Long-time wrestling promoter Herb Simmons has provided details on an alleged business dispute involving the legendary Abdullah the Butcher and the author of his recent biography. On the Road Trip After Hours podcast, Simmons claimed that author Scott Rushing has been selling the book without paying Abdullah his proper royalties.
Simmons explained that he got involved because he is a long-time friend of Abdullah’s and was helping to promote the book’s release at his St. Louis Fan Fest. “I got drug into it because Abby is a friend of mine,” he said. He noted that the books never arrived for the event, which was the first sign of trouble.
According to Simmons, the author and Abdullah had a contract, but Abdullah has seen very little money from the sales. “There was 300 and some dollars… that’s what he claimed was royalties that they had been fronted,” Simmons stated. “I’ve heard him talk about that on a couple other podcasts… So you know, 300 some dollars in royalty is not a lot if you’ve been selling. And he claims he’s got a second printing of the book out already.”
Simmons became so concerned that he offered to pay the author the disputed royalty money himself, but only on one condition. “I offered Mr. Rushing that I would pay for a handwriting analysis because he claims that there was some forgery going on,” Simmons revealed. “And I said, ‘The only thing is, I’d want all of you… all three of them, to take a polygraph test.’… Well, I got crickets after I did that.”
Simmons also noted other “red flags,” including the author claiming to be close friends with other legends like Leilani Kai and “Bruiser” Brody’s widow, Barbara Goodish, who told Simmons they only knew him through Facebook.
The book, titled “Abdullah the Butcher: The Man, The Myth, The Legend,” was released earlier this year. As of today, the financial dispute between the author and Abdullah the Butcher remains unresolved.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Road Trip After Hours with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
