WrestleCrap: The Very Worst of Pro Wrestling (WrestleCrap series) [Paperback]

R. D. Reynolds (Author), Randy Baer (Author)

Book Description

Series: WrestleCrap series | Publication Date: October 1, 2003

Outrageous costumes, cartoonish characters, and scripted storylines are featured in this retrospective look at the no-holds-barred stunts pro wrestling promoters have used to attract viewers. Covering such entertainment catastrophes as an evil one-eyed midget, George Ringo the Wrestling Beatle, and Goobledy Gooker, the wrestler who emerged in the arena from an egg, this merciless evaluation of such organizations as World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation will leave wrestling fans and critics alike in stitches. The choices of promoters and producers are reviewed in an effort to understand the motivations and imaginations behind the often incomprehensible and laughable stunts that have baffled even die-hard fans.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book's funny, well written and different. Highest recommendation."  —The SmartMarks.com 

"No matter how bad some of these gimmicks were, it's fun recounting them through this book."  —Post and Courier

"I've told all I know that they have to pick up a copy of WrestleCrap, because I'm keeping mine.'  —Doug Lunney, The Winnipeg Sun

About the Author

R. D. Reynolds left the independent wrestling circuit to maintain WrestleCrap.com. Randy Baer is the creator of WrestleCrap.com. They both live in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: ECW Press (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550225847
• ISBN-13: 978-1550225846
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #625,117 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Wrestlecrap material, but slightly disappointing, January 23, 2004

By 

The Gooch (Temecula, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: WrestleCrap: The Very Worst of Pro Wrestling (WrestleCrap series) (Paperback)

I have to admit, "Wrestlecrap" is one of the few books where I actually considered inflating my rating. The book seems like it was a genuine labor of love for someone who, as far as I know, is not a professional writer by trade. And there were a number of good laughs to be found within its pages. But I would be lying if I didn't acknowledge that as a big fan of the "Wrestlecrap" web-site, I found myself somewhat disappointed in the book, and have a feeling that other fans of the site will have the same reaction.

The whole appeal of the "Wrestlecrap" web-site, and what makes it a source of such hilarity, is how it goes into minute detail describing the ridiculousness and inanity of some of the worst wrestling gimmicks ever presented to the public. In this book, though, instead of "going with what brought him to the dance", the book is written more as a "Cliffs Notes" history of the wrestling business over the past twenty years. The dumb angles, preposterous gimmicks, and ridiculous storylines that are gone over with a fine tooth comb to hilarious effect on the web-site are often given only a few sentence description in the book. Granted, these are generally a hysterical few sentences, I just wish the book offered the same level of detail that the web-site does.

I also noticed a number of factual and chronological inaccuracies in the book, which leads me to believe that the author chose to rely primarily on his memory for research (the very short "Sources" section at the end of the book seems to confirm my suspicion). For example, the author claims that Hulk Hogan's box office bomb, "Santa with Muscles", as opposed to ruining Hogan's acting career, actually led to him getting his own TV series, "Thunder in Paradise". Only problem is, "Thunder in Paradise" came out in 1994, "Santa with Muscles" hit theaters in 1996. In the chapter entitled "Warrior Wisdom", Reynolds claims that after breaking into the business together in California, Jim "Ultimate Warrior" Hellwig and Steve "Sting" Borden went their separate ways, with Sting going to the Mid-South/UWF promotion and Ultimate Warrior going to World Class Wrestling in Texas. Actually, Sting and Warrior went to Mid-South/UWF Wrestling together as The Blade Runners tag team before Warrior later left for World Class. Reynolds was also off on when Ole Anderson was fired as WCW booker (he was actually fired BEFORE the infamous "Black Scorpion" angle reached its conclusion, not after as the book claims) and on when the NWO split into the "NWO Hollywood" and "NWO Wolfpac" factions (the book claims the split came after the "Fingerpoke of Doom" angle between Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash, when actually that angle is what ended the split). Admittedly, some of these are fairly minor errors, but for a book that is primarily going to appeal to long-time hardcore wrestling fans, there is nothing that an author can do to lose credibility with his audience that to present a number of incorrect facts that many readers will pick up on.

I'm probably being overly negative here, a result of high expectations. I should mention that the book is very well-written and there were times when Reynolds really hit his grove, like when describing the inane plotlines of many Hulk Hogan movies, rehashing some of Vince McMahon's hair-brained schemes like the World Bodybuilding Federation and XFL, or when going off on the 200 years behind the times portrayal of black wrestlers like Kimala or Saba Simba. I also selfishly hope that despite its faults, the book sells extremely well so that Reynolds can bring back the full Wrestlecrap web-site, instead of the scaled down version that has been up for the past few years.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Enjoyable, but got off track, May 3, 2004

By 

C. Bedford Crenshaw "the Rebel Rockhopper" (Indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: WrestleCrap: The Very Worst of Pro Wrestling (WrestleCrap series) (Paperback)

If you are a wrestlign fan, you will enjoy it. Lots of funny sarcasm and tasty bits of backstage politics.

The problem is, it focuses too much on being a history of the last 15 years of pro wrestling, and often lost focus of bringing up the worst ideas in wrestling. A book similar to the old Baseball Hall of Shame series would have been far better, in which the various catagores of bad ideas are the chapters and then list the most egregious examples. This is too much of a straight history for a book with its supposed thesis.

As a wrestlign book, its five stars. BHut for one with a specified topic, its only a 4 out of 5.

15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An honest review, January 17, 2004

By 

Tony Conigliaro (Parts Unknown) - See all my reviews

This review is from: WrestleCrap: The Very Worst of Pro Wrestling (WrestleCrap series) (Paperback)

First of all, I am a big fan of Reynolds's web site. For the record, Reynolds each week features examples of "wrestlecrap," i.e. story lines and gimmicks from the world of professional wrestling that seem particularly lame. (For example, a guy whose gimmick is that he's a wrestling plumber qualifies as wrestlecrap.) The Wrestlecrap site has a large, devoted following, due in part to Reynolds's peerless knowledge of the sport, but mostly to his wicked, dead-on sense of humor.

Numerous times on his site, Reynolds promised that the book would NOT simply consist of rehashed examples from his web site. Unfortunately, that's exactly what at least 95% of this book is.

A true fan of the site will recognize almost all the material here. Compounding the problem is that Reynolds's trademark wit is absent. Except for a few bright spots, he seems to be holding himself back, adopting a lamer, more "proper" writing style than the funnier, freer one found on his site. So not only is the reader presented with old material, but it's not even presented in as amusing a fashion as it has been before.

Also, the "exposé" material promised by Reynolds on the site is rather weak. His account of the fall of the WCW is accounted more thoroughly and better elsewhere - Shaun Assael's solid yet unspectacular "Sex, Lies, and Headlocks" is one such example.

I am a Reynolds fan, and I wanted to like this book. For the reasons given above - which, I believe, anyone will recognize upon an open-minded reading of the book - I could not. If you're not a fan of wrestling, you probably don't care about the myriad ridiculous wrestling angles from throughout the years. If you are a fan of the site, skip it entirely. You've seen it all before, only better.

This leaves the wrestling fan who is not familiar with the site. This might actually be a good book for such a reader. It's sure to conjure up some hilarious moments that you forgot about long ago. There is, after all, a rich history of material to work with here. For everyone else, I would recommend a pass. Reynolds certainly has it in him to crank out an excellent book. This one just isn't it.