A couple of intriguing chapters doesn’t make up for some truly atrocious filler here. This always had a tough spot to fill, following on from the huge success of Mick Foley’s Have A Nice Day, which was designed to test the waters for WWE autobiographies. Even without that as a comparison point, this is a half-assed effort however. The pre-wrestling element is arguably the more interesting part of the book, doing a good job of illustrating how a young Dwayne Johnson had the natural heritage to get into the business, but certainly didn’t have an easy start in life and struggled financially as a student and footballer. The wrestling part is less informative and is clearly written with a desire to avoid confrontation. There’s a detailed story of a teenage Johnson being disgusted by the disrespect shown by Lars Anderson on a Hawaii show, but nothing about a similar incident involving Shawn Michaels. Neither does the efforts of Michaels and Triple H to disrupt his early WWF run get a mention. Considering these incidents may have cost the WWE Universe from ever seeing a Rock-Michaels bout, these seem like oversights to toe the company line. It’s when Rocky Maivia turns into the…
This 1974 book is one of the better titles by an “outsider”, albeit one with legitimate credentials. Author Joe Jares was a Sports Illustrated Associate Editor who, in the 1960s, wrote two articles on wrestling, one on how his father performed as “The Thing” and the other on the decline of Gorgeous George. Jares later decided to expand the subject into a book, with the articles making up the first two chapters. He then explored the wrestlers of the day, with chapters on the wackiest characters, women wrestlers, leading villains, promoters, fans and the travel and injuries of life on the road. He concludes with a series of appendices covering topics such as real names, a capsule history, the world title, wrestling footballers, and bouts featuring wrestlers against boxers. Given his real sports background, Jares doesn’t buy in to kayfabe, but the book isn’t written in a mocking tone. Aside from a fun recap of some of the explanations wrestlers give for why their matches must be real, he largely asks carefully worded questions and gets intelligent answers that don’t insult anyone’s intelligence. Paul Boesch in particular is the source of many comments that protect the business while still giving…
Something of an undersung title, this should interest historians and newer fans alike. It’s a series of profiles of (W)WWF stars between the creation of the promotion’s main title in 1963 and the start of the Hulkamania era. While much of each profile may be familiar to more avid fans, each comes with a series of trivia facts that will be new to almost everyone. It’s well-researched, drawing on a combination of previous wrestling books from inside and outside the country (including a lot of quotes from the hugely underrated Fred Blassie autobiography) and interviews with figures from the time including Vince McMahon, Sgt Slaughter and Tony Garea. For the most part it appears largely accurate with only a couple of apparent errors such as Mr Fuji being The Undertaker’s original manager and Ken Patera being in the WrestleMania IV tournament. Neither does it have many glaring omissions, though writing a lengthy section of Billy Graham’s health problems without mentioning steroids is awkward to say the least. There’s also a slight inconsistency as to how wrestling is portrayed. It openly acknowledges performers taking on gimmicks such as Canadian Oreal Perras posing as Russian Ivan Koloff, but at points it’s a…
Millard peels back the curtain on the peddlers of tall tales and fantastical bunk, in those subcultures where the nature of truth is subjective. From pro wrestling’s funhouse mirror world of kayfabe, there’s the method-acted insanity of Brian Pillman, and the mad lies of Hulk Hogan. Martial arts gives us super-spy movie stars, deadly men like Count Dante, who can explode your heart from fifty paces, and the strange, forgotten story of James Hydrick, telekinetic Kung Fu cultist; the man no prison could hold. In the paranormal realm, we’ve Derek Acorah, and the spectacular rise and lurid public fall of Most Haunted. Plus, the BBC’s Ghostwatch, a hoax that became the cultural bogeyman for an entire generation of Brits. And could Bill Murray really be putting headlocks on the strangers of New York? And just what is his connection to Purple Aki? This isn’t a wrestling book as such, but pro wrestling makes up a key part of it, both directly and tangentially. It’s a collection of accounts of a variety of celebrities and other public figures who, for one reason or another, have engaged in bending or breaking the truth. Two chapters deal directly with wrestling. One attempts to…
