#wrestling books

[razor-ramons-thighs]

Picked this up at my local comic book store before they change locations

[yingyang513]

[danzigmcfly]

[zombozled]

gravity falls brainrot is getting to me FAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mleelunsford]

Wanted to draw fan art of Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers if she were a pro wrestler

[vyvyandesesseintes]

Hello!

I’m not entirely certain what I’m going to do with this mad rush return to Tumblr but I’ll start with a roundup of what I’m reading currently.

I pick this book up at random because while exactly the research material I want to read, it hits like any work heavily motivated by interpreting Marx and applying that to culture. Dandyism is often seen as an obsession with imitating wealth and frequently to the destruction of the person attempting it, but in practice and history it’s frequently a more considered cultivation of the self that acts in defiance of cultural standards. Very queer.

Someday I’ll even finish Materializing Queer Desire and write the pieces on modem dandyism, punk, and Satanism I intended to.

I just finished The Territories and won’t stop spamming people with the link to buy a copy of their own. This is a shared universe reimagining the chaotic final decade of wrestling territories through the 80s and early 90s. Characters weave their way across the works of several authors across different slices of their lives and often in ways that may refute their own claims as to what really happened. Buy this. You won’t regret it. You can find it on Amazon and I believe still get signed copies through indiegogo.

[scumgristle]

i'd like to add some personal favorites:

Death of WCW 10th Anniversary Edition by Bryan Alvarez & RD Reynolds

Way of the Blade: 100 of the Greatest Bloody Matches in Wrestling History by Phil Schneider & Chris Bryan

Too Sweet: Inside the Indie Wrestling Revolution by Keith Elliot Greenberg

Follow The Buzzards: Pro-Wrestling in the Age of COVID-19 by Keith Elliot Greenberg

Journey Into Darkness: The Unauthorized History of Kane by Michael Chiapetta

Wrestling book recommendations?

Mox by Jon Moxley

Killing the business by The Young Bucks

Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks by Mick Foley (it has sequels)

Cheating Death, Stealing Life by Eddie Guerrero

Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart

Crazy is my Superpower by AJ Brooks aka AJ Lee aka the book that saved my life.

[sator-the-wanderer]

And they were roommates enemies

[cephalopodsquad]

[homoeroticgrappling]

Danhausen tweeted this after his GCW match and I couldn't help but think about his tweet when he started looking for bookings

[razor-ramons-thighs]

I just picked up a copy of Lynn Denton’s book so I figured I’d show off the wrestling books I have. Currently going back and forth between ECW and Mankind in my free time

[shiftythrifting]

$22.99 paint stained beanie baby at a boutique plus some goodwill finds

[samijey]

Sami Zayn behind the scenes at the 2024 Royal Rumble

[faggotmox]

something wonderfully important has happened! my "wrestling dad" josh shepard got his book of wrestling erasure poems published & it is up for sale (either 10$ or "name a fair price"). this is incredibly important to me as im one of the first people to have gotten the privilege to read these poems as josh wrote them. josh is incredibly important to me as a friend, he is the guy who introduced me to wrestling & gave me a deep, unrestricted passion for it.

josh is so fucking talented, & creative. he is also my favorite poet, not just bc he's my friend. the book's flow is dedicated to the flow of a wrestling match, following all the hallmarks (the lock up, big heat, the comeback, ect) with the themes of his poems to create a match like narrative for the book.

there are like three specific poems in the batch that i want tattooed on me, a stone cold one, a mick foley one, & a briscoe brother's piece. the aj lee pipebomb poem moved me to actual tears, even when i read it now. the macho man poem abt being bipolar struck me so hard i rethought my own feeling on my mental health. josh pushes impressive themes of capitalism, mental health, poverty, & family theoughout many of his poems. i know ive got a few wrestling fans here, & if you're also into poetry please considered josh's work. or just if you want to support a friend of mine.

a cool way to support josh's work is by requesting it at your local library! even suggesting to bookstores that have poetry sections or interacting with the work thats already published. following/reposting josh's work for exposure also is great.

bruiser zine said this:

The second volume in the BRUISER Zines series, Cutting Promos is a collection of pro wrestling erasure poems by the Oklahoma City poet Josh Shepard. Printed and assembled in Baltimore, this limited edition zine collects 26 poems previously published in BRUISER, HAD, The Daily Drunk and many other fine publications.

After being laid off at the onset of the pandemic, Shepard found comfort and inspiration in the glow of professional wrestling and its performers—their violent struggles, fighting spirit, and electric language—and from their speeches and promos that have inspired wrestling fans across the globe he delivers Cutting Promos, a collection of erasures that echoes the personalities, pursuits and perseverance of pro wrestling’s greatest, standing as a testament to life lived during Hard Times and deliverance through them.

