The Wrestling Archives

Jesús Ricardo Rodriguez

We stayed up past our bedtime to have the opportunity to talk with the legendary Jesús Ricardo Rodriguez. He shares his incredible story that took him around the world twice over. We talk about his introduction to the business, his love for Eddie Guerrero, and his meteoric rise to fame as the personal ring announcer and valet to the WWE/World Heavyweight Champion and AAA Mega Champion, El Patròn Alberto del Rio! He was on top of the world, starting wrestling schools in Punjab and Cairo, Egypt. With that fame came a heavy cost. Jesús shares with us his extremely personal, but familiar story of his battles with addiction. He is two years sober and he tells us of the great power and hope that there is in recovery. He now runs the wrestling academy, Three Legacies Wrestling, in Lancaster, Pa. where he is building a new legacy and is featured with Major League Wrestling (MLW). You don't want to miss this one!
 
National Drug Hotline:  (844) 289-0879
SAMHSA Line: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)
Suicide Crisis line: 988

SummerSlam '92

Alright, you've been having a pretty killer summer. In an exchange with your mom, you watched (and secretly enjoyed) "A League of Their Own." In this bargain, you got to go see "Batman Returns." Your dad said no to "Lethal Weapon 3," but felt bad so he secretly took you to see "Encino Man" because Pauly Shore is so funny!!! In the lobby of the movie theater, you blasted through $10 (oh no, your popcorn money!) of quarters playing Street Fighter II. You and your friends can't stop doing that stupid grunt Tim Allen does on "Home Improvement." The calendar shows the school year catching up on you so as one last summer blast, your parents order SummerSlam. It's special because it's from England this year. The Macho Man is fighting the Ultimate Warrior with Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect lurking and Bret Hart must square-off against his brother-in-law, the British Bulldog with Diane Hart split between the two. Little did you know you were about to witness a Rembrandt-level wrestling match be painted before your very eyes between those two men. It must be good if Bobby Heenan isn't even acting the jerk! Plus, The Legion of Doom and their puppet Rocco is there! Sure, Rocco seems stupid, even for 1990's WWF but, the LOD ARE SO COOL! The Undertaker is so cool and spooky and new! But where is Hulk Hogan???

1990 Royal Rumble

It's January 1990. You're happy they've finally stopped playing that dang Christmas song by Band Aid and you are fully jamming to Hangin' Tough by New Kids on the Block. Most Sundays you have to decide between America's Funniest Home Videos or ALF. But, not this Sunday. You were really good and did your chores and washed your grandma's feet so your parents would spring for the Royal Rumble on Pay-Per-View. They even ordered Domino'sand said you can stay up late to finish it! You can't wait to wave your arms at home like a Bushwhacker and you're a little jealous of that kid they always lick. You're excited for the 30-man Royal Rumble match but Hulk Hogan AND The Ultimate Warrior are in it and you can't decide who to cheer for! It's a real-life more panic, are you a Hulkamaniac or are you a Warrior? You took your vitamins and said your prayers, but you also believe you can so you know you're halfway there....Oh well, Grandma can watch Murder, She Wrote in the other room. Thanks for listening!

WrestleMania 40 Preview

It's the most wonderful time of the year! It's WrestleMania week, and since Tim and Rich have a real soft spot for the showcase of the immortals, it's time for them to make their predictions, get everything wrong, and have fun while doing it. Sure, they get distracted easily and go off on tangents, but what do you expect when WWE insists on making the show of shows a two-night spectacular? Download and enjoy!

WrestleMania 30

It's April 7,  2014. You've turned off Happy by Pharrell Williams so you can sit down for the next four hours and watch WrestleMania from the SuperDome, not the SilverDome (Looking at you Hulk Hogan). You have on your Obama-esque "YES!" shirt. Everything seems normal and routine. They parade out last generation's superstars. They wheel out the new members of the Hall of Fame. But, this is New Orleans, there's dark forces, mystery and a laissez-faire approach to things. Something seems off. It's time to see the Undertaker come out and renew the ritual of defeating an opponent. He's struggled the last few years. He hasn't looked as fast, he's been looking vulnerable. This year, he's facing Brock Lesnar who has been unstoppable. Your brain is telling you it makes no sense for The Undertaker to win, but your heart...your heart tells you that he just can't lose. He's unbeatable at WrestleMania. He's 21-0 for goodness sake. But, to quote Paul Heyman, "Maybe...?" It's ok, it's Yes-leMania! Daniel Bryan will carry the day! Boy, Bray Wyatt is scary and that song is a jam...
 
