Best wrestling book according to redditors
We found 130 Reddit comments discussing the best wrestling book. We ranked the 43 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 130 Reddit comments discussing the best wrestling book. We ranked the 43 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Chris Charlton wrote the book on NJPW and is a really respected source that even Dave Meltzer regularly cites in the Observer.
I'll try to make this as TL:DR as possible.
Combat sports have always been around, especially of the grappling variety. Over time as people migrated from place to place the regional combat styles would get mixed and new styles would develop. In the 1600-1800's Europe and America there was a strong push for organized sport which gave us most of the modern sports that we have today. By the mid 1800's you had big prestigious Wrestling competitions of various styles all over the place. That's probably where the spark to work matches came from.
The post-American Civil War era and during European immigration boom of the mid 1800's is where you start seeing the first signs of worked matches. The internet of the era was Newspapers. Guys would cut promos on each other via newspapers, they had multi-match feuds, challenging each other with money on the line, etc. Legit combat sports, such as Catch Wrestling, were also taking shape at the exact same time. Which basically means you have to take it on a case by case basis what was worked and what was shoots. Individuals probably took part in both.
Working was illegal from the 1800's-the early 1900's. It was seen as a fraud. Crowds would riot over it. You could be thrown in jail for faking matches. That stopped being a thing around the time of the Gold Dust Trio in 1920's. They really are the ones that started doing purposely worked exciting Pro Wrestling matches. They called it "Slam Bang Western Style Wrestling".
The ratio of worked to shoot matches in the 1800's-1900's is highly debatable. Some people take every result at face value and think that most things were shoots in the early days. Personally, I believe that worked matches were far more widespread than people give credit for. A book like Fall Guys, which was written in 1937 falls somewhere closer to the things were mostly worked side of the spectrum.
https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Guys-Barnums-Marcus-Griffin-ebook/dp/B00RKMYUSO
I read most of it in this book,
https://www.amazon.com/Shooters-Toughest-Men-Professional-Wrestling-ebook/dp/B008LUX3GE
which has a chapter on Saku and quotes different passages from his autobiographies that were translated in this book.
In 1937, this book: https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Guys-Barnums-Marcus-Griffin-ebook/dp/B00RKMYUSO
"Fall Guys: The Barnums of Bounce. The inside story of the Wrestling Business, America's most profitable and best organized professional sport.
Originally published in 1937, this well-researched book exposed the wrestling game and showed it to be a cutthroat business of fixed matches, shady promoters, and show wrestlers.
Discusses the early days of Frank Gotch before delving into the conglomeration of the business with the rise of the Gold Dust Trio (Strangler Lewis, Toots Mondt, and Billy Sandow) and its version of slam bang wrestling."
https://www.amazon.ca/Lions-Pride-Turbulent-History-Wrestling/dp/4990865812
Pretty much the go to book right now.
I really enjoy them too. He's actually coming out with a book, looking forward to checking that out.
Mostly I just find it cool that a mainstream publication is taking pro wrestling seriously, I think it's a great move on the part of Grantland to differentiate them from ESPN or typical sports content on the internet.
They're on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Tributes-Remembering-Worlds-Greatest-Wrestlers/dp/1553660854
https://www.amazon.com/Wrestling-Observer-Tributes-Remembering-Professional/dp/1582618178
Back in 1998, History Channel made one called "The Unreal Story of Professional Wrestling."
But if you really want to learn about those days, I suggest you read three books: (1) National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling; (2) Gorgeous George: The Outrageous Bad-Boy Wrestler Who Created American Pop Culture; and (3) The Legends of Wrestling - "Classy" Freddie Blassie: Listen, You Pencil Neck Geeks.
The recent WWE 50 book may also be useful, but I've yet to read it.
I've heard people say very good things about this book: https://www.amazon.com/Sumo-Skills-Instructional-Guide-Competitive/dp/0991408608 .
The dude's a fountain of Japanese wrestling history. He's written two books about Japanese wresting history. He's also part of New Japan's English translation and commentary team. I understand if you haven't come across his name before but this is VERY wrestling related.
