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The Cowboy and the Cross Review

Posted in Krusher's Book Reviews by Jack at 02:27, Mar 21 2007

The Cowboy and the Cross: The Story of ?Cowboy? Bill Watts
Reviewed by: KrusherKoxx

The Cowboy and the Cross: The Story of ?Cowboy? Bill Watts

By ?Cowboy? Bill Watts

Reviewed by: KrusherKoxx




For those of you reading this review, I would like to apologize right now for what I am about to write. Even though I am not a professional book reviewer, I have tried to stay non-commital in my reviews as to whether or not I believed most of the bullshit that is written in these ?autobiographies?. This time, however, I?m gonna shoot on one of the biggest conceited pricks in the pro rasslin? business ?Cowboy? Bill Watts.


?Cowboy? (as this is what I will refer to him from this point forth, calling him Mr. Watts shows him respect) begins his story about how he was a superb and super athlete while growing up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. We then learn that his mother who was bi-polar (?Dr. Cowboy? claims she was bi-polar even though she was never diagnosed as such) and that she would often make life unbearable for the young ?Cowboy?. We then are told about his rise to stardom at the University of Oklahoma (folks, believe me, I have been told he was a sub-par football player) and then how he almost died in an automobile wreck, but hallejuah!!! The hands of God came down and protected him from death. This is where I have to put my boots on, as it gets real deep.


In the numerous chapters that follow ?Cowboy? relives his life inside the squared circle. He talks about being the number one attraction in Oklahoma, Texas, Omaha, Florida, and New York. Listen, if you believed ?Ol Cowboy?, he would lead you to believe that he was the only rassler that could ?put butts every six inches? and have a sellout every night. He claims that he not only saved the Oklahoma territory, but every single territory that he worked for during his days inside the squared circle. Now, I know, a lot of the guys write the same thing, but for some reason, ?Cowboy? really has a niche for getting under my skin. I find it amusing, highly amusing actually that ?Cowboy? claims that if it wasn?t for him Bruno Sammartino wouldn?t have been as over as he was. C?mon ?Cowboy?! Are you kidding me? Bruno was a GOD in the northeast before you were even thought about by Vince McMahon Sr. Of course, ?Cowboy? says the same thing about Verne Gagne and the AWA, The Funks in Amarillo, and Eddie Graham in Florida. He does however, give Graham glowing recommendations for his tendency in screwing over the talent on pay, and who got a push and who didn?t merely based on what they could do for Eddie. Well, you have to be a scumbag to be a promoter, and ?Cowboy? learned from the best! Hey, at least ?Cowboy? admits it!


?Cowboy? also lets us in on his wife cheating days while on the road, and how he loved his ?road conquests?, even after he had ?devoted his life to the Lord?. What a piece of shit this guy is. This is exactly the problem I have with all of these ?Born Again Rasslers? who for all intents and purposes are washed up in the business, and have nothing left, that is until they find Jesus, and then start touring the ?Church Service?. Hey, no one does a moonsault quite like ?The King of Kings, The Pride of Nazareth, The Shepherd of the People? Jesus Christ! ?Cowboy? wraps his big mittens around his philandering days and acts as if it is something to be proud of, yet, he is quick to say that those days are over since finding the Lord (that?s why Ol? Cowboy has been married three times since finding God!).

We finally get to where he has retired from the ring and becomes owner of Mid-South Wrestling which of course becomes the Universal Wrestling Federation. ?Cowboy? talks about being in cahoots with crooked politicians and lawyers in the state of Louisisana, which enabled him to hold onto that state as long as he did, without other promoters from running in that state. Again, ?Cowboy? puffs out his chest and beats on it with his two oversized ham like fists, as if to declare that he is the King Kong of southern rasslin?. Hey, more power to ya ?Cowboy?, I?m glad that since finding God, you have become a more humble servant to God. ?Cowboy? also talks about how he made Sylvester Ritter (The Junk Yard Dog) into a superstar, and that JYD could have been a world champion, and made lots of money if he hadn?t gotten hooked on cocaine and crack. Hey ?Cowboy? you were his boss, why didn?t you make him get help? Oh, that?s right, you were too busy humping every arena rat you could get your hands on. I guess that?s why you feel so guilty about JYD never getting the help he needed? Escpecially after he asked you for help, and you wouldn?t send him to rehab? I guess if you couldn?t make a buck off of rehab, then it just wasn?t in the cards for ya eh?

I can?t sit here and say that EVERYTHING about this book was tripe. I learned a lot of the history of Mid-South/UWF, which was one of my favorite promotions while growing up. I guess ?Cowboy? isn?t such a prick after all, I mean he did make a lot of ?the boys? into stars, or at least groomed them until they became superstars either for Crockett Promotions, or Titan Sports. I guess that?s why ?Ol Cowboy? has such an ax to grind, because the ?Stars that he made went to greener pastures?.

Of course, just when I start thinking I?ve judged ?Cowboy? wrong, we come to his days of running WCW. Wow, this is where ?Cowboy? really gets delusional, and tries to re-write history much like Vince McMahon. All I can say is, ?Cowboy? is really a bitter and self-serving human being. He claims that he never forced any of ?the boys? to train his son Eric Watts. He claims that he never tried to put Eric over before he was ready. He claims that WCW was actually turning a profit under his watch at WCW. He also claims that Mark Madden was solely responsible for his firing at WCW. I guess being a racist prick, or at least making racist remarks isn?t the real reason ?Cowboy?? Wow, this guy is a real piece of work. Actually, I think he is the one that is Bi-Polar, not his mother. Of course, I think if I had this jerk off as a son, I?d be a little nuts myself.


We also have during all of this, references to ?Cowboys? Christianity, and him trying to share his ?testimony? to us, the readers. Wow, I?ve never been so turned off from religion in my life. Thanks ?Cowboy?! All in all, if you are interested in the history of some of the old time promotions that I previously mentioned (Oklahoma, Texas, Omaha, Florida, Mid-South) then by all means buy the book, or at least check it out from your local library if they have it. It took me from December to March to finish this. It?s not that it is so long that I couldn?t read it all, I had to keep emptying my damned boots, because ?Cowboy? was slingin? it deep.

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