Episode 19 of Fannin’s Flashbacks is LIVE~! On this episode, Jim sits down with his little brother, Pro Wrestling’s BFF, Nick Maniwa.
Jim and Nick tell road stories including how they became best of friends after going to the 2001 Morris vs Joliet Catholic state championship game that led to the show in Morris with CM Punk vs Eddie Guerrero. They talk about almost getting shot in Dayton, Ohio at a McDonald’s. How about the night they killed the Easter Bunny? Did anyone die from alcohol poisoning while playing the “Nick Maniwa hit the music” drinking game? They also talk a lot about IWA after Jim left. Who were the best? Who would Jim have hated the most? All that and more on this episode.
Episode 18 of #FanninsFlashbacks is live! On this episode, it’s the finale, part 3, of the marathon ask Jim anything extravaganza. Guest host, Tripping Balls, got to put Jim on the hot seat and really dig up the dirt. The topics of conversation on this episode include why does Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn hate Jim Fannin? Why did Ian retire so many times? I shit all over Manslaughter yet again. What was the best night of my IWA run? If I was stranded on a deserted country road with 2 flat tires and miles away from help and Jimmy Jacobs drove by and offered to help…would I accept the help? All this and more on this episode!
Episode 17 of Fannin’s Flashbacks is live! On this episode, it’s part two of the marathon ask Jim anything extravaganza. Guest host, Tripping Balls, got to put Jim on the hot seat and really dig up the dirt. The topics of conversation on this episode include BB Walls, Shaq Daddy vs Jim for biggest screwup on an elbow drop/leg drop in a match. Jim’s thoughts on Thumbtack Jack aren’t for the faint of heart. What did Jim really think about Tripping Balls’ dad, Crusher Bones? What really happened with Big Vision and the missing show footage? What were Jim’s feelings when Danny Daniels, Dave Prazak, and Brad Bradley quit IWA on a show he was in charge while Ian was at a different show? All this and more on this episode!
Episode 16 of Fannin’s Flashbacks is live! On this episode, the tables are turned on Jim and this time he is the one being interviewed. Guest host, Tripping Balls, got to put Jim on the hot seat and really dig up the dirt. Hear about an alleged drug dealer trying to launder money thru IWA that almost ended up with buying a theater in New Albany to run shows. Did Jim really beat up Atomic Dog that led to Tracy Smothers calling him the “toughest damn ring announcer in the business”? What was the meanest thing Ian Rotten ever said to him? What does Jim think about comedy wrestling and interpromotional feuds? All this and more on this episode!
Episode 15 of Fannin’s Flashbacks is LIVE! On this episode, Jim sits down with the former 2X IWA Mid South Light Heavyweight Champion, 2002 KOTDM runner-up, The Teenage Dirtbag himself: Nate “Spyder” Webb or is it “Spyder” Nate Webb? After 25 years, Jim still doesn’t know who Nate is!!!
Nate talks about breaking into the business and then IWA with a couple big lies and a leap of faith. The tremendous run he had in 2002 working Chris Hero, making the finals of the KOTDM, entering TPI, winning the light heavyweight title, and going to Europe on a tour with Lex Luger, Sting, Konnan, and more. Jim and Nate talk about the 2003 KOTDM entrance that almost led to them fighting at the show and they try to answer the question of what would have happened if they had joined forces at the height of their powers…was Nate popular enough to turn Jim babyface or was Jim hated enough to turn Nate heel? All that and more on episode 15!
Episode 14 of Fannin’s Flashbacks is LIVE! On this episode, Jim sits down with the 2005 IWA Deep South KOTDM, former IWA Mid South Deathmatch Champion and multiple time former NWA Wildside/Anarchy tag team champion: TANK!
Tank talks about growing up going to wrestling shows with his dad after watching Masked Superstar attack Mr. Wrestling II and then a full circle moment in his life when he got to wrestle the man who portrayed the Masked Superstar on an IWA Mid-South show in 2007! We also talk War Games in IWA compared to the ones he did in NWA Wildside/Anarchy. The turmoil behind the Deep South KOTDM tournament getting shut down by police. What were the differences between working for CZW and working for IWA? The story behind Low Ki taking his Deathmatch title belt at a show since Ian owed Low Ki money. All that and more on this episode.
