The Road Warriors

April 11, 2011
As the Road Warriors, "Animal" and "Hawk" made up one of the most famous acts in the pro wrestling heyday of the 1980s and 1990s. From the rise of the WCW to Vince McMahon's breaking of "kayfabe" (pretending that wrestling is real) and redefining wrestling as "sports entertainment" to steroid scandals, drug-related deaths, and spiritual awakenings, the Road Warriors were witness to it allâuntil the death of Hawk himself, of a heart attack, in 2003. In this intimate memoir, Laurinaitis recounts their training, their rise to glory, their fall from it, the second chances, and the entirety of their time together in the ring, providing a unique insight into professional wrestling. Laurinaitis is incredibly detailed in his recollections, practically taking readers on a step by step tour of his wrestling experiences. While fans or those familiar with his career will appreciate the minutia, others will likely be bored as titles, championships, and wrestlers stream forth by the dozen. Laurinaitis speaks with a welcome candor, but a bit more reflection on the sport and not just the matches would have been nice.

February 1, 2011
Pro-wrestling fans will instantly recognize Laurinaitis as one half of the Road Warriors, a tag team who were, for roughly 20 years, superstars in the wrestling game. With his friend Mike Hegstrand, Laurinaitis helped turn pro wrestling from a sideshow curiosity into a mainstream sport and a business empire. Laurinaitis takes us through his professional career, and while the book includes its share of descriptions of in-the-ring dramatics, it also has some pretty shrewd commentary on the wrestling business. You dont often see, for example, a wrestler come right out and say that the fighting is faked, but here Laurinaitis takes us through the training process and shows how he and Hegstrand learned to put on a show for fans without inflicting any real physical punishment (slamming their foot down hard on the canvas, for example, while pretending to punch an opponent). He also touches on such subjects as steroid abuse, psychological trauma, choosing a character, and the behind-the-scenes business of pro wrestling. A lively, highly informative look at an ever-more-popular though still controversial sport.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)