The Stone Cold Truth - Audio Version
Author, Ghost Writer, Editor: Steve Austin, Jim Ross, Dennis Brent
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Publishers
Released: 10/03
The Good
I'd never done the audio book thing before and actually ordered it by accident, but it was a fun alternative. Austin and J.R. narrate, which is fine. They are redoing the book and are half in character, which is fine. Not as dynamic as you'd like, but the parts where Austin is funny, the audio makes it seem that much funnier. The part about he and Jeannie feuding with Chris and Toni Adams stands out to anyone I've talked to about it as being laugh-out-loud funny and so is his impression of the Undertaker.
The Bad
This is obviously an abridged version, so there is a fair amount lost. Austin's story is pretty well-known by most wrestling fans at this point and not much is revealed here that many wouldn't already know about. He isn't as venomous as you might expect and any heat he has towards people like Owen Hart, Jeff Jarrett and WWF creative is not really voiced, making this seem neither "stone cold" nor the whole "truth." While this is better than most of the WWF/WWE's autobiography releases, it is not what I think it should be. Again this was a 2 hour audio version, not the full-length book.
The Rating: **1/4
Showing posts with label jim ross. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jim ross. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
WWE 24/7 - Legends of Wrestling - "Heatseekers"
The Good
An early "Legends of Wrestling" sees Jim Ross hosting and panel of Michael Hayes, Mick Foley, Eric Bischoff and Jerry Lawler. The topic is "heatseekers" - folks who stir sh*t in the lockerroom, have heat with almost everyone and yet find success. The discussion is decidedly limited to WWF and Crockett/WCW with the time period being about the mid-80s through the mid-00s. Most of the names are understandable and most of them are people that panelist legitimately had heat with for one reason or another. Mick Foley loves to play good guy here as he likes or sees redeeming qualities in most people mentioned. They talk about people who got big heads due to quick success despite not really liking or being particularly good at pro-wrestling (Lex Luger and Goldberg). They talk about people who rub people the wrong way (Scott Hall & "Buff" Bagwell). As well as people who are obnoxious and slimy (Vince Russo, Ed Ferrera and Paul Heyman). I think most of the names raised were fair and most of the complaints were understandable.
The Bad
I felt okay with panelist, until they went into McMahon defense mode at the end. Yes, many people are bitter about the success of Vince McMahon and the WWF. Yes, many people blew opportunities with the company. Yes, many of those people have drug and alcohol problems. But, Vince McMahon surely made some poor decisions, mistreated some people and did some things that rightly gained him some heat with a great many people. I wished that they had reflected on some of the people of the past who were heatseekers, perhaps in introducing the topic. Buddy Rogers and his clique (Johnny Valentine, Johnny Barend, Magnificent Maurice, etc.) spring to my mind. I think you could come up with a variety of people that all those people worked with whether it's Austin Idol (who Jerry Lawler actually liked…), Mr. Fuji (whose over-the-top ribs were dubbed as cancerous by some) or any number of promoters who were crooked carnival folk (Toots Mondt, Jack Pfefer and other mid-century promoters), bad on pay-offs (Gulas and Jarrett) or nasty in demeanor (Watts, Shire or Ole Anderson). Certainly the scope of this was grossly limited.
The Rating: ***
The Good
An early "Legends of Wrestling" sees Jim Ross hosting and panel of Michael Hayes, Mick Foley, Eric Bischoff and Jerry Lawler. The topic is "heatseekers" - folks who stir sh*t in the lockerroom, have heat with almost everyone and yet find success. The discussion is decidedly limited to WWF and Crockett/WCW with the time period being about the mid-80s through the mid-00s. Most of the names are understandable and most of them are people that panelist legitimately had heat with for one reason or another. Mick Foley loves to play good guy here as he likes or sees redeeming qualities in most people mentioned. They talk about people who got big heads due to quick success despite not really liking or being particularly good at pro-wrestling (Lex Luger and Goldberg). They talk about people who rub people the wrong way (Scott Hall & "Buff" Bagwell). As well as people who are obnoxious and slimy (Vince Russo, Ed Ferrera and Paul Heyman). I think most of the names raised were fair and most of the complaints were understandable.
