Customer Reviews

The Cowboy and the Cross: The Bill Watts Story: Rebellion, Wrestling and Redemption

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have read almost ever book published by a professional wrestler and this BY FAR is the very best. I would recommend this book to not only wrestling fans but anyone who wants to hear a truly inspirational story.

I never was able to see Bill Watts wrestle until You Tube. I was a fan from the WWA Los Angeles wrestling territory. I knew of Watts from Wrestling Revue or other 1960's wrestling magazines. Watts made numerous mention of the wrestlers from the 1960's and 1970's. It was a different era vs the 1980's,1990's, and current professional wrestling. If a wrestler became stale, they moved to another territory, then back. Today that really isn't an option for a WWE star. One thing came out loud and clear. The fans had more of a personal relationship with the wrestlers in earlier years. Pay Per View TV has distant the wrestler from the fan. In many ways it has contributed to the emphasis on the wrestler rather than the fan. Make no mistake about it, without fan support there would be no John Cena, Randy Orton, Sting, etc. The book covers both wrestling and promotion during the era well. Bill Watts is a Christian and so am I. Watts clearly delivers the Gospel message. It was though we attended the same Church. See John 3:16 (and not Austin 3:16). Someone said this book could have been reduced by 50 pages. I agree. I ended up skimming some pages or read them quickly. Overall, the book is a good read.

Bill Watts is a man who tells it like it is. He holds very little back in this book on his journey as a wrestler, promoter, booker and man.

Watts is quite open in his discussions on his issues throughout hislife with anger, alcohol and marital infidelity. His discovery of religion and the change that it made to his life is extensively documented in this book.

He dishes the dirt on a few wrestlers and is quite open on the problems as he sees it in wrestling today.

Not a bad read at all.

I liked this book. It had a lot of good information, however, I felt that it contained too many details and would have been better if it had contained at least 50 less pages.

This is an excellent book from an excellent man. It should be required reading for anyone who yearns for a more productive and fulfilling life!

I started reading this book because I was a fan of Mid-South/UWF wrestling. My father used to bring me to the matches in Alexandria, La. When I started reading this book I almost put it to the side because I thought it would be nothing but a sermon. I have been having a crisis in my faith since my father died of cancer and I had a sister and nephew murdered.
I am SO glad I kept reading. Not only is it a very eye opening story about the world of professional wrestling but the way he explained his Faith was very eye opening.
If you are a fan of wrestling this is a great book. If you are in a crisis of faith this book will help you so much.

The Cowboy and the Cross: The Bill Watts Story: Rebellion, Wrestling and RedemptionA Pageturner and a excellent book
for all on a amazing journey of a Hall Of Famer who now has turned his life over to God.I would highly recommend this book to everyone and have bought 3 for gifts and everyone loved the book.

Big Watts is a big fat egomaniacal gas bag. This blowhard can't help but come off as a narcissist of the highest order. Even though he is a 'born again Christian' he still can't help but tell pathetic story after pathetic story tooting his own horn about how tough he was, how crazy he was and how WATTS would SMASH, stretch or pluck somebody's eyeball out and you can just see his ego and pride swell. He is a carney. His ego was so big that there wasn't even enough room for his own kids. He ran them off with his obnoxious behavior too.

Bill Watts is somebody that I hope I never meet and somebody I think that needs a lot of therapy. I hope he gets it.

This book is so much fun. It took me forever to read because I was just relishing in all the great stories Watts includes. He just packs them in. There is no fluff in this book, it's all meat, all great stories about the many, many people in wrestling he's come across. His language is really colorful. Watts was a bad, bad ass in his days and tells all the gory and violent details of many a fight. He holds nothing back, and praises the people who earned his respect and buries those who disrespected him. My only complaint is since Bill is another in a long, long line of born-again wrestlers he throws a few pages of "glory to Him" and "He is the light" and so on. A little too preachy for my tastes, especially in a rough and tumble pro-wrestler's autobiography. Be forwarned the last 20 or so pages is just Bill preaching a few sermons with no wrestling content whatsoever. Aside from that small blip, this was by far the most enjoyable wrestling book I've read, just inching out the classic by the Dynamite Kid (also highly reccomended).

I was really looking forward to reading this book, but after only a few chapters my disappointment was overwhelming. Bill Watts has a really interesting story to tell. Sadly, he forcibly and REPEATEDLY inserts his religous awakening into every annecdote in this book, thereby ruining the entire tale... Would NOT be a good addition to any library outside of a church or prison.