Review: Fritz Von Erich: Master Of The Iron Claw By Ron G. Mullinax

Fritz Von Erich: Master Of The Iron Claw
By Ron G. Mullinax
Hats Off Books, 2005
Paperback, Ebook

Note: This review was a difficult one to write due to the amount of conflicting information and debated subject matters relating to the Von Erich family. As I did while reading the book, I looked at the book as a purely autobiographical piece. I've tried to avoid falling down a rabbit hole of over analysing things about Fritz Von Erich and the Von Erich family that are based on rumour and/or conjecture. The book was written posthumously by a friend of Von Erich and took the form of a basic autobiography. Many readers may prefer a more in-depth work or a salacious tell-all, however, the author (whose own motives have been questioned) opted to tell Von Erich's story from his perspective. He does not question Von Erich's narrative as a typical biographer is likely to do.

The story of the rise and fall of the Von Erich family is a tragic yet captivating story that has intrigued wrestling fans for several decades. Fritz Von Erich was a successful wrestler and promoter. Von Erich was the guiding force behind the revolutionary Texas promotion

Review: Accepted: How the First Gay Superstar Changed WWE By Pat Patterson w. Bertrand Hebert

Accepted: How the First Gay Superstar Changed WWE

By Pat Patterson, Bertrand Hebert, Vince McMahon (Foreword)

ECW Press, 2016

Hardcover, Ebook

Pat Patterson is a true legend in the world of professional wrestling. Widely considered to be one of the best creative minds in the industry's history, Patterson was also one of the top in-ring performers in the territorial era. A successful singles and tag wrestler (most notably with Ray Stevens) Patterson truly made his mark after joining the WWF/E as a wrestler -- he was he first WWF Intercontinental Champion - and later as a key player behind the scenes. Accepted is Patterson's first book, it is co-written by Bertrand Hebert (Mad Dogs, Midgets and Screwjobs) and features a foreword by Vince McMahon.

Accepted was one of 2016's most anticipated releases. Patterson, often referred to as Vince McMahon's second in command during a very dynamic period in wrestling history, is in a very unique position to relate stories about the era. He is also seen as one of the best

Review: Chris and Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling's Cocktail of Death by Irvin Muchnick

Chris and Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling's Cocktail of Death
Irvin Muchnick, Phil Mushnick (Foreword)
ECW Press, 2009
Paperback, Ebook, Audiobook

This review was written in 2011.  Minor edits were made for this posting.

Journalist Irvin Muchnick's 2009 book Chris and Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling's Cocktail of Death is an interesting marriage of pro-wrestling and true crime. Muchnick, a prolific author whose work has appeared in publications such as People and Sports Illustrated, is an unapologetic critic of the shortcomings of the professional wrestling industry.  His wrestling related work frequently deals with premature deaths, drug use and abuse within the industry and the generally dangerous life choices made by many of the industry's practitioners. Muchnick's other works include: Wrestling Babylon, Concussion Inc, and Justice Denied: The Untold Story of Nancy Argentino's Death in Jimmy Superfly Snuka's Hotel Room. He is nephew of late Kansas City promoter and former N.W.A. President Sam Muchnick.

Review: The Undertaker: 25 Years of Destruction by Kevin Sullivan

The Undertaker: 25 Years of Destruction
Kevin Sullivan
DK Publishing, 2015
Hardcover

Kevin Sullivan's The Undertaker: 25 Years of Destruction is a detailed chronicle of the career of one of the WWF/E's most legendary performers. Sullivan is the author / co-author of several books detailing the history of the WWE including: The WWE Encyclopedia, WWE 50, The WWE Championship: A Look Back At The Rich History Of The WWE Championship.

Like many of the WWE books published by DK Publishing (i.e. WWE: The Attitude Era), The Undertaker: 25 Years of Destruction is a treasure trove of photos that provide a very complete look at the subject. Without a doubt the individuals responsible for the image selection meticulously mined the WWE photo archive to achieve a comprehensive retrospective into the quarter century career of The Undertaker that is informative and visually appealing.

Review: The Road Warriors: Danger, Death and the Rush of Wrestling By Joe "Animal" Laurinaitis

Road Warriors: Danger, Death and the Rush of Wrestling
Joe "Animal" Laurinaitis w. Andrew William Wright and "Precious" Paul Ellering (Foreward)
Medallion Press, 2011
Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook

Author Joe "Animal" Laurinaitis was one half of the revolutionary pro wrestling tag team The Road Warriors. Along with his late partner, Mike "Hawk" Hegstrand and (more often than not) their manager "Precious" Paul Ellering, The Road Warriors/Legion of Doom dominated the 1980s pro wrestling tag team scene. Their hard as nails personae, along with leather spikes and face paint impressed promoters and fans alike as the team were awarded championships in every major promotion during their career. Laurinaitis' book chronicles the team's life in and out of the ring.  The Road Warriors: Danger, Death and The Rush of Wrestling is his first book.  It is co-written by Andrew William Wright (Booker T: From Prison to Promise and Booker T: My Rise To Wrestling Royalty.)

