Wrestling-based novels do not have a great reputation and those involving female characters and an element of romance are normally something for reviewers to fear (particularly in the self-publishing realm.) Thankfully The Sweetheart, professionally published by Simon & Schuster, is a strong exception to that pattern. It’s the tale of Leonie Putzkammer, better known as 1950s female pro wrestler Gwen Davies. Without giving too much of the plot away, she’s discovered, trained, works as a heel, then makes a key career decision that affects both her professional and personal life. The Sweetheart pulls off that rare task of being an engaging novel in its own right that will appeal to a general audience, but being credible for pro wrestling fans, with the wrestling scenes an integral part of the storyline and themes rather than merely being a backdrop. Author Angelina Mirabella has clearly researched the subject does a great job of capturing some of the little-known nuances of the real wrestling business such as the genuine physical suffering and the potentially psyche-destroying way in which “opponents” are both working together for the show and competing for promotional positioning. One particularly impressive element is the way Mirabella includes details of genuine…
While Bryan Alvarez & RD Reynolds continue to joke about writing a TNA version of The Death of WCW — and such a title remains premature — this is the closest thing to an insight into the promotion, albeit a brief period in its history. The book covers 2002, the year Jerry and Jeff Jarrett tried to capitalise on the gap left by the demise of WCW and ECW but without the benefit of national television. They attempted to so do by updating the territorial model to the modern era, existing solely as a low-priced weekly two-hour pay-per-view. It’s a ludicrous idea in hindsight and seemed unlikely to many at the time, but this does at least show how those involved might have believed it could work. The strength of the book is that it is written as a contemporary journal. While it’s certainly possible Jarrett may have edited or even redrafted content, it comes across as his honest feelings at the time of each event rather than an attempt to rewrite history. Some of the stories are spectacular in hindsight, most notably consultant Jay Haussman telling Jarrett that the first few shows were attracting as many as 85,000 buys…
This is a quiz book rather than a collection of facts, and how challenging it is may depend on the eras in which you were a fan. Published in 2002, this has a total of 2,000 questions with a mix of straight question and answers and multiple choice questions. It’s split over 10 sections: WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, Raw, Smackdown, other PPVs, Old School, Titles and Outside the Ring. Some questions will seem ridiculously easy to long-time fans, such as where WrestleMania III was held or who won the 1992 Royal Rumble. However, other questions go into great detail and will be tricky unless you obsessed over the era in question or have been rewatching it recently. For example, even when the book came out only a couple of years after the event, it’s hard to imagine how many people knew (or cared) whether Test and Albert, appearing on Smackdown, threatened to rename Bradshaw and Farooq’s office as the APAT&A, T&APA, TAPAT or T&AA. Similarly, anyone who can easily recall which WWE star guest-starred on Suddenly Susan or where Lilian Garcia went to university is both a great trivia quizzer and borderline obsessed. The only real criticism of the book is…
This is one of several TV cash-ins from the “Golden Age” boom and probably the one that’s most worth reading rather than collecting. Written in 1950 by the TV announcer from the DuMont network, this will no doubt sound familiar to those of you who read my recent review of Dick Lane’s Whoa Nellie! While this is similar in concept, it’s considerably more detailed. It’s a full-fledged book, albeit only 98 pages, and has considerably more details and articles alongside the pictures of the stars. For example, there’s an article on why wrestling boomed, with the obvious explanations of new stars and TV exposure accompanied by the suggestion that a generation of teenagers had never seen wrestling before thanks to the interruption of the war, and even a theory that wartime action stories had created an interest in hand-to-hand combat. As well as the expected profiles of wrestlers, the book features articles on specific territories, the longest matches, wrestlers from the pre-war period and even the dangers of trachoma from dirty mats. It should be noted that two sections, one on wrestling holds and the other a “Wrestling IQ” list of common questions are almost identical to that in Whoa Nellie, the only…
There’s nothing wrong with this book. It’s just… there. While Wolfe is perhaps best known for his “enhancement” work for WWF, he’s put the miles in, catching the final years of the territory system, working opening matches on WWF house show swings, experiencing the Texan indy scene of the 1990s and 2000s, going on foreign tours and, perhaps inevitably, joining the scores of wrestlers on hand at WCW’s Orlando tapings. It’s all covered here, so you certainly don’t get shortchanged. The problem is that many of the stories and recollections are on repeated themes: young guys don’t know how to work; smarks killed the business; most promoters are shady; driving in foreign countries is scary. It’s not to say none of the stories here are entertaining: there’s a great revelation about life on the road with Zeus from No Holds Barred and a subsequent Bobby Heenan zinger. However, with the greatest of respect, this isn’t a book that needed to be so comprehensive. It’s not a bad read as such, it’s just that you’ll be dedicating a lot of time to fairly routine stuff among the gems. If it’s on on offer on the Kindle it might be worth a…
