Do YOU Have What It Takes To Make It In The Universal Wrestling Federation?

I don’t like to discuss “grails.” I really don’t even like to have them. You have what you have and whatever is meant to find its way to you ultimately will. If you do have collecting grails, don’t broadcast them. People can and will see dollar signs. Never put yourself in that position. Lastly, be happy with what you’ve got. I see too many people who I deem “accumulators” rather than collectors. Accumulators just sort of suck things in, look at them once, brag to deaf ears, and then cast them aside. There’s no appreciation. I’m not saying that you need to have a museum in your home, Lord knows I don’t, but if there’s something in your collection that you don’t ever think about, do you really need it? Food for thought. That being said, if there’s something that I’ve been after for a period of time that, in a way, could be considered a grail for me, it’s part of what we’re looking at right here.

Looking back as we see it now it’s hard to think that Bill Watts’ UWF would have had a training center. It’s even harder to believe that he would’ve had a full color, well-designed piece of promotional material produced for it. He did. I first found out about this brochure of sorts about two or three years ago. Someone offered one at auction for a very low price. I was the only bidder. A few days later the seller told me that he had lost the item. I was never sold on that claim. To this day I think that someone else made him an offer that he couldn’t refuse. The ultimate low. Regardless, I kept my eyes open. Not only was I able to get one for around three bucks more, but this one seems to be complete with four additional items. Normally I’d say that the brochure is the centerpiece, but I’m a sucker for official envelopes from wrestling promotions.

Emblazoned on that large envelope is the familiar Universal Wrestling Federation logo. Post mark? May 1987. Someone, presumably the wrestling hopeful who was the original recipient of this package, wrote addresses for the World Wrestling Federation and Joe Pedicino’s Pro Wrestling This Week television show right on the front. He definitely had his bases covered. Speaking of covered, I blocked out the name in photos but I can assure you that the original addressee is no one that we’re familiar with. Per the envelope The UWF Training Center was based in Dallas, Texas. Materials inside indicate that Ken Mantell was the trainer. Aside from print ads which were advertising sending away for this particular kit, there isn’t any info out there about the training center besides what you will see here.

The brochure itself is the size of a wrestling program and is really well produced. The cover, which opens in the center, is full of photos and “quotes” from UWF talent such as Dr. Death Steve Williams, Missy Hyatt, Michael P.S. Hayes, Skandor Akbar, Iceman King Parsons and, my favorite, the lovely Sunshine. Next to Missy there’s even a youngster who I think, 36 years later, is just about to wrap up his career. Some fella with a painted face named Sting. Inside we get an overview of what the UWF Training Center can offer you. Yes, you, the next possible star wrestler, manager, valet, referee or announcer. The “Manager of the Future” photo with the cut out face (leaving room for YOU!) is definitely Bruce Prichard. The thing doesn’t really break kayfabe, but it’s still surprising to see such material come from a Bill Watts endeavor.

$2500.00 (not including room and board) were your total training expenses. Were you up for that challenge? Did you have what it took to make it in the UWF? Well, before this information kit was even postmarked the company had already been sold to Jim Crockett Promotions. I wonder if anything surrounding this training center even got off of the ground? Perhaps it became something else? Three additional bulletins that were included indicate that a new UWF television program was in the works, to debut in June, which would highlight all the young hopefuls of the training center. While I’m sure such a show wouldn’t have broken kayfabe in the style of Tough Enough, it’s intriguing to think just what it may have looked like.

What made this so appealing to me? Promotional items from wrestling have always been intriguing. Despite it being 1987, the wrestling world was still very “wild west” as far as ideas and what made it and what didn’t. Even WWF promotional items from that time are largely uncatalogued outside of what you see in this blog. Unlike other sports which were very organized by that point, wrestling was basically a band of untethered idea men. Types of people who have a lot concepts and grandiose notions floating around in their heads, but ultimately only the ones that “hit big” are remembered. Obviously, this is not one of those. Long before the WCW Power Plant, the WWE Performance Center and even Ohio Valley Wrestling, there was about to be the UWF Training Center. I guess if we can be thankful for anything it’s that it wasn’t Herb Abrams’ UWF trying to train folks.

“Herbie cookie break at 3! Bring your spoon.”

From The Musty Yellowed Pages--UWF Beach Brawl 1991 Program

Maybe Herbie did have a use for all of that baby oil three decades ago. No, it wasn't another late night at the office. It was UWF Beach Brawl! We've all heard the stories of Herb Abrams and his ill-fated venture into the sport of kings. He didn't want to just be competition for the World Wrestling Federation, he wanted to be bigger than the Stamford-based company had ever been! TV shows! Pay-per-view! Andre the Giant! Cookies! While some of that did actually happen (do we have evidence that any cookies were ever produced/sold?), three decades later we know the ultimate fate of the man and the company. But one tangible product still exists and today we're looking at it: the UWF Beach Brawl 1991 program!

