Good Wrestling Books/Autobiographies

Just wondering what you guys thought were... not necessarily the best, but the most interesting wrestling books. Looking to read some and have an amazon kindle so alot of them are available to me at one click.

Currently reading:


Wrestlecrap:

Basically a book about the worst gimmicks and angles in wrestling from The Shark to "The Underfaker". Very interesting read and it highlights how hated Flair is/was by the people he worked for, and how much of a dick Hogan is and how often he ruined storylines etc with his massive ego. Reading this book has emphasised just how much Hogan stink is currently permeating from TNA.

Other book im reading is

Cross Rhodes: Dustin Rhodes' (Goldust) Autobiography.
Have only read 2-3 chapters so far, but DAMN! This guy did not have an easy life. As a kid was desperate for his fathers attention, but being who he was his father was never around. Dusty tried to stop Dustin getting into the wrestling business but eventually saw it wasnt going to work and got him a job refereeing 2 matches 6 hrs drive away (he earned 20dollars for the night) during one of the matches his pants ripped and his 'Golden Globes' fell out while he was raising the winners hand.
Drove from place to place barely earning enough to cover rent etc etc Got into lots of trouble getting into fights when people badmouthed the industry or his father.

Interesting read so far.


So suggestions? books to stay away from?
 
Jul 12, 2004
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Brets is a superb read, most Foleys books are very good especially his first couple of Autobiographies and also enjoyed Hardcore Diaries

Heard that DDPs is a good book as well but never been able to get my hands on it

Rocks absolutely sucks as its in character

I have quite a few but its only ever been Hart, Foley x many and Goldberg that I have read right through and never wanted to put down

Cant actually remember if I have read Hogans or not and one of these days I will read Flairs, Bischoffs, Pipers and a few others gracing the bookshelf
 

davywap

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Brets is a superb read, most Foleys books are very good especially his first couple of Autobiographies and also enjoyed Hardcore Diaries

Heard that DDPs is a good book as well but never been able to get my hands on it

Rocks absolutely sucks as its in character

I have quite a few but its only ever been Hart, Foley x many and Goldberg that I have read right through and never wanted to put down

Cant actually remember if I have read Hogans or not and one of these days I will read Flairs, Bischoffs, Pipers and a few others gracing the bookshelf

WTF? Was there another book by The Rock that I don't know about? Were you just reading it all with the Rock's character voice in your head?

From what I remember, there were some bits written in character but most definitely was not, why would he talk about his childhood and pre-wrestling years in character?
 
Death of WCW is pretty good. Written by the Wrestlecrap guys I think.

Read it all over a couple of visits to Borders, lol.

Wrestlecrap is actually reading like a "death of WCW" book.

It just keeps underlining the s**t decisions made by Bischoff, Hogan and Co that led to the company falling apart.
 
Apr 23, 2009
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I've got a whole bunch of wrestler autobiographies.

All of Foley's books are great reads. Flair's To Be The Man is quite good but he does take a few pot shots at various people which can be a little irritating.

Shawn Michaels' is quite an interesting and frank look at his time in the industry. He tells it like it was, warts and all and doesn't just make himself look good. If he was an ass, he said he was an ass.

The Superstar Billy Graham book is just a little too self indulgent for my liking. Don't get me wrong, it's interesting but it just meanders sometimes.
 
Continued reading Cross Rhodes. Bout halfway done now.

Always liked goldust and this is a great look at the character. Was estranged from his father for 5 yrs, and as he began his downward spiral into alcoholism and pain killers he reconciled with his father in what sounds like was a really touching moment.

Also interesting to hear that goldust worked a show with Pillman the night before he died of a heart condition agravated by his drug use and cared for him throughout the match because he was in a bad shape. Saw him backstage and asked if everything was okay to which Pillman replied "Man I really dont know, im just so depressed"

Day or so later Rhodes and Pillman are booked to wrestle again and Pillman doesnt show up, Rhodes gets someone to check the hotel room where unfortunately Pillman is found dead.

He really doesnt sugar coat it at all, highly recommend Cross Rhodes.
 

