Portland Wrestling

Ringside in Rose City – Episode 5: Heels, Heat, and a Little Shock Therapy Hosted by Mike Rodgers & Frank Culbertson Produced by Lisa Hughes One Ring. One City. A Thousand Stories. The wheel lands on one of the most electrifying topics in Portland Wrestling history— the Top 10 Heels —and things get shocking… literally. When Lisa Hughes accidentally sets off the cattle prod on her own leg, chao...

Episode 4: Dizzy Hogan, Gino Hernandez, and Buzz Sawyer Before they made headlines across the wrestling world, three future stars passed through the Portland Sports Arena—each leaving behind a short but fascinating chapter. In this episode, host Frank Culbertson takes a closer look at three wrestlers who went on to better things: 💈 Dizzy Hogan — Long before he was Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, Ed...

🎙️ Ringside in Rose City – Episode 4: The “Scientific” Spin Hosted by Mike Rodgers & Frank Culbertson Produced by Lisa Hughes One Ring. One City. A Thousand Stories. The wheel never lies… except when Mike Rodgers reads it. In this week’s episode, Mike grabs the envelope from Lisa Hughes, insists it says “Top Scientific Wrestlers,” and takes off running with it—because that’s his favorite topic...

Episode 3: Tonga John, Brian Adams, and Tully Blanchard What do The Barbarian, Crush, and a future Four Horseman all have in common? They each passed through Portland Wrestling on their way to bigger things. In this episode of On to Better Things: The Portland Chapters , Frank Culbertson looks back at three very different careers: A young rookie named Tonga John , who would later rise to fame as T...

Ringside in Rose City – Episode 3: Behind the Mask 🎙️ Hosted by Mike Rodgers & Frank Culbertson Produced by Lisa Hughes One Ring. One City. A Thousand Stories. This week, the wheel lands on one of the most mysterious traditions in Portland Wrestling— masked wrestlers . From legends who made the hood their calling card, to brief stints by grapplers trying to hide an identity (or reinvent one),...

🔥 On to Better Things: The Portland Chapters 🔥 Host Frank Culbertson, dives into three wrestlers whose Portland chapters were short, but unforgettable. 👊 David Schultz stormed into the Northwest in 1982, refusing to team with Buddy Rose and instead going head-to-head with him in brutal cage and chain matches. With his infamous line— “Don’t go jumping on the Doctor’s bus, because he doesn’t need...

🎙️ Ringside in Rose City – Episode 2: The Top Ten Babyfaces in Portland Wrestling One Ring. One City. A Thousand Stories. The wheel has spoken! In this episode, producer Lisa Hughes spins us straight into the world of Portland’s most beloved heroes—the Top Ten Babyfaces. From the curtain-jerkers who won hearts to the main-eventers who carried the territory, Mike Rodgers and Frank Culbertson break...

In our debut episode of On to Better Things: The Portland Chapters , host Frank Culbertson explores three wrestlers whose time in Portland was just the beginning. Adrian Adonis : Before the WWF spotlight, Keith Franks came through Portland, sharpened his skills, and left fans with some of the territory’s most memorable matches. Terry Allen : A young hopeful trained under Sandy Barr, who later retu...

Ringside in Rose City: One Ring, One City, A Thousand StoriesThe wait is over! Join Portland Wrestling historian Mike Rodgers , storyteller Frank Culbertson , and producer Lisa Hughes as they launch a brand-new podcast exploring the history, legends, and mysteries of Don Owen’s Pacific Northwest territory. But here’s the twist: Mike and Frank won’t know the topic until Lisa spins the wheel and rev...

🎙️ Portland Wrestling Obscurities – Episode 13 “Ribs, Masks, and the Last of the Shadows” They weren’t legends. Some might not have even been real. From rib names like Matt Burns and Kay Fabian , to the mysterious Spoiler , to one-time entries like Bill Jones , The Gladiator , and John Brown —this final episode closes the book on the most obscure names to ever step (or maybe stumble) into Don Owen...

🎙️ Episode 12: “Geronimo,Cordoza, Ivanhoff, and Red Fox” They weren’t headliners. They weren’t champions. Some barely lasted a single night in Don Owen’s House of Action. But they all laced up their boots and stepped into the ring in Portland. In this episode, we shine a light on four names you’veprobably never heard of: Geronimo — a short run in 1971, never winning a match but part of the long tr...

🎙️ Episode 11: “The One-Win Wonder, the Vanishing Act, and Seabiscuit’s Namesake” Not every wrestler in Don Owen’s House of Action wasdestined for the spotlight. Some debuted with a spark, others left with a whisper, and a few… barely left a record at all. In this episode of Portland Wrestling Obscurities:Forgotten, Brief, and Barely Remembered , host Frank Culbertson digs into four names who pass...

🎙️ Episode 10:“Sawyers, Shotguns, and Shadows” Portland Wrestling Obscurities: Forgotten, Brief, and Barely Remembered Some names barely made a mark in Don Owen’s House ofAction—but they still left us with stories worth telling. This week we look at four of the most mysterious, fleeting figures to ever set foot in the Portland Sports Arena. Terry Sawyer – Ten weeks in 1978, feuding with KurtVon St...

