Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk

Episode 70: Tulsa Wrestlefest

In Episode 70 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, Tulsa Wrestlefest, Greg:

Welcomes Shawn Sparks aka Sparks3rdCoast to the show for the first time. 

Greg and Shawn: 

Look at the July 28, 1985, Mid South Wrestling Association show at Tulsa's Fair Meadows Raceway. 

Enjoy the Fantastics vs Jerry Grey and Eddie Gilbert match but not as much as the women in the Tulsa crowd. 

Discuss the t...

Episode 69: Better Dead Than Red 

In Episode 69 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk,  Better Dead Than Red Show, Greg:

Looks at the December 1983 television for the Mid South Wrestling Association. 

Plays some audio from the anti-Russian tirades of Bill Watts.

Discusses, again, how the current mindset about Nicolai Volkoff's pre-WWF run is wrong. 

Notes where MSWA is still slow and where things are beginning to p...

Episode 68: The 43rd Anniversary Show 

In Episode 68 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, The 43rd Anniversary Show, Greg:

Talks about the lead up to Morris Sigel and Houston Wrestling's 43 Anniversary show June 5, 1959. 

Looks at three programs from May 1959 that lead up to the big show. 

Praises the decade long feud between Bull Curry and Danny McShane. 

Corrects the timeline on when and how George Wagner becom...

Episode 67: The Golden Era Begins

In Episode 67 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, The Golden Era Begins, Greg:

Welcomes Winter Place podcast host and IWC friend Mark Coale to the show for the first time. 

Greg and Mark:

Take a broad view of what Greg calls the Golden Era of the Mid South Wrestling Association, from the day Jim Cornette and the Midnight Express arrive until the day Bob Sweeten returns, or Nov. 83 t...

Episode 66: Jenny's Episode

In Episode 66 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, Jenny's Episode, Greg:

Pays tribute to his late mother, Jennifer Evans. 

Notes how she changed his life for the better by helping him pay for wrestling school, thus sending him to Adrian Street rather than a notorious Gulf Coast outlaw.

Updates the biggest star in Houston Wrestling discussion. 

Finds out where the MSWA a...

Episode 65: Darkest Before the Dawn

In Episode 65 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, Darkest Before the Dawn, Greg:

Looks at television for November 1983 in the Mid South Wrestling Association. 

Talks again about the problems with rasslin in the South in the fall and how fall of 1983 is perhaps the rock bottom point in the promotion. 

Coming up next is the tag team of George Weingroff & Tony Torres. 

Picks out ...

Episode 64: Two Ring Battle Royal

In Episode 64 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, Two Ring Battle Royal, Greg:

Updates the Sylvester Ritter Year One discussion.

Corrects a fact about Houston's use of the two ring battle royal.

Names to top 30 stars of Houston Wrestling, split into the Morris Sigel and Paul Boesch eras.

Talks about the two biggest stars in Houston Wres...

Episode 63: Vision Quest

In Episode 63 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, Vision Quest, Greg:

Looks at the podcast's 2024 in review, including this year's Top 5 cities.

Laughs about a match he attended in 1987 that ties into Episode 21, The Wrath of Khan.

Discovers what Sylvester Ritter was doing Christmas night 1976.

Ponders all the new information Beau James gav...

Episode 62: And Then Things Got Weird 

In Episode 62 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, And Then Things Got Weird, Greg:

Looks at television for the Mid South Wrestling Association for October 1983.

Speculates about the booking situation and reviews what we know about fall in the South.

Tries to make sense of the North American title turmoil.

Laughs about the solid wrestlin...

In Episode 61 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, Hey, Junior, Where's My Cowboy Movie At?, Greg:

Welcomes Tennessee wrestler and historian Beau James to the show.

Beau talks about how he met Sylvester Ritter, the time Ritter lived with him and what the Junkyard Dog was like as a real person.

Greg and Beau lament the idea of "workrate" being the most important barometer of wrest...

In Episode 60 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, Southwest Takeover, Greg:

Welcomes Las Vegas resident and rasslin podcast Roman Gomez to the show to talk about Southwest Championship Wrestling.

Greg and Roman review an episode taped Dec. 29, 1982 in the Junction in San Antonio.

They discuss the changes coming in wrestling and the need to let go of studio matches.

Greg, of course, p...

In Episode 59 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, Seasonal Variances, Greg:

Reveals his newest, earliest Houston Wrestling program, from May 1948.

Talks about the Billy Varga collection he bought and the range of programs from 1948 to 1958.

Marvels at the Houston main event and the storyline for Danny McShane vs Miguel "Black" Guzman.

Talks about Whiskers Savage and the new...

In Episode 58 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, Seasonal Variances, Greg:

Takes a look at the Mid South Wrestling Association for Sept. 1983.

Compares five years of MSWA to the TV show The Wire, and discusses how we look for the one we like less.

Says goodbye again to Ted DiBiase.

Laughs at Bill Watts use of the Road Warriors.

Welcomes Jim "the Hammer*" Nei...

In Episode 57 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, The Professor Talks JYD, Greg:

Welcomes his first guest to the show, New Orleans native and JYD original fan, the Professor Ricardo Coleman. 

Greg and Ricardo talk about the historic nature of Sylvester Ritter's wrestling career.

They explain how wrestling differed in New Orleans before and after JYD, especially where in town the matches we...

In Episode 56 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, Morris Sigel for the WON HOF, 2024 Edition, Greg:

Takes a second look at the Hall of Fame candidacy of Houston promoter and Texas Booking Agency head Morris Sigel. 

Traces his journey from hardware accountant to head of Houston Wrestling and his formation of the Texas wrestling circuit. 

Notes the names of the top wrestlers he either discovered, ...

In Episode 55 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, Greg:

Talks more about the Hall of Fame candidacy of Sylvester Ritter aka the Junkyard Dog. 

Picks up at the beginning of Year One and talks about the timing of when Ritter must have trained. 

Wonders if there are still earlier matches than Ritter's first known match of Nov. 11, 1976 vs Mike Boyette. 

Talks about how Ritter's t...

Episode 54: The College Edition

In Episode 54 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, Greg:

Talks about the Junkyard Dog and his candidacy for the Wrestling Observer Newletter's Hall of Fame. 

Looks at Sylvester Ritter's life before wrestling, including his two year trying to break into professional football. 

Finds an ad for the earliest known match for Sylvester Ritter, only to ...

Episode 53: The Cheese Stands Alone

In Episode 53 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, Greg:

Looks at the August 1983 in the Mid South Wrestling Association. 

Talks about Ted DiBiase's two-year MSWA run, which comes to a close in August.

Wonders if the top heel leaving has anything to do with the slowdown in fall of 1983. 

Discusses the use of more arena footage rather tha...

Episode 52: 1949, Part Two

In Episode 52 of Greg Klein's Old School Rasslin Talk, Greg:

Looks at two programs from November 1949 Houston Wrestling, which feature Billy Varga challenging for NWA titles.

Lucks into a piece of history as the second program features a preview of the Argentina Rocca vs Lou Thesz grudge match with huge out of the ring implications.

Traces the bad blood between Ro...