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​Is Pro Wrestling Real (10/4/80)​: First of all, is the date right? I think Jimmy was working for Crockett by now, and I'm pretty sure that Buddy was exclusive to Portland. Of course, shows like ​Evening Magazine ​repeated segments from time to time, so maybe this was one of the repeat airings. It's interesting that they chose to interview Buddy in depth and not Jimmy. No doubt, Buddy was the better talker and more colorful performer, but I would have thought that they'd want a few words from the babyface. Other than a short clip of a promo, though, we heard nothing from Jimmy. I like that Buddy let down his hair a bit without breaking kayfabe, such as when he admitted that the boos of the fans got to him. I also liked his catalogue of the injuries he's caused. I'm sure they were all kayfabed, but they sound impressive nonetheless. Talk about amazing! Buddy was only twenty-four at the time this was taped. He was such a polished performer that I would have bet he was at least ten years older. I'm not sure I buy the old "wrestling releases tension" line, but it's fine as a justification for participating in an activity when you might otherwise be branded as either a goofball or a simpleton. Just as I thought, this was a repeat airing. Buddy was born in 1952, and his birthday was November 27. So this was probably taped sometime in either very late 1976 or 1977. I wonder what technicality gave Jimmy the match, but allowed Buddy to keep the title. He was bleeding, so they could have had the match stopped for blood, I suppose. We really didn't see enough clips to be able to tell one way or the other. The second part of this was the typical muckraking most outside journalists did at the time. I found it fascinating that the guy from the California State Athletic Commission admitted that wrestling is a sport, though not necessarily a contest. Of course, Buddy was properly indignant about being called a fraud, and I liked his back-and-forth with the reporter (who, by the way, was smart enough not to take Buddy up on his offer to drop a knee on his- the reporter's- head. I also liked the story the commission guy told about going to see Red Bastien in the locker room right after he supposedly did a stretcher job for Ray Stevens, and fielding the calls from concerned fans the next day. There's nothing new in this piece but it's always fun to watch outside reporters turn their dogged investigative skills on such a burning question as that of wrestling's authenticity. I may be alone, but I grew to appreciate the art of wrestling more ​after ​I learned that it was a work. Once I didn't feel obligated to cheer certain guys and boo certain others, I began to more fully enjoy them all.

​Rose, Boyd, and the Army (1/3/81): ​Buddy does most of the talking in the first segment; he was apparently suspended for throwing a belt into a river rather than letting it be turned over to Youngblood. I like the idea of the promotion using Buddy's fine money to purchase Youngblood's new belt; I'd never heard of that sort of thing before. Great bragging by Buddy about his Hawaiian vacation, and apparently he paid for the cameraman who filmed him on Waikiki, just as I thought. He really ​does ​look good with a fresh tan. Oliver's a decent talker, but not on Buddy's level. He's better than Destroyer, though. Buddy may be obnoxious and egotistical, but he knows how to recognize the accomplishments of his men. Most managers wouldn't be happy that his charges won a tag team championship without him, but Buddy not only congratulates Oliver and Destroyer, he gives up part of his interview time to them. What a guy! Buddy's challenge to Boyd leads to the second part of this segment, where Jonathan's jumped by Oliver and Destroyer in plain sight of everyone. Again, it's nice that the heels don't always backjump their prey, but isn't it counterproductive to attack someone right before you defend your titles? We wrap up with a Boyd interview. This one happens right after the attack I just mentioned, and we got another bloody head shot. It sounds like we have a match between Boyd and Destroyer coming up where Destroyer has to unmask if he loses. I like Boyd complimenting Destroyer on his headbutt, even as he acknowledges that his mask is loaded. If I recall correctly, Boyd was responsible for a whole lot of dirty deeds even at this point of his career, so it's nice that he refuses to whine about having some done to him. I wonder if the footage of Oliver and Destroyer jumping Boyd in the parking lot made tape. It sounds like a hell of an angle!

