Greetings From Allentown

Get off that top rope because Bill Watts is large and in charge for WCW Saturday Night from June 20, 1992! Included: - The good and bad of the changes made by Bill Watts upon his arrival - Johnny B. Badd: One of the greatest WCW character creations - Checking in with Scott Steiner, Shoney’s restaurant franchisee - The greatest hits of enhancement talent Bob Cook - Cactus Jack’s voice sounds a bit like a guy named Foley, but not Mick - What Greg Valentine and former MLB pitcher Jack Morris have in common - Dusty Rhodes gets profane - Tony Schiavone is totally sick of Jesse Ventura’s crap - Finding another problem with Terry Taylor: his whiny voice Also: - A plea from the host for any El Dandy matches announced by Dusty Rhodes - One animal in nature that Arn Anderson cannot defeat, based on his own remarks - The changes in the Steve Harvey-hosted version of Family Feud and potential parallels to wrestling - WCW inadvertently honoring Pride Month? - The debut of a new segment honoring Vinnie Vegas

On this special episode of Greetings From Allentown, Peter pays tribute to the storied career of the late Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. Included: - Heenan’s feuds with Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant that stretched for years and Bobby’s instrumental role in making WrestleMania 3 as big as it was - The Brain’s wheelings and dealings with his charges and those he helped elevate - His 2004 WWE Hall of Fame induction speech and how it compares with other HOF speeches both in WWE and in other sports - Heenan as a superlative comedian - Gorilla and Bobby: A Plan B for two different shows - A musical tribute to the Brain’s sublime call of the 1992 Royal Rumble

Raise the stars and stripes as this week features a look at WWF All American Wrestling from November 13, 1983! - The early format of WWF All American Wrestling and how it evolved with the sneaky use of wrestlers from other promotions - Sorting fact from fiction on the career of the Fabulous Moolah - The life and times of Ken Jugan - Tony Garea and Iron Mike Sharpe renew their rivalry in “The Last Battle of Allentown” - Bob Backlund helps Eddie Gilbert rehab an injury and things get weird - Hulk Hogan is all over the map in late 1983 and forms a tag team with the highest ego rating ever - The origins of the phrase “Katy bar the door” Also: - Saying goodbye to the Grand Wizard and his glorious attire - Multiple references to 1960s star Luis Martinez - So many plugs for Victory magazine, including what may have been Lord Alfred Hayes’ first WWF on-camera appearance - Iranian shenanigans in the Middle East in 1983 - YouTube comment theater!

Get ready for some explosive talk show action for this episode of Greetings From Allentown looking at WWF’s TNT (Tuesday Night Titans) from August 16, 1985. - A brief history of Tuesday Night Titans, issues with the name, and how the 1984 version of the show was like a modern day WWE problem - The original opening song to TNT: what it was originally supposed to be used for, and a later sporting event where it served as the theme - Terry Funk starts and finishes a barroom brawl after being insulted by Lord Alfred Hayes - A bounty on Mr. Wonderful leads to the first ever Paul Orndorff/Phil Collins mashup - Tony Garea and his hair tell us all about New Zealand but mostly about the sheep population - Corporal Kirchner is coming….but was he already there? - Jim Neidhart complains about future wrestling fans on the internet without even realizing it Also: - The missed opportunity of Vince McMahon playing a true Johnny Carson role - Sympathy for England getting screwed in the 1986 World Cup - Research about Tony Garea leads to a sense of profound sadness - A bit of prior history between Al Hayes and the Funk family - Projecting the perfect TNT guest from late 80s WWF - Recommending a NFL Wins Pool for you and four friends, barely in time for the season to begin

