Retro Wrestling Ep. 59: Ozark Mtn Wrestling Deep Dive Part 1 w/guest Brian Tramel

On Episode #59 of Retro Wrestling with Gene Jackson, Gene kicks off a special deep dive series on one of the most fascinating short lived promotions of the 1990s: Bert Prentice’s Ozark Mountain Wrestling out of Jonesboro, Arkansas. For this series Gene is joined by the perfect guest for the subject: Brian Tramel, the owner, founder, and president of STSPod.club, and, more importantly for this story, a man who was right there in Jonesboro watching Ozark Mountain Wrestling unfold as it happened.This episode heads back to 1995, when Memphis wrestling was struggling, the USWA still considered Jonesboro part of its turf, and Bert Prentice decided to plant his flag in Arkansas with a promotion built on local talent, old-school promotion, TV exposure, sponsorships, giveaways, gimmick tables, and one hell of a lot of hustle.The heart of this episode is Bert Prentice as a promoter. Gene and Brian make it clear that Bert was not just some guy running outlaw shows. He understood how to work a town. He got TV. He walked into businesses. He sold sponsorships. He got free tickets into people’s hands. He built a local identity. He made Jonesboro feel like Ozark Mountain Wrestling belonged to them, and that is why the promotion had a real buzz almost immediately.This episode also captures the strange space Ozark Mountain Wrestling occupied. It was technically an outlaw group in USWA territory, but it had television, local sponsorships, packed armory shows, real momentum, and a promoter who knew exactly how to squeeze every dollar out of the building without making the fans feel cheated. It was carny in the best possible wrestling sense.Part One only gets the story started, but it already shows why Ozark Mountain Wrestling is worth a serious look. This was not a footnote. It was a short lived promotion functioning as a “mini-territory” with big personalities, strong local heat, smart promotion, future stars, veterans, wild stories, and a very real place in the late territory wrestling landscape.For fans of Memphis Wrestling, USWA, Jonesboro wrestling history, Bert Prentice, Colorado Kid, Cactus Jack, The Spiders/Headbangers, and the last gasp of old school independent territory-style promotion, this is a must-listen. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★