Titans of Wrestling #69: The Stampede Territory Part 5 (1/19 & 6/15 1979 TV)

[Ricky Jackson]

http://placetobenation.com/titans-of-wrestling-69-the-stampede-territory-part-5-119-615-1979-tv/

 

 

Kelly and Travis continue their review of the removed WWE Network footage from the 70s, this time looking at the 1/19 & 6/15 1979 episodes.

 

Discussion includes:

 

-A heavy dose of Calgary sports-team nostalgia up front
-The awesomeness of Big Daddy Ritter and (yet again) John Foley
-Dynamite Kid vs Mr. Wrestling in a great, and rare for TV, full-length match
-Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart share a ring for the first time
-A young babyface Jake Roberts, two Puerto Rican legends, shorter than normal sized wrestlers, and much, much more!

 

Be sure to check out the Stampede footage, in particular the Dynamite Kid vs Mr. Wrestling match from the 1/19/79 episode www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV…u6tpAj-ypzT3GFUj3

[Ricky Jackson]

I know Stampede wrestling isn't a lot of people's cup of tea, let alone talk about obscure ass 50s-70s Stampede wrestling, but if you can, please drop us some feedback and let us know what you think about the five parts so far (Titans 63, 64, 66, 68 and 69). Again, check out the beautiful footage from the Network in the playlist. I would love to hear thoughts on DK vs Mr. Wrestling from 1/19/79, Big Daddy Ritter, Ed Whalen and his interactions with the heels, etc.

[Shrike02]

Watched whatever Stampede aired here in BC in the late 80s and early 90s so this is before my time, but I'm definitely enjoying this series of podcasts.

 

I will be seeking out what's been mentioned above on the Network.

[High Flyer]

The screen shot for this episode is tremendous as well. It pin points the moment when Dynamite embraces his inner heel upon tasting is own blood.

 

This really began as a nostalgic project for Kelly and I, but it has tuned in to more of a discovery of how hot the territory was in the late 70s. So many great and diverse performances throughout.

 

Here's the famous football play we mention early on:

 

[High Flyer]

I should also mention that Kelly surprised me with the song at the end. Hearing it was a kick to the face of nostalgia. It turns out that the song itself has quite a story as well. This link is not wrestling related, but the first 8 minutes might explain why hearing it put a lump in my throat:

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/520/no-place-like-home

[fishbaugh]

I've been meaning to post about how much I've enjoyed these shows -- I really like the connection to the area you guys have and how that comes through. I didn't even mind the tangent on Canadian football or stories about trampoline wrestling with your buddies, as that is how I remember the wrestling of my youth. Tito Santana is one of my all time favorites, and sure he has amazing matches and all that, but a big part of it was that my best buddy and I would team up as Strike Force and take on other neighborhood kids at the park.

 

One thing I wish I had the time to look into is all these shows you talk about from Montana. I was born in Montana, and lived there again from my early teens until around 30, so I can provide some insight into some of the things you brought up. For example, Butte is famous as being an Irish town (big mining town dating back to the early 1920s or so), and also known back in the 70s as a shit-kicking rough-and-tumble place. An old co-worker of mine played high school football in Great Falls (Air Force town in Montana) and he said that everyone was scared shitless of playing at Butte as the field was all rocky and the kids were brutal -- not above eye gouging, trying to take out your knees, and straight up fist-fighting during games. Another thing that you may find interesting is that a lot of older people I know from Montana still call pro wrestling "stampede wrestling", the same way people like my mom use "WWF" to describe ALL pro wrestling.

 

Keep going with these shows, and more like them under the Titans banner.

[Ricky Jackson]

Thanks man! That's awesome. Yeah, I would love to know more about the history of Stampede running shows in Montana. It's a totally forgotten part of its history

[fishbaugh]

Some indy ran a show in Missoula, MT last year and booked Bret, and the local paper held an interview with him. I was excited to read about his time working Montana in the 70s and early 80s, then they ask him one question about where he worked in Montana and moved on. It is such a pointless question too, as there are only 7 towns in Montana that you'd even consider running a show in. Of course he worked Billings, Butte, and Great Falls, but not Two Dot or Judith Gap or Big Timber! I doubt they ran shows in Claresholm or Cardston in Alberta, but probably ran shows in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, what with those being the ONLY PLACES ANYONE LIVES!

 

I know that the average reader of the Missoulian.com doesn't care about the history of the Stampede territory in Montana, but it's not like the average reader of the Missoulian.com gives a shit about Bret Hart in the first place, so maybe something interesting could have come of it.