Episodes
This month Al and Jon look at the Indianapolis-based WWA in 1971, plus talk about their "turf war" for Detroit with The Sheik. Also, Jon goes for six wins in a row at Gordon Solie's Championship Wrestling Trivia, Al interviews Brad Balukjian about his new book The Six Pack: On the Open Road in Search of WrestleMania, and tons more!
Published 04/11/24
Published 04/11/24
This month Al and Jon look at Championship Wrestling from Florida in 1971. They run down the roster and discuss Louie Tillet and Rene Goulet. Jon also faces a challenge from John McAdam in this month's Jon Plays Gordon Solie's Championship Wrestling Trivia. They also discuss Ole Anderson and compare Ole's reputation as a booker to that of Tillet, plus Al discusses ways to 'measure' which towns in a territory have stronger lineups. All this and lots more!
Published 03/15/24
This month's episode looks at Sam Muchnick's wrestling promotion in St. Louis in 1971. Is it or isn't it a territory? What's a territory? Al and Jon run down the roster, shining the spotlight on Dr. Big Bill Miller and Sweet Daddy Siki. Plus Jon Plays Gordon Solie's Championship Wrestling Trivia against a new challenger. All this and lots more!
Published 02/08/24
This month's episode starts with some late-breaking news regarding the Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame. From there, Al and Jon talk about Roy Shire's Big Time Wrestling promotion in 1971. Pat Patterson and Ray Stevens are heavily featured, plus they run down the rest of the roster, which also included Pampero Firpo and Roger Kirby. From there, Jon is challenged to a round of Gordon Solie's Championship Wrestling Trivia by Kris Zellner. All this and lots more!
Published 01/11/24
This month, Al Getz & Jon Boucher look at the AWA in 1971. Among the topics are a look into the life and tragic death of Hercules Cortez and the slow rise up the cards of Nick Bockwinkel. Plus all the regular features and a new challenger for Jon Plays Gordon Solie's Championship Wrestling Trivia!
Published 12/14/23
This month, Al Getz & Jon Boucher look at wrestling in Vancouver in 1971. Running down the full roster and discussing questions regarding Steven Little Bear's real name. It's also the debut of the version of Jon Plays Gordon Solie's Championship Wrestling Trivia, where Jon competes against a different challenger every month!
Published 11/09/23
This month, Al Getz & Jon Boucher look at wrestling in East Texas in 1971. They look at the differences in how Fritz, Blanchard, & Boesch ran their towns using the same crew of wrestlers. They also look at all the wrestlers who appeared in the area and take a closer look at Pepper Gomez. Plus a SHOCKING TWIST at the end of this month's trivia segment.
Published 10/12/23
This month, Al Getz & Jon Boucher look at Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling in 1971. They talk about Bobby Shane's big (but brief) run there, the first time he worked as a heel. And they dig into the life of "Hippie" Mike Boyette, one of the more colorful characters in a line of work filled with colorful characters.
Published 09/14/23
This month, Al Getz & Jon Boucher look at Mike LeBell's Southern California wrestling territory in 1971. They look at the reported attendance/gate figures for the August 27th Blassie-Tolos card at the Coliseum as well as two other large L.A. crowds over the years, using multiple sources to verify and/or debunk them.
Published 08/10/23
This month, Al Getz & Jon Boucher look at Heart of America (aka Central States) in 1971. They discuss various sources of attendance figures for the territory and how best to make sense of info that comes from various sources and doesn't always match up. Plus Al compares Rufus R. Jones to Vin Diesel!
Published 07/13/23
This month Al Getz & Jon Boucher look at Jim Crockett Promotions in 1971. Looking at the top stars, top teams, and top feuds, plus Nelson Royal, the unheralded team of Bill Bowman & Joe Turner, and tons more!
Published 06/08/23
This month Al Getz & Jon Boucher look at Joe Dusek's wrestling territory in 1971. No one can stop the Claw, the untimely death of Alberto Torres, an unwrapped Mummy, a dressing room fight involving Dusek and a wrestler, and tons more!
Published 05/11/23
This month Al Getz & Jon Boucher look at the Amarillo territory in 1971. Ciclon Negro debuts and kicks off a feud with the Funk family that goes on for several years. Plus a discussion of the local promoters in the territory including "The Lawman" Don Slatton.
Published 04/13/23
This month Al Getz & Jon Boucher discuss Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1971. Includes discussions on Fred Ward and the roles of local promoters in some territories, plus the wrestler Jon refers to as a "scuzzier Bobby Shane".
Published 03/16/23
This month Al Getz & Jon Boucher discuss Stampede Wrestling in 1971. They also go deep on the careers and lives of Kurt Von Hess and Gil Hayes, plus talk about Les Thornton, Abdullah the Butcher, Tiger Joe Tomasso, and other top Calgary stars.
Published 02/16/23
This month Al Getz & Jon Boucher discuss the newly redesigned Charting the Territories site and look at LeRoy McGuirk's territory in 1971. They discuss Waldo Von Erich, Chris Markoff, and more, plus ... someone is Hall of Fame bound!
Published 01/19/23
This month Al Getz & Jon Boucher look at the 4th quarter of 1978 in the McGuirk wrestling territory. The feud between Ray Candy and Ernie Ladd comes to a rather anti-climactic conclusion on Christmas Day at the Superdome. Plus, why Ron Slinker was nicknamed "High Heels" when he was a Tampa police officer and tons more!
Published 12/22/22
This month Al Getz & Jon Boucher discuss the fourth quarter of 1974 in the McGuirk wrestling territory. We talk about Tom Jones and his role in breaking racial barriers in the deep south. Plus, we listen to a few cuts from Sgt. Slaughter's album (!) and we reveal our Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame ballots!
Published 11/24/22
This month Al Getz and Jon Boucher cover the 4th quarter of 1966 in LeRoy McGuirk's wrestling territory. They discuss one wrestler who tried to launch a career in country music, and another who had a prolific post-wrestling career in the hot rod industry and was also killed (onscreen) by Michael Myers.
Published 10/27/22
This month Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 3rd quarter of 1978 in LeRoy McGuirk's OK/LA territory. Ernie Ladd and Ray Candy main event the Superdome, but how many people saw it? They also look at Eric the Red and Jerry Stubbs, plus Jon sent Al a rather unique cookbook!
Published 09/22/22
This month Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 3rd quarter of 1974 in LeRoy McGuirk's OK/LA wrestling territory. They discuss the big feud between Ken Mantell and Buck Robley, run down the rest of the roster, dive into the early lives of Robley and Stan Hansen, and tons more!
Published 08/25/22
This month Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 3rd quarter of 1966 in the McGuirk OK/LA territory. We cover the little-known story of Cowboy Bob Ellis' involvement in a horse-racing scandal that led to a federal indictment, including new info never before shared. Plus we learned more about Battleship Johnson from a former martial arts student of his. We also discuss Don Kent, Hodge vs Brisco and tons more!
Published 07/26/22
Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 2nd quarter of 1978 in LeRoy McGuirk's Oklahoma/Louisiana territory. The top wrestlers, the big feuds, plus a look at three newcomers all of whom had strong ties to Texas wrestling. They also look at Bobby Shane's Gulf Coast run in '71. Plus tons more!
Published 06/23/22
Al Getz and Jon Boucher look at the 2nd quarter of 1974 in Leroy McGuirk's wrestling territory. They discuss the early life of Frank Goodish (Bruiser Brody) and reveal some information about the life of Bulldog Drummer (aka Count Drummer) that has never been part of wrestling's "historical record" until now. Plus tons more!
Published 05/26/22