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King of the Ring - 1998

If you're a wrestling fan from the late 90's, you already know why we're doing an episode on this event. June 28, 1998, Pittsburgh, PA. Wrestling changes. Whether it's for the best or the worst, that's up for debate. What we do know is that it saved the WWF and secured the win for Vince McMahon in the Monday Night Wars with Ted Turner. While we definitely discuss at length the elephant in the room, we also talk about the actual King of the Ring tournament of that year and how it was primed for Ken Shamrock to shoot for the stars. We also discuss how this event even came to be and how it was nearly a tremendous flop from several angles, including poor writing and top stars being injured. This episode is full of historical nuggets, philosophical discussion, what-ifs, and as always, some hearty laughs. Thanks for listening!Support the Show: https://ko-fi.com/wrestlingarchivesBuy the shirt: https://www.teepublic.com/user/wrestling-archives

The Greek God Papadon

The Greek God Papadon blessed Tim and Rich with his presence in a no holds barred interview that talked about everything. One thing I can tell you, this God among men loves Star Wars and hates thigh slapping. This interview gets raucous as we discuss his 3-way match against Dirty Money and Chris Slade next week at Virginia Championship Wrestling's return to Hampton High School. Papadon is a veteran of the business, approaching his 25th year wrestling. He has wrestled pretty every big star there is today, either on their way up on their way down. Oh, did we mention he's a movie star? He was one of the wrestlers in The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke. Of course The Greek God has an opinion on that experience too! Make sure you download this one, folks. This is one not to miss!
 
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Parade of Champions - 1984

Tim and Rich flashback to Texas in 1984. Tragedy had struck the Von Erich family in February when David Von Erich was stricken with an intestinal illness and passed away while on tour in Japan. Fritz, the patriarch and promoter of World Class Championship Wrestling assembled a super card in his honor with the main event being Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The card is sprinkled with other familiar faces, like Kamala the Ugandan Giant, The Fabulous Freebirds, Butch Reed, and the rest of the Von Erich clan, including Fritz, who returned to the ring to defend the family's honor. This was an emotionally charged show with great action and one of the loudest and passionate stadium crowds we've ever seen on this show. Thanks for listening!Support the Archives: https://ko-fi.com/wrestlingarchives
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Collision in Korea

One of the most notorious and infamous wrestling shows ever. In 1995, six months before the start of the Monday Night Wars, WCW decided to bring peace and harmony through violence. The great Antonio Inoki contacted Eric Bischoff with the terrible idea of taking professional wrestling to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, street name North Korea. Not only did we watch the wrestling show, we watched the Dark Side of the Ring episode on this event. If you're curious about what happens when you take wrestlers who play loose with the rules in the US to a totalitarian Asian culture, take a listen. Ever wonder what happens when you show wrestling to a compulsory crowd of 150,000 people who have never seen wrestling? This is the show for you. As if that wasn't enough, one performer on the show goes into a murderous rage against another! Thanks for listening!

Devantes

Hey y'all we made a friend! The Hoss of all Hosses and former Virginia Championship Wrestling United States Champion, Devantes stops by to have a chat. He's been burned by his former manager, scum of the Earth Neil Sharkey, and is looking for vengeance. While we do talk a lot of wrestling, our boy is from Philly, so that leaves us with no choice but to talk food. The go-to cheesesteak, steak preparation, mid-tier steakhouses of old, we touch on all things red meat. The dude is real cool and we really had a great time talking with a new friend of the show who we think will probably be back on in the future to talk more food. Someone please help us with this Amish chicken business. 
 
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