Slobberknocker: My Life in Wrestling

The Wrestling Biography You’ve Been Waiting For!

There are few people who have been in the wrestling business longer than Jim Ross. And those who have made it as long as he has (half a century to be exact) probably made enemies or burned bridges. But that’s just not JR.

Slobberknocker is the story of how an Oklahoman farm kid, with a vivid imagination and seemingly unattainable dreams, became “The Voice of Wrestling” to record TV audiences and millions of fans around the world.

Jim opens up about his life as an only child on a working farm, who became obsessed with professional wrestling having first saw it on his grandparent’s TV. Even though the wrestling business was notoriously secretive and wary of “outsiders,” he somehow got a foot in the door to start a historic career, one where he held almost every job in the business―from putting up the ring to calling matches, from driving his blind, drunk boss towards revenge, to consoling two naked 600 pound brothers in the shower room after a rough match.

With all those adventures and responsibilities, he’s also recognized as the man who built and nurtured a once-in-a-generation talent roster that took the WWE to new heights, including “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Brock Lesnar, and The Rock to name a few. Readers will finally get the opportunity to hear never-before-told stories about the politics, wackiness, and personalities of all the biggest stars.

But this isn’t just a wrestling story. It’s a story about overcoming adversity and achieving your dreams, as success did not come without significant costs and unforeseen challenges to JR, including multiple bouts of severe facial paralysis called Bell’s Palsy.

Currently the host of the podcast The Ross Report, any fan of wrestling―from the territory days to today―will be enthralled with stories from the road and behind the scenes. Slobberknocker is the first time Ross tells his story―and you don’t want to miss it!

1301215066
Slobberknocker: My Life in Wrestling

The Wrestling Biography You’ve Been Waiting For!

There are few people who have been in the wrestling business longer than Jim Ross. And those who have made it as long as he has (half a century to be exact) probably made enemies or burned bridges. But that’s just not JR.

Slobberknocker is the story of how an Oklahoman farm kid, with a vivid imagination and seemingly unattainable dreams, became “The Voice of Wrestling” to record TV audiences and millions of fans around the world.

Jim opens up about his life as an only child on a working farm, who became obsessed with professional wrestling having first saw it on his grandparent’s TV. Even though the wrestling business was notoriously secretive and wary of “outsiders,” he somehow got a foot in the door to start a historic career, one where he held almost every job in the business―from putting up the ring to calling matches, from driving his blind, drunk boss towards revenge, to consoling two naked 600 pound brothers in the shower room after a rough match.

With all those adventures and responsibilities, he’s also recognized as the man who built and nurtured a once-in-a-generation talent roster that took the WWE to new heights, including “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Brock Lesnar, and The Rock to name a few. Readers will finally get the opportunity to hear never-before-told stories about the politics, wackiness, and personalities of all the biggest stars.

But this isn’t just a wrestling story. It’s a story about overcoming adversity and achieving your dreams, as success did not come without significant costs and unforeseen challenges to JR, including multiple bouts of severe facial paralysis called Bell’s Palsy.

Currently the host of the podcast The Ross Report, any fan of wrestling―from the territory days to today―will be enthralled with stories from the road and behind the scenes. Slobberknocker is the first time Ross tells his story―and you don’t want to miss it!

18.54 Out Of Stock

Hardcover

$18.54  $24.99 Save 26% Current price is $18.54, Original price is $24.99. You Save 26%.
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Temporarily Out of Stock Online
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview


The Wrestling Biography You’ve Been Waiting For!

There are few people who have been in the wrestling business longer than Jim Ross. And those who have made it as long as he has (half a century to be exact) probably made enemies or burned bridges. But that’s just not JR.

Slobberknocker is the story of how an Oklahoman farm kid, with a vivid imagination and seemingly unattainable dreams, became “The Voice of Wrestling” to record TV audiences and millions of fans around the world.

Jim opens up about his life as an only child on a working farm, who became obsessed with professional wrestling having first saw it on his grandparent’s TV. Even though the wrestling business was notoriously secretive and wary of “outsiders,” he somehow got a foot in the door to start a historic career, one where he held almost every job in the business―from putting up the ring to calling matches, from driving his blind, drunk boss towards revenge, to consoling two naked 600 pound brothers in the shower room after a rough match.

With all those adventures and responsibilities, he’s also recognized as the man who built and nurtured a once-in-a-generation talent roster that took the WWE to new heights, including “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Brock Lesnar, and The Rock to name a few. Readers will finally get the opportunity to hear never-before-told stories about the politics, wackiness, and personalities of all the biggest stars.

But this isn’t just a wrestling story. It’s a story about overcoming adversity and achieving your dreams, as success did not come without significant costs and unforeseen challenges to JR, including multiple bouts of severe facial paralysis called Bell’s Palsy.

