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Is Wrestling Fixed? I Didn't Know It Was Broken: From Photo Shoots and Sensational Stories to the WWE Network, Bill Apter's Incredible Pro Wrestling Journey
280Overview
The anticipated memoir from a sports entertainment fandom legend
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.
In his fun-loving memoir, Bill Apter takes us from the dressing rooms of the Bruno Sammartino era and the last days of the territories, to the birth of WrestleMania, the emergence of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and the “Attitude Era,” to today’s WWE Superstars like John Cena, Daniel Bryan, and Roman Reigns. He also shares stories of his days photographing boxing stars like Muhammad Ali and other champions, and he documents his appearances on the WWE Network and his work as editor of 1wrestling.com.
Find out which wrestler threatened him, learn about the dead wrestler who was really alive, and discover how hanging out with Andy Kaufman led to the comic’s notorious feud with Jerry “The King” Lawler.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781770411548 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | ECW Press |
| Publication date: | 10/13/2015 |
| Pages: | 280 |
| Sales rank: | 779,215 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d) |
About the Author
From his days as a magazine writer, photographer, broadcaster, wrestling convention host, and special guest on hundreds of wrestling TV programs, Bill Apter has become a legend in his chosen field. His career spans an amazing 50 years and is still going strong. Bill is a native of New York City, currently living with his family in the ’burbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Read an Excerpt
Is Wrestling Fixed? I Didn't Know It Was Broken!
From Photo Shoots and Sensational Stories to the WWE Network â" My Incredible Pro Wrestling Journey ... and Beyond
By Bill Apter
ECW PRESS
Copyright © 2015 Bill ApterAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-77041-154-8
CHAPTER 1
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO START AGAIN
I was enjoying lunch with my wife and son at Philadelphia's XFINITY Live! restaurant on a beautiful, sunny Wednesday afternoon in early September 2014. Halfway though the meal I felt nature calling and excused myself. Down a long corridor leading from my table, I bumped into an acquaintance I had not seen in years.
"Bill Apter, how the hell are you?" he said. Then, before I could reply he asked, "I guess you retired? It's nice to see you again." I followed him as he rushed away. When I caught up, I tapped him on the back. He politely turned, and I could tell he was in a hurry, but I had to tell him, "I'm not retired. As a matter of fact I'm doing more now in the wrestling business than I ever did. I'm still with 1Wrestling.com, doing appearances on the WWE Network, writing semi-regularly for WWE.com, appearing at wrestling conventions, helping persons with disabilities find quality employment and entertaining at senior homes. I am not retired, and I never want to be retired. I love what I do."
"Really? You're doing stuff for WWE? Cool!" Then he shook my hand, patted me on the back and left.
This scenario plays out a few times a month. People can't fathom I've been in this business for 45 years. Even when I saw the Great Muta at a TNA show in New York City and did an interview with him, he asked, on camera, "You're still alive?"
Thanks to a guy named Eric Paulen, and another guy named Paul Levesque, I feel like I'm just getting started again in the world of sports entertainment.
* * *
Let me explain.
In late 2012, I took a huge slap in the face. No one physically did anything to me, but it still hurt. I was backstage at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia at a WWE Raw show. Going up and down the corridors, I saw a few people coming out of a makeshift studio. One of them was Stu Saks, who is a dear friend and the publisher of my old home, Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Being curious, I asked what he was doing. Stu explained that WWE was producing a DVD that would chronicle and celebrate its 50th anniversary, and he was interviewed for the project. To say I was envious is an understatement. I was happy about Stu's participation, yet deep down it really hurt that I wasn't included. I had been out in the trenches since 1970, photographing matches, conducting interviews and making relationships that would last forever. I was there when Bruno Sammartino lost the World Wide Wrestling Federation title to Ivan Koloff. I was there when WWWF became WWE. I talked regularly with Vince McMahon Sr. I knew everyone, I had no enemies — or at least none that I was aware of — so why wasn't I part of this historical DVD or even the book that came out to coincide with it? Hell, I'm a reporter — a journalist — so I decided to investigate.
