Here, for the first time, Ole Anderson finally tells his story. The people who know him, know that Ole is never hesitant to speak his mind — and this book is no exception.
 Combining facts and opinion, Ole's biography is a straightforward look at the many phases of his career in the wild, if somewhat seedy, world of professional wrestling. From his days in amateur wrestling, to the time when he hooked up with Gene and Lars Anderson as the Minnesota Wrecking Crew, Ole relates 30-plus years of never-before-told stories.
 Ole tells of his feuds, both inside the ring and out, with people like Ric Flair, Wahoo McDaniel, Mr. Wrestling, Dusty Rhodes, and Bill Watts.
 However, his biggest feuds took places behind the scenes in the halls and offices of corporate giant, Superstation WTBS. The matches in the ring were nothing compared to his battles with The Suits, corporate executives like Vince McMahon, Jim Barnett, Bill Shaw, Jim Herd, and Eric Bischoff. In Ole's own words, "The wrestling matches may have been staged and scripted, but there was nothing ‘fake' about the corporate and legal battles."
 As a former wrestler, booker, promoter, owner, and executive producer, Ole goes deeper in the inner workings of professional wrestling than anyone ever has. He tells the stories about financial, legal, and drug problems that plagued the wrestling business.
 It doesn't matter whether you hate wrestling or love it. This is a powerful story about a man who stood up to the establishment. His insight, humor, and colorful use of the English language makes this a "no-holds barred" book that you won't be able to put down.

Inside Out: How Corporate America Destroyed Professional Wrestling

Anderson, Ole

Teal, Scott

Crowbar Press

For more than 40 years, James J. Dillon has been involved in the world of professional wrestling. Now he speaks candidly on all aspects of both his career and his personal life.
 This book has something for wrestling fans of all generations and ages: -- Being a wrestling fan in the '50s -- Breaking into the wrestling business as a referee during the '60s -- Wrestling in the territorial system of the '70's -- Taking leadership of the legendary Four Horsemen during the '80s -- Working with Vince McMahon in the WWF during the '90s -- Watching the monumental collapse of WCW in the 2000s
 J.J. Dillon offers a first-hand account and detailed history of one of the most influential wrestling promotions in wrestling history the World Wrestling Federation. For 7-1/2 years, JJ served in the WWF as Vince McMahon's top lieutenant, right-hand man, and vice president. Never before has someone from McMahon's inner circle written a book with an insider's perspective of the company.
 JJ also gives a insider's perspective on the ludicrous business decisions made by executives who took World Championship Wrestling down a path that led to the company's destruction and eventual demise.
 From the highs of making big money, winning championship titles, rubbing elbows with top celebrities, and appearing on television every week to the lows of filing for bankruptcy, extramarital affairs, divorces, and drug use -- no stone is left unturned when J.J. Dillon tells his story.
 In this book, there are truly "no holds barred."
 JAMES J. DILLON The Leader of the Four Horsemen (from the pages of "Wrestlers Are Like Seagulls") The Four Horsemen were formed spontaneously. It was not an idea that was planned in any great detail. At the time, Ric Flair was the world heavyweight champion. Tully Blanchard was the U.S. champion. Ole and Arn were the National tag team champions. We all walked out onto the studio set and did an interview, en masse. At the time, I only managed Tully, so I went out with him. There we were, all of the heels with all of the titles, and with all the bragging rights. As I said, the Horsemen concept was something that happened, but if anyone should be given credit for the idea, it should be Arn Anderson. As we did the interview, Arn grabbed the microphone and told the audience that they were witnessing history. "Only once has so much damage been caused by so few," Arn shouted, "and to find that source, you need to go all the way back to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." When Arn held up his four fingers, the fans picked up on it. From that day on, the fans gave us the four finger sign the symbol of ... THE FOUR HORSEMEN

