The Wrestling Archives
Two nerdy librarians aim to preserve the art form that is Professional Wrestling by watching old shows and discussing their place in the lore. They also interview wrestlers and wrestling personalities to share their story and have conversations on topics relating to the pro wrestling community.
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Episodes
Saturday Sep 03, 2022
Saturday Sep 03, 2022
BONUS EPISODE! Here we go, we decide to talk a little bit about current wrestling and give our best guesses as to what we think will happen this Sunday at AEW's All Out from Chicago! FIGHT FOREVER!!
Friday Sep 02, 2022
Friday Sep 02, 2022
We have a special episode this week! Dr. Jessica Krenek joined us in studio to discuss her work in studying non-male wrestling fans and topics surrounding that, such as gatekeeping and inter-gender wrestling. Dr. Jess then sticks around to break down the action of the 1996 Royal Rumble. We probe deep into the contradictory messaging the WWF was presenting at the time, chuckle at the Billionaire Ted bits, and analyze the Freudian tensions between Goldust and Razor Ramon. Rich also dodges and parries all attempts at claiming that Doink was his favorite wrestler. Thanks for listening!
Friday Aug 19, 2022
Friday Aug 19, 2022
Tim and Rich get into all the gory details of Starrcade '85! Rich and Tim appreciate the honesty in Abdullah's approach to violence. Rich compares JJ Dillon to classic American art and the auditory delights of a microphone pounding on Magnum TA's skull. Tim and Rich both revel in the production differences between this and the first WrestleMania. A true portrayal of the difference between wrestling and wrasslin'! Thanks for listening!
Friday Aug 05, 2022
Friday Aug 05, 2022
By listener request, we get into possibly the greatest Royal Rumble of all time! We marvel again at the abilities and stamina of Ric Flair as he styles and profiles his way into the WWF Championship. We are blinded by Owen Hart's wrestling gear and grossed out at the scars across the foreheads of the Bushwhackers. Thanks for downloading!
Friday Jul 22, 2022
Friday Jul 22, 2022
We decided it was time to get back to our roots. It was time to get into the first WrestleMania from 1985. We acknowledge the singing genius of Gene Okerlund, the terrified looks of Alfred Hayes, and compare this event to the shelling of Fort Sumter. We calculate the rate of inflation and gasp at Andre the Giant body slamming Big John Studd. We revel in the voices of Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura, and we discuss Gorilla's weird nicknames for people, plus so much more! Thanks for listening!
Wednesday Jul 20, 2022
Friday Jul 08, 2022
Friday Jul 08, 2022
Tim and Rich explore WrestleMania 23. They complain about it taking almost four hours to present eight matches, the decline of the Intercontinental Title, and the appearance of a former President. Tim explores Greek Mythology and Rich vents about rude concertgoers. There's discussion of how the WWE product has become sterile, audiences don't follow the standard good guy/bad guy routine, and how there's now THREE brands in WWE. Plus, both are baffled how you could ever book Ric Flair in the dark match!? Thanks for listening! www.allthewrestlemanias.com
Wednesday Jul 06, 2022
Friday Jun 24, 2022
Friday Jun 24, 2022
This week, Tim and Rich dash to jolly old England for a 1991 WWF show at Royal Albert Hall. Tim gets worked up about Bob Dylan. Rich is fired up about British royals and French organists. They both got all hot for Ric Flair vs Tito Santana. They also talk about just what exactly is a Samovar? Could the British Bulldog replace Hulk Hogan? Thanks for listening!!
Wednesday Jun 22, 2022
Who We Are
Co-Hosts Tim "The Hammer" Hackman (Huracan Ramirez) and Rich "The Natural" Sigwald (Prince Puma) met at a library conference in 2015 and bonded over their shared love of professional wrestling and other nerdy interests. In 2020 the pair decided to pursue the epic, some might say quixotic, project of watching All the WrestleManias in order and writing about their experience. When blog writing became too burdensome, they started to podcast about the shows instead. Quickly, they decided to branch out from just WrestleManias and in 2024 decided on a new name to reflect their common goal and love of information, and thus the name "The Wrestling Archives."
Sound editing and original music by Rich Sigwald
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