The Legends of Wrestling - "Classy" Freddie Blassie: Listen, You Pencil Neck Geeks (Wwe S)

I'm a big fan of wrestling biographies, and although this book was released many years ago, I had never read Blassie's book until 2022. The likely reason I held off on this book is that I had never seen Blassie wrestle or manage, as I'm a child of the 1990s "Attitude Era." The only memory that I have of Blassie is his appearance on Monday Night Raw in 2003. In that appearance, Blassie, a frail old man in a wheelchair, told the Dudley Boyz, "D'Von, Get the Tables!!!" (Blassie sadly died not long after this charming appearance on RAW).Despite my lack of prior knowledge of Blassie and pre-1980 wrestling, the book was still a solid read for me. I learned quite a bit about wrestling in the early territorial days, such as Mike LeBell's WWA promotion in Los Angeles and Vince McMahon Sr.. There are also some funny road stories, and Blassie offers some insight into his personal life, including his failures as a father as well as his marriage to a Japanese woman.The one flaw with the book is that there is a repeated aura of embellishment. Many times, I got the sense that Blassie is talking in character: for example, he discusses his alleged sexual exploits in a way that his on-screen character might have done; he boastfully claims that other wrestlers were intimidated / scared of him behind the scenes; and some of his stories about how the fans tried to harm him when he played the villain (i.e. heel) seem way too far-fetched to be truth. Blassie also talks in a vulgar tone at times, which seemed strange for a old man who should've been in the most contemplative stage of his life.Overall -- not the greatest wrestling book, but a solid read

This book is not for the squeamish at heart.Quite a bit of profanity but then again you have to consider the reputation "Classy Blassie" had, being the ultimate heal. Profanity to Freddie was just part of the territory. Having married at the start of his wrestling career, Freddie was far from the perfect husband. On the road most of the time, and seldom at home, his promiscuous behavior was the norm for a pro wrestler of that era.and created emotional distance between he and his wife and children and eventually led to divorce. Even up to very end of his career, Freddie was still estranged from his daughter Cheryl, son Gary, However he did have a father son relationship with his son Ron even up to the end of his career.. The stories he tells about fellow wrestler "Andre The Giant" are classic.Freddie's friends in the pro wrestling world were few and far between. However, among those who Freddie respected and as Freddie said," always gave you a days work" included the Japaneese wrestler Rikidozan, Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, and The Destroyer. Freddie married for the second time to the love of his life, a Japanese beauty named Miyako. In Sept. 2002 they celebrated their thirty-fourth wedding anniversary. Freddie credited Miyako with always being there for him through thick and thin.That included: a knee replacement; triple bypass;and a hip replacement. Freddie credited Miyako " with nursing me back to health every time." Freddie's wrestling career never skipped a beat when he retired from the ring and became a manager. As a manager you might say Freddie patterned his promotional gimmickry after the renowned wrestler turned manager, Lou Albano. You never knew where Lou was coming from and that style suited Freddie to a tee.One of Freddie's favorite wrestler's in his managerial stable was the "Iron Sheik". The Sheik's anti American gimmick could instigate the wrestling fans to near riot proportions. Freddie had a good relationship with the McMahon family and cherished their friendship.The stories leading up to the friendship Freddie struck up with comedian and pro wrestler wannabe Andy Kaufman are bizarre to say the least.Andy appeared to be the ultimate "space cadet."When Freddie joined forces with Muhammad Ali to promote a fight between Ali and the Japanese wrestler Inoki in Japan, the tales leading up to the match illustrate exactly how pro wrestling is promoted.Ali received $6 million for the match. I've read many pro wrestling books but the Freddie Blassie "Listen You Pencil Neck Geeks" is near the top of my favorites list.

