Jim Cornette on Great Moments In Studio Wrestling History 

I love that you guys don’t pound us with ads on these.

“It’s brutal if you have a wrestling match with no people.” Jim Cornette predicting the future..

Born raised in Tennessee, and when I was a kid, Jerry Lawler was the baddest man walking, you couldn’t tell anyone in my family he wasn’t or someone could beat him. You knew, when the King dropped that strap, it was about to be over👊🏻 this is my favorite show so far. Thanks for this great look back.

The Terry Funk impression was dead on 😂

At one time AWA's all star wrestling had higher ratings than 60 minutes in the Twin Cities, Chicago& Milwaukee

"It's brutal if you have a wrestling match with no people..." 6 months later: Empty arena Wrestlemania.

Florida studio wrasslin' in Tampa ruled. Kevin Sullivan jacked Kendall Windham in the face with a broken lightbulb at 9:30 on a Sunday morning. It was great

In the 1960s, the broad Pittsburgh area had a show called Studio Wrestling. It was the tv show for the Tri-State (PA< OH, and WV) that was owned by Bruno Sammartino. The name was so ingrained that for the next 20 years, people in the area referred to all professional wrestling as "Studio wrestling." .

First episode of Detroit I saw was the Funk/Lewin eps with the cage around the announcers. Fkn classic.

My brother and I lived for the studio wrestling! We'd get home from school and turn on wrestling. Forget cartoons, Rick Flair and the Horsemen were doing a promo monologue! Even though Flair did the same routine over and over in the ring ad nauseum, no one could beat him at the promos. There was something more intense about promos in the studio setting that just didn't seem to come across when done in the ring in front of a crowd of thousands. Man, the NWA was it for us. Then one of the channels started airing the AWA in our area and that was mostly studio wrestling. For my brother and I more wrestling on TV was great stuff.

Every time I think of studio wrestling, I think of David Crockett saying "we're out of time Tony" and then fade to black.

WV here. My dad used refer to all pro wrestling as "Big Time" rasslin. It wasnt til I was grown that I realized hed probably been used to watching Detroit wrestling at some point.

Cornette isnt lying when he says, Mario Galento looks like a pirate.

I watched studio wrestling in Memphis throughout my whole childhood. In my 20s I moved there for a job and would go whenever I could. I remember how TINY the studio was the first time I went, but it was surreal. Of all the wrestling shows that are gone, I miss that one the most, by far.

Ag hall in Allentown is still there lot of history in that little building. Zybysko heel turn on Bruno. Sgt Slaughter face turn. Piper, Snuka and a coconut Bunch of tag title changes. Great memories went every three weeks.

This has been the best episode, so far, that I have listened to.....brings back so many memories from my teens and young adulthood.....oh and thanks for the education on how the studio shows worked and all the little tidbits you threw in.....64 and still learning......just wish there was some wrestling worth watching......thank god for youtube....heh.......Thanks again!

Yelow everybody this is Lance Russell and Dave Brown right along ringside do for another action packed day or championship! If you were alive at the time and you were in the Memphis area you know you heard that whether you were a wrestling fan or not.

I was lucky as a kid in the mid to late 70's in Upstate NY. We got cable early because of foul weather testing. We got wrestling from Atlanta, Dallas, Montreal, and Detroit. A few other places at random times.

Studio wrestling blows away anything today. Weekly squash matches and promos with guys like Roger Kents constant color banter. 🗣🎶its not the kill...its the thrill of the chase.

I miss the days of watching wresting and kung-fu on TBS as a kid

Eddie Gilbert vs Jerry Lawler feud in Memphis early 1988 was awesome with Eddie fireballing Jerry Jarrett and Randy Hales in the studio and then the Gilbert vs Lawler studio brawl that spilled into the parking lot where Eddie slammed Jerry into Dave Brown's car windshield... classic moment

i was the timekeeper during a few shows i used to make a few bucks betting on the match results with the drunks .. they did not know i had a sheet of paper with the results on it

"wrestling matches with no people"..... Here we are. 😄😂

Didn't we all come out of a box?

"It's brutal if you have a wrestling match with no people." Wow, if he only knew...

Studio wrestling made sense. There were interviews. The way wrestling is presented now makes no sense. Why are there cameras back stage? Why do wrestlers come into the ring to talk about things?

