 Yes, life is dull. My 5th wrestling book in a row. I think this indicates a level of boredom unheard of in modern life. And this is sort of a sequel to one of my previous reads.
I have just finished ‘The Wrestlecrap Book Of Lists’ by R.D. Reynolds and Blade Braxton (2007).
This is sort of the sequel to the original Wrestlecrap book (even though they wrote another one in between, which I have waiting for me to read as well). And, to my mind, the list format actually works better for what they are trying to get over and suits the humour style better as well.
The list format, I think, is what needs looking at first. Much like the old Wallechinsky book, this allows a much wider range of topics than can be covered well in a straight-forward narrative. It also means if something does not work for a reader, it is much easier to skip over.
And, yes, not all of these lists work. Some are not funny, some are repetitive, and some push the boundaries of being coherent. Most, however, are very well done. (Personal favourites: Evidence that the Ultimate Warrior had superhuman, otherworldly powers; Times when we wouldn’t have been content with pinning our foe’s shoulders to the mat, and everything in chapter 7 Wrestling… You Know, Actual Wrestling.)
This book is, like the first one, not for those serious about wrestling. It takes an irreverent swipe at nearly everything and everyone. Not all of it was stuff I had heard of before, but that was part of the joy of the book. Just when you think you’ve heard every stupid thing promoters have done, oops!, there’s another one. But it does have a downside – you realise just how much stupidity there is when it is all thrown at you like this, and you do start to look for it and become more personally critical. That could be for the better, but looking at current product, I don’t think it matters.
It is an easy yet not simplified read, which is something I think writers of music books should look at (having recently struggled through the pretentiousness that is a book on the Manic Street Preachers, and some years ago forced my way through Goldman’s Lennon book) but it does not play down to its audience. Some of the pop culture references are quite obscure, and the language used is not full of one syllable words.
It is tightly edited and well constructed; the research these guys put into their website has clearly helped out with this book as there is barely a thing missed. For all the criticisms I have read of Wrestlecrap, getting it wrong is not one of them. However, and I do not say this often, a few more photos would not have gone astray to actually illustrate what they were writing about.
There are a few other differences between this and the first book. I don’t know if the book in the middle (Death of WCW) had anything to do with it, with its depressing subject matter, but the affection that ran through the first book is lacking here, replaced by an almost head-shaking sadness. The authors have not gone for out and out abuse, but it is almost a eulogy for an innocence lost in the pseudo-sport we love.
In general, though, and like the first book, the misses in this are few and far between, though there are some. And, again, like the first book, you need some idea of North American wrestling – especially who the major players are (like McMahon, Cornette, Gagne, etc) – in order to get the full impact of what was going on here. And so, like the first book, it is not a book for some one who is coming in cold. While those readers will find some of this funny (especially through the humorous writing style), much of what is described will go right over their heads. I also feel the humour style and references may well date this book in another decade or so. This is a book for fans, really.
The final list also needs some mention here before I finish. I disagree with their final selection as the worst gimmick in pro wrestling, but the argument they put forward is very compelling. And I think that encapsulates the book as a whole – the authors are passionate about what they are doing here and that comes through in their writing.
So this is the fifth wrestling book in my list. I’m going to read something else, and then come back with some more tales from the squared circle. But you could certainly do worse than these five books, and the Wrestlecrap Book Of Lists is yet another very fine book. So, yet again – thoroughly recommended.
