Any recommendations?
I have read:
Mick Foley - Have A Nice Day
Eddie Guerrero - Stealing Life
Animal - The Road warriors
Bret Hart - Hitman
Chris jericho - A Lions Tale and Undisputed
The Rock
SCSA
Benoit - Wrestling with the horror....
Dynamite Kid
The death of WCW
Flair's book was good.
I liked Duggan's too.
I like Bobby "the Brain" Heenan's first book. The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heels and Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heroes & Icons (which just came out), are very interesting in terms of the stories they tell about old time guys. I have a book on the National Wrestling Alliance that came out a few years ago that reads like stereo instructions but is full of information that I'd recommend. Then of course the WWE Encyclopedia is great for the casual fan. Though they're releasing an updated second edition in November.
Never read Chynas book. It is shit.
I really enjoyed William Regal's book, Walking a Golden Mile. It's a great read - very open, honest and most definitely interesting.
The Death of WCW is a fun read, but it may be the most poorly researched book I've ever read.
I only see one of Foley's there - read all of his.
So many of them were rushed/average - I'd love to read Austin's now he's out of the business and Angle's too about both WWE/TNA.
Read Regal's but always go back and read Foley's "Have a Nice Day" ever year or so. Really want to get around and read Jericho's though.
Both of his are really good; looking forward to the third already!
I'd love a HHH or Vince one; if they were honest about everything...
Triple H does have one. His workout book doubles as a kind of short autobiography that goes more in depth than you'd expect.
I read two of Foley's, Kurt Angle, The Rock, and Chyna's.
DX have one, which is better than you'd expect, DDPs is pretty interesting, as are Dustys and Jerrys. Bischoffs is worth a look as well and Roddys isn't terrible, Shawns is pretty much what you'd expect.
Oh read Kanes, really it's wonderful
I'd recommend Goldust's book.
As far as the one's I've read:
All of Foley's, both of Jericho's, The Hardy's, Angle's, Goldust's, Road Warrior Animal's, Bret Hart's, Death of WCW, and that terrible Kane book.
See I didn't like Goldust's book at all. I thought it was pretty bland and by the numbers. The books i've really enjoyed are all of Foley's and Jericho's and also Bret's book mainly because they all go in-depth about personal feelings and stories and really explore the various stages of the author's career.
I really enjoyed Dynamites book. It has been said to be a bit full of crap but if you take it for what it is it has some very good stories about his time in Stampede, Davey Boy, Japan and altercations with Hogan and Rougeaus.
I read Shawns as well, I forgot about that one - it would have been better if he had wrote it when he was a dick though (at least more interesting).
Bret's book honestly made me depressed. It's incredibly good and very honest, (or at least, honest from Bret's point of view,) but that shit gets DARK.
Read Have a Nice Day, Foley is Good, Angle's book and the Rock's book, the latter of which might've been decent if it wasn't stocked full of promos.
Yeah, it was quite an honest book up until his wrestling days when he just played character. I would suggest anyone who reads it puts it down at the halfway mark.Originally Posted by Badger
I forgot Rockys, some of it was quite good but I agree it was mostly written 'in character' which was a bit shitty.
It's a bit of a generalisation, but I've found the only ones worth reading are those that aren't ghost written. So, Foley's, Bret's, Jericho's and Edges.
The rest you can pretty much skip without missing out.
Yeah, I never bothered with Rock's book because I'd heard half was in character and good lord I don't want to read that. Since then, I feel like they're shown enough of his past in video packages and the like (particularly last year for Mania) that I feel like I know enough that I don't care to know more.
All of this.
A lot of people have portrayed Bret as a bitter old man because of this book. After reading, I can't blame him.
I'm also a fan of Bischoff's book.
"it's good to be king.. sometimes" by Jerry Lawler..
That or his follow-up entitled "Still The King: In shape and living healthbvbhnhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"
Agreed. I've never been a Bret fan and reading that book didn't help change that.
I liked Rock's book when I read it (I was in middle school though.) While it was mostly in character stuff, I liked the parts about his childhood, hanging around in the back, and his football days because those are the anecdotes you wouldn't get from a video to hype wrestlemania or another big event.