Fun fact: it’s come back today as NWA Powerrr thanks to Corgan, to top it all off, Cornette is on commentary himself, it’s pretty interesting

The only studio wrestling moment that sticks in my mind is seeing the "pain master"'s (undertaker) debut promo. Hideous it was haha

The way he describes studio wrestling sounds a lot like TNA's Impact Zone set-up

Ridder 357, Sorry Florida Championship Wrestling was shot on a Wednesday @ the sporatrum 106 Albany Ave, after the card on Tuesday night @ the fort homer hestley armony

Wasn't it Rock Hunter who had put the "ether rag" over Tony's face?

The wwwf used to do Studio wrestling at a television station in Philadelphia Channel 48 in South Philadelphia on Penrose ave..

Studio wrestling allowed the wrestlers to talk in the heat of the moment when things made sense.

Greatest moment in studio wrestling - TBS 5:05 show - Horseman attack on Magnum TA after Magnum's injury. I saw it live and it was amazing. I found it on YT long ago but it seems to have disappeared.

To those complaining about Jim's story on Frankenstein's monster being on a studio wrestling show, keep in mind modern wrestling had several bizarre crossovers. WCW had Robocop and Chucky the killer doll while WWE had Scooby-Doo and John Shaft. Compared to that weirdness, Frankenstein's monster is rather quaint.

We went from Frankenstein to the Yeti, or as Tony Shivone says, The Yetayyy!

I would purchase a signed print of one of Travis Heckel's thumbnail drawings. Or make donation to Cauliflower Alley or similar. What's your price then Corny?

1 angle a year sounds freaking appealing compared to today's product. It was simpler also in 1982 to 87, but as it morphed into entertainment it has become a bombardment of silly story lines with clearly rehearsed and written for content. SO fucking lame.

Very glad NWA is bringing back studio tapings. Always boggled my mind why wrestling feds think you need an arena sized crowd to get angles over. Save the big arena shows for the big live shows. The reason why stuff like WWE does poor Raw attendance is why would you pay $200 to watch angles play out instead of the culmination?

Memphis wrestling at Channel 5 studio had a pretty long waiting list to get tickets for Saturday morning TV. I got to go once. It kinda ruined it for me though. Seeing it in person revealed everything.

Awesome Shoot Today Jim!!😎🐐🐐

We were lucky in Pittsburgh to have Bruno living in town. He got all the big heels at the time to come to a rinky dink studio at WIIC Pittsburgh. I was just a kid, this was in the '60's and I watched with my Grandma on Saturday nights.She was a hoot, used to cuss out the heels, She would have been great live in studio.

Hamburg was a Wednesday evening, it was exciting to see yourself on tv on friday night at 11pm.

Living in Pennsylvania, I grew up on WWWF on Channel 17 in Philly. But in 1977/ early '78(?), one of the Philly channels showed Championship Wrestling from Florida, and it was my intro to studio wrestling, and I thought it sucked. But, yet, I was watching Dory Funk Jr and Terry, the Briscos, and some young guy named Bob Backlund. And in '81, they had Georgia Championship Wrestling, during the feud between Gordy/Snuka and Hayes/Kevin von Erich. Both had Gordon Solie, who I didn't like in '77, but really started to like in '81, when I realized he better than Vince.

Much of Southeasterns production quality can be credited to guy named Bill Kincaid. He was camera man who was young producer trainee- musicain who had creativity and talent. Most ideas were his and lucky for them they had enough brains to listen to him. Set design and such pretty much all Bill. Ron and Whitey matches legendary. Tennessee chain matches bloodiest matches probably ever. They were brother in law's.

I love this show. History lesson of the good old dayz each episode

We didn't realize how good we had it, until it was gone. Big Time Wrestling in The SF Bay Area, very under rated and under appreciated.

I loved studio wrestling with Bruno Sammartino, Johnny DeFazio, The Battman(Tony Marino) and others. My grandma would give us the business of we interrupted it.

studio brawls were the best Memphis Georgia championship wrestling

The spinning wrestling statue was how the Toronto show "Ringside!" opened and closed in the late 60s and early 70s prior to Tunney calling the show "Maple Leaf Wrestling" in (I think), 1975. So at least since 1968. So I gotta wonder if Jarrett got the idea not from SECW, but from Tunney. And if I recall correctly, Jarrett also used Herb Albert & The Tijuana Brass' "La Banda" as the theme.... Small world, eh? And yea, there are some studio shows stories from Toronto and Vancouver and Montreal from that period that are kinda wild, too....

