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| Guest Columns | Ronnie Cox |
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A BOOK REVIEW: SLAMMIN' - Wrestling's Greatest Heroes and Villians Welcome to the wonderful world of wrestling literature. You're probably saying to yourself right now, a book? Yep, it's more than 62 pages and does not contain 8 action packed color pullout posters. First off let me say that this book has both its good points and bad points. It was recently published, so as far as books go it's pretty up to date. I do believe it was published in June. It was written by David Hofstede and published by ECW Press. The book is $18.95 and is about 250 pages long. A little cheaper than an ECW PPV. This book was written for people jumping on the wrestling band wagon. And for people who don't know that ECW exists. Besides the list of who's held titles, they're not really mentioned. Which is kind of funny seeing how this was put out by ECW Press. Which in this case stands for Extremely Clueless Writer. I let poor hapless fools who stumble into PPVs' at my house use it as a reference book. This way they don't annoy the hell out of me. Who's that? Dammit look it up I'm trying to take notes. Anyway, oversized format, with some of the worst pictures of some of todays stars and yesteryears losers. Austin is on the cover looking like he's got to wrestle 3 midgets wearing g-strings. Take a look for yourself you'll see what I mean. Now on to the content. First they treat us to a list of terms to use so it appears that you know what you're talking about. That BABYFACE took a CHAIRSHOT from that HEEL, no BLADE JOB, but it was the best BUMP of the match, it really PUT HIM OVER. I used 6 in one sentence. Do I get a title shot now ? They also give us a list of federations, a very small list. And when did the NWO get federation status ? This was not a good point of the book. And now a look at wrestlings history straight from the minds at A&E. Did you know that you can fit 5 thousand years of history into 10 pages ? The wonders of technology I tell you. Great background on the sport. Tells a few stories about how back in the day , matches used to last like 3 days and people really got hurt back then. Then we fast forward into todays sports entertainment field. A valiant effort. I'll give the history of wrestling a good point. Next off is the profiles. If you don't wrestle in the WWF or WCW then you don't exist. If you were lucky enough to get a profile in here then you should be considered as one of todays greatest heroes or villians. I thought everything was kind of grey now. No clear cut good vs. evil anymore. That is unless you're the Undertaker who Satan himself does color commentary for your matches. So if you made it into this section then you got a good profile. Basic common knowledge stuff with a few tid bits thrown in. Did you know that Randy Savage used to be abot as bald as Hulk Hogan ? And now he's not only a client, but also a jobber. I like cold boring facts about stuff, but with wrestling facts, they tell the stories we're supposed to forget. Too bad many great wrestlers were omitted. (cough insert favorite wrestler here cough) So as much as I'd like to make this a good point of the book. I have to give it the finger. And now ladies and gentlemen, the top ten matches of all time. This I think is purely opinion. ( if you want to you can e-mail with yours and I'll compare it to the list and let you know how you stack up against a professionals) I'm not going to ruin it for you by telling you what they are. There are some classics on here, but I'm not sure what the criteria was. Here's something they can't screw up. The top 10 wrestling events by attendance. These are really boring facts even for me. But it did waste 4 pages. Not to be outdone by the list of top 10 wrestling events in the U.S. by attendance also. Another 2 pages. At least I recognize the names on this one. My Japanese wrestling knowledge is pretty much limited to IWA stuff. Love that barb wire. Chalk up one very dry good point for the book. What would a book on wrestling be without a chapter on the most embarrassing gimmicks and matches. These are the black eyes of the business. Let's see who got one.
Where would wrestling be without those silicone enhanced beauties. It's time for the women of wrestling. All of the recent ladies are here. Some of them I wonder if they are ladies. Profiles on Chyna, Elizabeth, Marlena, Debra, The Nitro Girls, Sable, Sunny and some props for the female pioneers in this niche. Plus a bit of knowledge about jello wrestling and the GLOW federation. Theres more info here on some of these ladies than the wrestlers. I'm still bitter over the omission of certain wrestlers. Two big silicone thumbs up for this piece. But where's Gorgeous George ? Sigh. As the book begins to come to an end, I am delighted to see that the next chapter is about wrestling in Japan and Mexico. This section of the book was written by Dorran Jack Epstein. And let me tell you, there is so much excellent info in the 8 pages they gave him. You are given a great description of Japanese wrestling. From its beginning in 1883 as puroresu, through the days of Rikidozan and into the 80's as the American heavyweights began to travel back and forth. The federations involved including a quick look at 2 of my favorite federations. The IWA and FMW. I love garbage and barb wire matches. The section on Mexico is a little thinner. The legend of the Luchadors mask is revealed for the millionth time. Wrestling movies and midgets are also mentioned. I myself would have also included a glossary of Luchador moves. Seeing how it gets so confusing sometimes. For me, getting to see wrestling shows from Mexico and Japan is such a treat, that I couldn't help but to say this was an excellent portion of the book. The last 32 pages are made up of each federations title histories and sports stars who have been involved in the sport. Or as I like to refer to them as, "Guys we hope can sell the PPV." The bottom line. Is it worth it ? I'd have to say yes. It's invaluable for new fans and a decent read for longtime fans. And it's thick enough to use as a foreign object. Keep it real Ronnie Cox freelance Mail the Author |
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