Portland Wrestlecast: Johnny Mantell on Roddy Piper, funny ribs and more

The Portland Wrestlecast is back with even more stories from the Pacific Northwest wrestling scene that you have never heard before.

This week’s guest is Johnny Mantell, the former wrestler probably best known for working in World Class, Mid South, and Los Angeles while hIs brother, Ken, booked in Dallas.

Johnny wrestled in Portland in 1979 along with Roddy Piper, Buddy Rose, Tim Brooks and many others. Mantell talks about wrestling former NWA Champion Gene Kiniski, the brilliance of Piper, and the incredible amount of talent in the area at the time. He has some fun ribbing stories including the time a wrestler faked a heart attack and leaving a live skunk in PIper’s apartment. 

Mantell also talks about a story where Piper once organized a charter plane to travel on a specific trip despite the territory’s reputation as an easy one when it came to the number of miles driven each week.

Hear all that and more by clicking below:

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