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Tag: Austin Idol

  • DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling July Marathon: “Wildfire” Tommy Rich

    Tommy “Wildfire” Rich became a near instant star in the early 1980s but almost as quickly as he shot to stardom, he fell from the top going from one of the youngest NWA World Heavyweight champions to a comedy figure in just a few years time.

    So, what went wrong? Actually, Rich had a better career than most give him credit for. And in this show, Karl Stern will talk about that in detail, including Rich’s involvement in one of the best angles of 1987.

    Fred Ward and Harley Race believed in Rich to such a degree that he had a short run as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion while being one of the hottest ever babyfaces in Georgia. Often moving back and forth between Georgia and Memphis wrestling, it seemed like Rich was building toward becoming one of the biggest stars of the 1980s and possibly beyond.

    But it burnt out as quickly as it started. Though Rich worked a variety of places including Continental, AWA, and WCW, he never came close to recapturing that magic he had early on in Georgia.

    But for a short time in 1987, he did. Along with Paul Heyman (Paul E. Dangerously at the time) and Austin Idol, he was part of one of the last great angles of the territorial era where the heels finally outsmarted Jerry “The King” Lawler. In the weeks leading to a big hair vs. hair match, Rich laid down a great series of promos and matches which helped build to the big surprise – when he came out from under the ring in a steel cage match and cost Lawler his hair for the first and only time in his career.

    On the latest episode of our classic wrestling July marathon, join us in taking a look at “Wildfire” Tommy Rich.

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  • DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling July Marathon: Austin Idol

    The women’s pet and the men’s regret is the topic of today’s show, Jackson! Even Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recognized the incredible promo skills of Austin Idol and raved about him on the mic.  When you are recognized as a great promo by probably the greatest promo in the history of the business… well…that’s saying something.  

    The master of the Las Vegas Leglock was a cross between Superstar Billy Graham and Ric Flair but in many ways almost cooler. “The Universal Heartthrob” was a big star in several regions of the country including the Southeast, Memphis, and Georgia. He even survived a plane crash! As a babyface, he was the coolest guy in the room, leading Idol’s Army against the heels. Idolmania was running wild before Hulkamania was. As a heel, he was incredible. He was often a bigger heel behind the scenes than he was in the ring. He once legit cashed a kayfabe battle royal check.

    Today, host Karl Stern talks about some of the greatest Austin Idol moments including the legendary Idol and Tommy Rich battle with Paul Heyman against Jerry Lawler. The July Classic Wrestling Marathon rolls on!

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  • DragonKingKarl Biography Series Radio Show – Mongolian Stomper

    DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Audio Show: Biography Series – The Mongolian Stomper. I wanted to dedicate an entire biography show to the late Archie “The Mongolian Stomper” Gouldie. He was my first favorite heel character when I started watching wrestling. Normally, I would not expect a lot to be made of the Stomper’s death other than a mention here or there since he was not a giant international star.  But to me, here in the deep southern United States and, I am sure, to many in Canada he was a very big deal.  

    Today I want to talk about the career of the Mongolian Stomper and talk about the angle that made him my favorite.  He was well spoken in some areas, while in others he was a grunting brute.  Yet, even when he played the brute, his angles were often sophisticated.  He was part of a famous, very heavy, angle in Stampede wrestling that lead to the shows announcer quiting.  He did a similar angle in Alabama.  

    On today’s show I will talk in detail about another sophisticated angle he did involving Ric Flair, Austin Idol, Buddy Rogers, and much more.  Today, I am going to give the Stomper his due and I hope you enjoy learning about a relatively under rated wrestling star.

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