Month: June 2026

Roddy Piper Appreciation Society | From the Crow’s Nest

Roddy Piper Appreciation Society | From the Crow’s Nest

This journey through the footage from the Portla|nd wrestling territory began as a series of odes to the underrated greatness of Buddy Rose. Since we started in 1979, though, while Rose is still great, it’s given me a greater respect for the talents of Roddy Piper.

That continues here, in the surviving footage from the first half of May 1979, where Piper is definitively the star of the show.

Here’s the footage we will be covering in this edition:

May 5, 1979

Not a lot of meat on the bone in what footage has survived the test of time from this week’s episode … almost entirely interviews, but there’s a gem to be found. Piper gets two chances to speak from the crow’s nest with Frank Bonnema. Both address the battle royal that coming Tuesday, where both men and women are entered, and he can’t wait to throw Vicki Williams out of the ring and into the fifth row — understandable, given recent events between them.

Piper’s second promo, at the end of the footage, is must see. He runs the gamut here, starting by busting out some rhymes like a freestyle rapper in the midst of their flow, in a sequence that, given it’s 1979, feels groundbreaking and innovative. Then he shifts: “You take a good look at me.” Here we see Piper making magic, grabbing at the attention of the viewer through the screen. As he talks about how he always gets up in a fight, the bandage on his head covering a fresh cut helps to sell the words. Then, Piper veers into complaining about promoter Dn Owen letting kids into events free.

The subject matter here veers all over the place. His schtick isn’t perfected and polished yet, like it will be by the time Piper reaches the big stage of the World Wrestling Federation in about five years as the chief foil to Hulk Hogan and Hulkamania. The intensity, the presence, however? It’s all here, already. And it’s impossible to ignore.

The feud between Rose and Piper advances here as well. Between Piper’s interviews, Rose comes to the crow’s nest and refuses to wrestle Piper this coming Tuesday because Rose’s partner Ed Wiskowski currently is out of the area. Piper interrupts and decks Rose, which evidently is all it takes for the Vegas Playboy to accept. Rose runs down the list of wrestlers he’s injured and/or crippled in the territory, in a nice odd to continuity that I appreciated probably more than someone watching this week to week in Portland nearly five decades ago would have.

One more fun fact: the battle royal they’re hyping has a $4,000 prize for the winner. That’s worth more than 18 grand in 2026 dollars.

May 12, 1979

One match in the existing footage, and it’s a good one: the first televised contest between Piper and Rose. Piper’s the current Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Champion, but he’s refused to put the title on the line here because Wiskowski is back in the area, and in the building. The previous Tuesday, Rose and Piper had a match that got thrown out after they brawled all around the Portland Sports Arena, That’s helpful context for what comes here, and what comes next between these two.

Unfortunately, Dutch Savage has affixed himself to what looks to be the hottest feud in the territory in quite some time; he’s been added to this affair as a second referee, outside the ring. Sigh … at least we don’t have to we Savage wrestle. Or talk.

The match itself is a treat. Piper drags Rose to the floor during the introductions and starts battering him, still seeking payback for what Rose and Wiskowski did to his beloved “Brooksie” last month. Rose gets the upper hand and targets the fresh bandaged cut on Piper’s head. Punches to the head prime the pump, and then Rose applies a headlock and squeezes Piper’s head like he’s trying to draw juice from a fruit. It works, and I’m here for it. Later, as Rose grinds his knuckles into the open wound, the camera catches a great close-up shot of Piper as his eyes roll back into his head. It’s the featured image of this article.

What’s astonishing about this match is, after weeks of Piper doing or saying something dastardly — usually to or about Vicki Williams — he wins over the crowd in short fashion here. What’s that old proverb? “The enemy of my enemy is my new fan favorite.” Or something like that. Bonnema does an admirable job on commentary helping sell the change in the fans’ perception of Piper. He’s disbelieving as a “We Want Piper!” chant begins, while noting Piper has not changed his style at all. Indeed, Piper throws punches. He fights recklessly. At one point he delivers an open-handed strike to Rose’s throat. “He didn’t ask anybody to cheer for him,” Bonnema observes during Piper’s comeback in the first fall. It’s a subtle but effective layer of the story being told here. After Piper wins the first fall, he seems legitimately bewildered at the fans who were previously howling for his destruction now cheering him.