Deddy

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Batista Unleashed is fairly good tells alot about his early life, girlfriends, bodybuiling and days as a bouncer (Swears a lot )

Wrestlecrap is still my favourite wrestling book
 

Deddy

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Online is about thhe only place you can get them if your in Australia :(
 
Where do you all get your wrestling books from? Do you just buy them online, or is there somewhere I'm missing. Every bookshop I check for doesn't have half of these :(

Get yourself an Amazon kindle, you wont regret it.

Basically is an online bookshop (Amazon) that you can browse 24/7 and you can purchase with a click of a button. Book is downloaded (e-book) straight to the handset.

Literally hundreds of thousands of books youd never find in Australia. I searched for wrestling and got like 11 pages of books.

Only downside is its all grayscale so the photos are black and white but still good.
 
Where do you all get your wrestling books from? Do you just buy them online, or is there somewhere I'm missing. Every bookshop I check for doesn't have half of these :(

I've noticed Borders does sell a few, but they're ridiculously expensive. Lot cheaper to buy from Amazon or other places online (Highspots etc.).
 
Aug 2, 2007
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Pain and Passion: History of Stampede Wrestling
Turning the Tables: History of ECW

There's another non-WWE book about ECW that I can't recall the name of, but remember being good. And of course there is WWE's effort, which I've never read.
 
Finished Hardcore Diaries which was pretty good, but Countdown to Lockdown was rather average IMO. Surprised how bad things were with WWE managment at him (and half the time rightly so) but still came off rather bitter and full of himself in both.

Just started reading by 'Undisputed' by Jericho, so far so good.
 

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The first two books from Mick Foley were really good. I bought the Hardcore Diaries but I didn't enjoy it as much as his first two and I won't bother with Countdown to Lockdown.

Jericho's first autobiography A Lion's Tale was fantastic. It is right up there with Foley's Have a Nice Day. I haven't bought Undisputed but I will eventually get it.

I really need to get Cross Rhodes because I have only heard great things about it.

Bret Hart's is another that I need to read since again I haven't heard any negatives about it.

I normally buy wrestling books at Borders, but that is closing down in Adelaide, so I will probably get them from www.wrestlingbooks.com.au or thebookdepository.
 
I really need to get Cross Rhodes because I have only heard great things about it.

Won't regret it, Im generally not big on Autobiographies, Wrestling being a minor exception, and I loved it. Makes you wonder how far he could of gone if everything had fallen into place.
 

TKPRooFan

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I have read many things about him over the years about what happened to him outside of the ring but it will be good to hear all of the story from him. I have always liked the Goldust character and think that he is under appreciated. Dustin Rhodes can wrestle well and he took a ridiculous gimmick and made it huge. He is an interesting character and I like seeing him still working in WWE knowing a few of the things he went through. The book is a decent price as well so I will probably order it over the weekend.
 
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Ring of Hell is a book every wrestling fan should read.


Finished Hardcore Diaries which was pretty good, but Countdown to Lockdown was rather average IMO. Surprised how bad things were with WWE managment at him (and half the time rightly so) but still came off rather bitter and full of himself in both.

Just started reading by 'Undisputed' by Jericho, so far so good.

Foley has always come off as full of himself, and the worst part is he always tries to hide it behind fake modesty. I think all those chair shots and concrete floor bumps are really starting to catch up with him though. I remember a while back he wrote an unbelievably egocentric rant against Meltzer because he criticized him or placed him too low on a list or something, and compared the Negro Baseball League to TNA in an analogy I can't remember the details of but do recall being, at best, absurd.
 
Foley has always come off as full of himself, and the worst part is he always tries to hide it behind fake modesty. I think all those chair shots and concrete floor bumps are really starting to catch up with him though. I remember a while back he wrote an unbelievably egocentric rant against Meltzer because he criticized him or placed him too low on a list or something, and compared the Negro Baseball League to TNA in an analogy I can't remember the details of but do recall being, at best, absurd.

I think that was to do with "Best Promos" award in the WO Newsletter.
 
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