​
www.amazon.com/Lions-Pride-Turbulent-History-Wrestling-ebook/dp/B017IUSDVW/ref=sr_1_2
​
www.amazon.com/Eggshells-Pro-Wrestling-Tokyo-Dome-ebook/dp/B07DNG71V1/ref=pd_sim_351_1/131-4113857-1288249
​
https://www.postwrestling.com/category/podcasts/postwrestling/eggshells/
Japanese wrestling has such a storied history that it would be a fool's errand to try and write about it in an all encompassing manner. You're better off going company by company.
But the closest thing there is is the book Lion's Pride: The Turbulent History of New Japan Pro Wrestling, which you can buy on Amazon. But it mainly focuses on the biggest company in Japan today, though there are small bits of other companies where they're relevant.
https://www.amazon.com/Lions-Pride-Turbulent-History-Wrestling/dp/4990865812/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468814708&sr=8-1&keywords=Lion%27s+Pride
National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling
It's a great, very detailed book that goes back to even before the NWA was initially started.
Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling
Another great book all about the Harts promotion.
The Squared Circle: Life, Death, and Professional Wrestling is a highly acclaimed book about the dirty underbelly of pro wrestling.
It's cool to hear of academic papers being written about wrestling. There aren't a lot of them, especially in academic journals. I once wrote a paper in my communications class entitled: "Pro Wrestling as an Empowering Text for the Working Class", built around the notion that on TV most scripted shows generally focus on upward mobility and middle class families, and how in wrestling if you're rich, you're generally an asshole/bad guy (Ted DiBiase, McMahon).
Anyway, here's a link to the trailer for a documentary based on these cholita wrestlers, called Mamachas Del Ring:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8CbhUww3hU
And here's an article about the documentary:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cynthia-ellis/imamachas-del-ringi-a-wre_b_661417.html
I saw the documentary on the Indie Crush channel on Roku for free. So you have Roku, definitely check it out. Hope it helps.
Don't know how extensive your paper is , but this book is also worth looking into: Steel Chair to the Head. It's a collection of essays focusing on different cultural aspects associated with wrestling.
http://www.amazon.com/Steel-Chair-Head-Professional-Wrestling/dp/0822334380
Good luck!
I mean, territories falling apart had been inevitable for a long time, starting with AWA breaking away and Lou Thesz's ego not allowing him to give Verne Gagne a test-run.
But the downfall sped up in the 80s, when the cracks from the 60's started to appear again. Territorial promotions were starting to use cable to put their wrestling on TV, where fans outside of the territory could see it. This flew in the face of NWA's business model - which required the territorial bubbles so fans couldn't see how the angles in their own areas conflicted with the what other territories were doing.
The NWA, as an organisation, wouldn't support national television because they no longer had control over what fans could see, and they got left behind because of it. It really screwed over smaller territories. Their larger promotions who had TV deals, the ones that arguably had the stars to match the WWF, were under poor management from people who were drunk on success. They pissed away money and expanded too quickly.
A lack of unity, resistance to embrace cable TV, and financial mismanagement by the bigger promotions opened cracks that Vince took advantage of. There's still debate as to whether Vince's tactics were unethical or not - I think the answer is somewhere in the middle, as the NWA left themselves wide open to be taken advantage of. And a lot of Vince's tactics were tactics that the NWA themselves had used decades before to take over wrestling in America.
But 'Vince killed the territories' is a very oversimplified version of events, which doesn't give the NWA their due blame for not changing with the times, and treating both fans and wrestlers badly.
For more information, this book is really useful: https://www.amazon.co.uk/National-Wrestling-Alliance-Strangled-Professional/dp/1550227416
But hey, the counter-arguments you made were totally valid as well.
David Shoemaker's The Squared Circle: Life, Death, and Professional Wrestling may be one of the best books overall that I have ever read.
Fantastic post, in-depth but not baggy, nicely written.
Have you read Lion's Pride? It's a great book, very easy to read but with a wealth of information about the history of NJPW and it's quirks. I'd recommend it to anyone who's interested in the history of the company or Japanese wrestling in general.
I assume you know about Steel Chair to the Head?
https://www.amazon.com/Steel-Chair-Head-Professional-Wrestling/dp/0822334380
If not, that will definitely be useful for any professional wrestling writing you do.
Wrestling Tough - Great for the mentality of training, especially getting through difficult times (or terrible if you're dealing with an injury that you should really give some rest).
Scaling Force - Something everyone should read if they train martial arts for self defense. Understanding that not all situations call for the same response is very important, and something that's often lost sight of.
