Ricky Jackson

Johnny Rodz vs Kevin Von Erich - 1/21/80, MSG This was Kevin's one and only MSG appearance. At this time, with Vince Sr being a cooperative member of the NWA, it wasn't unusual for outside talent to work MSG. Besides Kevin, David and Kerry each worked a show at this time, as did Youngblood and Steamboat, Mike Graham, Tommy Rich and Roddy Piper (the latter three also against Rodz), among others. This match is interesting if for nothing else as a great example of two guys working together who didn't know each other, didn't really cooperate, basically just flailed away, and thankfully it comes off as gritty and somewhat like a real fight instead of a business exposing disaster. That's the best way to spin this match, because it's nothing special. The match begins with an awkward back and forth exchange with little selling and little structure, while Howard Finkel flirts with a young woman at ringside. Eventually things settle down with Rodz using the same armbar spot as with Jones. Kevin looks like a stud, especially compared to a lot of the talent in NYC at the time - young and athletic like Bob. Also like Bob, (and to the annoyance of Parv) Kevin is always struggling and doesn't sell or show much vulnerability. I've seen it written that many wrestlers considered Kevin a "crowbar" (hard to lead around the ring) and I definitely get that impression here. I also get the impression that Rodz wasn't too impressed with this young punk and accordingly doesn't go out of his way to make Kevin look good, but I may be wrong. Anyway, Kevin wins a Thesz Press. Like I said, this was a bit messy, but in the hands of lesser performers it could have been much worse. Still, nothing to go out of your way to see. Again, Rodz didn't have a lot to work with, as Kevin wouldn't really allow Rodz to get any heat on him, and as a result we get a formless match

What started as Parv throwing me the scraps when it came to wrestler bios on Titans ("Kelly, I don't have time for DeNucci, would you mind...") has evolved into me becoming pretty excited when a new obscure name pops up on the docket to research for an upcoming show (coming soon...Rick Stallone!!!). If I'm fated to be remembered as the jobber expert, well, I'm going to be the best damn jobber expert out there. I'm going to use this thread to work some things out, going where few fans dare tread, and hopefully retain my sanity. You can have your projects where you view the greatest matches of the 2000's or classic Japanese wrestling, that's easy. You can have your Flair's and Misawa's. I think it is high time the job guys, the guys who made the stars look good, get their due. Give me Scicluna, Doherty and Moooooose. *****? I'll be happy with *. When it comes to jobbers, specifically WWWF/WWF jobbers of the 70s and early-80s, perhaps none is more fondly remembered than "The Unpredictable" Johnny Rodz. Rodz was basically the leader of the NYC jobber crew and, as mentioned by Tito during his interview with Parv and Pete, highly respected backstage. Recently, we watched a match between Rodz and SD Jones from 3/16/81 MSG and it was damn good, with Rodz looking fantastic as a total dick heel. This got me thinking, "what do we know about Rodz as a performer? Does he warrant examination?" I say yes he does. I'm going to start by looking at an earlier encounter between the two. Johnny Rodz vs SD Jones - 8/7/76, MSG Rodz is decked out in some of the most pimp 70s wrestling gear possible - Red and white striped trunks, with what appears to be a crescent moon symbol, over top red and green tights with striped boots. Kung Fu eat your heart out! Like their match from 5 years later, we start out with a snug mat exchange. Jones is very young, in great shape, and also quite green. Probably owing to that greenness, this match doesn't really go anywhere. Rodz works an armbar with Jones fighting and failing to escape, aided by Rodz taking shortcuts to maintain the advantage. We get the obligatory black stereotype spot where Rodz punches Jones on the top of his head and ends up hurting his hand. Jones' fired up comeback spot lacks polish, and overall Jones' offense here looks awkward and tentative. Not much heat. The finish has Jones winning with the "WWWF Special" - the double pin spot off a German suplex, where the suplexee gets their shoulder up before the three count and the suplexer is pinned. Not much of a match, but it is interesting to see how far these two would come in 5 years as far as working a compelling match is concerned. Jones was definitely green, but Rodz was a solid performer in 76. He just didn't have much to work with here.

