So… the Rock was the most electrifying man in sports entertainment. And after the success of Mick Foley’s first autobiography Have A Nice Day, it only made sense that the Rock should also pen a book of his exploits. This came out in 2000… and it’s only fitting that I’d do a review on this thing roughly ten years later and see how well it holds up.
Spoiler: it doesn’t.
This book is trash.
There. I said it. Ripping the bandage off.
Continue reading “BOOK REVIEW – Chyna: If They Only Knew… (2001)”
It’s safe to say that I’ve been a fan of the Wrestlecrap website for many years now. The long running website maintained by RD Reynolds, which spotlights many of the ridiculous, stupid, and just plain bad moments in wrestling lore (within comedic context) has always brought a smile to my face upon every entry. So much so that when RD produced his first book, I happily purchased it. Same goes for his follow-up book, The Death Of WCW; also written by Bryan Alvarez of Figure Four Weekly fame.
So long story short, I’ve recently managed to snag a copy of RD Reynolds’ latest tome; a compilation of lists and focusing mostly on the Wrestlecrap side of things. And I can honestly say that the third time’s a charm as he (along with fellow cohort Blade Braxton) has managed to produce a decidedly funny and interesting book with lots of lists in it.
Not to say that his earlier works were crap (the first book was a good sampler of the website, the second book was also a good read on a morbid subject matter), but I felt like this was a book that was more suited to the Wrestlecrap genre. Many of the lists were genuinely funny and include stuff that you never knew had actually happened. But do you know why this book is great? They actually show off the Katie Vick outfit that they had bought through WWE’s website… If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s probably for the best.
This isn’t a book that pokes fun at wrestling’s lesser or failed gimmicks with any sense of maliciousness, but rather, it’s a celebration of said gimmicks, whether it’s the stuff that we didn’t think sucked back then or whether it’s the stuff that we always knew was kind of shit. All in all, this was a pretty good read that’s well worth checking out.
The success of the Wrestlecrap book prompted Wrestlecrap curator R.D. Reynolds to cook up another book. One that would tackle the rise and fall of once-prominent wrestling promotion known as World Championship Wrestling. This time, however, he wouldn’t be alone as he would partner up with Figure 4 Weekly head Bryan Alvarez to chronicle this interesting look into what made WCW the dominant force that almost drove the World Wrestling Federation into bankruptcy before everything fell apart… hence why the book is called The Death Of WCW and not The Life Of WCW.
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.
Continue reading “BOOK REVIEW – Wrestlecrap: The Very Worst Of Professional Wrestling (2003)”
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