[ IN CASE YOU MISSED THE LINK ABOVE TO BUY JOSH'S BOOK ] [ JOSH'S TWITTER | INSTA | LINKTR.EE* ] *a lot of the links don't work bc the publications went under :( but there's still quiet a few up for free here

support my kayfabe father!!! i watched him turn his hard times into beautiful pieces. even in the beginning when he only had 3 or 4, before he even thought he could make the book i saw his passion for these pieces. i was there for every heart wrenching rejection letter & every hard earned spot. every time he was working late at the library sending me new ideas bc he couldn't watch dynamite. every single wrestling poem josh has written has now been published & that is a huge success. he puts in the work like a wrestler puts in the work in the ring. hard hitting, gritty, & beautiful.

[raineandsky]

Bite at the Hand That Feeds

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3)

“You know how to use a gun?”

“Yes.”

“Knives?”

“Obviously.”

“Your hands?”

“What do you take me for, [Villain]? I’m a hero,” the hero says incredulously. “Knowing how to fight is a pretty important part of the job.”

“Ah!” the villain cries like he’s caught the other in a lie. “But you’re not a hero anymore, are you? You’re my guard dog now.”

The hero scowls. “Thanks for the reminder.”

Today is the most conversation the hero’s gotten out of him, since the villain seemed content to spend most of the past week ignoring him. From previous attempts, pity, doubt, concern, and any sort of empathy are emotions the villain isn’t exactly well-acquainted with.

So the hero’s still here, stuck with a villain that doesn’t seem to care about the means by which the hero ended up here. If he had a boss that handed out people as gifts, he sure as hell wouldn’t be revelling in it like the villain is. Maybe that’s just what villainy is about nowadays.

“I prefer knives—I like keeping death close to my hand,” the villain says with a bright tone that doesn’t match the words at all. He turns to the hero, flipping a dagger handle-end first towards him. “Take that.”

The hero stares at it blankly for a moment. “You’re giving me a blade.”

“You’re under my jurisdiction now, [Hero],” the villain says flatly. “You’ll use whatever I give you.”

“No, like—you trust me enough to give me a knife?”

“Oh, god no.��� The villain laughs. “But I have places to be, and I need you to do your job. Don’t stab me, and you won’t have to worry about [Supervillain] hunting you down for revenge, okay?”

The hero’s first jaunt out of the villain’s house is a literal breath of fresh air. The breeze out here is clear, light, and smells a lot less like forgotten junk food. The villain has the hero tailing him, walking perfectly on his heel, and the hero feels every bit the dog the villain wants him to be. The villain, from his innocent smile, is well aware of this.

The supervillain meets the villain with a smile and a light kiss on the cheek. “A wonderful afternoon to have you with us, my dear,” they say sweetly. Their gaze flits to the hero, drinking in the obvious delight in seeing a gift well-used. “I’m glad to see your little dog is being obedient.”

“I’ve been training him,” the villain says simply. “He learns fast when you know his weaknesses.”

That much is true. The villain had discovered pretty quickly that the hero is rather adverse to pain, and he’d utilised it every time he deemed his new plaything out of line.

The hero trails behind the villain as he wanders ahead with the supervillain. The pair pass into a room, and the villain turns back to push a hand to the hero’s chest. “Not a chance,” he says coolly. “You stay out here and guard the door.”

The hero takes a thoughtless half step back, out of the doorway. The villain smirks lightly. “Good boy,” he says innocently, and with that the door shuts in the hero’s face.

The hero takes his spot next to the entrance, fiddling with the knives the villain gave him. It’s not like he can go anywhere else—he’s in the middle of the lion’s den here, and there’s a particularly pissed-off looking lion glaring at him from the other side of the door frame.

“I heard what happened to you,” the henchman says eventually. Her gaze is still entirely too cold, too hateful, when the hero turns to her. “This doesn’t make you one of us.”

The hero can’t imagine a worse fate than being bunched in with villains. “I know.”

“You’ll never be welcome here.”

“I know.”

The henchman runs her fingers over the blade in her hand—it’s long enough to probably be a sword. “Remember who you are, [Hero],” she says plainly, “and remember who you’re with.”

It’s hard to forget. The hero stifles a scowl. “What’re you suggesting?”

“Nothing of note. Just remember that you’re surrounded by a lot of dangerous people.” The henchman sniffs, giving the hero a blatant once over. “People who hate you.”

A nervous shiver works its way up the hero’s spine that he tries his best to repress. “Thanks for the heads up.”

After a second, she lets out a short “hm,” and returns her stare to the corridor stretched out before them.

The silence is suffocating after that, the hero’s eye constantly drifting traitorously to the henchman’s blade. The door, after what feels like a thousand years, swings inward and sweeps the villain and the supervillain into the hallway.

“Alright,” the villain says simply, “let’s head home.”

