Episode Details

🎙️ Ringside in Rose City #18 – Mount Rushmore of Portland Wrestling (Sports Arena Era)

One ring.
One city.
A thousand stories.
And this week… the debate every Portland Wrestling fan has had at least once.

In Episode #18 of Ringside in Rose City, Frank Culbertson and Mike Rogers finally tackle one of the most passionate, personal, and controversial topics in territory history:

The Mount Rushmore of Portland Wrestling—specifically the Portland Sports Arena era (1968–1991).

As always, Lisa Hughes opens the show, spins the wheel, reveals the envelope, and keeps things moving—before gleefully adding chaos with a Mount Rushmore-themed edition of K-Fabe Curveballs.

Before naming a single face on the mountain, Frank and Mikedo what most debates skip:
they define the criteria.

This is not about national fame.
It’s not about title counts alone.
And it’s definitely not about who would win a real fight.

Instead, the discussion centers on:
• Drawing power in the Portland Sports Arena
• Longevity and loyalty to the territory
• Believability and storytelling
• Promo credibility
• Trust from Don Owen
• Elevating others
• Connection to Portland’s identity
• Historical impact and lasting legacy

From there, Frank and Mike examine 13 serious Mount Rushmore candidates—each with a legitimate case, each with real flaws, and no easy answers:

• Dutch Savage
• Playboy Buddy Rose
• Bull Ramos
• Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka
• Roddy Piper
• Lonnie Mayne
• Stan Stasiak
• Tony Borne
• Rip Oliver
• Billy Jack Haynes
• Rick Martel
• The Grappler (Lynn Denton)
• Steve Doll

Some defined entire eras.
Some burned hot and brief.
Some were trusted workhorses.
Some changed how Portland wrestling felt.

Frank and Mike break down each candidate through stats,memory, booking philosophy, and lived experience—challenging assumptions fans have carried for decades and separating emotional attachment from territorial reality.

Along the way:
🎲Frank challenges Mike with Mount Rushmore trivia
🎲A legendary hotel-room robbery story resurfaces
🎲Promo styles, finishes, and feuds are dissected
🎲And the difference between who fans loved and who carried the business becomes crystal clear

By the end of the episode, the list is narrowed…
arguments collide…
positions shift…

…but the final four faces on Portland Wrestling’s MountRushmore?
You’ll have to listen to find out.

This isn’t just a list. It’s a love letter, a debate, anda challenge to every Portland Wrestling fan.

Step into the arena.
Join the argument.
This is Ringside in Rose City

—  wrestling….

wrestling the way it should be.