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Missy's Manor: The Rise And Fall Of Apartment House Wrestling (With A Forward By Bill Apter)

Posted: Dec 1st 2008 By: CMBurnham

NOTE FROM BILL APTER: Several weeks ago my dear friend Missy Hyatt told me she was going to write a story about my days at the PWI family, specifically the time when "Apartment Wrestling" ruled the pages of one of the "sister" publications -- Sports Review Wrestling.

Scantily clad buxom beauties wrestling in an Apartment setting turned on the fans in droves (sales were amazing) and sent promoters to call in droves for us to "get that crap out of the wrestling magazines or we won't let you in to our shows any more!"

The stories were brilliantly written by the late-great Dan Shocket and most of the photos taken by Los Angeles cameraman Theo Ehret. I virtually had nothing to do with the Apartment Wrestling phenomena but no promoter or fan would believe me when I had to defend myself against the Apartment Wrestling backlash as I was out in the field covering professional wrestling matches. To this day people are convinced that it was I who came up with the angle and wrote the stories as well as photographed the "action!"

Apartment Wrestling stayed on the pages of Sports Review for one reason -- it made the publisher -- Stanley Weston -- a lot of money! The magazines were selling like hot-buns (I mean hotcakes) and he rode the wave until it died down a few years later.

When Missy told me the topic she was writing about I told her I would read the story and decided if I would post it here at 1wrestling.com or not post it at all.

Missy, I loved your story. Your "fun-expose" was a barrel of laughs for me and I hope the readers here enjoy it even half as much as I did a few minutes ago!


It's no secret that the accomplishments of Bill Apter as a magazine editor and photographer are worthy of being inducted in any wrestling Hall Of Fame. Bill launched many young wrestlers by allowing them to grace his magazine covers. Bill gave exposure to many promotions before cable television and the internet would make information so readily available. You can't even watch a WWE retrospective DVD without having a Apter magazine cover placed in as a reference material.

Unfortunately many fans from the 1980's and the present were not aware of the seedy-dark side of Bill Apter that saved the magazine industry from extinction. In the 1970's, the wrestling magazine industry took a major down turn in business. The magazine biz was at the brake of extinction, until Bill Apter came up with a revolutionary concept to bring back the masses. That concept was APARTMENT HOUSE WRESTLING. After Bill got divorced from his third wife in Mae Young in 1973, Bill still had a fetish for women wrestling in his apartment for his amusement. Mae Young used to supply Bill with girls from Fabulous Moolah's school as a reward for the silver tongue Apter. Eventually the relationship took a turn for the worst when Mae Young came home to see a Apartment House Wrestling Battle Royal for the right to satisfy Bill. A angry Mae Young left Bill and his connection to any of Moolah's women. Luckily the legend of Bill's Apt. House Wrestling was the main topic at the annual NWA conventions in 1973.

Bill knew he had to find a new source of income with the declining magazine industry, Bill's failed third marriage to Mae Young, and bankruptcy possibly on the horizon. Bill approached Stanley Weston to publish his Apt. House Wrestling pics to spike sales to a generation of preteen males who were too young to purchase Playboy and thirty years to early for the internet. At this point in 1974, Bill was married to a naive born again Christian who came from a wealthy family. Bill used to take pictures and write the Apt. House Wrestling articles under the name of Theo Ehret to hide his identity from his wealthy new wife. When Bill's 4th wife was away on her many business trips, Bill would host Apt. House Wrestling matches to the delight for whatever wrestlers and promoters that he was trying to impress.

Rumor has it that Georgia Championship Wrestling was a hotbed for these Apt. House spectacles. Jim Barnett was a major frequenter to these exhibitions. Unfortunately Jim Barnett's dream Apt House Wrestling card would eventually scar him for life. Many wrestlers and promoters could never put their finger on it, but Jim no longer craved to see women wrestling in lingerie. Ole Anderson was a major supporter of this new phenomenon.

Since Bill was locked out from hiring legitimate female wrestlers, due to the Mae Young divorce. Bill had to use false promises of getting women wrestling jobs, Apter magazine centerfolds, and the lure of bookings in order to entice hundreds of willing female participants to partake in this new concept. Apter magazine sales tripled with the Apt. House wrestling features. Unfortunately the incident in Columbus, Georgia in 1974 almost ruined everything. Starla Knockers got a brain aneurism from a injury in 'Bill's Apt House Lingerie Bunkhouse Stampede'. Mr. Wrestling II was there under his real persona and so was Ole Anderson. Mr. Wrestling II was the one to dispose of the body under orders from Ole. II was so scared of being arrested that he soon adopted the Mr. Wrestling II character in order to evade police questioning. Ole Anderson was so grateful that he proclaimed Bill Apter as the only person in the industry that he liked. Jim Barnett was so traumatized over the incident that he swore off women forever.

