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    My Favorite Match: WWE Superstars Tell the Stories of Their Most Memorable Matches
    My Favorite Match: WWE Superstars Tell the Stories of Their Most Memorable Matches
    My Favorite Match: WWE Superstars Tell the Stories of Their Most Memorable Matches
    Ebook177 pages2 hours

    My Favorite Match: WWE Superstars Tell the Stories of Their Most Memorable Matches

    By Jon Robinson

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Remember the time Goldust ran over “Rowdy” Roddy Piper in his gold Cadillac? How about when Randy Orton battled Mick Foley with a barbed-wire bat named “Barbie”?

    When you ask a WWE Superstar what his favorite match is, you might be surprised by his answer. But that’s the thing about a phrase like “favorite match.” It’s not about the greatest match in their careers or the time they won their first title. It’s about the moments that stand out and make them smile. Sometimes, it’s the same smile they had when they left the ring, face full of blood and sweat, to the roars of thousands. Sometimes, it’s the smile they tried so hard to hide when anything and everything seemed to go so wrong that even the ring announcer was accidentally injured in their struggle. And sometimes, it’s the smile only the showmen themselves share with each other as brothers in battle with one goal in mind: doing whatever it takes to put on the best show possible, even if it means landing on a few thousand thumbtacks along the way.

    These are their stories, straight from the Superstars who performed some of the most memorable matches in WWE history. These are the most unexpected, the most brutal, the most hilarious, and the most unforgettable moments of their careers—captured in their own words.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWorld Wrestling Entertainment
    Release dateJul 31, 2012
    ISBN9781451631777
    My Favorite Match: WWE Superstars Tell the Stories of Their Most Memorable Matches
    Author

    Jon Robinson

    Jon Robinson writes 'The Gamer' column for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, for which he has interviewed everyone from Kobe Bryant to Tiger Woods. He is the coauthor of The Madden Phenomenon and has a BA in creative writing from San Fransisco State University.

    Read more from Jon Robinson

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    • 4/5
      Dated now but still a lot of fun to read from a historical point of view. Id dig to see a 2020 follow up though

    Book preview

    My Favorite Match - Jon Robinson

    Remember the time Goldust ran over Rowdy Roddy Piper in his gold Cadillac? How about when Randy Orton battled Mick Foley with a barbed-wire bat named Barbie?

    When you ask a WWE Superstar what his favorite match is, you might be surprised by his answer. But that’s the thing about a phrase like favorite match. It’s not about the greatest match in their careers or the time they won their first title. It’s about the moments that stand out and make them smile. Sometimes, it’s the same smile they had when they left the ring, face full of blood and sweat, to the roars of thousands. Sometimes, it’s the smile they tried so hard to hide when anything and everything seemed to go so wrong that even the ring announcer was accidentally injured in their struggle. And sometimes, it’s the smile only the showmen themselves share with each other as brothers in battle with one goal in mind: doing whatever it takes to put on the best show possible, even if it means landing on a few thousand thumbtacks along the way.

    These are their stories, straight from the Superstars who performed some of the most memorable matches in WWE history. These are the most unexpected, the most brutal, the most hilarious, and the most unforgettable moments of their careers—captured in their own words.

       

    MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT

    SimonandSchuster.com

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    Also visit wwe.com

    COVER DESIGN BY FRANCO MALAGISI • PHOTOS COURTESY OF PRO WRESTLING ILLUSTRATED

    MY

    FAVORITE

    MATCH

    Also by Jon Robinson

    Rumble Road: Untold Stories from Outside the Ring

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    Title Page

    Gallery Books

    A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

    1230 Avenue of the Americas

    New York, NY 10020

    www.SimonandSchuster.com

    Copyright © 2012 by World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    World Wrestling Entertainment, the names of all World Wrestling Entertainment televised and live programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans and wrestling moves, and all World Wrestling Entertainment logos and trademarks are the exclusive property of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. Nothing in this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

    This book is a publication of Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., under exclusive license from World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

    All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

    All photos copyright World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

    First Gallery Books trade paperback edition July 2012

    GALLERY BOOKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

    The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

    Robinson, Jon.

      My favorite match / Jon Robinson.

            p. cm

      1. Wrestling matches. 2. Wrestlers. I. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

      II. Title. III. Title: My favorite match.

            GV1196.25.R65 2012

            796.812—dc23

    2011045054

    ISBN 978-1-4516-3176-0

    ISBN 978-1-4516-3177-7 (ebook)

    For all the WWE Superstars who put their bodies on the line and to all the fans who cheer them along the way . . .

