Wrestling Books

[The Reverend]

Although I do love a good wrestling book, I've had a bit of overkill with the biography side of things. At one time I was always seeking them out, but recently there's been a glut of them for everyone from indy stars to the big icons.

Instead I picked this up, and read it in the entire weekend. Great big of wrestling related fiction (some of which can be a bit hit or miss - this however was a definite hit), and it's not often you get some about the old Brit scene.

The author is the son of the legendary Adrian Street so really knows his stuff. 

Definitely worth a read: https://www.amazon.co.uk/World-Belongs-Jane-Me-Part/dp/B0DKT3D3J4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3LILGJEQ4XGJ1&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.c2MrYCArdqgK2He_MZVCDpGMZuBZEcc8J4tQGybrjYs.N10Yqz1z9yn7j36OgVMp4P-RvkNWMWBfBmu0k3fUCZo&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+world+belongs+to+me+and+jane&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1731324462&sprefix=the+world+belongs+to+me+and+jane%2Caps%2C118&sr=8-1

Edited November 11, 2024 by The Reverend

[Sheffbag]

Anyone tried the Jimmy Hart autobiography? Worth it?

[JNLister]

25 minutes ago, Sheffbag said:

Anyone tried the Jimmy Hart autobiography? Worth it?

My review from :https://prowrestlingbooks.com/the-mouth-of-the-south-by-jimmy-hart/
 

Quote

 

If you’d expect a book by Jimmy Hart to be bright and breezy with lots of entertainment but not much depth, your prejudice is spot on.

While there are a few ‘insider’ tidbits, such as Hart explaining how he deliberately avoided doing any traditional wrestling moves smoothly when working wrestler vs manager bouts in Memphis, feeling to do so would be implausible, it’s more of a general career recap.

To give an idea of the attention paid to the relevant sections of his life, there’s about 20 pages on his music career, 70 pages on Memphis, 50 pages on WWE and 15 pages on WCW.

There’s quite a bit of exposition explaining events in the business that Hart wasn’t directly involved in, but you do get a few good stories about funny events in and out of the ring.

It’s all well-written enough: no ghostwriter is acknowledged, and it does feel a lot like a motormouth Hart promo skipping from subject to subject.

There’s little to really criticise in what’s here. The main limitation is that for anyone interested in Hart’s career to the point of reading his autobiography, there’s probably not going to be much new to learn here. On the other hand, while a newer fan would get a decent insight into Hart’s history in the business, particularly his importance to Memphis, it’s hard to imagine many such readers choosing to give this a go.

 

 

[IANdrewDiceClay]

I remember Ryan Hewson (the WrestleXpress goon) said he was asked to write it for Jimmy, but that was clearly Jimmy spotting a money mark and buttering him up. "We could work together on this book, baby. Do you have that blokes credit card? Knobs wants a meal deal."

Edited December 12, 2024 by IANdrewDiceClay

[Sheffbag]

Cheers Jon, for 15quid I’ll give it a punt as it’s the Memphis era I wanted to read about more then his other times

[NeverYield]

On 11/11/2024 at 11:33 AM, The Reverend said:

Although I do love a good wrestling book, I've had a bit of overkill with the biography side of things. At one time I was always seeking them out, but recently there's been a glut of them for everyone from indy stars to the big icons.

Instead I picked this up, and read it in the entire weekend. Great big of wrestling related fiction (some of which can be a bit hit or miss - this however was a definite hit), and it's not often you get some about the old Brit scene.

The author is the son of the legendary Adrian Street so really knows his stuff. 

Definitely worth a read: https://www.amazon.co.uk/World-Belongs-Jane-Me-Part/dp/B0DKT3D3J4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3LILGJEQ4XGJ1&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.c2MrYCArdqgK2He_MZVCDpGMZuBZEcc8J4tQGybrjYs.N10Yqz1z9yn7j36OgVMp4P-RvkNWMWBfBmu0k3fUCZo&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+world+belongs+to+me+and+jane&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1731324462&sprefix=the+world+belongs+to+me+and+jane%2Caps%2C118&sr=8-1

Started this yesterday, it's a belter.

[AndyUK]

Random question, anyone know if there’s some good glossy photos in either the Rise and Fall of ECW or Turning The Tables books?

Planning on buying either one to read and hopefully get signed by some former ECW stars. 

[NeverYield]

21 minutes ago, AndyUK said:

Random question, anyone know if there’s some good glossy photos in either the Rise and Fall of ECW or Turning The Tables books?

Planning on buying either one to read and hopefully get signed by some former ECW stars. 

Lots of black and white photos in rise and fall of ecw but not glossy colour ones 

[Merzbow]

I managed to find a couple of gems in the charity shop yesterday, both In The Pit With Piper and Martha Hart's book about Owen. Not bad for two quid each.

Somehow never read either but Goodreads reviews for both are really solid.

[NeverYield]

Charity shops can be an absolute goldmine for wrestling books.

Came across William Regals book many years ago in a charity shop which in recent years has been a book thats been pretty hard to get hold of, think you can pick one up on amazon for about 30-40quid at the minute but it's definitely been scarce at times.

Anyone got Dyamite Kids book?

[Cousin Jim Bob]

38 minutes ago, NeverYield said:

Anyone got Dyamite Kids book?

Shit I stuck that in the recycling bin with a bunch of other non wrestling books when I moved house a couple of years ago. Didn't realise it was worth £30. I would have stuck it on ebay. 

The book itself felt quite cheaply put together from what I remember. It is an interesting read though. I remember that Billington comes across as the far bigger twat in a lot of the stories. He seemed to hate or not rate as a wrestler pretty much everyone as well including Davey. 

Edited February 1, 2025 by Cousin Jim Bob

[davertfnewman]

I think Pure Dynamite was the first wrestling autobiography I got, Christmas present in 1999 from my mom, ordered via Power Slam magazine. Easy read on 25/12/99. Still has pride of place on the bookshelf, it's that or Bret's book I go to the most often for a quick read, as well as Simon Garfield's The Wrestling.

[AndyUK]

18 hours ago, NeverYield said:

Lots of black and white photos in rise and fall of ecw but not glossy colour ones 

Thanks mate.

@JNLister would you be able to help as to what type of photos are in Turning The Tables? Thanks in advance.

[TibBo]

6 hours ago, Merzbow said:

In The Pit With Piper.

Is this the Piper one full of rambling anecdotes and historical inaccuracies?  I think his kids wrote one about him after he had passed-away which was much better and kind of explained why the original book was such a mess.

On an unrelated note, was Gary Hart such an amazing talent/booker as he thought? I never really caught his career in real-time, and I’ve never really seen him get involved in any matches to a great extent? His book is amazing, but I’m really not sure how factual it is.

[JNLister]

6 hours ago, AndyUK said:

Thanks mate.

@JNLister would you be able to help as to what type of photos are in Turning The Tables? Thanks in advance.

None, other than the cover.