Houston Wrestling Programs 82-83 - Another Mark James Production

[vikingsfan73]

Received the "Wrestling Record Book - Houston Programs 82-83" book for Christmas. Pretty quick read, but I recommend it if you're a fan of author Mark James' other projects. Starts off with an intro by James Beard, and a foreward by Tom Pritchard. I knew Houston was kind of an island when it comes to booking, similar to St. Louis, but this project really reinforces it, at least for the era covered. I didn't realize how much Boesch booked Nick Bockwinkel as AWA champion during this time. I knew Bock was a partner in Houston, but I thought Boesch recognized the NWA champion too. There's no shows with the NWA champion booked in 82-83, lots with Bock as champion, and at least one show with Backlund defending the WWF title. Not sure if Boesch didn't participate as a NWA member at this time, didn't want to use Flair, or felt that he had to use Bock.

 

One thing that took some getting used to is the layout of the program. This was the program sold at the matches, but the cover story and most of the info inside is hyping the next show, not that evening's show. There's usually a small column with that night's lineup, but everything else is built to draw you into the next show. It makes sense, but since it's not how a lot of traditional programs I've seen were put together, it throws you at first.

 

There is a column where Boesch (who usually doesn't address the fans in the program) talks about the "Undisputed World Championship" tournament that Southwest Championship Wrestling. Without naming names of either the promoters or the wrestlers involved, Boesch does a pretty good job of damage control, letting the fans know he wasn't involved with the tournament, so don't be upset at him if you thought the card was bad!

 

Only compliant is that not all of the programs in the timeframe aren't included. It's pretty much complete, but there are a few holes. I recommend the book if you're into old programs like I am.