Greetings From Allentown

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

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 l

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 To

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

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

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

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: GreetingsFromAllentown@gmail.com

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: GreetingsFromAllentown@gmail.com Facebook: G.F. Allent

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: greetingsfromallentown@gmail.com -

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: GreetingsFromAllentown@gmail.com

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: greetingsfromallentown@gmail.com

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

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!

Take a trip to the (WWF) Action Zone for a look at 1994 WWF in the aftermath of the Survivor Series - The history of the forerunner to Action Zone "All American Wrestling" and the incredibly devious thing Vince McMahon did in the fall of 1983 on that show. - Surviving Todd Pettengill on commentary - Enjoying how Vince not getting any pop culture references Todd makes. - Just how awesome was Owen Hart in 1994? - Why is there a guest ring announcer on this show, who is she, why are they trying to apparently set her up with Razor Ramon? - Bob Backlund wins....and then loses the WWF title - IRS with one of his usual inspiring promos from a graveyard - What the hell are the Bushwhackers doing here? All this and tangents on: the 1979 SNL skit about Three Mile Island, Southern Justice and their theme song, and much more!

The show (and host) take a trip to the True North Strong and Free this week with a look at WWF Maple Leaf Wrestling from October 13, 1984. Included: - The importance of Canada in the wrestling world - WWF coming into Toronto and partnering with the Tunneys - Canadian content regulations - The sheer delight of the Jack Reynolds/Angelo Mosca commentary team with many, many clips - Andre the Giant being difficult - Dynamite Kid as revolutionary figure - Davey “Danny” Boy Smith rips and he rhymes! - The legend of Dave Barbie - Iron Mike Sharpe gets a win - Michael Hayes being a goof - The Valentine-Santana feud over the IC title kicks off in earnest

A look at the aftermath of WrestleMania IV, with a peek at the April 2, 1988 episode of WWF Superstars of Wrestling. - A recap of the Macho Man winning the title and how he's the king of working four matches in a night - How the host managed to convince his parents to order the PPVs directly rather than waiting for a videotape - The all-around weirdness of Rick Rude and the true reason why he never had any sort of feud with Hulk Hogan - A defense of Bam Bam Bigelow's first WWF run and not just because his theme music was awesome - The accident that made the angle with Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Andre the Giant more effective Plus: YouTube Comment Theater!

This week it's back to Allentown for a look at WWF from September 25, 1982. Included: - Information on the sale/transfer of the WWF from Vince Sr. to Vince Jr., which was ongoing at the time of this show - Just how awkward Buddy Rogers is in this era - Bob Backlund trying and failing to properly express anguish at his belt being destroyed and coming off like proto-Nancy Kerrigan - Gorilla Monsoon literally buries Superstar Billy Graham in a newspaper column and his reason for not retracting the story when confronted by Graham - Rocky Johnson in one of his first WWF matches on TV - The greatness of Ray Stevens - Three things about Salvatore Bellomo and does being merely associated with Italy make you a babyface? - Who the hell is the White Angel anyway? The internet doesn't seem to know - Pete Sanchez: Where is he now, and what is he doing? - Mr. Saito: complete and total badass - Andre the Giant on the TV show The Greatest American Hero. Plus a new segment: YouTube Comment Theater!