I remember they would always talk about what had happened in the big house shows on the tv episodes. I was just a kid then and wished like hell I could get to see this shows haha. By the time I was old enough to go I had moved on from wrestling. For a lot of casual fans like me those old studio shows take me back to a very specific moment in my childhood. I would come back to wrestling on and off over the subsequent years. It’s just so interesting to hear how the business worked

I loved watching all star wrestling in Vancouver in studio. Had many pre wwe wrestlers

I loved and miss studio wrestling. Those were my favorites.

Studio wrestling NWA was the greatest.

Love Jim, but Frankenstein in pro wrestling, sounds an awful lot like Cosplay -Mudshow fuel XD

I’m interested in checking out some old studio matches for some context, does anyone have any good suggestions?

Jim and brian, keep up the great work!!!👍

50 people in the audience is better than the modern audience of no people 😆

NWA 86-87 when the Midnight would be squashing in the Techwood studio, and Cornette would walk back and forth non-stop talking trash on the mic with Tony to talking trash in the face of the Midnight’s opponent. JJ would do the same with the Horsemen. That was some of the best studio wresting

In the artwork, Jim looks like he's experiencing one hell of a meth high instead of being afraid of Frankenstein...

Jim was CORRECT on how big Vern G. ALL STAR WRESTLING was in MPLS & ST. P = A Very good Market...

I remember Florida Championship Wrestling every Saturday at 1 PM, the 1960s - to the mid-'80s. The show was taped on a Tuesday. I remember Dusty doing a run-in with soap suds draped on his body and his hair soaking wet. Well, the building did not have any showers. The Grahams had low overhead. Gordon Solie was the best. Gordon was very scientific, explaining the physiological (Vasal Vagal Nerve & the Carotid Artery) effects of a sleeper hold.

He is a walking encyclopedia of Wrestling.

Studio Wrestling sold the tickets on road people don't know Old School wrestling

A regular memphis wrestling show got almost the same ratings as the world series.

Memphis studio wrestling in the '70's was boss. My memories of that is the reason I stopped watching this crap that has been on for the last 10 - 15 years. About the time WCW folded.

Hey Jim, What can you tell me about karate wrestling? Just found a match with it on WWE Network. Wanted to know if you might have any more history on the subject besides just that one match.

Roger Kent and his constant LOOKOUT

Wow people are really realizing how brutal wrestling is without a audience!!! I grew up in Florida watching Florida Championship Wrestling and their studio show was awesome when I grew up it’s not as great now because there was a lot of squash matches putting the faces over but I would rather go back and watch that than the wwe nowadays!!!

We need like a 4 hour documentary of Corny and all his stories put with video clips that are available.

& I still watch WADL TV38 - Classic All Star Wrestling starring - Adam Parsons.

The things I do for wrestling the sken Sillinget story.

The James Boys vs The Midnight Express,Ray Charles can see that's Dusty and Magnum

The problem with studio wrestling was they relied on VHS and betamax

I had the pleasure of meeting Mario Galento in the 80s I was friends with his son. He was a bad bad man. Nicest guy you would ever meet until he wasn't. He taught us everything from wrestling shoot holds to knife throwing. One of the baddest people I have ever met.

I love Corny's impression of Terry Funk.

Great segment

It's awkward to know that we were able to see wrestling performed with no people

loved nwa studio. Bobby Eaton goes to top Turnbuckle n moves light out of his way

A.W.A. Promos were cool and I still watch 💪

Jim did u ever get to do the studio in Columbus GA when Fred ward n wrbll had it down on the river walk area

The Knoxville show with Lawler was taped at chan 26. Had 3 network affiliated stations and Indy 26. It's studio was on sharps ridge. You about needed a mule to get up ridge in good weather. Seated about 35 40 people and hundred or more showed every sat. First come first served. People stood in line for hours to get in rain or shine. Funny but first time I ever saw it on tv Ron Wright was pounding a guy dressed as Frankenstein over the head with a metal trashcan. It was so over the top I couldn't look away. Totally ludicrous. They had me at trash can! Two weeks later was in studio eating it up. Started attending matches at Chilhowee Park and been fan since.This was late 60s early 70s. Saw shows your talking about Lawler and White. Ron fighting with Devoit Brunson the ref! No wrestlers hardly showed but the fans made it! Parked down Broadway walked up hill to studio. As kids we would sneek in back cause studio full. Couldn't get in studio but would hang around inside to argue with wrestlers. Ron Wright would chase us like he was gonna kill us. Probably still be laughing if still alive. Talked to him at different times about it and he'd laugh his ass off like it was yesterday. His arguing with anouncer Big Jim Hess some of best interview stuff ever. God I wish tapes around. Today's idiot workers could learn more watching couple hours of that then they'll ever be thought by today's moronic teachers. Interview so stale and boring hard to watch. Ron would spend more time arguing with fans on way to ring then most matches last now

