When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by DragonKingKarl

It's that time of year, boys and ghouls! Halloween! Long time listeners will know that Mike and Joseph love Halloween so it's only natural that this time of year they talk about the spooky season. Trick or treating, favorite costumes, even movies that they liked to watch around this time of year. Of course, what would an episode be without a mix-tape challenge and this one fits the season as the guys present one another with lists of spooky songs! Put on your favorite Ben Cooper costume and sit back and enjoy this one with a handful of candy...

Today we are going back to 1944 and revisiting one of the later Universal monster movies — The Mummy's Ghost, starring Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine, Ramsay Ames, and a collection of familiar faces from the golden age of Universal horror. I like this movie. Is The Mummy's Ghost the greatest Universal horror movie ever made? No. Is it even the best Mummy movie? Well... probably not. But I will tell you what The Mummy's Ghost is: it is almost exactly what I want from a 60-minute Universal monster movie made in 1944. And it's Halloween season so here it is.

My Long Form History of Pro Wrestling Series here on the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Podcast continues this week and is taken from the pages of my latest book DragonKingKarl's 1986-1987 Pro Wrestling Omnibus with a detailed look at November 1986. Thanksgiving was a big deal in pro wrestling in the 1980s and in 1986 the NWA held the Starrcade that Magnum TA was supposed to defeat Ric Flair for the NWA World championship. However, Magnum's career was now over due to a car accident and former tough guy Russian heel Nikita Koloff stepped in to take his place. A terrifying scaffold...

Ernest Roeber was the protege and friend of William Muldoon and continued his Greco-Roman legacy into the 1900s. He was a star in the early days of New York City's Madison Square Garden. His win-loss record was not particularly as impressive as his name recognition might suggest. Today, on the 1000 Hours Podcast by pro wrestling historian and pioneer pro wrestling history expert Karl Stern, we take a look back at the legacy of Ernest Roeber.

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From the pages of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter by Dave Meltzer, pro wrestling historian Karl Stern takes a look at the February 2, 1987, issue which includes stories on Jim Neidhart of the Hart Foundation being charged with assaulting an airline employee, Roddy Piper is teasing retirement, and the buildup to WrestleMania III is in full swing but nobody is really sure if Andre the Giant is going to be there or not.

Episode 2011 (October 12, 2026)

Last episode it was sitcom families, this time around Joseph and Mike discuss non-sitcom families like the Cartrights from Bonanza, the Ewings from Dallas, and The Robinsons from Lost in Space and a few more. Plus, you want tangents? We got tangents! But before any of that, we've got a mix-tape challenge involving songs with numbers in the title. Dial up 867-5309 and tell Jenny to tune into this one!

Today the DragonKingKarl Show hosted by pro wrestling historian Karl Stern is available exclusively only at When It Was Cool (I am running Wrestling With the Dawg Episode 500 podcast at Observer in my spot this week). So, with just us friends here today we look at a very interesting issue of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter which leads with the tragic story of a car crash that UWF wrestler John Tatum had which took the life of another person. In wrestling news, we discuss fall out from the Christmas shows and watch WWF (WWE) march in the direction of...

Today is an interesting topic for me personally. The death of pioneer pro wrestling legend William Muldoon fell outside the scope of my groundbreaking book DragonKingKarl's Pioneer Era Pro Wrestling Omnibus since Muldoon died after 1900. However, the death of the biggest legend of the pioneer era of pro wrestling is certainly within the scope of this podcast and today I dig through the pages of Scott Beekman's new William Muldoon biography to find out the sad final days of William Muldoon.

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For the 500th episode of Wrestling With the Dawg Broadcast at FlairFlop.com, the Three Faces of Fear unite to debate and discuss the MONTREAL SCREWJOB from WWF Survivor Series 1997! Joe Drilling and Eric Allen of OnTheStick.com joins the Dirty Dawg Darsie to review the Dark Side of the Ring episode on the matter as well as review the WWF Championship match at Survivor Series, as well touch on if it was a work, why couldn't the personalities been tamed down, and so much more!

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Today I discuss the December 8, 1986, issue of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter which covers NWA Starrcade 1986, the show where Magnum TA should have won the NWA World heavyweight title but following his career ending car accident, he was replaced by Nikita Koloff in a better-than-expected match. Plus, The Road Warriors battle the Midnight Express on a scaffold and Jim Cornette suffers an injury. Also discussed is the tragic car accident with UWF wrestler John Tatum which resulted in a death and his arrest.

Episode 2010 (September 28, 2026)

It's time to travel back and visit some sitcom families from the 80s, 70s, and earlier. The Bradys, the Bunkers, the Bundys and even some families that had last names from elsewhere in the alphabet!

