Greetings From Allentown

Familiar faces abound in this look at Stampede Wrestling from November 22, 1985! - How this version of Stampede came to be and the possible foreshadowing for a member of the Hart family - Babyface Bad News Allen has trouble talking when someone is standing near him - The debut of Chris Benoit and his very much in style head of hair - Bruce Hart’s alias is revealed! - JR Foley’s problematic facial hair - Evaluating producer Ed Whalen’s bizarre editing decisions - Condemning attention-seeking Chris Benoit conspiracy theorists - The soccer-style card system used in Stampede - A Greetings From Allentown musical tribute to Canada - Unfailingly polite promos from Dan Kroffat and Desiree Peterson Plus: - The bizarre connection between Idi Amin’s Uganda and Stampede Wrestling - Projecting the long term relationship of Bad News Allen and Honky Tonk Wayne - Events of November 1985: The Geneva Summit, a pop singer is born, a blues singer dies, and the Burger King “Herb” campaign - An express version of Vinny Vegas Cor

The Macho Man Randy Savage has a bachelor party thrown for him on the August 12, 1991 edition of WWF Prime Time Wrestling! - A comprehensive breakdown of the Macho Man’s bachelor party: what they did right, what went wrong, the invite list, the roles of the various guests - Jake the Snake literally buries the Ultimate Warrior and later shows up as an unwanted guest - Why Mean Gene Okerlund is the perfect bachelor party guest - Recalling the role of Sid Justice in the SummerSlam main event build - Lord Alfred Hayes gets all awkward talking the Macho Man’s wedding - Slick’s relationship with women - Mr. Perfect works around his crippling back injury - Having trouble against the Legion of Doom in the WWF Wrestlefest arcade game - Some background on the belly dancer performing at the party - Summing up every General Adnan promo from 1991 Plus: - Playing Wheel of Fortune with a Barbarian squash - The Irwin R. Schyster Drinking Game - Events of August 1991: John Daly ruins what could have been a promising career,

We’re going to Kansas City, Kansas City here we come for Central States All Star Wrestling from March 10, 1984! - A brief history of the Kansas City territory and its influence in the NWA and reputation - Learning to appreciate the talents of Mad Dog Buzz Sawyer - The random appearance of a Kerry Von Erich makeout session with a fan from 1982 - Longtime veteran Crazy Luke Graham gets hung up on issues of race - Buck Robley’s closest comparison in wrestling history - A bizarre production element of the Central States local promos Plus: - How the NWA travelling world champion model is similar to a popular basketball team - Why the English language is pretty screwed up - Events of March 1984: The failure of the Coleco Adam, Mondale the comedian, UNC and Jordan get upset, and the Colts explore relocation - A police sting at the motel from Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Email: Greetingsfromallentown@gmail.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/GFAllentownPod Facebook.com/GreetingsFromAllentown

We’re living here in Allentown (and Hamburg for one match) for this edition of WWF Championship Wrestling from August 1, 1981! - Bob Backlund takes on Moondog Rex, with extended thoughts on kids rushing the ring in the aftermath and people running on the field at sporting events - Andre the Giant gets very serious and wastes no time - A complete Joe McHugh introduction with an update on the doctor - Tag team action between relatively equal teams ends in a bizarre DQ - Breaking down which of the Three Wise Men managers I would want if I was a 1981 WWF heel - Watching older wrestling at a faster speed - Why Mil Mascaras is the Mexican wrestler who got all the publicity during his heyday - Capt. Lou Albano dumps the Moondogs for a new team: the returning Mr. Fuji and debuting Mr. Saito Plus: - Recapping Backlund’s somewhat one-dimensional first half of 1981 - Referee Danny Davis’ spectacular hairdo - Pondering a dinner with Fred Blassie’s mid-1981 stable - Events of August 1981: The PATCO strike, a baseball s

It is back to Center Stage in Atlanta for a look at WCW Saturday Night from October 2, 1993! - The many timing issues of 1993 WCW - Getting to know the other side of The Shockmaster - Stunning Steve Austin keeps the light on for a Hollywood Blonds reunion - Tracking the WCW tag titles during a turbulent time - Detailing the many issues with the Yoshi Kwan character - Sid Vicious: Philosopher - Rick Rude and Ric Flair: poor dance partners - Attempting to jazz up an already good Cactus Jack promo - Breaking down the promo skills of WCW Amateur Challenge contestants Plus: - A visit to a barcade prompts discussion of arcade games - Lies being told about the “world title” - Crowd chanting of a popular song hook - Events of October 1993: Jordan retires without conspiracy, the Dodgers wreck the Giants season - The return of YouTube Comment Theater! Email: Greetingsfromallentown@gmail.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/GFAllentownPod Facebook.com/GreetingsFromAllentown

