Duncan, Royal and Gary Will, Wrestling Title Histories (Archeus Communications, 2000).
Hauser, Thomas, Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times (Simon and Schuster, 1992).
Heenan, Bobby and Steve Anderson, Bobby the Brain: Wrestling’s Bad Boy Tells All (Triumph Books, 2002).
Kram, Mark, “. . . But Only a Farce in Tokyo,” Sports Illustrated, July 5, 1976.
Molinaro, John, Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All Time (Winding Star Press, 2002).
“The Nation: A Glittering Courtesy Call,” Time, July 19, 1976.
Thesz, Lou and Kit Bauman, Hooker: An Authentic Wrestler’s Adventures Inside the Bizarre World of Professional Wrestling (Lou Thesz Books, 1995).
Whiting, Robert, Tokyo Underworld (Random House Digital, 2000).
Select Newspapers and Newsletters:
New York Times, May 21, 1976; May 19, 1976; June 25, 1976; June 27, 1976; July 2, 1976; July 4, 1976; February 23, 1977
Wrestling Observer Newsletter, August 14, 1996; April 1, 2009
17. Brisco: The Last of His Kind
Brisco, Jack, interview with author.
——— and William Murdock, Brisco (Culture House Books, 2004).
Duncan, Royal and Gary Will, Wrestling Title Histories (Archeus Communications, 2000).
Dunn, Kevin, director, The Most Powerful Families in Wrestling, 2007.
Funk, Terry and Scott Williams, Terry Funk: More Than Just Hardcore (Sports Publishing LLC, 2006).
Hornbaker, Tim, National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling (ECW Press, 2007).
MacArthur, Paul, “The Jack Brisco Interview,” Wrestling Perspective,Volume VII, Number 60, April 2, 1996.
Nulty, Mark, director, Jack Brisco Shoot Interview, 2002.
Watts, Bill and Scott Williams, The Cowboy and the Cross (ECW Press, 2006).
Wilson, Jim, Chokehold: Pro Wrestling’s Real Mayhem Outside the Ring (Xlibris Corporation, 2003).
Wrestling Observer Live, “Jack Brisco Interview,” March 29, 2004.
Select Newsletters:
Wrestling Observer Newsletter, February 17, 2010.
18. The UWF and Shoot style
Krugman, Michael, Andre the Giant: A Legendary Life (Simon and Schuster, 2009).
Marvez, Alex, “Inside the Universal Wrestling Federation,” Wrestling Observer 1989 Yearbook.
Meltzer, Dave, Who’s Who in Pro Wrestling (Wrestling Observer, 1986).
Molinaro, John, Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All Time (Winding Star Press, 2002).
“Shootstyle,” ProwrestlingHistory.com.
Snowden, Jonathan, Total MMA: Inside Ultimate Fighting (ECW Press, 2008).
Select Newsletters:
Wrestling Observer, August 14, 1996; July 27, 1998
19. The Next Level: The Shoot-style Revolution
Bessac, Scott, interview with author.
DeLucia, Jason, interview with author.
Feinstein, Rob, director, Shoot with Vader, 1998.
Foley, Mick, Have a Nice Day (Avon Books, 2000).
Hume, Matt, interview with author.
Martin, Todd, “The overlooked origins of mixed martial arts,” CBSSports.com, 2007.
Meltzer, Dave, interview with author.
Mezger, Guy, interview with author.
Oliver, Greg and Steve Johnson, Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels (ECW Press, 2007).
Rutten, Bas, interview with author.
Shamrock, Bob, interview with author.
Shamrock, Ken and Richard Hanner, Inside the Lion’s Den (Tuttle Publishing, 1997).
———, interview with author.
Shamrock, Frank, interview with author.
Shannon, Jake, “Mark Fleming Interview,” ScientificWrestling.com.
Snowden, Jonathan and Kendall Shields, The MMA Encyclopedia (ECW Press, 2010).
———, Total MMA: Inside Ultimate Fighting (ECW Press, 2008).
White, Vernon, interview with author.
Select Newsletters:
Pro Wrestling Torch #248, October 16, 1993
Wrestling Observer Newsletter, February 22, 1993
20. UFC: No Holds Barred
Arnold, Zach, interview with author.
Barnett, Josh, interview with author.
Bessac, Scott, interview with author.
Gracie, Rickson, interview with author.
Gracie, Royce, interview with author.
Isaacs, David, interview with author.
Loiseleur, Tony, interview with author.
Malenko, Joe, interview with author.
Nelson, Steve, interview with author.
Pelc, Gene, interview with author.
Pelc, Ted, interview with author.
Rodgers, Victor, “The Dan Severn Interview,” CagesideSeats.com.
