Category: Dragon King
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: A look at Dave Meltzer’s Andre The Giant bio
One of Dave Meltzer’s first mega obituaries is the subject of this episode of the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show. When Andre The Giant died while attending his father’s funeral in France, Dave wrote a near book length synopsis of his life in the February 8, 1993 edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, packed full of…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: History of the NWA title, pt. 1
The history of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) World Heavyweight Championship is rich and reaches back into the 1940s. During many of the last 100 years, the NWA World title was viewed as the most important championship in wrestling. Join historian Karl Stern on this journey through every NWA title change, including much about the early…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: Old Tyme Wrestling Hour with Dave Wills
On this brand new Old Tyme Wrestling Hour on the Dragon King Karl Classic Wrestling Show, I talk about something I have been working on for a couple of months: the secret history of pro wrestling. The history of pro wrestling isn’t what a lot of people think it is and a lot of the bickering…
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DragonKingKarl Greatest Kayfabe Tournament: Stecher vs. Okada
Match 21 in the Greatest Kayfabe Tournament sees two of the greatest wrestlers from different eras face off. From the 1920s-1930s, Joe Stecher takes on the man many say is the greatest pro wrestler of the modern era — NJPW’s Kazuchika Okada. Of course, the GKT is just a fun way of doing two biographies. You,…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: Old Tyme Wrestling Hour
On the new, revamped, and improved Old Tyme Wrestling Hour, host Karl Stern discusses the Twitter feud between Dave Meltzer and Jim Cornette, along with the the faulty misconception many old timers have and the insane tribal mentality that accompanies it. Karl is then joined by Bryan Alvarez for some discussion about building the F4W newsletter, podcasting…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: ICW 1986 TV review
Have I got a special treat for you today: an episode of Joe Savoldi’s International Championship Wrestling from a winter 1986 TV taping. Watch along on YouTube. I call this episode “Daddy Issues” because it is full of sons and fathers and various issues. Cpl. Terry Daniels (apparently promoted from Private) is looking for his deadbeat…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: ‘Learning the Ropes’ retro TV review
We combine both the wrestling ring and a sitcom with a special retro TV review today. This is a review of the 1988 sitcom Learning the Ropes starring NFL star Lyle Alzado and the crew of Jim Crockett Promotions, including Steve Williams, Jimmy Garvin, The Road Warriors, Ric Flair, and many others. While the show…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The start of 1981 in pro wrestling
We enter 1981 by looking at the Omni in Atlanta, Andre the Giant, Barry Windham, All Japan Pro Wrestling, the Sgt. Slaughter and Bob Backlund feud, AWA, Jerry Lawler back on top in Memphis, Harley Race battles Ric Flair in the Mid-Atlantic area, Los Angeles is on its last leg, the original Midnight Express win…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: From the Pages of the Observer
It’s time again for a look back at some obituaries and biographies from the pages of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter by Dave Meltzer. On this episode, host and wrestling historian Karl Stern takes a look back at the deaths of top junior heavyweight Danny McShain, one half of the Kangaroos tag team Roy Heffernan, and…
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DragonKingKarl Greatest Kayfabe Tournament: Buddy Rogers vs. Bobo Brazil
The Greatest Kayfabe Tournament round one, match 20 pits two people from the same era against each other. In fact, these men wrestled many times and one of those occasional unrecognized NWA World Heavyweight title changes happened once when Bobo Brazil beat Buddy Rogers for the title but returned it to him. How did the…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: 1986 WCCW retro TV review
On last week’s Dragon King Karl show, I reviewed an episode of WWF TV from the first week of July 1986, so I thought we would see what World Class Championship Wrestling from Texas was doing the same week. Well, Kerry Von Erich was wrecking his motorcycle, so that’s what. So, it was Mike Von…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: WWF July 1986 retro TV review
On this week’s DragonKingKarl show, I do a retro TV review from July 7, 1986, for an edition of WWF Prime Time Wrestling. On this broadcast, we got “Big” John Studd and King Kong Bundy, The Machines, a very boring Pedro Morales, the Hart Foundation, the Killer Bees, and the most amazing tag team of…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The end of 1980
The last two months of 1980 are discussed as Karl Stern’s longform history of pro wrestling series continues. Memphis is struggling with near all-time low attendance. Where is Jerry Lawler? Ron Fuller buys north Alabama and starts the classic era of Southeastern Championship Wrestling which will include Birmingham. The original Midnight Express start to come together.…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: From the pages of the Observer
This month’s installment of “From the Pages of the Observer” takes a look back at Dave Meltzer’s obituaries of three wrestling names from the past. Karl Stern looks at the strange and controversial death of Buzz Sawyer, along with the deaths of promoter Fred Ward and Southern Wrestling legend Tojo Yamamoto.
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DragonKingKarl Greatest Kayfabe Tournament: Backlund vs. Tanahashi
The Ace of WWWF in the late 1970s into the early 1980s vs. the Ace of New Japan. It’s a clash of styles to be sure and a clash of charismas as well. As the GKT continues, Karl Stern of WhenItWasCool.com and F4WOnline.com takes a look at the careers of Bob Backlund and Hiroshi Tanahashi…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: 1992 WWF Superstars review
On my second podcast of the week, I review the April 18, 1992, edition of WWF Superstars featuring the Legion of Doom, Repo Man, Rick “The Model” Martel, Bret Hart, “Texas Tornado” Kerry Von Erich, a wacky segment with the Ultimate Warrior, and Money, Inc. in action against an utterly disgusting individual and his partner. It’s…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: USWA 1991 TV review
This week’s retro TV review looks back at the September 21,1991, edition of USWA Wrestling…or, as it should have been called, The Eric Embry Hour. I found this one on YouTube. It features the Dirty White Boy, Dutch Mantel, Jeff Jarrett, Tom Pritchard, and other southern luminaries as the battle between Texas and Tennessee is…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: WCW Saturday Night 1993 review
May 22, 1993 might not be a landmark day in pro wrestling history — but on this edition of the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Audio Show, Karl is going to review WCW Saturday Night featuring Kevin Nash as Vinnie Vegas, Rob Van Dam as Robbie V, Sting, Harley Race, Al Green and the Laurinaitis brother you know the…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: 1980 in pro wrestling continued
The longform history of pro wrestling series continues into 1980. Harley Race, Bob Backlund, Verne Gagne, Giant Baba, Ricky Steamboat, and Ric Flair are having great years. Jerry Lawler, not so much. He has broken his leg and business in Memphis is horrible. We discuss all of this and much more as our look at…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: From the Pages of the Observer
In our latest installment of From the Pages of the Wrestling Observer, we take a look back at three biographies/obituaries from Dave Meltzer covering the deaths of Dick the Bruiser, Wilbur Snyder, and Ripper Collins. Dick the Bruiser was one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling history, Snyder was a very successful wrestling star who…