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