SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
PWTorch VIP audio analyst Todd Martin has been on PWTorch staff since May 2015. During that time, he has reviewed many pro wrestling books. Below, by listener request, is a list of the books he has reviewed each year for PWTorch. Below that are prior books he has read with his five tier classifications from “Best of the Best” to “Avoid.”
The audio links will only work with an active VIP membership.
2017 BOOK REVIEWS
Ric Flair & Charlotte 2017 book review
Chris Jericho’s 2017 book review
Mad Dog Vachon 2017 book review
History of Women’s Wrestling book review
When it Was Big Time; A 100 Year History of Northern California History 2017 book review
Justin Roberts 2017 book review
NXT Future is Now 2017 book review
2016 BOOK REVIEWS
Pat Patterson 2016 book review
Lion’s Pride NJPW History 2016 book review
2015 BOOK REVIEWS
Bob Backlund 2015 book review pt. 1 | Backlund review pt. 2
Tier 1: Best of the Best
“Chokehold” by Jim Wilson
“Wrestlers are Like Seagulls” by JJ Dillon
“Tangled Ropes by Superstar” Billy Graham
“Listen You Pencil Neck Geeks” by Freddie Blassie
“Have a Nice Day” by Mick Foley
“Hitman” by Bret Hart
“Foley is Good” by Mick Foley
“A Lion’s Tale” by Chris Jericho
“Hooker” by Lou Thesz
“My Life in Wrestling” by Gary Hart
Tier 2: Highly Recommended
“Midnight Express 25th Anniversary Scrapbook” by Jim Cornette
“Inside Out” by Ole Anderson
“Cheating Death Stealing Life” by Eddie Guerrero
“Broken Harts: The Life and Death of Owen Hart” by Martha Hart
“Queen of the Ring” by Jeff Leen
“To Be the Man” by Ric Flair
“The Pain and the Passion” by Heath McCoy
“Mondo Lucha A Go-Go” by Dan Madigan
“The Cowboy and the Cross” by Bill Watts
“National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling” by Tim Hornbaker
“Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels” by Greg Oliver and Steven Johnson
“It’s Good to Be the King Sometimes” by Jerry Lawler
“Blood in the Cage” by L. Jon Wertheim
“Fall Guys” by Marcus Griffin
“Walking a Golden Mile” by William Regal
“Catch Wrestling” by Mark Hewitt
“Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams” by Greg Oliver and Steven Johnson
“No Holds Barred: Evolution” by Clyde Gentry
“Total MMA” by Jonathan Snowden
“Becoming the Natural” by Randy Couture
“Stone Cold Truth” by Steve Austin
“Pure Dynamite” by Dynamite Kid
“More than Just Hardcore” by Terry Funk
“Brisco” by Jack Brisco
“Undisputed” by Chris Jericho
“Let’s Get It On” by John McCarthy
“Last Outlaw” by Stan Hansen
“King of New Orleans” by Greg Klein
“Shooters” by Jonathan Snowden
“Mad Dogs Midgets and Screw Jobs” by Pat LaPrade and Bertrand Hebert
“Hardcore Truth” by Bob Holly
“Pound for Pound” by Brian D’Souza
“Rags Paper and Pins” by Jim Cornette and Mark James
“Is This Legal?” by Art Davie and Sean Wheelock
“Live as a Man Die” as a Man Become a Man by Enson Inoue
“Grappler: Memoirs of a Masked Madman” by Lynn Denton
“Kamala Speaks” by Kamala
“Yes” by Daniel Bryan
“My Fight Your Fight” by Ronda Rousey
“Backlund” by Bob Backlund (pt. 1) | (pt. 2)
“Born to Fight” by Mark Hunt
“Hard Way” by Don Fargo
“Through the Shattered Glass” by Jeanie Clarke
“Best Seat in the House” by Justin Roberts
Tier 3: Solid Reads
“Ringside: A History of Professional Wrestling in America” by Scott Beekman
“How Dr. Death Became Dr. Life” by Steve Williams
“Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Canadians” by Greg Oliver
“Batista Unleashed” by Dave Batista
“Rise and Fall of ECW” by Thom Loverro
“Hardy Boyz: Exist to Inspire” by Matt and Jeff Hardy
“Bruiser Brody” by Emerson Murray
“Stu Hart: A Lord of the Ring” by Marsha Erb
Gorgeous George” by John Capouya
“Bang Your Head” by Missing Link
“Heart for the Fight” by Brian Stann
“The World According to Dutch” by Dutch Mantell
“Catch Wrestling Round 2” by Mark Hewitt
“Little Evil” by Jens Pulver
“Made in America” by Matt Hughes
“Got Fight?” by Forrest Griffin
“100 Years of Australian Professional Wrestling” by Libnan Ayoub
“Swimming with Piranhas” by Howard Brody
“Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All Time” by John Molinaro
“Bodyslams” by Gary Michael Cappetta
“Brody” by Larry Matysik and Barbara Goodish
“Wrestling at the Chase” by Larry Matysik
“Bobby the Brain: Wrestling’s Bad Boy Tells All” by Bobby Heenan
“Reflections of an American Dream” by Dusty Rhodes
“Controversy Creates Cash” by Eric Bischoff
“Why I Fight” by B.J. Penn
“Godfather of Grappling” by Gene LeBell
“Lita: A Less Traveled Road” by Lita
“Hardcore Diaries” by Mick Foley
“Adam Copeland On Edge” by Edge
“Heartbreak and Triumph” by Shawn Michaels
