Gary Hart on how Texas Wrestling Territory System Worked

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[@donaldpainter956]

Gary Hart was one of the greatest managers of all time he was so convincing with everything he did

[@CP-kb1du]

Legit Heat

[@Mr.WhiskeyONeill]

I really wish Gary Hart had the opportunity to record his book on audible, I could listen to him all day.

[@davesullivan8073]

Got to 100% agree with that.

[@stephengrahn9361]

It's a great book as a casual wrestling fan, but love reading nonfiction, it's the only wrestling book I have read. I really like Gary Hart I learned so much about the wrestlers my grandfather loved

[@martezberry3164]

@Jim Terry And its awesome...so many chapters. What a mind

[@jlowry71]

I wonder, if Hart's family owns the rights to his book, would they go the AI route for his voice and vocal style analyzed to where it could be replicated. Granted some might consider it very taboo or disrespectful, and that's why the family should be the one to make that decision.

[@benjaminmartin9073]

The best wrestling book out.

[@archemicon960]

I grew up on Mid-South and Texas Wrestling watching the brilliance of Gary Hart!

[@lumphead2564]

So did I and we also used to get AWA wrestling sometimes Florida Wrestling and back in the early days of cable we got WWF wrestling on Channel 9 wwor

[@ricstormwolf]

Man. I wish Gary was still with us. He was brilliant.

[@termil6891]

I could listen to Gary Hart, Jim Cornette, Dutch Mantel & Kevin Sullivan all day long. Their stories are great.

[@johnwade7963]

Gary was awesome

[@carlosdanger947]

Great interview ... from a legend in the business . RIP

[@KayFabe87]

Great history lesson from a master. RIP Gary Hart.

[@Sargebri]

Gary Hart and Dusty Rhodes were two of the greatest bookers in the history of the business. Of course, they learned at the feet of Eddie Graham, who pretty much was the Paul Brown of the wrestling business.

[@davestuddaman8127]

Hart learned from Jim Barnett and The Sheik

[@004752]

Great interview with a brilliant wrestling mind. RIP GARY HART.

[@davidmatheny398]

This is video from Gary last day alive. RIP and Thank You Gary

[@mikekrause3671]

he died one day after this ??!

[@justafanofnerdculture7602]

@@mikekrause3671 Yes, he did.

[@MaxxCoyote]

@@mikekrause3671 This was recorded on March 14, 2008, less than 48 hours before Hart passed away.

[@GameTime-yj6qv]

So glady Gary Hart got to be interviewed. He had such a great wrestling mind and a great wrestling historian.

[@samiam7342]

this was definitely the best guest booker that kc put out......gary was such a knowledgeable guy with a lot of great stories to tell. Gary actually died the day after he did this interview........ His book sells for an astronomical price since there are not many copies out there....r.i.p.

[@gothard5]

one of the best, but not the best in my opinion. the best guest booker was Cornette.

[@samiam7342]

@@gothard5 i'm a big fan of cornette.....ive seen all of his kayfabe commentary dvd's and all of his RF dvd's......my favorite one he did was the Breaking Kayfabe interview - Incredible!

[@thechestermoore]

Blanchard had some strong years in the early 80s. He was the first wrestling promotion on the USA Network and did great until some controversy over a bloody match and Vince entered the picture and paid big money for the time slot. He didn't go out until early 85 when the jig was up on most territories and then he sold to a company called Texas All Star Wrestling. Not to be confused with the independent company that exists now (as far as I know). Boesch still had big shows with Watts cards into the mid 80s but around 85 or so things started slowing for everyone. I'm sure he's right about WCCW controlling most of Texas but both Southwest and Houston still had a few good years. I saw Houston Wrestling spot shows when I was kid in 84 and 85 running through Mid South in Beaumont, TX and they were packed. I even saw a Texas All Star card in Beaumont that drew a couple of thousand people, but it had Brody and Scott Casey in a cage match, so that was an attention grabber. Love Gary Hart. One of the best promos ever.