First fall: ​Considering the setup with Peterson being supposedly hurt, the action here was actually pretty decent. Doll has to carry on two against one and holds his own, but he eventually has to tag Peterson and then it all falls apart. Golden doesn't look too bad here, and Avalanche is used a lot better than he was in the match where he teamed with Buddy. That splash across Peterson's back from the second turnbuckle looked every bit as brutal as it was designed to look. Was the Assassin who did commentary with Coss Jody Hamilton? I wouldn't think so, as I believe he was finishing up his career with some independent promotions in the South about this time. ​Second fall: ​With less than four minutes of disc time left, I had an idea of how this was going to go. This is basically a handicap squash, as Doll pits up a brief fight but is quickly overwhelmed. A big front splash from Avalanche secures the titles for himself and Golden. When the Assassin left the Crow's Nest, I thought he was going to go to the ring and be Doll's partner, but no such luck. After hearing about the situation between Matt Borne and the Grappler, I wish the cage match they hyped here had made videotape. It sounds like it should be a real war! This was the best of the five full matches I've seen thus far in terms of action, which is a bit of a surprise to me. I wish it had been more competitive, but it was effective it telling the story it was designed to tell.

I didn't like this one. First of all, it's depressing to see Buddy so out of shape that he's reduced to a comedy figure. This is the first disc I've watched, and already I'm impressed with what a tremendous performer he was earlier in the decade. Well, any resemblance between that Buddy Rose and the one we saw here is totally coincidental. He didn't even look good climbing the ropes. I'm not sure who this Avalanche guy was, but belly flop aside, he wasn't much better. Second, The match wasn't treated as important by anybody. It felt like a Southern Rockers squash from the start, and the focus was more on Peterson winning the heavyweight title the night before. I was so busy listening to the Grappler's interview (which was good) that I had trouble following the match in the ring. It shows how little Portland valued its tag title by this time that a title match was treated this way. Third, the reversal of the decision felt too abrupt. I'm not even sure Sandy asked Avalanche what he'd done; he just took the word of Billy Two Eagles at face value and gave the belts back to the Rockers, and it didn't feel like anything momentous had happened regardless. That's how little competition the Beach Boys were here. If it wasn't for the kid trying to win a posedown against Buddy, there would have been very little enjoyable here at all. In four full matches, I've seen two genuinely enjoyable moments: the posedown I just referenced and the old lady slapping Chris Colt. Admittedly, that's partially my fault for starting with Disc 10 so I could watch the extras. Still, I've seen through those extras a taste of what Portland was at the start of the decade, and that's enough for me to lament what it's turned into by now.

​Rose and Piper Interviews (5/30/81): ​Buddy definitely seems the more composed of the two here, focused on beating Piper one more time and taking the US belt. Piper got off the line of the segment though, when he said that the only reason Buddy has two girls is so they can talk to each other when he falls asleep. Thesz refereeing is a nice added wrinkle; when Frank first mentioned a legend in his own time who would be appearing in the area, I thought he was talking about Andre. Interesting scenario mentioned at the end, when Buddy says that Piper would be staying in Portland if he lost, while he (Buddy) would be leaving for JCP as the new US champ. As great as Piper was in what we've seen, I definitely think Portland would have gotten the worst of that swap. It's also interesting that Crockett allowed his top belt to be defended so far away from home. He must have really trusted Piper, Buddy, and Don Owen not to screw with him Tony Borne's not allowed to be slapped since he's forty-five years old? That sounds rich today, considering that Piper and most of his friends competed until they were well past that age. As an aside, I wish we had the angle where Buddy slapped Jay Youngblood's father. Interesting that Portland's claiming that Shire's US title and Crockett's are the same belt. I guess it didn't matter to the fans of Portland one way or the other, but it's good stuff for fans like us to chew on. Buddy and Piper two of the top ten paid wrestlers in the NWA? I wish there was some proof of that one way or the other. Heaven knows they both deserved to be! I didn't know that Tony Borne had actually wrestled Buddy prior to this interview. Apparently he did pretty well for himself. I know we have a lot of stuff coming up between Buddy and Tony's son Matt, and I'm looking forward to it.

