Wrestling with the Truth
If you ve been a fan of wrestling for the past quarter of a century, you are already aware of the wrestlers who have passed away, well before they should have. Bruno talks about some of these. What really struck me was all the times that Bruno nearly died, none were in the ring. Some of those times were at the hands of his good friend Sid Vicious, (you ll have to read the book to get the whole stories). Maybe the name Psycho Sid should have stuck with Sid, lol. Another serious story covers the wreck that killed WWE ref, Joey Marella, (Bruno was asleep in the back seat). The last thing I ll say about this is these guys were supermen inside the rings, outside the ring, they were mortals and it caught up with them.Bruno also shows his loyalty, to his friends and to the people who sign his check. Many younger people probably won t understand that statement, but to anyone born before 1970, you re only as good as your word. If you tell someone something, you do it. Bruno did everything he could to protect wrestling, in the days of kayfabe. On the flip side, and I commend him for this, Bruno shows his faults as well. He doesn t hide his struggles with alcohol, redneck friends, etc.I mentioned big Sid earlier, but someone else he talks about at length is Rocky Johnson, who he worked with in Hawaii, (before his time in Memphis.) This also leads to some very entertaining stories about Bruno hanging out with a 14 year old, Dwayne Johnson, who would later become know to the world as the The Rock . They are friends to this day, and the Rock even wrote the book's foreword.While some people may want to sweet coat things, Bruno doesn t and tells exactly what he thinks about the people he's dealt with over the years: Eddie Gilbert, Bill Dundee, Paul Heyman, Bruce Pritchard, Jerry Lawler, Robert Fuller, Eddie Marlin, Jerry Jarrett, Tojo Yamamoto, Hulk Hogan, Paul Diamond, Billy Travis, Kurt Angle, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, Roddy Piper, Vince McMahon, HHH, Scott Hall and many, many more.All in all, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this book. Some of the stories are funny, some are sad while some will make you mad. It s a great ride through the final days of what used to be the regional wrestling territories. It also walks you through the emergence of a new world of wrestling superstars (The Rock, Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, etc). Whether you are totally old-school in your wrestling, or if you prefer the new stuff, Downtown Bruno transcends both eras and delivers the goods with a highly entertaining book.--Mark James on Memphis Wrestling HistoryBruno has accomplished what few manage to do when writing their life story, whereas he did so by calling it the way he saw it without concern for his antagonist s feelings, yet making certain he showed appreciation to those who helped him along the way, never taking credit for his own success in the comical, yet sometimes tragic, world of professional wrestling. --Rich Tate, georgiawrestlinghistory.comWhen I first got into the wrestling business, Bruno was the first guy in Memphis to open up to me. He welcomed me into the business with open arms, and that's something I will never forget. Bruno really helped me get over during my developmental stage by teaching me many of the ins and outs of the business, both by watching him in action and by using him as a tackling dummy. His book is phenomenal and I highly recommend it to everybody. You will learn a lot about the business of professional wrestling, and in the process, you will laugh your ass off. --Kurt Angle