This feels like a grudge match because neither man appears particularly interested in winning. When Piper hits a swinging neck breaker on Rose, he lets Buddy up rather than maintain contact for the pin. Then, in the second fall, Rose returns the favor, letting up Piper after hitting his back suplex into a backbreaker (or, the “Billy Robinson inside backbreaker” as it’s called here). In the third fall, Rose ultimately gets disqualified after Wiskowski runs in when both wrestlers and both referees are entangled outside the ring and rams Piper into the ringpost. Neither Savage nor Sandy Barr sees anything. Rose is DQ’d nonetheless, because they don’t believe his story on how Piper gets waylaid. It’s the only disqualification I can remember in wrestling based on nothing more than vibes.

Rose could care less. He’s gloating as he reaches the crow’s nest that he was the first to get there for his interview. He taunts Piper to put the title on the line next week, then retreats quickly to the back as Piper approaches. There’s great energy from Piper on his rebuttal: “When you were in high school having your mama pack your lunch, I was fighting,” he tells the absent Rose. Throughout, Piper maintains a captivating eye contact with the camera. There’s a star quality presence from him that anyone else in the territory lacks.

These two aren’t done. Next week, Piper puts the title on the line in a no DQ match with six “guards” around the ring — a lumberjack match, in other words. Piper cackles in delight when Barr informs him of the stipulations. He’s not the only one.

Barr says promoter Don Owen is ready to end the feud with this upcoming match. Thankfully, for all of us, he’s wrong. Piper and Rose have many more battles left to wage.

Check out our full collection of content on Portland Wrestling.

Roddy Piper and a Lesson in Heat | From the Crow’s Nest

Roddy Piper and a Lesson in Heat | From the Crow’s Nest

Here’s some of the footage we’ll be covering in this installment, all from the April 21, 1979 episode of Portland Wrestling. If you want to make sure you have access to all the Portland wrestling covered in these pieces, I recommend signing up for this Patreon. Tons of Portland and other great old-school wrestling content.

Roddy Piper finds himself in a curious spot in Portland. He remains the Pacific Northwest Wrestling Heavyweight Champion — the top singles title in the territory. He still, in many ways, wrestles and acts like a heel. He’s also seeking revenge on Buddy Rose and Ed Wiskowski for injuring “his Brooksie”, Killer Tim Brooks, a couple of weeks ago.

On this episode of Portland TV, Piper is a villain, through and through. For at least a week, the rivalry with Rose and Wiskowski is forgotten.

All thanks to Vicki Williams.

Women’s wrestlers were much fewer in number in the late 1970s, for various reasons. Portland’s been promoting them throughout the past month of TV as a special touring attraction. In this case, Williams and Judy Martin have been making the rounds. The first footage from the episode sees Piper and Vicki in the middle of bickering from the crow’s nest broadcast position. Piper (and Rose, for that matter) went on record for weeks prior how women didn’t deserve to be in the ring. The segment opens in mid-argument, with insults flying and fingers pointing. The crowd is rowdy and rambunctious, the usual for Portland Sports Arena, until Williams calls Piper a boy.

And that’s when Piper snaps. He lunges and grabs Williams by the hair and the crowd goes stone silent. Every ensuing word from Piper, every syllable is clearly audible as he throttles Vicki in his grips and ultimately throws her down. The most surprising thing about this entire segment is that Frank Bonnema, the broadcaster, doesn’t intercede or even say one negative word about Piper’s actions.

This is a short segment but it’s worth studying in detail, especially if you’re in wrestling, or act, or any kind of performance art. Watch how, once Piper grabs Williams, he makes the most out of every gesture. Every motion. Every word. He projects a sense of bullying malice that makes you want to see him face revenge — a violent one, exacted with swiftness.

Later in the episode, we get another fragment of a segment, this one with Piper, Williams, and Ron Starr. He’s got a problem with the way Piper treated Vicky and lays down the challenge for a mixed tag match. Piper lunges at Vicky again, only this time Starr grabs Piper from behind, leaving him vulnerable to a big slap from Vicki. The crowd loved this, and the mixed tag match evidently is made for the following Tuesday in Portland, which is where the territory sets several of its key matches — all, sadly, not televised.

The rest of this episode’s footage includes Rose and Wiskowski. First up, an interview about their simmering rivalry with Stan Stasiak. Wiskowski, who’s made a habit of making some uncomfortable comments in his promos (especially by 21st century standards), proclaims he learned Stasiak isn’t Polish; he’s Yugoslavian.

Burn, I guess?