While there are hats, video tapes and a few other programs floating around (does ANYONE have evidence of those damned cookies?), the Beach Brawl program is my favorite bit of Herbie's UWF memorabilia that is out there. It isn't so much what it looks like, though it does boast a colorful cover and plenty of photos inside. It isn't even that I am an avid collector of programs like many of you reading this. I never sought it out. I believe I picked it up relatively cheap in the last decade. What's really been a blast about owning this thing are the reactions that it gets from the wrestlers signing it.

"I didn't even show up," recalled Don "Magnificent" Muraco as he became the first to sign it. He was correct, he did not show up for his match with Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy, but he is featured in the publication. The infamous Johnny Ace ended up subbing for The Magnificent One. Brian Blair and Jim Brunzell got a great chuckle when recalling working for Herb Abrams as "Masked Confusion" as opposed to their WWF "Killer Bees" personas. Even Mick Foley, the most recent to sign it, marveled at it and recalled Muraco not actually working the event.

The program itself isn't too remarkable and certainly nothing compared to what the WWF was doing with programs or even WCW when they would manage to squeak one out. It certainly isn't cheaply made like a mimeographed independent show program of the era, but color on the inside definitely could've made it stand out a bit more.

Despite not winning on this particular show, Candi Devine still has the UWF Women's Championship belt in her possession and gladly brings it to autograph signings and appearances. The still-popular Rockin' Robin was the winner here and has her original WWF Women's Championship. Where's the fanfest promoter who will book these two ladies with Alundra "Madusa" Blayze (who, of course, still has the 1993-1995 WWF Women's Championship) and brings them all together for a special photo op? 

Speaking of things for wrestling fans to spend money on, Herb of course loaded the program with opportunities to order UWF apparel and other merchandise. Again, we know that hats and videotapes exist. The "Bruno book" offered would be the first printing of his autobiography that was released around that time. It is interesting to think that a man who built himself on honesty such as Bruno Sammartino would be taken in by a guy like Herb. It's my feeling that Bruno was so anxious to stick it to the WWF at that point that he was willing to go with whoever was trying to create opposition.

Speaking of Herb, one of the last pages in the book is fully dedicated to him and offers a bio that he most-assuredly penned himself. Perhaps the one truism on the page is the feeling that Bruno and Captain Lou Albano being part of the UWF lent credibility. While the promotion ultimately ended up with zero credibility to speak of, it is reasonable to think that some at the time may have thought that the inclusion of such names would in fact mean that there was promise in the company and that would attract both sponsors and fans. 

There's really little joy in rewatching anything that was produced by the company. It isn't like a WWF or WCW show from the era where nostalgia hits you at every corner. You can tell by the performances that much of the talent was there for a payday and nothing more. Still, others worked hard and tried to make something of it. I'll leave it to you to decide which names fall under which category. It is worth seeking out at least some of the footage for the sake of history, especially if you watched the Herb Abrams documentary produced awhile back. It's also interesting to see Andre the Giant in his brief appearance. I'm sure he just wanted to hang out with his old friends.

If anything it can serve as a warning. You don't want to end up like Herb Abrams. He tried to warn you right in this very program...

Book About JYD Missing One Thing....JYD

 I've come to find that the best books on the topic of pro wrestling are those written by the talent themselves or at least with their involvement.  Some of the stories may be stretched and facts a bit muddled by the passage of time, but that's part of wrestling's charm.  Sadly, many of wrestling's most colorful personalities and stories are forever lost to that same concept of time.  Occasionally an author will come along and be able to salvage some of these lost treasures.  That is exactly what I was hoping for when I opened up "The King of New Orleans" by Greg Klein.

The basis of the life of the late Sylvester Ritter is already known by many fans.  Ritter was, for all intents and purposes, your average territorial wrestler.  Once he was given the gimmick of "The Junkyard Dog," he became an undeniable superstar.  With average wrestling skills but an unreal amount of charisma and an amazing ability to connect with fans, JYD took Mid-South Wrestling, and later the WWF, by storm.

As has been the case with success in countless walks of life, the downward spiral came for Ritter just as fast as did the ascension to the top.  Drug abuse and other factors that come packaged with fame and the fast life took the Junkyard Dog from the bright lights of WrestleMania to the dimly lit armories much faster than should have been, ultimately contributing to his death just a decade after leaving the spotlight.

I'm not saying that the two paragraphs above summarize the entire story of Sylvester Ritter as told in "King of New Orleans," but it's not far off.  When I began the book, I kept waiting for the personal stories told by those who knew him.  I was expecting tales from Ritter's rise to fame and maybe even nuggets about how he handled going from the second banana behind Hulk Hogan in the mid-1980s to an almost forgotten undercarder just a few years later.  None of that was here.

Perhaps I was expecting too much, as the books subtitle is in fact "How The Junkyard Dog Became Professional Wrestling's First Black Superstar."  Maybe the author never intended to delve too far into the WWF's "Grab Them Cakes" version of JYD.  But even if the intention was just to chronicle his rise to fame in New Orleans, there just isn't enough about Junkyard to make an intimate account of his life.  I will say that a good history of Mid-South and UWF Wrestling is provided.  These segments seem to take up the majority of the book and, at times, rarely seem to mention Ritter at all.