[@danielmoore2320]

That last card you mentioned was run by World Class talent Brody and Casey were both under World class in Texas

[@thechestermoore]

thanks for the info on that! Makes sense since Brody was between San Antonio and Dallas in that area. I was only 12 so memory a little foggy.@@danielmoore2320

[@jonathanturbide2232]

Fascinating, I could listen to Gary Hart talking old school wrestling all day. Thanks for the video. 👌🏻

[@joshuaDstarks]

Be sure to look at Sean through this too, that’s the smile of a wrestling fan.

[@justafanofnerdculture7602]

Yes, Sir, you are absolutely correct. Sean was definitely enjoying hearing all of Gary Hart's knowledge of the wrestling business...and the same goes for me.

[@madbrowniac7871]

Ironically enough the real life voice of Gary Hart is considerably different from his Promotional voice. As was the case with Hart's eventual Kayfabe archnemesis Dusty Rhodes.🤔🎤🐴🤼‍♂️B.W.

[@abelinomuniz8035]

Great interview rest in peace Gary Hart

[@mikes.7654]

The closest thing to a MasterClass on professional wrestling we will ever get.

[@AaronLesterMedia]

Need more Gary Hart's in this business today...

[@docholliday6338]

Wccw was a great wrestling show.

[@TNAROHfan]

The best. Most innovative of it's day. It was like Memphis without all the corny BS.

[@20cardmg]

This guy is a genius of the wrestling business

[@donnyfaison9349]

RIP to one of the greatest minds in wrestling

[@ultimok]

I could sit for hours and listen to the genius that is Gary Hart.

[@larryjones4096]

Having grown up there,our wrestling was indeed like our fights and i got the scars and missing teeth to prove it.

[@timbarry2232]

This was incredible to watch and listen to!!!

[@seanevans9329]

Loved gary hart in Georgia championship wrestling... Great Kabuki, great muta... Awesome

[@CP-kb1du]

1989 WCW JTex was so over ....PLAYBOY GARY HART

[@brianlogan4243]

A great mind, mentor, historian and performer. Sadly no longer with us. His paperback book sells for over $1,000. I have the ebook and it's probably the best wrestling book on the territory Era. Gary lived an exciting life. Heat with Bruno kept him out of NY. Gary and Lewin were protégés of legendary Nature Boy Buddy Rogers.

[@mikes.7654]

There are no words to express how jealous I am of you right now.

[@furnitureconsortium]

There's a good reason that the book was pulled and not reissued. That's because virtually all of the stories in the book were found to be untrue from multiple sources. Entertaining book? certainly....... Can you believe anything that's actually written in the book? sadly.....no. Due to that, I really don't believe anything Gary said here either. And that's coming from a fan of Gary Hart. I can appreciate his awesome managerial work and appreciate his time booking Dallas....but, it's the Paul Heyman principle....just don't believe anything that comes out of Gary's mouth when it pertains to his history in the business.

[@jorndoff2002]

@@furnitureconsortium It wasn’t pulled and not reissued because of lies. What makes you and expert?

[@furnitureconsortium]

@@jorndoff2002 do some actual basic high-school level research and you'll find out why the book only had one printing run. There were a lot of stories in the book that weren't factual. I don't claim to be an expert on anything.....this is a known fact that actually happened which is why original books (not homemade pdf's or ebooks) go for so much money on Ebay, because not a lot of them were actually printed. The printing run had to be pulled due to the possibility of lawsuits due to the stories in the book.

[@paulsoxl7739]

I wouldn’t pay a nickel for this book of Tall Tales

[@angelocervantes4950]

Gary hart. Greatly under appreciated

[@JohnGardnerKpt]

I could listen to Hart talk all day, real mind!

[@jrtjonathanwinchell3955]

So Gary Hart only booked the talent in the Territories of Dallas, Texas from 1976-1982

[@TNAROHfan]

That was his first run.

[@johngallagher72]

​@@TNAROHfani think post 1982 David Mannig and Bronco Lubbock began to have more of an influence on the office.

[@TNAROHfan]

Bronco always sort of did because he was kind of like a right hand to fritz. An old school guy from fritz's Era who he trusted. Gary quit, or got told to take a hike by fritz, because he wanted too much money, depending on who is telling rhe truth, and then Ken mantel and David Manning had their own runs.

