"I turn my back on him and walk away"- Bill Apter reveals how he used to disrespect WWE Hall of Famer [Exclusive]
Legendary wrestling journalist Bill Apter recently spoke about WWE Hall of Famer Ernie Ladd.
In the latest episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, in a conversation with Rick Ucchino, Sid Pullar III, and Dutch Mantell, Apter shared a story about how he 'kayfabe' disrespected WWE legend Ernie Ladd and the latter loved it.
"This is not an off-color story at all but an Ernie Ladd thing. We never planned this at all. Throughout the Crockett Territory, he wrestled Ricky Steamboat every night in every city for like two weeks. And I go down there for a week, shooting pictures and I'd be in the ring. This happened one night, then we did every night, we always got a pop. Ladd would come out to the ring, fans are booing, Ricky comes out, so the fans are popping. So, as they are getting the instructions from the referee, Steamboat looks at me and he comes over and shakes my hand, then fans are applauding. Ernie Ladd comes over to shake my hand, I turn my back on him and walk away and we did it every night. When I came out of the arena where the fans are waiting for the wrestlers, they would go, 'That was so cool how you dissed Ernie Ladd.' He loved it and kept telling me to do that again," said Bill Apter.
You can watch the entire episode of Smack Talk below:
Ernie Ladd's WWE Career
Ernie Ladd, a former professional football player, first made his way into WWE in 1968 where he wrestled with the likes of all-time greats such as Bruno Sammartino, Pedro Morales, Andre The Giant, and many more.
"Big Cat" Ernie Ladd slams Andre.1978 https://t.co/NbV9MzICgd
After retiring from the in-ring competition due to recurring knee problems, The Big Cat turned towards commentary and famously called the action in the 20-man battle royal at Wrestlemania 2 which featured NFL players.
He also has the distinction of being the first person to be inducted into both the WWE and WCW Hall of Fame.
If any quotes are used from this article, please give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling and embed the Smack Talk YouTube video.