When It Was Real

About When It Was Real

Step into the squared circle of yesteryear with When It Was Real, the ultimate throwback podcast for fans of the golden era of professional wrestling. Each week, this deep-dive audio experience transports listeners to the gritty, unfiltered days of the 1970s World Wide Wrestling Federation, when larger-than-life characters and blood-and-guts rivalries captivated fans and made wrestling feel real. Hosted by two of wrestling’s most passionate historians, When It Was Real is your ringside seat to the past: 🎙️ Nikita Breznikov – Noted WWWF historian, author, actor, and former wrestling manager whose encyclopedic knowledge and firsthand experience bring authenticity and color to every tale. 🎙️ Benny “The Playa” Scala – Acclaimed pro wrestling author and podcaster, whose wit and warmth shine through as he recalls the matches, promos, and personalities that shaped a generation. Together, Nikita and Benny guide you through the smoky arenas, unforgettable promos, and dramatic moments that defined the WWWF in the 1970s—when kayfabe was king, the belts were hard-earned, and the crowd reactions were pure electricity. Whether you remember watching Bruno Sammartino defend his title at the Garden, or you’re just discovering the legends of the past, When It Was Real delivers a heartfelt, intelligent, and often humorous look at the era that made pro wrestling a cultural phenomenon. 📻 Tune in every Wednesday at 7 PM Eastern Time for a nostalgic ride on the Wrestling Wayback Machine—because there was a time when it was real.

Publisher

bennyjscala

Category

sports

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

10 Jul 2025

Latest episode

29 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

84 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   29 Oct 2026

   When It Was Real - Episode 87 - Madison Square Garden - October 22, 1979

   WHEN IT WAS REAL – EPISODE 87 MADISON SQUARE GARDEN – OCTOBER 22, 1979! 🚨 THREE CHAMPIONSHIPS! LEGENDARY SUPERSTARS! ONE EPIC NIGHT AT THE MECCA OF PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING! 🚨 🎙️ LIVE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28 AT 7:30 PM ET! 📺 ONLY ON THE PLAYA ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK! 🔥 THE WRESTLING WAYBACK MACHINE IS FIRED UP AND READY TO ROLL! 🔥 This week, Nikita Breznikov and Benny "The Playa" Scala turn back the hands of time to October 22, 1979, as we return to the World's Most Famous Arena, MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, for another spectacular night of old-school professional wrestling! And WHAT A CARD we've got for you! 🏆 WWF WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP! The exciting new combination of Tito Santana and "Polish Power" Ivan Putski sets its sights on championship gold as they challenge Johnny and Jerry Valiant! Can youth and Polish Power overcome the experience and underhanded tactics of the champions? 🏆 WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP! The crafty and controversial Pat Patterson puts his coveted Intercontinental Championship on the line against a young, hungry superstar destined for greatness, Ted DiBiase! Long before he became the infamous "Million Dollar Man," DiBiase was already making waves inside the squared circle! 🏆 WWF WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP! And in our MAIN EVENT, reigning WWF Champion Bob Backlund faces a mountain of a challenge in the rugged, rawboned Swede Hanson! Can the All-American Boy withstand the punishment dished out by one of wrestling's roughest competitors, or will Hanson pull off the upset of a lifetime? 💥 THREE TITLE MATCHES! A ROSTER LOADED WITH LEGENDS! AND THE MAGIC OF MADISON SQUARE GARDEN! 💥 Nobody brings the golden era of professional wrestling back to life quite like Nikita and Benny! From the unforgettable personalities to the classic rivalries, the championship battles, and the memories that made us fall in love with professional wrestling, it's all here! So grab your ringside seat, buckle up, and join Nikita and Benny as they take command of THE WRESTLING WAYBACK MACHINE! 📅 Wednesday, October 28, 2026 ⏰ 7:30 PM Eastern 📺 LIVE on The Playa Entertainment Network! 👍 PLEASE LIKE, SHARE, SUBSCRIBE, AND SPREAD THE WORD! Because our destination is ALWAYS the same... 🚀 THE WRESTLING WAYBACK MACHINE... 🎯 DESTINATION: WHEN IT WAS REAL!!! 🎯 #WhenItWasReal #Episode87 #ThePlayaEntertainmentNetwork #BennyThePlayaScala #NikitaBreznikov #MadisonSquareGarden #WWF #OldSchoolWrestling #ClassicWrestling #WrestlingHistory #BobBacklund #SwedeHanson #TitoSantana #IvanPutski #MrFuji #ProfessorTanaka #PatPatterson #TedDiBiase #MillionDollarMan #WWFChampionship #WrestlingLegends #GoldenEraOfWrestling #1979Wrestling #WrestlingWaybackMachine

