Brian Shields Receives Jim Melby Award
The author is being inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Twenty years after WWE released its first official book – Mick Foley’s game-changing New York Times’ best seller “Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks” – one of the company’s authors is being inducted into the hall of fame.
Not the WWE Hall of Fame, though.
Brian Shields joins Bruno Sammartino, Beth Phoenix, Thunderbolt Patterson, Sgt. Slaughter and Daniel Cormier in the 2019 Class of the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. The ceremony and accompanying festivities take place July 25-27 at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, IA.
“I’m very excited about this year’s class, who represent the highest standard in our profession” Gerry Brisco, 2005 inductee and president of the selection committee, said in a press release. “This will be another great weekend for fans and fellow wrestlers to enjoy.”
You already know Sammartino, Phoenix and Slaughter, and you might already know Cormier, the reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion. Old-school wrasslin’ fans know Patterson, but if you need a history lesson, check out Mike Mooneyham’s latest article.
That leaves Shields, who you’ve never seen in the squared circle, but you’ve most certainly enjoyed his work over the past two decades. He has written “Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80’s,” “30 Years of WrestleMania,” “WWE Encyclopedia” as well as its second edition, official biographies of John Cena and Triple H for the DK Readers Series, and most recently, “Second Nature: The Legacy of Ric Flair and the Rise of Charlotte.” Gamers have also experienced Shields’ work, as he is part of the team that writes the in-game commentary for the WWE 2K video game franchise.
“It’s been an honor working with WWE all these years on a variety of projects,” Shields says. “I approach every project with the fervor of a fan and the objectivity and professionalism of someone who is doing this as a job.”
In addition, Shields runs Mighty Pen & Sword, LLC., which provides branding strategies and digital content for partners like Take-Two Interactive, PwC, Anthem BlueCross BlueShield, Mattel and the Cancer Center for Kids at NYU Winthrop Hospital. He is also an adjunct professor at Long Island University teaching digital marketing and social media.
During the hall of fame weekend, Shields will be receiving the Jim Melby Award for excellence in professional journalism. Melby was a professional wrestling historian and journalist who served as editor of numerous magazines including The Wrestling News, Wrestling Revue, Wrestling Monthly and The Ring’s Wrestling Magazine. He also wrote two books: “Mat Wars!,” a profile of the AWA’s roster in 1985, and “Gopherland Grappling: The Early Years,” a pictorial showcasing Minnesota wrestling history. Previous recipients of the Jim Melby Award include Dave Meltzer, Bill Apter, George Napolitano and Mike Mooneyham, among other renowned writers.
“There is an incredible array of journalists, photographers and historians who have won this award before me and that’s why I’m just so honored to be receiving it,” Shields says. “I think back to being a kid on my mother’s couch watching wrestling and the work I’ve been fortunate to do over the past 21 years. It doesn’t seem real, but I know it’s happening because I have to be on time at the airport.”
Legends of Wrestling
The New York native has been obsessed with powerbombs and piledrivers since the early 1980s, when he discovered WWE while flipping channels. Because Long Island was one of the first areas in the United States that had full-scale cable television, Shields feasted on a smorgasbord of weekly action, including AWA and World Class Championship Wrestling on ESPN, Georgia Championship Wrestling and then later Jim Crockett Promotions on WTBS, WWE on the USA Network and various local channels, and Pro Wrestling This Week – a SportsCenter-style show hosted by Gordon Solie and Joe Pedicino with footage from all the different territories including Canada and Japan.
“I have such an affinity for growing up in the ‘80s,” Shields says. “I wanted to watch everything that was available. You had home video lines, action figures, video games. It was a complete and total immersion into this other world that I just wanted to be a part of.”
Another staple of the ‘80s, wrestling magazines such as Pro Wrestling Illustrated and Wrestling’s Main Event, greatly influenced Shields. Every month he would visit different stores in the neighborhood, standing with his bike between his legs as he flipped to the back of the newest issue for the latest Top 10 rankings. “The words were just as inspiring to me as the photos,” he says.
Although he was an athlete growing up, playing baseball and basketball, Shields never had any intention of donning the tights. He also didn’t plan on a writing career; instead, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in business administration from Adelphi University. He also earned a professional certification in sports, entertainment and live event marketing from New York University.
Writing would become more of a passion during his internship at Acclaim Entertainment in the summer of 1998, when WWF War Zone came out for Playstation, Nintendo 64 and Game Boy. Shields would write product FAQ sheets, copy for packaging, print ads, web copy and even scripts for promotional videos. One of the perks of working for the video game developer is when WWE Superstars would come to the office for photo shoots and voice-over sessions.
“The business was very different back then,” Shields says. “I couldn’t tell anybody that they were there or that I saw them or that I saw them in street clothes. Whereas today, 2K has an event at their corporate office, AJ Styles is there and it’s trending worldwide on social media.”
Climbing his way up the company ladder to global brand manager, Shields would help create the Legends of Wrestling franchise. With WCW and ECW out of business, and WWE not yet signing former talent to exclusivity contracts, the video game featured plenty of stars of yesteryear. Shields is particularly proud of the final game in the series – Showdown: Legends of Wrestling – for boasting an enormous, eclectic roster of all-time greats, such as Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Randy Savage, Andre the Giant, Sting, Bruno Sammartino, Mil Mascaras and even Andy Kaufman.
“It showed there was a very large interest in wrestling nostalgia,” Shields says. “The concept of Legends of Wrestling was so well received that I wanted to do an arcade version. The two game engines that I wanted to use were either WWF WrestleFest or Champion Wrestler from TAITO. We got very close to entering discussions.
Unfortunately, in August of 2004, Acclaim filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Reliving History
Shields’ affinity for the ‘80s and expertise in wrestling nostalgia led him to working for his dream company: WWE.
After Acclaim went out of business, former executive Mike Archer, a key figure in the success of WWE and Acclaim’s relationship, recruited Shields for a new project. They would be working with Jim Ross to develop the company’s Legends program, taking legendary personas and hall of famers and putting them into current official WWE product offerings like action figures, books, DVDs, etc. In addition, Shields was tasked with writing brief blurbs about WWE Superstars when they went on talk shows, radio shows and other media appearances.
“When I’m writing about WWE, I look at how is this going to be different and unique from what fans are already seeing for free on television,” Shields says. “After a while, if you’re only doing what is on TV, all you have to do is watch it on TV. That is something I was very outspoken about.”
From revealing the behind-the-scenes stories that led to WrestleMania after WrestleMania, to peeling back the curtain on the real-life drama in Ric Flair and Charlotte’s careers, Shields has not only educated new audiences on the characters of his youth, but also humanized these larger-than-life figures to where fans appreciate them on a deeper level.
And with J.R. as the master of ceremonies for the upcoming hall of fame ceremony, Shields’ career has come full circle. “I already let everybody know that I’m very aware that it’s not my name bringing anyone to the building,” Shields says. “While I’m definitely going to take the time to thank everybody that has helped me along the way, I’m not going to be standing up there like certain people when they’ve been on stage at the WWE Hall of Fame.”
About Author
congratulations to brian ! I’ve gone to many of his library presentations on long island where he brought the history of wrestling to a really wide audience, and made it so interesting. very impressive. his books are wonderful – especially the john cena for kids – and that encyclopedia.