sydneybrown Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 On 4/19/2016 at 1:12 AM, The Green Meanie said: Piper's book was a huge disappointment, it seemed almost like a cash-in, lacking in a lot of details, it just felt off. I'm a big fan of Howard Brody's book as it's very detailed and is a rollercoaster of a story, but it definitely makes you feel for the guy. What's really bad about Piper's book is how he describes in detail things that happened ON TELEVISION that you could watch RIGHT NOW and he's not even close to being accurate about it. Piper went to his grave thinking Snuka splashed Muraco off the cage at MSG, Muraco kicked out and then pinned him, because Vince was intentionally derailing Jimmy's push. When actually Snuka's dive was probably the highlight of his entire WWF career. And it happened after the match was over with Muraco left a bloody mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingus Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 You would think Piper might remember that the WWF didn't even do any pinfalls at all in their cage matches. I'm pretty sure they used the Escape To Win rules for literally the entire time Piper worked there. (Although Snuka did lose the match, albeit in a screwy fashion.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sydneybrown Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 10 hours ago, Jingus said: You would think Piper might remember that the WWF didn't even do any pinfalls at all in their cage matches. I'm pretty sure they used the Escape To Win rules for literally the entire time Piper worked there. (Although Snuka did lose the match, albeit in a screwy fashion.) I might be mistaken, but I THINK the Piper/Rude MSG cage match was the first WWF one to allow pinfalls. But the rule was definitely changed in 1989. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great ML Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 which came first, that one or No Holds Barred PPV ending with Hulk pinning Zeus? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sydneybrown Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 You're right, No Holds Barred: the Match came first. Piper/Rude was a few weeks later. I just remember that was the first WWF cage match I had seen with a ref in the ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thee Reverend Axl Future Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 From the 04/28/16 F4WONline update: "Jeannie Williams, who used the name Jeannie Clarke and Lady Blossom as a manager in pro wrestling in the 90s, and was married to Chris Adams, Billy Jack Haynes and Steve Austin, has an autobiography coming out on 5/4." Can some brave soul read this and give the high points here, so I am not tempted to do it myself? This resonates with the possibility of great sordidness. - RAF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Reverend Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 On 4/29/2016 at 3:40 AM, thee Reverend Axl Future said: From the 04/28/16 F4WONline update: "Jeannie Williams, who used the name Jeannie Clarke and Lady Blossom as a manager in pro wrestling in the 90s, and was married to Chris Adams, Billy Jack Haynes and Steve Austin, has an autobiography coming out on 5/4." Can some brave soul read this and give the high points here, so I am not tempted to do it myself? This resonates with the possibility of great sordidness. - RAF To be fair - this is a very bad description of the book. From the official press release: Jeanie Clarke has had one of the most varied careers in all of professional wrestling and is one of the very few stars to have been part of the boom periods in both the UK and the USA. Born into a poor, working class background in the UK a chance meeting in her teens led her to becoming a valet during the halcyon days of British Wrestling, Jeanie appeared on World of Sport TV shows alongside ‘Gentleman’ Chris Adams. It was her relationship with Adams which saw her travel to the USA during the boom period of territorial wrestling. Experiencing first-hand the Los Angeles and Portland territories, Jeanie was also around the massively popular WCCW promotion in Texas at its most popular time in the mid 80’s. By the start of the 90’s she was a worldwide star after being part of the legendary USWA promotion. It was here that she met future husband Steve Austin and the pair launched themselves into the mainstream in WCW. Appearing on TV shows and PPV’s,’ Stunning Steve’ and ‘Lady Blossom’ were two of the biggest stars in the promotion. Despite an early retirement to concentrate on raising a family, Jeanie still had professional wrestling as part of her life, and it was her love of a British cup of tea that led to an idea which changed the business forever when she came up with the ‘Stone Cold’ nickname for her then husband. This led to Steve Austin becoming one of the biggest characters ever seen in wrestling and kick-starting a whole new era in the business. Despite no longer being an on-screen performer Jeanie was unable to escape the terrible substance abuse culture which engulfed professional wrestling and which took the life of so many of her friends and colleagues. Told in terrifying detail she tells of her fight for survival and rehabilitation. Jeanie’s book ‘Through the Shattered Glass’ draws on her three decades in professional wrestling and being part of some of the biggest eras in the business. This book, featuring many of the biggest names in wrestling, tells the story of how a small town girl from the UK travelled the world and found fame and fortune through wrestling and how she also became a hugely successful business woman in her own right. Detailing the highs and lows of her career the book also offers a frank look at the excesses of the wrestling business which led to the tragic passing of so many of it’s stars. This book is a new look at the world of professional wrestling by someone who lived and survived it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happ Hazzard Posted May 29, 2016 Share Posted May 29, 2016 Anyone read the Dick the Bruiser book? