Forgiven: One Man's Journey from Self-Glorification to Sanctification [Hardcover]

Vince Russo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2005

One of the key professional wrestling or "sports entertainment" writers, Vince Russo helped pen modern wrestling's most electric storylines. Revealing the true, behind-the-scenes stories from some of wrestling's most famous moments, including Bret Hart's lost championship and the rise to superstardom of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mick Foley, and The Rock, this autobiography is the one that every wrestling fan has been waiting for. Touching and beautifully written, this memoir offers a modern day parable about the price of success and the power of redemption.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of the most honest and insightful takes on the world of professional wrestling to date."  —SLAM! Sports

"The greatest wrestling book ever published."  —Eric Cohen, About.com

About the Author

Vince Russo is the former head creative writer for both the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF) flagship show, Monday Night Raw. After stepping out from behind the scenes, he became an on-air personality and WCW heavyweight champion. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Ecw Press (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550227041
• ISBN-13: 978-1550227048
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,312,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This could've been a really good book..., January 10, 2006

By 

Andrew M. Walsh - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Forgiven: One Man's Journey from Self-Glorification to Sanctification (Hardcover)

Russo starts off the book talking about how he is now a minister and a born again christian. Most of the book is written by a bitter Vince in 2002, with chunks added by the re-born author. The "new" Vince starts off by saying that this book HAD it all for a wrestling fan. All the dirt, all the behind the scenes stuff, all the stuff that fans who will actually pay 25 bucks for a wrestling autobiography will want to hear! But "new" Vince then adds that it's not the christian thing to do, and that he has excised all of that stuff out. Great... What did I just buy?
The narrative is quite entertaining, but everytime "new" Vince interjects you really just want to puke. All he does is say how horrible a person he was and glory be to jesus, he is the light, glory be... glory be! I have no idea how a person can go a complete 180 and be legit. He WAS cocky, arrogant and had a real Howard Stern sense of humor, and now is a bland, neutered, bible thumping bore-fest.
The book is ok, but the tease that all of the "good stuff" was removed and the pages of "new" Vince really leave a bad taste. Also the book ends very abrubtly at the end of his WWF tenure, and has no WCW or TNA content.
Alot of people either love Russo or hate what he did. I'm a hater, I really don't like the Springer like phase of pro wrestling he's responsible for, but I was legit looking forward to hearing his side. Unfortunately, due to the author's self-censorship I was really disapointed.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Forgiven and Easily Forgotten, February 13, 2006

By 

R. Howell "boriskhan" (Medford, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Forgiven: One Man's Journey from Self-Glorification to Sanctification (Hardcover)

Vince Russo throws his name into the ever growing wrestling biography books. Russo claims to have written this book and then went through and commented on it after he 'found Jesus Christ'. This is alright to begin with but all his "New Saved Vince" comments quickly get annoying and pretty much says the same thing over and over again. Russo puts himself on quite the pedestal claiming to have been the sole force of WWF writing and idea man through out the late 90s.

Russo begins by telling us this is going to be THE tell all book, he'll name names, reveal dirty little secrets, hold nothing back, and hurt some feelings. He does none of this. He also tells us he's not going to fill the book with "trite details" of his life then spends the first 150 pages doing just that. According to Russo, he was pretty much McMahon's sole defender in 'wrestling journalism/broadcasting (radio)' during the steroid scandal, even though he was only a co-host on a small, small time radio show that aired once a week (with the guy who lead the 'smear campaign'). He constantly insults Jim Ross, "The Man from Bland" (his words) and makes a lightly veiled comparison of how could TBS continually put Hubie Brown "the ugliest announcer ever" on the air when his appearance alone will make you not watch the basketball game.

Among his more suspicious claims are that he has "deep respect" for everyone but the only non-main eventer he mentions is D-Lo Brown. He also managed to see that all the megastars were going to be megastars prior to them doing so (conveniently his stories made them so, he hints at). And finally pretty much everything in WWF in the late 90s was his idea including: Rocky Johnson refering to himself in third person and call himself The Rock, DX, reinstating the womens title to push Sable into the limelight, putting previously unheard of Stephanie McMahon on tv for the Undertaker kidnapping story, Wanting to put Mick Foley into Wrestlemanias, Triple H being called The Game, Chyna being called the 9th Wonder of the World, Owen Hart's Memorial show, and you guessed it - Russo also lays claim that the Bret Hart-Shawn Michaels screw job in Montreal was all HIS idea.

He speaks about how he wrote all the stories not only for the main eventers, but the opening and mid-card guys so he was putting in over 80 hours a week. Guess that explains things like The Gang Wars (DOA, NOD, Los Borriquas), Mark Henry, Tiger Ali Singh, the 24/7 hardcore title, Beaver Cleavage, and the likes.

Based on this book, the WWF was saved by Russo alone and the only reason Austin, Rock, Triple H, Foley, Sable, Chyna, and others were megastars was all because of him. He names no names with "dirty little secrets", reveals no dirty laundry, and is generally rather egotistical and juvenile. It's great he has found the Lord but I wonder if he claims this because so many other wrestlers have done so and published books (such as Sting and Shawn Michaels). Also while claiming others have to be careful of what they write because WWE is publishing there books, Russo doesn't have to do this because WWE is not behind his book, he then continually kisses Vince McMahon's ass through out the book. It's lacking but readable.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Just awful, September 25, 2007

By 

Peter (Melbourne Australia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Forgiven: One Man's Journey from Self-Glorification to Sanctification (Hardcover)

I was interested to hear Vince Russo's side of the stories that abound in wrestling. He was at the centre of a lot of the big events for the last 15 years and hoped to get his version of events.

What I got was a watered down version of his pre-WCW days with him giving space to his thoughts today, now that he has found God.

I have no problem with his religion except that his new belief meant that tha book was weak and feeble. Barely could read it as it came across as too preachy for my taste.