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Ecw Press - Larry Zbyszko

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84 pages

English

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Wrestling's self-proclaimed Living Legend' may never wear a championship belt again, but he's definitely not down for the count. Adventures in Larryland is the entertaining, often hilarious story of Zbyszko's remarkable ascent to wrestling notoriety.'

Sujets

Memoir

Philosophie et théologie

Informations

Publié par	Ecw Press
Date de parution	15 décembre 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781554903221
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0400€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

ADVENTURES IN LARRYLAND!
ADVENTURES IN LARRYLAND!
LARRY ZBYSZKO
Copyright Larry Zbyszko, 2008
Published by ECW Press 2120 Queen Street East, Suite 200, Toronto, Ontario, Canada m4e 1e2 416.694.3348 / info@ecwpress.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any process - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise - without the prior written permission of the copyright owners and ECW Press.
LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION
Zbyszko, Larry Adventures in Larryland! / Larry Zbyszko.
ISBN 978-1-55022-826-7
1. Zbyszko, Larry. 2. Wrestling. 3. Wrestlers - United - States Biography. I. Title.
GV1196.Z39A3 2008 796.812092 C2007-907103-1
Editor: Michael Holmes Cover Design: Dave Gee Typesetting: Mary Bowness Photo Insert and Production: Rachel Brooks Cover Images: George Napolitano Printing: Transcontinental
This book is set in Adobe Garamond and Trajan
PRINTED AND BOUND IN CANADA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Foreword - Mike Tenay
1. HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
2. THE PROTEG GIMMICK
3. UP, UP AND - OH SHIT!
4. THE LAST OF THE RED-HOT ANGLES
5. CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE
6. THE TEN PERCENT SOLUTION
7. THE LIVING . . . WHAT?
8. LOVE
9. SHEA STADIUM
10. THE AFTERMATH
11. REST IN PEACE
12. SAYONARA TO THE OLD SCHOOL
13. THE AWA
14. VIVA LAS VEGAS
15. THANK GOD - I SUCK
16. PARDON MY COCONUT
17. THE WORLD S GREATEST ADVICE
18. THE KISS OF DEATH
19. RETURN TO LARRYLAND
20. IT S A MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING
21. THE CROSSROADS
22. PASS THE CANS
23. THE LAST WORLD ORDER
24. A HAPPY ENDING (NO, NOT THAT KIND)
About the Photos
Acknowledgements
Where does one start when it took three decades and millions of people to make a dream come true? From loving parents, who tried their best to keep me from becoming a wrestler, to my best friend and wife, Kathleen, who, being the daughter of a famous wrestling promoter, knew better than to marry a wrestler but did so anyway.
Special thanks to a good friend and great guy, Scott Hudson, and his family, for letting me enjoy the seclusion of their mountain cabin where I disappeared for a month to write the first half of my book and for typing my manuscript which saved me about two years of suffering with my one-finger typing technique.
To young wrestlers like Chasyn Rance and Mister Saint Laurent of Team Vision who kept my enthusiasm high while finishing this book with a love and dedication to the wrestling business they will keep it alive for the next generation of fans.
I wonder sometimes what human beings would do if we didn t have heroes - someone to set forth a challenge and give us a purpose to achieve something greater. It seems inadequate to simply say thanks to someone you can t thank enough. To Bruno Sammartino who took me under his wing when it wasn t popular to do so: thanks, you ll always be my hero.
And to the millions of the wildest, craziest, and most dedicated fans on the planet without whom no wrestler s dreams would come true. I love you all.
Foreword by Mike Tenay
I presume the age-old clich Work Smarter, Not Harder has already been taken as a book title, but if not, it sure would apply to the wrestling life of Larry Zbyszko.
As an outsider, in the years before I was employed in the wrestling business, I had my opinion of Larry, the wrestler. Every time that I watched him compete in the squared circle I d think about that clich and marvel at his ability to get heat, to get a crowd reaction, by manipulating the fans. But what impressed me most was his method of getting that response. As I studied his mo, it became obvious that he would rather use his brains than his brawn. He would just as soon entertain by putting together a stinging monologue directed at ringsiders, whom he dubbed the spudheads, than putting together a series of physical high spots that he would regret in his retirement years. Yes, Larry, the accomplished amateur wrestler who earned awards as a professional from the toughest critics, had outsmarted us all.
In addition to his in-ring ability, Zbyszko had earned a reputation as one of the best talkers in wrestling. His condescending interviews grew out of his most famous wrestling moment, his attack on his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, and he polished that abrasive style to perfection. So it was no surprise that Larry s wrestling career would have a second life analyzing the action as a color commentator on TV .
