Mat Memories: My Wild Life in Pro Wrestling, Country Music, and with the Mets
A man with three different names ties together the stars of professional wrestling, country music, and the New York Mets.

John Arezzi was a lifelong Mets fan who dreamed of a job in baseball. In 1981, he took a job with the Mets Class A team in North Carolina. But Arezzi had another love: professional wrestling. He ran a fan club for the villainous “Classy” Freddie Blassie as a teenager, then progressed to wrestling photographer, and finally even stepped into the ring himself as John Anthony. Eventually he escaped to pursue a new life in altogether different world: country music. After adopting a new name, John Alexander, his many accomplishments include discovering both Patty Loveless and (decades later) Kelsea Ballerini. But wrestling is tough to shake ...

In the 1990s, Arezzi hosted the pioneering radio talk show Pro Wrestling Spotlight. He also ran the first major conventions, assembling a wrestling who’s who to meet with fans. He promoted shows, both at home and abroad, and was a key figure behind importing lucha libre into America.

Mat Memories is Arezzi’s chance to hold the mic, and he holds nothing back — he names names and tells the untold behind-the-scenes stories: from the ring, the stage, and the diamond.
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Mat Memories: My Wild Life in Pro Wrestling, Country Music, and with the Mets
A man with three different names ties together the stars of professional wrestling, country music, and the New York Mets.

John Arezzi was a lifelong Mets fan who dreamed of a job in baseball. In 1981, he took a job with the Mets Class A team in North Carolina. But Arezzi had another love: professional wrestling. He ran a fan club for the villainous “Classy” Freddie Blassie as a teenager, then progressed to wrestling photographer, and finally even stepped into the ring himself as John Anthony. Eventually he escaped to pursue a new life in altogether different world: country music. After adopting a new name, John Alexander, his many accomplishments include discovering both Patty Loveless and (decades later) Kelsea Ballerini. But wrestling is tough to shake ...

In the 1990s, Arezzi hosted the pioneering radio talk show Pro Wrestling Spotlight. He also ran the first major conventions, assembling a wrestling who’s who to meet with fans. He promoted shows, both at home and abroad, and was a key figure behind importing lucha libre into America.

Mat Memories is Arezzi’s chance to hold the mic, and he holds nothing back — he names names and tells the untold behind-the-scenes stories: from the ring, the stage, and the diamond.
19.95 In Stock
Mat Memories: My Wild Life in Pro Wrestling, Country Music, and with the Mets

Mat Memories: My Wild Life in Pro Wrestling, Country Music, and with the Mets

Mat Memories: My Wild Life in Pro Wrestling, Country Music, and with the Mets

Mat Memories: My Wild Life in Pro Wrestling, Country Music, and with the Mets

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Overview

A man with three different names ties together the stars of professional wrestling, country music, and the New York Mets.

John Arezzi was a lifelong Mets fan who dreamed of a job in baseball. In 1981, he took a job with the Mets Class A team in North Carolina. But Arezzi had another love: professional wrestling. He ran a fan club for the villainous “Classy” Freddie Blassie as a teenager, then progressed to wrestling photographer, and finally even stepped into the ring himself as John Anthony. Eventually he escaped to pursue a new life in altogether different world: country music. After adopting a new name, John Alexander, his many accomplishments include discovering both Patty Loveless and (decades later) Kelsea Ballerini. But wrestling is tough to shake ...

In the 1990s, Arezzi hosted the pioneering radio talk show Pro Wrestling Spotlight. He also ran the first major conventions, assembling a wrestling who’s who to meet with fans. He promoted shows, both at home and abroad, and was a key figure behind importing lucha libre into America.

Mat Memories is Arezzi’s chance to hold the mic, and he holds nothing back — he names names and tells the untold behind-the-scenes stories: from the ring, the stage, and the diamond.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781770415645
Publisher: ECW Press
Publication date: 04/06/2021
Pages: 304
Sales rank: 1,083,818
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

John “Alexander” Arezzi is an entrepreneur who lives in Long Island and Nashville. He runs MatMemories.com and the Pro Wrestling Spotlight Then & Now podcast.

Greg Oliver is the author of 15 books, and the producer of SlamWrestling.net. He is the 2020 recipient of the James C. Melby Historian Award for his contributions to pro wrestling history. He lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his wife and son.

Read an Excerpt

When my alarm clock goes off, and I eventually drag myself out of bed, I always take a moment to consider who I will be today.

Am I John Arezzi, the pioneering pro wrestling radio journalist, who hosted an influential show, Pro Wrestling Spotlight, in New York City in the late 1980s until the mid-’90s? The one who promoted wrestling shows across the U.S., and in southeast Asia and South America, featuring lucha libre stars before it was trendy. The one that was hated by Vince McMahon for an outspoken crusade for details of the WWF’s steroid issues and sex scandals. I’m also the one who helped Vince Russo get into the business, which I’ll never be forgiven for by some people.

Or am I John Alexander, the respected music business executive in Nashville, with ties to many names in country music? You know, the one who discovered the incredibly talented Patty Loveless in a dive bar in Shelby, North Carolina, and started her on the path to stardom. Or more recently, the one who opened the doors for Kelsea Ballerini, which she proceeded to kick down and rise to the top of the industry. You’ll find my LinkedIn profile under that name.

I do know for certain that I am no longer John Anthony, professional wrestler. He called it quits after two ludicrous matches, his vanity and curiosity winning out over sanity. John Arezzi, promising baseball executive, is also long in my past, though my love for all things about the New York Mets continues through thick and mostly thin.

What I do know each and every morning is that each day will bring something new and unique. Don’t believe me? Read on.

Table of Contents

Wrestling Foreword Mick Foley ix

Baseball Foreword John Gibbons xi

Country Foreword Suzanne Alexander xiii

1 Introduction 1

2 Growing Up Connected 3

3 Friend to "The King of Men" 17

4 I Am "Mr. Wrestling" 35

5 The Glorious Two-Match Career of John Anthony 51

6 I Shoulda Stayed in Baseball 60

7 Patty 76

8 Straight Up, Straight Down 93

9 In the Spotlight 109

10 The Scandals 127

11 It's All My Fault 141

12 Just Call Me "Big Pork BBQ" 152

13 The Wrestling Convention Pioneer 167

14 Meet John Alexander 183

15 Big Country 193

16 The Darling of Music City 216

17 Stardom Starts at the Mellow Mushroom 251

18 Always Hustling 259

19 Pro Wrestling, the Cruel Mistress I Can't Shake 273

20 What If? 282

Acknowledgments 285

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