With the new Wrestlecrap Book of Lists coming up, it seemed only appropriate that I’d go back and revisit RD Reynold’s first literary opus, which is basically a book version of his Wrestlecrap website.
Note: In case anyone didn’t get this hint, Randy Baer is R.D. Reynolds’ shoot real name. Sorry if I’m breaking the kayfabe here, kids.
Wrestlecrap: The Very Worst Of Pro Wrestling is less an encyclopedia of the various bad gimmicks of wrestling (this would result in a far larger book and really, if you wanted that, the Wrestlecrap website is right there and it’s free) and more of a general overview of most of the more notable instances of “wrestlecrap” that has occurred over the past couple decades. Naturally, the focus is on WWE, WCW, and other larger promotions of prominence, such as World Class and Memphis. Admittedly, there are times when reading the book feels less like a proper chronicle of bad gimmicks and more like an extended advertisement for the Wrestlecrap site. As someone who visits said site, I don’t need such a push in a book that I paid money for and some gimmicks that seem interesting in their failure get glossed over in favor of the more well-known failures of wrestling that has been touched upon ad-nausem. How many times do we need a book that focuses an entire chapter on the failings of Vince Russo’s WCW run? How many times have we had such a thing since 2003 when this book was published?
These are things that pop to mind after the fact and didn’t detract from my overall reading experience of the book, which was a quick read. I’d say it’s worth checking out if you want a printed version of Wrestlecrap, but if not, I’d suggest checking out the site itself. It’s loads of fun.
dtm666 