I telephoned a few of my contacts in WWE, and one of them said he would contact the people who produced it and get back to me. In a matter of hours I had the answer. I was told whoever was working on the project really didn't know that much about what I had done in the business. The producers knew about Pro Wrestling Illustrated and went that route. I was told it was "an oversight," and I would be called upon for future projects. My name was now on their radar.
Around the same time, I received a call from a friend named Eric Paulen, who is a filmmaker, producer, director and anything else you can think of when it comes to moving images. I first met Eric when he produced some amazing footage for a few WrestleReunion conventions I hosted. Coincidentally, at the time of the call, he had recently been hired by WWE as a producer for the fledgling WWE Network. He was involved in putting together a few shows that included The Monday Night War, WrestleMania Rewind and WWE Countdown. They had a bevy of talent coming in for weeks and were doing on-camera "talking head"-style interviews for the show.
At one point, he asked one of the other producers, "Why haven't you had Bill Apter come in here yet?" He was met with, "Who?" They then said they had no idea where to contact me.
This is no knock, but these producers were not longtime "wrestling people," and they had no clue where I fit into the scheme of wrestling's history. They knew all the current talent base but not much about the time when I was in my prime.
After looking at the thousands of Bill Apter bits on the internet, Eric called me and invited me to be a part of some of the shows. I was thrilled; I was finally working for WWE in a capacity I always wanted — on camera, as part of the WWE broadcast world.
The next day, I sent Eric a thank-you email. For some reason, I thought I should send one to Triple H (Paul Levesque), as I know he oversees almost everything in the company.
I expressed to Triple H that I always wanted to be on the broadcast end of WWE, and these appearances for the network made that dream come true. He shot an email back that read, "On that note, I have an idea and eventually we'll talk about it." I filed that away somewhere in my brain. I didn't know if it was a line or whether it might go somewhere one day.
Not long after that, the DVD department called asking me to come in and be part of a few upcoming projects. To date I have appeared in several of them. I was part of the Paul Heyman DVD. It was my first appearance, other than old footage of me presenting awards on behalf of PWI. Next I was brought in to tell my part of the Jerry Lawler versus Andy Kaufman story for a DVD called It's Good to Be the King, and I also hosted an entire segment about Haystacks Calhoun for the True Giants DVD. Forty-five years in the business and I was finally part of an official WWE DVD.
In mid-2013, I was back at the Wells Fargo Center for a live Monday Night Raw. I walked into the catering area to schmooze with the talent. While there, I noticed Rob Bernstein, the head of WWE.com. I had met Rob a few times in the past and we kept in touch, and I always hinted that I would love to write or do video interviews for the site. He waved me over to his small table and asked if I had a minute to talk.
"Paul [Triple H] and I had a meeting about a few things a week or two ago, and he mentioned he would like you to contribute to WWE.com when you have time," he said. I couldn't believe it. I was on the network, appeared in a few DVDs and, not long after the meeting, started contributing to the website on a semi-regular basis. Another dream come true!
WWE doors seemed to be opening for me at lightning pace. Just days after author Brian Shields called me and asked for a quote he could use in the 30 Years of WrestleMania book, a huge opportunity came. In late May 2013, I received a call from Randy Helms, Triple H's executive assistant at that time. He told me that "Hunter" wanted to personally invite me to the grand opening of the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Although there would be a lot of other press there, Randy assured me that Hunter had only personally extended the invite to a chosen few. That incredible event happened in June and I was allowed to do interviews with Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and others. It also gave me face time with a lot of the top WWE brass and superstars.
A few weeks before WrestleMania XXX, I was invited by a few WWE executives to WrestleMania and the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. One of the emails I received around this time was from Jane Geddes, Triple H's "right-hand person." A total professional, Ms. Geddes told me that Paul wanted to discuss an idea with me. I told her that I would be at the WrestleMania press conference at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City and perhaps we could talk there.