The hero has never been so happy to follow an order.

~~~

(next part)

Taglist:

@epiclamer @nevermore-ramblings

[atopvisenyashill]

Worst things GOT did casting wise:

- making Dany too beautiful (+ styling her in a way that she never has a hair out of place, always wears BLUE - which makes her look peaceful and soft and angelic, not making her burn her hair off etc). I just think of that one official art piece that's in the illustrated AGOT book where dany is bald, with the dragons and sparks and frames around her and its so striking instead of the "beautiful angelic blonde women stand empowered with her tits out" scene we got

- casting Iain Glen as Jorah and not like. a random Lannister (like. Come on. He is a burly and ugly man... why are you casting one of the most beautiful men to play him.... this is how we ended up with dany/jorah shippers)

-making Joffrey too unattractive (this is not meant to disparage JG who is a great actor and seems like a really cool dude and i'm not saying he's ugly but I think from his very first scene Joffrey looks very punchable and it would have been so much smarter to make the audience .. relate to Sansa's infatuation with his golden looks. In my head (and in all the official art) Joffrey looks like a male version of cersei/a younger version of Jaime.)

- making Dany, Jon, Robb, Marg, Brienne etc 10+ years older than Sansa and the younger starklings .... It's not "the main characters and arya (who is so cool and can kill people) + the little children" it's ONE AGE group of equally important characters

Like I know people are upset at Ned/Jon etc being too attractive, WHICH I GET, but I feel like those were very vibe based casting decisions and i'm ultimately fine with that (I also think it's easier for the audience to root for someone if they're attractive so like. I guess they had to do it) but these other things resulated in people's perception of the characters being so wildly different from what they're supposed to be. The real reason people get so angry whenever someone says they wish tamzin had stayed is because they don't like the idea of daenerys not being this ethereal beauty (TM is beautiful but not in a conventional way) that they can fully root for without issue.

1. NO YOU ARE SOOOOOO RIGHT ABOUT THEM REFUSING TO LET DANY LOOK UGLY. it’s not to say tamzin isn’t clearly beautiful, but i think she’s beautiful in the same way gwendoline christie is, which is that she’s very striking and she has a strong presence but she’s not exactly what people picture when they say “typical hot lady” (which is Crazy these are all able bodied white women, like the definition of “beauty” is soooooo fuckijg narrow that tamzin merchant is ~atypically beautiful) vs emilia definitely is, and YES like everything from not burning her hair off to emilia being,,,,,fuller in figure than dany as a fourteen year old would be is just very clear that they saw dany different than the way she is On The Page. i mean i know people whack george for saying that she’s like a sexy funny lady or whatever but george never lets go of the fact that she’s incredibly young whereas d&d completely miss that part of her character.

i will say i Get the criticism of tamzin perhaps not picking up on the conlangs easily because one thing you can say for emilia is that she had a decent head for the conlangs, she’s even still partially fluent in dothraki lmaooo. but all the other stuff they said about why they recast dany it’s like. hmmmmmmmmmm.

2. absolutely right about iain especially because he’s similar to idk paddy in that he’s got CHARISMA but unlike viserys, they didn’t intent to portray him as a deeply flawed, antagonistic character they went in portraying him as like an objectively Good Guy dedicated to dany. he’s just so much less creepy and pushy in the show and has several scenes where he shows some moral backbone - that “yet here you stand” “yet here i stand” scene is sooooooo good for example, the fact that he actually apologizes for spying on dany, giving him the greyscale story & not having him fuck a valyrian looking woman in a brothel 💀, etc etc - and you also just lose some of the creepiness here because emilia is clearly a grown if young woman and ian is handsome, so it’s like. welll of Course you want to root for them to be together! and never mind that this is a Massive departure from their book characterizations!! again, they have this idea of jorah in their head that doesn’t match up with what’s on the page even a little.

3. i do get your point re: joffrey and i think this is my problem with aidan as littlefucker too - they’re too obviously villains and it makes ned and sansa look stupid. like, in the books we have that moment where robb almost decks joffrey which does seem to signal something bad but the crown prince being full of himself doesn’t mean he’s going to threaten his betrothed’s sister with a sword then get his ass handed to him by a toddler. in the show we get QUITE a number of scenes where joffrey is shown to be a brat AND as you say, just like aidan, jack has a Certain Look, he looks like a shitty jock who has allegations against him ajsjdj like irl when jack smiles he’s so adorable!! but in the show they REALLY play up his ability to channel a greasy aura ya know aksjd. when the point of asoiaf is often that villains don’t LOOK like villains, but some of our Main Villains clearly resemble typical villains in the show.

4. “it’s ONE age group of characters” NO YOU ARE SO RIGHT. like, there’s several years difference from robert to ned to cat to the twins to tyrion but they’re all the same generation of characters. there’s that exact same age difference from brienne to robb, dany, jon to sansa, arya, bran, with theon kind of similar to characters like jorah, who are old enough to remember The Before Times but aren’t quite in either generation. but because they wanted dany, brienne, jon, robb, and margaery to be more of a Typical archetype rather than an exploration of that archetype, they aged everyone up and essentially invented another generation between the “adult” characters and the “kid” characters. not to be super nerdy here but one of my favorite worked shoots in wrestling is one cody rhodes did where he was ranting about the way young wrestlers get put through the grinder and he has this amazing line where he sums it up as “old men talking, young men dying” and it’s not to say there aren’t a lot of old dudes Also dying lmao but you really see this where young leaders are often unprepared for their responsibilities and used as puppets by older men and you just MISS THAT when that whole generation is so grown!

it’s like they looked at those themes of war being terrible and all consuming and brutal no matter how justified you feel you are and went “wow war is brutal 😍” LIKE PLEASE????