A Book by Bill Apter
I know I just write blog recaps of local wrestling shows, but if there’s one thing I strive to do in this small sliver of the wrestling business, it’s to model myself after the legendary wrestling journalist Bill Apter. I’ve mentioned this a bit here and there, especially when talking with people in the business, but I absolutely despise so-called “dirt sheet” reporting. As a historian-in-training, I believe that people would rather read about what happened at a wrestling show than my opinions on it. After all, who am I? I’m just another fan! I feel there’s something positive in nearly every match, even though some can really test that belief. Being cynical and contrarian to everything just damages the overall product. My goal is to provide recaps that inform and entertain without resorting to unnecessary negativity. I focus on highlighting the action and storytelling that make wrestling shows so compelling. By doing so, I hope to contribute positively to the wrestling community and preserve the history of this dynamic sport as Bill Apter always did.
Bill Apter held this exact same view, and he elaborates on this a lot in his 2015 book, Is Wrestling Fixed? I Didn’t Know It Was Broken! – From Photo Shoots and Sensational Stories to the WWE Network – My Incredible Pro Wrestling Journey! and Beyond … which I have just completed. Apter saw the rise of the dirt sheets and fought back on their relevance in the business alongside similar practices like seedy “apartment wrestling” photoshoots. He knew that stuff like that, as well as fully exposing the inner workings of the business would cause problems, and never dove into those trends. Apter had a unique career that started in the late 1960’s up to today (he’s largely retired now), and saw multiple waves of wrestling popularity come and go. This book is a series of stories in no particular order, that span that whole career, and it’s definitely a book worth reading!
“As a kid growing up in New York in the late ’50s, Bill Apter fell in love with professional wrestling, and it wasn’t long before he was rubbing shoulders with the greats as a young reporter and photographer. He’s since become the world’s best-known wrestling magazine personality, and he’s had professional and personal relationships with a who’s-who of the business, like Triple H, Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Sting, and Ric Flair.”
These stories delve into every possible nook and cranny of Apter’s career, describing what it was like to work in a magazine, how to navigate the big personalities that wrestlers often have, his business relationships and sources, his contributions to wrestling history (such as introducing Jerry Lawler and Andy Kaufman), and the history of his legendary Championship Office Wrestling title, which he often humorously defended throughout the years. Some truly crazy things happened to him in his career, and in my opinion, he never really gets the credit he deserves in modern times.
This book is perfect to pick up and read a chapter here and there. It’s not too heavy in terms of content. While Bill does touch on topics such as death and people he doesn’t like, this isn’t a blistering exposé. All of the stories come across more like funny anecdotes, and you can tell Bill has a great sense of humor. Too many wrestling books have a tendency to turn into shoot interviews, with the writer attacking people who wronged them in the past, but thankfully that isn’t the case here.
I absolutely loved this book and am annoyed that it took me this long to finally read it. Bill Apter is a figure that the wrestling media should strive to emulate, though I feel that putting the proverbial “toothpaste back in the tube” will be hard. For a man with such a storied career, I’m hopeful he finds time to do another installment. However, if he feels he has said everything here, this book still stands as a great addition to any professional wrestling fan’s bookshelf.
ECW Press ALWAYS makes great wrestling books, including The Wrestlers’ Wrestlers: The Masters of the Craft of Professional Wrestling, Blood and Fire: The Unbelievable Real-Life Story of Wrestling’s Original Sheik, Wreslecrap, and the classic The Death of WCW, just to name a few. To see all these and more that I’ve read, click HERE.