Kayfabing it: reviews of books by Jimmy Hart, Bill Apter and Front Row Section D (PLUS two sheets, Rudo Can't Fail and Atomic Elbow)

OF ALL the wrestling books that have come out in recent months, two that I was dead-keen to read were Bill Apter's autobiography and John Hitchcock's reminiscences of attending NWA cards during its heyday in the mid-1980s. In the end, both were good reads but still left me with a slight sour taste in my mouth.

Bill was a driving force in the so-called "Apter mags" stable of Pro Wrestling Illustrated, The Wrestler, etc during the 1970s and 80s, not to mention a powerful, influential figure in the business. Without Bill (particularly his superb ringside photography and backstage portraits) and the favourable coverage provided in these mags, guys like Lex Luger, Mil Mascaras, Dusty Rhodes and the Roadies wouldn't have enjoyed the level of fame that they did. Oh sure, they were famous in the various territories they worked, but their monthly appearances (usually cover-lined) in the Apter mags made them national stars. Their shortcomings (both personal and in the ring) were glossed over and they were painted as talented superstars, getting them OVER to a huge number of people who probably never saw them grapple until TV wrestling went national in the late 80s. God knows, I fell in love with the Road Warriors through the mark mags, but the first time I actually saw them wrestle (against the Freebirds at AWA SuperClash 1985) I was brought back to reality with a thump. It was the first time I realised the power of Apter and the persuasiveness of his eloquent bullshit.
Is Wrestling Fixed? by Bill Apter should have been GREAT, but there are two things that hold it back. 
Apter has a million anecdotes, but I'm certain that retelling some of them would have offended the subjects. And he could have buried any number of guys who pissed him off over the decades. But apart from an unseemly chapter attacking Randy Savage's behaviour towards him in the mid-90s, Bill steers clear of controversy. Sure, there are drinking stories and tales about various ribs, but pretty much everyone comes out of his book smelling of roses.
Even the WWE (then WWF) and its ongoing feud with the newsstand mags, in particular Bill's long-time boss Stanley Weston, is given the "softly, softly" treatment. Bill's clearly angling for more work with Vince in the future and he doesn't want to queer his pitch. You can't blame him, but it makes his obsequious tone towards Vince - who tried to destroy the wrestling magazine industry in the 1980s - a bit hard to swallow.
Apter also doesn't have access to all the photos he took for PWI, etc. They belong to the company that still publishes the magazine and clearly there's either (a) bad blood, or (b) a money issue, because the absence of these photos is a glaring omission. Bill even apologises for this. Shame.
Bill's writing style was always personable in the mags and he does a nice job in his autobiography. However, some chapters read more like shout-outs to a bunch of people than actual stories. Also, he wrote the book so readers could dip in and read a random chapter. Personally, I prefer my autobiographies to go from A to Z, rather than jump all over the alphabet.
In the end, I found Bill's book a bit of a chore to finish and it should never have been that way. 

