It’s time for a brand new episode of Shootin The Shiznit. Simon Reed joins Brian Tramel for episode 111. This is the first show in our “Memphis in May” series. Reed talks about starting as a fan, watching Memphis Wrestling, Sting, training with Don Bass, forming the Beale Street Posse, meeting Lil’Chris to form The Posse, BT tells a few Posse stories and much more!

PODCAST: Interviewing Simon Reed

About Shooting the Shiznit

Shootin’ the Shiznit is a weekly 30-minute podcast. Where the host Will Brian Tramel sits down to “shoot the shiznit.” He does so, with wrestling personalities, friends and just people that he finds interesting. Tramel has been a wrestling fan, wrestler, manager, fanzine editor and podcaster in his almost 40 years of wrestling fandom.

Will Brian Tramel

Brian Tramel went to his first wrestling show in August 1978 in Blytheville, Arkansas. It was a Memphis Wrestling spot show. Since then, he’s been a fan ever since. He started in the business as a photographer in 1986 sending photos to Wrestling World and Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Tramel then started a newsletter in the late 1980’s-early 90s called RASSLIN RIOT. It covered tape trading, comedy, and wrestling trips. It was probably more famous for the fun T-shirts it came with than the actual zine.

For example, the “Ultimate Roider” shirt. Subscriber list on that zine was a “who’s who” of current people in wrestling. Brian was also a wrestler for a bit as the BT Express. (He only had about 18 matches). Although, he holds a victory over the infamous “Cowboy” JD McKay. After that, he managed for over five years as “Coach BT.” He was named MSWA Manager of the Year, for two years in a row.

Two of his teams got a tryout for Extreme Championship Wrestling (two days before they went out of business), and a tryout for Power Pro Wrestling as well. Ironically, this happened a week before they went out of business too.

In 2006. He also started a wrestling company called Chaotic Championship Wrestling and promoted shows in Southeast Missouri and Northeast Arkansas. Brian started a blog called Rasslin Riot with a website RASSLINRIOTONLINE.com in 2006 as well. It was a kayfabe site and he was known as “the Dave Meltzer of the Memphis area.” Tramel published five yearbooks during that period of time-based on the website. He closed the site in 2011. He has since re-opened the site back with all the old articles and is now posting all his new podcasts at www.stspod.club.