Wrestlers Are Like Seagulls-From McMahon To McMahon

Philip Varriale

James J. Dillon

Scott, Teal

Excerpt from "Assassin: The Man Behind the Mask" Copyright © Joe Hamilton and Scott Teal When Barnett told (Ric) Flair that (Rick) Rude was really angry, Flair didn t want to go. He tried to talk his way out of it until Barnett just about pushed him into the dressing room. We were in the room next door and heard everything that was said. When the door shut behind him, we could hear Rick Rude cussing and calling Flair everything but a human being. "Don t just sit there with your head down, you gutless mother fu--er! Get up out of that chair and do something about it, you yellow son-of-a-bitch!" The abuse went on for several minutes, with Rude relentlessly screaming at Flair, telling him to stand up. Flair just sat on the chair with his head down. Of course, if Flair had done as Rude asked, Rude would have killed him. Get behind the mask and into the head of one of professional wrestling's most famous masked men. This autobiography of Joe "Jody" Hamilton takes the reader behind the scenes for a personal glimpse behind the mask of one of pro wrestling s hottest attractions: THE ASSASSIN When Joe Hamilton was just 19 years old, he and his brother, Larry, headlined a show at Madison Square Garden, drawing a record 20,335 people to see them wrestle Antonino Rocca and Miguel Perez. To this day, Joe remains the youngest wrestler to ever headline a main event in the Garden. In 1961, Joe hooked up with veteran wrestler Tom Renesto to form a team called the Assassins, and for the next eleven years, they were considered to be one of wrestling s hottest attractions, drawing sellout crowds to arenas in California, Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, in addition to foreign countries like Japan and Australia. Joe takes readers on a journey as he tells about life both in and out of the wrestling ring being attacked, stabbed, and shot at by angry wrestling fans; wrestling under a mask and trying to keep his identity a secret; legitimate fights and confrontations behind the scenes in the dressing rooms; a war between two wrestling promotions in Atlanta, Georgia; and never-before-told stories about legends like Ric Flair, Andre the Giant, Giant Baba, Toyonobori, Pedro Morales, Bill Goldberg, Ray Gunkel, and their biggest rivals, the Kentuckians. An extra bonus is the inclusion over 278 photographs, most of which are from Chuck Thornton's massive wrestling memorabilia collection.

Assassin: The Man Behind The Mask

Joe Hamilton

Sports & Outdoors

Excerpt from 'Is That Wrestling Fake?' The Bear Facts Copyright Ivan Koloff and Scott TealI got mad one night when Dusty told us, 'Nikita needs to get pinned tonight.'I thought that was the worst thing they could do. 'Just a minute,' I said. 'If we need to lose tonight, then pin me. Don't beat Nikita, because down the road, it will mean more if he's unbeaten.' I was smart enough to know that after spending twenty years in the business, I could get the job done both in the ring and on interviews, so it wouldn't hurt me to lose. If they beat Nikita when he was still relatively inexperienced, it would kill him. His mystique was that of a monster Russian who couldn't be beaten. We would get a lot more mileage out of the Koloff team if we waited to beat him when he was over more.For decades, professional wrestling fans have asked the question 'Is that wrestling fake?' However, they wouldn't have dared ask that question directly to Ivan Koloff, whose work in the ring made believers out of the most cynical viewers.Growing up on a farm in Ontario, Ivan learned the meaning of hard work and discipline. Unfortunately, he made wrong choices and wound up in prison for cattle rustling. Upon his release, he enrolled in a wrestling school and began a career in pro wrestling as Red McNulty, the Irish Rogue.Five years later, on January 18, 1971, he appeared in Madison Square Garden under the name Ivan Koloff and did what had never been done before. He pinned Bruno Sammartino's shoulders to the mat and won the WWWF heavyweight title. When the referee called for the bell, you could have heard a pin drop as the more than 21,000 screaming fans were instantly moved to a stunned, disbelieving silence.That accomplishment made Ivan Koloff one of wrestling's biggest superstars until his retirement from the ring in the mid-1990s. Competing in virtually every major promotion throughout the world, he feuded with every top name in the wrestling business, including Andre the Giant, Ric Flair, Dick the Bruiser, Bob Backlund, Billy Robinson, Dusty Rhodes, and Ivan Putski.Here for the first time, Ivan tells the story of his life: the highs and the lows; his admission of alcohol and drug abuse; reflections of a life spent on the road, and the toll it took on his body and soul; the event in Kannapolis, North Carolina, that changed his life forever.Ivan tells stories about many of the personalities he worked with, including Bill Miller, Stu Hart, Mad Dog Vachon, Ernie Ladd, Andre the Giant, Johnny Rougeau, Jacques Rougeau, Bepo Mongol (the future Nicolai Volkoff), Bruno Sammartino, Pedro Morales, Gorilla Monsoon, Freddie Blassie, Bobby Heenan, Red Bastien, Bull Bullinski, Kevin von Erich, Kerry von Erich, Mr. Fuji, Johnny Valentine, Dick the Bruiser, Roddy Piper, Mr. Saito, Ray Stevens, Stan Hansen, and Abdullah the Butcher.This is a revealing memoir that will take you into the mind of the Russian Bear, both in and out of the ring.One extra bonus is the inclusion of over 205 photographs, most of which are from Ivan's personal collection.

