On this episode of Get Your Bell Rung, KG welcomes veteran pro wrestler Pat Tanaka for a deep, honest, and surprisingly self-reflective conversation about a life spent in and around the wrestling business. Best known for his time in Bad Company, The Orient Express, the AWA, WWF/WWE, WCW, and ECW, Tanaka looks back on his career with a level of honesty you do not always hear from someone with his résumé.

Pat talks about growing up as the son of Duke Keomuka, being around the business from a very young age, setting up rings as a kid, traveling seven days a week, and eventually becoming a referee before stepping into the ring himself. He explains why refereeing was one of the best learning experiences he could have had, how it taught him timing, psychology, crowd control, and how to be in the right place at the right time.

From there, the conversation gets into Pat’s training under Hiro Matsuda, the brutal discipline of the dojo system, his early time in Japan, and the pressure of trying to follow in the footsteps of his father. Tanaka is very open about his own insecurities as a performer, saying he never felt like he had the charisma of the biggest stars, even though he could work, bump, and hold his own in the ring.

What makes this interview stand out is how candid Pat Tanaka is about himself. He does not romanticize everything. He talks openly about mistakes, substance use, self-doubt, the physical toll of wrestling, and the difference between being a great worker and being a top-drawing star. At the same time, he clearly still loves the business, the people he worked with, and the opportunities wrestling gave him.

This is a must-listen for fans of territory wrestling, the AWA, late-80s/early-90s WWF, The Orient Express, Bad Company, and anyone interested in the real road stories behind the wrestling business.

***watch the video version here***
https://rumble.com/v7av924-retro-wrestling-re-view-ecw-podcast-ep.-0-setting-the-table-before-extreme-.html

Before the Retro Wrestling Re-View ECW Podcast officially begins its watch-along journey through 1993 ECW television and beyond, Gene Jackson and Brandon Wheeler kick things off with Episode 0: Setting the Table, a primer on how Eastern Championship Wrestling came to exist before it became the ECW fans remember.

This episode is not about tables on fire, balcony dives, New Jack, Raven, Dreamer, Sandman’s Metallica entrance, or Joey Styles yelling “Oh my God!” Not yet. This is the story before all of that when ECW was still a small Philadelphia wrestling promotion trying to survive after the collapse of Joel Goodhart’s Tri-State Wrestling Alliance.

Gene and Brandon walk through the roots of ECW, starting with Tri-State’s influence on the Philadelphia wrestling scene and how Joel Goodhart helped create the blueprint for the “super indie” style of promotion: local talent mixed with national names, hardcore fans, wild dream matches, and a rabid audience that wanted something different from the mainstream.

From there, the episode follows Todd Gordon as he moves from wrestling fan, advertiser, investor, and ring announcer into the man trying to keep wrestling alive in Philadelphia. After Tri-State shuts down, Gordon joins with names like Larry Winters, Bob Artese, and Stevie Wonderful to create Eastern Championship Wrestling, hoping to build something more financially stable while still serving the fanbase Tri-State left behind.

This is the ground floor. It’s ECW before it found its identity. Before Paul Heyman, before the cult following, before “extreme” became the brand, this was a small promotion full of local guys, aging names, too many managers, strange booking choices, and a promoter learning on the fly.

If you’re joining Gene and Brandon for the full Retro Wrestling Re-View ECW Podcast ride from 1993 through 2000, Episode 0 is essential listening. This is where the road begins, not with a bang, not with a flaming table, but with a bar in Philadelphia, a jewelry story/pawn shop owner, and a group of people trying to figure out what comes next.

**WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION OF THIS EPISODE HERE**
https://rumble.com/v7asvta-retro-re-view-continental-wrestling-podcast-ep.-9-ladies-and-gentlemen-dirt.html

Episode #9 of the Retro Wrestling Re-View Continental Wrestling Podcast takes Gene Jackson and Robb Helt back to the September 7, 1985 episode of Continental Championship Wrestling, coming from the Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham, Alabama. This week’s episode has title action, a new tournament getting hyped, Dick Slater showing up to stir the pot, and Robb once again finding at least one person on the show he absolutely refuses to get behind.

The show opens with Bill Ash defending the U.S. Junior Heavyweight Championship against Ted Oates, and while Gene and Robb may be distracted by the extremely tall referee, the match itself turns out to be a solid veteran-style opener. Oates controls much of the action and works the leg, but Ash finds a way to hang on to the title.

From there, things shift toward the ongoing Continental title tournament and the growing issues around the Armstrongs, the Fullers, and Jimmy Golden. Dirty Dick Slater gets involved in a big way, cutting promos and making it clear that he is not doing anybody favors unless there’s money or a title involved. Gene and Robb also talk about Slater’s reputation, his Terry Funk influence, and why he always felt like a natural ass-kicker.

If you’re following the Continental series, Episode #9 is a good mix of solid old-school wrestling, tournament hype, Fuller family heat, Dick Slater violence, and Gene and Robb doing what they do best: breaking it down, cracking each other up, and trying to make sense of Alabama wrestling one Boutwell episode at a time.