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Image Courtesy of the "Let's Photoshop RD and Blade" thread on the Official WrestleCrap Forum!RD Finally Reviews Shawn Michaels' Autobiography, Heartbreak & Triumph!
Hey, guess what? It's taken like a year, but I've finally read another wrestling book! More to come, too, but for now, let's dive right into the WrestleCrap review of...
Heartbreak & Triumph: The Shawn Michaels Story
by Shawn Michaels with Aaron FeigenbaumAs I made clear in my review of Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Professional Wrestling, I am a huge fan of Bret Hart. In a lot of ways, though, I've also been a fan of Shawn Michaels, which, as you can imagine, has been a bit of a conflict. After all, if there were ever two men who did not get along in this business, it would be Bret and Shawn.
Despite my markedness for the Hitman, as the old saying goes, there are two sides to every story. So I really wanted to get Shawn's perspective on things to give the guy a fair shake. After all, is it not possible that Bret is just bitter that Shawn keeps trucking along in the business long after it had chewed Bret up and spit him out? And not just floundering, but in main events and delivering spectacular match after spectacular match? Could it be that I've been cheering for the wrong guy all along?
My answer, after reading Heartbreak and Triumph, is a resounding "No."
A bit of backstory for those newer fans of the business. Dating back to the early to mid 1990's, Shawn Michaels has had a reputation of being someone impossible to deal with behind the scenes, a guy who refused to do jobs so often that it became a running joke. It wasn't just Bret Hart that maintained this viewpoint, but countless interviews with others as well confirmed this to be true. I believe at some point Dave Meltzer may have even done an entire Wrestling Observer detailing all the times he lost titles while miraculously not being pinned. He and his buddies, the Kliq, which included Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, and Triple H, would make sure things went their way.
In short, Shawn was a pain in the ass who, when he didn't get his way, would simply take his ball and quite literally go home.
So my big question going into this book was how, exactly, Shawn would explain these situations. My feeling was that with his newfound conversion to Christianity, he would come clean and admit that he had done not only the WWF wrong, but his peers as well.
What a fool I was.
Instead, what I got was over 300 pages explaining how everyone was jealous of him, how the boys in the back had heat with him for no reason, how every dirtsheet is full of nothing but lies, and how even if he had refused to do a job, he really had no say. Indeed, the most common refrain in the book being "There is no refusing to do a job. Ask Bret Hart. Ask the people in Montreal. It only happens if Vince allows it."
And I think that right there is the crux of the whole thing: Shawn saw his ability to manipulate Vince as some sort of justification as to why all the things that people accused him of doing were ok. That is made very clear. He feels as though, since he was able to talk Vince into, say, not having him and Kevin Nash lose their titles, that made it ok.
Sorry, but I have to disagree. Just because you can talk your boss into something that is wrong doesn't make it any less wrong. It just means you know how to politic to get your way. And sometimes when you get your way, it hurts not only other people within the company, but the fans watching the product as well. You can look at a long line of promotions that died due to this, and honestly, were it not for Shawn's injury that put him out of action for four years, one has to question whether guys like Steve Austin and the Rock would have ever been able to get past his and Hunter's political power.
Think I'm full of conspiracy theories? Then consider the fact that in one honest moment in the book, Shawn actually admits to what I am saying: "Were we using our political clout to keep each other on top? Absolutely. What we did was no different from what Hogan, Save, Piper, and Bob Orton Jr. had done before. If you are on top, you want to make sure you keep working with people on top. That's how you stay up there."
Who's the champion on Raw right now?
My point exactly.
The book isn't entirely without merit. There are lots of interesting stories, and in a very warped way, you can almost see where Shawn is coming from in a lot of these instances. It's just too bad that he's not honest enough with himself - and with you, the reader - to actually admit to his wrongdoings.
In fact, I became so frustrated reading the book that in a lot of ways, my enjoyment of his current work has taken a hit. Because I just feel like by getting into his matches, by cheering for him, I am supporting someone who just doesn't seem on the up and up.
Very, VERY mildly recommended if you want Shawn's side of things. Just keep in mind that your enjoyment of Shawn's current work may nosedive after hearing some of the BS inside!
You can order Heartbreak & Triumph by clicking rightchere!
(Warning: RD is about to SHILL. Click here to skip this section.)