When I joined the WCW announcing team, I wasn t sure how I d be greeted or treated. Would I be accepted into the fraternity or would I be frozen out? Would my background as a fan, writer and radio show host be looked at negatively because I wasn t a former wrestler? From the moment I began working with Larry Zbyszko and Bobby Heenan, I realized my concerns were unfounded. I was not only treated as an equal, I was invited into their social circle. With the hectic, year-round schedule of live TV events that were broadcast from all over the world, we would often joke that we spent more time together than we did with our families and that was when I formed my opinion of Larry, the person.
I can tell you that after years of dealing with almost every big-name wrestler in the profession, their real-life personalities are as varied as their onscreen characters. You never really know what you are going to get. But in a business of roller-coaster temperaments, Larry Zbyszko is as even-keeled as it gets. And in the high-pressure environment of producing a live television show, that balance is necessary. Away from the arena, Larry is one of those individuals who attracts the attention of everyone whose path he crosses. And in the past decade-plus that I ve spent with him, we ve had many great experiences. You ve seen the countless hours of televised memorable moments, but off-air is when life with Larry is really entertaining.
In addition to live televised events, we would spend hours in the studio doing voice-over work where we would announce previously taped matches. Larry would always enter the studio with a stack of lottery tickets and scratch-offs and I can recall him being so interested in hitting a payoff that we would be forced to bust the session because of his good fortune. In fact, Larry would combine gambling and wrestling by organizing a pool on the number of clotheslines that were used in each match. After deferring to my background in the Las Vegas gaming industry to come up with a total for each match, bets were placed by announcers, cameramen and audio engineers. Larry always insisted, If Public Enemy is wrestling, bet the over! During the commentary, Larry would openly refer to the number of clotheslines and often exclaim, That s it . . . eleven puts it over the total, a comment that no one watching at home had a clue about.
I can recall an Atlanta-Las Vegas flight where I was recruited by WCW producer Keith Mitchell and Dusty Rhodes to educate Larry on the casino dice game of craps. Larry was looking to expand his gambling resum outside of blackjack and poker and he, Keith and Dusty were going to try their luck at Binion s, one of the old school downtown casinos. Keith and Dusty clued me in that they had told Larry of the can t miss bet that only the locals know about . . . The $5 whoopee. Yes, as a former Nevada resident I spent the flight instructing Larry on a special wager where you holler whoopee at the top of your lungs when tossing the dice. Can you imagine the reaction from the grizzled cigar smokers hunched around the dice table when Larry let loose with a yell?
Larry would go out of his way to tell me his secrets to surviving twenty-plus glorious years in wrestling. One time I can remember him standing nearby when the WCW boss, Eric Bischoff, asked me to grade the previous night s payper-view event. As I explained my grade of a 6+ on a scale of 1-10 to Bischoff, I could see the look of exasperation on the face of Zbyszko. The second that Eric walked away, Larry exclaimed, What are you doing? A six? Remember, when the boss asks . . . It s hot . . . It s great . . . It s a ten!
Getting to know Larry Zbyszko as a wrestler and an announcer and, even more importantly, as a person puts him on the list of the most unforgettable characters I ve ever met. And as you can imagine, that covers some ground. Enjoy this book that documents his life and, you know, after reading it myself I have to admit, It s hot . . . It s great . . . It s a ten!
CHAPTER ONE HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Welcome to Larryland, the mythical residence of my alter ego, the Living Legend.
It all started more than thirty glorious years ago. I was raised as a child of the 50s, a time when cities became suburbs and black and white television sets became standard equipment in every living room across America.
I was totally brainwashed by my childhood idols: comic book heroes like Superman, the Lone Ranger, and one of my all-time favorites, Zorro. There was no doubt in my mind that saving the helpless from injustice, thwarting evil and winding up with the beautiful damsel in distress was what life was all about. In fact, the first thing I did to my first house was put in a secret door so I could be just like Don Diego. Man, was I screwed up. Nevertheless, by the time I was twelve I knew what I was destined to become. I was going to be a hero.
When my family moved to Pittsburgh from Chicago in 1964, the future I envisioned came into perfect focus. There he was, the embodiment of everything I wanted to be: a 5 11 270-pound gorilla named Bruno Sammartino, who tossed bad guys into the air and crushed the life out of evil with his deadly bear hug. There was no doubt in my mind that I could achieve my childhood dream if I emulated this guy. I d protect the weak, stop evil in its tracks and fly above the real world just like Clark Kent. That s right, I was going to become a