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PODCAST

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by DragonKingKarl

When It Was Cool

For all shows including our archived content visit our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/wiwcool Pro wrestling history. WWE, WCW, NWA, AEW, NXT, NJPW, TNA, Impact, ROH, AWA, ECW, and the pioneer era of pro wrestling. Karl Stern (DragonKingKarl) is a pro wrestling historian who has produced the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Audio Show for 20 years at Wrestling Observer. This is the free version of some of the pro wrestling podcasts we produce at When It Was Cool. There is much more available

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All Episodes

52:51

1000 Hours Podcast - The Death of William Muldoon

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/10/04

Today is an interesting topic for me personally. The death of pioneer pro wrestling legend William Muldoon fell outside the scope of my groundbreaking book DragonKingKarl's Pioneer Era Pro Wrestling Omnibus since Muldoon died after 1900. However, the death of the biggest legend of the pioneer era of pro wrestling is certainly within the scope of this podcast and today I dig through the pages of Scott Beekman's new William Muldoon biography to find out the sad final days of William Muldoon. This is

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01:13:09

SPECIAL - Wrestling With the Dawg Podcast - EPISODE...

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/10/02

For the 500th episode of Wrestling With the Dawg Broadcast at FlairFlop.com, the Three Faces of Fear unite to debate and discuss the MONTREAL SCREWJOB from WWF Survivor Series 1997! Joe Drilling and Eric Allen of OnTheStick.com joins the Dirty Dawg Darsie to review the Dark Side of the Ring episode on the matter as well as review the WWF Championship match at Survivor Series, as well touch on if it was a work, why couldn't the personalities been tamed down, and so much more! Please support

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50:50

NWA Starrcade 1983 from the Pages of the Wrestling...

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/09/29

Today I discuss the December 8, 1986, issue of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter which covers NWA Starrcade 1986, the show where Magnum TA should have won the NWA World heavyweight title but following his career ending car accident, he was replaced by Nikita Koloff in a better-than-expected match. Plus, The Road Warriors battle the Midnight Express on a scaffold and Jim Cornette suffers an injury. Also discussed is the tragic car accident with UWF wrestler John Tatum which resulted in a

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01:09:28

Uphill Both Ways Podcast - 2010

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/09/28

Episode 2010 (September 28, 2026) It's time to travel back and visit some sitcom families from the 80s, 70s, and earlier. The Bradys, the Bunkers, the Bundys and even some families that had last names from elsewhere in the alphabet! But, as usual, before the main event we've got to answer the mixtape challenge wherein last episode Mike asked for tapes with songs that asked a question. Did you come up with a list of your own? Listen to see if any of yours made their tapes!

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55:01

DragonKingKarl Long Form History of Wrestling Podcast...

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/09/22

Today we crank up the time machine and travel back to the fall of 1986 and cover October from my latest book DragonKingKarl's 1986-1987 Pro Wrestling Omnibus and discuss the details of the career ending car accident suffered by top NWA star Magnum TA (Terry Allen). Magnum TA's car accident prompted the babyface turn of Nikita Koloff and changed the booking for the upcoming Starrcade '86 and set the NWA on a new course. Plus, the Hulk Hogan verses Paul Orndorff feud continues in the WWF, massive TV

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52:02

The Retirement of William Muldoon - 1000 Hours

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/09/21

Karl Stern: Professional Wrestling Historian: Author of DragonKingKarl's Pioneer Era Pro Wrestling Omnibus takes a deep dive into the retirement of the most famous pro wrestler of the 1800s in the United States, William Muldoon. I take a look into Scott Beekman's new biography of William Muldoon for notes of interest I may have missed in the Pioneer Pro Wrestling Omnibus and now, I believe we can paint an interesting picture of the how's and why's of The Solid Man's retirement from pro wrestling and

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47:38

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Review (11-03-1986)...

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/09/15

Today I look back at the November 3, 1986, issue of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter which first reported details from the career ending car accident of Magnum TA. Magnum TA was being pushed to win the NWA World heavyweight title at the upcoming NWA Starrcade according to the late promoter Jim Crockett, Jr. The career ending car accident changed the course of pro wrestling history. Plus, this was a heavy news week for many other areas as well and we discuss all of that here on this

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01:10:22

Uphill Both Ways Podcast - 2009

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/09/14

Episode 2009 (September 14, 2026) School was back in session last episode so it's only natural that Mike and Joseph cover after school TV watching this time out. Ultraman, Gilligan's Island, Star Blazers - the guys watched a lot of different things covering various genres. Did they watch one of your favorites? Listen to find out! And of course there's the "Mix-Tape Challenge" wherein they share their playlists of songs that tell a story. Most importantly, the audio issues that plagued the

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49:36

True Crime: Mr. Wrestling II Part 1

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/09/09

Aaron Gartlan presents SECW Action News Podcast. Over the few weeks pro wrestling historian and author Karl Stern will be posting a 3 part series about the little known assault story involving Mr. Wrestling 2 (Johnny Walker). This series is not for kids as we will be discussing some very heavy criminal themes. Part 1 - Who is Two? This isn't a biography, but rather a look at who was John F. Walker? How did he become friends with a President all while being on an offender database in Hawaii? Then we

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44:55

True Crime: The Blackjack Mulligan and Kendall...

