Beyond Ringside is a project that I first came up with back in the late 90's. I wanted to create a radio show that would help to spotlight Independent and Localized Pro Wrestling... as well as give Wrestling Fans a place to have their voice heard. I found out, over the years, that Wrestling fans are Very Loyal, Very Passionate, and Very Outspoken. I had already done some On-Air work with Guff Grayson and Alexis Carrera while the station was still top-40 based. In the latter days of "Z-92Five" I started putting the project together to build a Wrestling/Sports Talk - Uptempo Music Hybrid... and went to Loyd Riley and asked him what he thought of it. Loyd thought the idea was cool enough to gain traction with the listener base of the station.. and we both went to the owner of the station and pitched the idea. He liked it, and gave me the green light. Two weeks after that.. Beyond Ringside was born and debuted on WZJT-FM Planet Rock 92.5 in Birmingham on Saturday Mornings. It started out as One Hour... Grew to Two hours and then to a Four Hour show. Alexis had a great opporunity come up, and I let her know that the door was always open. I found another good friend named Doug McGary and he came onboard as ZenMaster DMC. Add to that mix a Pro Wrestling Promoter with whom I had been speaking for a while... Dan Sawyer. Dan came onboard as his schedule allowed. Loyd split time between On-Air and Marketing/Sales for the show and we launched that rocket. And A Good Time was had by all. As Time went by.. another good friend, Chase Pearson, came on board part-time and brought even more fun to the table. |
Beyond Ringside at WZJT-FM: L-R Guff Grayson, Alexis Carrera, Yours Truly, Maddog Dan Sawyer. {Not pictured: "ZenMaster DMC" Doug McGary, "Late Nite" Loyd Riley, "High Speed" Chase Pearson} |
We had some great times in both the Z-92Five and Planet Rock studios... And it wasn't uncommon for us to have some guests come by on occasion. Below: Some of the gang from the International Wrestling Union Front: Black Jabroni Boy (a.k.a. Dark Gable), Frost Standing: ZenMaster DMC, Sweet Daddy, Yours Truly, Guff Grayson, "The Highlander" Johnny Walker |
We had a great run on 92.5. All the way up until the time when the station was purchased. Finding out about that actually came in the form of a phone call on a Friday Morning. We moved to the Alabama Radio Network and went Satellite Syndication. Mike Wood and the entire crew at A.R.N. was tremendous to all of us. BR quickly grew from 1 station the first week.. to 9 stations the 4th week. Through a few different incarnations and through a number of different cast members.. The Website has continued to enjoy great success. |
At The A.R.N. Studios in 2000 Pictured: L-R "HitMan BDC" Ryan Adcock, "The UnderStudy" Rogers Alley, "Maddog" Dan Sawyer, Yours Truly,"The Man Called Evil" Adam Smith. (Not Pictured: Guff Grayson, Chase Pearson, Doug McGary) |
Below: Mike Wood (seated), Late Nite Loyd Riley (standing) |
Below: From 2002: Front Row: "The Understudy" Rogers Alley, "ZenMaster DMC" Doug McGary 2nd Row: Evil, Me, Hitman |
From later in 2002: Evil, "The Horsemen's Advocate" Andy Hudson, Me, Hitman |
We had all the potential in the world... and Loyd was damn good when it came to marketing and sales. We had ever major city in the state... except for Birmingham. The Program Directors in our home town were too narrow in their field of view to take a chance on the show. Then and Now... if it ain't Alabama or Auburn football... they won't take a chance on it. And Without the largest Metropolitan area in the state... it was kinda hard to draw the advertisers we needed to stay on the bird. Mike and the crew from A.R.N. were great... and we all hoped that the run would have been even longer than it was. Since the return... The show has seen and heard the advent of new voices and personalities, some full-time members of "The Ringside Roundtable", such as Mark "MaBo" Bowman, "The Wicked Nemesis", and Brooks Logan. A lot of the familiar voices... Andy, Chase, Evil, Hitman, and Guff... have rotated in and out with the family. (Brooks has currently stepped away from full-time on air.. but.. have been known to come on from time to time.) In the time that BR has been back full scale... We've had Stars, SuperStars, and Legends come on board for interviews. Just a few of the many names are Dan "The Beast" Severn, Ivan Koloff, Ray Mercer, Jerry "The King" Lawler, Angel Orsini, Geoff Desmoulin from "Deadliest Warrior", "Scrap Iron" Adam Pearce, Hector Camacho Jr., "The IronMan" Rob Conway, Christie Ritchie, Coolio, Jim Cornette, The Midnight Express, Austin Idol, and many more. We've also opened our doors to Promoters from many different sports... Wrestling, MMA, Boxing, Roller Derby and More. |
At the M.C.O. Studios in 2010: L-R ...um... well... Look at the picture... it will tell you. |
Below: From February 2012: Beyond Ringside On the Road in Carrolton, Georgia at Peachstate Wrestling Alliancee L-R: Mark "MaBo" Bowman, Pauly Wells, Yours Truly, Wicked Nemesis |
Below: From March 2012 in Munford. Alabama Me, Mark "MaBo" Bowman, Wicked Nemeis, Brooks Logan |
The Line up from Early 2014 : Tasha Simone, Ted Guinness, Wicked Nemesis, Yours Truly. (Not pictured: Mark "MaBo" Bowman) |
September 21, 2014 - The Unholy Trinity is back at it. |
You can find Beyond Ringside Wrestling/MMA Sports Radio LIVE on Sundays at 5:30 CT on BeyondRingside.com, TuneInRadio, The TuneIn Radio App, Our Ustream site, Ustream's Mobile App for Apple, Android and Blackberry. I have a online station that stays active 24/7 playing recent complete episodes and interviews. The Online Replay (Podcast) is available at beyondringside.podomatic.com, iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher. Archive.org |
(This page is a project in progress. As I find more pictures... I'll add them) |