Wrestle Book Review: Review: Hardcore History The Extremely Unauthorized History of ECW By Scott E. Williams

Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized History of ECW

Scott E. Williams, Shane Douglas (Foreword) Photos By George Tahinos

Sports Publishing, 2006

Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, Audiobook

In the industry's peak period of the mid-late 1990s, WWF and WCW battled for the top spot in what is now called The Monday Night Wars. While revisionist history typically marginalises the impact of the era's indy promotions, the ECW has remained a near mythical cult like industry leader. Extreme Championship Wrestling was not only the home for many of wrestling's most memorable performers, its edgy and unapologetic presentation was the inspiration for many of the industry wide changes that lead to the lead to the largest international boom in wrestling history.

Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized History of ECW author Scott Williams covers the history of ECW from its formation to dissolution. Williams has also co-authored Bill Watts' The Cowboy and the Cross, Terry Funk's More Than Just Hardcore and Jim Duggan's Hacksaw: The Jim Duggan Story.

Professional wrestling, by its very nature, is difficult to research. Whereas the lines between fact and fiction are often blurred and sources are frequently confused by this blur, finding the fact hidden within the fiction can be an near insurmountable feat. That being said, Williams does a very good job presenting the history of ECW. While some of ECW's more devoted fans have cited some errors in chronology and events, none of these are serious enough to destroy the overall credibility of the book.

Most chapters are very well structured, however, there are times when the subject tends to go off the rails. While this may be indicative of the hectic nature of the events around promotion, there are times when this causes the reader to get lost in the details. The issue is not with the information within - most is very interesting - but with the actual structure. There are a few events/people that are given more back story or context than others. The degree to which these are presented are not always congruent to overall importance to the narrative. For example, The Great Sasuke is mentioned as often as most ECW regulars. That being said, Williams is chronicling a revolving door of talent in a growing (and declining) company in a very active industry at its peak. Though not perfect, Williams does a commendable job.

The story is told from the ECW perspective but lacks a lot of the sycophantic or bitter tone that is present in a lot of ECW media. It has also avoided being victim to most of the revisionist history (both from the ECW alum and WWE perspectives) that often plagues the company.

While a reader's level of interest, awareness and appreciation of ECW will play factors in his or her enjoyment, Hardcore History is a worth a look.

04/15 Instead of re-reading Hardcore History I opted to listen to the audiobook. While the author's voice is pleasant, he was obviously not coached in pronunciation of many names. Konan (pronounced like Conan O'Brien instead of Conan The Barbarian, UWFi as UWF1, and Ole Anderson's first name as in "ole buddy, ole pal." The last name Schiavone is absolutely butchered.