Cornette, who was never a fan of the WWWF, wasn’t in the northeast to witness the biggest studio wrestling events there. Probably the biggest is when Larry Zbyszko turned on Bruno Sammartino. This chair bashing kicked off a feud that spanned the biggest arenas in the territory, New York’s Madison Square Garden, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington, and Hartford. This culminated in a box office bonanza in a steel cage at baseball’s, Shea Stadium. There were others with Jimmy Valiant turning on Chief Jay Strongbow. There were other heel turns involving Spiros Arion, there was Lou Albano clobbering his Wild Samoans with a chair in a TV title change. It was a rare affair when the locker room emptied out to separate grapplers in the ring back in the 70’s. I’d put the old WWWF studio shows against any of the other territories.

Vince used shows to sell TV, NWA etc used TV to sell shows. Who went broke?

The co host is my age. Im 40. I think we even grew up in same area (philly/south jersey) and i def remember wcw studio wrestling on tv. I remember always having to channel surf to find it i was so young i guess i never thought to memorize the station.

I wonder if the tapes still exist of the NZ TV Show On The Mat from the 1970s.

We had Pittsburg studio wrestling hosted by Bill Cardille back in my day. Bruno San Martino would show up every once in a while.

The WWF was supposed to do Studio Wrestling on TBS in 84 but they did taped arena matches and Billionaire Ted wasn't happy. Luckily Vince gave Crockett the TV spot and it worked out for both WWF and NWA

Hey Jim how about this, talk about studio wrestling and locations. Member when here in Richmond Virginia they used to wrestle at the arena did they move to the Colosseum

I'm happy with studio or stadium wrestling, as long as I get to see wrestling, I'm happy!

I think American Gladiators, while not wrestling, per see, was the best studio based sports entertainment show ever.

Jim cornette is the Forest Gump of wrestling. And that's all I got to say about that

I honestly believe studio wrestling is what is missed and I believe that it will revert back and I thought nwa power was on to something and wwes ratings our so horrible that I hope that USA gets to a point that they take there shows off the weekly viewing because any other show would be canceled if there ratings were this awful itsnot gettn better anytime soon We are seeing why one company gettn all the best talent and one company being the only place to wrestle and make money and having no competition in the business is never a good thing it shows that if you have no competition to keep you on your toes you get too comfortable and then you possibly lose your ambition and maybe standards go down the toilet what I'm saying is AEW is in a great situation to overtake the WWE but if they go out and do some of the same stupid shit they are squandering there chance much like TNA had a chance also but they pissed that away by having Vince Russo in the building I don't know why these company's don't figure out that fans want something Different then what WWE is doing when Vince was going around raiding all the territories and they went to the AWA and took Hogan,mean gene etc. The AWA product was always about sport and competion and when wrestling began to change Verne refused to change and his audience dwindled till he went out of business like five yrs later.Vince is stubborn like Verne was so it will take Someone else running the show or the WWE going out of business and I think there's a better chance of the WWE going out of business before him giving up his control. I think that wrestling will eventually revert back to some type of territory system and I hope it happens because competition is the best thing for wrestling.The WWE became the king on the hill then eventually they destroyed there competition and look what eventually happened to the king's on the hill they destroyed themselves and the wrestling business because we can't forget Vince let the cat out the bag Mr entertainment.

once you can fake sincerity you got it made

I think there was a THQ/N64 wrestling game that had a Dr.Frank wrestler

I use to love the old WCW studio wrestling

I grew up on Big Time Wrestling, living in Toledo

Will you please do an awa tell all Jim... I love those stories about the AWA cuz I live in Minnesota and I watched it when I was a kid religiously. Jim brunzell Greg gagne.. you said Baron von rashke I haven't heard that name in years...the claw that's all the people need to know haha

i wonder if corny was there the night percy pringle hit my dads uncle. hed been calling him pussy pringle all match and finally grabbed him and threw a beer on him. pringle hit him and some guy with strange shoes...kicked him and split him open in temple tx

the stuido vibe you can heard every sound feel that im pack