My Top FIVE Wrestling-Related Books of All-Time
#5 - J.R.’s Cookbook – Jim Ross
The lovable Jim Ross mixes two of my favorite
things…wrestling and Barbeque! This book is fine as a stand alone cookbook, but
really, it’s better for the anecdotes from his years in the WWF/WWE/Mid-South
Wrestling. The recipes are good, lots of comfort food and southern favorites
though they are presented almost like recipe cards without a lot of details or
info about the dishes themselves.
However, JR fills the rest of the book with short anecdotes or stories
about guys that he worked with over the years. Guys like Junk Yard Dog, Big Cat
Ernie Ladd, Arn Anderson, Ric Flair, and tons more with pics from backstage.
#4 - Love & Rockets – Hernandez Brothers
Love & Rockets is the story of Hopey and Maggie, two
young Latinas, who are sometimes girlfriends, other times just pals and other
times neither, living in Los Angeles. It is also the story of a people in a
Mexican village called Palomar. The stories jump around from the past, present
and future, but wrestling, specifically Lucha, appears throughout. Sometimes
there are stories about wrestlers and sometimes there is wrestling taking place
in the background of the stories. They overlap nicely, and while the book isn’t
completely wrestling…it is completely awesome.
#3 A Lion’s Tale – Chris Jericho
This book gave a great look at grinding it out and “paying
your dues” to become a wrestler. Jericho talks about his breaks and about
working in the small arenas with his eyes constantly fixed on becoming a
wrestling legend. It chronicles his time in Japan, in Canada and in WCW,
forming his band Fozzy, and culminates with his WWE debut (one of my favorite
Jericho moments ever).
#2 Big Apple Take Down – Rudy Josephs
If this book had even a sliver more actual wrestling in it,
it would be Number 1 on this list. It is the story of a group of WWE superstars
who are tapped to become a team of undercover operatives. In this case the team
works to bring down a meth operation. Triple H employs such stealthy techniques
as wearing glasses as a disguise and putting his hair in a ponytail.
This book is a feverdream of awesome ideas smooshed together
in a pot of adventure. God, I would watch this TV show so hard!! It reads
almost like a pitch for a USA television series. It’s just so perfect. It is
cliché and derivative, but with wrestlers in the primary roles it feels completely
new and that’s where the fascination comes from. Even though you know where it’s going, you
don’t are because the ride is so much fun!
I love this book. I want more of them…a whole series, but no such luck.
This is the one and only episode for the team and the world is lesser for the
lack of a sequel.
#1 Have a Nice Day! – Mick Foley
Mick wrote this book long-hand on legal pads as he travelled
from town to town in the WWE. No ghost-writers, no word processors; just a pen
and a pad and a story to tell. I liked Mick Foley before reading this, but in
these pages I felt like I really got to know him and understand his drive. His
story of overcoming the odds and becoming a bona fide wrestling legend wraps
you up so completely. It changed the story for matches that I only thought I
knew. You feel his emotions, good and bad, as he puts himself through some of
the most extreme matches and spectacles in “sports entertainment.”
With Foley you never wonder if it’s “fake”…that’s not the
point. Was it planned? Sometimes. Was it scripted? Kinda. Was it dangerous? Oh
my God yes! Regardless of who knew what the outcome was supposed to be he did
all of those things. He destroyed himself over and over…for what? Money? No,
there’s not enough money to justify what he did. For fame? No, not when you go
through that amount of torture in front of a handful of people in the armory of
a no-name Mid-West town. Women? Well…to borrow a phrase from good ole’ JR, he
“out-punted his coverage” in that department, but that wasn’t his goal. No,
Mick Foley wrestled because he loved being a wrestler, loved entertaining and
he loved being a wrestling fan!
That love is contagious as you read. I was already a huge
fan and this book sent me over the moon. He was speaking my language, telling
stories about an alternate version of myself. It was as if I had lived another
life and been a wrestler instead of my current career. Magic. Pure wordy magic.
Mick Foley became my favorite wrestler the day I picked up Have a Nice Day! and
he’s been so ever since.
So there's my list. Did I leave off any of your favorites? Is there one you think I should reconsider? Let me know...and thanks for reading!
@HubBooks
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