Which book by a WWE wrestler would you recommend?

T

TheRev

Dark Match Winner
Just saw that Jericho has a new book coming out in October and it made me wonder, "What book by a wrestler would I want to read?" Now I honestly don't know how many books have been written by wrestlers, let alone who would have written them.

Anyway, I've got an old ebooks.com gift card I need to spend and thought I might buy something fun to read.

So the question is simple....what should I buy? I'd love to read some great personal stories. Seems like Jericho and Foley have some books that would do that for me.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
 
Have a Nice Day and Foley Is Good are both page turners and, IMO, required reading for a wrestling fan. You will love them, I'm sure.
 
Foley has had some great books, but my favorite one of his is "Countdown to Lockdown" There's a lot of personal insight in it. Plus it is dirt cheap right now.

Bischoff's "Controversy Creates Cash" is interesting.

And Ric Flair's "To Be The Man" Great, great read


I plan on getting Jericho's as well. It's going to be a good read.
 
The first two books I can think of are by Chris Jericho. Chris Jericho is such a likable character and it's easy to get lost in his stories. Mick Foley's first book was great but far from perfect. What I love is being able to walk into Foley's shoes. The tales and people he meet are one of a kind. However, it feels more like a novel about a real life figure, but he breaks up continuity in the book. Like when he discusses Owen Hart's untimely death but continues to write about the matches he was involved in after talking about his death. I would felt it would have been better if he talked about his sad passing later on. Because the reader will be able to connect better with Owen's accident.

Edge wrote a great book that is very similar to Chris Jericho's first book. Many chapters are too short when dealing with his non-wrestling experiences and indy career.

Bret Hart on Bret Hart by Bret Hart. I have to say I love Bret Hart as a performer. But his book is so-so. In the book Bret Hart deals a lot of dirty laundry with his family, friends, and co-workers. This is a very detailed and controversial book. Bret Hart discusses cheating on wife (Multiple times), drug and alcohol use, and very sad experiences. However, there is a lot of great content in the book. As the reader you're able to meet legendary performers like Bad News Allen who don't really get mentioned much; Like the books by Foley, Edge, and Jericho he travels around the world; and my personal favorite is his opinions on his career, The ups and downs.
 
Did anyone ever read the books by Goldberg and DDP released when they were still active in WCW? It would fun to see how much they have changed since then and have something relating to the last days of WCW.
 
Either of Jericho's books. I know they have been mentioned, but in Jericho's second book Undisputed there is a chapter on Benoit. It is like nothing I have ever read before. I have mentioned it in these forums before. Jericho talks about talking to Benoit's other son. Talk about heartbreaking. The next one is not a wrestler, but a referee. I just finished Jimmy Korderas' book, and it shows the business in a different perspective than that of a wrestlers book. It is a great read. It's called The Three Count: My Life in Stripes as a WWE Referee. Good stuff.
 
All of Mick Foley's books to be honest. None in particular. But I think all of them are great, educational & show you a different side to the man.
 
I would also HIGHLY recommend Booker T's "From Prison To Promise".

You get personal life stories, in depth in his childhood, how he started getting in the business (has a few choice words for Ivan Putski), it is a deep book, worth every penny.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed HBK's book. It had a lot of good insight and great stories that gave me a new understanding of the business. I know he used a ghost writer, but that just makes it easier to read.
 
Besides what everyone else has said, which I agree with, I would definitely say Batista's book. He just has such a great, inspirational story. I became a bigger fan of his after reading the book. My all time favorite, and one I definitely recommend, is Jerry the King Lawler's book. I've read it several times (I'm a massive Lawler fan) and I always learn something new.
 
Has to be Dutch Mantell's (Zeb Colter) and William Regal's.

You might not get the rock and roll, celebrity vibe you do from Jericho, but in terms of understanding the wrestling industry you cannot get better than these.
 
I have all the Mick Foley books and they are all gold.