When I was first introduced to "Classy" Freddie Blassie it was 1983 .....as an avid wrestling fan I was amused by the platinum haired old man who would call all his "adoring" fans "pencil neck geeks". Then Vince McMahon took over the former WWF by 1985 and wrestling as I knew it would never be the same. I started watching wrestling in 1978 and I was able to watch hours on end of the NWA territories (Mid-Atlantic, World Class, Georgia,etc.) , to me they had the best wrestling action. The WWF was actually boring in that era and by 1984 when Hulk Hogan arrived (for the second time) to the WWF it really became too cartoonish for my taste (even though I was only an 11 year old kid). Yet Freddie Blassie stuck with me...he was actually entertaining and was a great mouth piece to all his proteges. Little did I know that Blassie was a wrestling legend, tougher than nails and a trendsetter in and out of the ring. I found this book fascinating...it does feel like you are in the porch of your house sitting comfortably in a rocking chair and listening to Mr. Blassie talk about the "Golden Era" of wrestling. Blassie's frank and outspoken manner makes it more believable. He lauds his success in the ring and with the opposite sex...as much as he regrets not having a good relationship with the children of his first marriage. His amazing tales of the lengths he went to to entertain his "fans" and his love/hate relationship with promoters an fellow wrestlers are on point. This is a book for all of those who enjoyed wrestling from the early days to the early 80s...Blassie remains grateful and fateful to the McMahon family so don't expect any dirt on them. But true to form, there is dirt on some wrestlers who Blassie thoroughly disliked (not that many though..lol). The book shows a very human side to Blassie...the story of how he convinced Nikolai Volkoff to embrace the Russian Communist character is quite heartwarming. This book is hard to put down...you can almost hear Blassie's voice. A must read!!

I had never really heard of Freddie Blassie before getting this book, other than in passing name dropping from other wrestling biographies, having grown up watching wrestling in the late 90's to any real degree. However this is of no real matter and quite frankly I would reccomend this book to anyone - not just a wrestling fan.Unlike many auto-biographries these days where they are written annually and read more like a 12 year olds diary this is a true life story - and what a life! It's a really honest tale with frank accounts of the highs and lows and very colourful.You won't regret buying this.

Absolutely wonderful book about one of wrestling greatest ever character's. Didn't know much about the man before reading but this book is a just for any wrestling can at any age ,even if your not a fan still an excellent read about one of life's biggest character's.superb .

Freddie Blassie's autobiography provides an excellent window into the formative days of pro wrestling in the US and Japan. Blassie literally started when wrestling was still part of the carnival and continued to play a prominent role in the business well into its transformation into "sports entertainment" under Vince Jr.The book is - as we've come to expect from ghostwritten sports bios - a brisk read, moving forward from topic to topic with minimal time spent dwelling on much of depth beyond making sure the reader knows that Blassie scored more than his fair share of women along the way. That's fine if uninteresting, I s'pose, because we do get fantastic and hilarious tales of working with many of the all-time greats: Lou Thesz, Edouard Carpentier, Rikidozan, etc. Blassie offers decent insights into the relevant personalities and there are quite a few good gags in there that garnered audible chuckles from this reader. He also gives a solid take on how the business of wrestling worked in the territorial era, elaborating on the personas and quirks of the relevant promoters. His coverage of how to draw heat and the consequences of being a red hot heel back in the old days of the iron law of kayfabe is particularly good fun.Don't expect too much in the way of depth of analysis of his own strengths and weaknesses or detailed match breakdowns in the mould of Hart or Foley's books, but if you have an interest in wrestling history this is an essential tome to add to that LAPSED BOOKSHELF.

Classic Freddie, a great wrestler & manager.Very funny in spots,A breakfast mess with Andy Kaufman.A classic read.

幼い頃、テレビでブラッシーを見ました。　試合前にはヤスリで歯を研いでいました。試合になれば、相手も自分も、血だらけで、インタビューの際は、マイクを食いちぎってしまう有り様。　なんて怖い外国人だと思ったものです。この本で、あの当時、どんな気持ちで、ブラッシーがプロレスをしていたのかを、彼の言葉で知ることができて大変得をした気持ちです。プロレスファンの私としては、「猪木ーアリ戦では、本当は猪木に勝ってほしかった。」「猪木は個人的に好きじゃない。馬場は好きだ。」など等、ブラッシーの言葉が印象的でした。最後に車椅子で出場したレッスルマニアで、マクマホンの娘から「WCWもブラッシーも、もうすぐ死ぬんだ！」と罵倒された時に、芝居とは言っても、ショックを受けたブラッシーが、「オレの生涯の仕事は、こういう仕事だったんだ！」と自分自身で納得するシーンが、一番記憶に残ります。