Ricky Jackson

I don't know, but I would like to think Vince Sr saw that Bob was a very good worker and was highly regarded by other promoters Vince Sr respected. He thought Bob had a chance to be a big star, which he became, despite many fans refusal to accept this fact. I'm actually really fascinated by the whole debate over Bob's legacy as 6-year WWF champ. Has anyone ever had to justify their track record as a great draw and worker as much as Bob has? I think a lot of the dismissal of Bob comes from fans who came to wrestling after 1984 and have a hard time accepting the fact that someone who looked so "average", yes, even dorky, as Bob was ever a big star, especially when compared to the steroid freak look of Hogan and the Road Warriors that came to dominate. Surely it doesn't help Bob's cause that the only pre 90s match most fans have seen of him in action is where he dropped the strap to the Iron Sheik, coming at a time when he had developed an extremely unflattering and unimpressive look for a major world champ, with the crew cut, singlet, and loss of muscle due to a change in workout routine. Meltzer and other smart fans of the 80s also set the tone for the future by dismissing his major accomplishments by praising the undercard and the heel challengers as the real reason the WWF drew so well, on top of writing Bob off as a poor worker to boot. True, Bob's style of work isn't for everyone, but many fans will always dismiss anything pre 90s anyway as too boring. I think his reputation will only continue to improve, but most fans will probably only stick with the surface-level impression and continue to be baffled that he lasted so long as champ in NYC.

I wear my fandom on my sleeve, almost literally, as I have several Randy Savage pins on my winter jacket. Everyone who gets to know me beyond the small talk stage knows I'm a fan of wrestling. I've even told co-workers about PWO and that I do wrestling-themed podcasts in my spare time. I've attempted to convert several people over the years. Unfortunately, I hardly know any wrestling fans in real life anymore. I also used to watch Days with my mom when I was a kid. I even went through a stage in my early-20s where I taped it while I was at work and watched it when I got home. I haven't watched it in years, but I'm still a mark for Stefano DiMera.

Everyone needs to see Sgt. Al Tomko at least once in their lifetime. Listen closely for the fan yelling "You stink Tomko!" right after the bell rings. Tomko was the top babyface at the time (also the promoter, booker, and the man usually blamed for the downfall of Vancouver wrestling). Otherwise, this is horrible.

That is the first time I've ever read anyone pimp 80s Vancouver as something to watch.

There is so much trash in pop culture these days, and so many people with "bizarre" interests, that I'm not sure if admitting to being a wrestling fan is even an embarrassing revelation anymore.

And hopefully that has made Victator a slightly less angry person.

Yeah, I've wondered about that. I think it's just a typical Meltzer quirk, where he just stopped updating it for some reason, and not because there haven't been requested issues. Since 2008 he has done bios on Rose, Tolos, Shire, Albano, Jack Brisco, Savage, among others, plus Misawa's death bio and a bunch of stuff that must have been "in demand".

Randy is my pick for the #4 guy. Also, this article is really good: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1643969...acho-man-savage

Well, I guess the last time they took a third generation guy and gave him a name that mixed his father and grandfather's names it worked out in the end.

He quit the board around the same time I started posting here, so I missed out on all the fun, but I think this thread is maybe the Coles Notes version: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?showtopic=10623

Ric Flair automatically wins every F4W/Observer poll he is a part of, no matter the question. It's one of the only certainties in life along with death and taxes.

