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I'm wading my way through the book too (And yes, you can all PM me haha) and got to the chapter about the Magic Dragon.

 

Wow.

 

Definitely threw a wrench in there for that last sentence that I wasn't expecting when he just so nonchalantly says:

 

Kabuki wanted to do something nice for Magic Dragon so he gave him a 5-week booking in South Africa as Dragon just got married and thought they could use it as a honeymoon. It was really nice what he did for Dragon to give him a type of honeymoon. The plane they were on went down on the way to South Africa and everyone on board died.

 

What I found interesting was that Kabuki basically lent his gimmick to Dragon, ie Dragon was going there to work as the Great Kabuki. 

 

This book is phenomenal BTW. So many amazing stories. I feel a little guilty at not paying for it... but if the publisher's going to be a dumbass about not reprinting it, that's on him. I can only hope I don't run into Gary upstairs somewhere...

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I'm wading my way through the book too (And yes, you can all PM me haha) and got to the chapter about the Magic Dragon.

 

Wow.

 

Definitely threw a wrench in there for that last sentence that I wasn't expecting when he just so nonchalantly says:

 

Kabuki wanted to do something nice for Magic Dragon so he gave him a 5-week booking in South Africa as Dragon just got married and thought they could use it as a honeymoon. It was really nice what he did for Dragon to give him a type of honeymoon. The plane they were on went down on the way to South Africa and everyone on board died.

 

What I found interesting was that Kabuki basically lent his gimmick to Dragon, ie Dragon was going there to work as the Great Kabuki. 

 

This book is phenomenal BTW. So many amazing stories. I feel a little guilty at not paying for it... but if the publisher's going to be a dumbass about not reprinting it, that's on him. I can only hope I don't run into Gary upstairs somewhere...

We would all gladly pay for it. Seriously, a big fuck you to the publisher. I hope Gary haunts him into submission. People need to read it, and Gary's story has go get out there. He was such a fucking kickass dude, and nobody else is telling the stories he's telling here.

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Awesome work to whomever scanned or typed (scanned, I hope!) that classic up. Good on you! So happy people get to read it now. And I would like to echo tromataker's big fuck you to Philip Varriale. Fuck you, cork sucker.

 

So many great stories. Reading about the plane crash left an indelible mark on my psyche, it was just so powerfully written. But, then you have all the stories of Don Jardine being a short-tempered psychopath. And the Von Erich stories. And the story about Austin Idol and his dog. And the Missing Link. Fuck, I want to re-read that book. It really sparked my interest in the '70s scene.

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I'm wading my way through the book too (And yes, you can all PM me haha) and got to the chapter about the Magic Dragon.

 

Wow.

 

Definitely threw a wrench in there for that last sentence that I wasn't expecting when he just so nonchalantly says:

 

Kabuki wanted to do something nice for Magic Dragon so he gave him a 5-week booking in South Africa as Dragon just got married and thought they could use it as a honeymoon. It was really nice what he did for Dragon to give him a type of honeymoon. The plane they were on went down on the way to South Africa and everyone on board died.

 

What I found interesting was that Kabuki basically lent his gimmick to Dragon, ie Dragon was going there to work as the Great Kabuki. 

 

This book is phenomenal BTW. So many amazing stories. I feel a little guilty at not paying for it... but if the publisher's going to be a dumbass about not reprinting it, that's on him. I can only hope I don't run into Gary upstairs somewhere...

We would all gladly pay for it. Seriously, a big fuck you to the publisher. I hope Gary haunts him into submission. People need to read it, and Gary's story has go get out there. He was such a fucking kickass dude, and nobody else is telling the stories he's telling here.

 

 

Yeah, I found that interesting in the fact that Gary essentially said "If you ever saw Kabuki and I wasn't there, it was Dragon." The things you learn haha. 

 

And I think we would all pay for it but not the ridiculous prices they go for on eBay. 

 

 

Awesome work to whomever scanned or typed (scanned, I hope!) that classic up. Good on you! So happy people get to read it now. And I would like to echo tromataker's big fuck you to Philip Varriale. Fuck you, cork sucker.

 

So many great stories. Reading about the plane crash left an indelible mark on my psyche, it was just so powerfully written. But, then you have all the stories of Don Jardine being a short-tempered psychopath. And the Von Erich stories. And the story about Austin Idol and his dog. And the Missing Link. Fuck, I want to re-read that book. It really sparked my interest in the '70s scene.

 

It was completely typed, no scans. That alone says the dedication to actually get this book out there.

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Court Bauer of MLW commented on the Gary Hart book leaking as he read drafts given to him by Hart -- it's to his understanding that this file isn't the actual final draft.

Don't know the source of the leak but he sounded bummed that the one guy holding up a reprint of Hart's book isn't budging. Even an eBook seems completely unlikely due to the same guy.

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Gary really must be one of the all time greatest heels. He was in a fucking plane crash that left his body wrecked and permanently blind in one eye, helped save two of his buddies and STILL got his heat back after the story went national. Can you even begin to fathom how much talent that takes?