Saturday Night’s alright for fighting as this week features a look at Saturday Night’s Main Event from January 4, 1986 in part 2 of the Fortnight of (Terry) Funk - Terry Funk’s history with Hulk Hogan which dates to the early 1980s and all the way to Sun City in Africa - Jesse Ventura calls out Brent Musberger and Vin Scully as he works a match and does commentary on the same show - Calling out Mr. Fuji for blatantly misrepresenting the Japanese people - George “The Animal” Steele and why he was a critical figure in the first few years of Saturday Night’s Main Event - Corporal Kirchner: It’s 4:20 somewhere! - Iron Sheik promos: unselfish in his patriotism - The beauty of the original music used in the show Also: - A quick rundown of the ill-fated 1985-86 season of Saturday Night Live, which was preempted for this show. - Referee Dean Malenko: Man of 1000 holds but doesn’t remember the rules for pinfalls - Hulk Hogan and his alternate uniform system - Cousin Luke as the #9 hitter in the lineup - Discussion of the USA For Africa supergroup, the “We Are The World” video, and Bruce Springsteen’s hair therein - A lengthy YouTube Comment Theater!

Clear off all the tables and keep your head on a swivel because Greetings From Allentown kicks off a Fortnight of (Terry) Funk with a look at NWA Pro from May 20, 1989! - Excerpts from Terry Funk’s book giving insight to how he saw his role for this run in the NWA/WCW and why the tone of his feud with Ric Flair was changed midstream - The legendary Lance Russell is full of wisdom and also disgust for the heels - Terry Funk interrupts the Rookie Challenge match as only he can - Breaking down the six different kinds of “wrestling mists” as The Great Muta busts out the green kind - Lex Luger’s righteous indignation toward his top ten ranking by the NWA board - How Dick Murdoch’s honesty toward management sunk his 1989 run - The battle of (Eddie) Gilbert and (Kevin) Sullivan: Clash of the southern bookers - Ron Simmons turns up yet again and why Randy Rose is back so soon - A sudden realization about the relative attractiveness of Terry Gordy Also: - A comparison of Terry Funk and baseball legend Nolan Ryan - The pizza choices of Johnny Ace and Shane Douglas as the Dynamic Dudes - Nashville, TN: Where tables injure legends - Travel tips for a weekend in Baltimore!

The forecast for this week’s Greetings From Allentown calls for Sunny skies with a look at WWF Mania, rebranded temporarily as The Sunny Show, from March 9, 1996. - A fair-minded look at the career of Tammy Lynn Sytch and her key role in launching the WWF’s online presence - Shawn Michaels’ run to WrestleMania 12, his connection with Sunny, and the peculiar thing he was into back then - An appreciation of old commercials for bizarre merchandise - Ranking the Bret Hart WWF World title reigns from worst to best - Breaking down the Billionaire Ted skits piece by piece, with things that were funny, things that were slanderous, and things that backfired completely - Taking several minutes to slam JBL as a wrestler, character, broadcaster, and human being in general - The definition of “diminishing returns”: The Ultimate Warrior’s 1996 run - Goldust toeing the line of homophobia in Piper’s Pit - Bret Hart as environmentalist: recycling perfectly good finishes - A struggle to find a theme song this week leads to a strangely produced number

This week on Greetings From Allentown, take cover because the Megapowers are going to explode on The Main Event II from February 3, 1989! - How the WWF masterfully built to the split between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage and their use of the Rashomon effect in the leadup to the WrestleMania V match - A rundown of the events leading up to the breakup, laying blame at the feet of all of them - The passion of Vince McMahon reading the intro to the show - A look at what was going on at the ABC television network, which was beating this show in the ratings that night - Breaking down the mechanics of the Elizabeth bump - Fun with the original broadcast bloopers from Hogan, Brutus Beefcake, Akeem, and the Big Bossman - Months ahead of No Holds Barred, Hulk Hogan gives a national audience a preview of his acting chops - One of wrestling’s greatest tag teams reunite to break up the Hogan-Savage fracas - Hulk Hogan channels the Incredible Hulk and works over a couple of future WWF champions - Hercules slips on a banana peel against the Million Dollar Man