These columns offer such a unique perspective on wrestling. All I can say is read these now if you have not. Brilliant stuff yet again

You had me at Mr. X Fantastic Edit: Wrestlingdata has Danny Davis as Mr. X. Not so sure, he seems bigger

Thanks for the supplemental info OJ. Extremely informative, as always. Hope we did some justice to WoS with the show.

Here it is Also Ladd vs Bruno and Ladd vs Backlund https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=yyL7BWQCFpM#t=822

Here's the awesome BBC doc on WoS I mentioned on the show.

Here is the Khan/Backlund match Parv mentioned. I really liked it too and would put it in Bob's top 10 from 79-81, which is high praise considering we've probably watched about 30 or so Backlund matches from that period over the course of Titans

Amazing story!

Just in case anyone is wondering if they missed something, Best of Titans of Wrestling Volume 2 has been released ("unofficially") before Volume 1. Hell, Volume 1 hasn't even been put together yet. Look for the official releases of both volumes in the coming weeks on PTBN. And yeah, Bruno was a fucking awesome promo. One of the best ever. The Bruno-Larry feud with the turn angle, promos and matches all together is epic.

First they were part of...Powerteam USA! Then the Bladerunners....um, yeah...

Fuck III, we'll get II Also, sweet work by my boys, Parv and Pete.

And Parv is 100% right. Sure, I hated Hogan in the 90s too. Pretty intensely at one point. But he earned his push and every bit of stardom and success that he received. He was part of a lot of shit and he was part of tons of great stuff. Rate him or don't, who cares. But he was one of the greatest ever.

Hogan is Elvis

24 years too soon?

Parv, Kidd is a legendary figure and as far as I know not a shred of footage of him wrestling exists (pre-70s guy) Edit: Well, there is this

I guess I'm out of the loop, because I'd never heard any Dunn teeth jokes until this thread started

Martel/Garea vs Moondogs 12/29/80 MSG is a hot match and well worth a watch if you can track it down. As a whole, tag wrestling from the era is extremely disappointing other than a few rare bright spots like that one

Hey, the full show is on Youtube in somewhat decent quality!

Never mind what I wrote in the Titans thread, the breakdown has already happened

I predict a complete Parv breakdown in 1982, around the time Strongbow returns and Kung-Fu Billy Graham debuts, give or take a few months

Warrior over Honky for the IC title totally made Warrior. Before, I thought he was cool, but he had been around for about a year and really wasn't doing much. After the win, the rocket was strapped and he became one of the focal points of the promotion IMO

I've been a wrestling fan for nearly 30 years and in many ways things have come full circle. When I was a kid I watched and enjoyed everything I could from WWF, Stampede, AWA, followed all the other territories through the mags, and appreciated wrestling history through the sparse access of the original Coliseum tapes and the history articles in the mags. I was into wrestling for the "wrestling", the overall package of angles, characters, matches, and all the silly shit too. By the early 90s I was a teenager, the territories were dead, WWF and WCW were struggling, and I had become a heel fan/"old wrestling is boring"/(sigh) workrate guy. This lasted, with ECW and tape buying later thrown into the mix, until I tapped out on wrestling in 01/02. When I returned around 05 I was still in the workrate mindset, but increasing exposure to old wrestling through dvds and youtube, mixed with reading a lot about wrestling history, meant that by 08 or 09 I was totally and completely obsessed with the territory years and was sampling all kinds of wrestling from the past. Now, with the Titans podcast, I've kind of returned to the days of my youth, when watching old MSG matches was one of my favorite wrestling pleasures. I've come to despise the workrate mindset, and look at my previous interest in it as youthful naivety, like going through a socialist phase in college or something. With each passing year I seem to hold less and less regard for tracking down "great matches" and just want to watch wrestling for the total package of the characters, the crowd, the announcing, the presentation, the crazy angles and promos, the good, bad and everything in between. I've also acquired a bunch of old wrestling mags recently! (scans, but still) Yep, I'm perfectly content in my bubble of history right now

I love reading about little details like this. If there was ever a movie about the life of Dick Murdoch, this would be the perfect final scene before the credits roll. Sums up his greatness as a performer wonderfully

Don't worry Kelly - I was watching it Friday evening. The teeth, the voice, Cornette's impressions - it had to be him! Actually, I was referring to Strummer's 1995 Raw reference in the post above mine and not your original post. It was a much greater display of geekery