🎙️ Episode 9: “Steele, Ryan, and the Prince” Portland Wrestling Obscurities: Forgotten, Brief, and Barely Remembered Not every wrestler in Don Owen’s House of Action left with gold, glory, or fame—but they all left with a story. Ray Steele – The British heel who came to Portland in the early ‘70s and couldn’t buy a win, yet found a second life under a mask as Dr. X. Paddy Ryan – A veteran workhors...

🎙️ Episode 8: “Mysteries, Manilows, and Missed Opportunities” Some wrestlers leave behind titles and legacy. Others leave behind question marks. This week on Portland Wrestling Obscurities: Forgotten, Brief, and Barely Remembered , Frank Culbertson takes you through four of the strangest cases to ever hit the Rose City ring: Joe Atkins – a wrestler who may not have even existed. Terry Bradshaw – n...

🎙️ Episode 7: “Feathers, Mennonites, and the Unsung Journeyman” Portland Wrestling Obscurities: Forgotten, Brief, and Barely Remembered They weren’t champions. They weren’t headliners. But they stepped into Don Owen’s House of Action—and for a brief moment, they mattered. In this episode: 🪶 Jerry Goodvoice – A Teton-Sioux wrestler who reluctantly wore feathers and bright colors, becoming part of...

🎙️ Episode 6: “Regan, Vachon, and Ruffin—Ghosts of the Arena” In Portland Wrestling, some names burned bright. Others barely flickered. This week on Portland Wrestling Obscurities: Forgotten, Brief, and Barely Remembered , we spotlight three men whose time at the Sports Arena was short—but whose stories reach far beyond those few matches. Sean Regan – Two Portland draws in 1973, but a European sta...

🎙️ Episode 5 –"Masks, Magazine Covers & Middleweight Gold" They didn’t main event. They didn’t hold Portland belts. But their stories? Absolutely worth remembering. This week, host Frank Culbertson uncovers the stories of three wrestlers who passed through Don Owen’s House of Action with barely a whisper—but left fascinating footprints in the wrestling world. 📍 Joe Palardy — A 10-da...

🎙️ Episode 4 – “The Calypso, the Cannon, and the Prodigal Son” Three wrestlers. Three fleeting runs in Portland. But each left behind a story worth remembering. Join host Frank Culbertson as he uncovers the overlooked tales of grapplers who didn’t hold titles or headline Don Owen’s House of Action—but still left their mark on the canvas. 🌍 Calypso Kid (Lenny Hurst) – A British technician with exp...

🎙️ Episode 3 – “Draws,Drifters, and a Dance with the Yakuza” They weren’t here long, but their stories run deep. Host Frank Culbertson takes us back into the shadows of Don Owen’s House of Action to revisit four wrestlerswhose time in Portland was brief—but whose careers (and chaos) stretched far beyond the Sports Arena. 👊 Vic Rosettani – Athree-match Portland stint masks a long and respected car...

The legends get remembered. The others? They vanish into the fog of time. But Obscurities: Forgotten, Brief, and Barely Remembered is here to change that. In Episode 2, host Frank Culbertson shines a spotlight on three men whose time in the Portland Sports Arena was short—but unforgettable to those paying attention. 🪓 Mike & Pat Kelly – Identical twins with a lumberjack gimmick and the kind o...

🎙️ Obscurities | Volume 1: Ray Glenn, Johnny Heideman & The Cuban Assassin In professional wrestling, the spotlight decides who gets remembered—and who fades into the shadows. But what about the wrestlers who came and went, leaving behind little more than match results and half-remembered promos? Welcome to the pilot episode of Obscurities: Forgotten, Brief, and Barely Remembered , the podcast...

The bell rings one last time… for now. In the 10th and final installment of the original One Match Wonders series, we dig deeper than ever into the forgotten corners of Portland Wrestling—uncovering names that barely left a trace, and legends who stopped by just once. 🔎 Featured in this episode: Bob Brooks – A complete mystery. One match. No trail. Gene Martelli – Wrestled a respected vet to a dr...

🎙️ One Match Wonders – Volume 9: “Mistaken Identities and Mad Dog Memories” Welcome back to One Match Wonders —where the spotlight shines on wrestlers who only stepped into the Portland Sports Arena once… and then disappeared into the fog of wrestling history. In this episode, we go deep into the shadows with three strange and fascinating stories that blur the line between myth and mistake: 🔹 Kim...

🎙️ Episode 8 – Shadows and Secrets: Hussian, Hayes, and Shogun Welcome to One Match Wonders , where forgotten faces and fleeting appearances from Portland Wrestling’s golden era are pulled from the shadows and brought into the spotlight. In this mysterious eighth volume, we dig into the stories of three wrestlers who made only one appearance at the Portland Sports Arena—but each left behind unansw...