Thanks to Frank & Mike for having me on the podcast! Fun sharing some of my Portland Wrestling memories. My friends Rich Patterson and Jim Valley also share some of their memories as well! Link at the bottom of the page. This podcast is fun and always worth the listen for fans of Portland Wrestling like you and me!
Ringside in Rose City #51 — Guest Shots: Portland Wrestling Memories
This week, we put away the results sheets and step inside the memories of the Portland Sports Arena.
Frank Culbertson and Mike Rodgers welcome three special guests, each with a different connection to Portland Wrestling and a different generation of stories to tell. Lisa Hughes gets to push my buttons again!
Rich Patterson takes us back to his first night inside the Sports Arena in 1971, unforgettable moments involving Roddy Piper, Buddy Rose, Rip Oliver and Billy Jack Haynes, and the remarkable story of how he helped save the Buddy Rose tape collection—hundreds of tapes that might otherwise have disappeared forever.
Jody Day remembers discovering Portland Wrestling as a young fan in the 1980s, walking into the Sports Arena for the first time, the Andre the Giant mural, Steve Doll and the Southern Rockers, The Breakfast Club, and what it was like getting to know some of the wrestlers while still trying to understand the mysteries of kayfabe.
Then longtime wrestling broadcaster and historian Jim Valley joins us for another perspective on Portland Wrestling, including memories from both sides of the microphone.
Along the way, there are stories about bloody matches, the Crow's Nest, Santa Rip, moldy videotapes, milk and Cheerios, favorite wrestlers, saved programs and scrapbooks—and the little moments that made the Portland Sports Arena unlike any other wrestling building.
We also take time to remember Jerry Oates, who passed away September 4 at the age of 78. Mike shares memories from his interview with Oates and looks back at Jerry's important Portland run, including his Northwest Heavyweight Championship and tag-team partnership with Jesse Ventura. We remember a wrestler who described his career simply: he always gave 100 percent—and a man Ole Anderson once told was probably “too nice” for the wrestling business.
Because you can look up who won a match.
You can find the attendance.
You can read the results.
But that doesn't tell you what it felt like to be there.
History tells us what happened. Memories tell us why it mattered.
Three guests. Three perspectives. A tribute to Jerry Oates. And a whole lot of Portland Wrestling memories.
Ringside in Rose City
One ring. One city. A thousand stories.
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Wrestling... wrestling the way it should be.