Currently the host of the podcast The Ross Report, any fan of wrestling―from the territory days to today―will be enthralled with stories from the road and behind the scenes. Slobberknocker is the first time Ross tells his story―and you don’t want to miss it!


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781683581130
Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC
Publication date: 10/03/2017
Pages: 352
Sales rank: 272,833
Product dimensions: 6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author


Jim Ross has been involved in professional wrestling for more than forty years. Elected into the WWE, NWA, and National Wrestling Halls of Fame, he is known and respected throughout the wrestling world. Ross is also a New York Times bestselling author, a BBQ guru, and the host of his own podcast (The Ross Report), and he can be read through his columns on Fox Sports as well as his work with CBS Sports, AXS TV, and Britain’s ITV.

Paul O’Brien is an award-winning filmmaker and bestselling author from Wexford, Ireland. His Blood Red Turns Dollar Green novels—a crime trilogy set in wrestling’s territory days—have been bestsellers in Canada, Australia, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States. Paul is currently developing those novels for TV.

Vincent K. McMahon is the chairman and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. A third-generation sports entertainment promoter, he has built the WWE into the top wrestling organization in the world, including taking the company public in 1999.

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin is a Hall of Fame wrestler, most known for his time in the WWE, and is one of the most popular stars in the genre’s long history. He held 19 championships during his career, while being the leader of the illustrious “Attitude Era.” Austin hosts Broken Skull Challenge, his successful podcast The Steve Austin Show, and is the New York Times bestselling author of The Stone Cold Truth, which he wrote with Jim Ross and Dennis Brent.

Table of Contents

Foreword Vincent K. McMahon xiii

WrestleMania XV: 1999 xv

Part 1 Before Wrestling (1952-74) 1

Chapter 1 Growing Up 3

Chapter 2 Watching Wrestling 13

Chapter 3 Going to the Matches 17

Chapter 4 Leaving Home 19

Chapter 5 College 21

Chapter 6 The Call 26

Chapter 7 The Fundraiser 32

Part 2 Mid-South (1974-85) 35

Chapter 8 Start in the Business 37

Chapter 9 Refereeing 45

Chapter 10 Still Learning 53

Chapter 11 Behind the Mic 62

Chapter 12 Not Behind the Mic 69

Chapter 13 Trying to Stay in Wrestling 73

Chapter 14 Out of the Business 81

Chapter 15 Getting Back in 85

Chapter 16 Back in Mid-South 89

Chapter 17 At the Top Table 99

Chapter 18 Changes from New York 106

Chapter 19 The Greatest 110

Chapter 20 Going National 116

Part 3 UWF (1986-87) 123

Chapter 21 The Expansion 125

Chapter 22 The Decline and Sale 129

Part 4 Crockett (1987-88) 133

Chapter 23 Crockett 135

Chapter 24 Let the Games Begin 141

Chapter 25 Returning Home 147

Chapter 26 Last Days of Crockett 149

Part 5 WCW (1988-93) 153

Chapter 27 Herd, Flair, and the Ladies in the Limo 155

Chapter 28 Booking Committee 161

Chapter 29 Rotating Announcers 165

Chapter 30 Steamboat and Flair 170

Chapter 31 Starrcade 173

Chapter 32 Some Old Faces Return 177

Chapter 33 Building Sting 179

Chapter 34 Lady on a Plane 183

Chapter 35 Heyman 186

Chapter 36 Changes, Old and New 190

Chapter 37 Japan 195

Chapter 38 Flair Leaves 198

Chapter 39 Changing of the Guard 200

Chapter 40 My Last Days in WCW 208

Part 6 WWF (1993-99) 213

Chapter 41 Vince 215

Chapter 42 WCW Radio 221

Chapter 43 WrestleMania IX 223

Chapter 44 Growing Pains 227

Chapter 45 Making Friends 233

Chapter 46 In Sickness and in Health 236

Chapter 47 In and Out 239

Chapter 48 Vince and Good OI' JR 246

Chapter 49 The New and the Old 250

Chapter 50 Market Research 254

Chapter 51 Back to Announcing 257

Chapter 52 Changing Roles 261

Chapter 53 The "JJ Role" 266

Chapter 54 Talent 277

Chapter 55 The Black Hat 284

Chapter 56 So Long, Dad 286

Chapter 57 Sitting Down with Foley 288

Chapter 58 Pillman 291

Chapter 59 Montreal 293

Chapter 60 A Little More Attitude 301

Chapter 61 Hell in a Cell 307

Chapter 62 2nd Attack 311

Chapter 63 Coming Home 316

Afterword "Stone Cold" Steve Austin 321

Acknowledgments 323

Index 327

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews