Customer Reviews

Tito Santana's Tales from the Ring (Tales)

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

 

 

Tito Santana has a great story to tell. As one of the few hispanic stars of the WWF boom era in the early- to mid-80s, Tito had a unique position in the company and was a refreshing change of pace from the typical steroid-addled big men on WWF cards.

Unfortunately, his story is told quite poorly here. In addition to its ridiculous brevity (the book is under 200 pages) and its odd choice of priority topics (the epic Intercontinental Title feud with Greg Valentine gets all of 4 pages, while the ridiculous Matador character gets an entire chapter,) the co-author did a pathetic job of researching dates. For example, Tito states that the Honky Tonk Man left the WWF after losing the Intercontinental Title to the Ultimate Warrior in 1987. First, that match took place in August 1988. Second, the Honky Tonk Man was still with the WWF for Wrestlemanias V and VI. There are numerous other basic factual errors like that throughout the book.

Tito does have some interesting commentary, however, particularly on the racism he encountered from Ole Anderson and Dick Murdoch. There are also some good stories about Andre the Giant, which are always welcome given the big legend's early death.

I recommend this book for a quick read, but it is certainly not one of the better wrestling autobiographies out there.

The World Wrestling Federation (Entertainment) years of Tito Santana go from the squared-circle of some of the biggest events ever in the industry to a much too rapid read; if this was a match, it has the feel of Gorilla Monsoon coming down to ringside and signaling for things to wrap-up fast.

From 1979-1993, Santana had a remarkable run with the company, holding on two occasions each the Intercontinental and Tag Team (with Ivan Putski and Rick Martel) and capturing the 1989 King of the Ring, while maintaining a spot near the top due to his solid work and popularity with fans. But by the end, he was relegated to a dark match versus Papa Shango on the Wrestlemania X card and ended his tenure on Wrestling Challenge, facing Virgil.

The pace of the book prohibits Santana and co-author Tom Calazzo from delving into any period with any depth. And though Santana will remain known for his work in WWF, he became a key performer for a small outfit called Eastern Championship Wrestling, which soon became the wild, hardcore Extreme Championship Wrestling.

This wrestling legend deserves a chance to really tell his story. The book never gains solid momentum because things rapidly go by like the story line in the first match in a mid-week house show.

Great book! He talks about life on the road! He also states what it is to be a minority in the business. The sacrifices that he made will make you think twice about how hard it is to be in the business! From football to wrestling he came along way.

Tito Santana had a lengthy and successful career in the wrestling ring. While he never attained the highest level of success, he managed to build an excellent career for a long time and he did it the clean, hard way.
Tito's book isn't a cheap self-praising book. Santana realistically recalls his career, the good and the bad. He tells stories o himself and some other greats, but he doesn't include hyperbolic praise of anyone. Santana delivers this book, like he delivered his career, straight-forward and entertaining.
A few more behind-the-scenes stories would have been welcome, but that is a minor complaint in a better-than-average Tales book.

In my opinion, it's not worth buying. The book is very short and does not have many details about Tito's life and career.