Episode
Ringside in Rose City #39 The Northwest Almost Champions: The Men Who Challenged for the NWA World Title
- Podcast
- Portland Wrestling
- Published
- Jun 11, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 5235
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/portland-wrestling-7406807/episodes/ringside-in-rose-city-39-the-northwest-almost-champions-the-men-who-challenged-for-the-nwa-world-title/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/portland-wrestling-7406807/ringside-in-rose-city-39-the-northwest-almost-champions-the-men-who-challenged-for-the-nwa-world-title.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
Ringside in Rose City #39 The Northwest Almost Champions: The Men Who challenged for the NWA World Title One ring. One city. A thousand stories. The NWA World Heavyweight Championship was the mostprestigious prize in professional wrestling for decades. The champions areremembered. The title reigns are celebrated. But what about the men who stood across the ring from them and came within one match of changing history? This week, Frank Culbertson and historian Mike Rogers take adeep dive into nearly four decades of NWA World Championship matches contested throughout Don Owen's territory—from Salem in 1952 to Portland in the late 1980s. Along the way, they uncover the stories of the challengerswho made fans believe that maybe, just maybe, this would be the night the title changed hands. Featured in this episode: • The remarkable Northwest championship history of LouThesz , Pat O'Connor , Gene Kiniski , Dory Funk Jr. , HarleyRace , Jack Brisco , Terry Funk , and Ric Flair • Why Luther Lindsay remains one of the most respected and important challengers in wrestling history • The incredible championship résumé of Tony Borne , Portland's ultimate gatekeeper • Don Leo Jonathan's unforgettable battles with Gene Kiniski • The sustained title pursuits of Lonnie Mayne , Dutch Savage , and Buddy Rose • The protected status of Jimmy Snuka and why he never lost to an NWA champion in the Northwest • The one and only NWA title appearance by Buddy Rogers in Don Owen's territory • The surprising story behind Roddy Piper's victory over Ric Flair • How cable television changed wrestling and transformed what it meant to be world champion Frank and Mike also explore the unique role of the territorychallenger—the local stars who never held the NWA World Championship but became legends by maki…