#189 – Halloween Havoc 1989
This week on the show Dre and Black Cat review a great old NWA PPV – Halloween Havoc 1989 from Philadelphia, PA featuring a classic tag team match with Sting and Ric Flair taking on Terry Funk and the Great Muta. In the second half, we receiving a very concerning message from Robert of the Atomic Elbow and get a visit from the American Dream. Please support the show by visiting flairchop.com and purchasing a box set, shirt, poster, or the OSWP 500 book.
ARCHIVED EPISODES AVAILABLE on the 7TH SEASON BOX SET IN MID-2018
Great podcast. A couple of not so deep thoughts. I wonder if Jack Victory was ever considered for the Samoan Savage role? I would have loved to have heard Gary Hart reading bedtime stories to his children when they were young. I wonder if Donald Trump will ever be accused of doing a Lou Thesz Press on a woman? And speaking of Chick Fil A, when my son was young we went there a lot and I played the same My Pleasure game. My highlight was when I got a My Pleasure a Trois with three women saying my pleasure at the same time. Thanks again for always making a great podcast.
Gary Hart bedtime stories = nightmare material! And thank you for the comment.
You know that part of the theme song that goes “sometime’s we’re wrong?” Well it’s never been more appropriate than in your analysis of Bruno Sammartino and Pittsburgh. Bruno was a part owner of the Pittsburgh promotion that at times rivaled Memphis TV. Bruno was known as a good pay guy and the region’s location – between Chicago and NY and it’s proximity to Detroit – brought all of the era’s biggest names to the Steel City for Forbes Field supershows. If memory serves, the promotion ran 3 major cities – Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Buffalo – and lots of smaller cities in the area. The show declined once Bruno sold his shares and went into semi-retirement but for more than 2 decades it was a very popular promotion.
Here’s the Wikipedia page.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_Wrestling
The most revered host, Bill Cardille, died earlier in the year but other mainstays like Jumpin’ Johnny DeFazio, Domenic DeNucci, Luscious Johnny Valient, Bucky Palermo and George Steele are still around if you ever have the opportunity to score an interview regarding the territory
You requested stories about being surprised with wrestling tickets from your family. When I was 11 my dad surprised me with tickets to Clash of the Champions XV: Knocksville USA! Having been born in Huntsville, Alabama I loved Bobby Eaton. Clearly it mattered that the town he was billed from was the same town I spent the first three months of my life. I couldn’t believe that I would be present when he battled the Nature Boy in a two out of three falls match for the championship. My handful of memories from that day are scattered and amazing. I went to a Little Stinger Lookalike Competition before the show, I remember Oz menacing his way down to the ring, and who could ever forget the menacing Nikita Koloff jumping Sting with his Russian chain. During the commercial breaks there were trivia questions projected around the arena and I ate that up.
Last year at Olde Wrestling in Ohio I got to meet Tracy Smothers. I spent most of my early teens going to SMW shows (until the Gangstas arrived and my parents wouldn’t let me go but that’s a different story) and so I always had a soft spot for Smothers. When I mentioned that I attended SMW shows to Smothers he told me that he remembered me not just at the SMW shows but also in the stands at Knocksville USA!
I vividly remember those old IWA ads in the 80s wrestling mags. I may be wrong, but i remember some of them had a cartoon of an imaginary muscle head wrestler with a mohawk making a crazy face. I never sent off the form, but I imagined what it would be like to run your own wrestling federation. I was 9 or 10 after all and it was a simpler time. I probably would’ve used my allowance on what, in all probability, was a mail-order scam, but another PWI order gone wrong prevented that. I sent off for one of those cut-rate best of the territories tapes that used to be sold on the back cover of the Apter mags. They would have like 3 matches from Memphis or some other territory for around $20. 20 bucks for a half-hour VHS just sounds ridiculous today. Anyway, the tape never came and it soured me on ordering anything else from a wrestling magazine advertisement.
I always enjoy listening to the OSWP!
black cat did you just sign up for the iwa old school league .
A wrestler by the name of black cat just started in the league .
Happy Thanksgiving Dre & Blackcat.
Tape renting stories, While I lived in Alton, Illinois I rented my wrestling videos at Schnucks. Friday afternoon after school or later Friday night my pop would take me to rent videos. This Schnucks had a lot of WWF videos from the early 90’s mostly like Rampage series, “Super tape” one and two, World Tour, maybe 5 WCW titles, and couple of misc. best of territories tapes. Each week for two and half years I rented same tapes at least twice. I would start off randomly, then I went theme (i.e. WrestleMania 10 and WrestleMania 11), then I went by the numbers on the bottom side of the box (example WF088 & WWF 090). For two and half years that is all I rented was the wrestling tapes. I didn’t know what the hack was the plot of “Austin Powers” was all about or I didn’t know who Quentin Tarantino was. All I knew when to fast forward on “Hulkamania 6”.
Around the time (May of ’99) Schnucks started to sale off their VHS’s off. For five bucks a tape I got Starrcade ’87 & ’89. Church Classic. Supertape 2. Wrestlemania 2 (the home video release from 1986), Wrestlemania 4 (the double tape edition), and best of tapes of Jerry Jarrett’s Memphis and best of ICW. I really wanted Wrestle War ’91 & Starrcade ‘90, but some jerk took them before I could buy those tapes.
Then that summer I moved to Springfield, Illinois and started to rent at Family Video. I got to see a whole new crop of tapes. I remember more different updated WWF pay per view’s. The tradition of renting at Family Video didn’t last long maybe because I just move to town and the Rams where good. I just stop going to the video store and renting tapes. I am sad that my unborn children will never know the dilemma of picking just ONE tape and watching it for two day, and then having to return it before closing time. Also they will never know of a cartoon of the melted VHS and asking “Please don’t leave your VHS in the hot car” nor “Be kind and rewind”.
P.S. One thing I loved about that Schnuck is that I used to look at the latest WCW mag and then go to rent the tapes. Also once they give out free poster of Batman & Robin. I thought it was cool until I was in high school what people really thought of the movie. At least the poster was free and STILL got it.
The Imaginary Wrestling Association is still going strong after 30+ years. We have had players from all over the world, not just the USA and Canada. We are a play by mail game, but the results can also be found on our website, http://www.playiwa.com. I was not working here when you sent in your application back in 1988, so I do not know what happened to it. However, we are most definitely not a scam, and I apologize that you never received anything back. If you would like to check us out for free, you may e-mail me at Kimberly(at symbol)playiwa.com and mention this comment. Thank you!
Awesome! Thanks for getting in touch and thanks for the offer. I will definitely check it out as soon as possible!