wrestling / Columns
The Great Eight: Top 8 Wrestling Books
Image Credit: Ebury Press
Reading is a huge passion of mine, and combining it with another of my passions is something I couldn’t pass up. So, needless to say, I’ve read a lot of wrestling books, both autobiographies and books on the history of wrestling. There have been some I did not enjoy at all (looking at you, Justin Roberts & Sean Oliver) and others that I’ve read and reread many times (no spoilers, you have to read the list!) So, without further ado, let’s get on with the list!
Disclaimer: Wrestling is an art and, therefore, is subjective. If you disagree with my list, awesome! Please post your list in the comments section. I encourage positive discourse about this silly art we all love. What I don’t encourage is discourse dissolving into insults about people who disagree with you. Remember, we all love wrestling, so have fun and don’t be a dick!
HM: The Hardcore Truth – Bob Holly, Wrestlers Are Like Seagulls: From McMahon to McMahon – JJ Dillion, Grappler: Memoirs of a Masked Madman – Len Denton, Self Help: Life Lessons from the Bizarre Wrestling Career of Al Snow – Al Snow, Wrestling Reality: The Life and Mind of Chris Kanyon, Wrestling’s Gay Superstar – Chris Kanyon, Backlund: From All-American Boy to Professional Wrestling’s World Champion – Bob Backlund, Nitro: The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner’s WCW – Guy Evans, The Man: Not Your Average Average Girl – Becky Lynch
8. A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex, Undisputed: How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps, and The Best in the World: At What I have No Idea – Chris Jericho
Much like a couple of other entries on this list, all of these books come together to form a complete story, and so I can’t really separate them. A Lion’s Tale is all wrestling and covers his runs in Mexico, Japan, WCW, and ends with his debut for WWE. Undisputed picks up with his WWE debut and runs through, becoming the first WWE Undisputed Champion, and his decision to take a break from wrestling to start Fozzy. Finally, The Best in the World goes over a lot of Fozzy stuff, his return to wrestling, his second and third WWE Championship runs, and his second feud with Shawn Michaels. Depending on how you feel about reading about Fozzy, you might want to skip parts of The Best in the World and Undisputed. If I could only recommend one, I would go with A Lion’s Tale. It has a lot of great stories, and Jericho has no problem making fun of himself, which makes for a mostly fun and lighthearted read. I say mostly because the chapters about his mom and what her boyfriend did are not lighthearted or fun, so a warning if you are triggered by domestic abuse.
7. Hooker – Lou Thesz
I’ve read a few books on the history of pro wrestling and the formation of the NWA, and I think Lou Thesz’s book is probably the best read out of all of them. Thesz goes in-depth regarding his early years in wrestling, the formation of both the National Wrestling Alliance and the National Wrestling Association, being chosen to carry the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, being mentored by Ed Lewis, and his thoughts on the changes to wrestling over time. Thesz had a 50+ year career and helped to establish wrestling on a national scale. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the history of the business.
6. Walking a Golden Mile – William Regal
William Regal has always been a favorite of mine, and I loved reading his story. From his beginnings at the pleasure beach camps in England, his run in WCW (including great stories of his time hanging out with Steve Austin and DDP), his first WWF run, his return to WCW (including his match with Goldberg), and his return to the WWF. Regal has a lot of great stories and doesn’t hold anything back when he gets into his addictions and how they were running and destroying his life. Walking a Golden Mile is a story of redemption, and Regal’s honesty with his struggles, plus all of his great stories, make this a great read.
5. Crazy is My Superpower – AJ Mendez
AJ Mendez’s story is both heartbreaking and inspiring. In her book, she goes into detail about growing up in New Jersey, Mendez dealt with poverty, racism, and saw the effects of mental health illnesses and addictions in her family, and her own struggles with both mental and physical illnesses. She also goes into detail about her struggles with the WWE as they tried to figure out how she fit within the Divas Era, using her unique look and her ability to wrestle to stand out, and pave the path for the women today. A quick warning for anyone who is triggered by mental health illnesses, depression, and suicide. Also, if any of you or someone you know is struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts, please reach out to your local suicide prevention resources.