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/09/08

Blackjack Mulligan was a major pro wrestling star in the 1970s into the 1980s and his sons Barry and Kendall Windham also joined him as wrestlers. Married into the family was Mike Rotundo who, of course, spawned Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas. In 1989 Blackjack Mulligan and Kendall Windham were indicted in a million-dollar counterfeit money scheme and ultimately were sent to prison for around two years. I have gone back and combed the newsletters and newspapers of that story and present it to you here

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49:47

True Crime - Ricky Morton vs Tracey Smothers

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/09/02

Aaron Gartlan presents SECW Action News Podcast, and this week pro wrestling historian and author Karl Stern takes a look at a crime that took place years after SECW and Continental Wrestling had ended but involved two people who wrestled for Continental Wrestling. In August of 1995, Tracy Smothers and Ricky Morton were top stars in both Smoky Mountain Wrestling and USWA when an incident occurred. Tracy Smothers and his girlfriend allegedly beat up the girlfriend of Ricky Morton, and she pressed

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30:42

The History of the NWA World Heavyweight Title - The...

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/09/01

Free week 2026 is here! It only happens once a year but this week, all the shows we release are free! This episode concludes my series on the history of the National Wrestling Alliance World heavyweight championship and follows the belt into the independent era. This series was completed before the Billy Corgan NWA era began and, at some point, I will do an episode on it also, but this show follows the championships fall from being a major independent championship to a lineage where it is hard to

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01:05:00

Uphill Both Ways Podcast - 2008

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/08/31

Grab your #2 pencils, your Trapper Keeper and head out to the bus stop because it's time to go back to school! Join Joseph and Mike in homeroom for our trip back to the classrooms of our younger days. And as always, we've got the Mixtape Challenge to answer where the guys come up with tapes featuring female names. Billie Jean to Valerie - see if one of your favorite tracks made the cut.

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54:22

Long Form History of Wrestling Podcast - September...

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/08/25

Today we travel back in time to September 1986. Taken from my latest book, DragonKingKarl's 1986-1987 Pro Wrestling Omnibus available at Amazon we look at the outcome of the criminal case against Chris Adams who, not only gets essentially a slap on the wrist, but is stripped of the World Class World title and jumps to Bill Watts' UWF promotion. The new World Class World champion rides into town on a literal horse. Plus, the WWF debuts two new television shows: Superstars and Wrestling Challenge!

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45:10

From the Pioneer Era to the Modern Era Unbroken -...

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/08/23

Today I have a very special show for you, and it is a great jumping on point if you have never listened to any of my pioneer era (1800s) podcasts and many long-time listeners will certainly love this one. If the pioneer era of pro wrestling is really the ancestor to modern entertainment style pro wrestling like WWE or AEW and not the predecessor to mixed martial arts like UFC then you should be able to show a direct lineage of matches from then until now. That's what I will do today, I will show you

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36:00

History of the NWA World Heavyweight Title - 1970s...

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/08/18

On this episode I cover the late 1970s through the 1980s where the NWA World title was held multiple times by Ric Flair but also by Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race, Tommy Rich, Kerry Von Erich, Ron Garvin, Sting and others and how the title fell from being the top belt in all of pro wrestling to the number two title withing just WCW. Please check out my latest book covering the years 1986 and 1987. DragonKingKarl's 1986-1987 Pro Wrestling Omnibus is available through Amazon.

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01:11:18

Uphill Both Ways Podcast - 2007

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/08/17

Mike and Joseph break out the turntables and cassette players as they dive back into the musical world of the 70s and 80s. First albums, first singles, first concerts - it's all here. Plus, Joseph tells of his exploits at getting free records and driving hours to see concerts multiple days a week. Of course, there's also a Mix-Tape Challenge to cover. New Wave to heavy metal, funk to hard rock - this one goes to eleven!

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49:09

September 29 1986 Wrestling Observer Newsletter

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/08/11

This week I take a deep dive into the September 29, 1986 issue of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter and look at the events unfolding just before the tragic car accident of Magnum TA which changed the course of pro wrestling history. Plus, Chris Adams gets charged for assaulting an airline pilot and THE MASTER BLASTER arrives to save the dying AWA (Spoiler alert - It died anyway).

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48:05

William Muldoon Whips John L. Sullivan Into Shape -...

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/08/09

This week on the 1000 Hours Podcast series which about the pioneer era of pro wrestling I discuss one of the most famous boxing matches in history. Pioneer era boxing was on the rise at the same time pioneer era pro wrestling was and the biggest name in pioneer era wrestling was William Muldoon. John L. Sullivan, the pioneer boxing legend, was having some problems, namely, he was a sodden drunkard who ate and partied too much. Not only did William Muldoon whip Sullivan into shape but Sullivan won

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38:28

DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show - The History...

When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture by... ·

2026/08/04

This is the second part of my series about the history of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) World heavyweight title. On this episode I cover most of the Harley Race era including other champions like Terry Funk, Jack Brisco, Giant Baba, Dusty Rhodes and more. It was a huge era for the NWA where the world champion literally traveled the world and territory to territory defending the NWA heavyweight title.

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