Portland News Feature (3/15/81)​: I actually like the attitude shown in this piece. Most of the time the media's out to expose wrestling as fake, which most people know (or at least suspect) already. This one puts the emphasis on the entertainment aspect and what the wrestlers use to entertain their audience. Giving them credit for guts and split-second timing is more than they usually get from the media at large. I can't wait to watch the feature from San Francisco on this disc to see what approach it takes. I just hope it's not too condescending or doesn't treat the fans like they're a bunch of imbeciles who got bounced off the short bus right on their heads.

​Rose Beach Promo: ​​The Playboy character has to be one of the most well-constructed in wrestling history. So many other guys with Buddy's body type would have had to have plain-looking women at their side in order to telegraph to the fans that their bragging was just hot air. But Buddy does what he says he's going to do and walks the walk despite not being classically handsome, and while most of the fans undoubtedly (and deservedly) hated him, there were probably quite a few, especially guys, who envied him (and no doubt some women who wished they were with him as well). Knowing wrestling promoters the way I do, I doubt that they really filmed on Waikiki unless Buddy was taking a dew matches in Hawaii during his vacation. Then again, Buddy seems to be the type who was so dedicated to his craft that he just might have paid his own crew; nothing would surprise me where he's concerned!

Youngblood, Buzz, and Buddy (12/20/80)​: I had no idea that Sawyer's nickname of Buzz was short for "Buzzsaw", much like his brother Brett was named "Hacksaw". It makes sense when you think about it, though. Nice of Buzz to give his title shot to Jay, and I liked how Buddy complained about it because he didn't want to face Jay. I also liked Jay apologizing to Frank before laying Buddy out. That's a kind of courtesy lacking in even the most polite of babyfaces most of the time. I hope we see at least one match between these two on the set, because they seem like they'd be dynamite together in the ring.

​Buddy Rose and Rip Oliver Interview (12/6/80): ​Buddy's certainly on a roll here. It's a shame we couldn't hear the first part of his remarks, because I'd like to know what else in the Northwest he compared himself to. ​Buddy gets off some good lines on Boyd. My two favorites were the clerk asking if Boyd would like to take his rat poison with him or use it in the store, and also the one where he says Boyd would make in in Japan because he was so small that people would think he was a transistor. ​​I've heard a lot about what a good talker Buddy was, and now I believe it. For whatever reason, I don't remember him being quite this good in the AWA. Now that Buddy refuses to talk about Jay Youngblood, why do I have a feeling that he's the next guy Buddy will have to deal with? The "Bye Bye Piper" T-shirt, or at least the back of it, makes another appearance. Oliver continues to take the Cortez issue a lot more personally than Buddy does. Will it cost one of them in the end? I hope we find out!

​Marv Tonkin Ford Commercial: ​So the guy got thrown over by Princess Victoria, huh? Really cute. I especially liked the line where she said that if he enjoyed being dominated by women so much, he should get married. Could you imagine a used car dealer offering to drive a car to a customer's home so they could buy it in 2016? I'm not even sure that such a thing is legal anymore.

​Sheeps, Piper/Martel, and Rose (7/26/80) ​I'm surprised the Sheeps were able to leave Portland without dropping their belts, and I'm also surprised that Butch was able to just give them to Piper and Martel. For one of the few times on this set so far, Buddy seems to have a point. I like that Buddy was able to pull off his attack right to Piper and Martel's faces. It's refreshing to see a heel not always have to backjump people. The minute Piper brought up how his ribs would be fine by the time he and Martel faced Buddy and Wiskowski, I knew he was screwed but good. Frank was awfully calm about the whole thing. "We may need some help up here" was about as excited as he got. I'll have to see more to know if I like him being so understated; even the king of calm, straight-ahead commentary (Gordon Solie) got excited every once in a while. Being Piper's partner is a great thing for Martel in the ring, but it also exposes him for the below-average talker that he is. After hearing him here, I'm surprised that Vince the Elder put him with Garea when he got to New York; Tony's not exactly Mr. Eloquence either, plus he's got a thick accent just like Martel does.

