This week on Retro Wrestling with Gene Jackson, Gene sits down with fellow wrestling podcaster Rick Del Santo for a deep dive conversation into old school fandom, tape trading, territory wrestling, and the art of interviewing the forgotten names of the business.
Rick has built a reputation for tracking down wrestlers you haven’t heard from in years, guys like Vladimir Koloff, Jimmy “the Original Dirty White Boy” Powell, Richard Sartain, Joe Malenko, and more, giving them a real platform to tell their stories.
In this episode, they talk about:
- Rick growing up in Connecticut during the 80s wrestling boom
- Discovering Memphis, World Class, AWA, and Southern wrestling through magazines and tape trading
- The lost art of tape trading (and getting burned chasing rare footage)
- Herb Abrams’ UWF: the good, the bad, and the non-finishes!
- Heel Tony Atlas in IWCCW
- Tracking down hard to find wrestling personalities for interviews
- What makes a great wrestling interview
- Podcasting in today’s wrestling landscape
They also get into Barry Horowitz, Rod Price, Keith Steinborn, and the importance of preserving wrestling history through long form conversations.
If you’re a fan of territory wrestling, lost promotions, or just two wrestling lifers talking shop, this one’s for you!
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What is The Retro Wrestling Archive Podcast Network?
The Retro Wrestling Archive Podcast Network is a home for nostalgia pro wrestling podcasts featuring interviews, reviews, recaps, and deep dives into the people, promotions, and moments that shaped wrestling history.
Our network includes original in-house shows like The Retro Wrestling Re-View Podcasts, Beyond Wrestling, Dangerous Conversations w/Doug Gilbert & Tommy Rich, and LIVE from the Archive!, along with affiliate podcasts such as STSPod, The Hang, Talkin' off the Top Rope, and Get Your Bell Rung, among others.
Presented in association with Jackson Media Creations, the Retro Wrestling Archive Podcast Network is dedicated to one mission: preserving pro wrestling history.