Get Your Bell Rung Pro Wrestling Podcast w/guest Ed Helinski (Part One)

On this episode of Get Your Bell Rung Pro Wrestling Podcast, KG sits down with Ed Helinski, who worked for the WWF from 1983 to 1987 during one of the most important and explosive periods in professional wrestling history.Ed was brought in alongside photographer Steve Taylor to help launch and run the official WWF magazine and arena programs, right as Vince McMahon was beginning his national expansion and building the machine that would change wrestling forever. In Part One, Ed talks about going from newspaper sportswriter to working inside WWF, how he got the job, and what it was like walking into the company just as Vince was preparing to take over the country.This episode covers: Ed’s early days as a sportswriter in Western New York  Covering a WWF show and accidentally opening the door to a job with the company  Being hired to help launch the official WWF magazine  His first WWF gig at Madison Square Garden in 1983  Working under Vince McMahon during the national expansion  Linda McMahon’s role as publisher under the name Linda Kelly  The difficulty of writing magazine stories when wrestling angles changed constantly  Earning the trust of the wrestlers and learning the rules of kayfabe  Andre the Giant being one of the toughest people to win over  Hulk Hogan becoming the centerpiece of the WWF machine  The Iron Sheik’s title win and the build to Hogan’s rise  Fred Blassie, Gorilla Monsoon, Arnold Skaaland, The Grand Wizard, Bobby Heenan, and other old-school personalities  The John Stossel / Dr. D David Schultz incident  The build to the first WrestleMania  Mr. T, Roddy Piper, Muhammad Ali, Liberace, and the mainstream push  Bootleg merchandise around Madison Square Garden  WrestleMania 2 and whether it was just as important as WrestleMania 1  Moving from writing into WWF merchandising  How WWF used magazine photos, arena programs, and merchandise to build stars  And the massive merchandise success of WrestleMania III at the Pontiac Silverdome What makes this conversation so interesting is that Ed was not just watching the wrestling boom happen. He was inside the office, inside the arenas, around the wrestlers, and part of the promotional engine that helped WWF become a mainstream phenomenon.This is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the early WrestleMania era, Vince McMahon’s expansion, the birth of WWF’s magazine and merchandising machine, and the transition from old-school wrestling territory culture into national pop culture spectacle.And this is only Part One.Also, for all your current wrestling news and reviews with K.G., Bob Cook, Robbie Idol, and the "Grizzled Vet" Michael McCurdy…subscribe to the Get Your Bell Rung YouTube Channel over at https://www.youtube.com/@getyourbellrungprowrestling and like their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61583941710996 Subscribe, follow, and get ready to have your bell rung.#GetYourBellRung #RetroWrestlingArchive #PodcastNetwork #KGLandry #WrestlingPodcast #ProWrestling #WrestlingHistory #RetroWrestling ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★