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Post by shanieomaniac on Feb 4, 2024 10:50:15 GMT -5
So between all the hype for Becky's book and Mithen putting out the Sami and Kevin book shortly, I was wondering. Does anyone else here read wresting biographies or other books like them? I remember reading "Have A Nice Day" so many times as a teenager that it fell apart (something tragic because the copy was autographed), and I have a couple of the coffee table photo books on my shelf that I like to flip through as well. I'm not the biggest reader, but I really want to try and get into some of the bios that are out there eventually.
So I was just curious if anyone else out there was into the books. Some of them seem pretty dang cool and give an interesting peek behind the scenes.
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Post by LA Times on Feb 4, 2024 13:32:10 GMT -5
I used to buy a lot of the WWE autobiographies and had
Mick Foley's Have a Nice Day and Foley is Good
The Rock Says
Hollywood Hulk Hogan and My Life Outside the Ring
Adam Copeland On Edge
Kurt Angle's book
Shawn Michaels Heartbreak and Triumph
The Hardy Boyz book
Eddy Guerrero's Cheating Death Stealing Life
Bret Hart's book
Chris Jericho's Around the World in Spandex
Batista's book
I ended up selling most of them and only kept 4 that I had autographed (My Life Outside the Ring, The Rock Says, Foley is Good, Adam Copeland on Edge).
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Post by ASR (therockisback) on Feb 4, 2024 17:45:17 GMT -5
A lot of good ones are out there
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Papi Joker
Main Eventer
INTERNATIONAL COLLECTORS LIVES MATTER
Joined on: Feb 23, 2016 23:56:30 GMT -5
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Post by Papi Joker on Feb 4, 2024 18:27:13 GMT -5
oh yeah man, the best ones are the ones that are not actually wwe affiliated or ghost written by them (although some are cool - they all just bad mouth WCW)
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Post by Grumpyoldman on Feb 5, 2024 4:59:17 GMT -5
Crowbar Press has some really good ones.
My favorite was Gary Hart's book. Very difficult to get a copy now, though.
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Post by hbkjason on Feb 5, 2024 5:22:07 GMT -5
I used to eat up pretty much every book the WWF/E did in the 90s and to the mid 00s.
Mick Foley's books were my favorites, especially his first book. Even the non WWE one he did that went into detail about his time in TNA was great. I have an autographed copy of his Titem Browm book that he did too.
Chris Jericho's books were also very well done.
I love Bret Hart's book, and would put it right up there with Foley's first book. I met him back in 2008 when he did a signing here in the UK and he signed it for me.
The Rock's book was very entertaining as there were sections where it was written in character.
They did so many good ones over the years, I think the last one that I got was Daniel Bryan's that came out a few years back.
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Post by Next Man’s Knowing Rock on Feb 5, 2024 8:06:13 GMT -5
I used to read all of them. Mick Foley’s first two were great. At the time I even remember buying Chyna’s book on release date and reading it on a bus journey.
I lost interest in them a bit over the years so it’s been sporadic. There were some real stinkers, Goldust’s was the worst I can recall and Rey Mysterio’s wasn’t much better. I pre-ordered Drew McIntyre’s book when that came out but still haven’t read past the first few pages of it. I’ll probably do the same with Becky Lynch’s.
I recently got a bookcase and got all my stuff out of storage for the first time in years. I’ve got a good chunk of wrestling autobiographies in there. Foley, Rock, Hogan, Flair, Hardys, Eddie Guerrero, Shawn Michaels, Daniel Bryan, Chris Jericho. Even Gary Michael Cappetta’s. I think I’d put Regal’s and Bret Hart’s as the best ones, although I have to laugh at Bret ending every chapter with someone’s relative coming up to him crying and telling him his random house show match was the best thing they’ve ever seen in their lives.
