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CHOKEHOLD
– Jay West
December 1, 2003
The most recent issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has Dave Meltzer quoting Chokehold as being “the most significant book
I've seen on pro wrestling�. It was written by Jim Wilson and Weldon Johnson.
As many old-timers know, Jim Wilson was a successful football player who spent most of his pro wrestling career in the Atlanta area,
first working for the NWA and later the All-South promotion. As Jim and his running mate Thunderbolt Patterson burned their bridges,
they worked for the IWA and then tried several times to promote on their own.
I spent much of the early to late 1980s talking with Jim about his concerns and contributed to several of the stories done on his various
crusades. We had a falling out when I stated in the Observer around 1990 that Jim's skills were not World Champion caliber. Jim never
talked to me again.
I write this because in all the years of reading Meltzer's weekly sheet, I have never seen him go to the level that he did with Chokehold to
stress what he called the “importance� of this book in regard to pro wrestling history. Still, he didn't say it was good and stated the
body of the work was “not pretty�.
Everybody that was around at that time heard stories. That’s all they were to me. The WWE(F) has certainly had its share, however,
much of it did end up in court.
I went to court with Jim Wilson one time. It had nothing to do with sexual scandals or the legitimacy or fakery of pro wrestling. It had to do
with whether a group was allowed to promote based on friendships and alliances of others. The case was settled out of court with
Wilson getting a certain amount of money for dropping the suit.
Jim Barnett was one of the people named by Wilson in the suit. Before I was called to testify, Barnett came up to me and asked if I hadn't
worked for him at one time. I said, “Yes sir, I did.� His lawyer then asked me if I thought if the person paying the check should
determine who he had working for him, and again I answered in the affirmative.
As I said, the case was settled without one minute in court. It wasn't about sex – it was about the right to work. That's what will make or
break this book even though some will buy it just to read the other stuff.
I got the book. I checked the index and was surprised to see that I was mentioned twice in the book. As mentioned previously, I haven't
talked to Wilson in about thirteen years, and didn't know the book was coming out until I saw it mentioned in the Observer.
For the record, the information listed on page twenty-six dealing with the 1984 interview with sportswriter Ray Didinger of the Philadelphia
Daily news is accurate as I remember it.
The info regarding the picket line in the 1977-78 timeframe outside the Atlanta City Auditorium is not accurate. I never spoke to Wilson
until after I was let go by the Atlanta office at the end of March 1981. Point being, if I'm being paid to do a job, I'm loyal to the people I'm
working for.
Around late April or May of 1981, I did ask Jim and Thunderbolt Patterson if they needed any help with their TV show on channel 36 and I
ended up doing a few shows for them. I did become a friend of Jim’s and offered to add my support to some of his causes.
During one of the interviews – I believe it was Didinger's – I mentioned that Zulu was offered work in Detroit (not Knoxville as Jim's
story states), and I mentioned the name of the person within the Atlanta office who gave me that information. I can understand how Jim
was sorting information when he wrote the book and used some narrative license in condensing his facts, but the timeline he mentions
on my statement was inaccurate.
– Jay West
December 1, 2003
The most recent issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has Dave Meltzer quoting Chokehold as being “the most significant book
I've seen on pro wrestling�. It was written by Jim Wilson and Weldon Johnson.
As many old-timers know, Jim Wilson was a successful football player who spent most of his pro wrestling career in the Atlanta area,
first working for the NWA and later the All-South promotion. As Jim and his running mate Thunderbolt Patterson burned their bridges,
they worked for the IWA and then tried several times to promote on their own.
I spent much of the early to late 1980s talking with Jim about his concerns and contributed to several of the stories done on his various
crusades. We had a falling out when I stated in the Observer around 1990 that Jim's skills were not World Champion caliber. Jim never
talked to me again.
I write this because in all the years of reading Meltzer's weekly sheet, I have never seen him go to the level that he did with Chokehold to
stress what he called the “importance� of this book in regard to pro wrestling history. Still, he didn't say it was good and stated the
body of the work was “not pretty�.
Everybody that was around at that time heard stories. That’s all they were to me. The WWE(F) has certainly had its share, however,
much of it did end up in court.
I went to court with Jim Wilson one time. It had nothing to do with sexual scandals or the legitimacy or fakery of pro wrestling. It had to do
with whether a group was allowed to promote based on friendships and alliances of others. The case was settled out of court with
Wilson getting a certain amount of money for dropping the suit.
Jim Barnett was one of the people named by Wilson in the suit. Before I was called to testify, Barnett came up to me and asked if I hadn't
worked for him at one time. I said, “Yes sir, I did.� His lawyer then asked me if I thought if the person paying the check should
determine who he had working for him, and again I answered in the affirmative.
As I said, the case was settled without one minute in court. It wasn't about sex – it was about the right to work. That's what will make or
break this book even though some will buy it just to read the other stuff.
I got the book. I checked the index and was surprised to see that I was mentioned twice in the book. As mentioned previously, I haven't
talked to Wilson in about thirteen years, and didn't know the book was coming out until I saw it mentioned in the Observer.
For the record, the information listed on page twenty-six dealing with the 1984 interview with sportswriter Ray Didinger of the Philadelphia
Daily news is accurate as I remember it.
The info regarding the picket line in the 1977-78 timeframe outside the Atlanta City Auditorium is not accurate. I never spoke to Wilson
until after I was let go by the Atlanta office at the end of March 1981. Point being, if I'm being paid to do a job, I'm loyal to the people I'm
working for.
Around late April or May of 1981, I did ask Jim and Thunderbolt Patterson if they needed any help with their TV show on channel 36 and I
ended up doing a few shows for them. I did become a friend of Jim’s and offered to add my support to some of his causes.
During one of the interviews – I believe it was Didinger's – I mentioned that Zulu was offered work in Detroit (not Knoxville as Jim's
story states), and I mentioned the name of the person within the Atlanta office who gave me that information. I can understand how Jim
was sorting information when he wrote the book and used some narrative license in condensing his facts, but the timeline he mentions
on my statement was inaccurate.
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