> People seem to be clamoring for FULL reviews of rasslin Bio's. Why not start with the best? http://marianosaves.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/full-book-review-bret-hart-hitman-my-real-life-in-the-cartoon-world-of-pro-wrestling/
Obviously one of my favorite wrestling books ever and an awesome reference material as well.
The best way to describe how Bret comes off in this book is that he comes off like a guy who really believes his shit doesn't stink, to the point where you almost feel sorry for him because he's so obsessed with believing his shit doesn't stink. Anytime he has a problem with someone it's because their shit stinks, and if the world isn't constantly patting him on the back in acknowledgement of his wonderfully smelling shit, it's because the world's collective shit stinks.
ReplyDeleteThen Shawn, Flair, Foley, and Jericho all came to Bret and told him that his book was the best and that he had been screwed for not winning the pulitzer prize.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Bret's book yet, but did he really glorify Shawn's in-ring ability? I love Shawn Michaels, but I just thought that an old school guy like Bret wouldn't respect Shawn's style of wrestling as it wasn't realistic.
ReplyDeleteHe's complimentary of Shawn's talent. He criticizes Shawn for stealing the show and turning himself face against Diesel at WM but I don't recall a lot of criticisms of his talents.
ReplyDeleteOh Swagger, not smart in the midst of a big push.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tmz.com/2013/02/20/wwe-star-jack-swagger-arrested-wwe-tv-taping-traffic-violations/#ixzz2LTT2UCFy
Well, his book was certainly better than theirs.
ReplyDeleteyou are seriously obsessed with Bret aren't you?
ReplyDeleteSo this isn't a thread about Bret Hart's book?
ReplyDeleteBret's was great from a historical perspective, but downright depressing.
ReplyDeleteI preferred Jericho's first and Foley's first for sheer entertainment value.
My favorite part was when he said Austin asked him to blade him at WrestleMania 13 because Austin had never done it before.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about that, if it wasn't for the success and how good the first Foley book was I doubt that we'd even have the other books. I haven't read Jericho's book but all reports is that it's very good. It's better than Flair and HBK's I'll give ya that.
ReplyDeleteYeah generally speaking, I don't think he cared for his gimmick, but he loved his work.
ReplyDeleteI always wonder how different his career would have been had it not been for the Zahorian stuff and then the subsequent lashing the WWF got in the national media. Hogan was definitely winding down regardless and wanting to move on to a movie career, but they had quit a few steroid monsters waiting in the wings, with Sid and Warrior probably having long WWF title reigns.
ReplyDeleteI think that really changed the entire trajectory of the company and Bret and then Shawn
benefited tremendously from the change in direction. I think Flair probably did too -- as they sort of booked Flair as more lucky than good at first, with him winning that Survivor Series match through the lamest possible scenario that made him look like a nobody and it was rumored that he'd win the Rumble in basically the same fashion -- sneaking in at the end and eliminating someone to win the thing at the last second.
yeah that was one of the stories that is flat out untrue (much like Hogan leaving the AWA because he roughed up Verne in the back). I saw Austin blade in WCW and for Bret to claim that the blading at WM13 was unknown to Vince is silly as well. The cameras focusing on Austin bleeding in the sharpshooter was central to the match. Vince knew quite well that Austin was going to bleed.
ReplyDeleteThese guys are wrestlers. They all tell stories and have poor facts at times. Jericho had some issues in his book as well and I loved his two books just as I enjoyed Bret's and Foley's books as well.
That doesn't require you to post in all of them.
ReplyDeleteOK, I don't wanna be that guy, but this has been bugging the hell out of me. If the book is written by a person other than the subject, it's a biography. If the subject himself wrote the book, it's an autobiography. Bret's book, and most of the ones you're talking about here, even if they're ghost written, are autobiographies.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, nicely done.
Foley's is the best written, but Freddie Blassie's has the best stories. By far. Blassie's 'voice' is great, too. He swears like a longshoreman.
ReplyDeleteAustin bladed against dustinin wcw for sure
ReplyDeleteHe was a mess at the 1992 WrestleWar PPV too in the Wargames match.
ReplyDeleteWell now that Charlie Reneke's not around anymore, SOMEONE has to rant incessantly about Bret Hart.
ReplyDeleteAustin bladed many times prior to WM13.
ReplyDeleteIt's weird because I remember watching that survivor series match live as a little kid at the time and I remember thinking flair was brilliant for winning that way so I've always kind of been a sucker for that finish (where he sneaks back in as all the other guys get counted out). To be honest I would probably shit on that exact same finish if I saw it today.
ReplyDeleteWith how good Bret was it's hard to imagine him not getting a main event push, say what you will about vince but he usually keeps his best workers pretty close to the top
Fair point. Don't post in the next pay per view thread - I think you've posted in enough of them, it's getting repetitive. Unless you feel how I feel, then post as much as you want.
ReplyDeleteAustin never had a match before Survivor Series 1996 - between his inexperience and him being drunk and high it's a miracle Bret was able to carry him to the best match of his career.
ReplyDeleteWhat would you suggest I comment on in a Bret Hart thread? If you don't want me to comment on Bret Hart, maybe complain about the numerous Bret Hart threads lately? But yeah, I have an opinion that the internet voted was wrong in 97, I need to be stopped.
ReplyDeleteI'm probably in the minority when i say it came across as too self-congratulatory to me. Don't get me wrong...I actually enjoyed the book a lot. And I do realize that he touched on some of his faults too. But it just seemed like every few pages, I was reading about how wonderful he was, or how another wrestler had it out for him.
ReplyDeleteIt could be that I didn't follow Hart that closely when he was a singles star. I liked him a lot in the Hart Foundation, but I sort of lost interest in wrestling for a time when he was starting to break out on his own.(not because of him). So I probably don't have the same perspective on his career that many of you do.
I'm honestly asking...am I off base by saying it? Maybe I need to read the book again, now that I know a little more of his career. I freely admit that I might be too hard on it.
You're not in the minority, everyone who read the book got that Bret has a healthy ego. However, in my view it was justified. In his wrestling prime he was one of the few who was genuinely as good as he thought he was.
ReplyDeleteExactly. Pointing out that Bret is egotistical is like pointing out that Steve Austin is bald.
ReplyDeleteI am the guy who wrote it. Didn't put "auto" Or anything to that spirit. Just BIOGRAPHY. That was a point. ALL Ghostwritten ones are AUTOBIOGRAPHIES. And that doesn't quite count. Otherwise, Shawn Michaels travesty of an AUTO BIO was awful. And Eddie Guerrero's AUTO BIO GRAPHIC was great. They were not AUTO-BIO GRAPHICS. Not to be an ass, but there are like, literally, five, AUTO BIOGRAPHICS. Read the disclaimers, dude. I have a fifth grade education.
ReplyDeleteI authored the article in question. I just want to point out that ALL of these biographies (AUTO OR NON AUTO, to appease some trolls) are basically sounded by the guy authoring them. Be it Stone Cold, Edge, Bret Hart, HBK, etc, etc. So they're voice will be the prominent one. It is upon you, the educated wrestling fan, the READER, to discern what is bush and what is, well, more likely to be truth.
ReplyDelete