Is That Wrestling Fake?-The Bear Facts

Ivan Koloff

1st Edition / 1000 copy limited edition

Bruiser Brody

Emerson Murray

Bruno's book is phenomenal and I highly recommend it to everybody. You will learn a lot about the business of professional wrestling, and in the process, you will laugh your ass off. -- Kurt Angle
 'Wrestling with the Truth' is the title of this book, but it doesn't mean what you think it does. Bruno Lauer has no problem telling the truth. He believes in telling it like it is, and after spending 29 years as a manager in the business of professional wrestling, he has a lot of stories to tell.
 Entertaining, visual, and vicious. A memorable memoir by a veteran performer who has seen and done it all in sports entertainment. -- Chris Jericho, New York Times best-selling author
 The story of Bruno Lauer, known professionally as Downtown Bruno and Harvey Wippleman, relates the fascinating, and often hilarious, story of his life. Direct and opinionated, he doesn't hold back anything, sharing both the good and the bad things that happened to him. Even his close friends aren t safe from his scrutiny. Take it from Mick Foley, who read the first draft of the book and found himself on the receiving end of a few barbs thrown by Bruno: 'Bruno's honesty can be, at times, a little painful.'
 A unique perspective from one of the most unique characters in the history of the wrestling business. -- Mick Foley, New York Times best-selling author
 As he retraces every step of his career, Bruno's account of his life as a 'sports entertainment' performer begins at age 13, when he joins a traveling wrestling troupe at a carnival, and ends when he wins the WWF 'Women's' world championship wrestling title on prime-time national television. This autobiography, complemented by 94 photos culled from Bruno's personal scrapbooks, is a fresh glimpse of life behind the curtain of professional sports entertainment. As full of action, entertainment, heartbreak, and drama as anything that takes place inside a professional wrestling ring, Wrestling with the Truth is the story of a man who struggled to find his place in the wrestling business, and the success that came through his perseverance.
 With a Foreword written by Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson [excerpt] Bruno Lauer and I have shared an extraordinary friendship that has spanned more than 20 years. Throughout that time, the same words come to mind when I think of Bruno -- loyal, reliable, and as funny as hell!

Wrestling with the Truth

Bruno Lauer

Excerpt from 'The Solie Chronicles' Copyright © Robert Allyn One evening, he sat in the comfort of his family room vodka in one hand and a cigarette in the other, and spoke to his son-in-law, Bob Allyn. Gordon said McMahon s company offered him a fair wage to continue on, and there was even a mention of him co-hosting with Gene Okerlund. He didn t have a problem with the money offer or with Gene Okerlund, but Gordon said they wanted him to wear a tuxedo, and 'he wasn t going to wear any go amn tuxedo.'
 Since the late 1800s, professional wrestling has turned out many high-profile stars: names such as Frank Gotch, Ed 'Strangler' Lewis, Lou Thesz, Dusty Rhodes and Hulk Hogan. Perhaps one of the most well-known pro-wrestling personalities, however, wasn't even a wrestler. He was a commentator and announcer named Gordon Solie.
 Famous dead-pan style interviews and colorful play-by-play broadcasts of wrestling led to Gordon s induction into the WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1995), the NWA Hall of Fame (Class of 2006), and the WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2008).
 Wrestling fans of the 60s, 70s and 80s remember Gordon s legendary broadcasts on Championship Wrestling from Florida, Championship Wrestling from Georgia, and World Championship Wrestling.
 Born Jonard Frank Labiak on January 26, 1929, Gordon began working as a page and errand boy for a Louisiana radio station while he was in the U.S. Air Force. Known to his fellow servicemen as Gordy, he would later legally change his name to Gordon Solie, a name chosen to honor his family history. In 1950, he took a job as an announcer for WEBK in Ybor City, Florida. By starting his own radio sports interview program, Gordon made key contacts in professional wrestling and stock car racing. Subsequently, Gordon Solie set a course and made a major impact on the development of professional wrestling, national auto thrill show tours, stock car racing on Florida s Suncoast, and ultimately, as the host for the highest-rated show on the largest cable network in America.
 The background material for this biography was found in Gordon's personal files and taken from interviews with the people who knew Gordon. It is written as a testament to a man who made his mark in many endeavors.
 INTERVIEWS with 65 people who knew Gordon the best! 
 Family and Friends: Dotty Curtis [wife of wrestling legend Don Curtis], Gaye Swenson [Gordon's sister], Greg Solie [Gordon's son], Jeff Bukantz [member of the U.S. National fencing team], Jim Oxley [head mechanic at the Pit Stop], Keith Mitchell [WCW staff member], Pamela S Allyn [Gordon's daughter], Robert Allyn [Gordon's son-in-law], Tom McEwen [sports editor and Gordon's friend]
 Stock car drivers: Buzzie Reutimann, Cush Revette, Jim Gallagher [stock car race announcer], 'Little Jack' Arnold, Pancho Alvarez, Randy Alvarez [Pancho Alvarez' son], Wayne Reutimann, Will Cagle
 Wrestling Journalists: Alex Marvez [Senior NFL Writer for FOXSports.com], Bill Apter [former editor of Pro Wrestling Illustrated], J Michael Kenyon [wrestling historian], Mike Mooneyham [wrestling journalist], Scott Teal [wrestling historian]
 Commentators: Joe Pedicino, Jim Ross, Lance Russell, Mike Tenay
 Photographers: Danny Goddard, Scooter Leslie
 Wrestlers, Managers, Referees, Promoters: Abdullah the Butcher, Adrian Street, Bill Newman, Bob Armstrong, Bob Roop, Bobby Simmons, Buddy Colt, C.J. West, Danny Hodge, Danny Miller, David Marquez, Dick Steinborn, Dory Funk, 'Downtown Bruno' Lauer, Dr. Ken Ramey, Frankie Cain, Gene Kiniski, Harley Race, Howard Brody, Ivan Koloff, Jack Brisco, Jack Welch, Jerry Prater [director-producer of Championship Wrestling from Florida], Jim Cornette, Jimmy Hart, Jimmy Snuka, JJ Dillon, Joe Turner, Larry Zbyszko, Les Thatcher, Mike Graham, Rocky Johnson, Ron Garvin, Roy Lee Welch, Skip Gossett, Stan Hansen,

