Tune Tag #75 with Russell🤼‍♂️The Pro Wrestling Exuberant: Black Sabbath, Genesis, Tesla, Manhattan Transfer, Ozzy Osbourne, Journey

Surprise, Russell! As a teen, I saw '60s wrestling stars Johnny Valentine, Wahoo McDaniel, Ernie Ladd, and Fritz Von Erich! Can you say, "The Iron Claw"? Oh, it is ON, Russell🤼‍♂️It is SO on!

In this corner, Russell,

The Pro Wrestling Exuberant

!

📣LLLLLLLet’s Get Ready to Tune Tag!

Russell: “I appreciate the opportunity to write here for FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE’s Tune Tag!”

The Pro Wrestling Exuberant

on Substack primarily covers ‘80s/’90s-centric pro wrestling topics from the point of view of an immersed fan since the 1980s, and former pro wrestling referee and magazine writer (during the ‘90s)!

The focus of The Pro Wrestling Exuberant is to tell the stories of different wrestlers from the ‘80s/’90s eras, chronicling both their on-camera careers and elements of their off-camera real-life personalities. The Pro Wrestling Exuberant is for the immersed pro wrestling fan and the casual viewer with an interest in historical wrestling topics, but we’re also for the curious reader who enjoys character-driven personality profiles regardless of whether they have ever watched a pro wrestling match!

My name is Russell Franklin, and I’m the writer of

The Pro Wrestling Exuberant

on Substack. I have been watching pro wrestling and collecting wrestling merchandise since the mid-1980s. In the 1990s, I wrote for newsstand wrestling magazines in an era where there was a large number of them being published every month!

In the 1990s, I worked as a pro wrestling referee. This was an amazing experience, and I have many great memories from this and many stories from things I saw! Music is one of my other main interests besides pro wrestling. I have a strong passion for ‘80s music, in particular hard rock from that era (or as some call it, hair metal)!

Last week, we enjoyed the ground-breaking Tune Tag, Part 2 of

Matt Madurski

of Chart Chat:

Tune Tag #74 with Matt Madurski of "Chart Chat," Pt. 2: Lou Reed, Blackstreet, Gotye, Perry Como, Far East Movement, Sting, AWA

Next week, Tune Tag in to witness the debut of newcomer,

Ryan Gonzalez

of the year-old The Ryry Rundown!

Russell’s song #1 sent to Brad: Black Sabbath, “Iron Man,” 1970

1970: A few short months before blowing up as an arena headliner, replete with Marshall stacks, a road crew and a lighting scheme, this humble garage band with charity shop cast-offs is poised to conquer the world with a thunderous sound, all but solidifying what came to be known as heavy metal. It all started with iron, man.

Russell’s rationale: “Iron Man” was my introduction to heavy metal. I first heard the song in 1986 (16 years after it first drew breath), and was riveted by the combination of guitar riffs, the lead singer’s voice, and the general frantic energy of the entire song!

As a direct result of this song, I began seeking out other heavy metal groups, and it quickly became my favorite genre at the time. It also resulted in me seeking out hard rock groups, as well. Nearly forty years later, my taste in music has remained the same.

“Iron Man” is significant in another very personal way: A few months before I first heard this song, I discovered professional wrestling. Like most new viewers, my introduction was the popular WWF (now WWE) with well-known wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, The Junkyard Dog, and Randy “Macho Man” Savage.

In 1986, someone told me about another promotion called NWA (National Wrestling Alliance), bought by Smashing Pumpkins co-founder/guitarist/singer, Billy Corgan in 2017. NWA was a rival to WWF, and I decided to go to a live show to see if I liked it. I did, and it would become my favorite promotion, and I credit it for making me a life-long wrestling fan!

Russell: “The Road Warriors, Hawk and Animal, released in 1985 from Remco for AWA (American Wrestling Association) that I purchased at the time, and one of the earliest wrestling figures ever released in the U.S., and first of The Road Warriors.”

My lasting memory of that first show, and that era, is a tag team called The Road Warriors (action figures shown above). They were one of the most popular and most physical tag teams of that or any era. Hawk and Animal were thickly-muscled, aggressive and wore face paint, and looked like larger-than-life movie characters.

The Road Warriors’ entrance theme was “Iron Man.” Every time I hear those opening chords (which make me think of a spinning airplane propeller for some reason), it takes me back to the ‘80s and being at an NWA show. The crowd would erupt in joyful glee at those chords, knowing The Road Warriors were about to make their entrance!

Brad’s song #1 sent to Russell: Genesis “Apocalypse in 9/8” (“Supper’s Ready” snippet), 1972