But, as usual, before the main event we've got to answer the mixtape challenge wherein last episode Mike asked for tapes with songs that asked a question. Did you come up with a list of your own? Listen to see if any of yours made their tapes!

Today we crank up the time machine and travel back to the fall of 1986 and cover October from my latest book DragonKingKarl's 1986-1987 Pro Wrestling Omnibus and discuss the details of the career ending car accident suffered by top NWA star Magnum TA (Terry Allen). Magnum TA's car accident prompted the babyface turn of Nikita Koloff and changed the booking for the upcoming Starrcade '86 and set the NWA on a new course. Plus, the Hulk Hogan verses Paul Orndorff feud continues in the WWF, massive TV tapings for their new shows and tons of notes from the AWA...

Karl Stern: Professional Wrestling Historian: Author of DragonKingKarl's Pioneer Era Pro Wrestling Omnibus takes a deep dive into the retirement of the most famous pro wrestler of the 1800s in the United States, William Muldoon. I take a look into Scott Beekman's new biography of William Muldoon for notes of interest I may have missed in the Pioneer Pro Wrestling Omnibus and now, I believe we can paint an interesting picture of the how's and why's of The Solid Man's retirement from pro wrestling and what he did next which made him even more famous.

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Today I look back at the November 3, 1986, issue of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter which first reported details from the career ending car accident of Magnum TA. Magnum TA was being pushed to win the NWA World heavyweight title at the upcoming NWA Starrcade according to the late promoter Jim Crockett, Jr. The career ending car accident changed the course of pro wrestling history. Plus, this was a heavy news week for many other areas as well and we discuss all of that here on this show.

Episode 2009 (September 14, 2026)

School was back in session last episode so it's only natural that Mike and Joseph cover after school TV watching this time out.  Ultraman, Gilligan's Island, Star Blazers - the guys watched a lot of different things covering various genres.  Did they watch one of your favorites?  Listen to find out!  And of course there's the "Mix-Tape Challenge" wherein they share their playlists of songs that tell a story.  Most importantly, the audio issues that plagued the previous episode have been corrected and the previous audio engineer has been sacked.

Aaron Gartlan presents SECW Action News Podcast. Over the few weeks pro wrestling historian and author Karl Stern will be posting a 3 part series about the little known assault story involving Mr. Wrestling 2 (Johnny Walker). This series is not for kids as we will be discussing some very heavy criminal themes. Part 1 - Who is Two? This isn't a biography, but rather a look at who was John F. Walker? How did he become friends with a President all while being on an offender database in Hawaii? Then we begin the trek through the complex criminal case of Mr...

Blackjack Mulligan was a major pro wrestling star in the 1970s into the 1980s and his sons Barry and Kendall Windham also joined him as wrestlers. Married into the family was Mike Rotundo who, of course, spawned Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas. In 1989 Blackjack Mulligan and Kendall Windham were indicted in a million-dollar counterfeit money scheme and ultimately were sent to prison for around two years. I have gone back and combed the newsletters and newspapers of that story and present it to you here today.

Aaron Gartlan presents SECW Action News Podcast, and this week pro wrestling historian and author Karl Stern takes a look at a crime that took place years after SECW and Continental Wrestling had ended but involved two people who wrestled for Continental Wrestling. In August of 1995, Tracy Smothers and Ricky Morton were top stars in both Smoky Mountain Wrestling and USWA when an incident occurred. Tracy Smothers and his girlfriend allegedly beat up the girlfriend of Ricky Morton, and she pressed charges against them. Despite the fact that Tracy Smothers and his girlfriend were arrested on felony assault charges...

Free week 2026 is here! It only happens once a year but this week, all the shows we release are free! This episode concludes my series on the history of the National Wrestling Alliance World heavyweight championship and follows the belt into the independent era. This series was completed before the Billy Corgan NWA era began and, at some point, I will do an episode on it also, but this show follows the championships fall from being a major independent championship to a lineage where it is hard to even remember most of the names.

Grab your #2 pencils, your Trapper Keeper and head out to the bus stop because it's time to go back to school!  Join Joseph and Mike in homeroom for our trip back to the classrooms of our younger days.  And as always, we've got the Mixtape Challenge to answer where the guys come up with tapes featuring female names.  Billie Jean to Valerie - see if one of your favorite tracks made the cut.

Today we travel back in time to September 1986. Taken from my latest book, DragonKingKarl's 1986-1987 Pro Wrestling Omnibus available at Amazon we look at the outcome of the criminal case against Chris Adams who, not only gets essentially a slap on the wrist, but is stripped of the World Class World title and jumps to Bill Watts' UWF promotion. The new World Class World champion rides into town on a literal horse. Plus, the WWF debuts two new television shows: Superstars and Wrestling Challenge!