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 Just saw the 1PW "All or Nothing" book is up on Kindle Unlimited. Anyone here take a crack at it? It sounds enormous... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTTW Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Just finished Deathclutch by Lesnar. While I enjoyed it, and it completely felt like Brock was actually the person who wrote it...it wasn't very indepth because Brock just doesn't have much depth to him and he doesn't like to share. Not a knock at the guy but if your only thought is how bad you want to beat up a guy, there really isn't much conversation to be had. Interesting that he talked about drug use openly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_h Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 15 hours ago, DTTW said: Just finished Deathclutch by Lesnar. While I enjoyed it, and it completely felt like Brock was actually the person who wrote it...it wasn't very indepth because Brock just doesn't have much depth to him and he doesn't like to share. Not a knock at the guy but if your only thought is how bad you want to beat up a guy, there really isn't much conversation to be had. Interesting that he talked about drug use openly. By drug use do you mean steroids? or coke, pills, weed, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTTW Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 46 minutes ago, keith_h said: By drug use do you mean steroids? or coke, pills, weed, etc... Vicodin. He loved that drug and booze to help with pain management. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricG Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 I have a physical copy of Titan Sinking: The Decline of the WWF in 1995 by James Dixon to get rid of - asking $17 shipped via PayPal which is cheaper than Amazon/eBay/etc. Like new. Pretty interesting read (it's discussed somewhat earlier in this thread). Reads like a detailed history if you're into things like that. I'm not, but powered through anyway. Definitely had some things in there I didn't know, and has some interesting takes on angles and performers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuetsar Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 On 7/14/2016 at 1:23 PM, DTTW said: Vicodin. He loved that drug and booze to help with pain management. Breakfast of champions. . . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Sweetser Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 I finished the Patterson bio yesterday and enjoyed it. Not a lot of dirt - he's not the type to bury people, and the few people he did bury he went out of his way not to name, as to not give them any publicity from it. You do get a nice sense of his deep relationship with Vince, and a lot about growing up gay and getting into the business. (Hint: a LOT more guys in the biz are gay than you think.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattdangerously Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 Meltzer broke the story, so i'll pass it along for those of you who haven't heard yet: http://www.f4wonline.com/news/wrestling-writer-scott-williams-passes-away-49-218946 Quote Scott Williams, a lawyer and newspaper editor who co-authored the autobiographies of Cowboy Bill Watts, Terry Funk and Jim Duggan, and was an integral part of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for years, passed away last night at the age of 49. Williams had been a close friend for decades. He grew up watching Houston Wrestling with Paul Boesch, and was probably the most knowledgeable fan of Mid South Wrestling that there was, with a far greater memory of the matches and angles than even the people who put the shows together themselves. He also served in the Persian Gulf War. He did editing work for the Observer over the years and helped with legal issues, as well as understanding of legal issues. He was one of the most honest and conscientious reporters I've ever worked with at any level. Williams had been working with Jim Ross and Paul O'Brien on Ross' autobiography for some time and had recently had talks with Bruce Prichard and Greg Valentine regarding future wrestling projects. He had told me just a few weeks ago he was very excited because his project with Greg Valentine would have been a book on Johnny Valentine, Greg's father, a legendary wrestler and all-time great somewhat forgotten by the modern generation. He was also instrumental in picking out matches for an upcoming DVD release of classic Houston wrestling