Dallas Sportatorium

And look, as a third-generation guy, and I say that super proudly, but with so much generational, not knowledge, experience that, you know, and we've talked, Conrad, me and you have talked, uh, off and on for years.

I mean, Sportatorium in Dallas was a building that held wrestling every Friday night for years.

But it was built, uh, not with wrestling in mind, music and o- and I, I think maybe.

I mean, it was a, it was a multi entertainment.

I j- I just bet you.

Uh, is this a Dallas Sportatorium type of deal where they got rats in the deep fryer over at Arena Mexico? Oh, I don't know.

I'm just wondering.

Any but, uh, this was not- But I will say, everyone I know who goes there, and I know several people in the last few years who have, say it's, it is like wrestling heaven right now.

I, I mean, I, I've said all along, you, you... at certain events, you gotta... certain things you gotta do.

You know, the Sportatorium's not around anymore, so you can't wrestle there anymore.

But the Garden is, Budokan is, Earl's Court is, uh, the Rosemont still is under a different name.

There's certain places you have to be, and basically anywhere in Mexico [laughs] is where you have to be.

All

right, so tell us about working for CWA in Dallas at the Sportatorium.

CWA.

That was different and more class.

What-

This might have been when we were going to the Sportatorium, I do believe then that, as I look here at-

When you see that belt, that's what made me think that too, yeah.

Let's take a listen to Lawler commentating.

Yeah, and Tony Falk, Tony Falk is the referee.

[upbeat music] Yeah, this is Sportatorium.

Oh, we got lights and music.

Yeah, 100% this is the Sportatorium.

That is ridiculous.

With that said, yes, there's a lot of big shoes to fill about the Sportatorium and the history behind all of that.

But at the same time, I...

I am 100% sure that the Dallas, Texas scene in wrestling has stepped so far away from the Sportatorium and stepped out of that shadow.

It is now its own living, breathing thing.

Weekly running show, some of the best talent out there.

I kind of get tired of people bringing up the Sportatorium and the Von Eriks.

Like when

Bill, I don't know.

You know, we probably did maybe at the Sportatorium.

Probably not at the – you know, they had a lot of bodyguards in different places, you know, because I don't know if it was really their bodyguards because when we went into a place like, for instance, we went to a base one time, an Army base.

I don't know if they brought their own bodyguards or if they supplied them because, you know, I –

I handled all the security for that.

I toured all over the country.

I wasn't just at the Sportatorium.

I was brought in and approved with Fritz, David, and Carrie, which we talked about it on this show once.

Nobody ever said anything.

And then a little while after that, we were over at the Sportatorium, and these guys were...

Mike Rotunda was there.

I was there.

[clears throat] Anyway, speaking of closing a territory, let's get started with a program today because, uh, we got a new book in the mail about the Texas wrestling wars of the 1950s.

And Brian, we've talked about episodes of, of this long-running war here on the program, and read from programs, uh, of the time where the Sportatorium was burned down, and the Houston and Dallas offices were at each other's throats, Ed McLemore, Morris Siegel.

Well, Greg Klein has written a book about it, and we just got it in.

H- honestly, this is not a, a review of the book per se, because wanted to mention I just got it and I haven't had a chance to read it yet.