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BOOK DETAILS Paperback: 216 pages Dimensions: 6x9 Publisher: Crowbar Press Photos: 85 b&w Cover: Full color ISBN: 978-0-9844090-3-7 Item #: cbp12-bd Price: $19.95
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"The Last Laugh" is available exclusively from Crowbar Press.
All books will be shipped via Media Mail (U.S.), Priority Mail, or International Priority Mail (Canada/overseas). According to Bill De Mott, he was just a "fat kid from Jersey who had never been out of the country," but his introduction to professional wrestling in 1988 has allowed him to travel all over the world. Since then, he has been a professional wrestler, a color commentator on the WWE Velocity television show, the head trainer for Deep South Wrestling (WWE’s developmental territory), a trainer on three seasons of the television reality show, Tough Enough, and now the owner of his own wrestling school and promotion — New Energy Wrestling. The stories of Bill’s life on the road are both hilarious and entertaining, and at other times, they are sad and insightful. He tells about his introduction to the world of wrestling at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, where he wrestled for almost two years before he was given an opportunity to work for small promotions in Puerto Rico, Japan, and Mexico. It would be five more years before he would reach what rookie wrestlers call "The Big Time" and join the ranks of World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment. Bill’s life has been filled with more backstage drama than is found in all the afternoon soap operas combined, and he doesn’t pull any punches in the telling of his story. He relates how he was introverted as a child, escaping from the realities of a childhood without a father by turning to drugs and alcohol. Not much changed when he became a "famous" wrestler. In fact, he stepped up the pace and filled his life with anything that would allow him to escape the reality of the world. Bill leaves no subject untouched. He discusses the origins of his many characters: Big Sweet Williams, Crash the Terminator, Crash the Eliminator, The Man of Question, Hugh Morrus, and General Rection. He talks about taking (and failing) drug tests. Bill doesn’t hesitate to criticize himself, either, and relates his shortcomings. He talks candidly about making bad choices in life and his search for closure. He tells about being a member of the Chubba Bubbas, a group of wrestlers which included Rocco Rock, Johnny Grunge, Devon Storm, and Joe D’Acquisto, whose primary goal was to party and have fun … and, more often than not, get into trouble in the process. He shares behind-the-scenes stories about many of his peers, as well, including Mil Mascaras, Kevin Sullivan, Chris and Nancy Benoit, the Boogeyman, Johnny Ace, the Great Khali, Van Hammer, and Chavo Guerrero, Jr. Considered by many to be a taskmaster with high expectations for his students, a softer side of Bill also reveals itself as his story unfolds. He speaks passionately about life on the road and how he missed seeing his two daughters grow up. In addition, Bill shares the actual notes from the journals he kept during his time on the road. A fascinating memoir from one of pro wrestling’s unique characters.
Excerpt from Chapter 1: Car Tipping Copyright © Bill De Mott and Scott Teal During the last week of the summer session and on the night before our final exams, several of us decided to go downtown to a local bar. I was only seventeen years old at the time. From what I can recall, I had one too many. Okay, I was drunk. At some point, we decided to leave the bar (which was located on the main street) and go "cow tipping." I didn’t know what that was, but we never got that far. As we walked out of the bar, the first thing we saw was a car, so someone decided we would have a contest to see who could do the most damage to cars (that’s plural) with their body, head, feet, or hands. And, of course, being the "psycho," I had to live up to the challenge. Excerpt from Chapter 4: Dog Meat Copyright © Bill De Mott and Scott Teal That was nothing compared to what took place in Puerto Rico. The fans were constantly drenching us with cups of urine, and it wasn’t unusual to get hit in the mouth with batteries. I had trouble with the islanders even when I was away from the arenas. The Power Twins and I had rocks thrown at us, and there were a few times when people tried to flip over our van … with us in it. I’m not complaining. We considered that to be "good" heat. That changed one night when someone fired a gun at me … while I was in the ring! I was ready to leave the island, but Chicky Starr talked me out of it. The