Bill Apter

Bill Apter is a journalist specializing in professional wrestling and best known for the kayfabe or so-called "mark" magazines for which he edited and photographed matches from the 1970s to the present. The magazine he became most prominently known for was Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Apter was so closely associated with these popular magazines that they were often known colloquially as "Apter mags."

Early career
Apter was a successful photographer for several wrestling and boxing magazines published by Stanley Weston, including The Wrestler and Inside Wrestling. He eventually moved up to the top editorial spot at Weston's wrestling properties. When wrestling boomed in popularity in the 1980s, Apter's (actually Weston's) magazines rode the wave, commenting and expanding on the storylines of the World Wrestling Federation, Jim Crockett Promotions and the American Wrestling Association in addition to a multitude of smaller companies, plus providing readers with a wealth of exclusive interviews and photographs.

Success
Unlike Dave Meltzer, editor and publisher of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that was widely read by wrestling insiders, Apter directed his publications at the common fan and usually operated under the premise that professional wrestling was not in any way scripted or predetermined. The editors of the magazines had the mentality that they were covering wrestling just like Sports Illustrated covers other sports. Despite Apter's reluctance to let his readers in on wrestling's "big secret," fans who bought the so-called "Apter mags" became more informed about the business than most casual wrestling viewers, especially if they were fans of the dominant WWF, which tended to act as if other promotions did not exist.

Apter also hosted a TV segment, the PWI Scouting Report, on Best of World Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett's NWA TV show broadcast weekly on Ted Turner's WTBS, as well as a stint with the nationally syndicated Pro Wrestling This Week TV news magazine, and segments on dozens of other televised wrestling shows. He was also the co-host of Pro Wrestling's very first commercial video (distributed by Vestron) called "Lords Of The Ring." His co-host was the "Walter Cronkite of Pro Wrestling" Gordon Solie.

In 1991, Apter helped compile the PWI 500, a detailed ranking of the top 500 wrestlers in the world (according to Pro Wrestling Illustrated). PWI has published the list every year since its inception, and it has been and remains quite influential. Although Apter never wrote the actual list, he was one of the members of the staff who influenced the rankings.

Starting in the mid-1990s, the wrestling industry went through a radical transformation. As the Internet became more and more popular, more fans gained access to news and information on the inner workings of the wrestling business. Promotions were no longer able to openly claim or imply that wrestling was legitimate competition, and ultimately, neither was Apter. Eventually he left his kayfabe magazines and accepted the editorship of WOW Magazine, a new glossy publication that assumed its readers knew the truth about wrestling. He also was a regular contributor on 'Sunday Night Slam', a very popular wrestling talkshow on WCKG in Chicago from 1999 to 2000. The show was produced by Z-Force Media.

2000s
Apter is now a feature columnist for Fighting Spirit magazine. The magazine covers professional wrestling along with MMA.

Currently, Apter also contributes to the Italian wrestling magazine called "Tutto Wrestling Magazine" in a section called "Apter's Alley." He is the main face of popular wrestling website 1wrestling.com and has recently signed on with The Wrestling Federation (TWF), a new league about to launch an internet-based show. Apter is also the Commissioner of Hawaii Championship Wrestling and several other International promotions.

Return to PWI
In an ironic twist, Apter made his return (freelance) to the Pro Wrestling Illustrated family of magazines in Volume 20, 2008 of The Wrestler with a 90 minute question and answer session with Tammy Sytch. Apter has also done an interview with Nick Bockwinkel for another edition of "The Wrestler" magazine. He is a periodic contributor only and not an employee of the PWI family of magazines.

Nightclub Act
Along with former wrestler "Concrete Cowboy" Paul Swanger (aka "Paul Big Bear") Apter sings and does comedic work in an "old school" nightclub act. A sample of their act is available at You Tube and you can find it by doing a search on the name Bill Apter and then scrolling to the video "Cabaret Lives Again."

AHEDD
Bill Apter also works for a non-profit company in Pennsylvania. For the past 30 years, the company -- AHEDD -- has been finding jobs for persons with disabilities and job coaching them as well. Bill is an "Employment Specialist" and finds much personal satisfaction in placing disabled persons into quality job positions.

Vip Talent Connect
In February 2008 Apter met with the CEO of Vip Talent Connect and after helping book talent and host one of their events was named Vice President Of Talent Relations and Marketing. Vip Talent Connect is a unique company that holds networking events for people interested in careers in various genres of entertainment. At the events superstars of film, music, theater, dance, modeling, and other arts speak of their success stories and then meet one-on-one with hopefuls who attend the event.