I Can Talk Kayfabe

Is Greg Gagne the stupidest man alive? Probably not but Larry Zbyszko wants you to think so. Also, where the hell was Paul Orndorff in the WWF title tournament at WrestleMania IV? We also have Lex Luger and Dennis Condrey sonning marks in “You Asked Us” as we dig into THE WRESTLER from October 1987.Rate, review, tell a friend and check out Joe and Shawn on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

Its a look back to the year that was 1984 in professional wrestling which for some reason features a lot of Jerry Blackwell.Rate, review, tell a friend and check out Joe and Shawn on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

We dive back into the world of wrestling match-ups that might have been with WRESTLING SUPERSTARS from August 1990. Ric Flair and Ultimate Warrior are going to square off but we have to get the government involved first. Also, don’t trust the Rock ’N Roll Express. Ever.Rate, review, tell a friend and check out Joe and Shawn on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

This week, we check out WRESTLING WORLD from December 1984. Kerry Von Erich’s on top of the world for just a little while but not for too long, Florida wrestling memories of Mike Davis as Dusty Rhodes and the legend of Bruiser Brody endures.Rate, review, tell a friend and check out Joe and Shawn on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

This week, Sports Review Wrestling from 1990 looks at the weird experiment that was Starrcade 89 where only a few people wrestled. Also, Jake Roberts makes a comeback and pro wrestlers remember the 80s.Rate, review, tell a friend and check out Joe and Shawn on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

Someone is trying to take out the Hulkster! Hot damn! I bet its probably Brutus Beefcake but since its 1991, I’m probably wrong! The new money is on Dino Bravo who had an inexplicably great 1990.Also, we discuss WCW’s Minotaur, the Nikita Koloff fan club package and Ricky Steamboat’s WWF failure.Rate, review, tell a friend and check out Joe and Shawn on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

Hot damn….we’re back! This week, we pay tribute to Bruno Sammartino and even squeeze in a review of WWE’s Backlash. It wasn’t very good.Thankfully, this magazine is interesting as we cover the most devastating finishers of 1986, put over Karate Pants Jake Roberts and discover that Stan Hansen quizzes his kids on pro wrestling and hits them with the AWA Championship if they get the answers wrong. Stuff gets dark, man.Rate, review, tell a friend and check out Joe and Shawn on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

Rowdy Roddy Piper is the Wrestler of the Month in the December 1986 edition of WRESTLING’S MAIN EVENT!! He’s really unpredictable and might give you a scientific DDT. That’s when you DDT someone on a Harlan Ellison novel (nailed it)Elsewhere in the book, the Machines are dumb but secretly awesome, WME’s editor has it out with the fans, Terry Taylor orders a salad and Magnum TA takes a secret meeting at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.Rate, review, tell a friend and check us out on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

Its the continuation of our last episode (sorry we’ve been away - Joe is moving) as we look at the additional half of Wrestle America, WRESTLING BAD GUYS - JUNE 1999!We break down the purported Top 10 Heel turns of all time that somehow forgets to include the Barbershop Window and many others. Also, Ric Flair is a wimp, Sgt. Slaughter somehow becomes a contender and John Tolos throws all the powder.Rate, review, tell a friend and check us out on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

The nWo is on the verge of complete pro wrestling domination even though we are talking about in early 1999 when Vincent and Stevie Ray were farting around over who would run the B-Team. Anyhow, WRESTLE AMERICA from June 1999 helps us sort it out.Also in this book, we go in-depth into Lex Luger’s wrestling jeans phase, Hulk Hogan stumps for a flat tax, Jeff Hardy swantons on to a bed of bugs and the Barry Windham/Curt Hennig tag team was PITS (until they became the West Texas Rednecks).Rate, review, tell a friend and check us out on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

Its the Hulk Hogan BOOK OF LISTS~! this week as THE WRESTLER from January 1990 fills in on a bunch of random Hulkster facts that you didn’t know but now probably knew without looking because internet.Also in this book, Kerry Von Erich poses with a Mr. T doppelgänger, the wrestling community unites to “stomp on drugs,” P.Y. Chu Hi frustrates the press and Jonnie Stewart disappoints us.Rate, review, tell a friend and check us out on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

Razor Ramon rules the cover of WRESTLING WORLD from February 1995, a Stately Wayne Manor joint. Razor/Scott Hall has had the most adventures of all the wrestlers we’ve covered on this show and this one does not disappoint. Join us as Razor dines in a Mexican restaurant that no longer exists and then goes to a poetry slam where he almost gets into a fight.Elsewhere in this book, Bret Hart puts over Dolly Parton, Strike Force explodes six years too late on the northwest Canadian wrestling scene, some poor indy schmuck takes a promo pic in front of a brick wall and HHH’s first ever manager gets highlighted. Also, Joe and Shawn give their thoughts on WWE’s Elimination Chamber 2018.Rate, review, tell a friend and check us out on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

STING~! wins the NWA heavyweight title in this epic issue of PRO WRESTLING ILLUSTRATED from November 1990! Join us as we discuss a fantastic example of a kayfabe wrestling magazine where Sting wins the big one and holy crap is PWI excited. You’ll get fired up too! AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!Elsewhere in the book, Stan Hansen fights Terry Funk on a river bank in New Jersey and his nipple explodes, Barry Darsow gets forgotten when it comes to the Freebird Rule, Zeus and Abdullah the Butcher square off in Puerto Rico and Joe hates the gym!Rate, review, tell a friend and check us out on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

