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YOUR ALL-NEW WRESTLING BOOK THREAD


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50 minutes ago, C.S. said:

Can you refresh my memory? What did he say (or not say) about Triple H?

I haven't finished it yet so there might be more but the big example was when he was telling story of trying to pitch a story idea to Vince and HHH was there unexpectedly.

You can see Jericho trying to not flat out say "I don't like HHH's creative ideas" but it clearly was simmering beneath the words. 

Granted - some of that comes from Jericho clearly taking advantage of being one of Vince's "boys"

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1 hour ago, sydneybrown said:

Was that the same story where Jericho pitched teaming up with a retired Shawn Michaels to take on the Wyatt Family?  Because his idea really was awful.

That's the one

The best part was him basically being like "Well the reason Vince didn't like it was because he was eating"

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I will say that his take on pitching ideas to Vince was interesting

Per Jericho

- don't pitch to Vince if looks annoyed (seems obvious)

- don't try and fill the dead air. Just let Vince think

- don't pitch to him when he is hungry/eating. Basically since Vince takes very little time for himself - eating is those rare breaks during the day that Vince has to himself. So interrupting his meals... or if Vince has missed a meal, can be instant death.

- he hates space fillers (the umms... aahhhs... maybes...)

- don't try to hug Vince. Vince isn't a hugger and will cock-block people who try to hug him that Vince doesn't want to hug. So if Vince hugs you he really likes you and is in a really good mood

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6 hours ago, RIPPA said:

I haven't finished it yet so there might be more but the big example was when he was telling story of trying to pitch a story idea to Vince and HHH was there unexpectedly.

You can see Jericho trying to not flat out say "I don't like HHH's creative ideas" but it clearly was simmering beneath the words. 

Granted - some of that comes from Jericho clearly taking advantage of being one of Vince's "boys"

:D I remember that now! Basically, H was presented as the world's biggest cock-blocker. But yeah, I think it's safe to say we're all better off without ever having endured an "epic" Bray Wyatt-Jericho storyline.

I wonder if Vince never quite got behind Wyatt. That would explain his hot-cold, start-stop pushes. Also, the fact that Wyatt sucks probably doesn't help. :P

Anyway, I'm reading Shooters: The Toughest Men in Professional Wrestling now, and while I thankfully haven't noticed any typo/grammar issues (as mentioned on another board), it is a pretty dry read overall. Plus, in a chapter about a specific wrestler, the author will spend several pages going on a tangent about another wrestler entirely. The two do eventually intersect, but I wish the other wrestler had just been given his own chapter instead.

It's interesting so far though, especially the way it shows wrestling transitioning from a shoot to a work. IMO, 90% of wrestling matches - even with shooters - were works (and 90% is probably a low number).

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On 13/11/2017 at 6:04 AM, C.S. said:

I signed up just to respond to this. I think I had a membership years ago but I can't remember the details now.

The self-help format threw me off at first, but overall, I liked it. His first book is still his best and one of the better wrestling books overall IMO. None of his sequels have come close. I remember his second being decent enough too, if somewhat unmemorable. His third was completely obnoxious - he came across to me as an emotionally stunted man-child drunk. Thankfully, he's much more pleasant in the fourth book. It might be his best one since the first, but again, it's not even close. 

Welcome aboard and thanks for the help, @C.S.. Liking the avatars as Mick Foley's one of my five favourite wrestlers ever.

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1 minute ago, The Natural said:

Liking the avatars as Mick Foley's one of my five favourite wrestlers ever.

Mine too, and very appropriate for this thread, as we probably wouldn't have most of these other books we're discussing now if his first one wasn't such a success sales-wise.

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10 hours ago, RIPPA said:

 

- don't try to hug Vince. Vince isn't a hugger and will cock-block people who try to hug him that Vince doesn't want to hug. So if Vince hugs you he really likes you and is in a really good mood

So that explains Bayley's treatment on the main roster then...

