DragonKingKarl Stern’s 1984-1985 Pro Wrestling Omnibus book is now available from Amazon. The paperback book is over 600 pages (also available on Kindle!). Every major event, show, incident, and item of historical significance to take place in pro wrestling in 1984-1985! Check it out!

What is The Thing in the Desert??? When It Was Cool Visits Benson, Arizona’s Bowlin’s The Thing Travel Center

One of the most desolate Interstate Highways in the United States is I-10. Wandering its way across the southern U.S., I-10 covers vast stretches of Louisiana swamp, Texas desert, New Mexico desert, and California desert. Oh yeah, and Arizona desert too… wherein lies the really cool and bizarre roadside attraction called Bowlin’s The Thing Travel Center. If I have one weakness when traveling, it is that I love the ridiculous, gawdy tourist trap travel centers. The more ridiculous, the better. I have found few as audacious as The Thing, a travel center that (sort of) claims to have a (maybe) alien body in its museum… which costs $5 to tour. That’s a bargain folks, count me in. Read More.

DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show - GKT Continues and Return to the 1980s

Karl Stern returns to his roots on this edition of the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show by discussing 1980s Southeastern and Continental wrestling. What made it so great? What are some of the myths about it? What did Ron Fuller get wrong recently on his podcast? Plus, the Greatest Kayfabe Tournament continues with discussion of Kurt Angle and Rikidozan plus a look at the final eight! A ton of pro wrestling history with historian and author Karl Stern!

Direct Link - https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/dragonkingkarlclassicwrestling/08_DragonKingKarl_Classic_Wrestling_Show_GKT_Return_to_the_80s_more.mp3

Fireside Chat with Karl and Tonya Podcast - Show Me the Money!

Join Karl and Tonya as we sit and count coins. I mean literally, count coins. The When It Was Cool website is sorting through a massive coin collection and that got us thinking- how cool are old coins and money? It seems they are pretty cool as we have gotten huge interest in this set of coins. Join us around the fireside as we have a fun discussion about interesting money! Click Here for Show.

Food Review: Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken Has When It Was Cool on Fire

Karl and Tonya from When It Was Cool recently traveled back to one of our favorite new food places located in Cullman, Alabama- Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken! This was our third trip to the new hot chicken restaurant which Tonya first scoped out a few months ago. Always looking for a new place to eat, I was surprised she picked a Nashville Hot Chicken restaurant since she usually leans away from the super spicy end of things. I, on the other hand, usually crave the heat, surprisingly, neither of us were disappointed. Read More.

Wrestling With the Dawg Podcast - Great Muta v. Hulk Hogan - May 3rd, 1993

For the 376th edition of Wrestling With the Dawg Podcast at FlairFlop.com, Joe Drilling and Eric Allen of OnTheStick.com joins the Dirty Dawg Darsie to review the Great Muta v. Hulk Hogan from May 3rd, 1993!  They talk about Hulk Hogan actually wrestling, why the Axe Bomber wasn't Hogan's finisher in the States, Linda McMahon becoming the President of Titan Sports, Conan O'Brien/David Letterman talk, wrestlers being "better" in Japan, and so much more!

Direct Link - https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/wrestlingwiththedog/WWTD376.mp3

Batman in Order - Detective Comics Issue 33 - The Seventh Appearance of The Batman

The seventh appearance of The Batman took place in the November 1939 issue of Detective Comics. Batman, complete with what appears to be a gun holster on his belt appears on the cover. We finally, after six previous issues, get an origin story for Bruce Wayne’s transformation into Batman. It is the now familiar story of the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne following a movie with their young son Bruce looking on. Read More.

The True Story of the 1870 Detroit International Tournament

And How Col. James H. McLaughlin Really Became American Champion and Probably Did Not Kill Barney Smith (Yet): A Patreon Exclusive

This is the rough draft section of this story from my upcoming DragonKingKarl's Pioneer Era Wrestling Omnibus book. This is new information which I have researched this week. I have spent hours digging through dozens of newspapers to finally get a fully and detailed story about the Detroit International Tournament, the biggest event to that date in pro wrestling history. Read More.

1000 Hours Podcast - Pioneer Era in Australia and Death of a Star

The latest in the 1000 Hours Podcast series looking back at the pioneer (pre-1900) era of pro wrestling takes a look at the pioneer era of wrestling in Australia. Believe it or not, there was pro wrestling in the 1800s in Australia and one of America's top stars died there. The incredible story of the death of Clarence Whistler has been often told but the details are a bit incorrect. On this episode we will look at what is really known about how and why Clarence Whistler died while wrestling in Australia plus his last match there and why he was there to begin with. This is hour 45.

In order to get another hour of 1000 hours we need a new Patreon supporter at any level or a cash donation via the front page of WhenItWasCool.com to either PayPal or CashApp (Please put “1000” in the note). As soon as it is received, I will produce a new hour. Presently, we are funded up to hour 61.

Direct Link - https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/dragonkingkarlclassicwrestling/45_1000_Hours_Pioneer_Wrestling_Australia.mp3

The Terrible History of the Cecil Hotel (A Fireside Chat Special) Podcast

Recently Karl and Tonya spent time in Los Angeles and not just the glitzy Hollywood side. As part of our effort to not only cover fun retro pop culture but also to not shy away from the flip side of things either, and make no mistake, the devil has angels too. This is the terrible history of the Cecil Hotel. A hotel where death after death has occurred, murders, the Night Stalker stayed there for Pete's sake while committing his murders. This is not a happy story and listener discretion is advised. You are entering the gray area. Click Here for Show.

Stagecoach (1986) Retro Movie Review Podcast

Willie Nelson turned 91 this week and being the American icon he is Karl and Tonya decided to review one of his western movies. This one starred not only Willie Nelson (who in his mid-50s at the time was playing Doc Holliday, a man who died at 36 years old), Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Christopherson, and Bo Duke... I mean John Schneider. Others as well, this was a packed cast. It was a perfectly fine Western movie (actually, a remake of an older movie) and really a lot of fun.

Direct Link - https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/whenitwascool/Stagecoach_1986.mp3

The Strange Life and Times of Pioneer Era Wrestler Uzile Pricket

While working on my latest book project, DragonKingKarl’s Pioneer Era Pro Wrestling Omnibus, I have discovered many fascinating stories and people I did not previously know very much about. Few have turned out to be as interesting as Uzile Pricket. Uzile Pricket is a name I was not previously very familiar with. The bulk of my research on the pioneer era of wrestling came in the early 2000s when I first wrote my DragonKing Press Pioneers of Wrestling Special booklet. These were the wild west days of pre-1900 research. Finding old newspaper articles back then involved laborious hours spent searching through microfilm at a library somewhere that actually kept old newspapers or having contact with a wrestling historian who had previously done that hard work in their own region. Read More.

Fireside Chat with Karl and Tonya Podcast - Cross Country Adventure

We are finally back from our cross-country retirement "celebration" (more on that in this episode). We flew out of Atlanta, Georgia to Los Angeles, California then spent a few days there before driving back to Atlanta, Georgia and hitting several National Parks and points of interest across the United States. It was a journey of enlightenment and closure. It was more about understanding the world than about seeing sights. We both came away with a new understanding about life and our place in it. Come join us by the fireside as we discuss this and much more. Also, my apologies in advance to Texas. Click Here for Show.