[@gothard5]

Can’t say enough just how much I enjoyed reading Gary’s book. JJ Dillon’s book, too. I highly recommend both if you haven’t read them yet.

[@JuanGarcia-fw4bn]

If I had been Kamala,I would ve done my best to learn from Gary Hart,he was the real stuff and he had so much knowledge and knew the psychology of the bussines and the territories.

[@CP-kb1du]

Spot on ..James Harris Kamala would have made more money for sure damn shame Vince Paid him only 15K In main events PPV against Hogan and Warrior ...

[@JuanGarcia-fw4bn]

@@CP-kb1du Not only that,Gary would helped him get in shape and teach him to become more than a novelty sight,but some one to be taken seriously,evolve into a talking wrestler,Kamala would ve gotten to upper card,perhaps be a main eventer on his own,he wouldn t have gotten diabetes under the right guidance...Gary Hart could have been that, Kamala was set on his ways,But if any one could ve guided him,managed him it would ve been Gary.

[@leslieswiman4813]

🙏🙏🙏 R.I.P GARY HART

[@YogsenForfoth]

I wish we had so much more time with Gary. He was one of the most brilliant minds in the history of the wrestling industry.

[@brianlogan4243]

Lol Gary actually scared me as a kid in his promos. Lol. You really believed he was an evil man lol.

[@ctt4lfecw]

Great insight. Fascinating stuff

[@oldgoatgxp]

Very interesting and informative.

[@theflorgeormix]

Sinister in his day. Perfect for a villain in say an Indiana Jones movie.

[@jonathanturbide2232]

I can see him as an 80's James Bond villain.

[@abelinomuniz8035]

I miss Gary Hart R.I.P

[@scottclark7592]

I always thought gary hart was black back in the day-man sure liked to suntan! RIP Gary-one of the greats

[@jenellsmith7206]

I think he's biracial

[@woodwwad]

Best manager ever.

[@dhornjr1]

Hard to watch knowing that Gary Hart flew home after this interview and died the next day.

[@R2B2YT]

Wow did not know that

[@samright4661]

What happened too Gary?

[@85futureshock]

@@samright4661 Heart attack. He came in the door to his condo and collapsed in his son’s arms. By the time the ambulance arrived, it was sadly too late.

[@samright4661]

@@85futureshock Sad . Gary was a brilliant promoter

[@justafanofnerdculture7602]

@@R2B2YT Neither did I...wow. Thank you and RIP, Gary Hart. 🙏

[@RodneyRodriguezTX]

Great Insight! Although the big days of Southwest began in 1983 when the Sheepherders came about and the USA contract happened.

[@mikejejenich-pb5zx]

Wccw. Was a Great territory. Stocked with talent. The von eriks. Freebirds. Iceman king parsons. Gino hernandez. Chris adams👋

[@governorerbe839]

RIP Uncle Gary

[@barryjoslyn5884]

Smart man Mr Hart

[@peytonwelch6036]

To be fair Paul Boesch started working with Mid- South in 1982 and didn't go out of business until 1987.

[@danielmoore2320]

And that's when Houston lost the huge crowd s it ounce had

[@amanrob]

But watts wasn’t paul’s final partner. Bruce Prichard has talked about it on his podcast.

[@lesliemiros6743]

He went with Vince in 1987 .

[@DixiePokerAce]

Texas wrestling looked real. It was definitely stiff but it was exciting to watch and it was believable.

[@David-yw2lv]

Gary Hart was a great booker,he brought top notch wrestlers into Texas.My father thiught he had a Latino accent, everybody else thought my father was odd for claiming that.

