Rating: 
Summary: Interesting yet sad look into the world of pro wrestling
Review: I found the book "Sex, Lies, and Headlocks" to be interesting, though some of the stories to be quite depressing. It is just amazing some of the stuff that goes behind the scenes in the wrestling business. For one, I was shocked what Vader said after learning of the death of Brian Pillman.The timeline of the book goes from the start of the NWA in 1948 to when the McMahon's moved their WWF company from USA over to Viacom. I'd recommend the book for all wrestling fans thought acknowleging that it is not perfect. There are some inaccuracies with dates and other information. The authors flip back and forth between topics. This can lead to some incohesivenss and rather pointless info that may be just included for pure shock factor. At the end of the book their is a final chapter that is very rushed. It includes the XFL, demise of ECW, and the sale of WCW to Vince McMahon. I felt that the sale should have had alot more detail since it was one of the biggest news stories in wrestling history. It would have been nice if the authors would have gone into more detail covering it. The book was a bit short (258 Pages, not the 288 Amazon.com lists) and can be read at a fast pace. The language in the book is not the greatest. I can understand when the authors quote someone but I was suprised to see some of the words they used themselves. It did not bother me but it might not be a great choice to read for someone who is of a younger age. Would have been nice to see the book a bit longer and covering more topics but this is probably the best book on wrestling that has been released lately. Despite the cons, It was still very enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: As honest as it gets
Review: The pleasant surprise of this book is that the authors, despite the title, didn't just stick to the career and decisions of Vince McMahon. They went through the history of professional wrestling as we know it and took a hard look at the other two major leagues, the AWA and the NWA/WCW and showed that whatever problems are inherit in pro wrestling, they weren't all invented by Vince McMahon. And they showed that even if Vince left the industry tomorrow, there would still be problems.
To that end, I'm a bit disappointed that the authors didn't take a close look at World Class Chanpionship Wrestling, where the misadvantures of the Von Erich family made the WWF's seediest side seem tame by comparison, nor did we get a look at why ECW, which was a strong, promising and exciting product, fell apart.
All in all, a good read that shows that blame is a lot like creamed spinach in the lunchline: plenty to go around, but no one wants to take their share.
Rating: 
Summary: Facts wrong.
Review: This book is well written, but not a lot of research was done. It's written like fiction. Andre the Giant did not retire in 1987, as this book states. He won the world title in 88, and the tag titles in 1990. Sloppy facts and enough made up info and verbiage make this book a no go.
Rating:
Summary: Distorted Facts
Review: Sex, Lies and Headlocks provides a nice amount of inside details to how the behind the scenes of wrestling works, but it has serious shortcomings. To begin with, the story is a very onesided commentary. Despite what Shaun Assael has to say, Vince McMahon deserves a lot of respect. Assael seems to blame McMahon for everything that is wrong with the world today, and fails to acknowledge how Vince took a freak circus sideshow act into a billion dollar corporation. That in itself deserves a lot of respect. The thing that probably is the most annoying thing about the book is that facts are very distorted to make wrestlers and McMahon appear bad. Dates are wrong, stories are out of order or described in a very one-sided way. As I said, if you want to learn a little about pro wrestling read this book, but if you want an accurate depiction, don't buy into everything that is written. And give Vince McMahon the respect he deserves.