That day was a zoo, with tons of press and fans around. We connected only once. As he was leaving the stage at the end of the press conference, he saw me, walked over, shook my hand and said, "I'll call you in a few weeks. It was just too hectic to talk today."
In late May, I was driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike one evening and my cell phone rang. It was Karra, one of Triple H's executive assistants. She told me Paul was on the line and wanted to talk. I pulled off the road and onto the shoulder as fast as I could. My heart was racing.
"Apter, listen, remember I told you I had an idea? Well here's what I'd like to do. I want to shoot a pilot show in Florida with you interviewing some of the legends. I'm not sure about the format, but I want to at least see what this looks like with you on our TV and how you interact with the talent." He went on to tell me that someone would arrange to send me to Orlando to tape the interviews on the day of the NXT taping. Before our conversation ended he said, "Let's do this and see what happens. It has to go through the proper channels and that could take some time after it's shot and edited."
In the early morning of June 11, I was picked up at home in a limo, brought to the Philadelphia airport and landed in Orlando a little over two hours later. Our pilot show-taping was scheduled for June 12.
I was taken to the WWE Performance Center, where I spent a few hours hanging out with NXT and WWE talent and trainers. I was supposed to go to the hotel but was told that the taping would be one hour later (and one day earlier than the taping was scheduled) and that things had to be rearranged. I was told that I would be doing three different segments: one with Dusty Rhodes (topic: Starrcade), another with Terry Taylor (subject: Mid-South Wrestling) and the final one with Larry Zbyszko (about: Bruno Sammartino). For the third one, Renee Young would be brought into the mix to see how a three-way interview would work, just in case the one-on-one wasn't smooth enough.
Before I could even think about what was happening, I was whisked into a makeshift studio with a dozen or more crew and the expert direction of Chris Chambers and Michael Cole. I changed from my jeans and shirt into a suit, was brushed with some makeup and then it was onto the set where I was seated face-to-face with Dusty Rhodes. I was told to spend about 10 to 15 minutes with Dusty.
Here was my moment. Chris Chambers pointed to me and I was on. I heard myself say, "For the WWE Network, this is Bill Apter" — and then I stopped suddenly. I wasn't nervous, and I hadn't frozen on camera. I just could not believe what I heard myself saying. I tried a second time and again it happened. Finally on the third take I got into my rhythm and was going full force. After about 15 minutes and a hearty round of applause from the crew, pilot segment number one was complete. This was followed by another good segment with Terry Taylor, and finally Zbyszko with my cohost Renee Young.
When it was all over, Michael Cole came over to say how good he thought the segments went. Then Chris Chambers and the other members of the crew all had nice things to say. It felt really good.
The next day I was a guest at the NXT taping. It was there I got to talk to Triple H. He told me he heard it went really well (as did his "gal Friday" Jane Geddes and WWE agent/talent scout Michael Hayes). Triple H told me he would be in touch. He added, "No promises, Bill. We will see what happens."
No matter what the decision is, I cannot thank him enough for making a real dream come true.
While people my age are retiring, I am just starting again.
"For the WWE Network, this is Bill Apter ..."
I really love the sound of that.
CHAPTER 2ATTACKED!
Wrestlers are much bigger than me.
That doesn't stop them from manhandling me like I'm a heavyweight. Either spontaneous or planned, most of the attacks have not been much fun. They did, however, make for very colorful and highly interesting stories.
Abdullah the Butcher holds the record for number of attacks.
The first incident was in 1971, during a dressing-room visit at the Utica War Memorial Auditorium in Upstate New York. Abdullah was sitting on a bench taping his hands with long rolls of gauze. Standing near him was his manager for the night "Beautiful" Bruce Swayze.
