Adventures in Larryland!: Life in Professional Wrestling [Paperback]

Larry Zbyszko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2008

Wrestling’s self-proclaimed “Living Legend” may never wear a championship belt again, but he’s definitely not down for the count, as this memoir shows in its entertaining, often hilarious story of a remarkable ascent to wrestling notoriety. Voted Rookie of the Year in 1974, Larry Zbyszko enjoyed 30 glorious years as a top draw in the wild and wacky world of professional wrestling. Attendance records were shattered when he wrestled the original “Living Legend,” Bruno Sammartino, in 1980 and won by hitting his former mentor with a chair—a rarity at the time. Chronicling Zbysko's transformation from baby-faced hero to one of the most hated wrestlers of his time, this uninhibited narrative reveals an insider's view of some of the most successful and controversial stories and scandals in pro-wrestling history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Larry  Zbyszko's description of how he turned on his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, is one for the ages. . . . Larry Zbyszko is and always will be a true Living Legend of pro wrestling."  —A1 WrestlingNews Newsletter

"Tells the story of a young man following his dream to become a professional wrestler and ultimately making it big in the business. . . . I enjoyed my trip to Larryland."  —The Baltimore Sun

"Takes the reader on a trip through the highlights of Zbyszko's three decades in pro wrestling. . . . This biography is a unique Adventures in Larryland!"  —The Link

About the Author

Larry Zbyszko won numerous awards and titles during his three-decade professional wrestling career. An on-air performer for Spike TV's TNA iMPACT!, Zbyszko has also been a professional golfer on the seniors circuit. He lives in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: ECW Press (June 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550228269
• ISBN-13: 978-1550228267
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,092,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book to read at the beach!, June 9, 2008

By 

Baron Meinster (Romania) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Adventures in Larryland!: Life in Professional Wrestling (Paperback)

This book was a fast read, with much humor, which provided an excellent review of professional wrestling from the 1970s up through the 1990s when World Championship Wrestling was locked in a television rating war against the World Wrestling Federation (later changed to World Wrestling Entertainment)in an attempt to win over the hearts and souls of the fans. This book should be picked up by serious fans of pro wrestling. There are nuggets of solid information into the workings of pro wrestling which can be picked up from Larry's stories. One of the unique stories presented in the book is the relationship between Larry and his mentor, the great Bruno Sammartino, wrestling's original Living Legend. The story of their dealings with the McMahons, Vince Sr. and Jr. is the stuff of legend. Wrestling fans throughout the world will truly enjoy Adventures in Larryland!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A quick, decent read..., June 2, 2008

By 

Andrew M. Walsh - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Adventures in Larryland!: Life in Professional Wrestling (Paperback)

Best part of the book was Larry's one true great angle: the 1980 Sammartino feud. Did a great job re-telling and re-visiting. The setup for this match was step by step laid out beautifully. It made go ahead and watch both the set up match from tv, and the classic Shea Stadium cage match. Really fun stuff.
Biggest complaint of the book was the length. Bret Hart's book is 5 bucks more and you get literally 4+ times the content. Larry's book is less than 200 pages and has old-lady huge font. This book took me just over 1 hour to read. For twenty bucks. Probably a good thing tho, it was edited right down to the meat. No crap, just a quick concise bio. A tad better than average. Only for hardcore fans who will throw down big bucks for a little book.
***Remember to discount the reviews from people who have only 1 review. Chances are they're friends of the author and that 5 star review is worthless.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Mildly Entertaining but Missing So So Much, June 5, 2008

By 

Amazonian - See all my reviews

This review is from: Adventures in Larryland!: Life in Professional Wrestling (Paperback)

Here's what you will not learn:

-You will not learn anything about Larry Zbyszko's personal life. Although he mentions a crazy girlfriend, three wives, and pictures of children, you will not learn anything about them much less that he is married to Kathy Gagne!
-You will not learn where he got the name Zbyszko from.
-You will not learn anything about his professional career from 1981 - 1984 as he goes from WWF to AWA with just a bare mention of Georgia later in the book. The fact that he was rumored to be blackballed for two years and was stuck doing outlaw/indy shows headlining with David Sammartino is never mentioned. This could have been the most interesting part of the book.
-You will not learn much about his WWF/WWWF tenure except for the feud with Bruno which does make for very entertaining reading.

I got through this book in a couple of hours as it is less than 200 pages although Amazon is saying 240. Just not true even with pictures.

Some stories are definitely entertaining but so much was left out it was ridiculous and a slap in the face to any reader. His exaggerations were ridiculous too. While he has every claim to the Shea Stadium gate with Bruno, he also claims that he and Saito sold out the Tokyo Dome and that his 2 PPV matches in 1997/1998 for WCW set PPV buy-rate records. He even tried to say he wrestled in front of a sold out crowd when he won the title. He didn't even say he won it in a battle royal in the Minneapolis Auditorium in front of less than 2,000 fans.

I was really looking forward to this as I thought he would fill in the blanks but this was a very lazy effort with large print and small margins to boot.

His timelines are also all over the place as he says that WCW brought in Hulk Hogan for purposes of Nitro.

Really poor effort overall.

Just like his wrestling technique, he stalled right through this effort and I fell for it hook, line, and sinker with my wallet.