The concept of fictionalised pro-wrestling tales isn't a new one. Such IWC stalwarts as Hyatte, Grut and even peons like myself have had shots at the genre. Surprising then that it's taken so long for someone to capitalise on a relatively open market and unleash a fictional pro-wrestling book upon the unsuspecting public.
The visionary in question is Spencer Baum, who with his book One Fall may just opened a new door for writers and readers alike who love pro-wrestling. Since Mick Foley opened eyes that yes, a wrestling book COULD actually sell, every pro-wrestler has been rushing to Titan Towers in an effort to reprise old relationships with McMahon in an effort to get him to fund their life story. Well if you didn't want to read ANOTHER autobography, then the only other option was to pick up a patronisingly dull "Bumps and Bruises: A History of Pro-Wrestling" book aimed squarely at 12-year old uber-marks or a condascendingly smarky book detailing why WWE is going to die in the next five years. The publication and potential success of One Fall could finally bring an end to this.
One Fall tells Baum's fictional account of the 'Monday Night Battles' between the two dominant North American pro-wrestling companies, the Global Wrestling Association and Revolution Wrestling. The GWA is ran by Duke Corelli, a veteran promoter who's spent the past 30 years trying to achieve the level of success he has acquired today. Conversely, Revolution is led by the young, business-savvy Max Zeffer who, with his vocal and conflict-friendly booking panel behind him, is obsessed with garnering the highest rating or buyrate by any means neccessary. As we join the story, Revolution's flagship show Riot is destroying GWA's Burn in the ratings and, with Revolution looking to finally pull the trigger on Lucifer, a star they've been building for months now, it would appear that there's no way back for Duke.
Enter Joey Hamilton, a.k.a. Joey Mayhem. Joey was the only member out of his thirteen strong wrestling class to be given his tough, dues charging trainer's recommendation to the Independent Wrestling Promoter's Association, and looked to be one of the hottest prospects in the Indys until a botched superkick injured an opponent of his and sent his career into a tailspin. It took Joey a year to drop the reputation of an unsafe worker, but he did so and was soon rewarded with a spot in the GWA's farm leagues. Three months later, in his television debut against Rob 'Jumbo' Sanders, Joey found himself on the verge of superstardom after immediately finding a connection with the crowd and running with it. After just one match, Joey is now a World Title contender and a target for disdain in the locker room.
But that's not even nearly the full story, as in his first title match, Joey performs what seems to be a simple maneuver only to knock out the GWA World Champion, the aptly named Goliath, and leave him with a serious concussion. Has Joey's old reputation come back to haunt him? Or is there something more to the situation?
All the while, Joey is being watched and constantly judged by the vultures that lurk on the Internet. One of which is Steve Garcia, who finds himself unnaturally compelled to follow a story regarding the Family Television Group, who seem as obsessed with slamming the GWA as Garcia is with them. However, after he's served a cease and desist order by the group, he must decide whether to continue his campaign or face the reality that he's just some 'Internet geek' destined for only pity from those who are grudgingly associated with him.
But was One Fall actually any good? Well since Mr. Baum was gracious enough to give a group of 411 writers a free peak at his book, we've decided to take the time to sit down and discuss its pros and cons and definitively decide for you whether or not this should be in your Christmas stocking this year. Keep in mind, in true 411 style, the reviews are entirely fair and unbiased. We appreciate the free book Spencer, so let's hope you can appreciate our honesty.
The Reviews
Leggo: If this were a wrestling match, and the almighty Steve Garcia himself were to rate it, it would be a ***** classic. It has all the tools neccessary for a quality wrestling match: a slow, borderline tedious start building into a wild, unpredictable power struggle in the middle, culminating in an ending that appeals entirely to the senses and has you ready to either mark out like a 400lb 14-year old girl at a Jeff Hardy match or despair like a coked up Jeff Hardy as said 14-year old dismounts, depending on whether or not the ending is a happy one.
Yes the beginning is rather tedious, but as with wrestling matches, your skepticism is rewarded by the realisation that this is but a neccessary evil and you are in for a rollercoaster ride of emotion and an orgy of fun along the way. At first, everything seems as familiar as a lockup. The cynic in you says that you that OBVIOUSLY the GWA represent the WWE, Revolution are WCW, the FTG represents the PTC and Steve Garcia is a typical Internet nerd and a rather bland writer at that. Nothing strange or startling here. Damn I had high hopes for this book...
But any good storyteller will tell you that the best way to grab your readers' attentions is to hit 'em hard, fast and while they're vulnearable, so when One Fall starts to veer away from it's self-made cliches, it startles you. The cliches have been but clever ploys to familiarise you with the setting. Suddenly, the book has a life of it's own and you've been suckered into it. What else can you do but read? The trickery of it all is outmatched by man's natural need for resolution, so putting the book down is not an option.
