The Bob Culture Podcast

Kings of the Ring

To most, WWE is your only exposure to pro-wrestling, but did you know up until 30 years ago, pro-wrestling was more like the Mafia than a sports league? Did you know that in the 80’s, while wrestling presented a show literally designed for children, that behind the curtain was the most Rated R, sexual, drug addled, sexified, violent, and cutthroat world imaginable? It was a sex, drugs, and muscles world while a nationwide SUCCESSION-like corporate war for national supremacy waged. In this crazy world of 80’s wrestling, ALL these things happened: A wrestler bit a man’s nose off in a bar, a promoter offered a rival’s wrestler $500k to jump leagues with the rival’s title belt, wrestlers were killed for gambling debt with the Mafia, arch-enemies in the ring arrested for drugs WITH each other, a Hollywood actor was slapped on a late night talk show, wrestlers tried to form a union, a wrestler broke his back in an airplane crash to become the greatest wrestler ever, backstage brawls with guys almost killing each other with scissors, guys wrestling a match while an orchestra played music to match the action, a Black wrestler given the character of an African savage animal, a legendary wrestler pulled a ‘57 Magnum on the most famous wrestler in the world, while a fan held off a group of bad guy wrestlers at gunpoint at ringside, and wrestlers were given World title reigns in exchange for sex! These are just some of the building blocks of KINGS OF THE RING, a fictional soap opera that re-creates all the crazy, unbelievable, and outrageous tales of the real world of 80’s wrestling! In the 1980’s, anything went and wrestlers lived a life much wilder than the hardest partying rock stars, because fans then believed that wrestling was 100% real, and the wrestlers went to incredible lengths to protect this illusion. Often at the cost of their own souls... The characters will seem familiar to you, but never exactly the same as real people, and the stories will blow your mind, as you listen knowing that everything is based on the truth! It’s wrestling... it’s the 1980’s ... it’s sex, drugs, and muscles, baby... welcome to the Kings of the Ring.