next night, I got shot at again. Those fans lived and breathed wrestling. To them, it was real. And perhaps it was. It was sure real to me. The last time I checked, I don’t remember hearing about anyone shooting a gun at Hulk Hogan. Excerpt from Chapter 5: Urinal Balls Copyright © Bill De Mott and Scott Teal The office put me in matches with young Japanese boys who were machines and I spent the whole tour fighting for whatever I wanted to get. I didn’t give any quarter, but in the back of my mind, there was the niggling, "I don’t know about this." By the end of the tour, I put my own twist to the Golden Rule: Do unto others before they do unto you. Mickey Ibaragi was the boss, but as far as I could tell, even though he was the majority owner, he was just a figurehead for the company. I believe he made occasional decisions on the style of the matches, or a finish now and then, but Victor Quiñones was the "go-to guy" who ran the day-to-day operations of the company. Victor was a merchandising genius, but he had his hands in everything. He booked the talent, made the travel arrangements, and scheduled the TV programs. Victor also was the person who booked me, so he was the guy I answered to. I worked for him for almost three years, and in all that time, I never had to buy a plane ticket or pay for a hotel room. Whenever I traveled by bullet train or subway, they would always reimburse me. I was very well taken care of while I was there. Excerpt from Chapter 6: Batteries and Pesos Copyright © Bill De Mott and Scott Teal I remember being outside the ring with one of the Headhunters and knocking him through a wall. As he fell, he knocked Abdullah the Butcher off his chair and onto his ass. That was cool to see. Where else but ECW could someone like me get away with knocking Abdullah on his ass and have him look up at me with a smile on his face? The people in the audience had never seen anything like that. They were on their feet. Excerpt from Chapter 7: The Man of Question Copyright © Bill De Mott and Scott Teal After my match with Randy Savage, I was told I would be given future opportunities to talk. Unfortunately, politics reared its ugly head, as it often does in the wrestling business. People wanted to know what the "new kid" had done to deserve to get air time. After that, I did a few segments with Mean Gene Okerlund and David Penzer for commercial spots and fillers which were specifically designed to introduce the "Laughing Man" to certain markets. They also flew me to Atlanta to do a commercial for a pay-per-view where I played a prisoner in a jail cell. That was easy. I had real-life experience playing that part. But other than those few occasions, I wouldn’t find myself doing promos again for four years, which was a long, frustrating time. That was politics, though, a game I’ve never played well. Excerpt from Chapter 8: The Chubba Bubbas Copyright © Bill De Mott and Scott Teal I was amazed, however, at how fast things got complicated. The vignettes which showed Chris and Nancy together began to take on a more "personal" flavor, like sharing wine in a restaurant, and being together in a house. Wrestling being wrestling, storyline became reality and the talk in the dressing room began. I can’t give an exact time of when the sides were drawn, but coalitions were formed with Benoit’s buddies on one end and Sullivan’s on the other … or so it seemed. As always, when the boys were with Sullivan, they were "pro-Kevin," but when they were around Chris and Nancy, they were "pro-Chris." That was the way it was in wrestling. Excerpt from Chapter 9: The Chemist Copyright © Bill De Mott and Scott Teal I don’t want anyone to think I take the issue of drugs lightly, or that I’m proud of what I did in those days, but I can’t undo what happened. I can’t and won’t speak for everyone, but I was well-versed in recreational drugs. Working, bumping, traveling, and partying took a toll on my body and my mind. I found a way to lay down and get up each day (and every day) by using Soma [a muscle relaxer] and narcotic pain relievers like Nubain, Vicodin, and OxyContin. I would take something to keep going all night, and something else to bring me down and help me relax. I didn’t necessarily take anything to sleep, but I just needed something to take off the edge caused by the other drugs. As soon as I finished wrestling, I would get my bag and pop ten Somas into my mouth. I would chew them, wash them down with vodka and grapefruit juice, take a shower, and get ready to party. I never got on a plane without being drugged up in some way, shape, or form. I would get on the plane to leave the country with a pocketful of cocaine and a bottle of Somas and assorted pills. Guys who