Episode 13B of Fannin’s Flashbacks is LIVE! On this episode, Jim is still with former 3x IWA Mid South heavyweight champion, former 3x IWA Mid South Tag Team champion, 2002 MAW Hardcore Cup winner, 2006 King of the Death Matches and Jim’s “RIDE OR DIE” partner in professional wrestling, “Mean” Mitch Page. This is the one that we’ve all been waiting for and they recorded so long that we split it into TWO weeks.
On this second installment, the episode starts with Mitch telling the full story behind the clock incident and how it was his fault. While their falling out was not about the clock incident, it is this conversation that led to me reaching out to Pondo after we finished recording and letting him know that now was the time to mend fences and gave him Mitch’s phone number and they have buried the hatchet since this was recorded on New Year’s Day. Give me the next FIFA PEACE PRIZE!!! Mitch talks very candidly about his feud with Corporal Robinson and his true feelings on the matches. Mitch talks about which KOTDM tournament he really wanted to win and how at first he refused to win it in 2006 and how close it came to not happening. We also discuss his ribs on Chris Candido, Too Cold Scorpio, and Buff Bagwell. We also discuss our appreciation to GCW and Brett Lauderdale for putting Mean and Hard into the HOF last summer. All that and more on this part of the episode.
Episode 13A of Fannin’s Flashbacks is LIVE! On this episode, Jim sits down with a former 3x IWA Mid South heavyweight champion, former 3x IWA Mid South Tag Team champion, 2002 MAW Hardcore Cup winner, 2006 King of the Death Matches and Jim’s “RIDE OR DIE” partner in professional wrestling, “Mean” Mitch Page. This is the one that we’ve all been waiting for and they recorded so long that we split it into TWO weeks. On this first installment, Mitch talks about how his Papaw introduced him to professional wrestling, how his buddy in radio introduced him to IWA Mid South, and why he decided to give becoming a professional wrestler a try. Hear the HILARIOUS story of an underage Mitch Page going to a bar to fight a bear and what happened to his buddy Noodle when he went second and broke every single rule that was given on what NOT to do to the bear! Jim and Mitch discuss April Blood Showers 1998…the first time for both of them to get into an IWA ring and be part of an angle as Bull Pain beats both of them into the business and hear how Jim almost died on his very first bump in the ring. Mitch and Jim share some Mark Wolf and Rollin Hard stories as they pay respects to their fallen friends. This part of the episode ends with Mitch Page burying the hatchet with an old friend and ending over 20 years of animosity so it was the perfect way to end part 1. All that and more on this part of the episode.
Episode 12 of Fannin’s Flashbacks is LIVE! On this episode, Jim sits down with former IWA Mid South Heavyweight Champion and the 2005 King of the Death Matches, and a one night only member of the Fannin Family “Mr. Insanity” Toby Klein. How did Toby Klein decide that deathmatch wrestling was a route that he wanted to pursue? How did Toby make it to IWA and what happened that it wasn’t until the second night of the 2000 KOTDM? Toby talks about throwing the VCR at Necro Butcher’s head at 2003 KOTDM, the rematch at 2004 KOTDM when he had a torn ACL, and finally winning in 2005. Memories of Japan and winning the IWA Mid South Heavyweight title in 2006. All that and more on this episode!
Episode 11 of Fannin’s Flashbacks is LIVE! On this episode, Jim sits down with former IWA Mid-South tag team champion, 3x women’s champion, 2006 Queen of the Death Matches Mickie Knuckles! The focus of this podcast is the friendship of Jim and Mickie and the angle that they did in IWA in 2005 leading up to War Games. Go to Jim’s YouTube channel and watch the “Wooing of Mickie Knuckles” playlist to have a feel for most of this podcast. Find out how Mickie got involved in IWA. Chop class. Join the debate…did Tracy Smothers really almost become Mickie’s stepdad? All that and more on this week’s episode.
Disclaimer, this episode was recorded before the news of Mark Wolf’s passing was known.
In early 2005, while leading up to War Games in IWA Mid-South, Jim Fannin tried very unsuccessfully to win the love of Mickie Knuckles. Flowers. Candy. Love songs. Poems. What did Jim Fannin get in return? Several slaps to the face, chocolates smeared in his face, forced to wear a skirt, and knocked out with a shining wizard. The “Wooing of Mickie Knuckles” on the SportsFannin YouTube channel.
