Rick Del Santo's Classic Wrestling Talk with Roger Sartain from Deep South Wrestling & More!

On this episode of Rick Del Santo’s Classic Wrestling Talk Podcast, Rick welcomes Roger Sartain for a deep conversation about Roger’s life in and around professional wrestling, from growing up on the Nick Gulas territory, to breaking into the business in Alabama, working Deep South Wrestling, Southern Championship Wrestling, independent shows across Georgia and Tennessee, and crossing paths with a long list of familiar names from old school wrestling.Roger starts at the beginning, talking about watching wrestling as a child with his grandfather and being hooked by stars like Jackie Fargo, Lynn Rossi, and Tojo Yamamoto. He also remembers the early Gulas territory names who influenced him, including Bobby Eaton and Arvil Hutto, and explains how that childhood fandom eventually turned into a real desire to get into the wrestling business himself.The Deep South Wrestling material is especially interesting because Roger explains that he was originally brought along by Richard, only to be asked to referee on TV when another referee didn’t show up. He had never refereed before, but Bill Harris told him he would be fine, and Roger stepped in wearing black slacks, boots, and a referee shirt he happened to have with him.Roger also gives a lot of credit to the people who helped shape him, especially Jody Hamilton and the Deep South crew. By his own admission, Roger already knew moves and could take bumps before he got there, but Deep South helped teach him how to actually work. That distinction is one of the strongest takeaways from the whole interview.There’s also plenty of good old-school name discussion. Roger talks about Randy Rose, Wildcat Wendell Cooley, Bullet Bob Armstrong, Action Mike Jackson, Tom Zenk, Terry Gordy, Jack Victory, Rip Morgan, Ricky Morton, Robert Gibson, and Jimmy Powell. Some stories are funny, some are blunt, and some are just good examples of what it was like to work independent wrestling in that era.By the end, this episode feels like exactly what Classic Wrestling Talk does best: giving a platform to someone who may not be a household name to every modern fan, but who lived the business, worked with major names, learned from veterans, traveled the roads, and came away with stories worth preserving.For fans of Deep South Wrestling, Nick Gulas territory wrestling, Southern Championship Wrestling, Alabama and Georgia independent wrestling, Roger Sartain, Richard Sartain, Jody Hamilton, Bill Harris, Mickey Henry, Randy Rose, Wildcat Wendell Cooley, Bullet Bob Armstrong, Rock ’n’ Roll Express, Action Mike Jackson, Terry Gordy, Jack Victory, Rip Morgan, and real old school wrestling conversations, this episode is a great listen.Roger Sartain may not have chased the national spotlight.But he lived the life, learned the business, and earned the stories.Check out more great stuff from Rick Del Santo on his YouTube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TheRickDelSantoFollow him on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/theprofrickdelsanto ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★