Literary Squared Circle #29 – ADVENTURES IN LARRYLAND!
This week, the Literary Squared Circle blog reviews Adventures In Larryland! by Larry Zbyszko (ECW Press, 2008). Zbyszko is probably best remembered for being the protégé of Bruno Sammartino, who infamously turned on his mentor setting up Sammartino’s legendary final feud. Their teacher vs. student battles culminated in a steel cage match at Shea Stadium in 1980, which was part of the WWWF’s final Showdown At Shea supercard.
Larry Zbyszko will celebrate his 70th Birthday later this week (December 5th). Adventures In Larryland! begins with Zbyszko’s family moving to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was 13 years old. His family lived just two miles away from Bruno Sammartino, whom Zbyszko idolized. It was at that time that he decided he wanted to become a professional wrestler. Sammartino took Zbyszko under his wing, training him, and helping him break into the business.
Zbyszko and Sammartino were able to parlay their real life relationship into their mentor/protégé storyline. In addition to his memorable feud with Sammartino, Zbyszko discusses his experiences negotiating with both Vince McMahon Sr. and Vince McMahon Jr. He also gives his views on how the wrestling business changed over the course of his career.
Zbyszko somewhat glosses over his time in the NWA and Japan, but goes into more detail regarding his time in the American Wrestling Association, where he was the promotion’s final Heavyweight Champion before it shut down in 1991. Like he did with McMahons, Zbyszko discusses his relationship with AWA owner/promoter Verne Gagne.
After the AWA closed down, Zbyszko joined World Championship Wrestling. He would spend the next decade working for WCW as a wrestler and later a commentator. He teamed with Arn Anderson as The Enforcers, and both later joined The Dangerous Alliance faction managed by Paul E. Dangerously (Paul Heyman).
Zbyszko was a commentator on WCW’s weekly Monday Nitro program when the New World Order angle took place. He returned to the ring at the Starrcade pay-per-view in 1997 to wrestle WCW boss Eric Bischoff, who had made himself a member of the nWo. Adventures In Larryland! concludes with WCW closing up shop and Zbyszko calling it a career… until, that is, he gets a call from the Total Nonstop Action promotion and he appears to be off again to work for yet another promotion.
Though he does not discuss his time in TNA, Zbyszko spent 3 years with the promotion. After his book was published in 2008, Larry Zbyszko became a member of the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015. He was inducted by, none other than, Bruno Sammartino.
I really enjoyed Adventures In Larryland! Zbyszko was both opinionated and honest regarding his lengthy career. My only complaint about the book is its brevity. Clocking in at under 200 pages, I would have expected much more detail from Zbyszko. He glosses over some significant events in his career, and completely ignores others. Personally, I would have like to have heard about his experiences with Herb Abrams and his Universal Wrestling Federation, where Zbyszko wrestled in late 1990 with the AWA World Heavyweight Championship.
Zbyszko also did not discuss his personal life very much. I did get a laugh from the fact that he titled Chapter 8 of Adventures In Larryland! “Love”. The briefest of chapters read, “Love and the wrestling business do not mix. Period. The end.”
Overall, Adventures In Larryland! is a fun, yet quick read. I recommend it to anyone who is familiar with Zbyszko’s work in the WWWF, AWA, or WCW.
4 Stars out of 5
Larry Zbyszko will celebrate his 70th Birthday later this week (December 5th). Adventures In Larryland! begins with Zbyszko’s family moving to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was 13 years old. His family lived just two miles away from Bruno Sammartino, whom Zbyszko idolized. It was at that time that he decided he wanted to become a professional wrestler. Sammartino took Zbyszko under his wing, training him, and helping him break into the business.
Zbyszko and Sammartino were able to parlay their real life relationship into their mentor/protégé storyline. In addition to his memorable feud with Sammartino, Zbyszko discusses his experiences negotiating with both Vince McMahon Sr. and Vince McMahon Jr. He also gives his views on how the wrestling business changed over the course of his career.
Zbyszko somewhat glosses over his time in the NWA and Japan, but goes into more detail regarding his time in the American Wrestling Association, where he was the promotion’s final Heavyweight Champion before it shut down in 1991. Like he did with McMahons, Zbyszko discusses his relationship with AWA owner/promoter Verne Gagne.
After the AWA closed down, Zbyszko joined World Championship Wrestling. He would spend the next decade working for WCW as a wrestler and later a commentator. He teamed with Arn Anderson as The Enforcers, and both later joined The Dangerous Alliance faction managed by Paul E. Dangerously (Paul Heyman).
Zbyszko was a commentator on WCW’s weekly Monday Nitro program when the New World Order angle took place. He returned to the ring at the Starrcade pay-per-view in 1997 to wrestle WCW boss Eric Bischoff, who had made himself a member of the nWo. Adventures In Larryland! concludes with WCW closing up shop and Zbyszko calling it a career… until, that is, he gets a call from the Total Nonstop Action promotion and he appears to be off again to work for yet another promotion.
Though he does not discuss his time in TNA, Zbyszko spent 3 years with the promotion. After his book was published in 2008, Larry Zbyszko became a member of the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015. He was inducted by, none other than, Bruno Sammartino.
I really enjoyed Adventures In Larryland! Zbyszko was both opinionated and honest regarding his lengthy career. My only complaint about the book is its brevity. Clocking in at under 200 pages, I would have expected much more detail from Zbyszko. He glosses over some significant events in his career, and completely ignores others. Personally, I would have like to have heard about his experiences with Herb Abrams and his Universal Wrestling Federation, where Zbyszko wrestled in late 1990 with the AWA World Heavyweight Championship.
Zbyszko also did not discuss his personal life very much. I did get a laugh from the fact that he titled Chapter 8 of Adventures In Larryland! “Love”. The briefest of chapters read, “Love and the wrestling business do not mix. Period. The end.”
Overall, Adventures In Larryland! is a fun, yet quick read. I recommend it to anyone who is familiar with Zbyszko’s work in the WWWF, AWA, or WCW.
4 Stars out of 5
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