Review: Yes! My Improbable Journey To The Main Event of Wrestlemania By Daniel Bryan and Craig Tello

Yes! My Improbable Journey To The Main Event of Wrestlemania
Daniel Bryan and Craig Tello
St. Martin's Press, 2015
Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, Audiobook

Daniel Bryan's Yes My Improbable Journey To The Main Event of Wrestlemania is an auto-biographical chronicle of the the career of WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan. The book, released in July of 2015, tells the story of Daniel Bryan (Byran Danielson) from his birth up to the point of his main eventing Wrestlemania XXX. Despite having a stellar independent career wherein he had developed a strong following due to his in ring skills and unrivalled ability to connect with audiences, Bryan struggled to be taken seriously as a top star in the WWE. The issue for Bryan was not if fans or even many of his co-workers would accept him as a top star, but rather whether or not the higher ups in the WWE would allow him to have the chance. The book is co-written by Craig Tello (Diary of a Heartbreak Kid, WWE: 100 Greatest Matches,)

Notice: Back From The Woods

After a short hiatus and a few technical gaffes, there will be some new posts and audio reviews in the next couple of days.  Thanks for the patience and the messages.

- Keith

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: Nick Gulas: Southern Wrestling Promoter By Bill Coleman

Nick Gulas: Southern Wrestling Promoter
Bill Coleman
Self Published, 2013
Ebook

Coleman's Nick Gulas: Southern Wrestling Promoter is a very short book concerning long-time pro wrestling promoter Nick Gulas and some of the talent that worked in his Tennessee based territory. Published in ebook format only, Coleman's book is very short (only 70 pages, many of which are half blank) and only devotes a few pages (~10) to Gulas while the remainder of the book touches, very briefly, on the careers of some of the wrestlers who worked for Gulas.

As it features some forgotten names from Tennessee wrestling, Coleman's book is suited for die-hard fans of area/era or hardcore wrestling book collectors.  There are some photographs in the book that, though uncredited, enhance the bits of text

Review: The Squared Circle: Life, Death and Professional Wrestling by David Shoemaker

The Squared Circle: Life, Death and Professional Wrestling
David Shoemaker (AKA The Masked Man)
Gotham, 2013
Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, Audiobook

David Shoemaker (AKA The Masked Man) is known for his contributions to Deadspin - Dead Wrestler of the Week - and Grantland (Cheap Heat Podcast.) The Squared Circle: Life, Death and Professional Wrestling is his first book.

Shoemaker's book, which is essentially a spin-off of his Dead Wrestler of the Week article, is a well written and well researched book.  Most chapters focus on the life and death of a deceased professional wrestler. Shoemaker does a very good job giving the reader a complete and concise picture of the wrestler's life and career. In all cases these become a microcosmic look at the culture of the professional wrestling industry.

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: 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.*