Wrestling's One Ring Circus: The Death of the World Wrestling Federation: The Death of the World Wrestling Federation

by Scott Keith

Book Overview

For almost twenty years, the world wrestling federation ruled under the big top of sports entertainment... Then it all came crashing down. But how did things get so bad so quickly? What really... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080652619X
• ISBN13: 9780806526195
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Citadel Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.6" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

An honest look at the ups and downs of one wrestling company

I am already a fan of Scott Keith's weekly columns on the Inside Pulse website, and I consider him to be one of the most honest and insightful wrestling writers out there. This book is an in-depth look at a year or so of recent WWF/WWE history. Keith is certainly biased and opinionated, but that is what makes his books and his columns so fun to read. Even if you don't agree with him, Keith can make you laugh and make you think about North American corporate wrestling in new ways. If you are at all interested in Vince McMahon's wrestling shows, then this book should be near the top of your reading list.

A solid overview of the WWE's downward spiral

Wrestling's One Ring Circus is a solid overview of the WWE's fall from grace to 2001 to 2003. Prior to this, the WWE was a crossover phenomenon creating mainstream stars such as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock. However, their descent was brutal and swift and Scott Keith does a great job of profiling their downfall. In actuality, you don't realize the magnitude of the company's failures until you read this book as Keith touches on everything, whether it's career ending injuries, the company's failure to push their most talented performers, or failed storylines. Like his previous book Tonight...In This Very Ring, Keith inserts his internet rants detailing important matches from the era throughout the text. The rants are still very good although they could be long winded, hence the term "rants." To his credit, he has revised his match ratings upon further review. As a long time wrestling fan and reporter, Keith displays his unbiased opinions about the failure of the WWE product and while many of his views come across as bitter, most of the time he has a valid point (ex....not giving a bigger push to popular performers Booker T and Rob Van Dam, the continued push of bigger and less talented athletes). In particular, Scott does a great job of the WWE's biggest failures such as the WCW Invasion angle, the gay wedding between Billy and Chuck, and the formerly wildly popular NWO. He also gives credit where it's due to the great performers from this era such as Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, and Brock Lesnar. However, he knocks Triple H and Shawn Michaels frequently throughout the book, to the point where it makes you wonder if it's more of a personal vendetta, particularly with Michaels since he was in on the Montreal screw job which took the World title off of Bret "Hitman" Hart, who like Keith is Canadian. Nevertheless, this is a very good read and a thorough review of the WWE's decline.

Not bad at all

I thougtht the book was pretty good. I actually read it at a Barnes and Noble, as I had gone there for the Death of WCW but it wasn't in. I didn't read the match reviews, as I had read the originals in his rants, and skipped a few minor parts. I thought it was a detailed look at a bad period for the WWE. Though things have picked up (at least on the Raw side), the company is still making the same mistakes, such as keeping the belt on Triple H. How they could screw up having Goldberg and the invasion is beyond me. Even if you've read all his rants, you can still learn a few backstage things.

Well worth the money

If you've been watching WWE the last few years, and you're wondering why they've made the decisions they have, you need to check out Keith's book. He sorts through all the crap and tells you straight up what was going on. And that's not a common thing in wrestling literature. I found "One Ring Circus" to be a much better read than Keith's previous offering, "Tonight, In This Very Ring". It's better structured, better written, and more original. That's not to say the previous book is bad - but the new one is his best work. "One Ring" doesn't cover nearly the ground as its prequel, but in a way that's good because it's more focused. And most wrestling fans have only been watching for the last few years anyway. All in all, the book is great for the wrestling fan who doesn't want to visit wrestling websites everyday and wade through all the b.s.

Great, but...

Not long enough. I could have handled another 100 pages or so of backstage doings and smark jokes. Also, I think (honestly) that more talk of how HHH was screwing everyone was needed, plus in more detail. I guess I wasn't feeling it. And any book that doesn't have The Scotsman in the Very Special Thanks section only deserves 4 stars.