The week in review is a compilation of the research, writing, audio and video output of Tony Richards and the team at the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel
This Past Week’s Issues of Our Daily Wrestling History Newsletter, The Daily Chronicle:
The daily newsletter for an injection of events that happened on this day and relative time frames in Territory Pro Wrestling History.
Sunday, April 19th, 2026:
Monday, April 20th, 2026:
Tuesday, April 21st, 2026:
Issue 371: The Life and Career of George Grant, ONE Thing About Vicki Williams
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026:
Issue 372: Time Tunnel History Show: Florida 1976, This Week in the Daily Chronicle Tennessee HOF
Thursday, April 23rd, 2026:
Issue 373: The Life and Career of Duke Keomuka, ONE Thing About Terry Gordy
Friday, April 24th, 2026:
Issue 374: The Life and Career of Blue Demon, ONE Thing About Johnny Valentine
Saturday, April 25th, 2026:
Issue 375: The Life and Career of Cora Livingston, ONE Thing About Farmer Brown
Pro Wrestling History Content for Premium Time Tunnel Subscribers:
Friday, April 24th, 2026:
“During the era of territorial wrestling on local television from the late 1950s through the 1960s, promoters drew a sharp distinction between ordinary heels and true “foreign heels,” with the latter defined almost exclusively by kayfabe citizenship in a nation that had been (or still was) an official enemy of the United States. The most potent heat came from billing wrestlers as invading representatives of Axis powers—Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan—or the Soviet Union during the height of Cold War paranoia. Characters like Hans Schmidt, the Von Brauners, Fritz & Waldo Von Erich, Tojo Yamamoto, and Boris Malenko weren’t just rule-breakers; they were scripted as unrepentant foreigners who goose-stepped, saluted the wrong flag, and openly mocked American values.” Excerpt from The Evolution of the Foreign Heel
Friday, April 24th, 2026: The Evolution of Pro Wrestling Series
The Evolution of Pro Wrestling Series: The Evolution of the Foreign Heel
When you support the work I do as a Pro Wrestling Historian by investing in a Premium Subscription, this is the kind of Premium Content I publish for our Premium Subs three or four times a month. Next week, the first edition of our new Family Tradition Series will be published for Premium Subscribers. Some of the best stories about the lives and careers of family members in the history of Professional Wrestling. Become a Premium Subscriber today to have access to The Evolution of Pro Wrestling Series and Family Tradition Series now.
This week’s episode continues our Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel 1976 Territory Review Series and for this installment of the show, we review one of, if not the strongest, NWA territory at the time, Championship Wrestling From Florida.
Along for the journey is our regular Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel Florida Analyst, Howard Baum, from Miami, Florida, whose first full year as a fan was in the year of 1976. Howard’s memories of the matches and the cards of the Miami Bean Auditorium as well as the weekly television are pure gold in every episode. In this special show, we have as our special guest, Howard’s all time favorite wrestler, Steve Keirn.
We have the extra special opportunity to travel back in the time tunnel with Steve and his memories of his biggest singles push thus far in his career, which takes place in 1976! New booker, Jody Hamilton, also known as the masked Assassin, has arrived to take the book from Harley Race and manage and coordinate the talent, the television and the house shows under the watchful mentorship of Eddie Graham, Due to Graham’s relationship with both Sam Muchnick and Vince McMahon, Sr, Graham is asked who would bea great next babyface champion for the WWWF in the mold of Jack Brisco as NWA World Champion.
Graham recommends Keirn, based on his in-ring ability and the angle of his father, the war and POW veteran who had just returned home to this family in 1973. McMahon has his eyes on Bob Backlund, who had had a run in the Amarillo territory in 1974 and had returned to Florida in 1975 as a mid-card performer, still refining his abilties. Keirn and Backlund are put into a tag team program to put a shine on both of them with the faather-son heel tag team of Bob Orton Sr and Bob Orton Jr along with their top heel associate Bob Roop. As we know, McMahon chooses Backlund to be his next guy and that’s where we will pick up the story in today’s episode as Steve relates how he came up with the angle, his conversation with his father about it to get his approval, and the emotions and incredible heat that built during the Summer of 1976 in the Sunshine State of Florida.
VIDEO EXTRA:
As an extra video bonus to our Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel Week-in-Review, I have added in for you this piece of footage from Championship Wrestling from Florida in 1976 with this “Duration Match” with St7eve Keirn and Bob Orton, Jr, which is part of the big storyline we cover in this week’s podcast show on Florida 1976:
WATCH HERE:
Video: Steve Keirn vs Bob Orton, Jr. in a Duration Match, Championship Wrestling From Florida, April 21st, 1976
Tony’s Media Appearances This Past Week:
I am back as a guest co-host on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw this past week and what a great time we all had! I can honestly say this was the most fun I ever had on a podcast show! When Gerry called me (the day before, LOL) and asked me if I would be interested in helping co-host the show with them and the guest was Elwood Francis from ZZ Top and Tojo Yamamoto Band, I jump at the chance! Actually, I said “Hell yeah! He’s a fellow Kentuckian!” What a great episode and what a great time, check out this fun episode of “Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw” with special friend of the show, Elwood Francis!
Thank You for Reading, Listening and Watching
I’m Tony Richards, Pro Wrestling Historian, Author and Storyteller. I share the history of pro wrestling territory era in each content vehicle of the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel. We publish the Week-In-Review each Sunday as a digest for our community members. If you enjoy my information on select events, matches and insights, please share it with folks you think might like to be a subscriber!
Remember, premium investors 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 Investors who contribute and invest in the work I do to preserve the history of the territory era.