Rating:
Summary: Better than sex -- almost
Review: I wrote this review for my July 12 syndicated pro wrestling column on the Scripps-Howard News Service. I strongly recommend this book to both the casual fan who wants to learn more about the business or the hardcore follower who might not know the background behind the people and decisions that shaped the industry. Here's the review: Sex, Lies, and Headlocks are no longer exclusive to World Wrestling Entertainment programming. The phrase serves as the title for an excellent new book chronicling the modern history of professional wrestling and the behind-the-scenes happenings that led to WWE owner Vince McMahon becoming the unquestioned king of the ring. Authors Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham cover every major event of the past 20 years. That includes the accidental death of Owen Hart in a 1999 ring entrance mishap, the demise of World Championship Wrestling and the anabolic steroid scandal that almost landed McMahon in prison. "This book is about how wrestling evolved, especially in respect to the last 10 or 15 years and more so specifically the Monday night wars," said Mooneyham, referring to the competition between WWE's Monday Night Raw and WCW's Monday Nitro from 1995 to 2001. "I don't think you have to be a wrestling fan to enjoy it. And for casual fans, it may be looking at the business in a way they haven't before." Sex, Lies, and Headlocks tells many of the sordid stories known only by wrestling insiders and hardcore newsletter readers will become public. There are allegations of cocaine use and infidelity by McMahon as well as a detailed account of the sex scandal that rocked WWE in the early 1990s (WWE spokesman Jayson Bernstein said the company had no comment on Sex, Lies, and Headlocks, claiming, "It's not even on our radar."). McMahon is the book's main figure and a compelling one at that, being raised in a mobile home in rural North Carolina before clawing his way to become head of a major entertainment conglomerate. Although McMahon refused interview requests for Sex, Lies, and Headlocks, Assael and Mooneyham spoke with more than 200 people connected with the wrestling business (including Kevin Nash and ex-WCW president Eric Bischoff) in their research. Assael began writing Sex, Lies, and Headlocks several years ago shortly after writing a critically acclaimed book on NASCAR. Admittedly not a wrestling fan growing up, Assael enlisted Mooneyham to provide background information and insure than an accurate and unbiased picture of a complex industry would be presented. Sex, Lies, and Headlocks deserves high praise on that account, especially considering how frequently wrestling news is distorted by mainstream media outlets that don't understand the subject or get conned by those in a business based on deception. "I knew nothing going in other than it was a hell of a story," said Assael, whose interest in writing a wrestling book was piqued by McMahon's 1994 steroid trial. "It's like anything else I do. I trust the fact I've been a reporter for more than 20 years and I trust my instincts on how to do this work." Of course, fitting two decades of wrestling into 264 pages meant that some (but not many) notable historic facts were omitted. Details about the wrestlers themselves - especially "Stone Cold" Steve Austin - also received short shrift compared to the attention given to network executives. Mooneyham said he and Assael compiled enough material to write another four books. "I think this book has got an engine to it," said Assael, who writes for ESPN the Magazine. "As much as people who love wrestling think we may have left stuff out, it was a more important victory to have a good, fast read." -30-
Rating:
Summary: Good book, but title is misleading
Review: This is a really good book. But it is not all about Vince McMahon. It is about wrestling in general, the whole WWF, WCW, Eric Bischoff, the Monday Night Wars. I would have loved to read more behind the scenes stuff w/ McMahon. I don't know why the author named the book what he did, he should have made the title more general. I mean they do talk about Vince, his steroid trial, and the way he took over most of the wrestling world. But there are chapters full of info not involving Vince at all. But it is still very entertaining. I liked hearing why Ted Turner bought WCW, Dusty Rhodes almost destroying it with too many "Dusty finishes", how Vince put on Pay Per Views and even a free Royal Rumble on at the same time WCW shows were run, trying to destroy them (I didn't know that!!), the theory behind Goldust and how he started the new direction of the WWF, Brian Pillmans Loose Cannon personality actully being a gimmick Bischoff created, his death and how Mcmahon treated it, among other stuff.
The main problem I had was the author talked about certain wrestlers by their real name, not stage name, and it made me a little confussed, I had to keep going back to see who they were talking about (I ended up reading about this guy I didnt know who it was, then realized it was Ole Anderson). And the Steroid trial, although informative, was a little too informative, too many names of attorneys and watchdogs mentioned. Other than those two tiny things, plus the title being misleading, I really found this book to be very good. Any wrestling fan should pick it up.