matches. He had also written the book, "Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of ECW" in 2006. Not much in the way of details are available but his passing was sudden. Apparently he had complained of some pains last night but didn't indicate it was anything serious, and just went out to his back porch and never came back in, and when his wife went out to see him, he appeared to have suffered a heart attack. Williams' young son, Brody, named after Frank Goodish's wrestling character, was almost savant like when it came to the Royal Rumble, knowing all the facts and figures on eliminations on the history of the event. Williams was a court reporter for the Galveston County Daily News from 1998 to 2008, and his interest in that subject and a belief that the newspaper industry's future wasn't bright led to him leave and get a law degree. He first worked as an assistant district attorney in Brazoria County and later opened up a private practice in Galveston. In January, he had noted to me that his feelings were that local newspapers were here to stay, and he returned to the Galveston County Daily News as assistant managing editor. On a personal level, Scott was one of my most trusted friends and his historical knowledge was always a huge help, as well as his court room and legal knowledge. I have known Scott for seven years. I've gone to dozens of wrestling shows with him and his son. I've spent countless hours at his home, watching NJPW and old Mid-South matches. I worked under him at the Galveston County Daily News. He taught me so much. He really was a hell of a reporter and editor. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabremike Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Just ordered the JYD and Gorgeous George books used on Amazon. Heard good things about both and I had a gift card to use. Read the book by the Masked Man (aka that guy from Grantland). Thought it was an enjoyable read. My biggest complaint is that it often felt like the textbook of a sociology class trying too hard to intellectualize the subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 The Funk book and Hardcore History are priceless. RIP Scott. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 Heads up: Patterson book is $5 on Kindle today. Catch it while you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 I just bought it for $22 yesterday from the publisher. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 It's also on Scribd if you subscribe to that. I'm about halfway through and digging it a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikoBaltimore Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 12 hours ago, Matt D said: Heads up: Patterson book is $5 on Kindle today. Catch it while you can. As soon as I saw the post I bought it on Kindle. Thanks for the heads up, can't wait to read it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwoy2j Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 Still $5. Just bought it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offspring515 Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Patterson's book was a huge letdown for me. A really shallow, surface take on his life and career. Im not familiar with hia coauthor, but I wonder if a better writer couldn't have coaxed a better book out of Pat. He's been the number two guy in the biggest wrestling company in the world! One of Vince's most trusted and leaned upon employees. But we get "Working with Vince was always fun. We had a lot of laughs! He hated it when I'd smoke in my office." He talks a lot about his relationship with his partner Louie and the love between them comes through at times in Pat's words. Still he has a bad habit (and he cops to it and jokes about it in the book) of repeating himself. "Louie was a great cook. Everyone loved Louie. (Insert powerful wrestling person) told Louie (insert rude thing) and Louie told him (insert rude return comment)! We all laughed alot!" This exact exchange happens at least five times in the book. There's really not that much insight into how being a gay man in the world of wrestling ( or simply a gay man in the world) in those days affected him either. He brings up how it was tough to stay in the closet, and the struggles with his Dad not accepting it, but beyond that there's not much. Maybe my expectations were too high. As is id advise all but the most diehard Patterson fans to skip it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurningBeard Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 That's why I routinely avoid reading wrestling books. 9/10 they're terribly (ghost) written and completely gloss over their career skimping on details (Harley Race was the biggest letdown for me and also why I've avoided Flair's and Dusty's). Only wrestling books I've read, finished, and enjoyed are Mick Foley's first (didn't read any of the others as I didn't feel there was much more to be said), Bret Hart's, Gary Hart's and Terry Funk's. I'd love to read Thesz and Dynamite's book but they're impossible to come by, I've earmarked I Only Laugh When It Hurts by Adrian Street to read but that's mainly to glom details of the 60s UK wrestling scene for a crime novel I'm writing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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