Foley is Good
Author, Ghost Writer, Editor: Mick Foley
Publisher: HarperEntertainment 
Released: 6/02 

The Good
Have a Nice Day definitely plays a role in the pro-wrestling world that make it one of the biggest, if not the biggest, contributions in the fabled career of Mick Foley. A book of immense size, amazing detail and distinct humor, it is no wonder that the book became so popular. How would he follow up such a masterwork? In a "good," although perhaps not great, work. If you liked or even loved Have a Nice Day, you will probably enjoy this just as much. His formula did not change drastically with the exception of a few stylistic additions. If you took out those parts, this would probably be a less than impressive follow-up because it would lack the scope and legacy that the first stunned the world with. Those additions, Mick Foley showing how the real world is more fake than pro-wrestling, are excellent. He analyzes the book industry, Hollywood, deaths blamed on pro-wrestling, the PTC and its head Brent Bozell as well as other topics in hopes of showing the pro-wrestling world has some credibility that is often overlooked. These sections are not always out-of-the-park homeruns, but they are different and show great insight.

The Bad
Have a Nice Day is the Gorgeous George of pro-wrestling books. It was so unique, so special and got over so strong that its legacy is etched in stone. However, like George, its excellence fizzled out quickly, its billing as the "greatest book ever on pro-wrestling" was soon overtaken by others and its entertainment value was overtaken by more entertaining competition. Foley is Good is not pathetic, it is respectable. It is Gorgeous George Jr., not Buddy Rogers as Mick Foley might have hoped. There have been funnier, smarter and more insightful books since and this looks second-rate in comparison to its predecessor and some of the other stellar pro-wrestling books out there. The autobiographical parts are hit-or-miss just as they were with Have a Nice Day. The humor is sophomoric and repetitive just as it was in Have a Nice Day. This is "good," it is not great.

The Rating: ***3/4

Tributes II: Remembering More of the World's Greatest Professional Wrestlers

Author, Ghost Writer, Editor: Dave Meltzer
Publisher: Sports Publishing
Released: 9/04

The Good
What's funny is I gave the first Tributes book 5 out of 5 and this is definitely better. I think the obit choices were good, the knowns, forgottens and reworks (Andre and Owen). This is much more detailed than the first and though I'd read his WON obits on all but a few of these people, I still enjoyed it greatly. I truly feel he is able to write among the most intriguing short biographies on people as he has an honest, yet honorary approach.

The Bad
Unfortunately, most of these people had died since the last book, which is morbid to think about. That aside, I had a WON subscription during that time, so only four or five were new to me. I felt Wahoo McDaniel and Johnny Valentine have better stories than what he captured, but he did a fair job considering his limited resources and their well-travelled natures. The DVD that came with the book was a nice addition, but really disappointing considering what it could have been.


The Rating: ****1/2

Sex, Lies and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince MacMahon and the World Wrestling Federation


Author, Ghost Writer, Editor: Shaun Assael, Mike Mooneyham
Publisher: Crown Publishing
Released: 7/02

The Good
For anyone who doesn't know much about wrestling in America pre-last week, you might want to buy this book. Assael not only covers Vinny Mac, but his dad, the NWA, Turner, WCW, Mid-South, Watts, the steroid trial and on and on. Basically he gives a nice overview of the ongoings of the post-NWA era and even covers some of that stuff too. I strongly suggest this to anyone who isn't a long-time WON or Torch reader.


The Bad
This is an overview - like 3/4 of the story at most. For people who know their stuff this'll be just a different take on the same story. Some issues are skirted, some short-changed and some half-truths, but that's to be expected from an "outsider." You get some dirt, but nothing scandelous if that's what you're looking for. I've heard the transitions are bad, so I suppose a base knowledge is required, they really didn't lose me in any parts. Some parts are less interesting and the more you know the less you'll care.


The Rating: ****

Wrestling and Masculinity: Nurturing a Culture of Bullies in the United States


Author, Ghost Writer, Editor: Patrice Opplinger
Publisher: n/a
Released: 1/04

The Good
This is a really short book that offers some fair criticisms of parts of pro-wrestling that really should be looked at it such a manner. As a pacifist and feminist myself, I often wonder why I am so fascinated by a form of entertainment like pro-wrestling. I think anyone should. Most of what she knocks is the sleaze, which I think most fans reading this does not care for. Most of her stuff concerning this was dead on and it really makes you ashamed to support the WWE in anyway at points because it reminds you of all the pointless filth. The attacks on ultra-violence and backyard wrestling are not as thorough, but they don't need to be because they aren't as directly tied to WWE. Her conclusions are good and I liked the book overall, though it is far from the best case possible. Worth reading because it should raise some issues and I'd rather talk about this book with other fans than about any other.

The Bad
I think Opplinger really dropped the ball on some of her sources. I didn't see use of the Observer or Torch in this book and and to me those are the top-notch analytic sources right there. Instead she read and trusted slanted reports against pro-wrestling and observed a small slice herself. These limitations hurt her creditibility to an extent, but I don't think they bury the case she is trying to make. She really only watched WWF/WWE and some WCW for major companies and a little XPW and other indies. This obviously hurts her case against pro-wrestling overall, but "overall" really isn't her intent. A few of the things she used were pretty wacky: the Marianne-Chaz faked abuse angle was mentioned twice despite being very minor and thrown out and that was only one of many aborted angles with controversial edges to them.