2. 

   22 Oct 2026

   When It Was Real - Episode 86 - Madison Square Garden - October 24, 1977

   🔥 WHEN IT WAS REAL – EPISODE 86! 🔥 🏟️ MADISON SQUARE GARDEN – OCTOBER 24, 1977! 🚨 TEXAS DEATH MATCH! SUPERSTAR BILLY GRAHAM vs. DUSTY RHODES! 🚨 🎙️ LIVE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21 AT 7:30 PM ET!📺 THE PLAYA ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK! THE MECCA OF PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING! THE GARDEN! NEW YORK CITY! AND TWO OF THE BIGGEST, BADDEST, MOST CHARISMATIC SUPERSTARS TO EVER STEP THROUGH THE ROPES! This week, Nikita Breznikov and Benny "The Playa" Scala fire up the engines of the Wrestling Wayback Machine and set the destination for Madison Square Garden on October 24, 1977! And WHAT A NIGHT OF WRESTLING IT WAS! Another spectacular card, LOADED with legendary names, future Hall of Famers, and the kind of old-school action that made professional wrestling the greatest spectacle on earth! 💥 THE MAIN EVENT IS A WAR OF EPIC PROPORTIONS! 💥 The flamboyant, muscle-bound, silver-tongued REIGNING WWWF WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION, SUPERSTAR BILLY GRAHAM, puts his coveted championship on the line against his bitter archrival, the one and only "AMERICAN DREAM" DUSTY RHODES! And this isn't just ANY championship encounter, ladies and gentlemen! ⚡ IT'S A TEXAS DEATH MATCH! ⚡ TWO LEGENDS! ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP! NO LOVE LOST! NO QUARTER ASKED AND NONE GIVEN! Can the son of a plumber from Austin, Texas, realize his American Dream and dethrone the mighty Superstar? Or will Billy Graham once again prove why he sits atop the professional wrestling mountain? Nikita and Benny will break down all the action, the personalities, the rivalries, and the unforgettable atmosphere of professional wrestling's golden era! This is the wrestling we grew up with! The wrestling we loved! The wrestling that made us fans for LIFE! 🎙️ JOIN NIKITA AND BENNY LIVE, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21 AT 7:30 PM ET, EXCLUSIVELY ON THE PLAYA ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK! 👍 PLEASE LIKE, SHARE, AND SUBSCRIBE! And don't forget to join the conversation in our LIVE CHAT! Because EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT, Nikita and Benny take you on a journey to a time when champions were larger than life, rivalries were personal, and Madison Square Garden was the CENTER OF THE WRESTLING UNIVERSE! 🚂 THE WRESTLING WAYBACK MACHINE IS READY TO ROLL! DESTINATION... WHEN IT WAS REAL! 🔔 #WhenItWasReal #Episode86 #SuperstarBillyGraham #DustyRhodes #TheAmericanDream #TexasDeathMatch #MadisonSquareGarden #WWWF #OldSchoolWrestling #ClassicWrestling #WrestlingHistory #1977Wrestling #NikitaBreznikov #BennyThePlayaScala #ThePlayaEntertainmentNetwork #WrestlingLegends #WWEHallOfFame #WrestlingWaybackMachine

3. 