Because of very little in the way of interviews done for the purpose of this book (many quotes are borrowed from publications by Bill Watts, Ted DiBiase, and other sources), the JYD story almost seems to become a backdrop.  I know for a fact that wrestlers love to talk.  They especially enjoy discussing the old days and their fallen brothers. As colorful a life as he led, I'm sure that Watts and DiBiase aren't the only two living wrestlers who knew JYD well.  And though LaToya Ritter, the daughter who accepted the Junkyard Dog's WWE 2004 Hall of Fame induction, passed away suddenly a few years ago, there have to be other family and friends who could have provided valuable insight.

A very casual fan with an interest in recalling the basic JYD story and various Mid-South Wrestling memories will get something from "The King of New Orleans." Most other types of fans will have already absorbed these facts from other media sources.  The story of an individual who lived an unstructured life as Ritter did is never an easy one to tell, but not impossible.  Unfortunately in the case of the Junkyard Dog, this isn't the book to do it.

The (Mid) South Will Rise Again!

WWE Home Video releases that satisfy everyone are few and far between.  Either there's too much previously released material or the content is too "old" to appease the "Universe" or this or that or the other thing.  I'm not sure if it's a credit to the WWE home video team or the creative genius of Ernie Ladd and Bill Watts, but the newly released "Legends of Mid-South Wrestling" might be the pacifier needed to satisfy the cries of all groups of wrestling consumers.

Ever since WWE purchased the Mid-South Wrestling Library, fans have been clamoring for something to come of it.  It didn't take a genius to figure out that the purchase was a smart buy.  From Junkyard Dog to Ted DiBiase to Jim Duggan to Jake Roberts, so many wrestling stars of the '80s had some of their best years in the business as part of either Mid-South Wrestling or the Universal Wrestling Federation when the promotion changed names.  Seeing as how WWE enjoys showcasing the stars of what many fans between the age of 30 to 40 years old consider to be the company's "glory years," this release practically built itself.

Released in both DVD and Blu-Ray formats, Legends of Mid-South Wrestling is presented in a format that I was unsure of at first.  Instead of the often-used WWE DVD format of a documentary followed by matches, the wrestler soundbite and clip segments are interspersed throughout to tell the story of Mid-South/UWF and build up to complete matches.  After watching, I decided that I enjoyed this format more than the separate documentary.  While it may not work for every topic tackled, it definitely thrives here.

Although I'm not a home theater expert, to me this classic footage is particularly crystal clear in Blu-Ray format.  Though the occasional imperfection from the source material cannot be helped, someone did an absolutely remarkable job restoring these tapes.  Rumor says that the tapes were restored for the Watts family's own marketing of these matches before WWE purchased the library. 

The segments and matches presented each revolve around a key player in Mid-South's history and often include stars such as Ric Flair, Andre the Giant, and Dusty Rhodes who passed through.  In my estimation, the match listing is phenomenal.  Despite collecting quite a bit of footage through the years, the only match I had previously owned was Andre, Dusty, and JYD taking on Ladd and The Wild Samoans.  Six Hall of Famers in one match gives you just a hint of the star power involved here.

You'll see the student-teacher struggle of Magnum T.A. and Mr. Wrestling 2.  You'll relive the conniving Ted DiBiase as he battles former friends JYD and Hacksaw Duggan.  You'll witness tag teams such as The Fabulous Freebirds, The Midnight Express, and The Rock 'n Roll Express as they climbed up the ladder.  You'll learn of Muhammad Ali's involvement with Mid-South from Jim Ross himself.  How about Shawn Michaels, Sting, and The Ultimate Warrior TRULY "before they were stars?"  It's all here.

As is usually the case when comparing formats, the DVD packaging is a bit more attractive than the Blu-Ray version.  The latter format, however, contains several bonus segments and matches.  These extra features are absolutely worth picking up the Blu-Ray version for.  Cantankerous old "get that WWE logo off of my classic wrestling!" fans will be happy to see that the company's logo is very small in the over all packaging design.  In comparison, the classic Mid-South Wrestling logo is featured much more prominently as a whole.

This release has a lot of potential in several different areas.  As with any "classic" release, the likelihood of future, similar releases only rises if the sales are good here.  I've seen many fans reporting purchases of "Legends," which will only help the cause.  With this particular release, hopefully the company will feel the need for yet another chapter of Mid-South Wrestling.  There are many more great matches, classic characters,and untold stories yet to be touched upon.  Hopefully "Legends of Mid-South Wrestling: Volume 2" is on the home video horizon.

For every reason mentioned above and more, go out and buy this one.  WWE releases from their vast "vault" are always worth a purchase due to being able to get these gems in pristine quality, but this set goes above and beyond.  Very rarely in viewing the discs was I not completely entertained.  Going back to my earlier pondering, I think that it did have a lot to do with "The Cowboy" and "The Big Cat."  Not only did they know how to build a promotion, but they knew how to build the talent to keep us enthralled.  Thanks to WWE, we now get to treasure that greatness forevermore.