Wrestling Is My Gimmick

For someone whose career spanned nearly four decades, Barry Horowitz might have the lowest winning percentage in professional wrestling history. But there’s a reason why his name reached household levels among fans of the sport. Wrestlers who put on a deliberate losing performance (known as “jobbers”) provide the starting points for the game’s top names, and Horowitz was always there to help every new generation of talent rise to the next level. He took all the moves. He made them all look good. He absorbed every pin and submission. And then he came back to do it for someone else. From the local federations in Florida to years in the World Wrestling Federation, Horowitz helped launch the careers of everyone from Ric Flair to the Ultimate Warrior to Kane to Bill Goldberg and everyone in between.
This book, illustrated with high-quality photographs, presents the life and career of Barry Horowitz. From his life outside the ring to his storied career in professional wrestling’s most unsung role, this biography hopes to shed light on why Horowitz was so committed to an industry who sometimes failed to return the favor. From Horowitz comes a tale of defining one’s own success and doing the best for the toughest of businesses—and about becoming a cornerstone in a part of pro wrestling that’s commonly underrated, but an integral part of the trade!

Barry David Horowitz‘s professional wrestling career spanned nearly four decadesand is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
An award-winning journalist and lifelong wrestling fan, Jason Norman teaches college English in southeastern Virginia.

Barry David Horowitz with Jason Norman
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 228
Bibliographic Info: 8 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2024
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9610-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5493-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Foreword by Joshua Horowitz 1
Preface by Jason Norman 3
Welcome! 5
Wrestling Begins 10
Learning My Dream 13
My College “Career” 17
Time to Train 18
The Years 1981–1983 28
Jimmy Snuka 34
Making It to Starrcade 40
Losing Job, Matches. Finding Success, Love 44
Near Death, a Few Times 51
Taking the Florida Title 54
My “First” Goodbye 58
Up to Tennessee 61
Up to the World 65
“Piledriver” 70
Getting Broken by the Harts 75
My (Not at All) Ultimate Departure 81
First Trip to WCW 85
Going “Global” 89
Title Time 94
Another ­Near-Fatal Moment 96
A New Addition! 98
My First Daughter 101
Almost Losing It All 105
Too Many Sad Endings 108
End of Global 113
Going Around and Around (and Around!) 117
Back in the WWF 118
I Get “Knighted” 121
A Part of Country Music History 126
In the Ring and Out of Trouble 131
Finally Moving Up a Bit 136
Hitting It Big with Skip 139
My ­Pay-Per-View “Debut” 146
A National Award! 158
Moving Down in the Ranks 161
Landing Back in WCW 168
Getting Struck by Gold 171
Working with the Flairs 175
The Night We Lost Owen 178
WCW Winds Down 180
Wrestling Loses WCW 185
Never to the Extreme 188
Making the Best of It All 190
Training: Past and Future 194
Finding a New Path 199
Living in a Dark Hole 203
The Bio That Wasn’t 206
Conclusion 209
Index 217