​Rose and his Army Interview (9-27-80)​: So they've gotten rid of Piper, at least for the moment. If only Buddy knew how many times he'd be back over the years! I'm guessing that Oliver is supposed to be Wiskowski's replacement. I like what I've seen of him on the mic so far. Cortez seems to only be good for catching champagne off the bill of his hat. Interesting that Buddy should challenge the matchmaker (Savage) to a loser-leave-town match. I know we see him go at it with Boyd later on the disc. What I want to know is, who is this Popovich character? I wonder who the big star from back East is that Buddy was talking about adding to the Army. Whoever it was, he must not have agreed to come. I find it odd that Owen never went after Portland native Kenny Patera; maybe that's who they were talking about, It was nice of Buddy to pour a little champagne over Frank's head just because. I notice Frank didn't react; he's not the most animated soul ever to hold a mic, that's for sure.

​Buddy Rose and Ed Wiskowski Interview (8/30/80)​: I loved Ed gloating about leaving Portland's wet weather and injuring Piper. What a way to turn a negative into a positive. For the record, did Ed really go to Florida? I seem to recall reading that he went to New York about this time with Blassie as his manager, only to be drummed out after a taping or two when he failed to get over. Buddy looked really good with the J.R. Ewing-inspired outfit. It's amazing that he still maintained some semblance of handsomeness even though he was fat (though not nearly as fat as he would be later). Both Buddy and Ed imply that even though they may lose loser-leave-town matches, they could always return in disguise or under other names. It's pretty daring to openly state that you're looking to flaunt signed stipulations in a contract, but if any two guys can get away with it, it's these two. Nice dropping by Buddy of his real name at the end.

​Rick Martel- Pacific Coast Wrestler of the Year ​Not much to this, as Buddy comes into the ring and throws the trophy out before the ceremony can really get going. It sounds like we're headed for another (?) loser-leave-town match between these two, which would fit the timeline of Martel leaving for New York soon. He's even got the same tights he wore when he teamed with Tony Garea. I've never heard of a wrestler having to replace another wrestler's smashed trophy before, although it makes sense. I'd rather see Martel and Buddy go at it, though. It's a shame Verne didn't sign Buddy a few months before he did, as Buddy seems like he'd have been a real money challenger for Rick's AWA World title.

​Roddy Piper Interview 2 (7/12/80)​: For a man who apparently just had a coat hanger wrapped around his neck, Piper sounds just fine here. Then again, he's so believably nuts that it's an open question as to whether he feels pain or not. Martel-Rose loser leave town, followed by Piper-Wiskowski no-DQ the following week? Build me a time machine set for Portland 1980 right away! It's a shame that the WWF of the eighties wasn't really set up for a gimmick like Col. DeBeers, because I can imagine he could have drawn some good money with a face Piper had he come in late '86, when Rod was at his most popular. Can you imagine the proud Scotsman put in the unlikely position of having to defend America?

​Roddy Piper Interview 3 (7/12/80)​: I had to watch the one with the muscular dystrophy kid next. Rod was excellent with him, and the scene where he gave Joe (Joel?) his Superman T-shirt was legitimately touching. Speaking as a handicapped person, though, we don't need applause for our guts; we're just living life like everyone else. I loved Rod describing Rose and his girl on the beach. This is the type of stuff he did even more often in the WWF, and he's just as funny here as he was there. It's easy to see why Crockett was so interested in him at this point; even though he went there as a heel, there really wasn't much difference between his two sides either way.

​Roddy Piper Interview 1 (7/12/80): ​This isn't the muscular dystrophy interview; I think that's number three. This is where the Piper we know and love so well first came to prominence, and it's easy to see why people were so attracted to him. Even when he's not saying anything of note, he's a mesmerizing talker, and when he gets off a good line, it's gold. My favorite of this interview is one I haven't heard him use anywhere else yet, the one about Ed's parents building him a swing facing the wall. Wrestlers don't usually think outside the bubble enough to conjure up images like that, so when it happens, it truly stands out. I wish we had the loser-leave-town match Piper apparently challenged Wiskowski to on the set, because I'll bet it was something else. Frank appears to favor the "hold the mic and let 'em go" approach to interviewing. Then again, who in the world has a brain fast enough or a voice loud enough to stop a wound-up Roddy Piper?