Bill was very fortunate to over come his first potential scandal. Once the 1980's came, Bill got too greedy. He developed the attitude of a pimp. It was no secret in many locker rooms that many female college students would pose for Bill. They would usually be discarded with nothing but a PWI t-shirt and Apt House Wrestling pictorials to show for their mental anguish.

A 16 year old Missy posed for Bill. She had fake paper work that said she was 18. Bill thought a bright eye-blonde girl would make a great addition to his Apt. House Legacy. Bill would court Missy for months with promises of a PWI internship, pictorials, and a life time subscription to Inside Wrestling. Bill even left his 4th wife to help seal the deal. Bill and underage Missy would wed in Savannah, Georgia in 1983. After getting married and taking hundreds of photos, Bill would later find out that she was a minor. Missy used this to black mail Bill in forfeiting hundreds of thousands of dollars and to make Bill secure her a wrestling job when she turned 18 years old. A angry Bill Apter vowed he would ruin Missy's wrestling career and personal life for this double cross.

In 1984, Vince McMahon Jr. was sick of hearing about the wild Bill Apter Apt. House Wrestling stories from the boys. He felt Bill was a social deviant and banned Apter from taking pics at ringside. Hulk Hogan was involved in a major scandal that took all of Vince's connections to cover up. Vince felt a Apt. House Wrestling scandal could be more devastating than a ring boy scandal.

Bill would blackmail all of the NWA territory promoters with threats of exposing all of the private Apt. House Wrestling shows he threw for them for their support. At the annual NWA meeting in Las Vegas, Bill was rewarded with press credentials to all of the territories. The NWA promoters even bought him the Bunny Ranch as his own Apt. House Wrestling territory in exchange that he stopped publishing Apt House Wrestling in his magazines. Bill accepted those terms for his silence.

Bill would continue publishing wrestling magazines. In 1989, Bill cost Missy her second marriage by naming her "Wrestling's Sexiest Superstar". Unfortunately the pin up and bio contained wedding pictures with Bill Apter and her Apt. House Wrestling pics. This lead to her husband filing a immediate divorce and a hefty divorce settlement. Wrestlers and promoters questioned Bill's lack of ethics in this situation. Bill defended himself that he owned the pictures and could do whatever he wanted. Luckily WCW covered the scandal up by saying the pics were photo shop magic. Bill would later sell the story to the tabloids for a undisclosed sum of $$$$.

In 1993, Bill would seek further revenge against Missy Hyatt. Bill would mail Ted Turner pictures exposing Missy Hyatt [Apter Wife #5] as a former underage Apt. House Wrestler. Ted Turner would eventually terminate Missy's contract from WCW, since he was promoting family entertainment. Bill than proceeded to sue Missy for back alimony that resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Missy retaliated back in 1999, by getting the federal government to investigate Bill Apter for unlicensed Apt. House Wrestlers that didn't pay taxes and the death of Starla Knockers. Hundreds of abused Apt. House wrestlers than came forward with their stories to tabloid newspapers and "Big Dave". "Big Dave's" silence was bought with a PWI Lifetime Achievement Award, PWI Lords Of The Ring VHS Tape, and a PWI Staff T-shirt. Rumor has it that Missy was advised to seek revenge by using the federal government from Mae Young, Fabulous Moolah, and Vince McMahon.

Bill was forced to step down from the PWI magazine family in disgrace in 1999. Bill would than relocate to England in order to not pay back taxes to the U.S. Bill would than publish the WOW magazine for several years from England. Since George Bush was raised on Houston Wrestling, he decided to erase all of Bill Apter's outstanding tax debts. This allowed Bill to return to the U.S. in 2004. Bill would later become a born again-Mormon and a bigamist. Bill currently lives with his six wives in Utah. Rumors have circulated that Bill is recording Apt. House Wrestling DVD content with the six wives in order to relaunch his fledging career. Bill can be seen at wrestling conventions and wrestling shows from time to time, since he is still collecting back alimony payments from Missy Hyatt.



When reached for comment on the article, Bill Apter said:

"That is GREAT -- you could have written for the "Apter-Mags!" Did you know it was Meltzer who coined that phrase? So you heard about the OD and Hulk and Vince? You didn't know that Mr. Wrestling II was there -- as his real persona -- hence why he had to start wearing a mask! By the way, Ole loves me as I never told anyone he helped II drag the body out! It was Ole who came up with how to get rid of the body -- he booked the finish!LOL"

"OMG -- you're an investigative reporter -- NOOOOOO! LOL"

"Is it weird that the first three letters of Apter is APT and so is the abbreviation for Apartment (Apt)!!!! Hummmmmmmmmmm."

"Go to that link about Theo the fotog -- it's a good read -- and I'll have to investigate what REALLY went on at that photo shoot I had with you and Ted Turner!!!!"

Tags: Missy Hyatt, WWE, Mae Young, Jim Barnett, Mr. Wrestling II, WCW