In the only match on this episode, Rose and Wiskowski face Stasiak and George Wells two out of three falls. The match itself is not great, but it’s a fun snapshot of Portland Sports Arena crowds, and how easy they are. I’ve yet to encounter another wrestling audience that does some of the things Portland fans in this era do: such as count along like punches in the corner or face first turnbuckle smashes when a fan favorite wrestler is wrenching a hold on the heel.

Rose has so much personality here. There’s a legitimately funny beat early in the match when Stasiak has Wiskowski in a hold, Rose wanders down the apron to jaw at some of the grannies in the front row, and misses an attempted tag by his partner. Generally speaking, the Portland crowd in these 1970s episodes is highly engaged. They also really understand wrestling. They recognize holds and, in this match, they’re howling for blood when Rose and Wiskowski switch in and out without making an actual tag. It’s a level of investment that is refreshing.

Stasiak as a fan favorite here is certainly a change from his work in the Northeast this decade for WWWF. He seems to be legitimately enjoying himself, and shows fire and motivation. Late in the second fall, he slugs away on Wiskowski like it’s last call at the Double Deuce. The match goes to a third fall, as per usual, and time is short, also per usual, but the footage ends without the conclusion of the match.

While this contest takes up the bulk of the surviving content from this episode, the segments with Piper and Williams — especially the first one — steal the show. In this case, less definitely is more.

On to the next episode, and the month of May 1979, where there’s a good amount of available Portland wrestling to watch.

Check out all full index of content on Portland wrestling.

Adios, Hector Guerrero | From the Crow’s Nest

Adios, Hector Guerrero | From the Crow’s Nest

When you’re watching territorial wrestling footage from nearly five decades ago, located in a relative distant outpost for the business, you’ve got to take what source material you can get. Given that the vast majority of the surviving footage from Portland wrestling in the late 1970s came from the actual tape collection of Buddy Rose, that means that there’s a hearty helping of Rose on these episodes.

That’s not a bad thing. I feel like I’ve waxed poetic on the greatness of Rose, who I consider among the best wrestlers of all time, and maybe the most underrated.

The bulk of the footage available from the April 14, 1979 episode of Portland TV, sees Rose take on a young Hector Guerrero. It’s an undercard match, so it’s one fall to a finish unlike the usual two out of three fall format for main events on the Portland program.

This is also the final match for Hector in Portland, period, for reasons that are made quite clear after the match. He still looks like a kid thanks to that haircut (pictured below) but he’s actually about six years into his career.

This might be the Portland exit for Guerrero, but Rose seems determined to send him out looking strong, because the Playboy spends the vast majority of the match selling and feeding. For all the fat jokes about Rose, to the point he goes into some deep schtick about it later in his career when he is substantially heavier, he’s in great ring shape. He runs the ropes and feeds into arm drags more effectively than hundreds of wrestlers I can think of who look more athletic.

Hector works the left arm of Rose relentlessly, with everything from an arm wringer to an arm scissors to, briefly, the setup for a modern-day mixed martial arts armbar. On one of the few occasions where Rose gains the upper hand and flings Guerrero for a backdrop, Hector nimbly lands on his feet to oohs and ahhs from the Portland crowd, in a spot that had to feel spectacular by the standards of 1979 and was still pretty nifty by the standards of 2026. Nothing Rose does seems to keep Hector down for long… until he catches a flying cross body and drops Guerrero across an outstretched knee for a backbreaker. An inside backbreaker follows, and Rose scores a decisive pin. After the bell, Rose and his running buddy Ed Wiskowski double team Guerrero and hit the same knee drop from a backbreaker setup that put Killer Brooks on the shelf the previous week. The referee disqualifies Rose, who doesn’t seem bothered. He grabs the house mic from Don Owen and proclaims, with no small amount of glee, “I heard his neck snap!” as Guerrero is carried out of the arena, never to be seen again in Portland.

There are entertaining nuggets in this, and several things young wrestlers can borrow (the word we use instead of “steal” in any creative or performative endeavor), but the structure is too disjointed to call it a good match.

Up next, we get a Roddy Piper interview from the Crow’s Nest, and Piper is beside himself after seeing Rose and Wiskowski take out someone else with the same tactic they used to injure Brooks, or, as Piper calls him, “my Brooksie.” Adorable. Piper is borderline manic here. He’s talking way too fast but you already see the presence that goes on to make him one of the major stars in wrestling during the pop culture boom of the mid 1980s, and arguably the first major crossover star in American wrestling. It’s in the eye contact, and the conviction of his words. Even here, years before his peak fame, Piper stares into the camera, using it as a vessel to connect to the viewer, doing everything but reaching through the screen, grabbing you by the shoulders, and throttling you until you believe.