This week Greetings From Allentown takes its first peek at Jim Crockett Promotions with a look at NWA Worldwide from September 24, 1988! - An overview of the dying days of JCP, struggling to hang on long enough to be sold to Turner - The huge issue that the financial problems caused with long term booking - Dusty Rhodes in late 1988: contender for the most annoying babyface ever - Who is John Ayers and why is he here, and what happened that might explain a big 1989 storyline in kayfabe - Complaints about the “squash-promo-squash-promo-repeat” format of the Crockett TVs of the time period - Dr. Death Steve Williams with a promo for the ages - The hindsight hilarity of Rick Steiner being bullied - Ron Simmons: Drug warrior or just a spokesman for D.A.R.E.? - Celebrating babyface Jim Cornette going all loose cannon and mentioning those who shall not be named Also: - Five things from 1984’s The Karate Kid that will enhance your viewing experience - How the Reagan-Gorbachev thaw in US-Soviet tensions ruined the quality of Russian heels - Two Bolsheviks references on show about the NWA! - The NWA music video that included guys who had already quit - The lengths I went to see a University of Michigan football game in the mid-1990s - Getting crossed up about Nikita Koloff quitting in 1988, but how could you really tell? - Law of 1988 JCP promos: Thou shalt mention Dusty Rhodes no matter what Email: [email protected] Twitter: @GFAllentownPod Facebook.com/greetingsfromallentown

We head out to the Bay area for some WWF Superstars of Wrestling action from June 18, 1988! - A look at the Hogan-less WWF of mid-1988, which also lacked Gene Okerlund leading to some forgotten broadcast teams - Harley Race is just severely injured and not dead despite all appearances to the contrary - The best in-ring work Superstar Billy Graham did in his WWF run: selling a figure four leglock - The debut of the Big Bossman and how he is like David Ortiz - Underage Louie Spicolli as spectacular enhancement worker - The Rockers debut and are talked about as being in the tag title picture instantly - Bret Hart continues his face turn by sending Jimmy Hart to get his shinebox once again - The beautiful subtlety of the Rougeau Brothers heel turn - Tough times for the Heenan Family in mid-88 as the Brain cuts a promo nearly in tears - Sean Mooney can’t stop yelling and kind of spoils an upcoming angle - Bam Bam Bigelow is all over the place in 1988 Also: - A commercial for WWF fundraiser cards of the era - A look at some C and D-level WWF show cards - The weirdness of Steve Lombardi plugging the Superstar Ice Cream bars - Why the first SummerSlam was scheduled for a Monday night - Personal and financial regrets about hating the Mine doll in ’88. - How to wake up Dave Meltzer at a long TV taping Twitter: @GFAllentownPod Facebook.com/greetingsfromallentown Email: [email protected]

Put on your Mickey Mouse ears and Disney ponchos for a trip to the Disney-MGM Studios for some WCW Worldwide action from May 14, 1994! - A recap of all the fun that was pre-Hogan WCW with babyface Ric Flair leading the way - Lord Steven Regal: Nobody better at simply walking to the ring - How the Marquess of Queensbury Cup series helped both Flair and Regal - Proto-HHH Terra Ryzing and the eerie commentary discussing his future - Trying to imagine Rick Rude as a babyface and his best option for the future had he stayed healthy - Tully Blanchard does a babyface promo…from the edge of the woods?!? - The chemistry between Jesse Ventura and Tony Schiavone - Sting falls in love with the back body drop Also: - Imagining a world in which Dusty Rhodes became a game show host - The time Regal taught me how to properly set a table for formal settings - A request for what I want airing on TV when I am on my deathbed - Noting Gary Michael Cappetta introductions of job guys and how it amuses me - Bunkhouse Buck stuns Tony and Jesse with wrestling moves - Rick Rude and Vader channel a bad sports debate program by yelling over each other - A very WCW finish to an “I Quit” match - Jesse Ventura gets in his digs against the U.S. Marines Twitter: @GFAllentownPod Facebook.com/greetingsfromallentown Email: [email protected] Amazon: Placetobenation.com/amazon

