Met Ox Baker at a house show in Warner Robins Ga. A crowd of us kids ran up to the ropes after Mr. WRESTLING #2 whooped him. He hops out of the ring, looks over at us and gave us all a mean growl. I was so scared (at 6yrs) I couldn't move, everybody else ran. He picked me up, took me to the back and introduced me to all the wrestlers. He then took me back to my dad and told him to keep this little monster under control. Then they laughed.

“ the natives are getting restless “😂

"Just a little more heat Ernie" - OX Baker

Ox Baker scared the shit out of me as a kid. He was horrifying.

We need a Cornys Ernie impressions omnibus 😊

I loved seeing Ox Baker in John Carpenter's Escape from New York.

Ox 🐂 Baker used to live in the same housing development as I did. He’d sit by the clubhouse pool on weekends insulting everyone!😂😆 True heel!

"The natives are getting restless!"

The Natives are getting restless.😂😂😂

That riot footage is a must see. Wow. Those people were ready to kill OX. Watch til the very end. Violent chair shot

Cant help but laugh thinking of Ladd laying there saying " I told you the natives...." while trying to avoid debris but having to sell so he can only roll over a bit..,that last chair shot to baker by the fan was brutal..the dude filming even reacted..

I saw Ox Baker spit right in the face of a little kid looking to get an autograph. Saw it in person ring side. lol

The natives are getting restless lol

I remember when Ox and Ernie were here in Florida and Ox gave Ernie a black eye. "He said to Gordon Solie, I am so sorry, I am sorry I didn't blacken both of them!"

"The natives are getting restless…"

let's be glad Ox didn't try to heart punch Bob Barker when Ox showed up on The Price is Right

The Cleveland riot is, in my opinion, the pinnacle moment for pro grapplin'. If you want to see fans get hot and bothered, there's nothing that tops it.

Just went to watch that riot video......AWESOME!! Thanks Jim !!

Haha just watched the video for this. Loved how Ernie sold it well after sh*t got real, and then just kind of slipped out and left the heels to fend for themselves.

Cyclone Negro... What a name!

I always wanted to see Undertaker use the Mean Mark Heart Punch at least once in WWF/E.

I disagree with Cornette on Ox Baker's heat punch. Yeah, Baker wasn't much of a worker, but I thought his heart punch looked fine.

I will randomly say out loud "The natives are getting restless" in my best Ernie Ladd voice. RIP Ox & Ernie

Ox Baker was on the price is right it's on youtube

There's a point in the riot when they realize, shit how we gonna get outta here

I just saw ox on price is right from back in 1981......won a clock for his wife.

Love Ox Bakers promos, most guys today cant touch his promos.

The first person I saw use the heart punch was Killer Kowalski. I also saw him being interviewed. There was a small table between the seats he and the interviewer were seated on. Killer was asked if wresting was fake... he got mad and raised his arm in the air and broke the table in half!

Cyclone Negro,! dam. I haven't heard that name in decades!

This is the best. Love these old stories. Especially love the Ernie Ladd impression and stories. I wish I was old enough to have watched Ernie when he was active.

5:36 When Jim says Bob Finnegan, did he really mean John Lanigan? Lanigan and Jack Reynolds were perhaps the top broadcasting personalities in Cleveland at the time. Both were on-air hosts at WUAB (Channel 43), where the NWF's TV originated.

Once of my favorite segments from the Drive-Thru.

I could listen to Corny as Ernie Ladd read the back of a cereal box. 🙌🏼💯

That's Real Heat Baby.. That was in 1974 at the Downtown Arena, I'm from Cleveland and that's how it used to be, We calmed down A Little. You Just can't get that kind of Heat Anymore.

Ox Baker got such heat in Australia after he heart punched a babyface into oblivion here that that the papers had to run an update after the tv stations phones melted

What had happened was Ernie had returned to the NWF and was named "Wrestler of the Year". Powers took exception saying he had been there all year and deserved the award. Powers turned heel and Ladd became the babyface. Prior to that Ladd had turned babyface in a feud with NWF Champion Waldo Von Erich and defeated him for the title in Utica, NY. I was at that match which I believe was in June 1973. I was 12 and Big Ernie Ladd was my favorite wrestler. R.I.P. Big Cat.

Undertaker did the heart punch too when he was Mean Mark 🖤💥🤛

I remember watching an episode of The Price Is Right when Ox Baker was a contestant

Thnx Jim. I love seeing my grandpa at his best. I was turned on to you by someone else and well yeah you have a new fan. I see where I get my mouth from 👀👊

The natives getting restless... lmao

I met Ladd once years ago,a real nice guy!

I did find the riot video on KZfaq, wicked.!! the heat Ox Baker generated was so damn real, the crowd totally believed it. That was the time when wrestling was truly awesome.

Jim and brian, keep up the great work!!!👍

I've just seen a clip from October of 1983, Bobby Eaton started a riot in Memphis, he took Jimmy hearts briefcase and threw his money everywhere! Fans instantly stormed the ring, grandmothers, fathers, and small kids clambering into the ring to get some $$$. That was fucking great.

I remember a young Ox when he was a jobber in Detroit with no facial hair

That wasn't the main event?! Lmao wow

I was a young cop at the end of that era, an exciting time was guaranteed if you were working an NWA event. The fans thought it was legit fighting. Great fun memories! But, on a serious note, often Stuff hit the fans and lives were really at risk!

Ox was on the Price is Right

The first time i saw tye heart punch was during the 80's. A WCW wrestler named Mean Mark Callas whose manager was Paul E. Dangerously.

