| Bill Apter |
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Apter was a successful Photographer for several wrestling and Boxing magazines published by Stanley Weston , including ''The Wrestler'' and ''Inside Wrestling''. He eventually moved up to the top editorial spot at Weston's wrestling properties. When wrestling boomed in popularity in the 1980s, Apter's magazines rode the wave, commenting and expanding on the storylines of the World Wrestling Federation , Jim Crockett Promotions and the American Wrestling Association in addition to a multitude of smaller companies, plus providing readers with a wealth of exclusive interviews and photographs. Unlike Dave Meltzer , editor and publisher of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that was widely read by wrestling insiders, Apter directed his publications at the common fan and usually operated under the conceit that professional wrestling was not in any way scripted or predetermined. But despite Apter's reluctance to let his readers in on wrestling's big secret, fans who bought Apter mags became more informed about the business than most casual wrestling viewers, especially if they were fans of the dominant WWF, which tended to act as if other promotions did not exist. In 1991 Apter compiled the PWI 500 , a detailed ranking of the top 500 wrestlers in the world according to Pro Wrestling Illustrated. PWI has published the list every year since, and it has been and remains quite influential. Today PWI is probably best known for the PWI 500. It should be noted that the PWI 500 is a completely worked listing, with the editors determining who should have what spot in the rankings based more on their own ideas of where a certain wrestler should be in the business, as opposed to a more objective listing. Thus, someone with limited wrestling skills, but whom is getting pushed hard by a promotion would rank higher than someone with more skills, but less "face time". However, despite this, it is still considered an honor to be ranked, and many wrestlers have written to the magazine to complain about their ranking in the 500 or lack thereof. Starting in the mid-'90s, the wrestling industry went through a radical transformation. As the Internet became more and more popular, more fans gained access to news and information on the inner workings of the wrestling business. Promotions were no longer able to openly claim or imply that wrestling was legitimate competition, and ultimately, neither was Apter. Eventually he left his kayfabe magazines and accepted the editorship of WOW Magazine , a new glossy publication that assumed its readers knew the truth about wrestling. Today Apter is the editor of Total Wrestling , a magazine similar to WOW, and has entered the Internet world that ended the relevance of his old magazines as a co-owner of 1wrestling.com , a popular wrestling news Website . He says he loves meeting and talking to wrestling fans and makes frequent appearances at wrestling conventions and in small independent promotions such as the World Wide Wrestling Alliance (NWA Ohio) , where he is the storyline commissioner. Bill Apter is also involved in the NWA Cyberspace pro-wrestling promotion. TRIVIA Bill Apter introduced Jerry Lawler and Andy Kaufman , enabling them to start their famous feud in the 1980s. LINKS
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