Piper also spends some of this time running down the women’s wrestlers passing through the territory and Vicki Williams in particular. There’s an interesting level of nuance here, a shade of grey usually absent from the black or white, hero or villain booking of traditional wrestling. While Piper continues to position himself as the next nemesis to Rose, he simultaneously with his words on Williams embodies unfiltered, ugly misogyny with a microphone — and taking that stance to a much higher level in our next installment.

A couple of other interviews from the Crow’s Nest wrap the footage from this episode.

First up, current tag champs and fan favorites du jour Adrian Adonis and Ron Starr. I appreciated the continuity here — they find Brooks’ injury last week unfortunate, but it’s from the company he chose to keep — and Starr in particular had a good delivery, but the other material is so cringe-worthy I won’t even summarize it.

Finally, Rose and Wiskowski return to the Crow’s Nest with Wiskowski selling the heart punch from Stan Stasiak, a former WWWF (the predecessor to WWF or WWE) world champion who’s been appearing sporadically in Portland since the mid 1960s. Rose has Stasiak one on one next week. After seeing several Stasiak matches from earlier this decade when he was younger and presumably more spry, the prospect of a Stasiak singles match here doesn’t excite me, even if it is against Rose. We do get a tag match featuring Stasiak and Rose on opposite sides, and that’s the centerpiece of our next review.

Check out all our reviews and articles on Portland wrestling.

Review the Kraken: Fan Appreciation Night

Review the Kraken: Fan Appreciation Night

I wrote about this when I got to experience a live Kraken Pro Wrestling event, but the fans at Kraken are their own unique entity. They don’t act like a standard pro wrestling crowd. They don’t do chants. They’re not in on the act. I came away from Tifton with the observation that Kraken fans were fans of Kraken specifically, rather than pro wrestling as a whole.

So the concept of Kraken doing a Fan Appreciation Night, where fans legitimately got to draw the matchups at random to determine the entire card, was intriguing. The powers that be in Kraken corralled a few kids from the audience and had them pull wrestlers’ names out of the hat, at random, just a few minutes before bell time. Opponents, and partners, were decided and then matches came together on the fly.

Along the way, the fans acting as honorary bookers put together one of the best matches Kraken has ever had… but we’ll get to that.

Here are the four episodes covered in this review.

Episode 61

This is the first Kraken event at Chino & Letty’s, which remains the venue for Kraken until now. It looks great on camera and the lighting gives vibes of an old-school studio wrestling show. I wrote about how nice the venue is, especially by standards of independent wrestling, after my live experience.

This episode opens with Kwame the Conqueror taking on Rob Killjoy. Kwame is formerly known as Cassius King (not to be confused with Kassius King, who also is on the Kraken roster). The name change makes Kwame both a known quantity and a new addition in Kraken according to the announcers. The crowd is into quacking for Killjoy. The match? Not so much. Killjoy wins with an O’Connor Roll to end a match that felt long even though it had a 10-minute time limit.

We get a backstage interview with Kay Casiano and new Cash In Hand Champion Kevin Kantrell. Kay does consistent good work with this. Kantrell’s words are fine but forgettable. The CIH title belt looks great, though.

Up next, the first of several mixed-up tags on this Fan Appreciation taping: Sam Hanson and Mr. Wright against Jayy Wells and Jaz Jones in a Tides of War series match. I was wondering who in the world would get the points given the jumbled teams, and bless Donnie for explaining it. Mr. Wright really plays up the schtick of tagging with someone he dislikes (to be fair, he did help give Hanson an unwanted haircut a couple of months before) but Hanson and Wright work together well enough to hit Wells with a modified Hart Attack and, after a blind tag, have Hanson score the pin — and the points for All Star Special.

The headliner of this episode pits Jak Myles against Charlie Kills. It’s the first Kraken appearance for Sweeper since he lost the Cash In Hand Title. Charlie does a lot of little things I enjoy: the joint manipulation and, here, joint stomps. He changes it up here with a double stomp of Jak’s hands into a Meteora and pin attempt. Overall, Charlie pretty much gobbles up Jak Myles here and scores the win. Poor Sweeper can’t catch a break.