The Bad
I felt okay with panelist, until they went into McMahon defense mode at the end. Yes, many people are bitter about the success of Vince McMahon and the WWF. Yes, many people blew opportunities with the company. Yes, many of those people have drug and alcohol problems. But, Vince McMahon surely made some poor decisions, mistreated some people and did some things that rightly gained him some heat with a great many people. I wished that they had reflected on some of the people of the past who were heatseekers, perhaps in introducing the topic. Buddy Rogers and his clique (Johnny Valentine, Johnny Barend, Magnificent Maurice, etc.) spring to my mind. I think you could come up with a variety of people that all those people worked with whether it's Austin Idol (who Jerry Lawler actually liked…), Mr. Fuji (whose over-the-top ribs were dubbed as cancerous by some) or any number of promoters who were crooked carnival folk (Toots Mondt, Jack Pfefer and other mid-century promoters), bad on pay-offs (Gulas and Jarrett) or nasty in demeanor (Watts, Shire or Ole Anderson). Certainly the scope of this was grossly limited.
The Rating: ***
Saturday, May 15, 2010
The Legends of Wrestling - Managers
The Panel - JJ Dilon, Jimmy Garvin, Michael Hayes, Jim Ross, Joey Styles
The Good
The WWE series is one of the most noteworthy features of WWE 24/7. It features a handful of people who will seemingly never do extensive shoot interviews elsewhere and people who are great in the shoot interviews and gives them a topic to probe. I've never seen a bad one. They integrate footage from the expansive WWE video library and generally have good discussions. Michael Hayes and JR are regulars and they're always fantastic. I generally enjoy Joey Styles in venues such as these, Jimmy Garvin is always good for a story and a laugh and JJ Dillon is easily one of the best in-depth analysts on the business there is. I've seen the WWE's "Greatest Managers" release and found it enjoyable, although highly limited in its scope. This was excellent because it mentioned people like Bobby Davis, Maw Bass, Gary Hart and some others who never got their due on that release. There were some good stories and overall this was fun one.
The Bad
The panelists on these shows largely draw from their own experiences, which can provide a limited scope. While Gulf Coast wrestling was mentioned, Memphis and its many talented managers (from Saul Weingeroff and J.C. Dykes to Dr. Ken Ramey and Sir Clements) were left out completely! Other legends like Homer O'Dell, Big Bad John, Tarzan Tyler and Lord Alfred Hayes were left out. Although I've grown to expect that, it does mean it's okay. If you can move past the limitations of these discussions, as you typically have to if you want to enjoy WWE's documentaries, then you can certainly enjoy this.
The Rating: ****
The Panel - JJ Dilon, Jimmy Garvin, Michael Hayes, Jim Ross, Joey Styles
The Good
The WWE series is one of the most noteworthy features of WWE 24/7. It features a handful of people who will seemingly never do extensive shoot interviews elsewhere and people who are great in the shoot interviews and gives them a topic to probe. I've never seen a bad one. They integrate footage from the expansive WWE video library and generally have good discussions. Michael Hayes and JR are regulars and they're always fantastic. I generally enjoy Joey Styles in venues such as these, Jimmy Garvin is always good for a story and a laugh and JJ Dillon is easily one of the best in-depth analysts on the business there is. I've seen the WWE's "Greatest Managers" release and found it enjoyable, although highly limited in its scope. This was excellent because it mentioned people like Bobby Davis, Maw Bass, Gary Hart and some others who never got their due on that release. There were some good stories and overall this was fun one.
The Bad
The panelists on these shows largely draw from their own experiences, which can provide a limited scope. While Gulf Coast wrestling was mentioned, Memphis and its many talented managers (from Saul Weingeroff and J.C. Dykes to Dr. Ken Ramey and Sir Clements) were left out completely! Other legends like Homer O'Dell, Big Bad John, Tarzan Tyler and Lord Alfred Hayes were left out. Although I've grown to expect that, it does mean it's okay. If you can move past the limitations of these discussions, as you typically have to if you want to enjoy WWE's documentaries, then you can certainly enjoy this.
The Rating: ****
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