In episode 4 of the Fringe Scholars, we attempt a three-way dance with the inclusion of Moss' friend Davis to the show. http://fringescholars.wordpress.com/ The topic this time is Horror (not whore) and wrestling-talk makes up approximately 33.3 % of the episode. Moss discusses the adventure gamebook House of Hell, while Davis looks at John Carpenter's Halloween. I undertake (pun intented) the most frightening challenge, though, as I dig up the 1991 Chamber of Horrors match from the grave of WCW and lead the others through an exploration of some of the sweet, sweet cheese only our dearly-departed Atlanta-based promotion could produce. For those interested only in pro wrestling, my discussion of the Chamber of Horrors starts at 35:30 and goes to 54:27, so you only have to waste a quick 20 minutes of your day listening. Please enjoy. Next time, with Moss otherwise occupied indefinitely, I begin a projected run of guest Scholars every month by welcoming my wonderful wife Julia to the show. Unfortunately, she thinks wrestling is junk, so we will not be talking about that. Instead we will engage in a thorough discussion of one of her geeky interests, the existence of Bigfoot. Yes, she derides wrestling as being phoney but believes in Bigfoot. And I'm the loser. Also, since Moss has left the show in my hands to do as I please, if anyone around these parts is interested in joining me on a show for some serious wrestling talk, please let me know. I'm basically open for any and all ideas for episodes. Plus, I would love to talk wrestling with some of the fellow obsessives around here. I would like to record episode 6 in late-June, and would also record episodes in July, August, September, and possibly later without Moss.

....sooooo yeah....again...1 year later and I made my debut last Saturday as Big Benjamin Johnson. Same day Kobashi retired, sadly I failed on my promise to no sell even 1 burning hammer and I lost via getting kicked in the head Congrats, man. Keep on living the dream.

A bit off topic, but I really, really like 1983 as a "best overall year" candidate. The territories were firing on all cylinders for the last time. Really good stuff from Memphis, AWA, World Class, Crockett, Portland, Mid South, and strong output from Japan and Mexico (well, one classic match at least). WWF had a down year compared to what came before and what came after. Classic/memorable matches from 83 off the top of my head: -Lawler vs Dundee Loser Leaves Town -Final Conflict cage match -MS-1 vs Sangre Chicana -Tsuruta vs Flair -Hansen vs Terry Funk, AJPW -Hogan vs Bockwinkel, Super Sunday -Snuka vs Muraco MSG cage match -Flair vs Brody, St. Louis -Hogan vs Inoki, IWGP title -Tons of stuff from World Class, Memphis, AWA, and Mid South that has been pimped but I haven't seen yet. Big picture wise 83 also had the first Starrcade, the end of Backlund's long WWF title run, the Buddy Rose face turn, the Von Erich's/Freebirds feud, and the start of the wrestling war with Vince moving into St. Louis at the end of the year.

Is this a new LHP or a random rerun of the Michael Landon one?

It works on so many levels.

Thanks again for listening Chad. 6/3/94 is a cliche pick amongest puro experts for sure, and it was really hard to narrow it down to two matches to represent all of Japanese wrestling history, but, damn, it really is an awesome fuckin' match. Definitely a crowd pleaser. Thanks so much for the complements. I know we talked about this before, but if the spot is free, you can pencil me in for Havoc 91 with you and Parv on Big Boys, whenever that may happen. I had a blast doing Bash 89.

It's awesome that the smark darling and the smark pariah are dating twins.

Good show guys. "Santa Tully" is my new favorite fantasy angle.

He's my current favorite wrestler as well. I never thought about the Owen comparison before, but when you think about it, that is maybe the wrestler he is most similar to overall, and not just because of the Team Hell No stuff either.

How widespread was the steriod scandal reported in the mainstream US press? I don't really remember reading about it in the Calgary papers at the time, but I do remember tabloid TV shows like A Current Affair covering it. I know the Apter mags covered some of it, or at least the sex scandal part involving Patterson and Phillips, but I don't remember how in depth they went.

Looking back, A&E really went wrestling crazy at the time, with multiple Biography episodes and that Unreal Story of Pro Wrestling doc they ran a million times, on top of airing Wrestling With Shadows.

God, they can't possibly run a Cena/Orton feud again, can they?

Vince was the booker, at least for the big picture stuff, during the 80s and most (maybe just half?) of the 90s. At some point in the 90s it seems he decided to let others to do most of the day-to-day booking, but I've never really been sure of the exact timeline, or how much credit Patterson deserves for the 80s/90s stuff, etc. But maybe I'm totally wrong.