Episode 62

An interesting segment to start this episode, as we get our first look at Jay 2 Strong since he was booted from The Business at the last taping. Jay ends up in the locker room with Charlie Kills, of all people, and Charlie speaks for the first time! Charlie offers to lend Jay an ear, a shoulder, or some other implied body part. Pretty good stuff.

More Tides of War action, with the Saturday Night Temptations taking on Lamar Diggs from The Business and Will Huckaby from All Star Special. The odd couple pairing of Diggs and Huckaby, combined with the Temptations, means a ton of comedy and shenanigans take place in this one. Huckaby joins right in with Karl Hager and CJ Shine. Diggs looks close to breaking on a couple of occasions. Diggs takes a rare pinfall loss on an assisted backslide in a silly, fun match.

The Diamond Den makes its return, with Mr. Wright the guest. Mrs. Wright, who’s been absent as of late, is pregnant and Mr. Wright is taking a leave of absence. With the year-long round robin Tides of War tournament already under way. That’s what we writers call a plot point.

Headlining this episode, Kevin Kantrell defends the Cash In Hand Title. The challengers? Brother Azriel, Dominic Stuckey, Jay 2 Strong, Travis Ray, and Tsu Nami. This scramble is stacked and the result is one of the best matches of its type that Kraken has done. I was surprised Jay didn’t jump Stuckey right off the bat after getting booted from The Business. Instead, Stuckey talks trash to everyone else in the match and they all gang up on him. Travis Ray had a good run of offense here and looked impactful without playing for laughs. Kantrell becomes the first Cash In Hand Champion to retain, hooking Tsu Nami in the cross face.

Episode 63

Speed vs. power in the opening match, as ERC takes on Hitta J. This is ostensibly heel vs. heel, but the crowd (after being stone silent at the beginning) starts to get behind ERC as the match progresses. Duke mentions a slow count on commentary because of course he does. Hitta J hits his chokeslam, which looks better with each passing taping, but ERC kicks out and score the win with a quick pinning predicament. I enjoyed the way ERC won, and his crafty style stands out in Kraken, but I felt the chokeslam should have finished the match.

The headliner on this episode is, not the best match of this set of tapings, but one I probably enjoyed the most: Quick Drip (the duo of Nick Quick and Dante Dripp) against the odd couple randomly drawn pair of Don Haylo and Ehren Black. More shenanigans here, with a Quick Drip dance party that ensnares Haylo and seems like it will never end, until Black blasts Travis Ray, the third member of Quick Drip, with double chops across the back. Ehren Black was the star of this match: the monster who gets fed up with the comedy. There’s a nifty spot where Haylo hoists Quick for a fallaway slam, and tosses him to Black. Haylo puts Dripp in a Boston Crab for the submission win. Quick tries to help and Black catches him, lifts Quick for a back suplex, and spins him into a sit-out pile-driver that sends Quick into the astral plane. Black then, as soon as the match is over, punches Haylo in the face. I cackled in an empty room at that one.

Episode 64

The centerpiece of this episode, and the taping, is another Kraken Pro Title defense. This time, Trever Aeon takes on Joey Hyder.

Kay has the talent to hit another level when she’s doing the introductions for a big match, and she does it again here. She particularly brings this sizzle when announcing Aeon, and it gives these title matches a big-fight feel, every time.

The match itself was a very good, back-and-forth match that (mostly) gets wrestled on the up and up. They combine for a pin attempt on a knuckle lock in the early going — not something you see every day in the 2020s. Hyder gets the upper hand on the technical wrestling, so the champ goes high impact, exploding off the mat with a single-leg takedown, then a double stomp on Hyder before chucking him to the floor. Aeon’s advantage does not last; Hyder throws nearly everything in his arsenal at the champion but pin attempts get a one count, at best. Duke is calling the Kraken fans humanoids and peons during this match. I approve of both; that’s better heel commentary work than constantly complaining about referee counts and double teams. Hyder busts out a standing Spanish fly, then summons John Cena by hitting Aeon with both the Five Knuckle Shuffle and the Attitude Adjustment. Then Hyder goes for his Razzle Dazzle finisher, but Aeon gets his knees and an elbow up to break it. One snap back suplex later, and a Kiss Kiss Bang Bang from Aeon ends one of the better wrestling matches in Kraken history.

Check out the full index of our Kraken content at In Moorehouse Wrestling.