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I haven't read JJ's book, but that would also be of interest, as I'm sure he has some great Horsemen stories and also a behind the scenes look at the WWF when he was there. I think I asked this in the questions thread before, but was JJ there at the time when Arn & Tully, Ronnie Garvin, Terry Taylor, Tony Schiavone et al came over and was he instrumental, or have any influence in their moves to the then WWF?. 

 

 

JJ made the jump after all of those guys except Schiavone.  Tully made the connection that got him into the WWF.

 

I haven't read his book either.  Don't know if he had anything to do with getting Schiavone in.

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I haven't read JJ's book, but that would also be of interest, as I'm sure he has some great Horsemen stories and also a behind the scenes look at the WWF when he was there. I think I asked this in the questions thread before, but was JJ there at the time when Arn & Tully, Ronnie Garvin, Terry Taylor, Tony Schiavone et al came over and was he instrumental, or have any influence in their moves to the then WWF?. 

 

 

JJ made the jump after all of those guys except Schiavone.  Tully made the connection that got him into the WWF.

 

I haven't read his book either.  Don't know if he had anything to do with getting Schiavone in.

 

 

Ben! it's really on you to find us some other out of print wrestling book. Otherwise, you have to cede your ! to Ben. 

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I haven't read JJ's book, but that would also be of interest, as I'm sure he has some great Horsemen stories and also a behind the scenes look at the WWF when he was there. I think I asked this in the questions thread before, but was JJ there at the time when Arn & Tully, Ronnie Garvin, Terry Taylor, Tony Schiavone et al came over and was he instrumental, or have any influence in their moves to the then WWF?. 

 

 

JJ made the jump after all of those guys except Schiavone.  Tully made the connection that got him into the WWF.

 

I haven't read his book either.  Don't know if he had anything to do with getting Schiavone in.

 

 

I read it a little while ago and don't recall him mentioning anything about getting Schiavone in. Actually, I don't really recall him saying anything about Tony at all. I recommend his book as it's a really interesting look at how Vince's mind works and what the creative process was like back then. Basically it was mainly Vince booking the main storylines with input and ideas from JJ and Pat Patterson who were also in charge of the undercard.

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Just virtually thumbed through the PDF and it's definitely not the version I have in hard copy - although mine might be slightly revised, as it's from the reprint, and has an epilogue about Gary's death from his sons.  

 

The final line in the PDF ("And in the immortal words of basketball coach Bobby Knight, I hope they bury me face down, so my critics can kiss my ass.") is not in the book, which ends one line earlier.

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Just virtually thumbed through the PDF and it's definitely not the version I have in hard copy - although mine might be slightly revised, as it's from the reprint, and has an epilogue about Gary's death from his sons.

The final line in the PDF ("And in the immortal words of basketball coach Bobby Knight, I hope they bury me face down, so my critics can kiss my ass.") is not in the book, which ends one line earlier.

It wasn't released until after Gary died. The epilogue from his sons is in every edition.
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Just virtually thumbed through the PDF and it's definitely not the version I have in hard copy - although mine might be slightly revised, as it's from the reprint, and has an epilogue about Gary's death from his sons.

The final line in the PDF ("And in the immortal words of basketball coach Bobby Knight, I hope they bury me face down, so my critics can kiss my ass.") is not in the book, which ends one line earlier.

It wasn't released until after Gary died. The epilogue from his sons is in every edition.

 

 

Thanks.  So there y'go.  Not the final version.  I wonder what else got changed.  

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Just virtually thumbed through the PDF and it's definitely not the version I have in hard copy - although mine might be slightly revised, as it's from the reprint, and has an epilogue about Gary's death from his sons.

The final line in the PDF ("And in the immortal words of basketball coach Bobby Knight, I hope they bury me face down, so my critics can kiss my ass.") is not in the book, which ends one line earlier.

It wasn't released until after Gary died. The epilogue from his sons is in every edition.

 

 

Thanks.  So there y'go.  Not the final version.  I wonder what else got changed.  

 

 

Off the top of my head:

 

- The first plane crash is only in the released version.

- Earlier drafts have more harsh and descriptive language about what he said to Jerry Jarrett when giving him a swirly.

 

I do wish I still had the hardcover because it really is better, but it's fun to try to spot the differences.

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So Gary Hart's book is fascinating.  I think my favorite parts are how he just eviscerated people he disliked.  Ken Mantell, Jerry Jarrett, Sting, Herb.   He held nothing back.  At the same time he seemed completely baffled that anyone might criticize people he personally liked. In a way his devotion to the Von Erich kids, Dusty, Brody etc is endearing.  

 

I guess my only criticisms, and this is being nitpicky, is he falls into the usual wrestling tropes (he was a badass who never lost a backstage confrontation or argument, every territory was dead until he rolled in and then they were hanging from the rafters) a bit too often.

 

Other than that it's an amazing look at the wrestling business, especially the booking side of things.  His writing style is great at giving tons of detail but still leaving the reader hungry to know more.  I would probably rank Foley's first and Bret's above this one, but not by much.

 

Thanks again benefactor.  It was a great read but not enough to justify spending a mortgage payment for it on Ebay.

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