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Wrestling
Book Reviews - Just an opinion!, by Greg Tingle
As
in all reviews, book reviews or otherwise, a review
on a book is just an opinion, no more, no less.
Do
book reviews on wrestling books have a place? You
bet they do!
Often
a author (who used to be a wrestler - big ego and
all, will focus their book on themselves, with a "me
me me" theme, and take more credit than perhaps
they should.
There
are of course exceptions.
Hulk
Hogan's self titled book is an exception. Hogan is
the first to acknowledge that Vince McMahon was as
responsible as anyone for his success.
Mick
Foley's books are also known to be very balanced,
and one may argue that he understates his contribution
to the wrestling and written world.
Dynamite
Kid's "number" paints a picture on a bitter,
crippled, old man, but mind you, if you we confined
to a wheelchair thanks to the business you loved,
you would be pissed off also.
Jim
Wilson has released a book entitled 'Blackballed",
which is the talk of the industry. It's been said
that Wilson was an average wrestler, who didn't always
do what the promoters wanted, and was subsequently
blackballed from the pro wrestling business. Some
think Wilson is now looking to financially capitalize
on his woes, and who should blame him!
Now,
let's read what some wrestlers are posting in the
forum of 1WrestlingLegends.com
Rednecktaz
(on wrestling books)
The
book was pretty interesting and I loved getting some
background on Roddy from the time I'm most familiar
with him from, that being his time in the Carolinas
and Georgia. He gives some pretty funny stories about
his time learning his craft with Gene LeBell in LA
and his "adventures" with Killer Tim Brooks
in Portland, as well as traveling with Ric Flair.
Piper's pretty candid about his side of his "blackballing"
in the US and some of the things that went on during
the Vince McMahon steroid trial. However, Piper's
continued harping on the negative attributes of promoters
and the fact that he was the "real" reason
that "Hulkamania" was over tends to sound
a bit whiny at times (but then again, I wasn't there
and he was...)
It's
not quite as amusing and thoughtful as Mick Foley's
first book, but even before Foley retired, Mick seemed
to have a sense of closure on his career and his retrospective
was a positive one. However, while Piper joins Foley
in my top ten list of greatest promo men of all time,
Piper was a troubled youth that grew up to be a somewhat
troubled adult.
Lawler's
book, on the other hand, was more a series of "war
stories" old without a lot of concern of accuracy
of times and places. Piper's book seemed to have a
sense of being unfinished business.
Just
the opinion of an old mark!
Ole
Anderson
The
NWA promoters' meetings might have been better organized
and run more effectively years ago, but I doubt it.
There was always talk of the promoters blackballing
wrestlers who didn't go along with their
program. In his book, Hooker, even Lou mentions being
blackballed. I already told you the story about Ernie
Holmes. When Ernie told me that I would have him blackballed,
I just laughed, because I knew
that was a crock. None of those promoters could ever
get together on anything. If a promoter called another
promoter and said, "Don't use so-and-so,"
I never heard it. If a promoter thought someone was
good enough to make him money, that was what counted.
They didn't care what the other promoters said about
the guy. They all thought they could handle people
better than their colleagues could. When I was promoting,
I had promoters calling my talent all the time, trying
to persuade them to leave me and come to work for
them. I had wrestlers calling me from other territories.
Killer Karl Kox got me in a little trouble with Bill
Watts when Kox called and said, "I want to come
in and work for you." "Fine," I agreed.
"After you give Watts your notice, let me know!"
Karl told Bill Watts that I called him and was trying
to
steal him from Bill. Bill called me and said, "You
godda– son-of-a-bitch!" Of course, that
was just one of the many times he did that. I was
honest with him. "Bill, I never tried to steal
Kox. He told me he was going to leave, so I told him
to give me a call when he was finished with you. What
else would you have me say to the guy?" Kox did
that to work a little program with Bill, trying to
squeeze more money out of him. Instead of getting
$45, he might get $50. But it's hard for me to imagine
that anybody was really worried about being blackballed.
Was it possible that a promoter would get mad at you
and say, "We're not gonna use you"? Yeah!
That happened, and it happened quite often. But did
the fact that Sam Muchnick wouldn't use you in St.
Louis mean you couldn't get work in Los Angeles? No.
Links:
1
Wrestling Legends
Mediaman: Feature Articles & Book Reviews
Australian
Sports and Entertainment Portal: Wrestling Books
Mediaman: Interviews
Article:
The Great Yankee Promoters, by Greg Tingle
Article:
The Great Aussie Promoters, by Greg Tingle
Article:
Wrestling Promoters Down Under, by Greg Tingle
Article:
What the media has said about wrestling over the years
Wrestling
with his past: Johnny Valiant Tells All, By Kenny
Herzog
Mediaman: Online Shop
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