So as you might have noticed, I’m not doing as many news stories and articles around here lately. This is due to me basically becoming a full time news reporter at WrestlingRumors.net, which takes up a lot of my time. However, it occurred to me that I had a list of articles I’ve written with the links up so I might as well put them on here as well. These are just going to be links and headlines but the articles include my take on them at the end. I don’t know if I’ll do these every day but I’ll do them more often than not.
Check the site out regularly as I do a lot of news over there and there’s a great staff of people. The site is being revamped and there’s a lot of stuff worth checking out. Also, as cliched as it is, like their Facebook page and all associated jazz.
I’ve been writing some short opinion pieces for Wrestlingrumors.net so here’s a bonus for Halloween.
Some More Wrestling Books
Ok so I might be cheating on one of these but three sounds better than two.
First up we have “Accepted” by Pat Patterson, which came out earlier this year and is obviously the autobiography of one Pat Patterson. This wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for as the big hook, which is Patterson being a gay wrestler, isn’t really a major issue. Basically it’s “yeah I was gay and other than a few times, it didn’t make much of a difference”. It’s a pretty standard autobiography with some cool stories and a timeline of Patterson going from one territory to another. The book is fine but really not worth going out of your way to get, at least not at full price.
Next is Bill Apter’s “Is Wrestling Fixed? I Didn’t Know It Was Broken!”, which is another odd one. For those of you who don’t know who Apter is, go look up almost any old wrestling magazine and you’ll see his name. Apter is pretty easily the biggest wrestling journalist of all time and he’s been around FOREVER. You’ll occasionally see him on the WWE Network as a talking head in history pieces and he fits there perfectly.
This isn’t your standard autobiography as Apter jumps around all over the place, though to be fair he says that’s what he’s trying to do. The book is less than 300 pages and has nearly 60 chapters, mainly comprised of a bunch of short stories from Apter’s life. It’s good stuff and an entertaining read if you don’t mind something that’s pretty light for the most part. That being said, there’s always something interesting about someone who has been around since the early 70s and has covered everyone from Bruno to Cena. It’s a very quick read and you can probably knock it off in one to two sittings.
Finally we have the one where I cheat a bit with “Scooter” by Mick Foley. This was probably my favorite of the three as it took awhile to get into the story but eventually I wanted to see where it was going. I’ve read better novels before (and many far worse) but it’s an entertaining read and, if you’re an old baseball fan, an entertaining enough read.
All of them are worth reading but there are better wrestling books worth going out of your way to read.
News and Notes – October 14, 2016
I don’t normally do this but there was so much news yesterday that I had to take a quick look at some of it.
1. TJ Perkins Replaces Hideo Itami in Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Itami is out for awhile with a neck injury so Kota Ibushi needed a new partner. In this case, there really isn’t a better option than Perkins. I’m very glad they didn’t go with a random Japanese wrestler for the sake of having a Japanese team. Instead it’s two guys with a history together and something like a dream team.
2. Mickie James to Face Asuka at Takeover: Toronto.
This is a very smart idea and the best thing NXT could have done. It’s no secret that the rest of the women in NXT aren’t ready to challenge Asuka and it would have been a waste of a Takeover match to have her squash one of them. James can come in and give Asuka a good match while the other women get ready. I know I say this a lot but it show thinking, which is where NXT specializes.
3. Roderick Strong Debuts in NXT.
Strong is one of my favorites in ROH so again I have few complaints here. He’s teaming with Austin Aries in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, which means it’s possible they’ll feud in the future. They’ve got history together so why not put them in the tournament and see where it goes from there? It’s worth a shot and there’s nothing wrong with having another veteran on the roster.
Read Some Wrestling Books Recently
Some are better than others.
1.Wrestlecrap – R. D. Reynolds. This one didn’t do much for me as it can basically be summarized as “and then the WWF and Hogan did this stupid thing and this stupid thing and this stupid thing while real wrestlers like Ric Flair are the most amazing things ever.” Couple that kind of narrative with a bunch of basic factual error, such as saying Greg Valentine was a two time Intercontinental Champion. I know it’s minor but they’re very annoying to read and know it’s wrong. This is fine for a quick read but don’t expect anything great.
2.A Lion’s Tale – Chris Jericho. Somehow I had never read this and it more than lived up to expectations. Jericho writes like he talks on TV and that makes for a very entertaining book. The guy has been everywhere and it’s a lot of fun to hear his stories from around the world. I really don’t think this needs a recommendation as I’m probably the last wrestling fan to read it.
3. Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling – Heath McCoy. Stampede is one of the promotions I don’t know a lot about and this book fixed that problem. This is one of the best put together wrestling books I’ve ever seen and is all the way up there with Foley’s stuff. If you want to see everything there is to know about the promotion, including some amazing stories and background on the Hart Family’s inner workings and the drama involved, check this out as it’s a great read.
Checked Out The Resurrection Of Jake The Snake Roberts
It’s actually better than it was advertised. If you’re interested in seeing someone completely broken and brought back to what he should be, this is more than worth checking out. The scenes with Jake breaking down about how much he’s wrecked his life just like his dad did are amazing and really do make you see how bad it was for him.
Above all else though, it shows you that Diamond Dallas Page might actually be a saint. You can put people in rehab all you want but there’s something about that personal connection and individual work that makes this come together. Yes Roberts and Scott Hall have had some issues since but they’re both so far and away ahead of where they were that it’s almost impossible to believe. This really does make you believe that anyone can get better and that’s the important thing.
Happy Birthday
To the NWO, born 20 years ago today. I say born because the Bullet Club is still ripping them off to this day.