Don’t let a minor controversy detract from one of the better wrestling history books out there. The first of Oliver’s Hall of Fame series (as much a way of tying the books together as an attempt to compete with the likes of the WWE and Wrestling Observer halls), this attracted some attention from a disgruntled Bret Hart, outraged at being ranked only 14th in the book’s opening section of the top 20 Canadian wrestlers. While Oliver makes a great case for the likes of Whipper Watson, Yvon Robert and Killer Kowalksi taking the top spots, Hart being ranked below Sky Low Low and Little Beaver certainly does look odd. Still, concentrating on the rankings misses the point of the book, which is an excellent set of profiles of Canadian grapplers. From his work at the SLAM site, Oliver has developed the skills and contact lists to get insight from wrestlers across the generations and that pays off here. No matter how knowledgeable you are about wrestling history, you’ll likely learn something new or get a fresh perspective in every profile. The most notable aspect of the book is realising just how many major names in wrestling originated in Canada. The…
This biography of Mildred Burke goes straight into the top tier of must-read historical wrestling books. Many such titles fall into one of two traps. Some are cobbled together with little research or overly reliant on a single source, meaning it’s hard to determine the accuracy of either small details or the overall narrative. Others are the result of meticulous research but the author falls prey to the desire to leave nothing else, even at the expense of readability. Leen has found the perfect blend between the two, pulling off the approach of John Capouya’s Gorgeous George, but arguably improving upon it. In the body of the book itself, Leen always cites a source for material where there’s reason to doubt it, or where it’s significant to know any bias or perspective which could affect its interpretation. However, this is only done where necessary and the text itself is allowed to breathe without excessive ifs and buts. Instead of footnotes, the book has an exhaustive section at the back where you can look up the source of virtually every claim or piece of information if you so choose. That list of sources includes contemporary documents from newspaper articles to personal letters and…
Among the mid-level of the WWE autobiographies, this title is ghostwritten by former WWF and WCW magazine writer Dennis Brent. It’s a decent recap of Austin’s career, though a little short on detail. That’s largely because it’s written in an authentic Austin voice and is certainly a no-nonsense title. Perhaps appropriately, Austin picks his spots to shine in the book rather than going all-out throughout. As a result, some moments in his career get short shrift — for example, there’s little more than a transcript of the King of the Ring 96 promo. However, at other points Austin goes into great detail about his thinking and philosophy behind wrestling. Highlights include a 10-page final chapter about the need for spontaneity and believable characters, as well as a reprint of a memo Chris Adams gave him explaining how to structure a match. There’s also an excellent insight into his emotions and physical problems going into what turned out to be his final match. It’s certainly not a can’t miss read: the documentary on the DVD of the same name covers his career highlights, while Austin’s twice-weekly podcasts have plenty of philosophy for students of the game. However, it’s definitely worth the money…
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…