It’s back to Allentown for a look at the birth of the Rock and Wrestling Connection on WWF Championship Wrestling from June 16, 1984 - The motivations for everyone involved in Cyndi Lauper’s WWF appearances: Cyndi, Dave Wolff, and the WWF. - The seven week build to Lauper’s appearance and how Piper acted differently with her than in other Pit segments of 1984 - The wheelings and dealings of the WWF in mid-1984 invading various territories - Dr. D the bounty hunter and what his 1985 might have looked like had he not been fired - Jesse the Body wears a very risqué shirt to the ring for his match - Why it was a terrible idea for Rudy Diamond to taunt a guy like Paul Orndorff with a shirt that said “Paula” - Tito Santana as IC Champion: why it made sense and also didn’t make sense on different levels Also: - Taking Howard Finkel to task for his reading of promos for upcoming events - How is Bob Orton in two places at the same time? - Feeling conflicted about “the mighty midgets” - Marking time by looking at the top of Hulk Hogan’s head Email: [email protected] Twitter: @GFAllentownPod Facebook.com/greetingsfromallentown Shop at Amazon: placetobenation.com/amazon

This week we journey back to May 31, 1986 for some UWF action, Bill Watts style. Included: - Eddie Gilbert lays a perfect trap for fervent anti-Communist Bill Watts by flattering the Cowboy - What quality commentary can add in wrestling for both good matches and bad ones - Thoughts and theories on why the UWF died - Korchenko: Fake Russian turned reality TV star - An unexpected detour to WWC in Puerto Rico to discuss the TNT vs Original TNT feud - Michael Hayes’ failure in his outreach to Dark Journey and his misunderstanding of the meaning of the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution - Gustavo Mendoza is committed to his Cuban cigars - Connections between Ted DiBiase and Terry Taylor - Going to Buzz Sawyer as a mentor and why that’s a terrible idea for young Rick Steiner Also: - Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” as theme music - Misspelling someone’s first and last names - Hearing an unbelievable phrase during a promo for UWF fundraisers - Two references to Carl Weathers movie characters and neither one is Apollo Creed! - Pondering an alternate name/theme for the podcast if YouTube takedowns continue Email: [email protected] Twitter: @GFAllentownPod Facebook.com/Greetingsfromallentown

Break out your American flag shirts because patriotism fills the air on this episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge from July 11, 1993! Included: - The USS Intrepid Yokozuna Bodyslam Challenge: Bios of the random athletes involved, such as Peter Taglianetti and Scott Burrell, and what the crowd chanted as Luger’s helicopter came in - Lex Luger as Vince McMahon’s “rebound girlfriend” after the breakup with Hulk Hogan - Scott Levy’s one of a kind career arc - Jim Ross’ difficulty in working with funny color guys not named Jerry Lawler - A defense of Bret Hart’s “demotion” to a feud with Lawler - Owen Hart’s hair - Gene Okerlund is just exhausted and fed up - More fun with Bret Hart mispronunciations! - Tatanka: Not the greatest Native American gimmick, but very far from the worst Also: - Bad U.S. National Anthems of the early 1990s, and its role in one of the all-time greatest moments on ESPN SportsCenter - Expressing a longing for something better than the mid-90s WWF tag team division through the power of song - Calling out the Catholic Church on the hypocrisy of complaining about Friar Ferguson - A three minute interlude about nuclear power - Don’t challenge Michael Jordan to a game of one on one - A requiem for the Palace at Auburn Hills, home of SummerSlam 1993 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @GFAllentownPod Facebook.com/GreetingsFromAllentown

In this special episode of Greetings From Allentown, the first 1987 WWF appearances by Ted DiBiase are examined. Included: - A brief history of DiBiase and his career across various territories from the mid-70s up to his return to the WWF in May 1987 - The impact of Houston Wrestling and Paul Boesch spurning the NWA and Jim Crockett Promotions in favor of working with the WWF and a big reason why that was done - A look at the Houston-only storyline that turned babyface Ted DiBiase into a heel literally on the eve of the first Million Dollar Man vignettes and why the WWF would feel they needed to do it - My personal favorite Million Dollar Man vignette and Ted’s crossover to super-villainy Twitter: @GFAllentownPod Facebook: G.F. Allentown Email: [email protected]

