Vol. 24: Charting The Territories with Al Getz

What this episode covers

This volume of Classic Wrestling Memories is formatted a little differently. In the first part of the show, Seth and Train discuss the passing of three prominent people in pro wrestling, and the territories they worked in. Dick Slater – A regular in several territories during the 70s and 80s, Dick Slater had success as both a singles and tag team star. He first broke in wrestling via Eddie Graham’s CWF before having runs in such territories as Mid-Atlantic for The Crocketts, Mid-South for Bill Watts, and Amarillo for Joe Blanchard. Perhaps his best-remembered run would be with Cowboy Bob Orton Jr. (father of Randy Orton) and their appearance in the original Starrcade. While he did have runs as a babyface, Slater spent the majority of his career as a heel. Jose Lothario – Modern fans likely remember Lothario as the man who trained Shawn Michaels. That is of course true, but Jose had a very successful career in the 1960s Texas territories. Unlike Slater, Lothario spent almost his entire career as a babyface. His popularity was so great that the conventional wisdom of a veteran turning heel was not used with him. Instead, the young up-and-coming stars like Gino Hernandez would be the ones turning heel, and Lothario would be the grizzled veteran trying to teach the disrespectful rookies a lesson. Larry Matysik – Larry was not an in-ring wrestler, but he was certainly successful in the business. He perhaps most notably promoted in the St. Louis area where he hosted Wrestling From The Chase for over 20 years. In the latter half of the show, Al Getz joins Seth and Train to talk about his project Charting The Territories. As the name implies, Al gives historical looks at specific territories in certain eras. If you’re a fan of the territory days, Al has a show for you! As mentioned in the end of the show, Train has a new Crooner’s Playlist on Spotify