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.

Episode #8 of the Retro Wrestling Re-View Power Pro Wrestling Podcast takes Gene Jackson, Robb Helt, and Brian Tramel back to another wild Saturday morning of Power Pro Wrestling, and this week the show wastes absolutely no time spinning into absolute chaos!

The episode opens with B.J. Awesome taking on Ashley Hudson, but Spellbinder storms the ring, attacks everybody in sight, chokeslams referees, wipes out officials, and declares that he’s done talking. After weeks of getting cheated, Spellbinder has apparently decided that if nobody in Power Pro is going to help him, he’ll just start wrecking the whole place himself (and that’s the bottom line, 'brutha’!)

From there, Brandon Baxter continues his mission to ruin Randy Hales’ life and tear Power Pro apart from the inside. He tries to smarten up Derrick King about Miss Jackie, Tony Falk stays in the middle of everything, and Jackie actually gets in the ring with Baxter in a segment that turns into another pile of moving parts, run-ins, reversed decisions, and Derrick still somehow convincing himself he has a chance.

The biggest segment of the show comes when Jerry “The King” Lawler confronts Randy Hales over bringing in Kane for the Mid-South Coliseum. Lawler accuses Randy of letting the power go to his head, compares him to Vince McMahon, reminds everyone that Memphis is still the King’s town before slapping the ever loving s*** out of the Owner, Founder, AND President of Power Pro Wrestling.

This episode is very much a snapshot of 1998 wrestling: run-ins, swerves, blurred babyface and heel lines, backstage authority figure drama, WWF references, and a whole lot of “expect the unexpected.” Gene, Robb, and BT break down what works, what misses, and how much of this was just Power Pro trying to keep up with the Monday Night Wars era.

**watch the show at the link below**
https://rumble.com/v7avzkk-live-from-the-archive-arc-of-an-angle-embry-vs.-akbar-wccw-ep.-3-he-aint-ba.html

Episode #3 of Live from the Archive: Arc of an Angle continues the week-by-week breakdown of the Eric Embry vs. Skandor Akbar / Devastation Inc. angle in late-era World Class Championship Wrestling but this week, with Robb Helt away celebrating his birthday, Gene Jackson, Scottie Wince, and Brandon Wheeler take over the show and immediately begin doing exactly what Robb probably feared they would do.

This episode picks up with more WCCW chaos as Kendall Windham battles The Botswana Beast, only for Iceman King Parsons and Skandor Akbar to get involved. Just when Devastation Inc. looks ready to destroy Kendall, Eric Embry hits the ring to make the save, continuing his unlikely rise as the man standing up to Akbar’s army.

The guys also watch Eric Embry vs. Iceman King Parsons, where Akbar and Black Bart get involved, the referee takes a bump, weapons come into play, and Kendall Windham makes the save, despite showing up with no weapon while the heels are armed and dangerous.

This episode is part WCCW angle breakdown, part hostile takeover, and part birthday-week sabotage. The Embry vs. Akbar feud continues to build, but without Robb there to keep everyone focused, the conversation also wanders into ECW, Freebirds, Corey Maclin-adjacent controversy, Power Pro, Kid Wicked/Wikked, Kendall Windham’s life story, and anything else that happens to cross the boys’ minds.

If you’re following the full Arc of an Angle journey, Episode #3 keeps the story moving as Eric Embry continues trying to position himself as the defender of World Class against Akbar’s crew even if Gene, Scottie, and Brandon are still trying to figure out how this bleach blond, brown bearded “used car salesman” became Texas wrestling’s last great hope.

From hardcore wars in ECW to legendary moments across NWA and WCW, Jack’s been through it all and has stories you won’t believe! Get ready for unfiltered tales, behind-the-scenes memories, and pure wrestling history from one of the game’s toughest veterans!

On Episode #4 of The Hang, titled “Now With More Fiber!”, the crew welcomes Brandon Overholser for another loose, unpredictable ride through wrestling, music, weed talk, old stories, and pure chaos. Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with J.C. Butcher, Uncle Frank, and the rest of the crew hanging out, this episode delivers exactly what the show promises: friends kicking back, watching wild wrestling clips, telling stories, and letting the conversation go wherever it wants to go.

The episode opens with the usual smoke session and strain-of-the-week talk before diving into a notorious WWC Puerto Rico match between Manny Fernandez and Invader #3, including the infamous blood-vomit finish and the very questionable stories that have been told about it over the years.

From there, the show rolls through a mix of segments, including Kendo’s JCW Match of the Week, featuring Tracy Smothers vs. Booker T from Juggalo Championship Wrestling, along with discussion of Tracy’s heat with the Juggalos, JCW history, and why Smothers was one of the absolute best at making a crowd hate him.

The crew also talks music with a spotlight on Odd Squad Family, including their song “Smoke My Pain,” and Alex brings some high-class culture to the proceedings with a dramatic reading of “Disco Duck” that somehow makes perfect sense in the world of The Hang.

A big part of the episode centers around Brandon Overholser’s history in wrestling, his battles with the New Mexico Athletic Commission, outlaw wrestling stories, and the upcoming Sunflower Festival in Mountainair, New Mexico. Brandon also shares the story behind uploading and preserving a rare American Kickboxer / Tarek the Great match from Japan, leading to a full breakdown of Tarek stepping into a kickboxing-style fight with only a week of training.

Uncle Frank also shares a personal and genuinely great story about working with The Iron Sheik, including why he refused to embarrass one of his childhood heroes, how he made Sheik feel like a world champion, and the unforgettable post-match invitation to smoke “good marijuana” with the legend himself.

This episode is part wrestling watch-along, part smoke session, part music hangout, part road-story collection, and part “what the hell did we just watch?” If you like your wrestling podcasts polished and professional, this probably ain’t the one. But if you like friends talking wrestling, trading stories, laughing at nonsense, and somehow tying together Manny Fernandez, Booker T, Odd Squad Family, Tarek the Great, The Iron Sheik, Jerry Lawler, and Disco Duck in one episode, The Hang Episode #4 is exactly where you need to be.

It’s time for a special edition “Shootin’ The Shiznit” with “Rollin’ Into
Mempho.” Brian Tramel is joined by RynoJB to review Championship Wrestling
from Memphis for Episode 2 in their quick RT format ! They answer the
following questions about the show:
-Hits?
-Misses?
-MVP??
-What do they want to see on next week’s show?
-THUMBS UP or THUMBS DOWN?
They reviewed this episode !
https://youtu.be/tu60MgDjLK8?si=PE81xuIq5wszNPuL