Review: Justice Denied: The Untold Story of Nancy Argentino's Death In Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka's Motel Room by Irvin Muchnick

Justice Denied: The Untold Story of Nancy Argentino's Death In Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka's Motel Room
Irvin Muchnick
Amazon Digital Services, 2013
Ebook

Irvin Muchnick has been one of professional wrestling's foremost critics since the late 1980s.  This book is a short collection of his writings dating back to 1992 regarding the death of Nancy Argentino in 1983. Argentino - the girlfriend of WWF Star (and later Hall of Famer) Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka - died after suffering a severe head injury while touring with Snuka. While some claim it was an accidental fall, others have speculated that Argentino was the victim of abuse at the hands of Snuka and that the grappler was directly responsible for her death. Muchnick's works include: Pro Wrestling Babylon: Tales of Drugs, Sex, Death and Scandal (2007), Chris and Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling's Cocktail of Death (2009) and Concussion Inc: The End of Football As We Know It (2015.) Muchnick operates the website http://concussioninc.net/

Review The Story of the Development of NWATNA: A New Concept in Pay-Per-View Programming By Jerry W. Jarrett

The Story of the Development of the NWATNA: A New Concept in Pay-Per-View Programming
Jerry W. Jarrett
Trafford Publishing, 2004
Paperback

Jerry Jarrett's The Story of the Development of the NWATNA: A New Concept in Pay-Per-View is virtual reprint of Jarrett's 2002 personal journal excluding matters not directly concerned with the wrestling business. The journal was written as Jarrett - a long time wrestling promoter based in Tennessee - and his son Jeff were establishing NWA-TNA Wrestling. This is Jarrett's first book. He released his autobiography The Best of Times in 2011.

Jerry Jarrett, though he has his detractors, is widely regarded as one of the most respected and successful wrestling promoters in the history of the industry.  He founded CWA (Memphis) which was a thriving promotion and that was one of the few American based promotions - if not only depending on one's view of Turner's acquisition of Jim Crockett

Review: Booker T: My Rise To Wrestling Royalty By Booker T. Huffman

Booker T: My Rise To Wrestling Royalty
Booker T. Huffman w/ Andrew William Wright, Foreword by John Bradshaw Layfield
Medallion Press, 2015
Hardcover, Ebook

Booker T. Huffman and Andrew William Wright (co-author of The Road Warriors: Danger, Death and The Rush of Wrestling) return with their second book chronicling the life of one of the wrestling industry's most decorated performers.  My Rise To Wrestling Royalty (2015) picks up where the first book, From Prison To Promise (2012) left off. While his first book detailed his young life prior to entering pro wrestling, this one extensively covers his career from his early days in WCW through his 2012 entry into the WWE Hall of Fame. 

Huffman gives readers a very complete picture of his active and prolific in ring career. He (and Wright) pay great attention to detail with regards to dates, locations and elements of specific matches and angles. There are no major peaks in Booker T's career that are omitted.   Huffman also gives the reader a lot of thoughts and insight into many of his angles,

Review: WWE: The Attitude Era By Jon Robinson

WWE: The Attitude Era
Jon Robinson
Brady Games / DK Publishing, 2015
Hardcover, Ebook

A few years ago, with competition from WCW at its peak, the once family friendly - often times live action cartoon - WWF began producing a racier product. The period, best defined as mid 90s to early 2000s, has become known as The Attitude Era. With a beer-swilling, middle-finger raising and foul-mouthed champion, scantily clad women, pimps, porn stars, octogenarians giving birth to appendages and very thinly veiled race wars in the forefront of the product; the wrestling industry came as close as ever to entering the main stream of entertainment.  Traditionalists criticized the era for its excesses, but the vast majority of fans - many of them initially attracted by the adult themes and shocking story lines - loved it.

Review: Damn! Why Did I Write This Book? by Jayson (JTG) Paul

Damn! Why Did I Write This Book?
Jayson (JTG) Paul
Self Published, 2015
Ebook

JTG is best known for his 8 year stint as a member of the WWE Roster as both a singles wrestler and one half of the tag team Cryme Tyme. Damn! Why Did I Write This Book? chronicles the author's WWE tenure focusing, mainly, on his backstage interaction with other talents and management. This is JTG's first book. 

Damn! Why Did I Write This Book? was a surprise release this week. While it did not get the pre-release

Review: Wrestling With The Devil By Lex Luger

Review: Wrestling With The Devil
Lex Luger, John D. Hollis (contributor)
Tyndale Momentum, 2013
Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, Audiobook

As a performer, Lex Luger was a polarizing figure.  While he possessed one of the best physiques in wrestling, many feel that his only asset was his appearance and that he lacked many, if not all, of the other assets required to have achieved the the level of fame he did.  Others would argue that Luger was a unique performer who fit perfectly into the pro wrestling industry of the 1980s and 90s where matches were typically short, in-ring technical skills were less important and showmanship trumped sport. While hindsight may be 20/20, there is no doubt that several promoters and an exponentially larger number of fans were firmly planted on the Lex Luger bandwagon (or tour bus.) Regardless if he deserved his success or not - debates rage on - Luger's in ring career was very notable as he achieved far more than the vast majority of his contemporaries.  

Review: Mysteries of Wrestling: Solved By Adam Kleinberg and Adam Nudelman

Review: Mysteries Of Wrestling: Solved

Adam Kleinberg and Adam Nudelman, ECW Press, 2005

Paperback, Ebook

Adam Kleinberg and Adam Nudelman's Mysteries of Wrestling: Solved is a humorous and informative look at some of wrestling's most often asked questions.  Via interviews with current and past wrestling personalities, the pair attempt to get the answer to headscratchers like "Did the Kliq Control Wrestling?" and "Who's The Toughest Guy In Wrestling?" Kleinberg and Nudelman, who co-hosted Get In The Ring Radio, also provide insight themselves into the context of the wrestling industry at the time.

Sections of this book were very funny and informative.  While there may be very little new information in the book for the more knowledgeable fan, the perspective provided by either the authors or the subjects of their interviews provide a refreshing touch for the more learned reader.  While most, if not all, of the mysteries in the book are relatively benign, there are moments