   15 Oct 2026

   When It Was Real - Episode 85 - Madison Square Garden - October 23, 1978

   🚨 WHEN IT WAS REAL – EPISODE 85! 🚨 🔥 MADISON SQUARE GARDEN – OCTOBER 23, 1978! 🔥 📅 LIVE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2026⏰ 7:30 PM ET📺 THE PLAYA ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK 🎙️ NIKITA BREZNIKOV & BENNY "THE PLAYA" SCALA THE GARDEN IS ROCKIN'! THE LEGENDS ARE READY! AND THE GOLD IS ON THE LINE! Ladies and gentlemen, wrestling fans of ALL AGES...fasten your seatbelts, because the Wrestling Wayback Machine is fired up and ready to take you back to an era when professional wrestling was larger than life, champions were larger than legends, and MADISON SQUARE GARDEN was the center of the wrestling universe! This week, Nikita Breznikov and Benny "The Playa" Scala turn back the hands of time to OCTOBER 23, 1978, for another SPECTACULAR night of World Wide Wrestling Federation action from the MECCA OF PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING! 💥 TEN MATCHES! THREE FORMER WWWF CHAMPIONS! ONE UNFORGETTABLE NIGHT! 💥 🏆 THE MAIN EVENT – A BATTLE OF ROYALTY! Reigning WWWF Heavyweight Champion BOB BACKLUND puts his coveted championship on the line against one of the biggest, baddest, most intimidating men ever to step inside the squared circle...the legendary "BIG CAT" ERNIE LADD! One man wears the championship crown...the other carries himself like a KING! Will Backlund's youth, strength, and scientific wrestling ability prevail, or will the towering Big Cat claw his way to the richest prize in professional wrestling? 🔥 AND THAT'S NOT ALL, FOLKS! In a confrontation worthy of MAIN EVENT STATUS anywhere in the world, two of wrestling's greatest champions COLLIDE! 🇮🇹 "THE LIVING LEGEND" BRUNO SAMMARTINO vs. SUPERSTAR BILLY GRAHAM! 💪 The history! The hatred! The unfinished business! Just one year earlier, Superstar Billy Graham shocked the wrestling world by ending Bruno Sammartino's historic second WWWF Championship reign! Now, these two legendary warriors are back in the same ring, in the same building where so much wrestling history was made! Will Bruno extract a measure of revenge, or will the flamboyant Superstar once again prove that he has the Living Legend's number? And that's just TWO of the TEN incredible matches on this action-packed card! THIS ISN'T JUST ANOTHER WRESTLING SHOW...THIS IS A WRESTLEMANIA-LEVEL SPECTACULAR BEFORE WRESTLEMANIA EVEN EXISTED! 🎙️ Join Nikita and Benny as they relive the matches, the personalities, the rivalries, and the unforgettable atmosphere of professional wrestling's GOLDEN ERA! No scripts to memorize! No Hollywood theatrics! Just larger-than-life personalities, legendary rivalries, and the magic of OLD-SCHOOL PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING! 📺 LIVE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14 AT 7:30 PM ET!ONLY ON THE PLAYA ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK! 👍 PLEASE LIKE, SHARE, SUBSCRIBE, AND JOIN THE CONVERSATION! Because every Wednesday night, Nikita and Benny invite you to climb aboard the WRESTLING WAYBACK MACHINE, buckle up, and travel back to that special place in time... ⏳ DESTINATION: WHEN IT WAS REAL! ⏳ #WhenItWasReal #Episode85 #ThePlayaEntertainmentNetwork #BennyThePlayaScala #NikitaBreznikov #MadisonSquareGarden #WWWF #BobBacklund #ErnieLadd #BrunoSammartino #SuperstarBillyGraham #OldSchoolWrestling #ClassicWrestling #WrestlingHistory #1978Wrestling #GoldenAgeOfWrestling #WrestlingLegends #ProfessionalWrestling #WrestlingWaybackMachine #WrestlingPodcast

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Contact When It Was Real

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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