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
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ByBill Apter (Author)
Ebook
Complete with exclusive photographs and sensational backstage stories, Is Wrestling Fixed? is the much anticipated memoir from the biggest legend in wrestling fandom himself, Bill Apter
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. Since then, he’s 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 and superstars like John Cena, Daniel Bryan, and Roman Reigns. He also shares stories of his days photographing boxing and his interactions with stars like Muhammad Ali and other champions, and 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. Still intimately involved in the wrestling business, the award-winning Apter has a story on everybody.
Table of contents
| Is Wrestling Fixed? | 1 |
|---|---|
| Foreword by Jerry "the King" Lawler | 5 |
| The Disclaimer Apter was Forced to Write | 7 |
| One: It's Never Too Late to Start Again | 10 |
| Two: Attacked! | 17 |
| Three: Published | 24 |
| Four: Mr. Weston and Me | 29 |
| Five: How Apartment Wrestling Cost Me My Career | 37 |
| Six: A Day at The Office | 42 |
| Seven: Apter's One Night Stand with Medusa | 46 |
| Eight: How Apter Found Out Bruno Was Going to Lose | 49 |
| Nine: Revealed: Some of My Secret Contacts and How Ratings Were Done | 54 |
| Ten: Finally Revealed: "My Confession to a Deceased Wrestler!" | 64 |
| Eleven: Did the Ghost of Curt Hennig Lead Apter to George Strait? | 68 |
| Twelve: The "Superfly" Vow I Made to Vince McMahon Sr. | 74 |
| Thirteen: Call the Cops —Apter's Bleeding | 80 |
| Fourteen: "The Dead Wrestler — Who Was Alive!" | 86 |
| Fifteen: Buddy Rogers — I Knew Them Both | 89 |
| Sixteen: Apter Suffers Bruided Ribs Wrestling Shawn Michaels | 96 |
| Seventeen: Stalked | 100 |
| Eighteen: Bischoff Disses Apter — Calls Him A "Parasite" | 104 |
| Nineteen: How Ohhhh Yeahhhh Became A Terrifying Ohhhh Noooo! | 108 |
| Whatcha Gonna Do, Bill Apters, When Sylvester Stallone Calls You | 114 |
| Twenty-One: Shooting PWI Cover #1 — A Mask Task and an Impossible "Dream" | 121 |
| Twenty-Two: The Tunning Truth About Dan Shocket and Eddie Ellner | 124 |
| Twenty-Three: "I'll Kick Your Ass If I'm Not on the Cover Next Month!" | 127 |
| Twenty-Four: Von Erich's Fury Causes Anxious Days and Sleepless Nights | 131 |
| Twenty-Five: Punk Fan Booted from Sunnyside Arena! | 136 |
| Twenty-Six: Apter Helps Promoter Who Succumbs to His Own Demons | 140 |
| Twenty-Seven: Apter's Astonishing News: "I'm Leaving PWI!" | 144 |
| Twenty-Eight: IWrestling to Apter's Rescue | 155 |
| Twenty-Nine: A Powerful Lesson Learned for Tomorrow | 157 |
| Thirty: Apter Nearly Booted Out Due to Magazine's Past | 161 |
| Thirty-One: Apter Claims Cardboard Gold | 167 |
| Thirty-Two: The Truth About the PWI 500 | 172 |
| Thirty-Three: Taking a Lickin' but Still Tickin' | 175 |
| Thirty-Four: A "King" Plus Andre the Giant Equals Big Trouble with Vince Sr. | 180 |
| Thirty-Five: I Was A Backyard Wrestler | 184 |
| Thirty-Six: TV Time | 186 |
| Thirty-Seven: His Name is Paul Heyman and He Was a Wrestling Photographer | 192 |
| Thirty-Eight: The McMahons | 195 |
| Thirty-Nine: An Apter "Old School" Style Gossip Column | 199 |
| Forty: Apter Makes A Historic Meeting Happen: When Andy Kaufman Met Jerry Lawler | 207 |
| Forty-One: My Pal Sal | 215 |
| Forty-Two: Don't Get Too Close — But I Did | 218 |
| Forty-Three: Strike a Pose | 222 |
| Forty-Four: Benoit | 228 |
| Forty-Five: Apter and the Ice Cream Boy | 232 |
| Forty-Six: Apter Loses His Pro Debut | 235 |
| Forty-Seven: Meet the Parents | 238 |
| Forty-Eight: Apter Stunned by Recognition Overseas | 241 |
| Forty-Nine: Way Back When It All Began | 245 |
| Fifty: Karaoke and a Horrible Joke | 247 |
| Fifty-One: Yes, I Was Paid by WWF For Two Years | 251 |
| Fifty-Two: The Award Goes To... | 255 |
| Fifty-Three: Other Careers Mixed In with My Wrestling Career... | 259 |
| Fifty-Four: Sing Me a Song, Wonderful Willie! | 263 |
| Fifty-Five: Apter Says Work Is a Good Four-Letter Word | 266 |
| Fifty-Six: The Family | 272 |
| Fifty-Seven: The Hunger for Younger and Some Last-Minute Random Thoughts | 278 |
| Fifty-Eight: Random "Apter Thoughts..." | 281 |
| Back-word | 300 |
| Copyright | 303 |
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