I really haven't read many wrestling books. It just seems like most of them probably aren't worth it. Most of the books out there are ghost-written biographies pumped out to make money. Here are the few I've read:
-Foley's first two books
-The Death of WCW (Awesome, have the expanded addition and haven't gotten through it yet)
-David Shoemaker's book
I think those are literally the only ones I've read. The one I really want is Gary Hart's book, but unfortunately it's impossible to find (no E-Book, limited printing).
Any ones to recommend? Reviews? Ones to avoid? Ones you'd like to see written?
I'd recommend Jericho's first book. I've heard good things about his second as well and if it's like his first, I'd recommend that as well.
I read the Rock's book that came out around when Foley's did and it was an entertaining read.
Hard to surpass Foley's books. Dude is a great writer, expressive and great at telling a story and painting a narrative.
I forgot I read Rock's book. That's how memorable it was.
I might read the Kane book for sheer comedy.
Is his book about the principles of libertarian philosophy ?
"so this guy at a bar was talking about how the government is the best vessel for job creation. I chokeslammed him through the free market straight to hell!"
Bret Hart's book is a must-read, surely? I really enjoyed Lita's, too.
Foley is a tremendous writer, but the Hardcore Diaries was a chore to get through. It was essentially an entire book where Foley whines about Vince not accepting any of his ideas. Which sounds like it could be OK except all of his storyline ideas are complete shit.
All of Jericho's and Foley's first two books were awesome.
Hardcore Holly had a surprisingly really good book too, at least imo.
Despite not always hitting the mark, Simon Garfield's "The Wrestling" is one of the better ones out there.
Rock's book made good toilet paper.
A few years ago, WH Smith up my way were selling it for like a quid.
Last edited by Badger; February 25th, 2015 at 4:03 AM.
Double post.
I enjoyed Bret Hart's book but he comes off bitter at times.
The original WrestleCrap book was a fun quick read for nostalgia but it didnt really cover much in terms of new ground.
I enjoyed all three Jericho books.
Dynamite Kids book is a great read as well, it has been slated by wrestlers but tbh it doesn't really read like a whole lot of bullshit to me, he doesn't really go over the top with it and sort of admits he is a jerk all the way through.
Foleys first book is quality, aint read his others though.
Enjoyed Austins, Michaels and Animals as well.
Guerrero's is a real good and honest account of his life although it feels a bit tragic reading it now.
The Rocks is awful, half of its wrote in character so you don't get any of his input on his wrestling career at all.
Brets is probably the best read imo, he does whinge a fair bit in it but its pretty brutal in its honesty and a lot of it is funny tbf.
Death fo WCW was pretty great as well.
Regal's.
The Rock's book is one of the worst I've ever read. Stuff to do with matches is mostly written in character so there's no stories, no insight. So you have a wrestling book that didn't really discuss his wrestling career from his perspective but, if I remember correctly, did have a graphic account of him losing his virginity.
At 14 with an adult woman in full view of a cop if I recall correctly.
Ringo's right, Regal's is a very good book, just full of fascinating stories and a lot of him thinking about his addiction issues. Guerrero's is similar, and was an enjoyable read.
Reading Guerrero's shortly after his death was a terrible experience. Just so many near death experiences and disasters that he pulled back from.
I enjoyed Arn Anderson's and both of Bobby Heenan's are worth reading. I have a signed copy of his first book that is my favorite piece of sports memorabilia.
Bump
I'm confused about what book thread to post in
Can we merge them all?
If you want to read insane ramblings check out Roddy Piper's book. He basically claims to have no memories at all before turning 18. Not in a "I have brain damage from too many headshots" kind of way either. He just plays it off like it's any kind of normal to recollect nothing from his childhood at all besides a few random stories indicating that his father had always been a homeles, deranged lunatic.
Didn't he have a really rough upbringing? He probably just didn't want to elaborate on certain details with the ghostwriter.
It's also likely that he didn't have his special sunglasses on him and suspected that totalitarian aliens might have been around.
After reading Bischoff's book and seeing him apply for the role of WCW Chairman (or whatever it was) when he was just a commentator, it made me apply for a role at my company that was about 4 levels higher than I was on, and I got it. I genuinely wanted to find his email address to thank him for the motivation but I couldn't find it. So I didn't.
He's probably on Twitter or something, I'm sure you could find a way to send him a message now. I always loved that story as well, what a brass neck.
I actually own this.