​Rose and Wiskowski interview (7/12/80): ​The very idea of two guys as dumpy as Buddy and Ed having women like they had with them in this interview is exactly why the Playboy character worked so well. I liked how Buddy mentioned that he always treats his women right; wrestling has had more than enough heels throughout its history that seemed capable of abusing women. Ed sounds exactly the same here as he did while doing Colonel DeBeers in the AWA. As much as I liked Doug Somers as a partner for Buddy (and he's way​ underrated, believe me), after seeing this I wish Verne had dumped the DeBeers gimmick and let these two do what they did here. Could you imagine them driving Larry Nelson bonkers week after week? So it's Ed who's going to be Buddy's partner against the Sheeps. I should have guessed. I wonder who this "new prospect" Buddy's talking about turns out to be. It seems about the time for Rip Oliver to come in, from the match listings I've seen. I love how Frank doesn't bat an eye at Buddy's ​​double entendres. ​Of course, it's fair to wonder whether he's just used to them or whether he even knows what Buddy's trying to say. I'm surprised that KPTV's censors didn't at least speak to Owen about what his wrestlers were trying to get away with.

​Butch Miiler Postmatch interview: ​This would have been better if we'd ever found our exactly who the Sheeps were going to fight. I assume Buddy's one guy on the other team, but they never say who his partner will be. Nice explanation of the coal miner's glove from Savage, whom I believe is the inventor of the match (or so the story goes). If what I've read is right, this is the "court of last resort" for feuds in Portland It's still strange to see Luke and Butch actually doing standard interviews, let alone Luke acting as the voice of reason for Butch. Butch putting the glove in his mouth was much more Whacker-like, though I seriously doubt they were going for laughs. Piper as the referee for any match involving the Playboy? I'd pay big money to see that for sure! The visual of Butch's bloody face was striking, but I've noticed that Portland tends to use shots like that quite often. They may want to cut down a tad, lest the shots lose their impact.

​​Nothing in-depth, just a sentence or two on what I've seen so far to play catch-up: Piper vs. Williams: ​A really heated quickie of a bout. Boy, was it ever weird to see the Sheepherders/Bushwhackers with a full head of hair. Let's just say it didn't add much to their look. Interesting idea by Owen to have Rose, Oliver, and Miller handcuffed to the post so they wouldn't interfere. It was probably easier than dealing with the (kayfabe) hassle of ejecting them from ringside. I guess it was too crowded for the barber to come into the ring, since Sandy ended up doing the head shaving. It's as weird to see Stasiak as a face as it is to see Luke and Butch with hair. ​Rose vs. Pardee: ​How exactly did Portland stagger their falls? Usually both the wrestlers and the referee stayed in the ring for a brief rest period, but here Frank mentions that both Buddy and Sandy had gone back to the locker room. I'm used to seeing Buddy as kind of a fat windbag, so watching him beat Pardee up so brutally was an education for me. Nice to hear Piper stick up for Pardee, but he sounds a bit different here; his Canadian accent is showing through a bit, and he's not quite as glib (or as humorous) as we're used to seeing him. ​Rose and Oliver vs. Piper and Popovich: Odd to see Piper pinned, even with interference from Oliver. I thought for sure that Popovich (whoever he is) would be the one to take the fall. It's hard to comment on the unmasking stuff s​ince I haven't seen what came before it. All I know is that I don't think I like Buddy with dark hair. ​Rose, Oliver, Destroyer and Cortez vs. Sawyer, Lightfoot, Youngblood and Boyd: ​The big deal here is the turn on Cortez. It's odd that Oliver's trying to make it more personal than Buddy is. The bloody promo with Cortez was the best one of the bunch. I hope we see more of him. ​Oliver and Destroyer vs. Borne and Regal: ​Two turns in two bouts. Boy, Buddy sure doesn't keep friends for long, does he? The Destroyer in question isn't Dick Beyer, I take it. He mentions Latin blood in his interview. Interesting that Buddy acknowledges that even his Army loses occasionally. Most heel stables never lose a match in their very whole lives. If I'd known these threads were up, I'd have commented in depth from the start. As it is, I'll be moving on to new stuff soon. I've enjoyed what I've seen so far!