Mean Mark (Undertaker) used to do the heart punch as well.

Man ‘ Boy I Was Afraid of ‘ Baker ‘ When I Was 8’

After calling Ox Baker ugly at a match he turned around and told me I was no Snow White.

In the early 80's, I would watch the Poffo's Lexington territory promotion. Ox Baker was THE heel. His heart punch was over big time back then.

Someone invented it, Texas Red perfected it. That, and the heat seeking missile.

The punch to the heart was considered a special move in Puerto Rico it was only use on special occasions by the Invader 1

Ox Baker was on the price is right

I've been binging on Jim Cornett the past two months. Before bed , when I wake up, pretty much whenever I'm not at work or driving. Which by the way, I need to make it to where I can listen to him in my vehicle instead of my rap music xD. Thank you guys so much for everything yall do. Y'all are so great at keeping me listing especially when I need to be sleeping & I've learned so much I didn't know about wrestling from y'all to where I look up some of the older guys y'all talk about. I'm 27 yo from Cullman Al, & my family always loved wrestling. I absolutely plan on buying some autographed items from you soon & thank y'all again. I can't wait for my notifications to tell me a new video is up 😁😁😁 💙💙💜

When I was a kid (5-6 yo) & before I knew about kayfabe, I used to be so afraid of Ox Baker that when he would come on TV, I was legit acraid he was going to reach out through the TV screen & get me!😂😂😂

“Ox, the Natives are getting restless!” 🤣

Stan Staziak was one of my favorites back when I was a kid!

I saw Cyclone Negro vs Dick Murdoch in Richmond Va. Fucking awesome

Cornette's wrong about this not being a match. I was at Elyria, OH about two weeks before the Cleveland card and they did the same match with the same finish(without the riot) that they did in Cleveland. Powers-Ladd was going around the circuit as the main event during the spring of 1974.

Doug spoke to me about that and told me the opposite story. he told me that Ernie was encouraging him to keep punching him. Doug contents that he didn't want to because he and Johnny Powers were scared as hell and wanted to get out of the ring alive but Ernie was insisting so he kept hitting him until all hell broke loose. Lmao

I have always heard that Doug "Ox" Baker was a helluva nice guy and quite bright. Played college football at either Iowa or Purdue if I recall

I remember Mean Mark Callous used it in WCW. I also forgot about Crush using it.

Ive seen a clip of the riot with Cornettes commentary and its absolute gold

John Studd used the heart punch when he was in the AWA.

If anyone cares, ox baker had a small role in a movie called escape from new york.

Awesome Shoot Today Jim!!😎🐐🐐

I'm on Ox Baker's side on this one. Ernie Ladd was clearly in the wrong here. Ox had to defend himself.

JUST A LITTLE MORE HEAT!!!!!

Stan Stasiak spent some time in GA on Georgia Championship Wrestling with his heart punch there as well--NWA. Saw him wrestle and lose to Mr. Wrestling II.

I saw Cyclone Negro wrestle once in Wichita Kansas probably because his frequent tag partner Omar Atlas was a big favorite there. As for today's fans, They just want hopping around.

Didn't crush rock the heart punch too. I remember it looked terrible

Stan Staisaek was also in Portland with Buddy Rose's army.

That who I want Jim to talk about ole' Thunderbolt Patterson

Gotta agree that Cyclon Negro had the best heartpunch!!

I always thought that The Big Show would be good to use The Claw, or The Heart Punch. 👊

Man this shit was hilarious

The Inoki vs Vader riot was also crazy.

Hey Jim Cornett, do you remember a wrestler called the voodoo kid who was able to reverse the pain when a figure four leg Vine was placed on him. he only wrestled for a short period of time in New York.

Don't forget Joe la duke

I've seen video of this, it really was chaos.

Vince McMoron is probably sitting somewhere, wondering if he could get Ox Baker to show up, and get the WWE some ratings.

Great story!!

The heart punch was more about the psychology. You could work a whole match around that 1 move if you knew what you were doing.

A little more fucking heat... Just a little more heat... The goddamn natives are restless ... For god sakes a little more fucking heat

I got to see Ox Baker in the ring his Heart punch was effective.

You might be able to find a few Cyclone Negro matches in the Southwest Championship collection on here.

Ladd and Baker were two of the all time best.

Douglas (Ox) Baker was on an episode of The Price Is Right with Bob Barker. Can't remember if he won the showcase prize.

Mean Mark Callous is where I remembrr the Heart Punch.

I had the privilege of meeting and working with ox Baker I think Jim cornette needs to reassess his opinion

Luv Jim Cornette--met him once in 1994---fun guy,,,an encyclopedia of wrestling ...the best! Where's the tennis racquet! lol

Just a little more heat

R.I.P. Ox Baker.

Ox Baker was ONE OF THE BEST! I remember right when the Cleveland riot took place. WOW! I thought it was real! Oh yeah. I'm an old timer & never heard of Cyclone Negrone?

Undertaker used the heart punch too

The Cleveland Arena w/ the (Cleveland-based) National Wrestling Federation --- company co-owner and top baby face Johnny Powers had turned heel......and chaos ensued when Ox Baker entered the ring to assist Powers against Ladd. There was so much heat that - if remembering correctly - Powers claimed amnesia at the next TV taping and quickly flipped back to a baby face. The ring announcer was Ronnie Martinez, whose father - Pedro - was also a company co-owner.

That riot video is crazy! I hear about riots at wrestling matches, but to see one is unbelievable.