Episode Details

On this episode of Rick Del Santo’s Classic Pro Wrestling Talk, Rick welcomes Tommy Lane, one half of the Rock & Roll RPMs, for a deep dive into his career across the wrestling territories of the 1980s.

Rick and Tommy cover his early days working with Larry Cheatham, teaming with Larry Saxton, heading to San Antonio, and forming an important connection with The Mongolian Stomper, Archie Gouldie, who later helped bring him to Canada as his kayfabe son.

The conversation also touches on Tommy’s time as Tommy Rogers in Central States, teaming with Marty Jannetty, working with Dusty Wolf, and learning from veterans like Roger Kirby, Harley Race, and the crew around Bob Geigel’s Kansas City territory.

From there, Tommy discusses the formation of the Rock & Roll RPMs with Mike Davis, including:

• Their time in Mid-Atlantic Wrestling
• Dusty Rhodes giving him the Tommy Lane name
• Working with The Rock ’n’ Roll Express
• Wrestling in Puerto Rico against teams like The Sheepherders and Eric Embry & Rip Morgan
• Coming into Memphis as babyfaces before turning heel
• Feuding with Tracy Smothers, Steve Keirn, Jeff Jarrett, and Billy Joe Travis
• Working SuperClash III against the Guerrero brothers
• The Knoxville run against Johnny and Davey Rich
• Memories of Buddy Landel, Doug Furnas, Terry Gordy, Wendell Cooley, and Bill Dundee
• Their time in World Class against The Fantastics, Steve Simpson, Eric Embry, and Frankie Lancaster
• The famous “Doctors Rock” angle in Memphis
• Working with The Midnight Rockers, Bad Company, and more

Tommy also talks about stepping away from wrestling, his long post-wrestling career in the transportation industry, the passing of his RPMs partner Mike Davis, and his thoughts on modern wrestling, including why he believes today’s women’s wrestling often stands out as some of the best work on TV.

If you’re a fan of territory wrestling, 1980s tag teams, Memphis, Mid-Atlantic, World Class, Puerto Rico, Knoxville, or the Rock & Roll RPMs, this is a great conversation with a name who worked with just about everybody and has stories from everywhere.

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