More Booking Gripes

This week on STICK TO WRESTLING we celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the 1988 Great American Bash! Topics discussed include:

— Was the Maryland State Athletic Commission “in” on the finish of the main event?
— The Tower of Doom was wrestling overcomplication at it’s worst.
— Ronnie Garvin’s clumsy and senseless heel turn.
— Should this have been Lex Luger’s coronation?
–1988 Nikita Koloff is a shell of what he was just two years earlier.
— Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard were blossoming into an all time great tag team.

But we endlessly kevetch about the booking methods of Dusty Rhodes, so what are you waiting for? Download and listen to this wicked good podcast today!

STICK TO WRESTLING…give us sixty minutes and perhaps indeed, we’ll give you a rawbone wrestling podcast!

Produced by Lou Kipilman

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

Episode 168: The Best Summer Of Wrestling

Popular guest Christian Boddie returns to Stick To Wrestling and we talk about our favorite Summer in wrestling which happened thirty five years ago: 1986. Discussed on this week’s episode:

–Baby Doll inexplicably turns on Dusty Rhodes to side with Ric Flair, which made no sense from a logical or a storyline standpoint. Making things worse, Ric and Baby Doll had no on-screen chemistry.

–Ole Anderson returns to the NWA after a six month absence, and the Four Horsemen get rolling.

–Paul Jones scores the upset, and Jimmy Valiant gets his head shaved.

–Dusty Rhodes wins the NWA title, but for only three weeks.

–The Magnum T.A. vs Nikita Koloff feud continues to rage on.

Plus Christian and John talk about both being at the 1986 Great American Bash in Philadelphia, 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 wicked good and rawboned podcast.

Produced by Lou Kipilman

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

Episode 162: A List Of Reasons

STICK TO WRESTLING is once again joined by Randy Smith as we continue discussing the 1991 Great American Bash, and more! We discuss not only the Bash from thirty years ago, but what went on afterward and we hit on the following:

–There was a surprise guest In Randy’s room after the show, someone you all know.

–How the promotion should have handled the mandate from the Maryland State Athletic Commission saying Missy Hyatt could not compete in a mixed tag match.

–Booker Dusty Rhodes was not just putting a rocket on Dustin Rhodes’ back, he was kneecapping the rest of the babyface roster. We’ll yell you about how he was doing it.

–The stunning double turn of Lex Luger and Barry Windham, and how it may have been one turn too many in Luger’s still young career.

–Our weekend encounters with Harley Race, Cactus Jack, and Eric Bischoff.

Plus we tell the story of how Johnny Mac and another fan ruined everyone’s cruise through Baltimore Harbor, 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 rawboned and wicked good podcast.

Produced by Lou Kipilman

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

Episode 161: We Want Flair, We Get Oz

STICK TO WRESTLING is once again joined by popular guest Randy Smith, who attended the 1991 Great American Bash with John McAdam. We discuss the Bash from thirty years ago and we hit on the following points:

–The fans in Baltimore were mad at the promotion, far angrier than it came across on TV.

–There was a wrestler named Oz who was managed by someone named The Wizard. No, really. But Oz would go on to make millions in the wrestling business.

–Scaffold Matches were an odd combination of being both very boring and extremely dangerous, and on this night the company wasted three elite talents in such a match.

–Diamond Dallas Page was as big and tall as Scott Hall, which means he’s too big and tall to be a manager.

–The second coming of The Yellow Dog was a complete travesty. We explain why, and provide the history of the gimmick.

–The Rock & Roll Express rarely had a bad match, but they did on this night: against each other. Robert Gibson was still only 32 years old here, but he looked completely washed up.

Plus Johnny Mac spends much of the hour kicking around the booking tactics of Dusty Rhodes, 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 rawboned and wicked good podcast.

Produced by Lou Kipilman

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

Episode 64: We’re So Sorry, Uncle Delbert

This week on Stick To Wrestling, our Summer Series continues as John McAdam and Sean Goodwin talk about the NWA’s 1986 Great American Bash Tour!  We discuss:

–The wisdom of booking the tour in football stadiums.
–Country music, and the fans’ reaction to it.
–Did the NWA have too many championships?
–How incredibly OVER the Rock & Roll Express were…for now.
–Road Warrior Hawk as a singles wrester challenging Ric Flair.
–The Magnum T.A. vs Nikita feud, and the “Best Of Seven Series” for the U.S. title.
–How we would have booked the tour and subsequently, Starrcade ’86.
And more, plus there’s a story about Johnny Mac getting attacked by cockroaches at the old Riverfront Stadium. 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 every week.

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