would come off the road with a one-day turnaround needed something to help them pass out on the plane so they could be rested and somewhat normal for the short time they had to spend with their family. When we made an overseas trip, we would stock up on pills and our "choice" of medicine. Excerpt from Chapter 11: The Invasion Copyright © Bill De Mott and Scott Teal Nobody knew anything until the night of March 26 when we were booked to wrestle in Panama City, Florida. Johnny Ace, who was an agent with WCW at the time, called and told us to be there early for a pre-show meeting. As Chavo and I walked through the backstage area, we noticed some of the doors had WWF signs and WWF names on them. We didn’t put it past WCW doing that to work us over, so we weren’t sure what it all meant, but it sure started a buzz. The guys who normally talked and discussed things might have known something, but nobody was saying much of anything. Everybody simply went straight to catering and waited for the "meeting" to begin. The whole crew was there: workers, referees, and agents. Excerpt from Chapter 13: Tough Enough Copyright © Bill De Mott and Scott Teal What should have been the biggest story of TE3 was the meltdown of a contestant named Lisa. When it came to training, Lisa was the biggest screwup of the season. She would miss moves and laugh about it, which didn’t sit well with the trainers or her fellow contestants. During the second week of training, she lost her mind. I mean, she literally lost her mind. One afternoon, Big received a phone call from the production crew who were working the night shift. They said Lisa was wearing a dress and jumping on the roof of the house. The biggest problem with that was, the side of the house on which she was jumping was a one-way ticket to the bottom of a canyon. She had blown a circuit and nobody knew what to do. By the time Big arrived at the house, the producers had talked her down. When John walked over to her, she pushed him against the wall and said something like, "They are going to get you, too … he is going to get you." Excerpt from Chapter 17: The Heat Guy Copyright © Bill De Mott and Scott Teal When we all trained together at Gold’s Gym, nobody complained about anything. We worked those kids for two to three hours a day and nobody grumbled or whined. However, on our first day in the new building, those problems began … in spades. When we were working at Gold’s Gym, everyone was blowing up, but that was a good thing because nobody was really in great cardio shape. When the time came for everyone to show what they could do in the ring, the kids were quickly separated into two groups: "those who could" and "those who couldn’t." As soon as the dead weight began to realize they weren’t as good as they thought, and they couldn’t hang with some of the others, they began making phone calls and sending e-mails to WWE to complain about their "mistreatment." In most cases, they blamed me for asking them to do things they shouldn’t have to do.
I just finished Bill DeMott’s book, and let me just say, it’s another job well done. While I read in the forward that it took some convincing to co-author a book by a wrestler of a different generation then you are used to, I’m glad you did. Sadly, I’m not old enough to have experienced the glory days of the '60s, '70s and early '80s. However, your books really put in perspective a time that never could be recaptured. With that being said, I’m glad you helped with Bill’s project because this was the first one of your books that focused on my era in the 90’s. I remember reading about Bill as "Crash The Terminator" in the old Apter mags and was able to follow his entire career through WCW, WWE, and finally, his role on "Tough Enough." Bill’s honesty about the drugs, extra-martial affairs and adventures with the "Chubba Bubbas" were great reads. I also enjoyed reading the insights about the botched "invasion" angle of 2001 and the role Chavo helped play in his life during the 9/11 attacks. This is all stuff that I remember clear as day and it’s nice to have an insider perspective. One last thing I’d like to add is that I was absolutely floored when Bill talked in depth about an October 2001 spot show in Valparasio, Indiana. Valparaiso happens to be the town I currently reside in and his comments about the atmosphere couldn’t have been more true! I was at that very show and remember the Spike/Show match that he discussed. In fact, somewhere, I do believe I have pictures from that very match! I’ll try to locate them and, if they are found, I’d love for you to send them to Bill! Again ... excellent job! Keep up the great work! Josh Harvoth
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