Evan Ginzburg, a seasoned professional with over 30 years in film, radio, and TV, is the Senior Editor for Pro Wrestling Stories. As an Associate Producer for the Oscar-nominated movie The Wrestler and the acclaimed documentary 350 Days, Evan has passionately supported professional wrestling for many years. He also produced the documentary Wrestling- Then & Now, featuring the legendary Killer Kowalski.

A lifelong wrestling historian and former publisher of a long-running wrestling newsletter, Evan shares his industry insights in his latest book, Wrestling Rings, Blackboards, and Movie Sets (released January 7, 2025). This book offers an exclusive look into professional wrestling, education, and entertainment, filled with firsthand stories from Evan’s extraordinary career.

We are excited to share an exclusive excerpt from this engaging new release.

The Iron Sheik Greets a Fan

Tony Tickets was a chubby, jolly fellow with a shaved head, a good heart, and a pocket full of cash that wouldn’t last in the dog-eat-dog world of professional wrestling agents. He loved his “boys.” Depending on the night or event, he’d book a who’s who of wrestling legends, including the Iron Sheik, Greg Valentine, Lanny Poffo, Jimmy Valiant, Johnny Valiant, Lou Albano, Jimmy Snuka, King Kong Bundy, Nikolai Volkoff, and manager Nikita Breznikov. As his publicist, I occasionally got him to throw adult film legend Seka into the mix.

We’d all get on planes, trains, and automobiles to go here, there, and everywhere and have the time of our lives. Although the hotels and motels were never fancy, just rooming with your childhood heroes was fun.

I was Nikolai’s roommate of choice because he was an exponent of clean living and knew I’d be more than ok with his “early to bed, early to rise” lifestyle. We’d sit and talk, and he’d generously give me all kinds of health tips and always ask about my mom, whom he had a warm spot for.

“Your mom is a beautiful lady,” he’d say time and again. Yeah, lovely memories. It’s too bad the money was always hit or miss, though. And often, Tony Tickets—christened by Johnny Valiant as he also had a ticket broker business then—took the hit for the team. One weekend, we were in L.A. at the ever-so-classy Hollywood Collector’s Show. Mostly older actors were signing, and I marvelled at one ancient woman who had been in the silent The Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney.

Why a bunch of wrestlers were in this mix was beyond me.  Sitting there without much of a walk-up, we soon realized this “wasn’t our audience.”

This didn’t stop the few wrestling fans who did discover us from gravitating towards the life of the party, the colorful Iron Sheik. Purposely bringing up all the wrong names they knew would incite him, Sheik suddenly shrieked at the top of his lungs about the usual suspects he would “humble.” I didn’t know whether to laugh out loud or crawl under the table in embarrassment.

Heading out after plenty of laughs and not a whole lot of cash to go with them, we packed our bags and readied for our return trip home.

But first, we egged Greg Valentine on, knowing he would perform on-purpose face-forward flops in the elegant hotel lobby. “Civilians” who weren’t wrestling fans and didn’t recognize them had no idea what to make of these rather large and undoubtedly larger-than-life characters.

Getting on a tight shuttle bus to the airport, we started to unwind when an attractive middle-aged woman suddenly got on the vehicle and looked at Nikolai curiously. Up and down, right and left, she didn’t take her eyes off him before finally saying, “Excuse me, aren’t you Nikolai Volkoff?” Always warm and friendly, Nikolai said, “Yes, I am. Nice to meet you.” She went into the standard, “I loved you as a kid…” and they hit it off like old pals.

That was just Nikolai’s way. So, figuring he’d give her a thrill, he pointed to his right, where an exhausted-looking Iron Sheik was half asleep, and said to the woman, “And this is my partner, the Sheik.” So now the lady is back to doing her once-over.

She’s looking Sheiky up and down and all around before finally blurting out and half-laughing, “No, he isn’t…” Man, was THAT ever the wrong thing to say to the proud ex-champion. Suddenly wide-eyed and alert, Sheik gave her a loud, triple whammy of “Get out of here, you stupid jabronie…” The woman grabbed her bag and scampered away, her face etched with embarrassment and terror—it was like a scene from a sitcom.

No, it was never dull being on the road with the boys. And as for Tony Tickets, he burnt through his cash like most promoters and agents do and fled town.

While his farewell gift to me was an unintentional bounced check, I hold no ill will towards the man whatsoever.

You couldn’t put a price on the fun, laughs, and memories I have of those times with legends and friends—most of whom no longer walk among us.

RELATED LINKS

• Iron Sheik story archive
• Buy Wrestling Rings, Blackboards, and Movie Sets at Amazon.com or Amazon.ca
• SlamWrestling Master Booklist