The Nature Boy Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 I avoided it because I heard it was a load of BS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 What's funny about Ring of Hell is all the stuff in Jericho's second book matching it, so you totally know he was a source. EDIT: Might've been some stuff from the first book too. All I remember is there were some recollections which were identical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurningBeard Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Is Hardcore Holly's book a bitchfest or worth a read? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetrolCB Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Definitely worth a read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwoy2j Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Worth a read. He's a dickhead but he's a guy who knew his place. He complained a bit that he should've been used more but he never thought he should've been headlining WM or main eventing night after night. Plus he was there for some really interesting eras in wrestling; Kliq era, Monday Night Wars/Attitude era, brand split, PG era. The stories he told about Brawl for All, Tough Enough, Jeff Jarrett and Triple H are also interesting. I get the feeling that despite probably being an unpleasant guy to be around, he was telling the truth most of the time and that's all you can really ask for in a wrestling book. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwoy2j Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 My top 5 in no particular order Foley's first Bret's Y2J's first Gary Hart JJ Dillon's JJ's is really underrated and can't believe it's not talked about more. Great stories from the territory days and also his stint booking in the WWF with Patterson and Vince. He and Patterson were basically Vince's inner circle for much of the early/mid 90's so there's a lot of good material there. Also, he was in WCW when Bischoff was throwing money at everyone ever associated with the WWF and also when the company went down the tubes so he has a unique perspective on seeing the company on the way up and down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Sweetser Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Worth a read. He's a dickhead but he's a guy who knew his place. He complained a bit that he should've been used more but he never thought he should've been headlining WM or main eventing night after night. Plus he was there for some really interesting eras in wrestling; Kliq era, Monday Night Wars/Attitude era, brand split, PG era. The stories he told about Brawl for All, Tough Enough, Jeff Jarrett and Triple H are also interesting. I get the feeling that despite probably being an unpleasant guy to be around, he was telling the truth most of the time and that's all you can really ask for in a wrestling book. Agreed here. The only guys he really had a problem with were Rene Dupree and, near the end, Ken Anderson, and both had some very good reasons. Actually, Holly on Twitter seems way too happy and a guy that's content with what he did in the business. I enjoyed the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Green Meanie Posted September 25, 2015 Author Share Posted September 25, 2015 Worth a read. He's a dickhead but he's a guy who knew his place. He complained a bit that he should've been used more but he never thought he should've been headlining WM or main eventing night after night. Plus he was there for some really interesting eras in wrestling; Kliq era, Monday Night Wars/Attitude era, brand split, PG era. The stories he told about Brawl for All, Tough Enough, Jeff Jarrett and Triple H are also interesting. I get the feeling that despite probably being an unpleasant guy to be around, he was telling the truth most of the time and that's all you can really ask for in a wrestling book. Agreed here. The only guys he really had a problem with were Rene Dupree and, near the end, Ken Anderson, and both had some very good reasons. Actually, Holly on Twitter seems way too happy and a guy that's content with what he did in the business. I enjoyed the book. Great read! He pulls no punches and honestly embraces the tough guy image that has been put on himself without sounding like a shill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeball Wizard Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Just finishing up James Dixon's sequel to Titan Sinking, titled Titan Shattered. Both covered some familiar territory, especially if you have seen any shoot interviews from guys who were with WWF in the mid to late 90's. That aside, they were both a fun read, and went into some painstaking detail on certain things that have been covered before (the section about the Curtain Call being the most comprehensive account of how that went down I've seen anywhere). Both are free on Kindle Unlimited, if you're into mid to late 90's WWF I would definitely give them a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 While I'm thinking about it I also gotta give a shout out to Bobby Heenan's first book. That thing is infinitely re-readable just for him being him, as you would imagine in real life on the page. And all the love for Andre, Gorilla, and Wally Karbo. If I had to rate I'd go 1. Terry Funk 2. Gary Hart 3. Calgary (fucking fantastic) 4. first Bobby 5. first Foley Take in mind I haven't read JJ's, Watts', Holly's, or (again) Hooker. Thinking about that, Verne Gagne would have had a hell of a book/shoot interview. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Sweetser Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 What books are out there by guys that were primarily known as commentators? I'd love to read on some of their insights as I go into my own commentating career. I've read Heenan's, obviously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie M. Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 He wasn't a commentator but Gary Michael Cappetta has a book out that gives you the perspective of working for companies as a non-wrestler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 What books are out there by guys that were primarily known as commentators? I'd love to read on some of their insights as I go into my own commentating career. I've read Heenan's, obviously. How many candidates would there be, if we discount wrestlers turned commentators, like Ventura? Ross has a book coming. Schiavone? Styles? Cris Cruise? Tenay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper_kingpin Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Announcer books that I know of.. Cappetta Larry Nelson Strangelhold Gordon Solie has 3 but only 1 worth a squirt. You can get that one at Crowbar press. The Gordon Solie Chronicles Bill Mercer from World Class has one as well. Play by Play Jeff Gorman. this Side Of The Mic. I can't think of anymore at the moment. That might be all of them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwoy2j Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Finished Booker's new, hm, book, in about a day and a half. It's basically just a fluff piece. It's not a bad read but nothing terribly interesting except for him talking about the origins of the Harlem Heat as slaves in chains gimmick, his fight with Batista and his relationship with his troubled oldest son. Oh and his cooler of Red Bull is just like Terry Gordy's van. Don't you ever put your hands on it. I was really surprised that he glossed over the WM19 stuff. Booker just didn't seem to care about it that much (or whoever ghostwrote the book didn't care enough to expand on it). Didn't seem like the racial stuff or HHH making him lie around on the mat for a year before pinning him bothered him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cristobal Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Booker's a smart man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurningBeard Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Booker has said in the past the race stuff was his idea. The waiting around on the mat thing remains a mystery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwoy2j Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Booker has said in the past the race stuff was his idea. The waiting around on the mat thing remains a mystery In his book, he made it sound like them bringing up his criminal past and the race stuff came from the writing team and that he was hesitant to do it. Then JR convinced him that if he was open and honest about his mistakes, it would make people connect with him on a more personal level and that the race stuff would make him a bigger face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sydneybrown Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 I literally spent all day with a $10 Kindle credit and couldn't pull the trigger, which book: Apter's or Backlund's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Sounds like the Backlund book is gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thee Reverend Axl Future Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 I just finished Apter's book. Nice, but somewhat light in depth. I enjoyed learning about him breaking into the magazine business and how the old promoters operated with the newsstand mags. His personal anecdotes and history with the workers was very good, but he alerts you from the beginning that the book is really not a true biography or history, more of a easy reminiscing. No dirt, but there are a couple poignant tales. The parts that remain unwritten loom large, but I doubt Apter would betray even those decade old trusts and tell the occult truths. The secret history of rassling remains hidden, and Apter was there for the modern era of it. I also have heard the Backlund book is well written and informative. - RAF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.H. Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Does Apter talk about how The Mob killed Chris Benoit in the book? God I hope he does... James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tromatagon Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 He specifically said on TIJ that he doesn't Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happ Hazzard Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Anyone got this one yet: Lion's Pride: The Turbulent History of New Japan Pro Wrestling. I'm tempted but it's a lot of money for a 230 page paperback book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Anyone got this one yet: Lion's Pride: The Turbulent History of New Japan Pro Wrestling. I'm tempted but it's a lot of money for a 230 page paperback book. I was coming in here to ask about that - any opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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