How Not to Get Hit - Not getting into a fight in the first place is the most important part of self defense, seriously neglected by even martial arts that pay the topic more than just lip service.
Everyone thinks it looks better than the monstrosity they have now. The current belt was designed for marketing purposes and looks like a gaudy ass, oversized hood ornament. The Big Gold belt was designed for Ric fucking Flair. It's the greatest title belt design of all time.
There's also a book about the real, original belt. which went missing towards the end of WCW. Nobody knows who currently has it (as in, their identity hasn't been revealed). But the owner got it cleaned up and the author brought Ric Flair to look at it, and he himself confirmed it was the legit one. He thought Hogan had it.
Sex, Lies, and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment
http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Lies-Headlocks-Wrestling-Entertainment/dp/1400051436/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334940482&sr=1-2
Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of ECW
http://www.amazon.com/Hardcore-History-Extremely-Unauthorized-Edition/dp/1613210418/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334940563&sr=1-1
Pure Dynamite
http://www.amazon.com/Pure-Dynamite-Tom-Billington/dp/0953709701/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334940610&sr=1-2
Missy Hyatt: First Lady of Wrestling
http://www.amazon.com/Missy-Hyatt-First-Lady-Wrestling/dp/1550224980/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334940713&sr=1-1
The Death of WCW: WrestleCrap and Figure Four Weekly Present
http://www.amazon.com/The-Death-WCW-WrestleCrap-Present/dp/1550226614/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334940760&sr=1-4
The WrestleCrap Book of Lists!
http://www.amazon.com/The-WrestleCrap-Book-Lists/dp/1550227629/ref=sr_1_18?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334940787&sr=1-18
Tales From A Dirt Road
http://www.amazon.com/Tales-From-A-Dirt-Road/dp/145644090X/ref=sr_1_40?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334940841&sr=1-40
There's a lot of books written in Japanese from various wrestlers which unfortunately may never get translated. Here's a few. The Amazon Japan links should be capable of sending internationally via Amazon Global. There are a few Antonio Inoki books while searching on Amazon Japan
---
> secondary look alikes to the WCW championship
Well, it's not a look alike, it's literally the same belt. The "Big Gold" was first used as the NWA World Championship from 1986-1991. After Flair went to WWF and took the belt with him in 1991, there was a new belt made for the WCW World Championship and for the first time, WCW and the NWA recognized different champions. When the belt went back to WCW after they sued WWF for showing it on WWF TV, they had both a WCW Champion and an NWA Champion in the company at the same time. When WCW broke off from the NWA in 1993, they just changed the name of the NWA World Championship to the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship (it's a bit more complicated than that, but that's the simple version of what happened). WCW unified the two world championships in 1994 and just used the "Big Gold" belt from then on. That is, until Dec 2000, when then champion Scott Steiner started wearing a solid gold colored replica belt. The replica is the one WWF got when they bought WCW. Steiner kept the original belt, and it's now in the hands of a private collector. There's actually a good book detailing the history of the belt.
The most comprehensive history of the NJPW promotion would Lion's Pride found here: https://www.amazon.com/Lions-Pride-Turbulent-History-Wrestling-ebook/dp/B017IUSDVW/
As for MMA in Japan that's a bit trickier and is something that kind of needs to be made in a full book(s).
I did mine about pro wrestling and Shakespeare.
This book was quite useful:
https://www.amazon.com/Steel-Chair-Head-Professional-Wrestling/dp/0822334380
Wrestling Tough by Mike Chapman
http://www.amazon.com/Wrestling-Tough-Mike-Chapman/dp/0736056378
Wrestling's as real as theater or opera; instead of verses or arias, they do spots and promos. The latter is one of the reason the indy scene gets a more passionate following, as they understand that they cannot push the product as a con or rigged show; the only reals marks are kids until they figure it out, which, with the Internet, is quite easy.
Their history as a whole is quite intricate, from a carnival attraction in the late 1800s to a "legitimate" sport in the 1930 (at the time you had to be a real wrestler to hold the title, as you either could be betrayed by the opponent, the referee, the booker, the territory or the wrestling institution). It's only when you get to the 70s that we get a glimpse of the perverse effect of sensationalism had on the squared circle, which we see in full effect in Natch's article, such as cocaine, steroids, ring rats, ludicrous contracts, alcohol, etc.
