WWE Encyclopedia [Hardcover]

Brian Shields and Kevin Sullivan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Did you find the gritty neorealism of "The Wrestler," well, depressing? Fear not: The "WWE Encyclopedia," which enters the hardcover miscellaneous list at No. 10 this week, brings back 50 years of World Wrestling Entertainment in all its cartoony, acid-washed glory. --The New York Times, March 26th 2009

Product Description

As a unique, one-volume encyclopedia with over 350 pages, nearly 1,000 Superstars, and more than 1,500 images, this is the book for all WWE fans! Featuring hundreds of Superstars of all eras, from the World Wrestling Federation of the 60s and 70s to today's WWE, this thrilling, one-of-a-kind reference guide contains a visual glossary of all wrestling moves and provides coverage of the television shows that put the WWE into millions of households. From the Hardcore Champion to the World Heavyweight title holder, from the WWE's showcase events to the Pay-per-views, from Survivor Series to the grand spectacle of WrestleMania this encyclopedia covers it all.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Brady Games; 1 edition (March 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 075664190X
• ISBN-13: 978-0756641900
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 10.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #45,385 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #8 in	Books > Reference > Encyclopedias > Sports
  #5 in	Books > Children's Books > Series > Nonfiction > DK Illustrated Encyclopedias
  #6 in	Books > Sports > Individual Sports > Wrestling

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must own for wrestling fans, March 21, 2009

By	Christopher Jones "UMPunk" (Tampa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: WWE Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

Often times while I'm watching an old wrestling match (or browsing some wrestling website) I end up looking an old wrestler up on Wikipedia in hopes of finding out more about him (or her). The WWE is, apparently, hoping to capitalize with marks like me with the WWE Encyclopedia. As the name implies, this book is an encyclopedia to all things (well most things) that have occurred in the vast history of the WWE - wrestlers, TV shows, PPV's, title histories, etc.

The book is written in kayfabe (pretends that wrestling and the personalities are "real"), so you are not going to get any inside information as far as behind the scene stuff goes. To me, that's perfect - but be forewarned though if you are looking for serious information on the people who played these characters you are going to be disappointed. For example, the encyclopedia has a separate entry for Kane and Dr. Isaac Yankem DDS with no mention one person played both roles (Glenn Jacobs). This is because in the WWE canon they are two separate people (one a crazy guy who is the Undertaker's brother and the other was an evil dentist - classic stuff) that just happened to played by the same person. Hence, the two different entries. I could see how this will be annoying for some people though who might want to know what the "real names" of these wrestlers are or some information about their real life pasts.

Really the only drawbacks (besides the potential problem for some that the book is written in total kayfabe) are the omissions or errors. I haven't searched every single page to find these issues (a few other reviews discuss them), but they appear to be very small in number when one stops to consider the thousands of different wrestling gimmicks that have shown up over the years. I certainly wouldn't let it stop me from purchasing the book because TL Hopper isn't profiled (there are always going to be errors in this sort of undertaking).

Overall, a great purchase for wrestling fans of all ages who want to either learn or fondly remember the fun and goofy past of the WWE.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chock Full of Interesting Info and Fun Trivia, April 3, 2009

By	Graboidz (Westminster, Maryland) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: WWE Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

The "WWE Encyclopedia" is a fantastic reference for wrestling fans. There is so much info packed into this book you will spend hours upon hours reading through the various items presented. You get a thorough history of each and every title in WWE's history, from the Heavyweight Titles, down to the Intercontinental Title and Tag Team Titles to things like the Hardcore Title and European Champ titles as well. You also get the history of WCW and ECW titles too.

You get the history of every Pay Per View the WWE has presented over the years, as well as look at ALL of WWE's TV programming through the years. Of coures the real reason to purchase the Encyclopedia is the indepth SuperStar Profiles. Of couse you get the profiles of guys like "Hulk Hogan", "Stone Cold Steve Austin" and "The Rock", but you also get profiles on everyone from "Doink the Clown" to "The Brooklyn Brawler" and "Haku". No one is left out of this reference, even "Chris Benoit" gets a profile, which surprised me as he's been purged from most other WWE projects. It was nice to see profiles on the older wrestlers as well, guys like Bruno Sammartino, and Black Jack Mulligan get a nice profile, and credit for helping shape wrestling during the early years.
The book is laid out in alphabetical order, so if you want to take a quick glance at say the "Backlash" pay per view history, it's easy to locate. One thing to note, which is a little odd, that the wrestlers are alphabetized by their first names, which means if you are looking for Bobby Heenan for example you would turn to the "B" section, not "H". Another nice addition, is that the various tag teams have both a team entry as well as an individual entry in this reference. So if you were a fan of US Express say, they will have a profile on the team itself, but you will also have individual profiles for both Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo.

The photographs of some of my favorite childhood superstars really brought back some great memories as well. It's obvious WWE spent a TON of time and money on this book, and I can honestly say it's one of the best WWE produced products in a long time. If you were a fan of WWF's Hulkamania era, or the Attitude era there is plenty of interesting info in here for you. Even if you aren't a fan of the current product being put on tv today, you will still enjoy this book. Highly recommended for both casual and hardcore fans.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The COMPLETE History Of The WWF/WWE, March 14, 2009

By	P. Bernier "Pambo" (New England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: WWE Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

Being a true WWF/WWE fan for many years this WWE Encyclopedia was a no-brainer for me. After looking through this LARGE book I have to say the WWE really went all out for this book. They left NOTHING out of this book, yes even Chris Benoit is included in this book along with ALL the titles he obtained before he died. I honestly could not find any wrestlers who were excluded from this book, from the top stars to mid-card stars and they even included the jobbers! There is no doubt in my mind, this is an absolute MUST for any WWF/WWE fan!