Apter & Oliver Coming To "Bruno Forever" Event

By Thomas Leturgey

Next Saturday, fans of professional wrestling have the rare opportunity to meet two of the industry’s most well-known and respected authors and writers working today.

As part of the Pros of Wrestling “Bruno Forever” event, both Bill Apter and Greg Oliver will be making rare Pittsburgh appearances. The event takes place at the Ross Township Community Center, 1000 Ross Municipal Building in the North Hills. The evening is advertised in honor of Bruno Sammartino and as a fundraiser for the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank.

For journalists who comment, take photographs or write about wrestling, the summit of Apter and Oliver is akin to having Stephen King and William Shakespeare with a touch of Salvador Dali sprinkled in. And that’s not hyperbole.

Apter, who has been covering the world of professional wrestling since 1970, was last in Pittsburgh to interview The Undertaker as part of his one man show in November 2023. At that time, Apter also briefly visited Carol Sammartino at the family’s home just two miles away from Saturday’s venue. Apter is known to legions of fans as the face behind the “Apter Mags” of Stanley Weston. In the heyday of magazine fandom, Apter was the man generations of fans equated to wrestling’s print journalism. In 2015, he released, “Is Wrestling Fixed? I Didn't Know It Was Broken,” an autobiographical tale about his time in the trade. It’s guaranteed that the Hall of Famer will have engaging interactions, pose for photos and sign autographs.

Oliver is the co-founder and producer of the Slam Wrestling website, which is based in Canada. He is the author of several books on baseball, celebrity, hockey, as well as professional wrestling. Oliver plans to bring copies of books for purchase and will accept book orders to be set aside if you contact him at his website, www.oliverbooks.ca.

Oliver wrote “The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Canadians” in 2002 and 20 years ago, “The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams” (with Steven Johnson) was published. Since that time he has edited, “SLAM! Wrestling: Shocking Stories from the Squared Circle” with Jon Waldman, “Gibby: Tales of a Baseball Lifer” (with John Gibbons).

A prolific scribe, other Greg Oliver titles include, “The Woman Who Would Be King: The Madusa Story” (with Debrah Miceli), “Mat Memories: My Wild Life In Pro Wrestling, Country Music, And With The Mets” (with John “Alexander” Arezzi), “Gratoony the Loony: The Wild, Unpredictable Life of Gilles Gratton” (with Gilles Gratton), “Father Bauer and the Great Experiment: The Genesis of Canadian Olympic Hockey”, “Blue Lines, Goal Lines, & Bottom Lines: Hockey Contracts and Historical Documents from the Collection of Allan Stitt,” “Written in Blue and White: The Toronto Maple Leafs Contracts and Historical Documents from the Collection of Allan Stitt,” “The Goaltenders' Union: Hockey's Greatest Puckstoppers, Acrobats, and Flakes (with Richard Kamchen),” “Don't Call Me Goon: Hockey's Greatest Enforcers, Gunslingers, and Bad Boys (with Richard Kamchen),” “The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Storytellers” (with Steven Johnson), “The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heroes & Icons” (with Steven Johnson), “The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels” (with Steven Johnson), and “Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror That Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport (with Steven Johnson, Irv Muchnick and Heath McCoy).”

He has also self-published a number of titles, including “Duck with the Puck” (along with his son Quinn Oliver), “Santa's Day Job,” “Who's The Man? Billy Van! (with Stacey Case) and “Run with the Bull: Three Generations of Sports and Entertainment (with Eric Johnston and Joseph Casciaro).

In addition to being a prolific writer, Oliver is an associate producer on "Lunatic: The Luna Vachon Story" is a new documentary that is having its world premiere on March 29, as a part of the Canadian Film Fest.

The “Pros of Wrestling” evening will also showcase appearances by promoter Dan Polinsky’s sons, who are known to wrestling fans as WWE announcer Corey Graves and veteran grappler Sam Adonis. Famed Bruno Sammartino foe Stan Hansen will also be on hand in another rare stop. A full card of action is planned.

Doors open at 4:00 p.m. for a meet and greet and other attractions, with wrestling kicking off at 7:00 p.m. Call 412-335-1622 for more information.