Portland Wrestling

Episode 7 dives into three powerful figures who shaped thePacific Northwest’s wrestling identity across multiple eras — the veterans, the world-travelers, and the raw-boned brawlers who helped define Portland Wrestling’s heart and soul. Host Frank Culbertson spotlights: 🥋 Haru Sasaki — one of the longest-tenured wrestlers in Portland history. Sneaky, expressive, and beloved as a heel, Haru wrestl...

🎙️ Ringside in Rose City #17 – Foggy Memories One ring. One city. A thousand stories. And this week… the names that make fans say, “Yeah… I kind of remember that guy.” On this episode of Ringside in Rose City , Frank Culbertson and Mike Rogers dig into the forgotten, overlooked, andunder-appreciated wrestlers who helped build Portland Wrestling from the opening bell to the final fall—without ever...

Episode 6 spotlights three wrestlers who helped define theupper-middle tier of Portland Wrestling — the dependable stars, hometown favorites, and fierce villains who carried the territory from night to night. Host Frank Culbertson breaks down: 🔹 Jerry Oates — the smooth, athletic babyface who broke a long-standing pattern by capturing the NW title in 1978 and teaming with a young Jesse Ventura....

🎙️ Ringside in Rose City #16 – Excitement in the Air, Volume Two (New Year’s Show) One ring. One city. A thousand stories. And a brand-new year. Ringside in Rose City kicks off the New Year with a deep dive into Excitement in the Air – Volume Two , Mike Rogers’ secondcollection of long-form wrestler interviews, featuring voices that helped shape Portland wrestling, the Pacific Northwest, and the b...

NW Favorites: The Heart of Portland Wrestling Episode #5Episode 5 highlights three standout stars who defined theNorthwest’s middle-to-upper card — wrestlers who brought credibility, excitement, and emotional investment to Portland Wrestling without being the territory’s absolute megastars. Host Frank Culbertson covers: 🔹 Les Thornton — the technical master and “man of 1000 holds” who brought Bri...

🎄🎙️ Ringside in Rose City #15 – Christmas at the Portland Sports Arena One ring. One city. A thousand stories. And this week… Christmas in the Rose City. On this special holiday edition of Ringside in Rose City ,Frank Culbertson and Mike Rogers unwrap decades of Christmas night wrestling at the Portland Sports Arena , tracing how Don Owen turned December 25th into one of the most unpredictable—an...

Episode 4 dives into three wildly different personalitieswho helped define Portland Wrestling from the mid-card to the semi-main event level — the wrestlers fans loved, hated, and never forgot. Host Frank Culbertson spotlights: 🎤 Scotty the Body (Raven) — the sharp-tongued, quick-witted heel who talked his way into Portland Wrestling and became one of the territory’s most entertaining personaliti...

🎙️ Ringside in RoseCity #14 – Oh Yeah: The Hawaii–Portland Pipeline Ringside In Rose City #14 One ring. One city. A thousand stories. And this week… we trade the rain for palm trees and trace the wild, tangled history between Hawaii wrestling and Portland wrestling . In Episode #14 of Ringside in Rose City , FrankCulbertson and Mike Rogers crack open an envelope marked “Hawaii” and dive into the w...

NW Favorites: The Heart of Portland Wrestling Episode 3 dives into three of the most memorable villains inPortland Wrestling history — the intimidating, wild, and fiercely believable heels who helped define the territory just beneath its superstar tier. Host Frank Culbertson covers: 💀 Killer Brooks —a rugged, chaotic brawler who debuted the same night as Roddy Piper, teamed with him, feuded with...

And this week… one epic, extra-long , 90-minute dive into the voices that built the Pacific Northwest. Frank Culbertson & a very congested but tough-as-nails MikeRodgers crack open the envelope marked “Excitement in the Air — Volume 1.” What follows is a journey into three decades of Mike’s interviews with the wrestlers who defined the territory. These are the conversations that shaped Ring Ar...

Spotify Description — Episode 2 Episode 2 of Northwest Favorites: The Heart of PortlandWrestling spotlights three influential stars who helped define the territory from the mid-card to the semi-main event level — the wrestlers who weren’t national megastars, but who were absolutely essential to Portland’s identity. Host Frank Culbertson explores: 🔹 Billy White Wolf — a respected athlete and multi...

🎙️ Ringside in Rose City #12 – The Top 10 Matches in Portland Sports Arena History One ring. One city. A thousand stories. And this week… the ten stories that shaped an entire era. In Episode #12 of Ringside in Rose City , Frank Culbertson and Mike Rogers crack open a long-awaited envelope—one they wrote themselves months ago—and finally tackle a monumental topic: The Top 10 Most Historically Impo...

Episode 1: Ed Wiskowski, Bobby Jaggers & John Nord Northwest Favorites: The Heart of Portland Wrestling kicks off with three of the most important “second-tier” stars in territory history — the wrestlers who weren’t national superstars, but who carried Portland Wrestling on their backs week after week. Host Frank Culbertson spotlights: 💥 Ed Wiskowski — master of reinvention, unforgettable hee...

