From WCW Retakes To WWF Tryouts A Wrestler’s Road Journal

Send us Fan MailThree tries. One TV match. Zero room for excuses. When we hit WCW TV in Gainesville, Georgia, the night turns into a crash course on what “getting it right for television” really means and why veterans get asked to call the match when the wheels come off. I’m flipping back through my wrestling match journal and laying out the receipts: the towns, the opponents, the paydays, and the miles that built my career long before anything looked glamorous.From there, the stories get even more real. I talk about the indie grind where you might drive hours and still not get paid, then pivot to one of the nastiest moments I’ve ever lived through: passing out at a dollar movie theater, breaking a rib on a toilet, and still finding a way to get through the wrestling booking because the show has to go on. If you love behind the scenes pro wrestling stories, this is the stuff that explains the mindset of 1990s independent wrestling better than any highlight clip.We also get into trying to establish a West Virginia territory, learning how TV tapings worked on a short-run promotion, and how a promo with no direction can accidentally level you up. Bo James becomes a big part of the road, from nonstop travel talk to first-time gimmick matches like a street fight, a Texas death match, and a pole match. Then comes the payoff: a WWF Shotgun Saturday Night tryout against Leaf Cassidy, better known as Al Snow, and what it feels like when the locker room gives you that nod of respect. Subscribe, share this with a wrestling fan, and leave a review, then send me your questions so we can read them on air.