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4 minutes ago, C.S. said:

Mine too, and very appropriate for this thread, as we probably wouldn't have most of these other books we're discussing now if his first one wasn't such a success sales-wise.

Agreed. I'd say Have a Nice Day is still the best wrestling book out there. That with Bret Hart's, Chris Jericho's first book, Daniel Bryan and William Regal's make up the top five.

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Just to drop this in here (as I have elsewhere on the forum), "Crazy Like A Fox - The Definitive Chronicle of Brian Pillman 20 Years Later" is now available on Amazon, looking at the life and career of a fascinating individual and remarkable talent. With unheard details and stories on his personal life, football career and run in pro wrestling, backed by exclusive interviews with:
 
*Linda Pillman (Brian's sister)
*Brian Pillman Jr. (Brian's son)
*Brittany Pillman (Brian's daughter)
*Dave Meltzer (Wrestling Observer editor and long time friend of Brian)
*Jim Cornette (WCW and WWF booking committee member during Brian's runs)
*Mark Coleman (First UFC Heavyweight Champion who went to Miami of Ohio with Brian)
*Raven (Travelling partner and good friend in WCW)
*Bruce Hart (Pillman's trainer, tag partner in Stampede and one of his best friends)
*Kim Wood (Cincinnati Bengals assistant coach, father figure to Brian and co-creator of the Loose Cannon)
*Alex Marvez (Three-time author, former president of the Pro Football Writers of America and friend of Pillman)
*Mark Madden (WCW commentator and one of Brian's closest confidants)
*Shane Douglas (Worked and travelled with Brian in WCW and ECW)
*Les Thatcher (Promoter of the Brian Pillman Memorial Shows)
*Mike Johnson (PWInsider.com writer and noted Pillman historian)
*And many more close friends and colleagues
N53EPmdl.jpg
 
 
 
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10 hours ago, The Natural said:

Agreed. I'd say Have a Nice Day is still the best wrestling book out there. That with Bret Hart's, Chris Jericho's first book, Daniel Bryan and William Regal's make up the top five.

My top five (in no particular order):

- Have a Nice Day by Mick Foley (1st book)
- A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex by Chris Jericho (1st book)
- Bodyslams by Gary Michael Cappetta
- The Pictorial History of Wrestling: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by Bert Randolph Sugar and George Napolitano
- Theater in a Squared Circle by Jeff Archer

I should probably explain the last two. :D

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was the first wrestling book I ever read, before I was even a wrestling fan. It's basically just a bunch of wrestler bios + those great George Napolitano pictures. I doubt it holds up to today's standards, but the nostalgia is strong.

Theater in a Squared Circle is basically a series of random articles, interviews, and historical pieces. I've never read anything else quite like it, so it gets a spot on my list. 

I'm sure if you asked me tomorrow or next week, I'd change my mind and have different books on this list - at least for the last two.

I haven't included anything I've read this year (the Justin Roberts book, etc.) as those are still too fresh in my mind and I need some distance from them first.

 

2 hours ago, Liam O'Rourke said:
Just to drop this in here (as I have elsewhere on the forum), "Crazy Like A Fox - The Definitive Chronicle of Brian Pillman 20 Years Later" is now available on Amazon, looking at the life and career of a fascinating individual and remarkable talent.
Spoiler
With unheard details and stories on his personal life, football career and run in pro wrestling, backed by exclusive interviews with:
 
