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WRESTLING BOOKS
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Wrestlers are like Seagulls:
From McMahon to McMahon
by James J. Dillon & Scott Teal
Description: This might be my favorite book ever written by a wrestler about his career. JJ pulled no punches and told what I beleive is an honest account of the wrestling business and the power brokers that run it. His very detailed look at his beginnings in every territory he worked in was fascinating. He gave great detail surrounding his spot in each territory be it as enhancement talent, mid-carder or main eventer to his managerial days. Having done extensive research on the Pittsburgh Territory where JJ basically started, his pages devoted to this area were of great interest to me. His rise from opening matches to main events is well cronicaled. He wrote about territories like the Maritimes, Amarillo, Pittsburgh and Kansas City, that I had not read much about in other books written by wrestlers. His tales of wrestlers that he befriended along the way like Jim Grabmire or Luther Lindsey, were another highlight.
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His move from active wrestling to manager were well covered as well. His adventures left you hanging on each word. His honest account of alcohol, drugs and sex was truthful and not over blown. He chose to protect wrestlers personal lives and I respect that, while still spinning a interesting tale of life on the road as a pro wrestler.
While not the greatest wrestler of all time nor the most critically acclaimed manager, JJ did not blow his career out of proportion. He was a decent journeyman wrestler who got the most out of his abilities, he was a good manager who could get over talent who needed and hand, and as a booker he did his best and what he was dealt.
His backstage insights into working for Vince McMahon only reinforce everything I already knew. The behind the scenes politics and backstabbing in both the WWF and WCW are well covered and makes you wonder why anyone would want to be part of McMahon's business. His dealings in the latter days of the WCW give another gimplse at that sinking ship that could have been saved had they listened to people with wrestling backgrounds, like JJ. Like Ole Anderson, Ric Flair and Terry Funk before him, JJ tells of the ineptitude of the powerbrokers in WCW, be it Eric Bischoff, Vince Russo or Brad Seigel. JJ also spent some tiome and pages talking about hius life after wrestling, and hard it is for people who have spent most of their lives in the business to adapt and find work that is not wrestling related.
Rating: A very well written book that I highly reccomend to anyone who is a wrestling fan of the Territory days. JJ tells things the way they happened and doesn't sugar coat things. At the same time he doesn't go out of his way to tell bad stories about his ex coworkers. I give this a 10 out of 10.
Reviewed by Greg "Count Grog" Mosorjak on November 10, 2005.
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