Shillville!
- Now this is one HELL of a deal. My Death of WCW co-author, Bryan Alvarez, is making a deal for WrestleCrappers that is flat out stupid cheap. Get this - a full month of Figure Four Weekly for NINETY NINE CENTS! Yep, for less than a DOLLAR you get all the audio updates, all the news, and all the archives of what is, without question, the funniest wrestling news letter you will ever, ever read for an entire MONTH. Get in on the action by clicking here. I can recommend nothing more highly.
- And, of course, here's the info on the crap I'm peddling these days...
WrestleCrap Personified: The Worst of RD Reynolds
Double DVD-R Set
Now Available!They say those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. But that’s never
stopped RD Reynolds, the curator of WrestleCrap.com, the site that pokes fun at all the worst in wrestling.You see, RD once worked on the independent wrestling scene himself, booking and participating in angles every bit as bad as those he ridicules on his site. And now, because his fellow crappers have asked for it, those events are now available in a double DVD-R set.
Disc 1:
Babyface RD in Championship Wrestling of America
- RD Shills Pizza
- RD Does Terrible Babyface Commentary
- RD Sings Happy Birthday to some dork
- CWA Champ Mike Samples wrestles the world's longest match (well, it felt that way), then proceeds to get run over by a car going 10 MPH, all with Good Guy RD calling the actionHeel RD in Pro Wrestling International:
- PWI Intro Featuring RD DANCING
- RD’s Heel Debut: the Uncle Burt Speech
- Trash Losagain Debut, in Which He Appears to have a GIANT DONG and looks to have pooped his pants
- RD: Heel Commentator Montage in which I talk about how much I hate the fans and tell really, REALLY bad jokes
- RD and Trash Get Biggum (translated: ZERO) heat by stealing a guy’s hat
- RD Heel Refs a Match in GIANT CLOWN SHOES (with commentary by RD, and his friends Casey (Trash Losagain) and Dan Garza (Diamond Dan)
- RD Promo in Hope, Indiana, in which I promise to kiss the foot of everyone in the building if I lose my match
- RD in a Blindfold Kiss My Foot Match (with commentary)
- Bonus: Radio Promo in Which I Pretend to be a Hillbilly Who “Milks Pigs and Shears Cattle”Heel RD Works Indy Shows:
- NWA Indianapolis snippet featuring me managing Mad Man Pondo versus New Jack (with commentary)
- RD and Trash vs. Diamond Dan on a LUCHA SHOW (with commentary)
- Elementary School Show Snippet featuring a guy who is now a HYOOOGE star in TNA (with commentary)
- Promo for Merle Vincent’s TV ShowDisc 2:
RD in CWA: Special Commentary with CWA Promoter Jeff Cohen, who teaches me the fine art of SHILLING!
RD Books PWI Into the Ground (All with commentary with me and Casey):
- PWI Roll Call: A Look at the Poor Guys We Booked Into Oblivion
- We make fun of RD & Trash's debut match
- Dissection of the Hat Stealing Angle
- RD on RD: RD Takes a Look at His Wrestling "Career"
- Special Bonus Match: Otto Bauhn (geddit? Like AUTOBAHN!) vs. Johnny Walker, Whom I Dubbed THE HUMAN CHIA PETSpecial Feature: Blade Braxton's Revenge of the Scorpion in Its ENTIRETY (both with and without commentary by the JOTW head honcho himself)
Believe me, this stuff SUCKS - you've been warned!
Cost for the set is $10.95, which includes free media mail shipment in the US. Foreign orders are also available, at a cost of $17.95. All sets come personally autographed (if you have a special request on the autograph, please let me know). Just use Paypal to send the money to thedeal@wrestlecrap.com, and be sure to include a shipping address! You can also snail mail a check or money order; for that information, click rightchere.
Note: DVD-Rs are playable in MOST newer DVD players, as well as DVD-ROM drives on computers. Also note this is in NTSC format. I cannot guarantee compatibility. If you have any questions regarding that, please contact me here.
Check out all the fun of WrestleCrap Radio rightchere!
Discuss this column and more at the Official WrestleCrap Forum; email RD your comments, questions, and suggestions rightchere.
And be sure to visit RD's Bookshelf and RD's Video Shelf to find out what wrestling books and DVDs are true crap.