Rating: 
Summary: A Mess of Contradictions and Just a Bad Book
Review: Other reviewers have mentioned the many factual errors in Sex, Lies and Headlocks, so those aren't worth rehashing. However, these apparently novice writers can't decide on a point of view - in one section they're cheering the WWE's or WCW's ratings dominance, the next they're presenting the actions of L. Brent Bozell as if his assertions had some basis in reality. And why is WCW even mentioned outside its role as a competitor? The book is subtitled "The real story of VINCE MCMAHON AND WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT." Full chapters are devoted to Eric Bischoff and WCW, presumably to lengthen an already-brief book with plenty of fact-checking problems. What's more, there is no information here that can't be found in the WWE's own video, The Monday Night Wars, or on WWE Confidential. This "real" story is the same as the one the WWE tells, begging the question, "Why say this again?" Finally, this book is poorly written and badly edited, lending another level of amateurism to its writers and their publisher. Did no one line-edit this book? If they did, they can take one of my writing classes, as long as they don't expect to do well. Sex, Lies and Headlocks is a pitiful excuse for a book on anything, much less a book on wrestling or a "tell-all." I regret wasting my money on this piece of unmitigated garbage, and its "writers" should be ashamed of themselves. The world needs far, far fewer books like this one.
Rating:
Summary: Another journalist's crusade against wrestling
Review: This is not a book that does any justice for professional wrestling in the least. It is written by yet another one of these elitist journalists who has a disdain for wrestling. Just to give you an idea of the quality of this book, look at the cover; Vince McMahon's head is placed on Scott Hall's body in some kind juvenile attempt to take a shot at McMahon. On top of that, like most of these pro wrestling haters in the newsroom, it is not factually written, because they don't watch the shows and therefore they don't know much about the topic. Plus they are so insensed on ripping apart Vince McMahon they just plainly don't care, which they show in this heartless, thoughtless diatribe about the wrestling business. There is not all good in wrestling, but books such as Wrestlecrap, Tributes and the Top 100 cover the hard topics in a tasteful method. The reason is because these books are written by individuals who understand and respect the wrestling business. These elitist journalists make me sick. If you want to learn about wrestling, please don't buy this book, it is just a journalist's hateful look at professional wrestling and we don't need books like this associated with professional wrestling. Just a plainly awful book all the way!
Rating: 
Summary: Was this really researched well?
Review: The major concern I have is whether or not some rarely known facts were thoroughly researched. My concern comes from the fact that there were many inaccuracies in the book that I knew for a fact were wrong. For instance, the Rick Steamboat-Randy Savage WMIII match that Assael claims went nearly an hour, was actually a fifteen minute affair. Assael also writes that Lex Luger slammed Yokozuna on "July 4, 1995" just prior to his shocking appearance on Nitro. Problem was, the bodyslam actually took place July 4, 1993 - big difference. If he can't get this stuff right - which is can be found very easily in any old PWI Almanac - how can we trust him to know what was going on in meetings with Vince McMahon and Ted Turner held behind closed doors?
Rating:
Summary: The "Real" Story?
Review: This book has a bad tendency to jump around a lot in history, going from one year to the next without any clear transitions, so in one page, you'll be talking about Bruno and Gorgeous George (Wagner), then the next, talking about Marc Mero and Sable. Putting that aside, it is a very enjoyable read, not terribly accurate in places, and often attributing personality traits to people mentioned within the book that seem inconsistent with what has been previously established. If you're looking for a National Enquirer type feel to the book, you won't find it here. Mr. Assael and Mr. Mooneyham attempt to paint a historical look at how the World Wrestling Federation became the global power that it is currently. Again, not terribly accurate in places, from what has been established previously by such notable people as Dave Meltzer, Mike Champman, and other wrestling personalities. However, aside from all that, it is still very entertaining and enlightening, but it lacks scope. It seems that the main purpose is to bring us from Vince Sr.'s Capitol Wrestling to the WWF's purchase of WCW in 2001 with as little detail as possible in between. A worthwhile purchase, but not an essential item. Wait until it becomes a remainder item, and get it for under $10.
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