I’ve also got a bunch of the coffee table type books they’ve done since then - a John Cena one that’s got a wristband or arm band, an attitude era one that’s got a Stone Cold bottle opener. 30 and 35 Years of WrestleMania, Ultimate Warrior Forever, an Undertaker one, the first couple editions of the encyclopedia, etc. I’ve got at least one or two WrestleCrap books and various other mid-2000s wrestling cash-in books, oh and a few WWF/WWE annuals from different years between the early nineties and about 2011.
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Post by TKO Propagandist on Feb 5, 2024 11:24:10 GMT -5
Justin Roberts & Lex Luger's were no good. Too much personal/life stuff. No one cares just get to the wrestling
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fabulous1971
Mid-Carder
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Post by fabulous1971 on Feb 5, 2024 11:55:41 GMT -5
Wanna laugh, read Sunny and Missy Hyatt's books.
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JimRiga
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Post by JimRiga on Feb 5, 2024 12:34:36 GMT -5
Yeah, I read a load of them and enjoyed them all.
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Post by Grumpyoldman on Feb 5, 2024 12:49:36 GMT -5
Blackjack Mulligan's was awful.
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Post by Scott! on Feb 5, 2024 13:28:44 GMT -5
I still have a few of my favourites, some great ones out there. As a kid/teen I bought anything I could to hear the stories they told about behind the scenes stuff.
Bret's is still my favourite.
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JP
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Post by JP on Feb 5, 2024 13:57:54 GMT -5
I still have a few of my favourites, some great ones out there. As a kid/teen I bought anything I could to hear the stories they told about behind the scenes stuff. Bret's is still my favourite.Agreed. I've read that one multiple times - it's such a good, honest book.
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Post by Rated [R] NinJa on Feb 6, 2024 20:44:28 GMT -5
I’ve only read Jericho’s autobiographies and enjoyed them a lot at the time. Can’t stand the guy now, he’s so cringe lol
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JimRiga
Superstar
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Post by JimRiga on Feb 7, 2024 15:54:54 GMT -5
Also, just want to add: I recommend Pure Dynamite (Dynamite Kid’s auto) it’s………interesting……..
Also, I remember reading that Gary Michael Cappetta’s book is an underrated read, with lots of insight and rare and varied stories, so I might try that at some point.
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Post by Next Man’s Knowing Rock on Feb 7, 2024 18:54:19 GMT -5
I’ve only read Jericho’s autobiographies and enjoyed them a lot at the time. Can’t stand the guy now, he’s so cringe lol I don’t think I can reread Jericho’s books, or Foley’s, again. Loved them at the time, but between social media, fan stories, podcasts etc, wrestlers now have too much out there showing themselves to be more pathetic than the image they craft in their books. I think that’s one of the main reason the hype around wrestling books has died down - back in the day, it was rare to get firsthand backstage stories. Now, wrestlers live their lives online, same as anyone else.
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Post by JokerFC on Feb 8, 2024 3:11:54 GMT -5
Really enjoy Bret's book. Its different gravy than the rest. Bischoffs book was very good too...as is Guy Evans book about WCW.
Enjoyed Jerichos Rocks, Foleys, Flairs etc at the time but they were all one & done reads for me.
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Ohtimate Wahriah
Main Eventer
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Post by Ohtimate Wahriah on Feb 8, 2024 12:56:42 GMT -5
I read Bret’s book, which is my favorite. The Foley books and Bischoffs “Controversy creates Cash” book.
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Post by Rock-Is-King on Feb 9, 2024 13:30:51 GMT -5
I’ve read a few … Ric Flair - To be the Man Mayor Kane The Road Warriors - Danger, Death & the rush of Wrestling
Also while not nearly as long, Sting - Moment of Truth is an excellent read as well
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Post by hbkjason on Feb 10, 2024 3:24:39 GMT -5
One book that never really gets brought up is the awesome WrestleMania book they did in 2000. It's a big coffee table style book that has the history of each mania up to 15. It also came with a dvd.
The best thing about it was the photos. It had stuff like the event tickets, promo posters and even bits of merch like a watch for WrestleMania V.
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