🎙️ Ringside in Rose City#11 – Thanksgiving in Salem: Turkeys, Tag Teams, and Total Chaos One ring. One city. A thousand stories. And this week… a thousand helpings of stuffing, blood, and coal miner’s gloves. For Episode #11 of Ringside in Rose City , Frank Culbertson and Mike Rogers sit down on Thanksgiving Day—plates piled high, Lisa holding a carving knife, and the studio smelling like heaven—t...

Episode 10: Lanny Poffo, JJ Dillon, and Al Tomko The final chapter of On to Better Things: The PortlandChapters closes with three fascinating stories—each one showing a different side of Portland Wrestling’s reach and legacy. Host Frank Culbertson looks back at three men who left their mark in very different ways: Lanny Poffo (Lanny Holiday) — Before the poetry, before “The Genius,” there was the...

🎙️ Ringside in Rose City #10 – “So What’s the Big Deal With Him?”: The Stars Who Didn’t Shine in Portland One ring. One city. A thousand stories. And this week… a thousand question marks . In Episode #10 of Ringside in Rose City , Frank Culbertson and Mike Rogers spin the wheel and land on one of wrestling’s most fascinating, misunderstood, and head-scratching topics: the wrestlers who arrived in...

Episode 9: Curt Hennig, The Equalizer, and Sky Hi Lee From the son of a legend to a towering Hollywood star, this episode of On to Better Things: The Portland Chapters spotlights three wrestlers who each took very different paths—but all passed through Portland on their way to something bigger. Host Frank Culbertson revisits three fascinating careers that began or evolved in the Pacific Northwest:...

🎙️ Ringside in Rose City #9 – From Portland to the WWF: The Forgotten Launchpads of Legends One Ring. One City. A Thousand Stories. And this week… a thousand miles to superstardom. On this episode of Ringside in Rose City , Mike Rodgers and Frank Culbertson spin the Wheel of Topics and land on a stunner — the wrestlers who passed through Portland before exploding onto the national stage of the WWW...

On To Better Things: The Portland ChaptersEpisode 8: Don Muraco, Rocky Venturo, and Pat Patterson From the skinny kid making his debut to the man who changed wrestling forever—this episode of On to Better Things: The Portland Chapters traces three incredible careers that all ran through Portland. Host Frank Culbertson looks back at three names who each left a unique mark on wrestling history: 🔥 D...

🎙️ Ringside in Rose City #8 – Giants, Mountains, and Skyscrapers of Portland Wrestling One Ring. One City. A Thousand Stories. And this week… a thousand pounds in every corner. On this episode of Ringside in Rose City , Mike Rodgers and Frank Culbertson fire up the wheel and land on one colossal topic: the giants of Portland and Pacific Northwest wrestling. From carnival-attraction big men to legi...

Episode 7: Tommy Rogers, Siegfried Steinke, and Larry Zbyszko From rising stars to rugged brawlers and future legends, three very different wrestlers passed through Portland on their way to wrestling history. In this episode, host Frank Culbertson explores how the Northwest served as a launching pad—and sometimes a proving ground—for wrestlers who went on to better things. 🌟 Tommy Rogers — In 198...

🎙️ Ringside in Rose City #7: The Night the World Came to Portland “One Ring. One City. A Thousand Stories.” In this episode, Mike Rodgers and Frank Culbertson dive deep into the nights when the NWA World Heavyweight Championship came through the Pacific Northwest. From Lou Thesz’s 60-minute draws to Harley Race’s title defenses , and from Jack Brisco’s classics to Ric Flair’s golden reign , we rev...

Episode 6: Bruiser Bob Remus, Edouard Carpentier, and Afa & Sika Anoai Before the bright lights and the global fame, three very different acts passed through Portland—each leaving behind a story that ties this territory to wrestling history. In this week’s episode, host Frank Culbertson explores how the Northwest played a part in shaping a drill instructor, a world champion, and the foundation...

Ringside in Rose City #6 – “Extravaganzas, Coliseum Chaos, and the Mystery of Lisa’s Mace” One Ring. One City. A Thousand Stories. Portland didn’t just host wrestling—it celebrated it in style. In this explosive episode, Mike Rodgers and Frank Culbertson break down every Portland Wrestling Extravaganza from 1985–1986 , plus a look back at the massive Memorial Coliseum supercards of the 1960s. From...

Episode 5: Mark Hanna, Jake Roberts, Paul Ellering, and Sailor White From early promise to short runs and surprising twists, four wrestlers passed through Portland before going on to bigger things—and in some cases, completely different paths. In this episode, host Frank Culbertson shares the stories of: 💥 Mark Hanna (Steve Olsonoski) — A clean-cut rookie in 1977 who learned his craft in Portland...