[@helenrenee8105]

I am not aware of crossover talent between Dallas and San Antonio

[@MisterBeauJanGels]

Gary doesn't discuss it in much detail here, but does in his book. Joe Blanchard started in San Antonio as strictly a local promoter of shows booked out of Dallas. He also built name recognition locally by taking a job as the sports anchor on a local TV newscast. In the mid-70s, Mike LeBell's show out of Los Angeles aired on the Spanish International Network and could be seen locally. According to Hart, during the height of the Roddy Piper vs. Chavo Guerrero feud, Blanchard booked LeBell's guys every six weeks and drew a big house, but did little to promote the ongoing weekly shows featuring the Dallas regulars. Hence, those guys were making quite a haul every single week to South Texas for very little if any profit. Around 1978, Blanchard struck out on his own. This happened more due to the number of wrestlers living in San Antonio than anything having to do with Blanchard as a promoter.

[@mikejejenich-pb5zx]

Him and the great kabuki. Was. The best. What a tandem. 👋✅

[@tommyjones7387]

This is what wrestling is missing today. Wccw was the best wrestling company in the world

[@amanrob]

He never mentioned the Amarillo territory. I was always curious why the Funks and that West Texas crew didn’t come through world Class since it was so close.

[@johncarolina4950]

They're 400 miles apart

[@amanrob]

@@johncarolina4950 I never said merge the territories. I said that the Amarillo guys never came through Dallas. And when talking about the territories and how much you’d drive, like watts’ weekly schedule, 400 isn’t that much.

[@TNAROHfan]

There wasn't an Amarillo territory by the time world Class was white hot. Before that, Dallas wasn't really a place that was known as a money town. More of a place for old guys who were on their last legs, or young guys who had not had a big break yet. Terry was spending most of his time in Florida and All Japan by the late 70's and early 80's and making good money. There was probably also some jealousy issues between Murdoch and the Von Erich's in the very early 80's when the boys were just starting to get on a roll and he'd bought a failing business. Texas has always had a lot of ego's like that (maybe more than most places) which is also most likely the major beef that Joe Blanchard had with Frtiz and his sons upstaging Tully. The real question might have been why didn't the Funk's attempt to use the Von Erich's more when they were relatively cheap as they were just starting to rise in popularity to pop their own town, which was struggling. Watts didn't have a problem with it and was in much better financial shape and didn't even really need to at that point, but the Funks were struggling. Gary answered that a bit though. They just weren't really interested in doing it according to him, even though the boys were starting to be in demand.

[@robbburns4707]

Always thought that GARY was only a manager NOW AFTER LISTENING to him we see another genius like OLE

[@SuperMarry23]

Mr. Class himself.

[@lonniec7603]

Gary Hart was a Boss

[@yonniemccullough]

I want to buy this full interview.Where do I go to purchase it?

[@jamesdriskill5784]

Hard to believe that the Funks, especially Dory Funk Sr., was dependent on Fritz. Makes sense now though bc I can remember Kerry coming through the Amarillo territory when he was first starting. Always thought that was odd. Now it makes since.

[@dannymccullough-ei8tb]

I remember hearing a shoot video with Gary Hart where he talked about Dewey Robertson aka "The Missing Link".It's a good one and I can't find it on here.Gary Hart talks about having to carry a concealed razor blade in his pocket and slashing The Missing Link up cause he kept bullying him.

[@ddave7026]

Lawton OK As a Texan wrestling fan who traveled i never realized there was a promotion there?

[@anthonyn.9228]

“I know Texas” He trash talked Texas so much, but I loved it.

[@nichhodge8503]

When looking at Gary Hart here it’s hard to think that there was no tomorrow night for him as he would be dead. Kind of like watching the Ultimate Warrior on Raw knowing that he would be dead 12hrs later

[@JamesSuperstar4Ever]

Hart said they had Amarillo and Lubbock... Terry Funk never mentioned working with the Dallas Office as far as getting talent

[@jmb01550]

I wonder if Andre the Giant was like Bruno or Bockwinkel?

[@chrischar9428]

In what way

[@jmb01550]

@@chrischar9428 If they got a piece of the money

[@chrischar9428]

@@jmb01550 bockwinkel bought into houston

[@randallvanevery3053]

"Kerry, you need to stop doing this??" 😅

[@DunesBGaming]

Wrestling was low key the mob 😂

[@tjjones2907]

Doesn't seem that low key!