And Baum thrives on this. For as similar as this seems to any Kayfable, to any Wrestling Tale or Taking of Triple H, soon you'll realise that never before has any attempted author attacked his piece with such a fundamental understanding of the business. Baum GETS it, and even if he doesn't, the parallel world he's describing seems realistic enough to suffice. The characters are practical but still fascinating (Steve Garcia became a particular favourite of mine, since his is a character so rarely examined in wrestling stories, fact or fiction). The storyline is far-fetched but simultaneously credible, Baum takes enough time to ensure that yes, this is a business where this level of shenanigans can occur. The pacing is also startling. Baum KNOWS where to pull plugs. He KNOWS where to ask questions and doesn't CARE if he has to ask one at the start and wait until the end of the book to answer it. If Baum wasn't proud at how confidently and rationally he attacked his first novel, he should be.
As a wrestling book, this stands up there with Foley's and Flair's autobiographies in terms of raw enjoyment. However, this isn't just a wrestling book. Baum has transcended that genre. This is a fiction book with wrestling as the subject matter, thus shouldn't be given any leeway in the grander scale of things. While this is certainly good enough to set the wrestling world on fire, it's by no means a literary classic and won't have any of the industry's top names shitting themselves anytime soon.
For instance, the language is imaginitive and user friendly, but 90% of the time I was left under the impression that given time and effort I could put together a book just as aesthetically written. Not a good sign for someone who LIKES his authors to completely humble his writing ability. Just a minor issue, but an issue nonetheless.
Another nitpick would be the constant referencing of the net. While I fully appreciate the emphasis Baum was placing on the IWC, making the crap schmos like myself bang on about seem somewhat important, at times the credence given to the net fans seemed overblown and forced. It certainly stunted my sense of disbelief on occassion, for instance when a net blurb about an occuring PPV match was read out on air (read the book, it'll make sense), I couldn't help but think how little the exact same blurb would mean in actuality had Dave Scherer or Wade Keller published something of similar ilk. It'd be fascinating for the couple of thousand fans who read it indeed, but I doubt enough people to fill a sold out Raw show would even ever hear of it's existence, much less the viewing television audience.
I would definitely recommend this to a fellow wrestling fan. Hell, I'd recommend it to a non-wrestling fan who was looking for a fun book to read, though a lot of its beauty would be lost on outsiders. A classic fiction novel? No. But it certainly beats a bunch of published Scott Keith rants, a book on why WCW sucks or a premature Edge autobiography. Rating: 8.0
Mathew Sforcina: I'm trying very hard here to remain level. After all, someone gave me something and asked for my opinion. That's a boost to the ego, no matter what you say. Anyway, onto the book.
One Fall is a good read, in that the language never gets in the way. While I do like books that are beautifully constructed prose, as long as the story is good enough, I don't care. And with One Fall, the story is good enough.
I'm not going to recap the story or anything, but a few points, both good and bad. First the bad. This book is not perfect, alas. But the things that got me were minor. Japan is basically ignored in the story, which is somewhat understandable once you learn more about this version of North American wrestling, but not meeting a single Asian character was a bit of a shock. Also the wink at the start of the book, while serving a purpose, was not fully thought out, since no-one seems to think that a character who is insane and what have you cannot incorperate a manaic wink into his gimmick. But they are minor.
Don't go into this expecting to spot barely hidden characters. While characters are familar and logical, they are not "This is Wrestler X" neon light situations. Actually that's not entriely correct, Zeke Thunder is obvious, but apart from that, this is not what really happened. GWA is not WWE, Revolution is not WCW, Jade Sleek is not Chyna, Victoria or Trish, and Joey is not Benoit, Jericho or Eddie. That said, I'm re-reading the book to spot all the in-jokes and hidden references that I missed the first time round (although the IWC reference made me burst out laughing). And I enjoyed the book the first time round, which is good.
Above all, this book is a well written novel, and a great way to start what I hope will become a bit more common place, of Pro Wrestling Novels (after all, the usual devices, sex, drugs, violence, hatred, they are all there). But I love the book, and recommend it to anyone, it's a great thing to read as a Wrestling Fan, and a good book for those who aren't. Rating: 8.5
Stephen Randle: I'm not a "review" type of guy, I'm just someone who reads a hell of a lot of books. So when I was offered a review copy of One Fall, pretty much all I saw was the words "free book". However, in return for the free book, I feel obligated to offer what thoughts I can on its quality.
