Today’s Favorite Quote: To be in hell is to drift, to be in heaven is to steer-George Bernard Shaw
Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
El Santo 1917
Ed Miller 1931
Melanie Pillman 1965
Happy Birthday:
Kurt Beyer (65)
Matt Hardy (51)
Romeo Roselli (44)
Kairi Sane (37)
Angel Garza (33)
RIP Memorial: We stop & remember those who have passed on this day and gave themselves to the business for us, the fans. We salute you and thank you.
Stanislaus Zbyszko 9-23-1967 at the age of 88
Jack Curtis 9-23-1989 at the age of 78
Don Manoukian 9-23-2014 at the age of 80
Percival A. Friend 9-23-2015 at the age of 70
Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel Community Update
Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel Territory History Show Episode 81
A Farewell to Superstar Bill Dundee
This week’s Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel History Show is a special tribute episode.
Episode 81: A Farewell for Superstar Bill Dundee features Dr. Tom Prichard, Randy Hales, and Pat Trammell of Talking Memphis Wrestling. Together we share stories, personal remembrances, and words of tribute for Bill Dundee.
It is the only segment on this week’s show — a full episode dedicated to remembering one of the great personalities of Memphis and the territory era.
Thank you for being part of this community as we honor the people who built this business.
Episode 81: A Farewell to Superstar Bill Dundee drops this morning!
The History of Texas Wrestling Episode 15: West Texas State
Episode 15 of The History of Texas Wrestling is here on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw!
This week, Tony Richards, Gerry Brisco, and JBL head to West Texas State — the Canyon, Texas school that became one of the most important pipelines in professional wrestling.
West Texas State wasn’t just a college. It was a feeder system for the Amarillo territory and the Funk family. Football players, amateur wrestlers, and local athletes walked out of that program and into the West Texas rings, helping shape the rugged style that made Amarillo unique.
Tony, Gerry, and JBL dig into the connection between the campus, the territory, and the stars who came out of that world — another key chapter in how Texas wrestling was built.
📌 Episode 15 of The History of Texas Wrestling: West Texas State is available now on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.
Subscribe, download, and join Tony, Gerry, and JBL as the Texas story continues!
Drops Thursday morning on YouTube and where you get your podcasts!
The History of Texas Wrestling Series
RIP: The Story of Jerry Oates
Now available to all subscribers in the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel:
READ HERE:
This is my in-depth look at the life and career of Jerry Oates — Southern territory legend, All Japan tag team champion with his brother Ted, and a member of our Time Tunnel family.
The piece covers Jerry’s journey through the territories, his work in Georgia, the Gulf Coast, Japan, and beyond, and the respect he earned from the people who knew him in the business. It is a full career story written in tribute to a man we recently lost.
If you followed Jerry’s career, heard him on the show, or simply want to understand why so many of us felt this loss, this is the feature.
RIP: The Story of Jerry Oates is available now to all Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel subscribers.
RIP: The Story of Bill Dundee
Coming this week also available to all subscribers!!
This is my in-depth look at the life and career of Superstar Bill Dundee — one of the defining personalities of Memphis wrestling and a major figure across the Southern territories.
The piece covers Dundee’s journey from Australia to the Mid-South, his years with Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler, the feuds, the angles, the personality that made him a star, and the respect he earned from the people who worked with him. It is a full career story written in tribute after his passing.
If you grew up on Memphis wrestling, followed Dundee through the territories, or heard the memories shared on this week’s tribute episode, this is the written feature.
RIP: The Story of Superstar Bill Dundee is available now to all Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel subscribers.
This Week in The Daily Chronicle
September 20 – September 26, 2026
Sunday, September 20 – Issue 524
Our in-depth 1976 third-quarter business analysis of the Tennessee Territory. The seeds of the coming split in early 1977 are already beginning to sprout.
Monday, September 21 – Issue 525
Mondays (and occasionally Tuesdays) are 7 Stages of the Territory Era days. This issue reviews pro wrestling in Stage 6: Fragmentation during September 1976.
Tuesday, September 22 – Issue 526
Another 7 Stages of the Territory Era installment. Still in Stage 6: Fragmentation, we look at the annual Anniversary Show for EMLL in Mexico City.
Wednesday, September 23 – Issue 527
Our regular weekly Community Update.
Thursday, September 24 – Issue 528
An in-depth look at The Life and Career of Len Rossi. Rossi and Jackie Fargo were the biggest babyfaces of the 1960s in the Tennessee Territory.
Friday, September 25 – Issue 529
The Life and Career of Roy Heffernan — one half of the Fabulous Kangaroos and a great singles performer in the territory era.
Saturday, September 26 – Issue 530
On Saturdays we feature the women of the business. This week: The Life and Career of Dottie Downs, one of the lesser-known but excellent female performers of the era.
All this week in our daily look at the territory era — The Daily Chronicle. See you every morning at 5am Central / 6am Eastern!
Premium Content for Paid Subscribers
Tracking the World Champions
We are bursting at the seams with content for our subs this week, especially for our Premium Oaid subs.
1976 is the focus this week in the Time Tunnel with our Daily Chronicle 7 Stages analysis and also with Tracking the World Champions.
Nick Bockwinkel: AWA World Heavyweight Champion: September 1976
READ HERE:
Tracking The World Champions: Nick Bockwinkel AWA World Heavyweight Title - September 1976
I follow the AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel through September 1976 — the defenses, the travel, the business around the title, and where the champion sat in the wider wrestling world that month.
This is part of our ongoing Tracking the World Champions series, giving paid members a closer look at how the big titles actually moved through the territory era.
Premium subscribers help underwrite and support the work of preserving territory wrestling history. These extra features are available only to members who contribute to the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel.
Thank you for making this research possible.
Terry Funk: NWA World Heavyweight Champion: September 1976
Coming later this week for all Premium Paid Subs:
Also, as part of our analysis of 1976, I track NWA World Heavyweight Champion Terry Funk through September 1976 — the defenses, the travel, the business around the title, and where the champion sat in the wider wrestling world that month.
This is part of our ongoing Tracking the World Champions series, giving paid members a closer look at how the big titles actually moved through the territory era.
Premium subscribers help underwrite and support the work of preserving territory wrestling history. These extra features are available only to members who contribute to the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel.
Thank you for making this research possible.
See you inside the Premium section.
Thank You for Watching and Listening
I’m Tony Richards, Pro Wrestling Historian, Author and Storyteller. I share pro wrestling historical items in each issue of the Time Tunnel Pro Wrestling History Newsletter and each episode of our podcast show. Thanks for your support! If you enjoy my information on select events, matches and insights, please share with folks you think might like to be a subscriber!
Remember, Premium subscribers get access to exclusive and special content such as some special issues including a multi-part deep dives on wrestling territories, wrestler bios and championship title histories, special audio and video interviews on territory pro wrestling and more available in the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel for Premium Subscribers. Being a Premium Subscriber also means you support me in my efforts to document Pro Wrestling History through my research, writing, books, vidoes and podcasts. And…I have something very special planned for our Premium Subscribers on the Podcast side of things in 2026! Details soon here in the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel.