Episode 131 - Old Lady McDuffie

The One Man Gang runs Jim Duggan into the ringpost during the UWF Title Tournament in May 1986.

We are happy to welcome back Greg Klein (@jydbook) to the pod for another deep dive involving Mid-South Wrestling, only this time it’s the newly renamed Universal Wrestling Federation and the May 30, 1986 UWF Title Tournament held in the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, Texas.

We talk about how we found out about the results originally, watching the UWF TV show in Baltimore. Although Greg spend part of the year in Houston, he wasn’t there for this event.

The entire card and all the matches get discussed, even the ones where we don’t have film. We discuss some of the booking choices and match-ups and who we might have been wanting to back when it happened in 1986.

There’s lots of other stuff in this marathon episode, including other eras of Mid-South, when was the high point of the UWF and we talk about the one time World Class ran Houston. Also, anti-star rating filibustering, Morris Sigel’s Hall of Fame credentials, underrated wrestlers and so much more.

It’s always a great show when Greg is on. If you’re in upstate New York, check out the Cooperstown Christmas concert they are putting on as a fund-raiser to make the movie of the same name.

Episode Forty-Five - Georgia on My Mind

Did the Battle of Atlanta ruin Tommy RIch's career?

Wrestling Observer Live's Mike Sempervive (@sempervive) returns to the pod for some old school rasslin' talk. We start with the WWE Network unveiling the thought-lost footage of the Battle of Atlanta between Tommy Rich and Mad Dog Buzz Sawyer. We talk about the match's historical context, does it hold up to 2016 eyes and how does it compare to the Magnum TA vs Tully Blanchard Starrcade 85 cage match. We talk about the history of Georgia Championship Wrestling both before and after that feud, including the legendary Ole Anderson heel turn on Dusty Rhodes (see below). We discuss all the wrestling content now available, including the WWE Network, the NWA On Demand Service, New Japan World, CMLL's streaming options and all the classic footage uploaded by folks like Kris Zellner (@kriszellner) and @Monsoon_Classic, to name just a few. We also talk about the current WWE scene, will HHH's success with NXT and the Cruiserweight Classic translate to the main roster, how will mainstream fans treat guys like Jack Gallagher and TJ Perkins and more. We wrap up with a brief chat about the just-starting World Cup of Hockey. Can anyone beat Canada? Will the Young Guns make it to the semi-finals? We taped the show during the North America vs Finland match.