"Hey, wrestling photographer," Swayze called as he waved me over. "Can I have your camera for a minute?" I introduced myself to him and he said, "Oh great. The magazine readers will love this." I had no idea what he was talking about until a moment later. He requested that I lie down on the floor, and told Abdullah to pose over me to make it look like the "Madman from the Sudan" was attacking me. "The readers will go nuts when they see this," he assured me. I was game. After all, it was a still photo.
I lay down on the hard, cold concrete floor near a set of lockers while Abdullah searched for something in the dressing room. Swayze moved back to make sure he would get both Abdullah and me in the frame. As I lay there waiting, I saw Abdullah approach me with a huge metal garbage can. He held it high above my head and looked like he was going to crash it right into me. Swayze yelled, "Freeze you two, this is a great shot!" The flash went off about three times as he shot the photo from a few different angles. He smiled and said, "Great!" At that moment, Abdullah followed through and tossed the can on me, full force, laughing as it hit. Damn, it really hurt. He put out his hand to help me get up and laughed as he said, "That was good, kid!" He patted me on the shoulder, went back to the bench and put a huge cigar in his mouth. He looked like a gigantic bully sucking on a lollipop after beating up some nerd. Swayze gave me back my camera, I put it in my bag and was just about to leave the dressing room when Abdullah (in broken English, of course) said, "See you at ringside. Be careful. Sometimes I lose myself out there and even attack the ringside photographers!" I was absolutely terrified less than an hour later when his match against Tex McKenzie spilled out of the ring. Abdullah looked across the ring to where I was and began chasing me! Luckily, as I saw my entire life flash before me, I ran into the audience. I had never been so scared — until the next time he got me ...
It was in Atlanta many years later. Abdullah was wrestling Tony Atlas. This time "Abby" not only chased me, he caught me. As I shot photos, Abdullah reached for me and pulled my head into the ring apron. His near 400-pound body was crushing as he punched me on the top of the head. I finally worked my way out and was about to run away when he grabbed my tie and pulled me back. Then, he started eating my tie! I quickly untied it and it slipped from my neck, and he put the whole thing in his mouth. That was it. I ran back to the dressing-room area for safety. The few wrestlers who were watching the match from behind the curtain were laughing, but I certainly was not. He hurt me — and ruined a perfectly good tie. Another photographer around the ring, Emmy Yates, got a photo of him trying to yank my head off. On the way out of the arena, fans treated me as though I was a hero — just for being attacked by Abdullah! I was "over" in Atlanta.
In a Detroit hotel room in the early '70s, I was doing an audio tape interview with Pampero Firpo. I also had a photographer with me. Before I started the interview, Firpo was such a sweet, soft-spoken, pussycat kind of guy. As soon as I pressed the record button, he became the "superior animal" he always professed he was. Just five minutes into the interview I asked him if he thought he could beat the NWA, WWWF or AWA World champions. He growled, "What you mean do I tink? Meester Reporter, I could beat dem. I know I can beat dem!" At that moment, he grabbed my shirt and began tugging at it until a few buttons flew off. He held my shirt until he was sure the photographer got the right shot. I kept the recording going. When I finally ended the interview, he went back to that nice, soft-spoken guy. He apologized and offered to buy me a steak in the hotel restaurant. I turned him down. Those few minutes rattled me a bit, and I just wanted to go back to my room and put on a different shirt.
* * *
George "Crybaby" Cannon was another one who really got heated during interviews. In 1975, in a Florida hotel (Cannon was working as a manager there for Pedro Martinez's IWA promotion), we set up to record an audio interview. The plan was that eventually Cannon would get angry at one of my questions, grab a towel that happened to be on the couch and begin choking me with it. Referee Tommy Young, who was "in a room nearby and heard my screams" was then supposed to run in and pull the huge Cannon off me. It was all set, right?
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Is Wrestling Fixed? I Didn't Know It Was Broken! by Bill Apter. Copyright © 2015 Bill Apter. Excerpted by permission of ECW PRESS.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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