Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story - Review

This is a book is close to my heart. This man is my hero and favourite singles wrestler of all time. I am reviewing this from an unbiased and purely critical perspective.

Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story is a good book and also an unusual book and there are two major reasons why. Which I will come too in a second.

The book itself is well written and while like many celebrities, who have had help this feels very much like Eddie. It doesn’t seem like the ghost writer. It covers his childhood and the years he spent wrestling. The promotions and styles he has wrestled and the people he worked with is staggering. The training at the hands of his father and brothers is also great for wrestling fans as it provides an insight into another big wrestling families like the Harts and the Von Erichs.

He discusses all his years in Mexico, Japan, WCW, WWF/E and then on the indie scene during his recovery. He has some hilarious stories of the road and also some tragic ones. The discussions and stories of Art Barr are some of my favourites. I also like when he discusses his storylines with about Chavo and Chyna in WWE

What makes this book more than just the ups and downs in the story of a wrestler is it discusses his alcoholism and more importantly his recovery. Eddie spares no detail. It is very personal and deep. I cannot imagine what it must be like battling alcoholism and I imagine it is a very private journey. So to have someone talk openly adds real weight and depth. He gives us an insight into factors that contributed, how he takes responsibility and also raises issues that I never thought about. It opened my eyes and really made me think about recovery and the process.

The second reason this stands apart is the fact it is written and published a year before he died. It makes his positive recovery all the more heart-breaking. More importantly it serves as sort of a time capsule of sorts. It discusses the friendship with Chris Benoit and how close they were and how good he was. I love this because, it isn’t marred by what eventually happened to Chris Benoit. Compounding this is the fact that Eddies death, which has been cited by several sources, had a detrimental impact on his mental health, if Eddie hadn’t of died would the Benoit Incident still have happened. If it had still happened, how would Eddie handle it. It brings up some fascinating questions.

To conclude, I recommend this book, for the real-life content as much as the wrestling and in ring anecdotes. It is a must for any wrestling fan to read given the history of the family and the years Eddie wrestled in. If you’re an Eddie Guerrero fan then this is your holy bible. Happy Reading.

 

Tough Enough was ahead of its time for peeling back the curtain of that entertainment we call sports. It was the first example of WWF/WWE reality television, we as fans always want to learn more about the business and its inner workings, and back in the 2000s, this was the show to watch. I believe it was one of MTV’s most successful shows. I loved the show when it first aired and watched every season as I got older. I was much wiser than when I was twelve though. 

Its legacy has been interesting. It has been the place where superstars including The Miz, Ryback, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, and John Morrison among others were discovered. There have been others who have not been so successful, made an impact, and/or have left under bad clouds. Still, it can’t be argued some of the superstars to get their break on the show has become successful.  

It could also be argued that this has and helped blaze the trail for the good and the bad of WWE reality television such as Total Divas, Swerved, Miz and Mrs, Total Bellas, and Breaking Ground (this I will come back to). I know some people are not fans of reality television in wrestling because it hurts and ruins the business. I understand and respect that, I am not here to argue against it. 

Tough Enough I think was also a part in helping in the formation of NXT. The show initially started as a Tough Enough style show, different yes but the idea to whittle down prospective wrestlers, the challenges and mentor aspects were right from Tough Enough. This would then be rolled into development and everything else that came with the changes with FTW and OVW. 

I think for me where the biggest issues arise is like any reality television show is the reality aspect. As we all know reality television, in reality, isn’t that real. Shows have scriptwriters’ producers, many editors that can make or break contestants by how they are portrayed. There are numerous examples of this. Mick Foley and Daniel Bryan discuss issues with the Sixth season of Tough Enough. (Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville’s series.) Ivelisse Velez (Fifth Season) has also discussed how she was portrayed, in numerous shoot interviews. Daniel Puder (Fourth season) famously also has spoken about the show. Lots of challenges and things were done for entertainment more than find a good wrestler. 

I also feel that choosing winners is complicated, in some seasons the trainers and coaches would choose with help from producers and in other seasons the WWE universe would vote. Given as I have just said about it being made and packaged for drama and views; it isn’t always accurate and that is why the winners of the shows, on the whole, have not made it very far. Runners up and on occasion, those who went in the first week have been more successful. Ariane Andrews AKA Cameron had more success than any of that year’s contestants.  