We jump right back into INSIDE WRESTLING, this time from 1996 and RIGHT AFTER Hulk Hogan went nWo! Oddly enough, the cover of this mag isn’t just a picture of Hogan with the headline saying HOLY $#!& but instead, they opted for the Steiners. You see, the Steiners are running through the WCW tag ranks like a trough of ham cubes at a Shoney’s. So watch out (!!!) LOD in blue tights and Mike Enos-version of the Stud Stable!Elsewhere in this magazine, we are treated to a rare pic of Rey Mysterio with a full head of hair, Bastion Booger fondly remembers the first time he ate Chicken Nuggets, Liz Hunter interviews Eddie Ellner and we call shenanigans over the Most Popular ratings.Rate, review, tell a friend and check us out on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

This week, Shawn and Joe return to WRESTLING TODAY, one of, if not THE, most poorly edited wrestling magazines in existence. Its like they had One Man Gang do a 747 splash on a typewriter and decided to print whatever came out.We discuss what WRESTLING TODAY (from May 1988) anticipated as the WrestleMania IV card even though the matches they picked would have made more sense in mid-86. Seriously, its like they took a 10yr old kid and had them blindly point at an actual Apter mag to put this together. I WANT TO SEE SPIKES VERSUS SPIKES!Anyway, Demolition Inc starts a business, Superstar Graham promises a comeback that had already failed at this point, Joe sees “Boogie Woogie” Jimmy Valiant in public and we realize that Killer Khan has a restaurant and that we need to go.Rate, review, tell a friend and check us out on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

SID~! finally graces the cover of a magazine we’re covering as we delve into INSIDE WRESTLING from December 1990. We discuss Sid’s recent travel woes which leads us into a very disturbing hypothesis involving the White House and the Lord Humongous outfit.Elsewhere in the book, Jim Cornette successfully preserves his copy of MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, Larry Zbyszko rips off The Texas Hangmen AS WELL AS Jake Milliman (the cad) and Eddie Ellner goes HAM on Sapphire and her role in Dusty Rhodes Enterprises.Rate, review, tell a friend and check us out on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

On this week’s show, Joe and Shawn look back at THE WRESTLER from April 1989 in which Hulk Hogan is portrayed as a bad-ass monster heel even though he is face AF. This issue is also the Don Muraco-est Apter mag ever as “The Rock” won the Stampede North American belt and Victory Sports Wrestling can’t get enough of it. Elsewhere in the book, we get bored by yet another Mike Rotundo interview, JYD gets examined and ultimately gets called fat, Andre The Giant meets the Boss Baby and we find solace in the back cover which is one of those WWF LJN figure ads. Honestly, we could do just an hour on that back cover by itself.Rate, review, tell a friend and check us out on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

Happy New Year folks! We start off this week’s show with a heavy discussion about our hometown of Buffalo because the Bills are in the playoffs after 17 years and its worth mentioning.As for the book, we cover SPORTS REVIEW WRESTLING from February 1985 as Kung-Fu Billy Graham tries to escape Kevin Sullivan’s Satanic grip. Also, we rank the Von Erichs in terms of in-ring excitement, wish we were around to see an awesomely-violent card in San Antonio and Bruno Sammartino continues to bore us. And, hot damn, we go on a tear of altering the gender of famous wrestler's names because in the 80s, Andrea The Giant was almost a thing.Rate, review, tell a friend and check us out on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

Its a major whiff of nostalgia this week as Shawn and Joe delve into PRO WRESTLING ILLUSTRATED from November 1987. This was a book that Shawn had as a kid, most likely purchased from a Super Duper or a Fay’s Drugs in South Buffalo. This is a great book with great photos including Ivan and Nikita Koloff reading a Russian propaganda book, Bruno doing the classic “open handed dramatic walk” pose and, in the centerfold, George “the Animal” Steele combing his chest hair in a mirror. We also discuss some odd 1987 WWF house show results, a guy who legit believes that Black Bart is the BEST wrestler he’s ever seen and Eddie Ellner ethering a Polish woman from New Jersey whose only offense is appreciating Ivan Putski’s accomplishments in pro wrestling.Rate, review, tell a friend and check us out on Twitter at @angryheroshawn and @sweatpantsjoe

First, a word of warning about this episode. There are MASSIVE Star Wars spoilers inside because Joe saw THE LAST JEDI and hated it and Shawn doesn’t really care that much about Star Wars so we didn’t care if it got ruined. Just jump ahead past the Worst Collection Ever promo and you’ll be good.As for this book, CELEBRITY WRESTLING is one of the rarer 80s non-Apter magazines. There are no actual celebrities in the book, that is unless you count the wrestlers themselves, which would be incorrect.The content is boring but you do get to see a young, swoll Scott Levy aka Raven in a lab coat, Dick Slater and Joey Maggs sunbathing by a pool, the most extensive yet concurrently kayfabe ratings section ever and a poster of the “New” Rockers, neither of which is Marty Jannetty or Al Snow. Also, if you act fast enough, you can still enter the “Become Tom Brandi’s Globe-Trotting Valet” contest that most definitely was not a ploy to get women’s addresses and most certainly was confined to New York, New Jersey and that bi