We were lucky to have a solid 20 years of awesome wrestling, such as the WWF and NWA in the 80's and the WCW/WWE feuds in the 90s which prompted the consolidation & the end of the territory system across North America. However, it was a steep price: Natch is only one of many troubled performers that, when everything settle down, became a lost asset; and that's without including roster attrition to drug & physical abuse and crime-related incidents, which are at an all-time high in the sport's 150 year existence. Moreover, there is the lost integrity of the martial art, which at the time was for self-defense and competition, that, if performed correctly (e.g. Piledriver or chokehold) can be devastating for an opponent; most wrestlers today cannot wrestle efficiently to fully compete with another martial artist.
If you want to learn more, I can easily recommend the following books:
I'm still looking for books regarding: Eddie Quinn and the Quebec territory from 1950 to 1980, The Japan scene from the NWA days to today and The indy scene from 1990 to today (including ECW).
There is a lot of interesting material for such a fake show. :)
Sumo Skills by Thomas Zabel is an excellent resource for Sumo training. Breaks down basic movements and techniques along with practice regimes. I've bought it and would recommend to anyone else wanting to learn Sumo.
All of Tim Hornbakers work is a must read. The man is the best Wrestling Historian around and goes into great details about events and people plus he has his own website where you can learn from and buy his books.
If you really want a hidden gem then you need Fall Guys: The Barnums of Bounce.
It is a detailed account of the wrestling buisness written in the 1930's and is the best source for the old Gotch and carnival days of wrestling.
Winning Wrestling Moves is the best one
It has all the moves that's performed in Freestyle, Greco-Roman, and Folkstyle
Read this book
Here’s a good starting point...
Takaaki Kidani's New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW): A brief history, sort of
And you can check out Chris Charlton’s book on the subject... pretty good read. And it’s on Kindle Unlimited, if you have that service.
Lion's Pride: The Turbulent History of New Japan Pro Wrestling
As a start, I'd recommend having a read of Steel Chair to the Head and Performance and Professional Wrestling. They're both books full of academic writing about wrestling. There's a really pertinent essay by Sharon Mazer in Steel Chair that you could use as a foundation for your argument, and then have a look at what she's cited in her references and who else has cited her online to help branch your research out from there.
Also, I did my dissertation on wrestling last year, so if you need a hand at all, drop me a line.
That new biograpy of Pillman has good reviews on Amazon. I have it on my ereader, but it is on waiting list behind few other books. Wrestling books are always a great read. In case of interest: https://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Like-Fox-Definitive-Chronicle/dp/1976541247
https://www.amazon.com/National-Wrestling-Alliance-Monopoly-Strangled/dp/1550227416
Winning Wrestling Moves
I've collected a few guides and stuff over the years and bookmarked them, here they are if you want them...
Guide to different Japanese styles - https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/2xzbgx/guide_to_japanse_wrestling_styles/
A really great video on the rise of Puro in Japan - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLyqDSXgYQI. I'd say this is honestly the best direct answer to your question.
Another great video on how puro fits into Japan nowadays, another great watch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7fZTuR5bgU
How to sign up for New Japan World (Puro's biggest promotion's streaming service - https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/2nxb1q/how_to_sign_up_for_njpw_world_compliments_of/
Recommended viewing for NJ World - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZsZCBTpKjHzdbCpKZ1No1KAdpmOd2OcgSMfC1-oa7pI/edit?pli=1#gid=0
A book on the history of NJPW - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lions-Pride-Turbulent-History-Wrestling/dp/4990865812
A couple of podcasts on puro/New Japan...
Both Wrestling With Words and Voices of Wrestling are great sites who do reviews and occasional features on puro. In particular, check out Voices Of Wrestling's features on how to understand Dragon Gate(Dragon Gate is the no.2 promotion in Japan right now.)
A guide on four of Japan's biggest wrestlers ever, from the All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion - https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/4ebhia/the_four_pillars_of_heaven_mitsuharu_misawa/
And another legend from puro/AJPW, Jumbo Tsuruta - https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/3iqsgy/jumbo_tsuruta_an_introduction/
I could go on longer, but lastly, the r/NJPW and r/PuroresuRevolution are great subs for more info.
https://www.amazon.com/Sumo-Skills-Instructional-Guide-Competitive/dp/0991408608/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0991408608&pd_rd_r=R23QWKPBR8D701V0FK2M&pd_rd_w=GkGZu&pd_rd_wg=SLQRR&psc=1&refRID=R23QWKPBR8D701V0FK2M
I came upon this while browsing Sumo. Never read it but just a thought. There's also a recommended book on that page about how to use Sumo techniques in MMA.
