Review: Crazy Like A Fox: The Definitive Chronicle of Brian Pillman 20 Years Later By Liam O'Rourke

Crazy Like A Fox: The Definitive Chronicle of Brian Pillman 20 Years Later
Liam O'Rourke
Create Space, 2017
Paperback

Liam O'Rourke's Crazy Like A Fox is a retrospective biography of the late Brian Pillman. After a brief run in professional football, Pillman entered the pro wrestling ranks in Calgary. His career featured a successful, turbulent tenure in WCW, a short and memorable stint in ECW and a relatively short but high profile run in the WWE that was cut short by his untimely death in 1997. His stellar in-ring work was instrumental in laying the ground work for the rise of WCW's light-heavy and cruiser-weight divisions. For many fans, however, it is Pillman's work out side the ring, his dedication to his craft, his unique and effective manner of conducting business, his determination in the face of adversity that makes Brian Pillman so intriguing. Liam O'Rourke's Crazy Like A Fox: The Definitive Chronicle of Brian Pillman 20 Years Later is the first long-form biography of Pillman. It is O'Rourke's first book. O'Rourke is also a host on Squared Circle Gazette Radio.

Review: Sisterhood of the Squared Circle: The History and Rise of Women's Wrestling By Pat Laprade & Dan Murphy

Sisterhood of the Squared Circle: The History and Rise of Women's Wrestling
Pat Laprade & Dan Murphy w. Natalya (Foreword)
ECW Press, 2017
Paperback, Ebook

The role of women in the professional wrestling industry is an ever evolving - at times devolving - one that is often seen as less crucial than that of their male counterparts. Some of this is a result of pure numbers as the percentage of female performers has never come close to equalling that of the men, however, many other factors have contributed to this lack of prestige within the annals of wrestling history. One could argue that promoters have misused women's wrestling more often than they have used it. That all being said, there is an absolute wealth of important females who shaped not just women's wrestling, but the pro wrestling industry as a whole.

Review: The Three Count: My Life In Stripes As A WWE Referee By Jimmy Korderas

The Three Count: My Life In Stripes As A WWE Referee
Jimmy Korderas, Adam "Edge" Copeland (Foreword)
ECW Press, 2013
Paperback, Ebook

For over 20 years, Jim Korderas was a main stay with the WWF/E. While best remembered as a referee, Korderas began his career with the WWF in 1985 as a driver and member of the ring crew working for Jack Tunney at the WWF Toronto office. Korderas soon became a full-time referee and held the position - apart from a brief hiatus - until 2009. The book recounts Korderas' career from his entry into the business - at the apex of the Hulkamania era, through the New Generation, Attitude and Ruthless Aggression Eras - until the years immediately following his 2009 departure. Since leaving the WWF/E, Korderas has made a name for himself in the broadcasting world as a regular co-host of

Review: Titan Shattered: Wrestling With Confidence and Paranoia By James Dixon

Titan Shattered: Wrestling With Confidence and Paranoia
James Dixon, Lee Maughan, Benjamin Richardson, Justin Henry (Foreword)
Lulu.com, 2015
Paperback, Ebook

Titan Shattered: Wrestling With Confidence and Paranoia is James Dixon's (History of Wrestling) follow up to the acclaimed Titan Sinking. Whereas Titan Sinking chronicled the ups and downs (mainly downs) of the WWF in 1995, Titan Shattered picks up where its predecessor left off and brings readers through the tumultuous timeline of 1996.  This is the latest of a number of books written or co-written by James Dixon who is a member of the History of Wrestling staff and is part two of a proposed three part series. A complete list of their publications including their Raw Files, Superstar Series and Video Guides is available on the group's website.

Review: Titan Sinking: The Decline of the WWF in 1995 by James Dixon

Titan Sinking: The Decline of the WWF in 1995
James Dixon, Benjamin Richardson (Illustration) Jim Cornette (Foreword)
Lulu.com, 2014
Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook

James Dixon's Titan Sinking: The Decline of the WWF in 1995 tells the story of the "sports-entertainment" juggernaut's worst financially (many would also argue creatively) performing year since Vince McMahon assumed the reigns of the WWF/E. Dixon, a member of the History of Wrestling team, uses a plethora of apt resources to present a complete and concise look at a year that was fraught with backstage political posturing and a product that left much to be desired on several fronts. Dixon and the History of Wrestling team have written several books detailing various periods and promotions including annual editions of The Raw Files, WWF/E Video Guides and the Superstar Series. Titan Sinking is the first in a proposed trilogy focusing on the WWF/E in the mid-late 1990s.  Titan Shattered, the second part of the trilogy, was released in 2015. More information on the group's titles can be found on their website.