Today I have a very special show for you, and it is a great jumping on point if you have never listened to any of my pioneer era (1800s) podcasts and many long-time listeners will certainly love this one. If the pioneer era of pro wrestling is really the ancestor to modern entertainment style pro wrestling like WWE or AEW and not the predecessor to mixed martial arts like UFC then you should be able to show a direct lineage of matches from then until now. That's what I will do today, I will show you multiple paths all...

On this episode I cover the late 1970s through the 1980s where the NWA World title was held multiple times by Ric Flair but also by Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race, Tommy Rich, Kerry Von Erich, Ron Garvin, Sting and others and how the title fell from being the top belt in all of pro wrestling to the number two title withing just WCW. Please check out my latest book covering the years 1986 and 1987. DragonKingKarl's 1986-1987 Pro Wrestling Omnibus is available through Amazon.

Mike and Joseph break out the turntables and cassette players as they dive back into the musical world of the 70s and 80s. First albums, first singles, first concerts - it's all here. Plus, Joseph tells of his exploits at getting free records and driving hours to see concerts multiple days a week. Of course, there's also a Mix-Tape Challenge to cover. New Wave to heavy metal, funk to hard rock - this one goes to eleven!

This week on the 1000 Hours Podcast series which about the pioneer era of pro wrestling I discuss one of the most famous boxing matches in history. Pioneer era boxing was on the rise at the same time pioneer era pro wrestling was and the biggest name in pioneer era wrestling was William Muldoon. John L. Sullivan, the pioneer boxing legend, was having some problems, namely, he was a sodden drunkard who ate and partied too much. Not only did William Muldoon whip Sullivan into shape but Sullivan won the boxing World heavyweight title in the most famous (and illegal...

There is nothing wrong with your television. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are now controlling the transmission. We control the horizontal and the vertical... You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the deepest inner mind to - - the outer limits.

Yeah, okay, that doesn't work too well for an audio show like a podcast, but you get the idea - it's time to talk science fiction! But before the guys can get back to the future, they've got a mix-tape challenge involving locations on a map to get...

I continue my look at the new William Muldoon biography by author Scott Beekman. On this episode we find William Muldoon traveling to San Francisco to continue touring with the play As You Like It with Madame Modjeska and Maurice Barrymore. Muldoon continues to wrestle as well and begins working in San Francisco and other places on the West Coast. However, as always, troubles both legal and otherwise follow him. Muldoon's schemes not only continue to cost him friendships but also his marriage and he ends up arrested as well. Oh yeah, and there is that time he sort...

Oh, no - there goes Tokyo! Joseph and Mike take on the world of tokusatsu and daikaiju and how they both came to love the adventures of Godzilla, Ultraman, and other kaiju brethren. Mothra, Gamera, Rodan, and the Gargantuas are all up for discussion in this episode. But first it's time for the mix-tape challenge of planes, trains, and automobiles and Joseph answers the added challenge of being able to make a mix containing songs from one singular artist!

Today the time machine takes us back to August 1986 from the pages of my latest book DragonKingKarl's 1986-1987 Pro Wrestling Omnibus available from Amazon. In August 1986 Ric Flair won his fifth NWA World title from Dusty Rhodes. WWF was dominating the wrestling scene and doing massive TV tapings for its new shows Superstars and Challenge. The AWA was out of luck, and Stan Hansen defended the AWA World title he no longer held in Alabama!

I'm runnin' down the road tryin' to record my show got a Slayer mailbag on my mind. Returning to you yet again with all the production values you have come to expect from the legendary NoFriender, yet ANOTHER new episode of the Thrash Metal Show Podcast hits the internet and this time he is taking questions about Slayer. Let us all sit up and pay attention and sit under the learning tree about one of the most important bands in heavy metal history.

On this edition of the 1000 Hours Podcast, the podcast all about the pioneer era of pro wrestling, I continue my look at the new William Muldoon book by author Scott Beekman who dives deep into the life and controversies of the Solid Man. In this episode we look back at how William Muldoon got into acting and how his first national tour feel apart and the first signs of trouble between William Muldoon and Clarence Whistler. I also compare the striking similarities between William Muldoon and Hulk Hogan who came along 100 years later. The more things change, the more...

Get ready for Armageddon as the Mix-Tape Challenge goes nuclear! Yep, it's time for some post-apocalyptic themed playlists before things REALLY get going as "kayfabe" reigns supreme when Joseph and Mike go back to the 70s and 80s for an extra long discussion about professional wrestling.  From a pint-sized businessman to a parking lot dash from destruction, the guys have some stories to tell and memories about the squared circle to share.