The era of the WWF on NBC comes to end on this edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event from April 27, 1991! - Seeking assistance in covering yet another 20 man battle royal without a clear hook - Why 1991 Ultimate Warrior is the best version of the character - The Undertaker’s 1st in-ring meeting with Hulk Hogan - Nasty Boys vs Bushwhackers: a passing of the torch? - Randy Savage subtly offends others on commentary and how it may cause trouble down the road - Jake Roberts debuts his new snake Lucifer without much time to mourn the last snake - Bret Hart make an impression against Ted DiBiase - Examining the actual damage a cattle prod can do Plus: - Original 1991 commercials with car ads, movie trailers, and promos for upcoming NBA playoff games - Why NBC was giving up on the Saturday Night’s Main Event program - Sensational Sherri’s rough weekend of WWF TV - Sgt. Slaughter’s bizarre hairline Email: Greetingsfromallentown@gmail.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/GFAllentownPod Facebook.com/GreetingsFromAllento

It’s Saturday night in Motown for the highest rated edition of NBC’s Saturday Night’s Main Event, from March 14, 1987! - The 20 Man Battle Royal: the confrontation of Andre and Hogan, and the extremely unlikely final four in the match - George Steele meets Randy Savage yet again and prompts thoughts of human trafficking - Mean Gene gets caught checking out Elizabeth by Jesse Ventura - Vince McMahon’s amazing summary of the issues between Andre The Giant and Hulk Hogan - The timeline of Jake Roberts becoming a babyface - A tribute to Roddy Piper and Ventura’s cheeky remark about Piper going to Hollywood - The Hart Foundation defend their titles against a make-shift team - Strange backgrounds being used for interviews Plus: - Andre The Giant: channeling musical artists? - Dangerous Danny Davis as a Peanuts character - Partially going around the NHL for the evening of March 14 and pondering WrestleMania 3’s impact on the ’87 Detroit Pistons - Annoying political theater at the Lowell Folk Festival - The WWF w

The final part of a series looking at one specific weekend takes a trip to Texas for a look at USWA Challenge from July 8, 1990 (or so it was labelled!) - How the USWA in Texas is a slice of both Memphis and shades of the future ECW - The feud that put Steve Austin on the map against Chris Adams, and the ladies get physically involved - Hollywood John Tatum goes over the top in trying to make amends for past behavior - Bill Dundee’s valet Tessa: You can’t spell ‘Tessa” with an A, S, and another S - The brilliantly named Percival Pringle III takes one for the team after he makes light of the Von Erich tragedies - The goofy charm of Craig Johnson - Commercial music theme songs! Plus: - Coming to grips with the possibility that this may not be the July 8 show - Original commercials: Tetris, 7-Up, The Sporting News, and for Milk - Sporting events of the day: a 9-time Wimbledon winner and a massive crash at Daytona - A single comment of YouTube Comment Theater! Email: Greetingsfromallentown@gmail.com Twitter: w

The second part of a series looking at one specific weekend takes a look at NWA World Championship Wrestling from July 7, 1990 - The build for Sting vs Flair at the Great American Bash ’90 with its odd psychology and what could have been done differently - Ole Anderson as the annoying kid from high school and as a faded former all-star - Stan Hansen’s what-if acting career - The confusion created by the Big Van Vader video - A brutally dull tag team match designed to apparently kill time - The amazing part about Doug Furnas’ weightlifting career - One thing El Gigante was good at - The Rock and Roll Express in 1990: emblematic of the end of the JCP era? Plus: - A delicious and healthy pizza topping - Why a certain beach town in Massachusetts beings to mind Dealey Plaza in Dallas - How the Braves fared against the Mets after this show aired on TBS - YouTube Comment Theater! Email: Greetingsfromallentown@gmail.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/GFAllentownPod Facebook.com/GreetingsFromAllentown

The first part of a series on one specific weekend takes a look at WWF Superstars of Wrestling from July 7, 1990! - Randy Savage and Jim Brunzell face off in one of the all-time great enhancement matches, with additional background - Examining the sudden Demolition heel turn - Commentary on other wrestlers discussing Hulk Hogan’s pending decision on his future - A delightful rematch from the original WrestleMania - Bad News Brown flashes a rare smile! - Paths not chosen in the aftermath of Brutus Beefcake’s facial injury - Pondering the Honky Tonk Man in the same ring as Terry Gordy and Dr. Death - Sniffing out Ted DiBiase’s schemes in Cobb County, Georgia - Nikolai Volkoff talking world peace; what Bush and Gorbachev were up to at the time Plus: - Background on shellfish allergies - Speculating on the alleged friendship between Hacksaw Jim Duggan and President George H.W. Bush - Queen Sensational Sherri invents new hair accessories - The cost of travelling to Fiji - Vince McMahon’s 15 second effort at pump