The Solie Chronicles

Robert Allyn

Pamela S. Allyn

Drawing Heat

First published in 1988, Drawing Heat was one of the first books to really give the public a glimpse behind the scenes of the world of professional wrestling. Jim Freedman, a Professor Emeritus at the University of Western Ontario who also consults on international development for the United Nations, CIDA, and international NGOs, seems an unlikely candidate to write a book on such a subject, but he paints a captivating portrait of the sport.
 Freedman s primary goal was to chronicle the drama of the sport from the viewpoint of a wrestling fan, but in the process, got much more than he ever expected. During the course of interviewing several participants, he was invited to become a part of Big Bear Promotions, and the book become the story about the demise of a local wrestling promotion being swallowed up by multi-national business interests.
 Welcomed into the inner circle by nearly everyone associated with the promotion, Jim presents an insiders look at what it took to promote a small, independent wrestling show ... putting the show together, setting up the ring, counting the money and balancing the books, ring announcing, dealing with sports commissioners who are in the pocket of the big wrestling companies, and what it is that lures wrestling fans into the arenas.
 Filled with wonderful characters, the action in this book far outweighs anything seen in the ring today. Dave "The Wildman" McKigney, the main character, is the owner of the Big Bear company, and the struggles and tragedies he faces become the focus of the narrative. Known for traveling with his wrestling bears, one of the most heartbreaking stories in the entire book details the account of McKigney s girlfriend when she is mauled to death by one of them.
 In addition to the original text and a bonus of 70 beautiful black-and-white photographs, this reprinting features two additions:
 An interview with the author: Jim Freedman Conducted in 2009, the interview takes readers behind the scenes of the writing of the book and brings them up to date with the events which followed the book s publication in 1988.
 The Final, Fateful Bearman Tour Told by his fellow wrestlers, this is the story about the final days and tragic death of the Wildman and several others wrestlers in July 1988. The story includes interviews with several wrestlers who were in the territory at the time: Phil Watson (the son of Whipper Watson), Hartford Love, Willie "Wolfman" Farkuks, Rocky Della Serra, Ricky Johnson, Steve Ocean, and Sweet Daddy Siki.
 You don t have to know, or even care, about wrestling to enjoy this book. This is more than just a book about wrestling. It is a glimpse into a secret world unknown to most people ... a world filled with larger-than-life characters and captivating events.
 Excerpt from Chapter 9: Postscript Copyright © Jim Freedman In Toronto, a new athletic Commissioner took office. He was like his predecessor in the way he handled Dave, except he was even more intent on ending Dave s career. In mid-season, 1985, he took Dave to court on the charge that the wrestling bear was a menace to the public. Dave could not afford the litigation, and the Commissioner knew it. Even the judge suggested to the Commissioner that since the charges were insubstantial, and the cost to McKigney for his own defense would be high, perhaps the Commissioner should drop the case. It looked to me like the Commissioner was taking orders from Tunney. He carried on with the case against McKigney and the bear. The judge did not agree. He said McKigney had been wrestling with the bear for thirty years, no reason to stop him now. The Commissioner lost the case.

