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It’s 1996, WCW is beating the WWF in the ratings, the NWO is taking over, and somehow there are TWO Stings.

Bradley Palermo and Aaron Fink rewind WCW Fall Brawl 1996, featuring WarGames, the real Sting vs. Fake Sting confusion, Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Lex Luger, Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, plus one of the most ridiculous finishes we’ve seen yet. Luger never even submits, Nick Patrick decides he did anyway, and the NWO keeps rolling.

Elsewhere on the card, a young Chris Jericho makes his first WCW pay-per-view appearance against Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio Jr. defends the Cruiserweight Championship, DDP takes on Chavo Guerrero Jr., Harlem Heat battle the Nasty Boys, and Randy Savage somehow manages to slam The Giant before the usual NWO bullshit takes over.

Plus: early-internet WCW, CompuServe, questionable Meltzer ratings, Brad’s inability to pronounce Juventud Guerrera, Aaron defending full nelsons, and an unexpected Sami Zayn appreciation segment before we even get to 1996.

Thirty years later, does Fall Brawl ’96 still hold up, or should this one stay buried in the Monday Night War?

Fast Forward, Play, or Rewind?

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Music by Bradley Palermo & The Shadow Queens.

Created by Bradley Palermo & Aaron Fink.

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Grapple City Rewind throws out the rulebook for a bonus episode and jumps to October 29, 2020 for one of the most brutal matches of the pandemic era: WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov for the NXT UK Championship.

With zero fans in the building, every chop, kick, slap and scream echoes through the room as Dragunov tries to survive a champion already 573 days into his historic reign. Brad and Aaron talk WALTER before he became Gunther, Dragunov’s insane comeback, the match’s five-star reputation, pandemic-era wrestling, and why this might be one of the best examples of pro wrestling ever feeling like a legitimate fight.

No crowd. No weapons. Just two guys beating the absolute shit out of each other.

Fast Forward, Play, or Rewind?

(626) 657-SLAM

Email: Grapplecitypod@gmail.com

IG: @grapplecitypod

X: @grapplecitypod

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Threads: @grapplecitypod

Music by Bradley Palermo & The Shadow Queens.

Created by Bradley Palermo & Aaron Fink.

Send us a text or voicemail

The boys head to Chicago’s Comiskey Park for AWA SuperClash ’85, a massive, chaotic attempt to answer WrestleMania with 25,000 fans, 13 matches, approximately 900 championships and more nationalism than anyone asked for.

Brad and Aaron break down Ric Flair vs. Magnum T.A., the Road Warriors vs. the Fabulous Freebirds, Kerry Von Erich at full rock-star status, a completely unrecognizable Scott Hall, Curt Hennig, Sgt. Slaughter, Kamala, Stan Hansen beating the hell out of Rick Martel all over the ballpark, and plenty more.

There are questionable finishes, fake titles, blood on the infield, wrestlers fighting through the dugout, a “Kill Commie” sign, and one perfectly captured fan screaming, “Yeah, fuckface! You lost!”

Was AWA SuperClash actually better than WrestleMania I? Brad and Aaron give their Fast Forward, Play or Rewind verdicts.

(626) 657-SLAM

Email: Grapplecitypod@gmail.com

IG: @grapplecitypod

X: @grapplecitypod

TikTok: @grapplecitypod

Threads: @grapplecitypod

Music by Bradley Palermo & The Shadow Queens.

Created by Bradley Palermo & Aaron Fink.