The Masked Man writes for Grantland and wrote for Deadspin for a while. He just wrote a pretty awesome book last year called The Squared Circle
Peter Rosenberg is a hip hop DJ in New York who really likes wrestling and interviews wrestlers pretty frequently on youtube.
I'm not sure, but I'm waiting for my Amazon purchase of Chris Charlton's book on the history of NJPW. It's supposed to be awesome, and I know it does into your question in depth.
Here! https://www.amazon.ca/Lions-Pride-Turbulent-History-Wrestling/dp/4990865812
Fall Guys is the oldest book I know of that talks about wrestling and kayfabe. Only five bucks for the ebook version.
Jericho's two autobiographies are great. As for non-memoirs, check out David Shoemaker's "The Squared Circle: Life, Death and Professional Wrestling."
I really enjoyed The Squared Circle: Life, Death, and Professional Wrestling
It takes you through various periods of wrestling, from carnival days to the territories to the golden age as told by the wrestlers of those eras that have passed.
https://www.amazon.com/Rope-Opera-Killed-Vince-Russo/dp/1550228684
not only is it real, its called HOW WCW KILLED VINCE RUSSO
You might want to try Lion's Pride: The Turbulent History of New Japan Pro Wrestling as a book its not only going to possibly expand your vocab but also expand your knowledge on Japanese culture.
It's so amazing, honest and detailed they collected it some of it and made a small book.
https://www.amazon.com/Wrestling-Observers-Tributes-Remembering-Wrestlers/dp/1553660854/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FYVBUN0
I believe this is a really good one https://www.amazon.com/National-Wrestling-Alliance-Monopoly-Strangled/dp/1550227416/ I've heard anything by Tim Hornbaker is really good, but that might be a bit earlier than you are wanting
I finished Chris Charlton's (awesome) NJPW book "Lion's Pride" recently. This isn't even the worst spot NJPW has been in, but it seems that a lot of the reason they have ended up in bad places over the last 45 years has been a reticence to let outsiders in and take them seriously.
If you are interested in the origins of prowrestling in the US, I highly recommend National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling.
It reads more like a history book than entertainment, and it's pretty far back in time. But I appreciated getting a thorough look at the behind the scenes politics that helped create what we know now as the professional wrestling industry.
Just read it , that's good one buddy !
Also you convince me to read this one : http://www.amazon.com/Lions-Pride-Turbulent-History-Wrestling/dp/4990865812
Wikipedia already did this for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Russo
Then there are his books for his POV, but outside POV is The Death of WCW.
You'd probably need to use a VPN to buy it.
https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Guys-Barnums-Marcus-Griffin-ebook/dp/B00RKMYUSO/
If you'd like a good idea of how New Japan was formed, the Inoki/Baba booking styles and a general guide to boom and bust periods for Japanese wrestling, I'd highly recommend reading Chris Charlton's Lion's Pride; I think it's $5 on Amazon (Kindle). Was a good three day read.
Steel Chair to the Head
Published by Duke University Press. Has an article by Henry Jenkins, who was at MIT for years, among others.
None I can think of that are all interviews as wrestling was protected. Try this though or Lou Thesz's book.
As for some good Mania era dirt, check out Sex, Lies, and Headlocks. It ain't perfect but it's a good read.
And check out Dave Meltzer's Tributes books. They're reprintings of obituaries from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter but they're most likely new to you. If they're not new to you, don't bother.
Hope that helps.
I've been considering this one to educate myself for our podcast. Maybe you could find it useful:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0991408608/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
I was recommended this book years ago. It helped me out a lot back in the day. Although, it's probably about time to re-read it. ;)
http://www.amazon.ca/Wrestling-Tough-Mike-Chapman/dp/0736056378
I'd recommend Shooters as a good place to start.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008LUX3GE/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
https://www.amazon.com/Lions-Pride-Turbulent-History-Wrestling/dp/4990865812
If you'd like to know the history, this book is a good place to start.