Jim Freedman

Readers will feel like they are living Tony's life through his eyes as he tells about his free-spirited and self-destructive journey through life. His out-of-the-ring stories are as compelling as those that took place inside the ring. Tony tells about growing up in poverty, and recounts stories from his childhood: his dad encouraging him to fight for money as a child, being sent to a juvenile detention center, and being introduced to sex at the age of 16 by a 38-year-old woman. He describes his introduction to wrestling, his rapid rise to the top echelon of talent, the rampant and easily-available sex, money, and drugs, his fascination with "shoes," and the terrible toll his lifestyle took on his personal life.For the first time, Tony reveals the name of his worst enemy, and explains why he hopes that person is dead. Most revealing of all are his recollections of experiencing "racism" in wrestling ... from the most unexpected source of all.Tony tells about decisions he made which resulted in his downfall, and is brutally honest about his short-comings and the pain he suffered when he lost his job and everything he had worked for. In the telling of that story, he doesn't criticize others, but blames himself for the downward spiral of his career. He recalls the events which led up to him being homeless and living outdoors in 22-below-zero weather, and he acknowledges the person who saved him from near-death and helped him back on the road to self-sufficiency.Finally, Tony writes about getting another chance at fame when he returned to the spotlight in World Wrestling Entertainment as the manager of Mark Henry.This is the story of a man who had success handed to him-only to throw it all away-and the long, painful struggle he had to endure as he clawed his way back to the top.

Tony Atlas - Too Much Too Soon book by Tony Atlas (2010-08-02)

Tony Atlas

Who was the greatest pro wrestler of the 20th century?The debate is a real one among those who seriously study the history of this American pop-culture creation. Like the arguments over any effort to crown "the greatest," "the best," or "the worst," that answer is unlikely to ever be resolved to everyone's satisfaction. One fact is indisputable, though. For those who watched wrestling before it became "sports entertainment," there is only one answer — Lou Thesz.The son of European immigrants, Thesz discovered his love of amateur wrestling as a shy eight-year-old, scuffling with his father at night on the linoleum floor of the family's kitchen in south St. Louis. He was a natural at the sport, blessed with lightning-fast reflexes and a determination to succeed. He was obsessive about conditioning and hungry to learn, and those qualities eventually led him, as a teenager, into the closed and secretive world of pro wrestling, the only place where he could continue to compete on the mat.This is Thesz' story — an adventure that took him to the heights of his chosen profession at a very young age and eventually into rings throughout the world. A devoted fan of pro wrestling, he won the respect and friendship of many of the legends. In the 1940s, when television demanded more action and a flashier style of wrestling, he became the transitional figure, the link to the past. Thesz decried the rise of "gimmick" performers like Gorgeous George and Buddy Rogers, who diminished the importance of the authentic style of wrestling he loved and practiced, but he adjusted because the bottom line of pro wrestling, as with any pro endeavor, was making money, and he could see where the future lay.In the late 1940s and well into the 1950s, he was the world heavyweight champion of the National Wrestling Alliance, its standard-bearer, and he carried those colors with dignity and class. "My gimmick was wrestling," he said, and it was evident to anyone who ever bought a ticket to see Lou Thesz that he was the real thing."Hooker" was something of a sensation among wrestling fans when it was first published in the 1990s because it was among the first accounts ever published by a major wrestling star that discussed the business with candor from the inside. Academics praised the book, too, for its clear depiction of an era and the rise of a cultural phenomenon.This is a book for everyone with an interest in professional wrestling. This new edition published by Crowbar Press contains pages and pages of new material — stories and anecdotes — none of which has been published in any previous edition and all in the voice of one of the legendary figures of the game. Every sentence has been thoroughly combed over and vetted in order to answer any questions previously asked by readers, or to correct and/or re-order the "facts" as Lou recalled them, and each chapter now has detailed endnotes to further supplement the text. Combine all those ingredients with all-new, spellbinding forewords by Charlie Thesz and Kit Bauman (comprising 26 pages), an extensive 32-page "addendum" in Lou's own words, and a comprehensive name-and-subject index, and you have the definitive tome devoted to wrestling's golden era.This is "no holds barred" material — far more open and truthful than anything ever written about professional wrestling.

Hooker by Lou Thesz (2011, Paperback)

Thesz, Lou

Kit Bauman & J. Michael Kenyon

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