For a tale that would make you cry if you didn’t laugh, this book blends its authors’ voices for a particularly apt tone. Even 15 years later, the speed of the decline of WCW remains easy to underestimate. In 1998 it became the most profitable wrestling company in the history of the business. In March 1999 a Hulk Hogan vs Ric Fair match attracted 325,000 buys; the same bout in March 2000 drew just 60,000, while house show a...
This is at best of tangential interest to wrestling fans but may be an intriguing read for some. Andy Robin was a Scottish amateur and then professional wrestler who made a dozen or so TV appearances but was best known in his native country where he was part of the Eldorado All Stars in the always atmospheric Eldorado Stadium in Edinburgh. The book instead deals with the other element of his fame, the nine-foot tall grizzly bear that he...
Giving another angle on some familiar events, this autobiography manages to deal with issues of personal crisis and faith without being overly preachy. Clarke is perhaps best known to wrestling viewers for her love-quadrangle storyline in Dallas with Chris Adams, Steve Austin and Toni Adams, and her brief run as Lady Blossom in WCW. While the wrestling parts of the book are substantial enough to satisfy most readers, including plenty...
A brisk read, this has its moments but won’t call for repeat readings. Robinson has previously worked on a compilation of WWE road stories and this is of a similar style and format. As the name suggests, its made up of 20 chapters where a WWE star recalls their favorite match and explains why. All but two (Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero at Hallowe’en Havoc ’97 and Alberto Del Rio’s pro debut in Japan) are WWE bou...
Long, perhaps overly detailed, and full of twists and turns with an upbeat ending. But enough about how Dallas Page plans his matches: let’s talk about his book. At 442 pages and not even reaching the end of his WCW career, this book certainly doesn’t miss anything out. If you find Page’s style of confidence to be abrasive, this is going to be a struggle. For most readers however, it will be a treat. Part of the bulk i...
Within the context of being an authorised WWE autobiography, this is a very pleasant surprise. Released in 2002, shortly after Lawler’s return to the company after an eight-month absence, this puts much more emphasis on his Memphis days than might be expected. Indeed, it’s 250 pages in before the story reaches his WWF debut, although the chronology does jump around now and again to allow for more thematically-focused chapter...
While wildly entertaining, this comes with a recommendation that carries a disclaimer. While LeBell may be best known to modern fans as the cornerman of Ronda Rousey, if you’re an avid viewer of any US drama of the 1970s or 1980s, you’ve probably seen him before and never realised. A former pro wrestler and stuntman, he was a regular in Hollywood and as a result virtually every show which did a wrestling themed episode would...
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 ...
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. H...
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 previou...