    Contents

    Introduction

    Chapter 1: The Miz

    Chapter 2: Randy Orton

    Chapter 3: John Morrison

    Chapter 4: Shawn Michaels

    Chapter 5: Goldust

    Chapter 6: Jerry Lawler

    Chapter 7: Christian

    Chapter 8: Cody Rhodes

    Chapter 9: Sgt. Slaughter

    Chapter 10: Dolph Ziggler

    Chapter 11: Kofi Kingston

    Chapter 12: Rowdy Roddy Piper

    Chapter 13: The American Dream Dusty Rhodes

    Chapter 14: Mark Henry

    Chapter 15: Sheamus

    Chapter 16: Wade Barrett

    Chapter 17: R-Truth

    Chapter 18: Alex Riley

    Chapter 19: Zack Ryder

    Chapter 20: Triple H

    Chapter 21: William Regal

    Chapter 22: Jack Swagger

    Chapter 23: Ricky The Dragon Steamboat

    Chapter 24: Kane

    Chapter 25: Rey Mysterio

    Chapter 26: Alberto Del Rio

    Acknowledgments

    About the Author

    Photographs

    Introduction

    My favorite match? That’s easy: Ricky The Dragon Steamboat versus Randy Macho Man Savage at WrestleMania III. I was fourteen years old when I saw Steamboat and Savage trade shots at a mind-blowing pace. Every move seemed like it was going to be the last, with near-fall after near-fall. I had never seen anything like it before. I had never been so captivated by any sporting event in my life. It’s the match that flipped the switch inside of me from fan to superfan. It’s the match that made me grasp how important storytelling was, not only leading up to the match, but between the ropes. And it’s the match that made me realize that on any given night, even when the main event is Hulk Hogan versus Andre the Giant, a sensational story paired up with an electrifying display of athleticism can steal the show, even when that show is WrestleMania.

    But that’s just my personal favorite. Funny thing is, Ricky Steamboat never saw the match as being one of his personal favorites until recently. Until hearing from passionate fans like myself for over twenty years (some of the same fans who sent Steamboat get-well cards and called hospitals in search of updates on the wrestler’s crushed larynx) finally convinced him to take a step back and have a second look at his match against Savage.

    A match Steamboat finally sees as the groundbreaking masterpiece I fell for as a fourteen-year-old who wanted to be the next Dragon.

    But that’s the thing about a phrase like favorite match. It’s not about the greatest match in their careers or the time they won their first title, it’s about the moments that stand out, as they think back on their careers, and make them smile. Sometimes it’s the same smile they had when they left the ring—face full of blood, sweat, and/or mysterious green mist—to the roars of thousands. Sometimes it’s the smile they tried so hard to hide when anything and everything seemed to go so wrong (like when the ring announcer was accidentally injured in their struggle). And sometimes it’s the smile only the showmen themselves share with each other as brothers in battle with one goal in mind: to do whatever it takes to put on the best show possible, even if it means landing on a few thousand thumbtacks along the way.

    These are their stories, straight from the Superstars who performed some of the most memorable matches in WWE history. From the time Goldust ran over Rowdy Roddy Piper in his gold Cadillac to the time Randy Orton battled Mick Foley with a barbed-wire bat named Barbie, these are those special (sometimes savage) moments, captured in the wrestlers’ own words.

    Jon Robinson

    1

    THE MIZ

    The Match: The Miz versus John Cena

    WrestleMania XXVII

    April 3, 2011

    Georgia Dome

    Atlanta, Georgia

    I’m standing backstage waiting for The Rock to rip me a new one, and I can’t wait. We’re building up to WrestleMania XXVII, and The Rock has just made his return to Raw. I didn’t even know what The Rock’s involvement at WrestleMania was going to be at this point, I just knew that somehow, some way, he was going to now be involved in my match, and I loved it. You see, for years, one of my favorite things about WWE was watching The Rock get on the mic and tear into an opponent. He always had the best lines. He always came up with some creative way to get the crowd cracking up as he ridiculed his rival in a way no other performer could match. So there I was, wondering what The Rock would say about me. How would he get the fans fired up in a way only he could?

    Then he said it. You suck! Really? Really? I remember when he first started talking, I couldn’t even believe he was talking about me. I was like, Oh man, The Rock just said my name. How cool is that? But then it sank in. You suck! That’s it? After years of dreaming about this moment, that’s all the Great One had to say? I couldn’t believe it. I had wanted to be a WWE Superstar because of The Rock. I dreamed of the day he’d get in the ring, grab a microphone, and say something about me that fans would remember for years. But all he said was I suck. That’s all he had. I couldn’t believe it.

    So the next week I came out on Raw and I said, That’s it? That’s all you could come up with? ‘You suck’? Really? ‘You suck’? Well, you really got me there. What’s cool about The Rock, though, is that even during the weeks when he wasn’t performing he would call me. He would tell me, Hey Miz, you’re really doing a great job out there. And honestly, this really meant a lot to me because I thought I was getting lost in the shuffle out there. I was the WWE Champion, but all anyone could seem to talk about was John Cena and The Rock. I was trying to make my way up in WWE and be seen as someone to be reckoned with, but the way I was seeing it, I was lost in the shuffle. I was thinking, This can’t happen. I’m the WWE Champion. I’m the person people are supposed to be talking about. But with two big icons like that, two of the biggest icons in WWE history, it’s hard to compete in the eyes of the fans. I think it really took a while in order for me to get credibility with the fans, but WWE kept building me and building me and building me, and that really helped make me. In the beginning, though, I was really losing my mind. I didn’t know what the hell was going on, and the more people talked about Cena and The Rock, the more I was losing it. But then Rock would call me up and tell me how I was on point every time I was going out there, and he told me to keep it up. He told me I needed to be on point from now on in order to get to where I wanted to be, and that’s exactly what happened when we finally had the moment where the three of us all got in the ring at the same time. There we were, The Miz, John Cena, and The Rock all in the ring. I’m in the ring

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