Scott Bowden presents Kentucky Fried Rasslin

Neal Snow’s ongoing series depicting Apter-mag covers breaking the sacred kayfabe code.

Toward the end of 1984, Jerry Lawler vowed that he would win the World title in 1985 or retire. This was around the time that Jerry Jarrett reached an agreement with Jim Crockett and Ole Anderson to share talent as part of the “Championship Wrestling from Georgia” launch that occurred after Vince McMahon took controlling stock of World Championship Wrestling and its 7:05 ET Saturday night time slot. Many speculate that as part of the shared talent agreement, Crockett had promised Jarrett that Lawler would receive an NWA World title run in the summer before dropping it back to Ric Flair at Starrcade ’85. Supposedly, those plans fell through when Crockett secured the rights to WCW and the time slot from McMahon for $1 million, i.e., he didn’t need Jarrett or Lawler anymore. Just one problem with that story: Jarrett denies such a promise was ever made. He says the Lawler vow was to breathe new life into the World title chase and nothing more. I believe Jarrett should know.

During the height of the ICW outlaw days, Randy Savage bumped into Bill Dundee at a gym parking lot. The two exhanged words and Dundee grabbed a gun from his car, and Savage responded by cracking him on the jaw, forcing Dundee out of the ring and embarrassing the Jarrett side.

After JYD left Mid-South for the WWF, a flustered Bill Watts buried his prized black champion, saying the competition was getting too hot for the Dog, in particular his rivalry with Butch Reed so he left for softer opposition up North. The competition certainly got easier for Reed in the form of Master G (journeyman George Wells).

Dick Murdoch was hell of a worker and fun guy by all accounts, but he wasn’t exactly politically correct nor an expert in race relations.

At the height of his fame in the WWF in 1983, Jimmy Snuka may or may not have have had something to do with the death of his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino, in a Pennsylvania hotel room. Snuka claims she fell and unjured herself when the two stopped to pee on a gravely road while traveling to a TV taping in Allentown.  In 1985, the Argentino family obtained a $500,000 default judgment against Snuka in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. The Argentinos never collected a dime; Snuka’s lawyers withdrew from the case, stating that they hadn’t been paid, and Snuka filed an affidavit claiming he was broke and unemployed and owed the IRS $75,000 in back taxes.

As part a new ongoing KFR feature, beltmaker Neal Snow will be offering mock-ups of classic Apter mag covers with a twist: What if the headlines reflected a total disregard for kayfabe? (For starters, Apter likely would have been sleeping with the fishes had he ever dreamed of putting out such a magazine in the ’70s and early ’80s.)

As most of you know, the Apter mag stories and interviews were nearly always total fabrications written to further storylines and promote the wrestlers. I loved ’em as a kid, and I even occasionally bought them for the photos even after I had discovered dirt sheets like The Wrestling Observer. While you’re at it, check out Snow’s All Star Championship Belts Web site, where you can purchase your very own rasslin’ strap. The first in a series is very near and dear to my heart. After all, I’m the one who nearly died at the hands of Sid after making a joke about scissors to his face following the stabbing incident with Arn Anderson.