It is a long awaited trip to the Pacific Northwest for a look at Portland Wrestling from October 11, 1980! - An extended appreciation of Playboy Buddy Rose, the king of PNW - A quick rundown of the Portland territory, how they were unique and the stars they produced - Why the play by play guy would have died watching 1996 WCW - Jonathan Boyd’s motivations for facing Buddy Rose - Why a Jay Youngblood promo telegraphs what will happen on the next big show - The thankfully brief run of Mike Popovitch Email: Greetingsfromallentown@gmail.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/GFAllentownPod Facebook.com/GreetingsFromAllentown

Things get Extreme at Wrestlepalooza 97 on this edition of ECW Hardcore TV from June 12, 1997! - The final battle between Raven and Tommy Dreamer, culminating a two and a half year war - Jerry Lawler invades the ECW Arena, talks some trash, directs traffic - How I saw Taz for the first time and why it explains why I love the character - Deciphering if a Sabu botch is an actual botch - Finding common ground with the woman who was Chastity - Rick Rude the color man: the uncool kid who made up stories in high school - Trying to figure out the motivations of Shane Douglas’ “Franchise” character - Paul Heyman’s broken promise (one of them!) Plus: - Why the counters to the “Van Terminator” spot don’t work as well as you would think - Worrying about the state of Jake Roberts watching the Raven-Dreamer match as his legendary finisher gets spammed to hell - Making a retroactive choice between the ECW Arena show and the local team in the Stanley Cup Final on TV - Uncensored audio with copious amounts of cursing - Lif

It’s a special one match edition of NWA Worldwide from October 3, 1987 as Ron Garvin challenges Ric Flair for the NWA World title in Detroit! - A brief history of how this incarnation of the Flair-Garvin rivalry came to be - Where Garvin ranks among Ric Flair’s greatest opponents - Ranking the best possible contenders for the world title in this spot - Can David Crockett be trusted to call a 30+ minute Ron Garvin match alone? - Callback spots in Ric Flair title matches - The NWA’s battle for the city of Detroit: too little, too late? - Tony Schiavone haunts the match Plus: - Peter visits London, England: thoughts on the national anthem, Abbey Road, the British Museum, the Prime Meridian, Westminster Abbey's bathroom, and punking a Yankees fan - YouTube Comment Theater! Email: Greetingsfromallentown@gmail.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/GFAllentownPod Facebook.com/GreetingsFromAllentown Prowestlingonly.com

The very fate of the wrestling business is at stake on this edition of WCW Worldwide from February 26, 1994! - Terra Ryzing (Triple H) faces Brian Armstrong (Road Dogg) sowing some seeds - Newly hired Bobby Heenan as a comedy machine - Sting as a longer term “draw” - Figuring out the timeline for Missy Hyatt’s departure from WCW - Determining a course of action for Ray Traylor to make him like the Big Bossman and still not infringe on WWF trademarks - Modern day Steve Austin and his reversion to his WCW gimmick - Why the Nasty Boys are like a chain restaurant - Rick Rude goes bland while Marcus Bagwell gives 100% - Johnny B. Badd’s odd choice for a new trainer Plus: - The Heenan/Okerlund ’93 All American Reunion working in product placements - An update on the host and his future endeavors - Deciding on the best Cranberries song - Gary Cappetta lets fly with a regional accent - Wondering where Brian Armstrong got his jacket Email: Greetingsfromallentown@gmail.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/GFAllentownPod Fac

The heat is on approaching SummerSlam 89 with a look at WWF Wrestling Challenge from August 27, 1989! - Breaking down the Rick Rude confrontation with Roddy Piper from Prime Time Wrestling - Tito Santana’s forgotten shining moment of 1989 - A mild defense of the Brain Busters vs Hart Foundation booking at SummerSlam 89 - Explaining the motive for every illogical Ted DiBiase money decision - The Rougeaus Theme Song Challenge - SummerSlam main eventers play one upsmanship with nutty promos - The Garvin-Valentine feud: salvation for both - What makes for a good promo from Zeus? - Theorizing reasons for the real origin of the Ultimate Warrior/Rick Rude feud - Correct usage of "The" Plus: - A heavily redacted reaction to game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final - The trouble with “performance” golf shirts - Rick Rude possibly reveals his sexual proclivities? - Comparing Dusty Rhodes with an 80s TV icon - Original commercials, Right Guard and their cursed athlete endorsers, and so many ads for trucking companies Email:

We’re walking in Memphis again this week with look at the April 18, 1981 edition of Memphis Wrestling! - Amidst a tense atmosphere, Jerry Lawler takes on Terry Funk in an empty Mid-South Coliseum - Jimmy Hart takes to the ring to beat up little peiople - Dutch Mantel stands up for his country - The Dream Machine: a different kind of Akeem - David Oswald’s biggest claim to fame in Memphis Wrestling - Kevin Sullivan’s Boston accent as a necessary ingredient to this podcast Plus: - A word now considered a slur casually dropped in a promo - How bad is traffic in Memphis? - A brief history of the construction of I-40 in the Memphis area - YouTube Comment Theater! - Sports moments of 2019 (so far): The Saints get robbed, an incredible catch and double play, and Tiger’s return to glory Email: Greetingsfromallentown@gmail.com Twitter: @GFAllentownPod Facebook.com/GreetingsFromAllentown Prowestlingonly.com

In the year 2000….there was a leftover episode of WWF Sunday Night HeAT from 1999 airing January 2, 2000! - Having issues with remembering 1999 WWF storylines, and having the memory jogged with a “best of” montage - Gushing with praise for D’Lo Brown, doing double duty - A tag team match fit for Canadian television - Taking umbrage with wrestlers doing things that make no sense - Grandmaster Sexay and Mosh battle to settle the debate of hip hop versus heavy metal - Reviews from the place that the Godfather may have gotten his “ho’s” - Viscera: big men never go out of style - What Gangrel demands of the blood he uses Plus: - A Triple H appearance in a toy ad leads to more confusion - The problem with eating at a branded place like WWF New York - Billy Gunn’s use of the DX catchphrase - The return of YouTube Comment Theater! - Sports moments of 2018: Vladdy Junior, Tuukka loses a blade, a very long baseball game, JR Smith forgets the score, and the Philly Special Email: Greetingsfromallentown@gmail.com T

After a six month hiatus, The Adams Division podcast is back! Steve Bennett (The Sports-Casters) and Peter Winson (Greetings From Allentown) reunite to discuss their 10 favorite single season sports teams of all time! Part one will cover numbers 6-10 on their respective lists. Included are teams that won it all, lost in heartbreaking fashion, and the friends that were made along the way! Subscribe to the Place To Be Nation Wrestling feed, new home of The Adams Division Podcast: http://placetobe.podbean.com/feed/ Playlist of prior Adams Division Podcast episodes: https://soundcloud.com/greetingsfromallentown/sets/the-adams-division

It ain’t Allentown, but Hamburg, Pennsylvania will have to do as this week features a look at WWF All Star Wrestling from May 17, 1980! - Bob Backlund vs El Olympico in a bizarre “exhibition of wrestling holds” as VINCE MCMAHON delights in scientific wrestling - The future problem Larry Z would have coming out of the Bruno feud - Ken Patera as a God among men in 1980 even beyond the WWF - Hulk Hogan being better in ’80 than remembered even as the promotion would prefer people forget his main feud that year - Lots of Bruno Sammartino commentary: on Mexican wrestling, arrogant heels, fat people, Larry Z and more! - Tor Kamata and his comical real name - Steve King and the same name game - 1980 Wrestler kneepad watch Plus: - One wiseacre in Hamburg has some advice for Backlund and Olympico - Autograph seekers at the TV tapings and their fascination with job guys - Sitcoms that did exactly 117 episodes - Hulk Hogan: golfer? - Sports moments of 2017: A first in Major League Baseball, 10 home runs in one game,

For episode 116 it is back to Jim Crockett Promotions for a look at how “hot” the territory was for NWA Pro from February 21, 1987! - How literally everybody won because Jim Cornette threw a fireball at Ronnie Garvin - Jimmy Garvin’s face turn being perfectly timed and executed - The Midnight Express as a championship hockey team - Dick Murdoch colludes with the Russians - Johnny Weaver waxes incoherent on commentary, while Nikita Koloff is somehow eloquent - The Horsemen come up with funny things to call their “associate” Lex Luger - JCP’s attempt to run shows in Canada in February 1987 Plus: - Comparing and contrasting the crowd at a Judas Priest concert in 2019 with that of a wrestling show - The importance of local promos - How they covered the Cornette/Garvin angle and the old Saturday Night Live skit it brings to mind - The return of YouTube Comment Theater! - Sports moments of 2016: Britton never gets in the game, a Korean folk hero, the Cubbies as the anti-Orioles, an obese man hits a home run, and