The 1000 Hours podcast series focuses on the pioneer era of pro wrestling history. You do not have to listen to the shows in order, jump in at any point! Today, we are in 1883 and the biggest star of the pioneer era- William Muldoon is about to face one of the greatest all around athletes of the time and Scottish legend Donald Dinnie. The two men did not get along, and Muldoon feels like he has been double crossed by Donald Dinnie and it leads to a big show down in Portland, Oregon. That and much more on hour 83 of 1000 Hours! The information in this episode is taken from my latest book: DragonKingKarl's Pioneer Era Pro Wrestling Omnibus available at Amazon.

YOU CONTROL THIS SERIES! It will only run as long as it is supported. In order to get another hour of 1000 hours we need a new Patreon supporter at any level or a cash donation via the front page of WhenItWasCool.com to either PayPal or CashApp (Please put “1000” in the note). As soon as it is received, I will produce a new hour. Presently, we are funded up to hour 104.

On this edition of the DragonKingKarl Show, I grab the March 1991 issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated Magazine which covers the year 1990 in depth. Besides the annual year end awards, the magazine also covers the major events of 1990. 1990 was a hugely transitional year in pro wrestling history. Ric Flair was no longer king of the NWA with Sting now the reigning World champion. Hulk Hogan was out of the WWF title picture as Ultimate Warrior now had that championship. The AWA was still barely hanging on and a major angle in USWA was grabbing attention and a newcomer named Steve Austin was making waves in Texas.

I continue my history of pro wrestling series today looking at November 1985 which is taken from my book DragonKingKarl's 1984-1985 Pro Wrestling Omnibus. The young death of 'Quick Draw' Rick McGraw stunned wrestling and started a false urban legend. Thanksgiving in 1985 was a huge deal in wrestling and there were major cards by the WWF, World Class, AWA, and the biggest one of all: NWA Starrcade. Also in this month, an off-hand remark in a promo gives birth to the most famous stable in pro wrestling. Join me as well look back at this historic month in pro wrestling history.

My 1000 Hours podcast sub-series is devoted to discussion about the pioneer era of pro wrestling (Pre-Frank Gotch). Currently, we are going through my latest book: DragonKingKarl's Pioneer Era of Wrestling Omnibus and we have arrived at a fascinating story I had never heard before researching my book. A huge pro wrestling tournament was held in St. Louis, Missouri and was to feature the biggest names of the era. A rival promoter, however, syphoned off several of the stars for an East Coast tournament instead. But, back in St. Louis, one of the wrestlers, Tom Connors, was alleged to have been poisoned by another- Edwin Bibby. This and much more is discussed in this, hour 82 of 1000 Hour podcast.

YOU CONTROL THIS SERIES! It will only run as long as it is supported. In order to get another hour of 1000 hours we need a new Patreon supporter at any level or a cash donation via the front page of WhenItWasCool.com to either PayPal or CashApp (Please put “1000” in the note). As soon as it is received, I will produce a new hour. Presently, we are funded up to hour 103.

Generally speaking, this is my most listened to show of the year, so thank you and strap in. Over the past several months this podcast has focused on many of the people who had not yet made the ballot. That gives me much more latitude on today's show to dive into the people and process of the Hall of Fame, examine the ballot, and on the second half of the show I throw a curveball to the process which makes for a very interesting segment. Also, I am preparing a suggestion for Dave Meltzer about how to handle the pioneer era of wrestling.

The extended Patreon edition with an over 20-minute discussion about morality in pro wrestling and if that should affect voting can be found here.

Today we hop in the time machine and set it for the fall of 1990. Pro Wrestling was slumping but not yet bottoming out. When the December 1990 issue of the WWF Magazine hit the stands, The Texas Tornado (Kerry Von Erich) graced the cover. Inside was tons of hype for the now four-man Survivor Series where Teams of Four Strive to Score or something like that. Anyway, the magazine seems hyper-fixated on getting over Samba Simba which makes for some pretty weird reading in 2025.

Today on my 1000 Hours podcast series looking back at the pioneer era of pro wrestling (the era before Frank Gotch) from my latest book DragonKingKarl's Pioneer Era Pro Wrestling Omnibus, I look at correspondence from two top pro wrestling historians which include new information on pro wrestling pioneers Duncan C. Ross and Homer Lane. Who were these pioneer champion pro wrestlers? All of this plus more on William Muldoon, Prof. Thiebaud Bauer, Joe Acton, and more!

YOU CONTROL THIS SERIES! It will only run as long as it is supported. In order to get another hour of 1000 hours we need a new Patreon supporter at any level or a cash donation via the front page of WhenItWasCool.com to either PayPal or CashApp (Please put “1000” in the note). As soon as it is received, I will produce a new hour. Presently, we are funded up to hour 102.

Today my classic wrestling podcast takes a detailed look back at September 1992 through the pages of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter. WCW was having an identity crisis. The pro wrestling world was crumbling down. The WWF (WWE) was plagued with multiple scandals and business was down around the globe. Bill Watts was running WCW and had taken it backward instead of forward. Bill Watts instituted weird, outdated rules and even tried to elevate the now irrelevant NWA back to some sort of stature. It was an effort in futility as Bill Watts would soon be removed due to inflammatory comments which would be brought to light by a baseball legend.