Lorcan Mullan has been a fan of the wild, unpredictable and unique world of professional wrestling for over twenty years. This book continues on from his hit solo stand-up comedy show in providing a personal history of life as a obsessive in the wild, bizarre and unique world of pre-determined tussles. I’ll be honest and say I didn’t hold out much hope when I read the description, but it’s actually tremendous. I don’t know how many non-wrestling fans would actually stick with it all the way through (as opposed to seeing a one-hour show version), but I genuinely can’t imagine any wrestling fan in their forties or younger, particularly based in the UK, not enjoying it. You’ll either enjoy the nostalgia, learn about being a fan “back in the day”, repeatedly recognise yourself in the book, or some combination of the three. There’s enough of the “here’s what happened in wrestling/here’s what happened in my life” to make it more interesting that a bunch of old Scott Keith reviews, but not so much that it becomes clunky. It’s the closest thing to a wrestling version of Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch. It covers everything from Hogan-Warrior to Cena-Punk, but it’s a…
As a wrestler biography, this is OK. But as a biography of one of the biggest names of his generation, this is a huge letdown. A WWE publication, the content of this book is fine. It’s ghostwritten by WWE’s Keith Elliot Greenberg and edited by wrestling columnist Mark Madden, so for the most part it reads smoothly and is free from obvious lies or exaggeration (with a few exceptions such as the claim to have wrestled Rick Steamboat 2,000 times.) The problem is the scope. The book tries to tell the story of a 30+ year headlining career in fewer pages than were allocated to the autobiography of Lita. While most of the career highlights are covered, there’s not a great deal of depth and few long-time fans will learn much. The formatting works well. Flair’s recollections are interspersed with lengthy quotes from other sources, giving a more rounded view. The writers have also erred towards putting in extra detail and context at the expense of staying true to Flair’s voice. One potential downside is that the book does come across as biased towards WWE’s head personnel and against WCW management. That may very well reflect Flair’s true opinions, but…
Absolutely no idea. The man who sold this to me on eBay forgot to mention it’s in French. Buy on Amazon
While the title may not be familiar to many readers, some may know the subject best as Moondog King, a short-lived WWWF tag team champion in 1981. That title run and its unfortunate conclusion is addressed from the outset of the book and later highlighted as the turning point of Edward White’s life. After working for several Canadian territories, he won the WWWF titles with Moondog Rex. Only a couple of months into the reign he attempted to return to the US after an unscheduled trip home to Montreal but was refused entry by border guards. It’s not entirely clear from the book whether this was because he had no working visa, had a criminal record that came to light, or both. Either way, that was the end of his WWWF run and he was replaced in the team. The rest of his career was split between overseas dates and a decline into drug addiction and even trafficking. While White’s was certainly an eventful life, and the book is well-written, it’s main drawback is that no one aspect of the book really stands out in depth. There’s some insight into his wrestling career and his personal life is covered but…
Ludicrously overblown title aside, this is one of the better WWE-published autobiographies, despite Lita coming along in the post-territorial era. She had an interesting life before and outside wrestling, told in this 2003 publication, written while she was out of action with a neck injury. Those who sat through her protracted Hall of Fame induction speech may feel they’ve heard many of the stories before, but it still makes for an amazing tale: fascinated by seeing Rey Mysterio and fellow luchadors on Monday Nitro, but with no idea how to get into the business, she simply flew down to Mexico City and began hanging around the lucha venues until she persuaded CMLL staff to give her some basic training. From there she covers her brief independent career and her time in ECW, where she tells a great story about tapping out Chris Chetti in a hotel room grappling session (albeit once in many attempts) and Chetti being terrified of word getting back to his trainer Taz. Her initial WWE run is well-covered as well, but there’s just as much about her non-wrestling activities, be they getting breast enhancement surgery, taking part in gameshows including Fear Factor, volunteering with animal centers,…
If you’re thinking the autobiography of a ring announcer doesn’t sound an enticing prospect, think again. Capetta — who spent more than 20 years announcing for the WWWF and WCW — probably saw more matches live then anyone else during his prime. He’s also got a lot of stories from life on the road and isn’t shy of sharing them. The early sections of the book are fascinating, detailing Capetta’s transition from fan to WWWF employee, much of which involved bluster and blagging. Newer WWE fans will also learn a lot about the company’s setup in the 1970s with regional promoters running weekly shows in smaller venues and booking their own storylines. The backstage stories are also great. The book includes a lengthy recollection of which wrestler crossed a young trainee who later became the Undertaker — and how he eventually paid for it. There’s some great insight into how the stresses of life on the road on European tours led to some unwelcome experiences for Bill Dundee, Mr Hughes and PN News. And there’s even a detailed ear-witness account of the infamous Sid vs Arn Anderson brawl in Blackburn. Reading the book you’ll also learn what it’s like to…