I feel bad promoting this week’s episode of #FanninsFlashbacks since it doesn’t include any kind of tribute to Mark Wolf on it but the episode was recorded at beginning of the week and I didn’t have time after the news broke yesterday to do an edit. Tarek Puska deserves to get the same amount of attention and love and the other episodes so forgive me for the “ad.”
Episode 10 of Fannin’s Flashbacks is LIVE! On this episode, Jim sits down with former IWA Mid-South tag team champion and 12x light heavyweight champion, Tarek the Great! What bizarre series of events led to Tarek being in the very first match ever on an IWA Mid South show? Hear Tarek’s perspective on his feud with American Kickboxer. How did Tarek end up taking multiple tours of FMW? What was it like being one of the only ones working IWA Mid South and OVW at the same time? What was it like working against Ian Rotten in a series of matches affectionately dubbed Methlab Battlearts? All that and more on this week’s episode.
It was an honor to sit down this past week with Tarek the Great and talk about his phenomenal in ring career, getting to go on several tours of FMW, wrestling Vampiro in Vampiro’s first appearance in the US outside of California, and of course his tremendous series of matches against American Kickboxer, CM Punk, and the “Methlab BattleArts” showdowns against Ian Rotten. But also definitely give his music a listen. The ClockTowers are putting out tremendous music. Give them a follow and watch the tremendous music videos being done for their singles that have been released. Spread the word. It’s free to follow. Free to share. Get them the attention they deserve for their incredible talent!
Episode 9 of Fannin’s Flashbacks is LIVE! On this episode, Jim sits down with former IWA Mid South icon, “UNCLE HONKEY” Don Broady! How did Don make it onto IWA shows? What caused Don to abruptly quit Danny Davis’ wrestling school? The infamous flaming tables match that happened to be on the same card as Jim’s first wrestling match after 3 years in the business. Don’s memories of competing in the 2000 and 2001 KOTDM. How scary is it wrestling Bull Pain? All that and more on this week’s episode.
Episode 8 of Fannin’s Flashbacks is LIVE! On this episode, Jim sits down with former IWA Mid-South Heavyweight champion, tag team champion, and 4x light heavyweight champion, Mark Wolf! Marky Wolf was the childhood friend of Ian Rotten. What was Ian like as a teenager? Jim and Mark fondly look back on Mark coming to Louisville to reconnect with his childhood friend and becoming the “Sam Houston of IWA Mid-South.” Jim and Mark also talk about all the ways that Marky and Mitch Page would drive Ian insane on road trips which led to Jim having to be the one to go on the road trips instead. What happened the night that Adam Gooch and several others stayed at WrestleHouse Indiana and Adam Gooch’s girlfriends showed up to confront him about it? How crazy did Mark and Harry Palmer drive Todd Morton in The Resistance? And scratching the surface on the famous Mitch Ryder/Mark Wolf feud. All that and more on this week’s episode.
Episode 7 of Fannin’s Flashbacks is LIVE! On this episode, Jim sits down with “The American Danger Man” Mad Man Pondo. Pondo is one of a handful that predates Jim in IWA Midsouth as Pondo started on the first show in the main event of Winter Warz 1996 in January of that year. They talk about Pondo growing up as a wrestling fan, becoming a wrestler, linking up with Ian to become a traveling opponent, Old K-Mart building, getting kicked out of Kentucky armories, working as a talent scout for the Jerry Springer show, going on 49 tours of Japan, the grandfather clock incident, the failed KOTDM tournament in Japan (the real story behind it), Memoirs of a Madman, what Pondo’s been up to lately & so much more on this week’s episode of Fannin’s Flashbacks.
Episode 6 of Fannin’s Flashbacks is LIVE! On this episode, Jim sits down with “Britney Spears Boyfriend” Chuck E Smooth/Chuck Smooth/Paul E. Smooth if ya nasty. Chuck talks about growing up as a fan in the Chicagoland area, being able to watch ECW, USWA & SMW on syndication, finding local shows & finally being trained to be a wrestler. He talks about how he got his start in IWA…..then getting started at “the real” IWA, becoming a light heavyweight champion, demons that followed him during his time in pro wrestling, being friends with people he watched on TV, people he wasn’t fond of & so much more this week on Fannin’s Flashbacks.
Episode 6 of #fanninsflashbacks with Chuck Smooth as the guest.