The Rating: ***

National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling

Author, Ghost Writer, Editor: Tim Hornbaker
Publisher: ECW Press
Released: 5/07

The Good
Tim Hornbaker’s book on the history of the NWA is perhaps the most comprehensive on pro-wrestling that will be written. He essentially tells the story of pro-wrestling in much of North America and even Japan over the last hundred years. While this could have been narrower in scope, Hornbaker took liberties to be more far-reaching and almost encyclopedic in approach. The main thread is detailing the formation of the Alliance, its developments, its challenges from “outlaw” promoters and even the U.S. government, the decline of the Alliance and the stories of all the players. The immense amounts of information make this superior to Chokehold and Sex, Lies and Headlocks, which had similar goals. Hornbaker has chapters dedicated to “Strangler” Lewis, Toots Mondt, Sam Muchnick, Fred Kohler and Lou Thesz, which all relate to the NWA story through fascinating mini-bios. He also has thorough pieces on numerous key pro-wrestlers who often doubled as bookers and promoters. Perhaps more interestingly, Hornbaker covers nearly everyone who has ever been an Alliance member, which are stories seldom told because they were often not performers or that aspect of their career is not told. This book is a must-have for the pro-wrestling historian. 

The Bad
Tim Hornbaker’s book is as extensive a book on pro-wrestling history as there is on the market. In just over three hundred and fifty pages, he shoehorns an amazing amount of detailed information. Unlike the history in books like Pain and Passion, Death of WCW and some autobiographies by wrestler/promoters, Hornbaker’s writing style is more substance over style. The complaints of a friend who felt the boringness of this book had overshadowed all the great information inside were convincing. This is not a “fun” read, the two lawsuit chapters are, in fact, largely dull, despite their importance. However, just as one would not read an encyclopedia from cover to cover, so is the case here. This book is a phenomenal resource and a lackluster pleasure book. 

The Rating: ****3/4

Top 100 Pro-Wrestlers of All-Time

Author, Ghost Writer, Editor: John F. Molinero; Jeff Marek, Dave Meltzer
Publisher: Winding Stair Press
Released: 12/02



The Good
A fun read that is pretty accurate and fair to people's legacies. It tries not to be negative, for better or for worse. Molinero and his editors know their wrestling and the fact they push some of the people as high as they do is probably alarming to some, but I think after a single reading anyone would be sold on anyone of the questionable wrestlers. That is a difficult task. Some wrestlers are romanticized to an extent and some are not and either makes for an interesting read. It's pretty straightforward and if you don't learn something I'd be surpised.




The Bad
As one would expect there is so wrong with this list. The three guys that made it are very knowledge, but they're fallible in their selection as anyone would be. They do acknowledge that at least, but it doesn't dismiss them. Dave himself thinks the first 75 are strong, but the last leg is here & there. Certain minorities are groups are ignored, namely Japanese women (Chigusa is 45!), Europeans (there are only like 5 native borns) and one could make cases for Japanese and Mexican wrestlers as well and not to mention countries that no one knows a lot about (India's Dara Singh is kind of the exception), but everywhere from Puerto Rico to Australia is overlooked to a degree. I could go on forever about all the flaws of this list, but the fact is it's an impossible task. Other than that it has a few inaccurate pictures, which never looks good, but they're not ones that most people would notice.

The Rating: ****1/4

New direction for this "blog"

I recently realized that a lot of my old material is no longer available since Geocities was killed off by Yahoo!, so I've decided to start putting my media reviews up on this blog. They were getting to be too much for my previous single-page organization, so this seems like a natural evolution.

I will include:
- OLD reviews, perhaps I'll even dig up some from my long abandoned pro-wrestling video site
- NEW reviews, continuing forward with perhaps some new twists

My content will include:
- Documentaries - from the WWE revisionist history ones to the The Wrestling Channel's "Icons" series
- Books - mainly autobiographies, but an serious, kayfabe-free works
- Matches - while not extensively for time constraint reasons, I'd love to start recommending and directing people towards legendary or simply great stuff (perhaps Youtube videos, so we can all enjoy them)

I may include:
- Shoot interviews - I listen to so many hours, it seems foolish to not mention some of these
- Websites/Wikis/Blogs - I've poured over so much online content, I feel I need to give more kudos to those who I gather info from.
- Music videos - There are so many out there, many good, many bad, but the standouts should be recognized.

I will not include:
- Current product (i.e. WWE, TNA, ROH, Japan, Mexico, etc.) - unless something REALLY catches my attention because I do not closely follow these anymore.
- Tape traders - I used to roll with this crowd and depended on it for a long time, but not much anymore and therefore my opinions would be outdated.
- Toys, clothing, belts, etc. - this simply is not my thing.
- Live show reviews - I have nothing against live shows, but they've not fit into my schedule since 2004.

With those parameters set...ENJOY!