I recommend everybody get their hands on The Squared Circle: Life, Death, and Professional Wrestling by David Shoemaker. One of the best wrestling books I've read.
Yes. Probably my favorite non autobiography wrestling book of all time. Its a must read people.
http://pwinsider.com/article/93711/w...-news.html?p=1
"As of now, we are hearing the plan for the upcoming WWE book on The Undertaker is that it will focus on the character and storylines, not the person behind the public persona"
-----------
Boooooo.
I know it's a lot to ask that someone so "old school" give us a peek behind the gimmick but there is nobody I'd rather see release a true autobiography and/or DVD documentary.
I'm waiting for the JR autobiography myself, but an Undertaker one would be amazing. Did Regal ever do a book?
Its called "Walking A Golden Mile"
Never read it. I've heard it's good.
Decent book that.
I tried wrestling books before, they didn't put up much of a fight.
Oh god, if it's anything like the Kane one they did, stay the fuck away. I appreciated the effort but reading it ruins him.http://pwinsider.com/article/93711/w...-news.html?p=1
"As of now, we are hearing the plan for the upcoming WWE book on The Undertaker is that it will focus on the character and storylines, not the person behind the public persona"
-----------
Boooooo.
I know it's a lot to ask that someone so "old school" give us a peek behind the gimmick but there is nobody I'd rather see release a true autobiography and/or DVD documentary.
Regal's book was very good, I recommend it. He's very frank about his issues with drugs and has lots of old-school stories from European wrestling.
I cannot imagine a kayfabe Undertaker book being a good idea in any capacity right now. Do WWE actually want to remind people that he essentially crucified people and held Satanic rituals on live television? Losing to Lesnar was one of the most 'real' moments in professional wrestling - it legitimately moved the watching audience and caught fire in the mainstream press. Let's tell everyone about him trying to burn his brother alive and drowning his father in cement?
Regal's book is great, i got an autographed copy for my 15th birthday
Hardcore Holly's was really good
Anyone read JTG's or Kamala's?
I'm just about finished jtg's.
its great and very short. I recommend you all check it out. It's only a couple of quid.
Pre ordered Bryan's this morning!!!
Just started the JTG book. Anyone know who got the heat in the Big Shot story at the beginning of the book? The just of the story was a rookie was wearing his sunglasses indoors while doing the handshake ceremony, and a legend got angry at this fact. Also was it Booker T that got angry?
"Hey Si, you should read Shawn Michaels' autobiography", they said.
"You'll love it, it really gives you an insight into both sides of Michaels' personality" they said.
"Oh but one thing - make sure to get the first one, not the second one where he just cunts on about Christianity the whole time", they didn't say.
Aha. Never tried Michaels's one. Didn't even know there were 2.
That actually sounds interesting. I never read either Michaels one.
i read Bryan's recently, got boring fast.
JTG's are both lovely. Get the audiobook version, he read them himself and they're great.
AJ Lee has one coming out soon and I'm excited to read it. I wanna see what she has to say from the time period where Kaitlyn left, then Punk left, and then she "retired".
JTG has a book??
Learn something new every day.
I am surprised a book, let alone 2, even exists of JTG. I didn't realize he had enough popularity to get a book deal. Hell, I even scratched my head at AJ getting one and just contributed it to CM Punk.
JTG's books are self-published through Amazon. They're called something like "damn, why'd I Write this book?" and "damn why'd I write this book too?"
Seems like he's doing well for himself. I feel guilty about those "He's still employed?" jokes now.
Saying that, Cryme Time should've gotten at least one tag title run.
Last edited by Badger; September 24th, 2016 at 12:19 PM.
It's not. Granted I wouldn't want to read a book about faith anyway, but it's certainly not an interesting or intelligent take on it. In fairness to Michaels, I started reading it straight after Bret Hart's, which has narrowly pipped Have A Nice Day as my favourite wrestler autobiography of all time, so it was always going to look bad by comparison...but it's really bad.
Shawn Michael's second book is on sale for the kindle today, Only $1.99
https://www.amazon.com/Wrestling-My-...ng+for+my+life
I was about to go on a rant about how crap that book is, but I see I've already done it above. Avoid if you want a wrestling book, it's not a wrestling book it's a religious book.
That's actually why i'm interested in it.