Rutten, Bas, interview with author.
Severn, Dan, interview with author.
Shamrock, Bob, interview with author.
Shamrock, Frank, interview with author.
Shamrock, Ken, interview with author.
Shannon, Jake, Say Uncle (ECW Press, 2011).
Snowden, Jonathan and Kendall Shields, The MMA Encyclopedia (ECW Press, 2010).
Snowden, Jonathan, Total MMA: Inside Ultimate Fighting (ECW Press, 2008).
Select Newsletters:
Wrestling Observer Newsletter, September 8, 2003
Pro Wrestling Torch #387, May 11, 1996.
21. Fighting for Pride
Arnold, Zach, interview with author.
Coleman, Mark, interview with author.
Gracie, Rickson, interview with author.
Kerr, Mark, interview with author.
Meltzer, Dave, interview with author.
“The Paul Orndorff Interview,” Wrestling Perspective #111.
Pelc, Ted, interview with author.
Quadros, Stephen, interview with author.
Rutten, Bas, interview with author.
Snowden, Jonathan, Total MMA: Inside Ultimate Fighting (ECW Press, 2008).
Selected Newsletters:
Figure Four Wrestling #288, January 1, 2001
Wrestling Observer Newsletter, October 16, 1995
22. Saku
Gracie, Royce, interview with author.
Isaacs, David, interview with author.
“Royce and Rorion Gracie,” Kakutogi Tsushin (translated by Yoko Kondo), June 11, 2000.
McCarthy, John and Hunt, Loretta, Let’s Get It On! (Medallion Press, 2011).
Mezger, Guy, interview with author.
Nelson, Steve, interview with author.
Newton, Carlos, interview with author.
Sakuraba, Kazushi, Me (MMA Translations, 2001).
———, Me (MMA Translations, 2007).
23. Brawl for All
Club WWI, “Haku/Meng,” October 2011.
Devito Jr., Basil, Wrestlemania: The Official Insider’s Story (Regan Books, 2001).
Duncan, Royal and Gary Will, Wrestling Title Histories (Archeus Communications, 2000).
Feinstein, Rob, director, Shoot with Bart Gunn, 2007.
———, Shoot with Savio Vega, 2010.
———, Shoot with Steve Williams, 2002.
“Pierre Carl Oullet,” SlamWrestling.com.
Rodgers, Victor, “The Dan Severn Interview,” CagesideSeats.com.
Ross, Jim, interview with author.
Severn, Dan, interview with author.
Shamrock, Ken, interview with author.
Watts, Bill and Scott Williams, The Cowboy and the Cross (ECW Press, 2006).
“Who’s Slamming Who?,” Cornette’s Commentary with Jim Cornette, March 16, 2009.
Williams, Steve, interview with author.
Zimmerman, Christopher Robin, “WWF Raw is War, 8/10/1998,” SlashWrestling.com.
Select Newsletters:
Pro Wrestling Torch #501, July 4, 1998; #505, August 1, 1998; #509, August 29, 1998
Wrestling Observer, July 6, 1998; August 3, 1998; August 24, 1998; January 11, 2010
24. Your Olympic Hero: Kurt Angle
Angle, Kurt, It’s True, It’s True (Harper Entertainment, 2001).
Curby, Jake, “Drug Testing in Wrestling,” CurbyWrestling.com.
Dunn, Kevin, director, WWE 24/7 Legends of Wrestling: Bad Asses, 2007.
“DuPont Heir Dies in Prison,” UPI.com, December 10, 2010.
Funk Jr., Dory, “In Funk’s Corner: Do Your Best and Don’t Quit,” Dory-Funk.com.
King, Peter, “Gripping Finish,” Sports Illustrated, August 1, 1996.
Landsberg, Michael, Host, Off the Record, April 29, 2004.
Randazzo V, Matthew, Ring of Hell (Phoenix Books, 2008).
Reilly, Rick, “Holding Their Own,” Sports Illustrated, August 12, 1996.
Turkington, Carol, No Holds Barred: The Strange Life of John E. du Pont (Turner Pub, 1996).
Select Newspapers and Newsletters:
New York Times, February 4, 1996
Wrestling Observer Newsletter, August 23, 2004
25. The Next Big Thing
Botter, Jeremy, “Exclusive: Legendary Announcer Jim Ross Validates Folklore,” Heavy.com.
Feinstein, Rob, director, Shoot with Kurt Angle, 2008.
Landsberg, Michael, Host, Off the Record, April 29, 2004.
Lennon, Patrick, “Fighting Talk: Angle Grinder,” Daily Star, July 30, 2010.
Lesnar, Brock, interview with author.
