Wrestling at the Chase: The Inside Story of Sam Muchnick and the Legends of Professional Wrestling

Wrestling at the Chase is a nice little memoir of old time professional wrestling the way it was supposed to be. Back in the days with tough, realistic matches, and big mean, but realistic looking fighters. Back in the day when there were strong storylines that did not often cross over into the phony or unbelievable.Back in the day, St. Louis, under promoter Sam Muchnick, was one of the many loci of professional wrestling. It was a regional promotional system that was held together in the National Wrestling Alliance before Vince McMahon came along and ruined the sport.Here we get the real stories behind legends that wrestled not only in St. Louis, but across the NWA spectrum. The ill fated Von Erich clan, Jack Brisco, Dory Funk, Jr. and his brothers, including the wild Terry Funk, the oddball Bulldog Bob Brown, Rocky Johnson (father of The Rock), Macho Man Randy Savage, Andre the Giant, Bruiser Brody, Harley Race, Ric Flair, Dirty Dick Murdoch, and others. It was a time when professional wrestling seemed real. And sometimes it was. Pity the poor rookie that went into a match and didn't "sell" for the star. Sometimes, they really did get beaten up.This book harkens back to an era when the sport was fun. Sure, it was really a carnival like atmosphere but it was a real show.The last part of this book is discusses the monopolization of the sport by Vince McMahon, Jr. The regional promotions made money but they never generated great wealth. Many of the regions catered to one big city but really depended on very small venues in rural areas to survive. This was not in the day of huge TV contracts and in fact often TV didn't pay the promotions at all, the promotions used TV to sell live shows. Being in New York and having a cache of cash and one of the largest media markets in the world, Vince McMahon destroyed what professional wrestling was all about.The author, Larry Matysik, attempted his own promotion but had limited success and ultimately got out. McMahon had too many resources and some old stars who started a rival promotion were too political and out for themselves to thrive.So, Matysik harkens back to the day, when Sam Muchnick and St. Louis wrestling was one of the true last bastions of the sport.For those who like wrestling history, this is certainly an interesting, nostalgic read

I grew up on Wrestling at the Chase & had the chance to meet Larry later in life. He still had the youthful exuberance & joy for wrestling he had as the show’s lead announcer & I’ll always remember those meetings fondly. This book represents everything I loved about wrestling growing up in the 70s & is a must-read for anyone who loved & still loves old-school NWA wrestling.

If you grew up in the river city 60 years ago, you undoubtedly watched pro wresting from the ballroom of the Chase Park Plaza hotel on local TV. This book covers that and other wresting venues in St. Louis over the years. The book is a little verbose and has more detail about wresting politics than some would like, but a recommended read.

Wrestling at the Chase by Larry Matysik is a superbly well-written fountain of information on the business of professional wrestling before it lost its charm. Although I was never fortunate to have been able to watch St. Louis Wrestling in its prime, Larry Matysik's book allows the reader to feel as if he was there every step of the way. He truly makes promoter Sam Muchnick as well as a plethora of wrestling legends come alive. I remember watching King Kong Brody, Dick the Bruiser, the Von Erich brothers, Ric Flair, Harley Race, and many of the other greats Matysik describes and quotes in other organizations and territories. His special anecdotes of these superstars helped me gain insight into their lives both in and out of the ring. I also like Matysik's balanced view of the WWF conquest of professional wrestling. It was sad to see all the proving grounds for young wrestlers disappear, but if some of the promoters acted differently at the time, things might be different today. Larry Matysik did a splendid job showing his readership how wrestling once was...and how many of us wish it still would be.

Larry Matysik's book offers great insight into the St. Louis wrestling scene in a well written, organized book (which is not always the case with pro wrestling books). Larry was a sports reporter, and it shines through in his writing. Having grown up with the Mid-Atlantic territory in Virginia, I had never witnessed Wrestling at the Chase, nor was I aware of its importance in the NWA. Reading Larry's book and seeing his DVD's changed all that. There were a lot of familiar faces (Flair, Brody, Von Raschke), and some new (Crusher Blackwell, a young Ted Dibiase before he moved on to the UWF and WWF, Bulldog Bob Brown). It's a real treat to read his anecdotes then watch them on video. If you're a fan of the old NWA, this book is well worth your while to pick up. ECW Press has churned out some great wrestling books in the last year or two, including The Greatest Tag-Teams, Terry Funk's autobiography, and Harley Race's autobiography. This one is near the top of the heap. Highly recommended for fans of late 70's and 80's NWA wrestling, as well as those curious about wrestling history.Larry Matysik is now at work on a King Kong (Bruiser) Brody biography which should be out this year.

I gave this as a Christmas gift to a friend who adores the territory wrestling days, but didn't know a lot about the St. Louis wrestling scene. He LOVES this book and it even bit his writing bug (he's a screenwriter) and inspired him to write a film about this era of wrestling. Huge shout out to the Cigars and Conversations Podcast for mentioning this book. While I personally haven't read it, hearing my friend gush about it made it 5 stars in my book!

Larry Matysik had a ringside seat to the best promotion in wrestling! St. Louis was the hub of the NWA, when the NWA was the big time of professional wrestling. Learning at the knee of the master promoter. Sam Muchnick, and gives the reader an insight to how it was that St. Louis became the capitol of Pro Wrestling through from the 40's through the 80's. Wrestling as a business and as a form of entertainment if the territory style of circuit still existed!

Awesome informative book for anyone with an interest in wrestling history.