It's back to the Golden Age for some WWF Superstars action from November 16, 1991! - The sheer awesomeness of Ric Flair cutting a promo in Hulk Hogan's face at their first meeting on WWF TV - Legal codes to live by if you are an actual Repo Man - The Life and Times of Reno Riggins - Greg Valentine as a babyface: is another Hammer to blame? - The many changes to the 1991 Survivor Series card - The Big Bossman ups his jacket game - The problem that the Natural Disasters faced as "monster heels" - The Beverly Brothers work a man hug Also: - The varied voices of Howard Finkel - Sean Mooney predicts the future for the Big Bossman - What is the British Bulldog doing in his team's Survivor Series promo? - What you can glean from looking at Hulk Hogan's eyebrows - The debut (and finale?) of a new segment "Questions"

Take a trip down to Georgia (or wherever they taped this) for some December 1990 WCW action! - Defending Sid Vicious and his love for the great game of softball - Growing weary from Missy Hyatt on commentary and her attempts at humor - Gordon Solie is very disappointed in the Nature Boy's actions at Starrcade - 1990 WCW as the land of missed and wasted opportunities, such as with Brian Pillman - Mr. Hughes: a great trainer against all expectations - What exactly is the selling point on Tom Zenk beyond his looks? - A side by side comparison of the York Foundation theme and the into song to the 1980s TV show "Dallas" - Big Van Vader and his giant smoking helmet thing Plus: - American football video games and a palpably unfair act committed in a game of Madden football - A critique of the movie Home Alone - Sega Genesis vs Super Nintendo in my world - An earlier example of Russian meddling in American life - the WCW hotline Twitter: @GFAllentownPod Email: [email protected] Facebook: G.F. Allentown

Get the flux capacitor ready because this week we take a trip back to November 1985 for some WWF action! Including: - The lovely Elizabeth with a complete departure from everything her WWF character would become - Attempting an "Andre to English" translation of Andre the Giant on commentary - Hulk Hogan faces Rusty Brooks and an unwelcome visitor - Paul Orndorff as a commodity in today's wrestling landscape - The British Bulldogs and their well-traveled 1985 - One thing that shows that Bret Hart isn't being given respect - Roddy Piper during a particularly turbulent time in his career - Vince McMahon's fondness for hillbillies and the probable source - So many masked jobbers! Plus: - Pondering an all-wrestler football all star team - Items of note from Philadelphia, Mississippi - Trying to figure out what the deal is with WWE and online content - A shout out for the doctor who fixed Hillbilly Jim's leg Twitter: @GFAllentownPod Facebook: G.F. Allentown Email: [email protected] -

Get out your nWo Wolfpac shirt for a look at WCW Worldwide from June 6, 1998. Included: - The crazy level of my commitment to watching WCW in early 1998 - The exact point where WCW turned sour for me, which is likely different from common opinion - A plea to anyone who still defends Chris Benoit, 10 years later - Fit Finlay and his confusing ring gear - It's The End Of Lex Luger As We Know It! - One thing I really liked about Larry Zbyszko as an announcer - Digging the work of Disorderly Conduct - Alex Wright turns the tables on Lee Marshall in an interview - Ron Reis: Beyond the "Yetay" Plus: - An abbreviated YouTube Comment Theater - Exciting announcement about the show! Twitter: @GFAllentownPod Facebook: G.F. Allentown Email: [email protected]

There are No Holds Barred this week with a look at WWF Superstars from June 3, 1989! Included: - The experience of seeing No Holds Barred in the theater, the shills on this show, and Hulk Hogan's delusions of grandeur - "King" Hacksaw Jim Duggan: Why he is definitely NOT the ugliest king of all time - Bobby Heenan's 1989 and the incredible thing he got away with on the USA Network that year and how he is the Branch Rickey of wrestling managers - The problem that happens when tag wrestlers go single - The only Mr. Fuji/James Worthy cross-reference ever made - Dusty Rhodes delivers a most interesting pizza order to a woman - The run of the Brain Busters and why I think it worked out fine as it was - Jake Milliman's big moment in the AWA - How Brutus Beefcake karmically sank the Stanley Cup hopes of the 2009 Boston Bruins - YouTube comment theater! Reach the show this way: Twitter: @GFAllentownPod Facebook: G.F. Allentown Email: [email protected]

