Episode Details

On this episode of Rick Del Santo’s Classic Wrestling Talk Podcast, Rick sits down with longtime wrestler, manager, promoter, and trainer “Broadway” Joe Malcolm for an incredible conversation about breaking into professional wrestling, learning under Professor Boris Malenko, working the old territory system, and crossing paths with some of the biggest names of the 1980s.

Joe starts at the beginning, talking about growing up in New York, discovering wrestling as a kid while watching names like Butcher Vachon and Bulldog Brower, then later becoming hooked on Championship Wrestling from Florida after moving south. Dusty Rhodes, Superstar Billy Graham, Ron Bass, Blackjack Mulligan, Kevin Sullivan and others became part of his weekly routine long before he ever stepped into a ring himself.

The heart of Joe’s early career story is his training under Boris Malenko. Joe explains what old-school wrestling training really looked like, learning how to get into the ring correctly, wiping your feet before entering, stretching, mastering holds, arm drags, snapmares and basic movement before anybody worried about flashy spots. He also recalls training alongside names like Mark Starr and Chris Champion, and interacting with Dean Malenko during those early years.

Joe also talks about the strange reality of being one of Malenko’s students at a time when Boris was blackballed in parts of the wrestling business. According to Joe, Malenko warned his students not to tell promoters who trained them because it could cost them opportunities. Years later, after Malenko’s passing, Joe says people suddenly treated that same background as wrestling royalty.

From there, the stories come fast.

The conversation also digs into Joe’s time in Continental/Southeastern Wrestling, where he worked around names like Tommy Rich, Brickhouse Brown, Adrian Street, Austin Idol, the Fullers, Jimmy Golden and Bob Armstrong. Joe remembers being thrown into a match with Tommy Rich when another wrestler failed to show up and being billed under a completely different name for the night.

And despite all the history already covered, Joe makes it clear at the end that Rick has barely scratched the surface.

For fans of Boris Malenko, Championship Wrestling from Florida, Mid-South Wrestling, Southeastern Wrestling, Continental Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions, Bill Watts, Billy Jack Haynes, Dirty Dick Slater, Tommy Rich, Tully Blanchard, Magnum T.A., Porkchop Cash, Buzz Sawyer, and the old school territory system, this is a deep dive into a career lived right in the middle of it.

“Broadway” Joe Malcolm has stories.

And this episode only scratches the surface.

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