Who's Who in Professional Wrestling
Author, Ghost Writer, Editor: Dave Meltzer
Publisher: n/a
Released: 1986

The Good
I bought a copy of this because I was intrigued by Dave's opinions during this time period right before the territories starting collapsing. Some of his comments are unbelievable as he talks up Chris Benoit in his rookie year, talks about the potential of Randy Savage as the "the hottest act" around and so on. I've always thought highly of Dave's work and opinions and this convinced me he's been a smart guy for a long time. For what it is, this is a worthwhile book that provides the information that I want to bring to the masses as well.

The Bad
Obviously in `86, a serious book about pro-wrestling getting a quality publication deal was unlikely, so we get this shabby version. This is an ugly book, plain and simple. I wish Dave had covered more people, but I guess with limited time and resources in those days, this was about the best he could do. Realistically, he could have written short profiles (as he does in the end) for a good 200 additional wrestlers, but he really shortchanged Mexico and Japan (he didn't even cover women). It is unfortunate he didn't make a greater effort to alert people to good workers unknown to mainstream fans, but Dave had his reasons.

The Rating: ***1/4