*Linda Pillman (Brian's sister)
*Brian Pillman Jr. (Brian's son)
*Brittany Pillman (Brian's daughter)
*Dave Meltzer (Wrestling Observer editor and long time friend of Brian)
*Jim Cornette (WCW and WWF booking committee member during Brian's runs)
*Mark Coleman (First UFC Heavyweight Champion who went to Miami of Ohio with Brian)
*Raven (Travelling partner and good friend in WCW)
*Bruce Hart (Pillman's trainer, tag partner in Stampede and one of his best friends)
*Kim Wood (Cincinnati Bengals assistant coach, father figure to Brian and co-creator of the Loose Cannon)
*Alex Marvez (Three-time author, former president of the Pro Football Writers of America and friend of Pillman)
*Mark Madden (WCW commentator and one of Brian's closest confidants)
*Shane Douglas (Worked and travelled with Brian in WCW and ECW)
*Les Thatcher (Promoter of the Brian Pillman Memorial Shows)
*Mike Johnson (PWInsider.com writer and noted Pillman historian)
*And many more close friends and colleagues
N53EPmdl.jpg
 

 

 

I'm planning to pick this up soon. Really looking forward to it!

BTW, if anyone doesn't have the Bryan YES book yet, I saw it cheap at Barnes & Noble in the bargain section.

iffMgRW.jpg?1

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Major Kindle sale on WWE books:

99 cents

- Big Apple Takedown

$1.99

- 10 Count Trivia: Events and Championships
- Andre the Giant: A Legendary Life  
- Are We There Yet?: Tales from the Never-Ending Travels of WWE Superstars
- Batista Unleashed  
- Eric Bischoff: Controversy Creates Cash
- Have More Money Now: A Commonsense Approach to Financial Management
- Hollywood Hulk Hogan
- Lita: A Less Traveled R.O.A.D.--The Reality of Amy Dumas
- My Favorite Match: WWE Superstars Tell the Stories of Their Most Memorable Matches
- Rey Mysterio: Behind the Mask
- Rumble Road: Untold Stories from Outside the Ring
- The Unauthorized History of DX 
- The WWE Championship: A Look Back at the Rich History of the WWE Championship
- WWE Legends - Superstar Billy Graham: Tangled Ropes

$2.99

- Adam Copeland On Edge  
- Ted DiBiase (WWE)
- Walking a Golden Mile (William Regal) - Note: One review mentions bad typos and formatting issues in the Kindle version.

$3.99

Note: This has been $2.99 in the past.

- Cross Rhodes: Goldust, Out of the Darkness

As tempting as it is to splurge on all of these, 1. I already own most of them in hardcopy, and 2. I worry is that all of these will end up being like the Kindle version of the Regal book with typos, formatting issues, etc. (according to one review).

I did buy Big Apple Takedown for 99 cents despite already owning the paperback because it's batshit crazy in a good way - it throws Attitude Era WWE stars into the middle of a wonderfully terrible action movie/cop/crime scenario. :D

How is the DiBiase book? Worth it if I've read his previous book? (Every Man Has His Price: The True Story of Wrestling's Million Dollar Man) I'm worried it'll just be a WWE-published rehash.

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The Batista book has a couple of interesting stories in it - especially because it gives another perspective of the infamous story about Vince losing his mind over there being blood in a Batista/Jericho book

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3 hours ago, Cristobal said:

Anyone have any comment on any of these?

Batista Unleashed is just okay, but it has some good stories - the Jericho blood situation someone else mentioned above, and he goes off on what a fat lazy piece of shit Bubba Dudley is (his words).

I barely remember Edge's book at this point, but I think he wrote it himself and it had more personality than most wrestling bios for that reason alone.

If you get My Favorite Match, you may as well also get Are We There Yet? and Rumble Road. They're kind of an unofficial trilogy of sorts, as they're all in the same style and I think the other two are actually better books (but it's been a while since I've read them, so I could be mixing up which one is which - I don't think I am though). One of them has a priceless Justin Credible rib story - at least I think that came from these books.

In addition to Are We There Yet?, Rumble Road, and My Favorite match, I also recommend Rey Mysterio's book, which I found surprisingly excellent and much better than I was expecting it to be.

Edit: I just bought Are We There Yet? because I remember my hardcopy having faded text on some pages. That won't be a problem on Kindle. I have the other two - My Favorite Match and Rumble Road - on Kindle already.

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