4. Yes: My Improbable Journey to the Main Event of Wrestlemania – Bryan Danielson
As anyone who has watched an interview with Bryan Danielson knows, he is a great storyteller. He has a laid-back mood, and honestly, always feels like your stoner buddy who has some funny story or joke for any situation. His book is no different; he goes over his time training, his early career, and his time as head trainer for APW (where he also explains why he isn’t good at that job, because he doesn’t understand why others don’t have the same passion for wrestling that he does). He goes over his time in the WWE leading up to his WWE Championship win and his forced retirement. And peppers the whole book with fun stories and real insight into the way he looks at things. I’d really love a follow-up book where he goes into his work on his comeback, his return, and his AEW run leading up to his retirement. Hopefully, now that he is retired, he can start working on it!
3. Slobberknocker: My Life in Wrestling and Under the Black Hat: My Life in the WWE and Beyond – Jim Ross
Jim Ross has been in this business since 1974, so it makes sense to need two books to cover most of that time. Slobberknocker covers his early life through WrestleMania XV, while Under the Black Hat covers from WrestleMania XV to joining AEW in 2019. Like Thesz, Ross provides a great look at some of the history of the business, from Mid-South, Jim Crockett, WCW, and the WWF. Ross has been involved in some of the most pivotal moments of wrestling for the past 50 years, and his books have a lot of great stories and insight for anyone who loves the history of wrestling or grew up with him as the voice of your fandom.
2. Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling – Bret Hart
Talking about someone who was a part of a lot of the history of this business. Bret Hart is the son of Stu Hart, and a large part of this book goes into what it was like growing up as the son of the promoter for Stampede Wrestling. From there, he gets into training and his debut for Stampede, and there are a lot of interesting road stories, including one about how a young Jake Roberts faked an injury to get out of going on the road and another about being Andre’s driver when he was in town. With this being Bret Hart, the other huge part of the book is dedicated to his time in the WWF, his relationship with Vince McMahon, issues with Shawn Michaels, and the Montreal Screwjob. He holds no punches on his WCW run, and while he hadn’t quite gotten into hating Goldberg when he wrote this, he has no problem blaming him for the concussion that ended his career. Bret is also very honest about his many affairs and how bad of a husband he was. That level of honesty is something I do appreciate, as he could have glossed over it easily. The darkest part of the book is, of course, the death of Owen and the fallout that it caused with his family. I highly recommend that anyone read this one.
1. Have a Nice Day! A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks and Foley is Good: And the Real World is Faker Than Wrestling – Mick Foley
Was there any question about whether this would be number one? Well, I guess most would say it’s a toss-up between this and Bret Hart’s book. Much like Jericho and Ross, Mick Foley ended up splitting his career into two books (Okay, there are more than two, but these two cover his early life through his first retirement in April of 2000.) Wrestler autobiographies weren’t really a thing until Have a Nice Day came out. Foley putting out a best seller created a whole new market, and without it, we probably wouldn’t have all the other books on this list. Have a Nice Day covers Foley’s early years, his training, his years on the independent scene, WCW, ECW, the King of Deathmatch Tournament, and his WWF run up to his WWF title win at the 1999 Royal Rumble, Foley is Good picks up where Have a Nice Day ends and runs through his retirement and birth of his son Michael Foley Jr. I really enjoy that Foley didn’t use a ghost writer for these, his books are his own stories through his own words. He has no problem poking fun at himself, has great stories about time on the road, and his constant ribbing of Al Snow is always fun. I think Have a Nice Day holds a special place in my heart because I remember, at 12 years old, checking it out from the local library and staying up super late to read it all in like two days. I can’t recommend these two books enough, and if you love wrestling and reading and somehow haven’t read these books, go read them now.
