Grapple City Rewind

Bradley Palermo & Aaron Fink

Step into the time machine and rewind the glory (and the weirdness) of pro wrestling’s VHS era. Hosted by Bradley Palermo and Aaron Fink, Grapple City Rewind dives deep into classic pay-per-views from the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s—unpacking everything from five-star classics to glitter botches, fake Diesels, and forgotten squash matches. Each episode blends play-by-play recaps, backstage trivia, and plenty of sarcastic banter. Sometimes it’s reverence, sometimes it’s ridicule, but it’s always passionate. Whether we’re debating star ratings, laughing at signs, or reliving Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind, we’re here to remind you why you fell in love with wrestling in the first place. We kick off every show with a look at today’s wrestling headlines, then rewind to the pay-per-views that shaped us as fans. Think of it as a tape-trading party with your loudest friends, only with better audio. Want to cut a promo on us? Call 626-657-SLAM and tell us what you loved, hated, or want us to cover next. Grapple City Rewind – part history lesson, part comedy roast, all love for the squared circle.

  1. Icon vs Icon and a Broomstick - WWF WrestleMania X8 (2002)

    MAR 5

    Icon vs Icon and a Broomstick - WWF WrestleMania X8 (2002)

    Hulk Hogan. The Rock. Sixty-eight thousand screaming fans in Toronto. And somehow… a broomstick gets involved. This week on Grapple City Rewind, Bradley Palermo and Aaron Fink head back to WWF WrestleMania X8 (2002) — the strange transitional moment where the Attitude Era crashes head-first into nostalgia. The nWo has arrived, Limp Bizkit is blasting through the arena, and the WWF is suddenly leaning hard on legends again. But nothing on this show matters more than Icon vs Icon: Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs The Rock. What starts as a simple dream match quickly turns into one of the loudest crowd reactions in wrestling history, with Toronto hijacking the entire narrative and accidentally resurrecting Hulkamania in real time. Along the way we also get: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Scott Hall in a beer-soaked brawl with the nWo lurkingRic Flair bleeding buckets against The Undertaker in a brutal fight for the StreakKurt Angle and Kane throwing each other around like refrigeratorsThe chaotic Hardcore Championship insanityNu-metal everywhere you lookAnd one of the weirdest tonal WrestleManias WWE ever producedIt’s legends, blood, nostalgia, and a crowd that refuses to follow the script. Because sometimes WrestleMania history isn’t written by the booking. Sometimes the crowd decides. 🎙️ Grapple City Rewind — where we revisit the wildest, weirdest, and most unforgettable wrestling pay-per-views of the VHS era. This episode brought to you by Weber4Law - your tag team partner when life body-slams you out of nowhere. Call (818) 502-9200 or visit https://weber4law.com/ (626) 657-SLAM Email: Grapplecitypod@gmail.com IG: @grapplecitypod X:  @grapplecitypod TikTok: @grapplecitypod Threads: @grapplecitypod Music by Bradley Palermo & The Shadow Queens. Created by  Bradley Palermo & Aaron Fink.

    1h 15m
  2. Colder Than a Mother-in-Law’s Kiss - WWF Royal Rumble 1998

    JAN 14

    Colder Than a Mother-in-Law’s Kiss - WWF Royal Rumble 1998

    The Attitude Era doesn’t explode overnight — it creaks, leaks, and occasionally catches fire. Royal Rumble 1998 is the moment where everything finally tilts forward. Before the Rumble even starts, Terry Funk and Mick Foley try to kill each other with chairs, chainsaws, and zero regard for OSHA. Stone Cold Steve Austin is a marked man, the NWA briefly wanders onto WWF television to tell everyone to stop having fun, and JR delivers some of the most unhinged one-liners of his career. We break down: Foley becoming the only man to enter one Rumble as three different peopleWhy this match feels more alive than most modern RumblesThe Nation collapsing in real timeKane, caskets, gasoline, and the question: how many times can The Undertaker die?Shawn Michaels doing extremely heel shit while holding the championship together with tapeWhy this might be the most grounded version of the Attitude Era before everything goes completely off the railsIt’s chaotic, funny, occasionally stupid, and full of stakes that actually matter — the Royal Rumble operating exactly as it should. This episode brought to you by Weber4Law - your tag team partner when life body-slams you out of nowhere. Call (818) 502-9200 or visit https://weber4law.com/ (626) 657-SLAM Email: Grapplecitypod@gmail.com IG: @grapplecitypod X:  @grapplecitypod TikTok: @grapplecitypod Threads: @grapplecitypod Music by Bradley Palermo & The Shadow Queens. Created by  Bradley Palermo & Aaron Fink.

    1h 11m
4.5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Step into the time machine and rewind the glory (and the weirdness) of pro wrestling’s VHS era. Hosted by Bradley Palermo and Aaron Fink, Grapple City Rewind dives deep into classic pay-per-views from the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s—unpacking everything from five-star classics to glitter botches, fake Diesels, and forgotten squash matches. Each episode blends play-by-play recaps, backstage trivia, and plenty of sarcastic banter. Sometimes it’s reverence, sometimes it’s ridicule, but it’s always passionate. Whether we’re debating star ratings, laughing at signs, or reliving Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind, we’re here to remind you why you fell in love with wrestling in the first place. We kick off every show with a look at today’s wrestling headlines, then rewind to the pay-per-views that shaped us as fans. Think of it as a tape-trading party with your loudest friends, only with better audio. Want to cut a promo on us? Call 626-657-SLAM and tell us what you loved, hated, or want us to cover next. Grapple City Rewind – part history lesson, part comedy roast, all love for the squared circle.

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