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Title: Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit and the Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry
ISBN: 1597775797
Author:
Matthew Randazzo V
Publicate Date: 2008-06-17
Publish: 2008-06-17
List Price: $25.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $14.45
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $14.48
Amazon Merchant Price: $17.13
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| Customer Review: |
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1: 'A Must-Have On Any Wrestling Fan's Bookshelf'
Through the jarring, incisive and sometimes hilarious narration of author Matthew Randazzo V, "Ring Of Hell" is to wrestling literature what "Pulp Fiction" was to cinema -- an instant, inimitable classic. His Denis-Leary-esque storytelling sets the perfect tone in illustrating the helter-skelter world the book's central character, Chris Benoit, immersed himself in at a very early age.
A Pulitzer Prize-worthy account of wrestling business as Benoit knew it, the book is filled with stories from wrestlers, writers and other industry colleagues, weaving a fair and balanced look into Benoit's world, an intercontinental journey that saw him start a wide-eyed, smallish Canadian kid enamored with a childhood wrestling hero, only to warp into a freakishly dedicated, talented and self-destructive athlete at the top of his craft.
Randazzo does a masterful job of setting the stage with vivid descriptions of the promotions -- some of them highly physically and psychologically abusive -- that Benoit immersed himself in en route to wrestling stardom.
The book is also strewn with fascinating character sketches of individuals integral to Benoit's life and career, such as wife Nancy, Tom "Dynamite Kid" Billington, Stu Hart, Kevin Sullivan, Brian Pillman, Paul Heyman and Eddy Guerrero.
Simply said, this hardback wildly succeeds at entertaining, informing and engaging its readers, making it a must-have on any wrestling fan's bookshelf.
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2: Wake-up call my a**
Mr. Randazzo is an opportunistic scumbag. Using the term "baby-killer" on every page does not a good book make.
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3: Do you like pro wrestling? You'll love this book!!!
Excellent book about pro wrestling business. Lots of facts about Chris Benoit but also about other aspects of the business. Well written and entertaining.
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4: "You know it's sad, but true...."
I am one of those former "crazy Philly fans" who sat ringside at ECW for years. Oh the stories I could tell....whew....The toughest thing about being a female ECW fan, besides the boys thinking you're a rat, was watching the guys put their bodies through hell for us. I did not like the blood crazed matches - I am a purist.
Chris Benoit is still my favorite wrestler. I know the pain he went through in the ring. And I know the "high" of hearing the fans pop and feeling he got when a match went well was one of the things that was hard to walk away from or hear any arguments about.
Nancy was an inspiration. Despite "marrying a midget" (only an ECW fan, and Steve Austin will get that), she was a strong sexy and smart role model. No valet/manager/eye candy has compared to her - period.
My heart broke when details of this crime came to life. I thought those two would pull if off - the happily ever after wrestling couple.
Oh the book? Hmmm....between Jericho's book, Eddy's book, Dynamite Kid's book and Mic Foley's books I kinda got the jist of it (read them all). I agree with everyone, who is a fan of pro wrestling who, says that this book seems a little bit caustic. But the business itself isn't something that's full of glamour. Wrestlers who don't "pay dues" don't have as much respect as one who have. And paying dues isn't meant to be pretty. Neither are the drugs, the booze or the sexual escapades. But it is real.
If you are a dirt sheet reading, smart mark you may feel a little insulted by his tone (I was). But I ould not put it down.
Now excuse me while I wonder why CM Punk is no longer getting his push.......
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5: If you've ever been a fan of pro wrestling, this will probably be a difficult book to read
First, this is where I'm coming from: In the late '80s and early to mid-'90s, I was a pro wrestling fan. My brother was interested in it, and I started watching because I wanted to see what interested him about pro wrestling. I found it to be fun, and he and I started going to shows and conventions together. I even wrote up a couple of indy shows for a pro wrestling newsletter. I stopped watching as pro wrestlers started dying, and their deaths were increasingly linked to steroid abuse. I was never so naive as to believe that the matches were free and fair bouts, I knew they were pre-determined, I even knew there was a certain level of physical risk in pro wrestling. But over the years, the more I watched, saw, and learned, the more I came to believe that my support of pro wrestling was tantamount to participation in a profoundly immoral business. And I could not continue to support a form of entertainment that left so many of its participants dead or physically disabled.
So I write this review as a former fan. By the time, Chris Benoit reached national prominence in the pro wrestling world, I had stopped watching. That said, I believe that in writing and publishing Ring of Hell, Matthew Randazzo V has performed a valuable service to pro wrestlers and their fans. The book has its flaws, chief among them being poor copyediting and a few too many f-bombs for my middle-aged tastes, but these are far outweighed by the rocks he turns over in the world of pro wrestling. Under those rocks are some dark and festering creatures, not the least of which is Vince McMahon, Jr., the man who currently has an effective monopoly on pro wrestling in the USA. Anyone with any aspirations in the world of pro wrestling will have to work for McMahon and his organization, the WWE.
Ring of Hell looks at the world of pro wrestling during the past 30 years through the lens of the rise and horrific fall of Chris Benoit, a small-sized wrestler who was obsessed with achieving success in the industry during a time when gigantic, musclemen ruled in the squared circle. As a result, if a man the size of Chris Benoit was ever to gain a foothold in this fiercely competitive, unforgiving business, he was going to have to rely on artificial enhancements and an obsessive drive to succeed. This meant taking enormous doses of steroids, and even greater physical risks in the ring. Chris Benoit dosed himself with mind-boggling quantities of drugs of all kinds and endured literal beatings in the ring on a daily basis. The demands of the WWE and other organizations he wrestled for seldom allowed him any time to adequately recover from his injuries, so he ended up taking even more steroids and pain-killers. As a result he wound up a barely functional, profoundly brain-damaged, drug addict. After years of watching his friends die, in and out of the ring, he ended up murdering his wife and child and taking his own life. A postmortem study of his brain revealed extensive damage to all four lobes, plus the brain stem. This was due to his having sustained an estimated 1,000 concussions over the course of his career. The doctor who studied his brain compared it to that of an 85 year old Alzheimer's patient.
Although I deducted a point for the lackadaisical copyediting, I highly recommend that anyone who loves pro wrestling, or has a child who watches pro wrestling, read this book and absorb the lessons of Chris Benoit's career and tragic fall from grace. Then decide for yourself if this is a form of entertainment you can continue to support with a clear conscience.
As for me, I'm glad I stopped watching all those years ago. And I wish I had never watched to begin with.
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