You'll love this action-packed, lavishly illustrated look back at
the Golden Age of Professional Wrestling—the greatest stars of
the mighty Mid-Atlantic, the WCW and WWE. John Hitchcock shares
his vivid memories attending live matches and television
broadcasts from Greensboro during the 1960s on through the 1990s.
You’ll read about wrestlers on their way up and on the way down:
Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Arn Anderson, Johnny Valentine, Wahoo
McDaniel, Rip Hawk, Terry Funk, Ernie Ladd, Johnny Weaver, the
Four Horsemen, Klondike Bill, even the Gorgeous Ladies of
Wrestling!
"They were a ste during grappling’s heyday in Greensboro,
N.C., and routinely appeared in front of thousands of jeering
fans at arenas throughout the Jim Crockett-run territory. Unlike
their “Four Horsemen” contemporaries, though, this roguish group
was comprised of vocal ringside fans who occupied a prominent
spot at the Greensboro Coliseum during the 1980s and early ‘90s.
Long before the days of “smart fans” and “cool heels,” there was
“Front Row Section D.”
"Hitchcock relishes all the memories of attending live matches
and television broadcasts during the 1960s on through the ‘90s,
and there are plenty of photos and clippings to go along with the
stories. Long-forgotten stars live on the pages of this book, and
there are laughs galore on every one of them as readers relive
some of the Mid-Atlantic glory days through Hitchcock and his
eclectic cast of characters.
"Like those long-revered shows of the past, this book is well
worth the price of admission."
—Mike Moneyham, Charleston Post & Courier
"Front Row Section D is a collection of stories Hitch has been
honing for many years, stories that he lived while running his
mouth from the front row at (mostly) Jim Crockett Promotion
wrestling shows at the Greensboro Coliseum. Hitch is a world
class heckler, and, as he straightforwardly explains, used his
Fine Arts degree to help him design signs to take to the shows.
"Hitch, never shy about talking himself up, oddly never writes
that he’s responsible for the sea of doofuses carrying signs to
every TV wrestling show, looking to get on the air. In the ’80s
Crockett Promotions taped a lot of their TV in our area, and
Hitch and his friends (like, you know, me) were the shows because
we were right up front with those signs. It got to where I would
rush home from work on Saturdays to check my VCR to see if we got
on the air for yet another week.
"There’s also the single most caustic, least respectful chapter
in any wrestling book on the biggest wrestling star of the day,
Hulk Hogan, and how he left the Greensboro Coliseum with his tail
between his legs and and a plastic fist on his head, not to be
seen for years and years.
"Hitch isn’t just some asshole aggravating the crap out of people
working for a little ving just like everybody else. The best
serious chapter of the book is his appreciation of the great U.S.
Champion Johnny Valentine. There are personal profiles of Rip
Hawk, a gross story about the lengths Brute Bernard would go to
protect kayfabe, and an account of the famed U.S. Title
Tournament. Hitch also tells the story of how the Front Row was
instrumental in the origin of Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard,
Ole Anderson, and Arn Anderson becoming the Four Horsemen, a
story Horsemen manager J. J. Dillon has verified on the PWTorch
Livecast."
- Bruce Mitchell, Pro Wrestling Torch
"Hitchcock is a born storyteller. You can easily imagine him
weaving these yarns to customers at his store or to friends at
Denny’s after the matches, and this book is the better for it.
It’s not really a history of the so-called “sport” in Greensboro,
though reading about some of the stars and feuds of the past will
bring back memories for longtime fans. It’s more a memoir,
bringing you into this group of friends who got a peek into
wrestling’s inner circle and had a good time doing it."
Jay Reddick, GSO News & Record