This week is a trip back to February 2, 1980 for WWF Championship Wrestling. Including: - A complete and thorough look at the build to Bruno Sammartino vs Larry Zbyszko with extensive audio clips of the interviews that set up the match - Bruno Sammartino: master of the low key promo and talking people into the arenas with the emotional connection he had with fans - The brilliance of how the Bruno/Larry match progressed with Larry slowly boiling over in anger - Ken Patera's amazing 1980 and his very strange pre-match routine with manager The Grand Wizard - Pat Patterson as a worker and why he’s enjoyable - Johnny Rodz's special role in Vincent J. McMahon’s WWF - Vince McMahon doing yeoman’s work going solo on the broadcast Plus: My favorite wrestling podcast format ever, Tony Atlas’ strange match with Rodz, how the logo for the podcast came to be, the "rule" I broke in looking at this show, my evolving views on pre-1984 WWF, one thing I wish there was more of in Pat Patterson’s book “Accepted”, and YouTube Comment Theater!

Take a trip back to 1997 for the wild and crazy days of WWF Shotgun Saturday Night, from March 15, 1997. - Background of the Shotgun show and stretching the credibility of calling something "New York" as in the city - My love for Brian Pillman's entire career and regrets about what could have been - A description of trying to follow wrestling in 1997 without cable TV and Shotgun's role in that - The importance of Chyna in boosting the Hunter Hearst Helmsley act - Furnas and Lafon: Why couldn't they just give them a manager? - Bret Hart has some prescient things to say about Vince McMahon - All you ever wanted to know about Lance Wright, the ring announcer on this show - Finding a new gimmick for Flash Funk by looking at a piece of classic Mel Brooks cinema - Memories of a gruesome Hector Garza injury Plus: Commercials for stuff like NBA Shootout '97 and psychic hotlines, forming a wrestling fan club in college, and support your local indy promotion!

Take a trip back to the mini-Attitude Era with a look at WWF Superstars from April 13, 1991. - The trouble with Kerry Von Erich beyond his horrible theme music - Jake the Snake Roberts as babyface bully - Explaining (and defending!) the Berzerker gimmick with a look at the etymology and Icelandic literature(?!?) - The great Sean Mooney hosts an Event Center….with no specific event to plug - The trials and tribulations of Barry O - Bret Hart’s singles push begins, for real this time I swear! - The Nasty Boys: are they this podcast’s “house band”? - A comprehensive second by second breakdown of the Ultimate Warrior being locked in a coffin and the “attempts” to get him out. Plus, useful information on how YOU can best survive if you find yourself in a similar spot - Tugboat as the great palate cleanser - How many late tax filers are there during tax season and why is IRS so concerned about them? Plus: the return of YouTube comment theater, and an extended jag about the awesome WWF on NESN theme music

Take a trip down to the Irish McNeil Boys Club in Louisiana for some classic Mid-South Wrestling action from March 30, 1984. - Jim Cornette has been embarassed, and Bill Watts thinks it is funny so now they are at war - Bill Watts' political views and how you have to suppress them when watching this stuff - The debut of Jim Ross as the lead host and also his rendition as JR goes looking for Stagger Lee on Watts' behalf - The Rock and Roll Express set a new standard for "making the babyface save" - Mr. Wrestling II and Magnum TA flip the script on the "Bruno/Larry storyline" - Hacksaw Jim Duggan battling Russians - Terry Taylor gets suckered and then beat down by Butch Reed, and an alternate theory is offered re: The Red Rooster - The trouble with Masao Ito's tights - A video glorifying Watts plays....twice!