Fair enough, hope you get more out of it than I did
Gradually getting through Bischoff's Controversy Creates Cash...bit tedious so far but as someone who was never into WCW I'm not really sure why I bought it, seeing as he has barely any history with the WWE directly.
Need a wrestling book to read. Any good ones outside of Foley, Dynamite, Bret and Jericho?
The Squared Circle: Life Death and Professional Wrestling by David Shoemaker.
Best non autobiography wrestling book I've ever read.
Regal
Goldust.
Also, this a thousand times.
William Regal's book is a terrific read.
Cheers, lads.
Isn't Regal's really hard to come by though?
Yeah sort of, in the sense that you actually do need to put some details and payment information into a website for it to be delivered to your home.
Ahahaha
Ha, nah, I thought it was out of print long ago and it was listed at silly prices on E-bay...
Just finishing Eric Bischoff's book. Quite an interesting read, but I'm not sure I've ever seen a book which is so transparently full of shit. The way Bischoff tells it, everything he touched turned to gold and the tiny number of negatives in his career were completely out of his hands. It's an incredible lesson in self-aggrandizement. In his defence, I do get the feeling he actually believes the bullshit that comes out of his mouth, which I suppose comes with the territory, and if nothing else his career is proof that bravery aligned with an aptitude for bullshitting can make you very successful.
This reference won't make a lot of sense to most of the non-Brits on here, but there's a real whiff of Partridge in the way he manipulates the re-telling of incidents which are fairly well established so that he comes out the victor. Also his utter hatred of the dirtsheets is hilarious, especially how inconsistent he is about them - throughout the book he dismisses every single wrestling writer as a nerd in his parents' basement making up stories based on absolutely nothing - but then whenever it suits him, he'll complain about wrestlers and staff leaking important information to the dirtsheets
I would recommend anyone read it, if only to get, let's say, an 'alternative' view on the Monday Night Wars. Long story short: all of WCW's success during this period was down to Bischoff, but all of the prior and subsequent failures were nothing to do with him.
Eric just gets on my nerves. I'm not sure I could make it through the first chapter.
I torrented Bob Holly's book at one point, when I was sick with a hefty chest and head cold. I figured I'd enjoy something easy and quiet, like reading a good book for a few pages before crashing in bed. Three hours later, I'd devoured all 600 some pages of the book and loved it. Holly was never the best or most exciting wrestler, but his book is easily digestible and a pretty solid read. Dude's had an interesting time. Had no idea he did some jobs for Flair in the old-school NWA.
I would opine that those who do not like Bischoff's book and trash it for being biased probably hated Bischoff to begin with and were watching WWF during the war lol...
Therefore, suffer an anti-Bishoff bias before even picking up the book.
This book was a WWE published book, so it said EXACTLY what the WWE publicity machine wanted it to say.
Exactly.
And then Bishoff signed off on it.
Seriously.......
I may get hold of Regal's book then. I'm after another wrestling book to read too. Wanted to get Ring of Hell but it's a bit pricey.
I'm currently reading the e-book, Power Slam Through The Years. Fin Martin was very bitter towards the end of Power Slam's run, but I still find his work to be top notch, if a bit too opinionated at times. And because he covered the US and Japan, it never really gets dull. Only read about a quarter, but I'd recommend it so far.
It definitely feels like wrestler books are few and far between or just not promoted at all. Seemed like every 3-4 months a new one would pop out. My post is strictly talking about WWE though as I know there are still personalities out there releasing books but in terms of the WWE we haven't really seen anything in a long, long time.
Hardcore Hollys book was an awesome read. Jericho's got a new book coming out soon and I'm waiting for JR's.
Did anyone pick up AJ Lee's or Justin Roberts new books?
Mess with the bulls....and get the horn!
Anyone read Titan Sinking? An in depth look at 1995 and how Vince almost went out of business. Loved it. I got the sequel Titan Shattered about 1996 too. It was good but not as good as the first. A third book Titan Screwed is out but I have not read that yet.
Someone on Reddit posted some tidbits from Justin Roberts' new book.
JBL sounds like a first class asshole. We knew that, though.
Thanks for posting that, I will likely pick up his book.
Pete Gas has a book out as well.
Jericho last book got up to about four years ago. There was a big downstep in quality because it just didnt have enough interesting content, he needs to hold back a few years.
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