This is the type of book that would likely only have been made at a specific time (in this case, January 1999.) It’s far enough into boom period that the author was able to find a publisher for a 446 page wrestling book, but still early enough that it can keep a very general approach rather than having to cover a single particular niche. There’s a curious theater-style Acts and Scenes structure to tie in with the title, but in effect this is a collection of interesting diversions into some elements of the wrestling industry that don’t get a lot of coverage. The first section briefly covers the evolution of wrestling from ancient sport to modern entertainment, then explores why wrestling appeals as a form of theater, and the way only a proportion of the public “gets” its appeal. Section two looks at some of the people involved in wrestling beyond the major stars. This breaks down into five chapters, each profiling and interviewing a range of individuals: “journeymen” (ie jobbers); newsletter writers; artists; professional journalists; and unsung heroes (mainly trainers.) The final section has lengthy profiles of the Honky Tonk Man, “Genius” Lanny Poffo, Killer Kowalski, Bob Backlund and the…
If you’re reading this blog, the chances are that reading this book will be reminiscent of a Sean O’Haire promo. This official WWE release is billed as the story of the men who held the title up till 2010. The acknowledgement section mentions carrying out some fresh interviews, but the majority of the quotes appear to come from the full range of WWE official autobiographies and the feel is very much of a compilation. While the book is fairly comprehensive, including for example the controversial Antonio Inoki reign, it’s biggest weakness is a confusing attitude to kayfabe. For the most part wrestling is treated as legitimate but also a business; Vince McMahon hires Hulk Hogan because he can draw fans, but Hogan wins the title match on his own merits. While such an approach might have worked had it been kept consistently, it falls apart at stages, for example in the Montreal section where it suddenly appears Bret Hart is somehow at fault for refusing to take a dive. Throw in several quotes at other parts of the book where wrestlers praise their opponent for carrying them to a good match and it becomes more awkward when author Kevin “not…
If you’ve read my review of Championship Wrestling by Napolitano, you know what to expect here. Sadly this book fails to meet even those limited expectations. It’s the same basic concept — a collection of Napolitano photographs in a coffee-table format book — but looks remarkably like the publishers saw Championship Wrestling and decided to see if they could capitalise with a version that was quicker and cheaper to produce. This runs only 60 pages with just three sections (an intro, the main body and a brief ‘outside the ring’ section). The photos are much blander from an artistic perspective than in Championship Wrestling and several are even somewhat out of focus. The closest thing to an unusual picture is one of Ron Simmons with his wife, while the main attraction for the type of teenage boy who’d buy this (in other words, me) is a shot of Madusa Miceli in a leather dress. That’s not exactly enough to carry a book in the Internet age. Buy on Amazon
This is a hugely entertaining story of a British wrestler’s career and life, but it’s most definitely not for the easily offended. Cornelius was a successful heavyweight in the 1950s and 60s, working across the UK as well as touring continental Europe and Japan. He went on to act in films and on stage, including being a regular entertainer at the London Palladium. The book doesn’t explicitly break kayfabe, but it’s easy enough to read between the lines when he’s explaining how he would liven up a bout for the benefit of the crowd. It’s the tales outside the ring that really stand out however. His activities in the world of not-entirely-legitimate goods trading are lively and entertaining, while his recollections of sexual antics are eye-raisingly explicit at times. There’s not really enough here for anyone but an enthusiast for the period to go out of their way to read, but if you spot a second-hand copy at at a bargain price, it’s worth a buy. Buy on Amazon
1996 was a curious year for the World Wrestling Federation: while house show attendance began to rebound and the company returned to profitability, it’s seen as a year of failure thanks to WCW beginning its two-year dominance of Monday night TV ratings. Creatively it was a confusing period, with a move to a more adult, realistic product undermined by cartoonish gimmicks such as TL Hopper and the Goon. These contradictions are covered in depth in Dixon’s sequel to Titan Sinking, his book on the WWF’s 1995. As with that volume, he combines a chronological and thematic approach to explore individual incidents in detail without losing sight of the big picture. Several stylistic shortfalls from the first book have been addressed here. While Dixon has included material from original interviews with the likes of Jim Cornette, JJ Dillon and Tracey Smothers, these are used to illustrate relevant points rather than included solely because they were available. The Dillon comments are particularly interesting as they go further in addressing the steroid testing policy that bore his name than he was able to do in his own excellent autobiography. Dixon also pulls off a better balance of concentrating on the WWF while adding…