Corporal Robinson had been bragging behind the scenes about sleeping with Bikini Girl.
Bikini Girl got upset and demanded that the record be set straight so Ian summoned for Corp and demanded that he tell everyone once and for all…did he or did he not sleep with Bikini Girl?
How did Corporal respond?
You’ll need to listen to find out the rest of the story.
Episode 5 of Fannin’s Flashbacks is LIVE! On this episode, Jim sits down with “The Mayor” Rich Wayne. Great friends for the past 28 years that met at IWA Mid-South where both were mistaken for being with the Kentucky State Athletic Commission because they took notes to post results on AOL Grandstand! That friendship grew into late nights at JBoy’s restaurant until 5 am after shows, midnight bowling with Brent Blades and Nick Maniwa, doing a podcast called Seinfeld, Friends, and Wrestling together and going to 25 out of the 30 current MLB stadiums together on their yearly baseball trips together. Hear Rich discuss his friendship with Reckless Youth, putting the IWA softball team together, and being fooled into hauling around a broken trophy thinking it was legitimately the Brawl For All trophy that Bart Gunn received from WWF! Listen to Jim tell the story of sleeping with a WWE HOFer on the very first road trip he did in the wrestling business & so much more this week on Fannin’s Flashbacks!
Episode 4 of Fannin’s Flashbacks is LIVE! On this episode, Jim sits down with the man truly responsible for getting him into the business, Les Johns. College friends that bonded over their love of wrestling, they talk about how Les calling the IWA hotline and leaving a critique of the show ended up with Ian Rotten calling at 3 am to yell at him about the critique. That phone call grew into Les Johns, Ben Rich, and Jim becoming involved in IWA Mid South and bringing shows to Lexington. The release date of this episode (11/7/25) is the 28th anniversary of that debut show in Lexington (11/7/97). So the day before his 49th birthday, Jim celebrates the 28th anniversary of entering the wrestling business. Les and Jim discuss going to ECW fan cons, the 1997 Final Four to watch their Alma mater UK, Starrcade 1995 & 1996, and the 1996 King of the Ring. Where was Jim when Stone Cold Steve Austin was born and debuted the catchphrase Austin 3:16? You have to listen to find out! All that & so much more this week on Fannin’s Flashbacks!
Episode 3 of Fannin’s Flashbacks is LIVE! On this episode, Jim sits down with multiple times over former IWA Midsouth Light Heavyweight champion American Kickboxer. Despite knowing each other for close to 30 years, this podcast & leading up to the recording is the most Jim & AKB have ever talked. They start the conversation with Kickboxer’s start in the business, his training, meeting Les Thatcher, proper training, starting in IWA Midsouth, the Tarek/Kickboxer matches actually being the draw for Jim & his friends to make the trip from Lexington every week and listen to Kickboxer actually make Jim speechless for the first time in his life with an answer about acknowledging what happened in IWA and having gratitude for it. All that & so much more this week on Fannin’s Flashbacks!
Episode 2 of Fannin’s Flashbacks is LIVE! On this episode, I sit down with “The Whole Reffin Show” Brent Blades who served as the IWA senior official from 2000-2003. We talk about starting out in the front row at IWA shows at the old Kmart building and how many eventually got involved on shows, the world famous piss bucket, the infamous snow storm in Morris that wrecked the attendance for CM Punk vs. Eddie Guerrero in 2002 at my old high school, the tomfoolery on the drive thru the show from Indianapolis, how eerily similar our actual wrestling records are in IWA, midnight bingo, midnight bowling, and everything in between. You’d never guess who argued for Brent to make his first payday in the wrestling business, gotta listen to find out who!
Episode 1 of Fannin’s Flashbacks is LIVE! The first episode features a conversation between Jim & his old college buddy Ben Rich as they talk about becoming friends during their time in college at University of Kentucky, finding IWA Midsouth, bringing IWAMS to Lexington and everything in between.
Episode 1 of #FanninsFlashbacks with @benrich6610 dropped on my YT channel. Also on all podcast apps. Episode is right around 1 hour 23 minutes long. So it’s like a Chris Hero vs CM Punk match!
For Episode 2, I recorded with @brentblades. Brent was the whole Reffin’ show and hands down the best damn referee I ever worked with. If you have any questions, please send them on X.
