The Bottom Line
If you are a fan of wrestling in the territorial days or during the WWF expansion, this is a must read book. His descriptions of how wrestling worked in the territorial days is fascinating. This is also the first time I have read a great account of how the other promoters dealt with the WWF expansion. The book ends with some great advice for indy wrestlers or anyone who is thinking about getting into the business must read.
Pros
- Gary worked for all 3 major promtions of the era (WWF,AWA,WCW)
- A great insight into how the WWWF was run duing the territorial era
- The greatest description I have read of the expansion of the WWF
- An amazing insight into the failure of the other promoters to fight the expansion
- Some great advice if you want to get into the business
Cons
- Gary was not a part of the late 90's renaissance of the wrestling business
- The final part of the book gets preachy about what he feels the wrestling business needs
Description
- This book is the memoirs of the ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta.
- Gary was a ring announcer for the WWWF, WWF, AWA, & WCW.
- This book is paperback and runs 305 pages.
- This is the second edition of the book.
Guide Review - Bodyslams by Gary Michael Cappetta
When this book came out originally a few years ago, I held off on buying it thinking how good can a book by a ring announcer be. I was very wrong. Five years after the original book was published, it is now available nationally due to the involvement of ECW Press. In my few months of doing these reviews, I have been very impressed with the quality of books that ECW Press has been releasing lately.
This book starts off with Gary working for the WWF shows that Gorilla Monsoon promoted. There are some incredible stories of the way the promoters worked and I was shocked to read about the blackballing of Bruno Sammartino. Gary then became the ring announcer for the televised programming of the day. When the WWF went national, Gary left and started to work for the AWA. His stories of how the promoters tried to fight the expansion of the WWF is worth the price of the book. It is the best description of this era of wrestling I have ever read. A few years later he went to WCW and tells some stories involving the Undertaker being scammed when he broke into the business and what happens when a wrestler brings his wife to a hotel where he cheated on her. After leaving WCW, he tells the story of trying to get the book published and all the promo work he has done for the book. His time in the indys has resulted in some great advice anyone thinking of getting into the business should read.
Overall Recommendation: Buy this book
This book starts off with Gary working for the WWF shows that Gorilla Monsoon promoted. There are some incredible stories of the way the promoters worked and I was shocked to read about the blackballing of Bruno Sammartino. Gary then became the ring announcer for the televised programming of the day. When the WWF went national, Gary left and started to work for the AWA. His stories of how the promoters tried to fight the expansion of the WWF is worth the price of the book. It is the best description of this era of wrestling I have ever read. A few years later he went to WCW and tells some stories involving the Undertaker being scammed when he broke into the business and what happens when a wrestler brings his wife to a hotel where he cheated on her. After leaving WCW, he tells the story of trying to get the book published and all the promo work he has done for the book. His time in the indys has resulted in some great advice anyone thinking of getting into the business should read.
Overall Recommendation: Buy this book