Watch the match and judge for yourself.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x481v1j
Chris Charlton also made special mention of it in his book which is a great way to get educated on NJPW.
https://www.amazon.com/Lions-Pride-Turbulent-History-Wrestling/dp/4990865812/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523824175&sr=8-1&keywords=lions+pride
haven’t read it but i heard squared circle by david shoemaker is good!
also Death of WCW by Bryan Alvarez if u want history on WCW!
When I saw WLW I immediately thought of the autobiography of Matt "The Missile" Murphy [The Somebody Obsession] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Somebody-Obsession-Nobodys-Desperate/dp/1456339303) who talks quite a bit about WLW in the early stages and the KC wrestling scene. Definitely a book I'd recommend for people who like reading stories about wrestlers lives.
I know you said you were looking for something free and online, but this guide might be what you're thinking of: https://www.amazon.com/Sumo-Skills-Instructional-Guide-Competitive/dp/0991408608/
There's this book
I'm currently reading a book that does a great job of going through NJPW history. It's from 2015 and touches on the history of the belts.
https://www.amazon.com/Lions-Pride-Turbulent-History-Wrestling/dp/4990865812
Fixing the Indies by Norm Kaiser - Some of what he talks about is beyond the means of some indies, but the model is very sound.
this book has some pretty good detail on the olden days of professional wrestling.
Autogenerated.
Chris Charlton @reasonjp, two-time author of Japanese wrestling history books, will join /r/NJPW for an AMA right after Strong Style Evolved on March 25th/26th
Chris Charlton will be here in /r/NJPW for you to ask him anything on March 25th/26th right after the ending of Strong Style Evolved, which will be live from Long Beach, California on AXS TV for American viewers and NJPW World internationally at:
Chris Charlton @reasonjp is a Japanese wrestling Twitter personality, former podcast host of LAW's Japanese Audio Wrestling, and author of two historical books on Japanese wrestling.
In 2015, he published his first book Lion's Pride: The Turbulent History of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, thanks to an Indiegogo campaign which raised over $13,000. The book has received very positive reviews and is an indispensable resource for any fan of NJPW.
Now, he's back again with his second book, Eggshells: Pro-Wrestling in the Tokyo Dome.
>559 Participants.
>576 Matches.
>64 Events.
>10 Promotions.
>30 Years.
>Eggshells tells the complete history of professional wrestling in Japan's greatest arena: the Tokyo Dome. Through historical sources and first hand personal accounts, Chris Charlton tells the complete story of every event in the building's three decades, and the promotions and people that made the Big Egg a wrestling institution.
The Indiegogo campaign for Eggshells is ongoing and has already raised over $9,000. You can view it and contribute here. You can also read a free sample of the book on its website here if you need more convincing to contribute. At $10,000, an Audiobook version will be produced.
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IamAbot_v01. Alpha version. Under care of /u/oppon.
Comment 1 of 1
Updated at 2018-03-18 21:35:58.195555
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I just finished a newly released book about Brian Pillman. Highly recommend it - one of the best I've ever read. To go with that, I'd add Bret's book as well as Pain & Passion (book about Stampede Wrestling).
I read the NJPW book the Lion's Pride and found out that one of Inoki's protégés had tried to start that a while ago and that is when the NEVER Title was created. However, the spinoff brand only ran a few shows and died off.
http://www.amazon.com/Lions-Pride-Turbulent-History-Wrestling/dp/4990865812
Steel Chair to the Head: The Pleasure and Pain of Professional Wrestling is a collection of amazingly insightful media studies essays of wrestling as a cultural form, and actually treats it seriously and respectfully.
BONUS:
Okay, good luck with that. I’d be amazed if you read them.
Mondo Lucha A Go Go
Lion’s Pride
Those will give you some history of Lucha and Puroresu respectively.
Lion's Pride. Great read.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017IUSDVW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_nB7SDb4BC33E4
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1550227416?pc_redir=1408084640&robot_redir=1
I had this book a few years ago. I cannot recommend it though as it was stolen before I could really get into it.
I think Tim Hornbaker's great NWA book covers it too. Just a warning, it's written more like a history book than mass market non-fiction. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1550227416/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1503624950&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=nwa+wrestling&dpPl=1&dpID=51zwoNaeUIL&ref=plSrch
This book is very good:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0991408608?keywords=sumo%20training&qid=1451904681&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1