This was a bit more like it. Art really seemed to be into his gimmick, and I loved that powder flew everywhere every time Moretti hit him. Some of those dives would have been daring for Mexico or Japan at this time, let alone a conservative promotion like Portland. Moretti didn't just roll over; he seems like a good hand, and he moved well for his weight. I know he was a regular, and after watching this it's easy to see why. Levy (Raven) was very good on color with Coss, although his natural (I assume) Jersey accent was a but thick. I liked how he eased right into reading the announcements that the play-by-play guy would normally read and did so effortlessly. It shows that he knows what he's doing behind the mic. I'm caught up now in full-length matches. My reviews will be more in-depth as I follow along with the set in real time.

Amother rather tepid bout. Tama (who I trust is not ​The Tonga Kid) was a bit more fiery than Santana, but this didn't exactly sing for me, if you know what I mean. Colt did a little better than in the Santana match, but he still wasn't exactly the stuff of legend. It was probably a mistake for me to in essence start at the end, so I'm sure things will get better as I go backward in time. Serious question: Was Sandy Barr the only ref Don Owen employed? I've seen three matches plus a couple of match clips from the extras, and he's the only ref I've seen so far.

A decent opener for me (I started witth Disc 10 because I always watch the extras on these sets first to get a feel for the territory), but nothing all that special. I liked what I saw of Santana on the PR set, and he didn't disappoint here either. I was a bit disappointed in Colt, though he was probably a JTTS by now. Based on what little I've heard, I espected a Kevin Sullivan-like maniac, which he was far from here. Coss did a good job putting over what he used to be, though. I'm not sure I'm going to find much worthwhile in the commentary one way or the other. Both Coss and Bonnemma sound way too laid back for my tastes. I'm used to higher energy announcers, which doesn't necessarily mean screaming, but does mean more urgency and excitement on the calls.

I may be the only one, but I despised ​both Jaggers and Rip Rogers on commentary. Jaggers occasionally brought some decent knowledge, but mostly he just seemed whacked out, and that Elmer Fudd laugh drove me up the wall. As for Rogers, he turned his commentary into an extended promo, delivered at full volume. He never even attempted to say anything good about the faces whatsoever, and after a while he became monotone and whiny. I guess they were the best English speakers available to help Hugo with the English commentary, but that doesn't say much for the commentary skills of the stateside wrestlers who toured the islands.

What garbage. I've officially run out of patience with the way Vince has treated Savage lately. He gets stomped flat by Lawler at MSG, now Borne handles him like a rookie, all while Vince is paradoxically calling him a legend and a future Hall of Famer. Look, I'd have no problem with Randy being an actual JTTS (although I suspect he ​would), but even those big-name guys who you know are going to lose before the match even starts get more offense than Randy has in the last two bouts we've seen. To top it off, he has to be saved by a midget with the most awful makeup job I've ever seen in my life. I know Randy has at least one major feud left (Crush) before he leaves the WWF, but I'm not looking forward to it. How is feuding with someone who can barely muster any offense whatsoever going to get Crush over as a heel? This confirms in my mind something I suspected for a long time: Vince saw Liz, not Randy, as the true star of their act. Sure, he had to push Randy hard as a wrestler, but how else was he going to give Liz what he thought was her appropriate showcase? Randy just happened to be one of the most skilled and charismatic performers in WWF history, so he took his share of the spotlight, and it didn't hurt that Liz was both legitimately shy and a mediocre performer at best. Still, I don't think it's a coincidence that Randy was suddenly "done" as a wrestler in Vince's eyes just about the time that he (Vince) got it through his head that Liz was gone with no hope of returning. Even so, to get almost ​no offense whatsoever​ in his two most important matches of the year thus far? That's worse than being buried and forgotten, considering all that Randy's done in the WWF. Unlike in most reviews of this type, I want to actually acknowledge just how good Borne looked here. He's done wonders with a character that should have been total wrestlecrap from day one, both with the character and in the ring itself. I get that he was an unstable drug addict and needed to be let go, but why couldn't Vince have found someone similar and continued with the character almost as-is? I guess Steve Keirn wasn't available, and I don't think Steve Lombardi was skilled enough as a wrestler to fit this incarnation. My personal out-of-the-box choice for the next Doink: Bob Backlund.