Review: Drawing Heat by Jim Freedman

Drawing Heat
Jim Freedman
Crowbar Press (Re-release) 2010 / Black Moss Press, 1988
Paperback, Ebook

In the early 1980s Jim Freedman, a college professor at the University of Western Ontario, began working on a book about professional wrestling. Unlike many others who had a specific subject to cover or personality to profile, Freedman allowed his book to be shaped by his experiences rather than pick and choose events that meshed with a pre-determined theme or thesis. The majority of Freeman's piece revolves around a series of tours run by Ontario based wrestler/promoter "Wildman" Dave McKigney.  McKigney, best known as the trainer of Terrible Ted the Wrestling Bear, allowed Freedman to be a part of some tours he ran in Ontario and to write about his experiences. The result of his gradual immersion into the world of professional wrestling is Drawing Heat.  

Review: The History of Professional Wrestling Vol. 1: WWF 1963-1989 By Graham Cawthon

The History of Professional Wrestling Vol. 1: WWF 1963-1989
Graham Cawthon, Grant Sawyer (Editor)
Self Published, 2013
Paperback, Ebook

Graham Cawthon runs the website thehistoryofwwe.com.  According to the site's FAQ page, Cawthon began gathering live pro wrestling event results in late 2001 / early 2002 and founded the website in February of 2002. Over the past number of years, Cawthon's site has become one of the leading sources for all things wrestling having been frequently cited in shoot interview videos and numerous podcasts. This is the first of four (a fifth is due in June 2015) volumes of the many results compiled by Cawthon. Cawthon's site is an a as complete as possible collection of results from the world of pro wrestling. On the sites FAQ page, the author refers to himself as "just a devoted fan with time on his hands," but his work is (both the in the books and on the site) are regarded much more highly than perhaps any other pure fan work.

Review: The Death of WCW (10th Anniversary Edition) By RD Reynolds and Bryan Alvarez

The Death of WCW 10th Anniversary Edition
R.D. Reynolds and Bryan Alvarez, Dave Meltzer (Foreword)
ECW Press, 2014 - Revised Edition of 2004 Release
Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook

A little over a decade ago Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Weekly's Bryan Alvarez and Wrestlecrap's R.D. Reynolds paired up to write the definitive guide to the rise and fall of the WCW.  In 2014 the pair released an updated and expanded edition. Reynolds, the co-founder of the Wrestlecrap website, is also the author of Wrestlecrap: The Very Worst Of Pro Wrestling and The Wrestlecrap Book of Lists! Alvarez is the founder of Figure Four Weekly newsletter, has written for Fighting Spirit magazine and is the host/co-host of several podcasts under the Wrestling Observer / Figure Four Weekly banner. This is his only book. The both versions of the book (2004 and 2014) won the Wrestling Observer Book of the Year Award.*

Review: The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams By Greg Oliver and Steven Johnson

Review: The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams
Greg Oliver and Steven Johnson, Bobby Eaton (Foreword)
ECW Press, 2005
Paperback, Ebook

Oliver and Johnson have collaborated to write a comprehensive, entertaining and enlightening book about the most notable tag team wrestlers of the 20th century.  Through extensive research, which includes interviews with many of the featured personalities, their family members and friends, Oliver and Johnson excellently chronicle the careers of those who made their mark through tag team excellence.

The book is broken into chapters based on the eras in which the profiled tag teams were most prominent. Each chapter is a broad strokes picture of the North American tag team division during a particular time frame.  Each profile

Review: Have A Nice Day By Mick Foley

Review: Have A Nice Day: A Tale Of Blood And Sweatsocks by Mick Foley
Reagan Books, 1999
Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook

If any book is responsible for launching the professional wrestling literary market of the past twenty years, it is this one. When Have A Nice Day hit number 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list in December of 1999, wrestling insiders, historians and fans scrambled for their pens with hopes of following the success of "Mrs. Foley's baby boy." Some did (most did not) but gone were the days when the only wrestling themed releases were kayfabe guarding picture books and antiquated work out manuals.  Have A Nice day ushered in an era when every living star (past or present) was expected to release a biography; when B-level mid-carders had a forum to explain why he or she forever revolutionized the wrestling business and when the local book store most likely offered a wide selection of accounts of the trials and tribulations of those wrestling fans loved, hated, loved to hate or never heard of. For fans it has been a welcome change that can be attributed to Mick Foley and Have A Nice Day. Foley has since penned 9 other books (auto-biographical, children and adult fiction) and has contributed to a host of other releases.