{"podcast":{"title":"When It Was Cool Wrestling and Retro Pop Culture (DragonKingKarl)","slug":"when-it-was-cool-wrestling-and-retro-pop-culture-dragonkingkarl-1499563","podcast_index_feed_id":1499563,"rss_url":"https://dragonkingkarlclassicwrestling.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"https://www.whenitwascool.com","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/9/2/9/b/929bbde512cb91fc16c3140a3186d450/When_It_Was_Cool_WIWC_Main_Logo_24_1400_x_1400.jpg","author":"When It Was Cool","episode_count":20,"summary":"For all shows including our archived content visit our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/wiwcool Pro wrestling history. WWE, WCW, NWA, AEW, NXT, NJPW, TNA, Impact, ROH, AWA, ECW, and the pioneer era of pro wrestling. Karl Stern (DragonKingKarl) is a pro wrestling historian who has produced the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Audio Show for over 15 years at Wrestling Observer. This is the free version of some of the pro wrestling podcasts we produce at When It Was Cool. There is much more available to Patreon supporters. Enjoy these free shows for a deep dive into pro wrestling history and retro pop culture. Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, Frank Gotch, William Muldoon, Lou Thesz, Bruno Sammartino, Strangler Lewis, Farmer Burns, Bob Armstrong, Ron Fuller, Jerry Lawler, The Rock, Chris Jericho, Andre the Giant, Dusty Rhodes, and hundreds more are discussed. This feed now also features selected retro pop culture reviews from our Patreon website.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-27T06:17:03.797297+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/when-it-was-cool-wrestling-and-retro-pop-culture-dragonkingkarl-1499563"},"episode":{"title":"Pro Wrestling's First Business Slump was in 1886 - 1000 Hours","slug":"pro-wrestling-s-first-business-slump-was-in-1886-1000-hours","published_at":"2026-02-15T17:14:20+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/when-it-was-cool-wrestling-and-retro-pop-culture-dragonkingkarl-1499563/pro-wrestling-s-first-business-slump-was-in-1886-1000-hours","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/when-it-was-cool-wrestling-and-retro-pop-culture-dragonkingkarl-1499563","url":"https://dragonkingkarlclassicwrestling.libsyn.com/pro-wrestlings-first-business-slump-was-in-1886-1000-hours","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/dragonkingkarlclassicwrestling/91_1000_Hours_1886_Pro_Wrestlings_First_Business_Slump_Free.mp3?dest-id=2330876","summary":"Join me as I dive back into the pioneer era of pro wrestling. This episode is taken from the pages of my latest book DragonKingKarl's Pioneer Era Pro Wrestling Omnibus available from Amazon. We are now up to 1886 in the book and pro wrestling is in its first business slump. William Muldoon claims that wrestlers are now making less than six percent of the money they made just a few years ago. Meanwhile, Evan 'Strangler' Lewis looks to turn things around as he continues to dominate and Jack Carkeek continues to rise as well! Plus, the World Catch champion is getting tired of being ignored! YOU CONTROL THIS SERIES! It will only run as long as it is supported. 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 120.","meta_description":"Join me as I dive back into the pioneer era of pro wrestling. This episode is taken from the pages of my latest book DragonKingKarl's Pioneer Era Pro Wres…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3470,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/when-it-was-cool-wrestling-and-retro-pop-culture-dragonkingkarl-1499563/episodes/pro-wrestling-s-first-business-slump-was-in-1886-1000-hours/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/when-it-was-cool-wrestling-and-retro-pop-culture-dragonkingkarl-1499563/pro-wrestling-s-first-business-slump-was-in-1886-1000-hours.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}