“Between the Ropes” by Brian Fritz and Christopher Murray
“Brawl” by Erich Krauss
“Hardcore History” by Scott Williams
“Drawing Heat the Hard Way” by Larry Matysik
“Countdown to Lockdown” by Mick Foley
“MMA Encyclopedia” by Jonathan Snowden and Kendall Shields
“Straight from the Hart” by Bruce Hart
“Too Much Too Soon” by Tony Atlas
“Wrestling Reality” by Chris Kanyon
“Last Laugh” by Bill De Mott
“Hey Boy Where’d You Get Them Ears” by Paul Boesch
“Gatekeeper” by Gary Goodridge
“Nikita: A Tale of the Ring and Redemption” by Nikita Koloff
“Hacksaw: The Jim Duggan Story” by Hacksaw Jim Duggan
“From the Fields to the Garden” by Stitch Duran
“Uncaged” by Frank Shamrock
“Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heroes and Icons” by Steven Johnson and Greg Oliver
“Superfly” by Jimmy Snuka
“The Three Count” by Jimmy Korderas
“Fightnomics” by Reed Kuhn
“Into the Cage” by Nick Gullo
“Best in the World” by Chris Jericho
“Capitol Revolution” by Tim Hornbaker
“Damn Why Did I Write This Book” by JTG
“Tuesday Night at the Gardens” by Jim Cornette and Mark James
“Crippler” by Chris Leben
“Ali vs. Inoki: The Forgotten Fight” by Josh Gross
“Realest Guy in the Room” by Dan Severn
“Accepted” by Pat Patterson
“Looking at the Lights” by Pete Gas
“No is a Four Letter Word” by Chris Jericho
“Second Nature” by Charlotte and Ric Flair
Tier 4: Only If You Have Particular Interest in the Subject
“Assassin: The Man Behind the Mask” by Joe Hamilton
“Behind the Mask” by Rey Mysterio
“Bruno Sammartino: An Autobiography of Wrestling’s Living Legend” by Bruno Sammartino
“Mouth of the South” by Jimmy Hart
“Arn Anderson 4 Ever” by Arn Anderson
“King of the Ring” by Harley Race
“Sex Lies and Headlocks” by Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham
“In the Pit with Piper” by Roddy Piper
“Hollywood Hulk Hogan” by Hulk Hogan
“Ring of Hell” by Matthew Randazzo
“My Life Outside the Ring” by Hulk Hogan
“Is That Wrestling Fake” by Ivan Koloff
“Under the Mat” by Diana Hart
“The Solie Chronicles” by Robert Allyn
“Chairshots and Other Obstacles” by Bobby Heenan
“Adventures in Larryland” by Larry Zbyszko
“Ted DiBiase: The Million Dollar Man” by Ted DiBiase
“I’m Next” by Bill Goldberg
“Whatever Happened to Gorgeous George” by Joe Jares
“First Lady of Wrestling” by Missy Hyatt
“Life and Legacy of Frank Gotch” by Mike Chapman
“It’s True It’s True” by Kurt Angle
“Octagon” by Kevin Lynch
“Iceman: My Fighting Life” by Chuck Liddell
“Inside the Lion’s Den” by Ken Shamrock
“Tales from a Dirt Road” by Dutch Mantell
“The Road Warriors: Danger
“Death and the Rush of Wrestling” by Animal
“Often Imitated Never Duplicated” by Lou Albano
“Woo Mercy Daddy” by Jimmy Valiant
“Masked Decisions” by Vincent Evans
“The Voice of Reason” by Chael P. Sonnen
“When Wrestling Was Rasslin” by Peter Birkholz
“Wrestling with the Devil” by Lex Luger
“Mid Atlantic Memories” by Mike Mooneyham
“The Third Man” by James Beard
“Fight for the Forgotten” by Justin Wren
“Is Wrestling Fixed” by Bill Apter
“A Star Shattered” by Tammy Sytch
“Rowdy” by Ariel Toombs and Colt Toombs
“Part Reptile” by Dan Hardy
Tier 5: Avoid
“Wrestling with the Truth” by Downtown Bruno
“Master of the Iron Claw” by Fritz Von Erich
“The Story of the Development of NWA-TNA” by Jerry Jarrett
“Tales from the Ring” by Tito Santana
“First Goddess of the Squared Circle” by Fabulous Moolah
“Rock Says by Rock, Rope Opera: How WCW Killed Vince Russo” by Vince Russo
“Gordon Solie: Something Left Behind” by Robert and Pamela Allyn
“If They Only Knew” by Chyna
“Positively Page” by Diamond Dallas Page
“Forgiven” by Vince Russo
“True Lies and Alibis” by Blackjack Mulligan
“Be Ready When the Shit Goes Down” by Forrest Griffin
“Every Man Has His Price” by Ted DiBiase
“Oklahoma Shooter: The Dan Hodge Story” by Mike Chapman
“This Is Gonna Hurt” by Tito Ortiz
“Sheikh of Baghdad” by Adnan Al Kaissy
“Cross Rhodes” by Goldust
“Death Clutch” by Brock Lesnar
“Say Uncle” by Jake Shannon
“Wrestling the Hulk” by Linda Hogan
“Best of Times” by Jerry Jarrett
“If You Don’t Want the Answer Don’t Ask the Question” by Bill Dundee
“Physical Chess” by Billy Robinson
“From Prison to Promise” by Booker T
“1000 Lives” by Dick Slater
“50 Greatest Wrestlers of All Time” by Larry Matysik
“It’s Time” by Bruce Buffer
“Animal” by George Steele
“Hart Strings” by Julie Hart
“Who’s Your Daddy” by Ryan Danes
“Multiple Personalities” of Mark Lewin by Mark Lewin,
“Wrestling for My Life” by Shawn Michaels
“My Rise to Wrestling Royalty” by Booker T
“I Probably Screwed You Too” by Kenny Bolin
“Matlands” by Jim Brunzell
“NXT: The Future is Now” by Jon Robinson