Specially the first 2 Mankind - Have a Nice Day and Foley is Good
 
That One Guy said:
I thoroughly enjoyed HBK's book. It had a lot of good insight and great stories that gave me a new understanding of the business. I know he used a ghost writer, but that just makes it easier to read.
Click to expand...

Great book as is flair's, regal and bischoff's my favourite is eddies though

All the books seem a work though
 
Bret Hart's book is awesome if you're looking for some insight into the Hart Family and the intricacies of wrestling.
Hulk Hogan's book is also one that has stuck with me for a while (published shortly after HH tried to commit suicide).. Very deep and personal
SCSA book as well as he shoots a lot in it and is a great read.
 
Foley's first book was wonderful. Readers got the inside dope on how a pro wrestler works his way up from the bottom of the profession and rises to the top. I can't see a book like that ghostwritten; I believe Foley did the whole thing himself.

True, he seems to come off as a little too self-important in his autobiography; some of the things he talks about as bona fide events and motivations were simply part of the scripted shows, as I read them. Still, he pulls no punches in telling us how things really went down in both the minor and major federations in which he worked. Many of his self-deprecatory statements are funny and real, although sometimes a bit much.

Foley's second book was far less entertaining. After having told us his entire story in the first book, the second one offered little that was new. He spent way too much time criticizing people who are down on pro wrestling.

The first book, however, was a classic and I'd recommend it to any wrestling fan.
 
I've read quite a few of books by wrestlers and honestly... I haven't come across a bad one yet. If you're looking for the best ones, Foley's first book and Jericho's first book are neck and neck for the best page-turners I've ever read. Bret Hart's isn't far behind.

One here that I didn't see anybody mention... The Rock. His book may now be 15 years old (holy sh*t), but it's also pretty good. I've only read it once when I first got it so I may have to go back and read it again. But I liked it when I was 14-15. DiBiase's book is decent. HBK's book is decent. I'll even throw another one out there that catches a lot of flack and I don't really know why... is Edge's book. It's a much simpler read. If you're going to open it expecting Foley's book or Jericho's, you'll be disappointed. But remember Edge wrote it before he ever became WWE Champion. I believe it was released around 2005. But some of the little stories in it about traveling with Christian and Rhyno are good. You really feel for the guy and how he was raised and didn't necessarily have everything in the world.

Booker T's is fantastic. The only one I haven't gotten around to yet is Luger's. I've heard good things though. The one that was least entertaining was Hogan's. Just from the point of you don't know what the hell he wrote is true because he's such a bullshit artist. I love Hogan as much as the next guy, but since his world came crashing down in those few years, the book is just a big "woe is me" story. But it's still not a bad read.

So in a nutshell, read any of them. I would personally say go with Luger's and throw your review of it on here just because nobody mentioned it.
 
It really depends on who you like as a wrestler and personality. Jericho brings a lot of personality to his writing and it makes me care about the stories. Y2J and Vince bonding over brownies while he was "cheating" on the WCW was a great story.

Foley is great because he is by far the best storyteller on paper and he has just done so much in his career that it is great to see it on paper. Austin and Rocks books are solid too because you care about them.

I got the most out of Jericho's books, but see who you like and then just go after their books.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Bernkastel
  • Locked
Favorite Author or Favorite Book
Replies
11
Views
1K
Shocky
S
S
Have you ever wished to get a good idea how the wrestling business works?
Replies
1
Views
1K
hArdyPUNKmArk
H
B
Which Book to Read First
Replies
15
Views
2K
Self High 5
S
T
Wrestling Books
Replies
8
Views
1K
JWGunslinger
JWGunslinger
T
WWE/Wrestling books
Replies
8
Views
5K
TootsieBear
T

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 413 (members: 0, guests: 413)

Forum statistics

Threads
174,826
Messages
3,300,732
Members
21,726
Latest member
chrisxenforo

Share this page

Back
Top