Tag: Dragon King
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: Barney Smith is Dead
I mean, Barney Smith was probably dead under the best of circumstances. He went to the finals of American pro wrestling’s first-ever major championship tournament in 1870. But, as we have been researching for a long time now, there seemed to be no clear evidence he died at the hands of Col. James H. McLaughlin…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The life & times of Blackjack Mulligan
On this edition of the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, I travel back to 2016 for Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter biography of Blackjack Mulligan. Mulligan was a big, tough cowboy heel and babyface who also booked around the country. He was a top star in the AWA, Jim Crockett Promotions, WWF, Florida, and more. He…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: March 1984
On a new DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, I present the 100th installment in my long-form history of pro wrestling series. This week, join me in looking back at March 1984 which had the fallout from the shocking death of David Von Erich in February, Ric Flair and Harley Race pulling off a secret NWA World…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The Barney Smith mystery
On a new DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, I present hour 36 of 1000 Hours, my series all about the pioneer era of pro wrestling. On this episode, we do a lot of research including some new tidbits about Col. James H. McLaughlin (seen above) which leads us back to our most enduring mystery: did McLaughlin…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: More on Charles, King of the Wrestlers
On this episode of my 1000 Hours focus on the pioneer era of pro wrestling, I go back even further to the pre-pioneer era just before the U.S. Civil War. This week, I uncover more about the first known self-promoted pro wrestling star: Charles, The King of Wrestling. If you missed last week’s initial look,…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Podcast: History of wrestling at MSG
Pro Wrestling historian Karl Stern continues his look at the history of professional wrestling in a rotating series of classic pro wrestling podcasts. Today’s theme returns to the history of wrestling at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY, one of the most famous arenas in the world. We are up to 1928 in…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The first American wrestling star
On this edition of the 1000 Hours Podcast, the show all about the pioneer (pre-1900) era of pro wrestling, historian Karl Stern digs even deeper to look at the era before the Civil War. Was there organized professional wrestling in the years leading up to the war? The answer is yes! Well, some at least.…
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DragonKingKarl Greatest Kayfabe Tournament: Bruiser Brody vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
AEW In my rotation of classic pro wrestling topics here on the DragonKingKarl Show, we are back to my Greatest Kayfabe Tournament. In this round, we have two very different pro wrestlers from two different eras, but both are legends in Japan: Bruiser Brody vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi. The listeners have voted and we have a…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: G.W. Flagg & John McMahon
On another DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, I return to further discuss the pioneer era of pro wrestling in my 1000 Hours subseries which focuses on pro wrestling pre-1900 or before the era of Frank Gotch. This week, I look back at the career of two pioneers: G.W. Flagg and John McMahon. These were two men…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The life & times of Nick Bockwinkel
WWE On this edition of the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, we return to the pages of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter to look at Dave Meltzer’s biography on the legendary AWA World heavyweight champion Nick Bockwinkel. Bockwinkel was the glue that held the AWA together and was also part of two of the greatest tag teams…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: Greek George and the Champion of the South
My pioneer era of pro wrestling discussion continues with hour 32 of the 1000 Hours focus series on the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show. On this episode, the eventual manager of Evan “Strangler” Lewis, Greek George, is promoting wrestling in Pensacola, FL, where we meet the Champion of the South. Who was he and was this…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: Double Action Wrestling magazine review
Here’s a fun review of an off-brand pro wrestling magazine from back in October 1986. Neither Apter nor Napolitano magazine, this is issue one of Double Action Wrestling which featured terrible blurry and outdated photos, stories on Hulk Hogan and The Funks, and a slew of highly questionable advertisements. Join pro wrestling historian Karl “DragonKingKarl”…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: Of Bauer and bears
My 1000 Hours podcast series explores the pioneer era of professional wrestling, namely pro wrestling before 1900 or the era of Frank Gotch. Gotch didn’t appear out of a vacuum as a history of over fifty years of pro wrestling had already been sown in the United States and further back than that in Europe.…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: February 1984 & the death of David Von Erich
On this week’s DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, I present the 99th installment of my long-form history. I am now up to February 1984 — a month that was infamous due to the shocking and unforeseen death of David Von Erich just before he was scheduled to begin a tour for All-Japan Pro Wrestling. Taken from…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The end of Madison Square Garden II
All good things must end and in this edition of the my history of pro wrestling at Madison Square Garden series, the second version of MSG meets its fate and pro wrestling almost does as well. The battle between Jack Curley and Tex Rickard fizzles to an anti-climactic end, but with Rickard still in control…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: From William Muldoon to Roman Reigns
On this hour of my 1000 Hours focus on the pioneer era of pro wrestling, I think it is important to step back for a moment and ask the very legitimate question: what does the pioneer era really have to do with pro wrestling? Wasn’t it just untrained conmen with large mustaches traveling the country…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: A boxer & a wrestler walk into a bar
My latest look back at the pioneer era of pro wrestling takes a look at John McMahon, whom we have previously discussed — a man who apparently liked his drinks. According to newspapers at the time, one of the first boxer vs. wrestler matches may not have taken place as a betting event for spectators,…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: 1984 & 1985
Celebrating the release of my new book, DragonKingKarl’s 1984-1985 Pro Wrestling Omnibus, this week’s DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show looks back at these two massively important years in pro wrestling history. Some highlights: Hulk Hogan wins the WWF World title, the WWF national expansion begins in earnest including the takeover of the WTBS time slot, the…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: Meet the first pioneer era influencer
If I told you that today’s look back at the pioneer era of pro wrestling involved a bear eating a kid and a funeral invaded by corpse eating cats, you might think me ridiculous. Well, welcome to the world of Richard K. Fox: pioneer era pro wrestling influencer. It was Fox, via his National Police…
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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The history of Dusty Rhodes, pt. 3
On this week’s DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, I present the conclusion of the near-book length Dusty Rhodes biography by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. This is part of my “From the Pages of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter” subseries where I look back at some of Meltzer’s biographies and history pieces in historic Observers. Part…