Apter Mags

[Guest jm29195]

I've recently got hold of a ton of Apter Mags called Inside Wrestling from 1990-2001, I can see that they're partly written in kayfabe, but I still enjoy reading them- anywho, I've heard something along the lines of all the writers who were supposed to be in these magasines were fictional creations, if so who did write them- just Apter? Hell of an effort if he did.....

[Hunter's Torn Quad]

This is what Wade Keller had to say about it when asked in an Ask The Torch.

 

We've covered this topic before in various forums, but it's always worth revisiting periodically because we get asked about it so much. The London Publishing family of magazines (PWI, Inside Wrestling, The Wrestler, Sports Review Wrestling, Wrestling Superstars, etc.) were highly influential magazines in the '70s and '80s. Bobby Heenan wrote in his recent book about how a wrestler could come to New York and get an instant pop based on fans in that area reading about his matches elsewhere in the country. The magazines, known as "Apter Mags" because Bill Apter was the most visible editor on the staff, didn't break kayfabe, meaning they didn't expose how the matches worked. In other words, they played along with storylines. They still do for the most part, although some articles sneak in these days that sound more like a Torch article than a classic PWI article. There magazines have always had a full staff and to the best of my knowledge the only two writers throughout the '70s and '80s who were fictional were Liz Hunter and Matt Brock. Those articles were written by others on the staff. Dan Shockett and Eddie Elner really did exist, as did Stu Saks, Joseph Beau, Craig Peters, and the rest. Some of the interviews they did were real transcripts while others were made up (and usually approved by the wrestler). There were wrestlers who did get very upset with Apter for making up quotes in articles that they never said. Oftentimes Apter and Co. were pressured into giving their year-end awards (which were never actually the result of any fan votes but decided by the staff) to certain wrestlers in exchange for retaining photo privileges and general good standing. The deal weren't necessarily stated outright, but in order to keep things comfortable, the staff knew which egos they needed to stroke. I wrote about PWI recently when I dedicated my entire weekly Torch Newsletter editorial page two weeks ago to examining the political ins and outs of this year's PWI 500 rankings.

[Betty Houle]

This, of course, explains why Dusty won Most Popular of 1987 instead of Hogan or Savage (the explanation given was that people were too split between Hogan and Savage).

[Slayer]

I made a thread about this a year or so ago. Whenever I hear about them, I still wonder how much was real and how much wasn't.

 

On the other hand, PWI did occasionally do some surprising behind-the-scenes reporting (after all, I'd never heard of the Observer and never would have known how to get a subscription in the formative Internet age), hence without PWI, I never would have known (at the time) about the Sid-Arn scissor incident or Orndorff-Vader backroom brawl.

[nl5xsk1]

I can't believe that Dan Shockett and Eddie Elner really existed ... they were the ones that were 'proof' to me that these were all just characters (both so over the top in rooting for the heel)

[Guest HTQ's Personal Bitch]

I can't believe that Dan Shockett and Eddie Elner really existed ... they were the ones that were 'proof' to me that these were all just characters (both so over the top in rooting for the heel)

Just because he existed, it doesn't mean his over-the-topness was genuine. Or that the interviews he conducted were genuine either.

 

(Didn't one babyface chase him out of the room?)

[The Mandarin]

I'll still never forget the issue where some guy just TORE down the Monday Nitro commentary team in Queen Brandi's mailbag. I was in tears by the time he finished his analysis of Larry Z's "human game of chess".

 

It's also the only time I recall Brandi didn't disagree or insult the writer.

[ravenlo]

It would be great to find out which interviews were real transcripts and which weren't (some were obviously real-like Kerry Von Erich's back in '92)...

[MikeJordan23]

And I'm assuming the WWE is still in good standings with them because I have a recent PWI where they're showing Jim Ross holding a Achievement Award around 2003 or something.

 

And I know the the NWA used to really be behind PWI. They used even give out awards from PWI on Television, and recognized it all the time.

[Jericholic82]

I always enjoyed Brandi making fun of Shawn Michaels constantly

 

 

 

yea I grew up on the apter mags too. When I went to the WWA revolution ppv in vegas, I actually met Bill Apter at the autograph signing. I dont think anyone else knew who he was but I did and told him how much I used to love reading all those mags. He seemed to be really tight with the wrestlers. I have a pic of him talking with terry taylor I should scan it for you guys