A more pressing problem of voting on a twelve- or sixteen-week talent contest is that winning contestants needed more time and training. Most were novices. In the early seasons, winners were put on the main shows almost immediately and were not as ready as they should have been. John Morrison after winning was given time in developmental and it worked in his favour. In the fifth season, most were already aspiring indie wrestlers. The Sixth was a general open search, only Chelsea Green had wrestling experience. The last two seasons however had contestants competing for development contracts so there was time for finishing and polishing. Some people just need a bit more time and they can blow you away. However, this is disheartening to the casual and younger fans who have followed the show, voted, and tweeted then don’t see their winner appear for maybe a year. It deflates people and makes them cynical of future shows. 

Now, I mentioned Breaking Ground earlier. This was a reality documentary show. As I have said was probably also a little scripted as they tend to be. It made its debut on the network and was basically behind the scenes at the Performance Centre and NXT. It followed these wrestlers through the ups and downs of their journeys. We were privy to how the Performance Centre worked, we learned about the coaches. Not only that we witnessed a recruitment process where Otis Dozovich and Lacey Evans were signed. It was an interesting show. I loved it. It included some of the winners and runners up from the sixth season of Tough Enough as well as wrestlers like Bayley, Carmella, Aliyah, Mojo Rawley, Dana Brooke, Tyler Breeze, and many others. It never got renewed. I never understood why. 

The reason I talk about this is I think the WWE universe could have potentially hit on something here. Tough Enough as a concept is great but flawed. Breaking Grounds had a nice idea of using the documentary format as opposed to the contest. WWE is changing NXT into NXT 2.0 and wanting to train and grow their talent as opposed to signing indie wrestlers. 

Soooooo, WWE recruits a group of signees, as they do from different backgrounds and other sports. this time though, instead of a twelve-week contest let’s just have a documentary watching them on their journey. An amalgamation of both shows. Imagine following seven superstars from being signed to debuting on the main roster. It would be fascinating and I imagine full of emotion and drama. It will still give us insight into the backstage of professional wrestling but would be more real. It could help in building future stars or at least expose them to the general audience early on. It will also help promote NXT 2.0. This is just one fan's idea but I think it could be a successful idea. Maybe I am just a doe-eyed optimist. 

What do you think? What are your views on these shows? How do you feel about my idea, can you make it better or got other ideas? Let me know. Until next time.

Bob Holly: The Hardcore Truth
Reviewed by Chris Welsh

Bob Holly has always interested me. Over the years certain stories and incidents have defined him and his career and it has just become part of, well, Bob Holly.

This book is probably one of the best wrestling Autobiographies. Mainly because it provides so much history, fun anecdotes, and the viewpoint of Bob himself. A fun fact, I learned so much about racing just from this book. He has had an interesting life and some of his early experiences are hilarious and also rough at the same time. It provides so much inside and depth to a longstanding WWE superstar.

It's interesting hearing his WWF/WWE experience, I didn’t realise how long he was part of the roster. He was one of the longest-serving wrestlers who crossed over from the cartoonish late eighties/early nineties era into the ‘Attitude Era’ and beyond. I was a bit too young for the Therman ‘Sparky’ Plugg gimmick. I can’t remember him until his days as Hardcore Holly and since I am a connoisseur and ardent fan of tag team wrestling. I liked him in the Holly’s. I liked the Holly’s. As a few of my friends have said and I agree, he looked like a brick outhouse. He fitted into the hardcore aspect of wrestling.

The stories he tells about the WWF/WWE are also brilliant, some good and some bad. His stories about the clique are really interesting and you see his no-nonsense attitude when it comes to dealing with them.

The book also addresses the issues of him being a guy to test new talent. Like many stars of the era, he was trained old school. Physical, being stretched and tortured almost as he puts it. It is all in the aim to toughen him up for the hardships of wrestling life and test how much he wants it. So, like his training, he does the same. As did many of his peers and predecessors.

What I think for me was the most mind-blowing is he addresses his tough and stiff style of wrestling, especially with newbies, and admits to it, moreover, he also calls out Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho who he says were also tough and physical wrestlers. I never really thought of them as such but actually when I did think it made sense.

The other thing I was most interested in was the Tough enough incident. Where he was shown to have taken liberties with contestant Matt Cappotelli. He puts his point across that wasn’t shown on camera; where they were joking around and messing in the ring. I won’t go into detail but it adds some perspective. I am still not one hundred percent sold but it is nice to hear the other side.

Several autobiographies come off as bitter. This doesn’t, I read frustration with the company and I imagine he isn’t the only wrestler to feel like that. He speaks highly of plenty of wrestlers and their careers. There are a few he doesn’t, but who does love everyone? He talks freely and isn’t critical for the sake of it. He tells it as he sees it. It feels organic and genuine. I would suggest anyone who is on the fence about him or maybe believes lots of the myths read this. Hell, I recommend every fan of professional wrestling read this, it is one of the best Wrestling Autobiographies around.

you can pick the book up here

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