IF YOU hate heel fans then you'd hate John Hitchcock, the author of Front Row Section D. The loudmouth and his posse of obnoxious ne'er-do-wells (aka "Front Row Section D") were regulars at Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina when Mid-Atlantic and the NWA were in their prime.
John - who I first learned about from his columns and cartoon strips in  Pro Wrestling Torch in the late 80s - would write smart-arse signs, insult the babyfaces (Dusty Rhodes and Magnum TA hated him with a passion) and worship the heels. 
This book starts strongly with tons of great tales about his experiences attending Mid-Atlantic in the 60s and 70s, then sticking with the NWA in the 80s and even into the 90s.
John's a blowhard who claims a bunch of things like popularising the term "Four Horsemen" and influencing the change in finishes of certain matches due to crowd pressure (created by him and his cronies). I suspect much of this posturing is bullshit, but the other anecdotes are a lot of fun.
Although to be honest - and I can be an obnoxious heel fan at times as well - if I had to sit next to Hitchcock and his crew during their prime I would've fucking hated them. They were annoying on a whole different level at times.
The book loses its way when John talks about his entry into the world of indy wrestling as a "bodyguard" to ex-WCW commentator turned heel manager Chris Cruise. John makes it sound like every show was a sell-out while he and Cruise created NWO levels of heat with their in-ring interviews and beatdowns of fan favourites.
Thankfully, Hitchcock allows other fans to contribute dissenting views to some of his stories and well-known Torch contributor Bruce Mitchell happily dismisses John's wrestling "career" as the garbage it most likely was. It's refreshing, but doesn't stop the guy still raving on about it for several chapters.
The other problem with this book is that most of the chapters are actually columns culled from the Torch (I remember reading one or two of them back in the day). They haven't been updated (or spell-checked, which is very annoying), but Hitchcock tries to pass this all off as a new book. It's not - it's just a collection of his old war stories. In fact, while the book was published last year, the most recent story looks like it was written in 2007 (just after the Chris Benoit murder/suicide). Not sure why John didn't bother to add new chapters or update his older ones.
In the end, Front Row Section D is good, but nowhere near as good as it should've been. Or as good as Hitchcock imagines it is, I suspect.

I grabbed The Mouth of the South: The Jimmy Hart Story cheap in an Adelaide second-hand bookshop and it's one of the worst wrestling autobiographies I've read. The first half of this disconcertingly short book is fine, detailing Hart's pop music career with The Gentrys in the 1960s followed by his run as a heel manager in Memphis (feuding with Jerry Lawler and working with Andy Kaufman) in the early 80s. How much is true is hard to tell as Hart's been working people for 50+ years.
But the book falls apart after that. His WWF and WCW careers are barely touched upon and have no depth or interesting info at all. Apart from detailing his relationship with Hulk Hogan, the book is as close to kayfabe as you can get without saying, "Wrestling's real, folks!"
Weirdly, the book was published in 2004, but Jimmy clearly wrote it in 2000. Hell, he writes about WCW as if it still exists and there's zero perspective or discussion on its decline and ultimate demise. Hart couldn't even be bothered to go through his manuscript and update the relevant chapters. If Jimmy doesn't care about his book, why should we?

If this review hasn't put you off, all three books are available from either Amazon or Book Depository.
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AND NOW SOME SHEET REVIEWS: 

NEW wrestling sheets are always welcome in this household, which is why I quickly bought a six-issue subscription to Rudo Can't Fail. All hard-copy sheets should be encouraged, I say.
This publication is backed by Masked Republic, so hopefully there should be enough cash around to keep the zine alive for a while.
It's basically a round-up of anything lucha libre related going on in America, particularly the west coast. It's not particularly timely, nor should it aim to be. It was a fun read with features on various local shows, the artwork of Pale Horse Lucha, an interview with Konnan from 1994 (and his reaction to that interview in 2014) and a brief chat with the creators of Lucha VaVOOM. There's even a few toons by NZ's own Mister J.
Production quality is high and I would normally give Rudo Can't Fail my highest recommendation...except......I still haven't received issues two and three (which I know have been published). I emailed the editor and he was very apologetic about the glitch and tells me they're in the mail. Let's hope so or my next review won't be so kind.
You can buy the sheet (and other cool lucha merch) HERE.

WHILE I prefer hard-copy zines and sheets, I won't knock back the great deal from The Atomic Elbow, which is offering the first four issues as a PDF download for whatever you feel like paying. I think I paid US$3 (cheapskate that I am). Anyways, these sheets are a real throwback to the cut'n'paste still zines I adored from the early 90s (even if it has a modern sensibility to the articles). The cover on the first issue is perfect. The reviews of old WWF and WCW PPVs are scathing and sarcastic. The "interview" with former WCW writer Bob Mould is suitably shambolic, there's an excerpt from Box Brown's graphic novel about Andre The Giant. Hell, the whole thing just reeks of awesomeness. The Atomic Elbow is still being published, so pick up hard copies of more recent issues and don't forget the four-issue PDF deal. It's all available HERE.