My measuring stick for books is how long I can read them without stopping. And this book, weighing in at just under 300 large pages, was polished off in an hour and a half. Without stopping. Starting at 2:30 in the morning, when I'd decided "I'll just start it now for something to read before bed". Reading until the early hours is something reserved for the truly gripping page-turners that I've read over my life, and this, I'm happy to announce, is one of them.
Set in the backstage world of pro wrestling, full of shady characters, hidden motives, where nothing is what it seems, Baum goes right for the obvious plot: a suspense thriller. A single event creates all sorts of questions that hang over the main character for the entire book, until the climactic ending, where twists and turns come a mile a minute. Amd it isn't a dull journey to get to the climax either. The first four chapters of the book, where Baum introduces characters, sets scenes and histories, and introduces many terms that people who aren't wrestling fanatics may not be familiar with, are usually spent trying to place "who this is" in terms of the real world, and really, it's quite easy. However, following the beginning, Baum takes those supposed "copies" and gives them personalities you didn't expect. The end result is characters that, for the most part, are nothing like the wrestlers and personalities we associate with the current faces of wrestling. After that, the story picks up, and you become more caught up in the plot than trying to draw parallels to reality. And when you hit the ending, you will not be disappointed with the results.
I literally could not put this book down once I picked it up, and have since gone back several times to read my favourite parts over and over. As someone who has spent a significant portion of their life reading books, I can safely say that this is a top-tier suspense novel, and well worth your time to pick up, especially for wrestling fans. I give it my highest recommendation. Rating: 9.5
Peter Kent: There is a lot to like about One Fall. The pacing is a little slow to ramp up in the beginning, but then hits a brisk pace and before you know it you're deep into the novel. That's a very good thing, to me. The story was good, too. Actually, I was really impressed with Baum's ability to weave a whole bunch of threads into an intricate whole. While I did guess at one final twist a few chapters before it happened, I was still impressed with it.
My one "complaint" would be is that I feel the characters could use some more depth. I didn't really feel much of a connection to Joey, and don't really know much about him. Jade Sleek, too, was more of just a "wrestling woman" rather than a human being. Also, in wrestling, there's a lot of really whacky real life characters, but in this they all seemed pretty normal. Perverts other than myself could have used a sleazy sex scene too.
Wait I have another gripe. The cover needed some SPICE. I judge books by their covers and this one had two amateur wrestlers grappling, which doesn't do the book justice at all. I realise this might have been out of the author's control, though, and probably isn't a big deal to most people.
Overall though, once I sat down to really read this I flew through the whole thing. Generally, I'll read a bit of a book and if it starts to suck I put it away forever and curse whoever invented the written word for making me waste my time. I got through One Fall and was glad to have read it. I also get the feeling Baum is just getting started and that his best works are yet to come. $19 is a lot to ask someone to pay for a book, I'd suggest to anyone to sit down in the store and read this, and if it grabs you like it did me, pick it up. Rating: 7.5
Matt Nute: One Fall grabbed me from the moment I picked it up. Baum uses enough archetypes from recognizable wrestling federations to make the story seem familiar, yet all-new and creative at the same time. Strip away the genre, and it's an amazingly suspenseful read. Now place it in the world of professional wrestling, in and out of the ring, and it becomes quite possibly one of the most unique stories I've read in a while.
The only problem I had with the book was a tendency to overanalyze, assuming that certain characters were meant to be analogues of real-life wrestlers. This led me to keep second-guessing the plot, which I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by. However, for the lay reader, it's an excellent story. Above all else, though, it almost stands as the best "welcome to the inside world of wrestling" tale around. Although using fictional characters and settings, One Fall is as honest a depiction of the business as it's possible to write without having stepped into the ring. Rating: 9.0
Larry Csonka Larry Csonka: To be honest with you, I don’t read a whole lot. The only books that I seem to be able to read cover to cover are wrestling books. I read both Foley books in about 2 days, the Flair, Dynamite Kid and other small ones in one day. They intrigued me and kept my attention. They were about something I have loved for over 22 years, and have been a part of for the last 3.
Add “One Fall” to the list. I agree with some of my colleagues here about the slow start. I was worried and actually put it down for an hour or so. But when I picked it back up I was rewarded with a gripping story that I could not put down. Spencer Baum creates a wonderful story that will grip the “mark” and “smark” alike. My complaints would be the slow start, as I almost did not want to finish this because of my reading habits. But once you get going, you will not be sorry.
As a fan, a writer and a part-time wrestler this book really does have it all. I would recommend it. Rating: 8.0
The 411
Gets off to a slow start, but for those who persist, One Fall serves as a gripping, rewarding read that any wrestling fan, and a great majority of non-fans, would have difficulty putting down. An excellent start to what will hopefully be a prosperous genre. Definitely recommended.