[@ndr1764]

I wish I could find a copy of his book for a reasonable price

[@Daniel-hn7nd]

you can listen to it on youtube

[@haljordan777]

6:30 I realize Gary Hart died the day after this so his memory may have been failing him, but some of what he says is factually incorrect. First, Paul Boesch went to Joe Blanchard for a couple of years and the Bill Watts. Gary had it backwards. Also, Boesch was with Watts for longer than a couple of years. Finally, Paul Boesch did not go out of business in 1982. He went out of business 5 years later in 1987.

[@thack57]

The Long drives.Today's wrestlers also don't have access to the knowledge that the new wrestlers used to get in the car rides from town to town. Think of working a territory and getting to travel with a Dusty, Harley or a Gary Hart or a Mr. Fuji. The University of Wrestling.

[@rebelmnk2382]

Texan wrestlers are America's version of Dagestan wrestlers!

[@mistermay7986]

I love Gary Hart. A fountain of information

[@jnicholson79jn]

Not saying Gary is misremembering anything, but I gotta think guys like Joe Blanchard, the Funks, and Paul Boesch might remember things differently.

[@michaelinhouston9086]

Paul Boesch would remember things differently - he broke away from Dallas because attendance was falling because the Houston fans did not care about the guys and angles Dallas was booking.

[@MisterBeauJanGels]

@@michaelinhouston9086 There was obviously also heat with other promoters, mainly the NWA braintrust. The Sheik came in and screwed him. Harley Race screwed him, twice in fact. Bruiser Brody screwed him. The Brody incident is probably what accelerated his decision to deal with Watts.

[@michaelinhouston9086]

@@MisterBeauJanGels Good analysis. I bet you are right about that with Brody.

[@THAGFC]

To all the lil wrestling kiddies in the future almost 10 years after this He indeed go back to the wwe 😂😂😂😂

[@JayReaction530]

Why was Gary never in wwe?

[@seantape5171]

Vince.

[@MisterBeauJanGels]

@@seantape5171 Which Vince and which incarnation of WWE? He discussed in considerable detail about how he was set to go into the WWWF as Ivan Koloff's manager when Koloff took the strap from Bruno, only for Bruno to veto it because of gossip-mongering. Years later, he had an offer to work for the WWF under VKM, but backed out at the last minute when he smelled a rat.

[@seantape5171]

@@MisterBeauJanGels VKM. No way you could have him and Gary Hart together. Both too used to getting their own way. Texas & the Pacific Northwest held out longer than pretty much everyone else (minus Ted Turner's money 🤑🤑🤑, of course.)

[@seantape5171]

@@MisterBeauJanGels Even with them making inroads towards bringing Hart in, he'd been too used to having freedom and control in Dallas. No way, Vince could fold him in(or make him wear polka dots) before finally listening to the likes of Hunter and Shawn to give him a real nod. Not when Crockett still had some pull(& $$$$). It'd be easier to turn Fritz himself.

[@marktinker21]

Said the same thing 12 times

[@stevep4574]

He won't let the interviewer get a word in.

[@AssimoOne]

Nothing wrong with that. Gary is answering in a very thoughtful and informative way. It's not like he's talking OVER Oliver.

[@sese6227]

Sean Oliver said this was one of his favorite interviews, so he clearly didn't have an issue with it.

[@210Dinero]

When a man that knowledgeable about his craft speaks on it, you let him speak as long as he deems necessary.

[@robintaylor4249]

Doesn’t even look like him it looks like some white guy with the shaved head

[@alexmarquez9639]

Lmao probably wasn't! That was more than likely a crackhead that decided to shave his head and impersonate a z list wrestling personality so he could get paid shoot interviews haha

[@carlosdanger947]

@@alexmarquez9639 what an ignorant comment .

[@jorndoff2002]

Sounds like the guys in Texas never learned how to properly work a match

[@MisterBeauJanGels]

Like Gary said, try telling that to Johnny Valentine or Fritz Von Erich. They also worked stiff in Japan and a few other places.

[@lesliemiros6743]

Mid South was similar .

[@tjjones2907]

@BeauJanGels Hey, I'll tell them, and they are not going to say or do a thing about it. (You know, since they have both been dead for over 20 years.)