Penn, Nate, “Brock Lesnar: “I Like to Punish People,” Maxim, May 2009.
Randazzo V, Matthew, Ring of Hell (Phoenix Books, 2008).
Rippel, Joel, Brock Lesnar: The Making of a Hard-Core Legend (Triumph Books, 2010).
Schecter, B.J., “Very Big Man on Campus,” Sports Illustrated, March 6, 2000.
Smith, Michael David, “Patriots’ Stephen Neal Recalls Wrestling UFC Heavyweight Champ Brock Lesnar,” AOLNews.com.
“Who’s Slamming Who?,” Cornette’s Commentary, July 20, 2009.
Select Newspapers and Newsletters:
Figure Four Weekly #584, September 4, 2006
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, November 12, 2006
Pro Wrestling Torch #777, September 27, 2003; #802, March 20, 2004; #934, September 27, 2006
Wrestling Observer Newsletter, September 2, 2002; April 7, 2003; November 15, 2004; December 20, 2004
26. Wrestling Invasion
Botter, Jeremy, “Exclusive: Jim Ross Talks Becoming an MMA Fan, James Toney, Brock Lesnar and more,” Heavy.com.
Carwin, Shane, interview with author.
Coleman, Mark, interview with author.
Cook, Bob, interview with author.
Iole, Kevin, “Lesnar-Carwin a Fitting Finish to a Special Night,” Sports.Yahoo.com.
Konrad, Cole, interview with author.
Lashley, Bobby, interview with author.
Lesnar, Brock, interview with author.
——— and Paul Heyman, Death Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival (Harper Collins, 2011).
Mir, Frank, interview with author.
Penn, Nate, “Brock Lesnar: ‘I Like to Punish People,’” Maxim, May 2009.
Randazzo V, Matthew, Ring of Hell (Phoenix Books, 2008).
Velasquez, Cain, interview with author.
White, Dana, interview with author.
Select Newsletters:
Figure Four Weekly, June 11, 2007
27. The Future
Barnett, Josh, interview with author.
Caplan, Sam, “5 Oz. of Pain Exclusive: Josh Barnett Responds to Dana White,” FiveOuncesofPain.com.
Hume, Matt, interview with author.
Melanson, Neil, interview with author.
Roth, Matthew, “HKL Exclusive interview with Neil Melanson Pt 1: Catch Wrestling and His Books,” HeadKickLegend.com.
ACKNOWLEGMENTS
I owe a debt of gratitude to Dave Meltzer and Ed “In San Antonio” for this book. Shooters was initially conceived as a magazine article, and they helped me flesh out a list of tough guys in the media room at a UFC event. Without their enthusiasm and expertise, I may have never gotten up the nerve to turn this into a book. Thanks, gentlemen.
Thanks as well to Kendall Shields. Although the project didn’t go as planned, Kendall’s voice and research rings clear throughout. He wrote much of what you see in the Mitsuyo Maeda, Masahiko Kimura, and Kazushi Sakuraba chapters. I hope we work together again sometime down the road.
What can I say about Jake Shannon and J. Michael Kenyon? They lent generously from their huge collections of wrestling history and memorabilia. Don Luce, Mark Hewitt, John Nash, and Steve Yohe also helped with their time and resources. Yohe, in particular, served as my guide when things got confusing. He and Tim Hornbaker are titans in the field of wrestling history. I couldn’t have done it without you.
Of course, in the modern era, Dave Meltzer stands alone as our top expert. I relied on him heavily, supplemented by Wade Keller’s excellent Pro Wrestling Torch and Bryan Alvarez’s Figure Four Weekly. Thanks, too, to all the wrestlers and fighters who took the time to talk with me. This is your story. I’m proud to tell it.
JONATHAN SNOWDEN is the author of the bestselling Total MMA (2008) and co-author of The MMA Encyclopedia (2010). He is a national lead writer for BleacherReport.com and is a former radio DJ and television producer. He currently works for the Department of Defense.
Copyright © Jonathan Snowden, 2012
Published by ECW Press
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416-694-3348 / [email protected]
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. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION
Snowden, Jonathan, 1975–
Shooters : the toughest men in professional wrestling / Jonathan
Snowden.
ISBN 978-1-77041-040-4
ALSO ISSUED AS: 978-1-77090-220-6 (PDF); 978-1-77090-221-3 (EPUB)
1. Wrestling—History. 2. Mixed martial arts—History.
3. Wrestlers—Anecdotes. I. Title.
GV1195.S66 2012 796.812 C2011-906981-4
Editor for the press: Michael Holmes
Cover and text design: David Gee
Cover images: Special collections of the University Libraries of Notre Dame, © George Napolitano
Shooters Page 42