Wrestling With Words
Appropriately enough this is a no holds barred view of pro wrestling from an outsider. The first half of this book (Rousey’s second volume of autobiography) covers her final two MMA bouts (both defeats) and the beginnings of her relationship with Travis Browne. It’s largely soul searching and won’t necessarily appear to wrestling fans, though her claims about the long-term effects of her repeated concussions raise some...
Not just an biography, this is a remarkable insight into the psychology and mental element of working as a professional wrestler at every level of the business. Lynch’s career path is an unusual one, grinding on the independent circuit for several years then getting completely out of the business before returning via a WWE tryout and going straight into the new-look developmental system. This comes across in the book as a differen...
Short but sweet, this may be too brief for some buyers. Lying somewhere between an extremely extended blog post and a very concise book, Amazon estimates a print version of this e-Book only title would be around 30 pages, something that’s important to remember if you’re considering a purchase. Unlike some less reputable titles such AI-generated “biographies”, this is an appropriate length for the subject matter: ...
A third volume of autobiography is always a challenge, but the gimmick here doesn’t really hit. As the likes of Mick Foley and Chris Jericho have shown, later chronological volumes usually prove diminishing returns with too short a period to cover. The alternative is a fresh format, something that works well in some cases (Bobby Heenan) and not so well in others (Jericho again). Here the gimmick is 50 short chapters, each based ar...
This is a well-researched and often illuminating biography, but for a WWF superstar subject, his time in the promotion is the weakest aspect of the book. This is the closest thing to an authoritative biography of Savage thanks to brother Lanny Poffo being a key source before his own passing. It also brings together quotes from a wide variety of figures both inside and outside the business, usually – though not always – commenting on...
Somewhat a mirror image of its predecessor, this works as an overall collection of articles, even if some pieces feel a little flat. The second compilation from WrestleTalk, this follows The New War: AEW vs WWE. I found that while individual pieces were intriguing, it didn’t necessarily hang together as an overall narrative or history of a time period. The situation is reversed here, with a much broader topic, namely wrestlingR...
Following a question from a reader, I thought I’d share some recommendations from among the 250+ books I’ve reviewed on the site, broken into a few categories. The Must Haves These are books that every wrestling fan should own: A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex by Chris Jericho Gorgeous George by John Capouya Have A Nice Day by Mick Foley Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart Hooker b...
Congratulations to reader Jason Norman on the publication of his book American Women in Amateur Wrestling, 2000-2022. Although it’s primarily about the growth of the female amateur scene and it’s tumultuous status in the Olympics, it does include a chapter on women who have moved from the amateur ranks into pro wrestling....
Having reached the milestone of my 250th review, I’ve decided now is the right time to cease regular updates of Pro Wrestling Books. This is primarily because the money generated by ads and affiliate links no longer justifies the time I spend on the blog. A secondary issue is that the way Amazon is now flooded by low quality “books” produced either through cut-and-pasting of Wikipedia or generative AI tools, to the poi...
Something of a mixed bag, this takes a while to get going but provides some useful insight. The ghostwritten format works well when sharing the first-hand accounts of Dewey Robertson, the man behind the gimmick. However, in what could be either an attempt of completeness or a touch of padding out, the book does occasionally fall into extensive lists which are neither informative nor entertaining. Unfortunately this is particularly preva...
