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Post by NWA AWA 1 on Jan 5, 2008 16:29:14 GMT -5
Anyone else read this book? I liked it very much. A real eye opener into the wrestling industry.
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Post by Iceman on Jan 14, 2008 6:36:07 GMT -5
No, I haven't read it, but sounds interesting. Is any of it online or you have a link? What did you like the most or shocked you the most that Bret said?
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Post by Iceman on Jan 14, 2008 7:16:23 GMT -5
Here's a nice little review I found.
BRET HART: MY REAL LIFE IN THE CARTOON WORLD OF WRESTLING is a fascinating autobiography. In fact, I'd put it up there with Mick Foley's HAVE A NICE DAY as the best, most-important books written by professional wrestlers for entirely different reasons.
Foley's, much like Chris Jericho's A LION'S TALE, both read more like conversations you'd have if you had a buddy who had been around the world in a pretty high-profile, fast-lane line of work. While both are heavy on the story-telling and candor, both Foley and Jericho take their readers on a ride that has a big payoff at the end: Foley wins the WWF World Title and Jericho begins and ends his book with his debut for Vince McMahon. Bret Hart's book essentially breaks his life down into three parts: -before wrestling, during wrestling and after wrestling--with unprecedented insight and candor because Bret made a series of tape recordings of himself and the events of his life as he went along. Instead of the rear-view mirror, you're getting a first-hand remembrance of the details that shaped Bret into one of the greatest wrestlers of his generation.
The first part of sets up what life was like for Bret and his siblings Growing Up Hart. There seems to be a lot of turmoil and craziness in Calgary, which makes sense for a family in the wrestling business. At first, I must admit that I found myself wanting to get to the "better parts" of the book (the wrestling stuff) but in retrospect, the first third of the book is important as Bret sets his readers up with background and foreshadowing while explaining the events of his life as a young man. It is here that we learn his motivation as he matures. We learn about the famous Dungeon and the rivalries between siblings that sure explain a lot of the things that happen after Owen Hart falls to his death in Kansas City and how some of the Hart kids try to manipulate their parents and Vince McMahon in the aftermath.
Again, this book is about Bret Hart, and one thing is true: Bret Hart can be seen as the world's biggest mark for Bret Hart. While refreshingly candid, it does come from his particular slant...and it should, being that he wrote it. Still, the line he walked between Bret Hart the person and The Hitman as a character is still blurred in his mind. He has his convictions regarding his character and you know what? We could use a little more of that in wrestling today. Too many of today's guys are acting--and acting poorly--rather than the characters being a facet of their own personalities.
Of course, everyone wants to know Bret's take on the events in Montreal over ten years ago. I'll admit that even I wanted to skip right to that part of the book to see what he had to say about the infamous screw-job in the match with Shawn Michaels. The truth of the matter is that the events as laid out by Bret are not all that much different than what we could see in Paul Jay's Hitman docomeentary, WRESTLING WITH SHADOWS. And while accounts differ regarding who knew what and when in HBK's book and from other reports such as The Wrestling Observer and Pro Wrestling Torch, Bret's story hasn't changed. Time has, it seems, allowed him to come to grips with this ultimate betrayal that ignited other events that essentially ruined his family, but Hart comes off as in a better place and not quite as bitter as I expected him to be even this long after the fact. Perhaps the death of so many of his peers and the stroke he suffered have widened his focus.
The business of wrestling breeds liars and cheats and while Bret Hart does gloss over some of the drug use and steroid abuse he may have witnessed in his career, he is remarkably frank regarding his own usage. He also cops to having used steroids in the book while he had steadfastly lied on such shows as Larry King Live in the aftermath of the Benoit murders this past summer.
Two drug stories from the book stand out to me. One is that in his early days in the WWF, Bret Hart felt that he had to do drugs (specifically, cocaine) with Roddy Piper and his partner, Jim Neidhart, amongst others, to be accepted as one of the boys and not just as another promoter's son. To me it says that the peer pressure of being in the traveling circus has to be much, much worse that just the peer pressure you feel in high school.
The other major "drug story" that is remarkable is the disclosure that before Bret's big match with his brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith at Wembley Stadium, the Bulldog had been in Florida for weeks smoking crack with Neidhart. Davey Boy showed up panicky and jittery, scared of this big performance in his home country because he's he been out of it for over a month. And yet, almost heroically, Bret was able to coax an all-time classic match out of his brother-in-law while dropping the Intercontinental Title to Smith at Summerslam in 1992.
Overall, like I said, this is an important book for wrestling fans to read. Bret presents the business in what seems to be it's most real light; complete with character flaws and all. He dishes on who he likes and who he has little regard for and as he says in the opening, Bret pulls no punches. He rips on HBK, Triple H, and Ric Flair. Oddly, the one guy I thought he'd have venom for was Bill Goldberg, the man who kicked him the head so hard that it pretty much ended The Hitman's career. And yet, Hart doesn't complain about the stiff kick much at all. He's more upset at what he perceived to be liberties taken by Michaels at Wrestlemania 12 than he is receiving a severe concussion that may have even caused a stroke later on in his life.
I'm not sure when BRET HART: MY REAL LIFE IN THE CARTOON WORLD OF WRESTLING is going to be released in America but you can order it just as I did through amazon.ca. It's not a quick read, by any stretch, but you'll be glad you made it though the book when you're finished. You also might find yourself respecting The Excellence of Execution for his journey and newly-won peace of mind as well.
Posted by LGS at 10:31 AM
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Post by NWA AWA 1 on Jan 14, 2008 12:05:09 GMT -5
Drug and steroids are a huge problem still in wrestling. Brett admited using painkillers and steroids usually after severe injures. He looked past all drug problems to point out the real legends. Brett also grew up very poor despite his father's status in the business. His dad had a temper but wasn't excessively abusive. Him and Owen were about the only decent ones really. His sister Ellie, married to Neidhart, was a huge biotch . She actually helped Vince after Owen's death with the law suit. Brett and his parents were the only ones who stood up for Owen's widow. Ellie actually stole legal papers for her parents house. Brett commented, why do the good ones die. I think he was especially close to Owen, because Brett helped care for Owen when he was little. Brett talked about how straight laced Owen was, almost no drugs or alcohol used. Brett mentioned Piper,Henning,Rude,Macho,Neidhart,Dynamite, Bulldog, Rock,Booker T, Sting,Roadwarriors,Undertaker,Foley,Bockwinkle,Race,Dory and Terry Funk and Jeff Jarret. The Ultimate warrior was pretty much the worst he had seen to make to the top. I liked how he said Rick Rude carried the Warrior every match. Finally after getting"potatoed" one to many times by the warrior, Rude said this, If you do that one more time, I will take your legs and shove them up your ass. The warrior behaved after that. Bret gave the thumbs down to the Honky tonk man, Lawler, Giant Gonzales,Luger(somewhat), Flair for no ring pyschology,Micheals for getting a real bad tude. Bad news Brown for being really mean in the ring. Vince for being a two faced dictator, pitting wrestlers against each other. Remember that this is despite most of them had drug problems.
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Post by Dynamite Duane on Jan 16, 2008 12:05:53 GMT -5
I've not read it as it's not available yet in the UK but hopefully soon.
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Post by NWA AWA 1 on Jan 16, 2008 21:53:44 GMT -5
It was a very good book, a real eye opener.
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