One part of this book that stuck with me was the deep humiliation and insult that Ross suffered at the whims of Vince McMahon. Time and time again, Ross recounts how he was put into on-air positions that he found humiliating and that he was uncomfortable with from the start. It actually becomes painful and frustrating to read the on-going embarrassment that he has to deal with just to be able to do his job. As someone who watched some of these acts take place on television, they never seemed to make sense to me and never really fit in with any of the other stories that were going on. They all just seemed oddly out of place and disconnected from everything else on the show.

And, well, that is exactly what you learn when reading this book. Namely, that McMahon and his writers had a penchant for making Ross feel terrible. In other words, they enjoyed watching him get degraded on television. Again, it becomes brutal to read how, over and over again, Ross was put into a position that made him feel uncomfortable and that he felt obligated to participate in to be “in” with the wrestlers and the boss. This is the stuff of a modern day harassment lawsuit.

However, the part of the book that stayed with me the most was the beautiful tributes that Ross gives to his now-passed wife. She was his rock during these turbulent times and always reassured him when he would go back to the promotion. It sounds like the relationship that most people dream of finding – a man and a woman who truly understand and appreciate one another. For that part and for the love that these two shared, it was painful to read about how her passing in the book and the reader can feel the raw emotion that Ross is dealing with due to that major loss in his life.

At some point later in the book, Ross talks about his connection with Tony Khan and his new, upstart wrestling company called All Elite Wrestling (AEW). This is the show that Ross now finds himself announcing on each week and he appears to be having fun and enjoying himself while doing it. The comments about AEW are a nice way to end an emotional roller coaster that is much more a story about his abuse by McMahon and a love letter to his late wife for supporting him than anything else. If you are or were a wrestling fan, then I think that you will enjoy reading this book.

New Jersey is hosting the Super Bowl in 2014!

Whether you’re the type of New Jerseyan who loves that the Super Bowl is coming to MetLife Stadium or whether you hate it, there are some undeniably great impacts coming our way. To begin with, the general rule of thumb is that Super Bowls can provide up to $500 million in gross economic activity for a host city. Half a billion dollars? That’s not too bad for a few days of mayhem!

What’s better than the $500 million economic impact, though, is the fact that there will be a variety of part-time and temporary jobs available to help set up for, manage, and break down from the Super Bowl and its pre-game festivities. Those types of jobs aren’t segregated to New Jersey alone, either. Those are the types of jobs that folks in New York City can benefit from as well as New Jerseyans living in the central part of the state. I believe that this is one of the best impacts from hosting the Super Bowl because it provides an opportunity for an unemployed or underemployed person to make their own, professional impact on a company that is looking to hire more people. In other words, if you’re one of those people who thinks all they need is a chance at a job so they can impress an employer enough to want them to be hired full-time, then this is that chance!

A third benefit from having the Super Bowl in New Jersey is the fact that we get to show off the real New Jersey. No, not that stereotype-laden image that most of the rest of the country has of us as fist-pumping, loud-talking, self-obsessed members of the mafia. We get a chance to showcase the real New Jersey – a place filled with optimistic people, caring families, and intelligent discussion.

Alright, well most of the discussion is intelligent!

However, before we get to experience the economic and social impacts that come along with hosting the Super Bowl, New Jerseyans have a chance to realize more than $200 million in economic impact from hosting another global event… WrestleMania XXIX!

Are you ready for WrestleMania XXIX next year?!

If you read this blog, then you probably know that I used to be a big wrestling fan many years ago and am still somewhat of a fan today (though to a much lesser, rather passive degree). However, since I have that latent wrestling fan mentality I fully intend on attending WrestleMania next year (and the Super Bowl in 2014 for that matter) because it’s going to be so close to home. Aside from the fact that I plan on attending one of the major annual global sporting/entertainment events based in America (i.e. the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, NCAA Championships, WrestleMania, etc), I think that this gigantic wrestling show presents a much more exciting opportunity for those who are without jobs.

As I wrote above, there are going to be a lot of staff ramp-ups leading into the Super Bowl. Well, there are going to be a bunch of staff ramp-ups leading into WrestleMania as well. Not only does the stadium have to transform into the spectacle that Vince McMahon creates every year, but there is usually a week-long series of events all around the host city (or, in New Jersey’s case, the host region). Sometimes, the events leading up to the actual show can bring in as many or more visitors than the show itself.

And that’s another item to consider. Currently, MetLife Stadium can hold about 82,500 fans. However, WWE has a history of extending attendance capacities in football stadiums by the thousands since they utilize the field for seating space, too. Chances are that WWE is going to try to figure out how to pack as many people into MetLife Stadium as possible. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were 95,000+ people in that stadium for WrestleMania when all was said and done.

Anyway, the point of this entry was simply to acknowledge that there are two major events coming to New Jersey in the next few years and we all should be pretty excited about the opportunities that come along with hosting these events. There is an economic impact with dollars spent at local business, there is a professional impact with jobs being created for the unemployed or underemployed, and there is a social impact that will allow us to show the rest of the country and the world all of the great things about New Jersey.

The name of Foley’s latest book is Countdown to Lockdown. Lockdown’s focus is a short, six-week period of time leading up to Foley’s match against Sting in the main event of TNA Wrestling’s Lockdown event which was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Younger wrestling fans will love reading about Foley’s state of mind as he recounts his actions in the ring promoting this match and during the match. Older wrestling fans will enjoy reading Foley’s commentary on the wrestling world, including his frequent references to and shots at Vince McMahon. However, I think all consumers of good literature will like reading about how Foley’s life is intimately informed by the world around him and how he interacts (and gives back) to that world.

My favorite story from the book isn’t actually wrestling-related. In fact, my favorite story recounts how Foley donated money to a small area of Africa to help build a school for the children there. Yet, Foley didn’t stop by just donating money to build the school – he actually went over to Africa for a site visit. This is my favorite story in the book because Foley recounts how he was treated like a king including having choirs of young children singing his name and being greeted and thanked by all of the local townspeople.

There’s something about envisioning the “Hardcore Legend” being exalted in sub-Saharan Africa that the wrestling fan in me really enjoys. The philanthropist in me, though, loves the fact that Foley gives away so much of his income to worthwhile, charitable causes.

I also enjoyed the frequent references to Tori Amos and her song “Winter,” which you can listen to by hitting play on the video below. Foley talks about how this song is his go-to song to amp him up for the biggest matches in his wrestling career. And yet, he says that he’s only listened to this song a small handful of times before his matches. In other words, he only uses this song to get prepared for a match when it is an especially important match to him, personally. Pretty amazing.

From a wrestling fan’s perspective, the constant jabs at McMahon are really fun to read. And when I write that the jabs are fun to read, I’m not suggesting that I enjoy reading about someone taking shots at McMahon. Not at all, actually. Instead, I’m more suggesting that so few wrestling books take the time to comment on how McMahon interacts with his talent backstage that Countdown to Lockdown provides a refreshing alternative to the pack. Of particular entertainment is the discussion around Foley’s time as an announcer on WWE Smackdown!

As a reader and wrestling fan, I felt bad for Foley when he recounted his story about McMahon almost ruining a planned family vacation by yelling and screaming at Foley through his headset during a live show. In fact, Foley talks about how McMahon used the type of language that he wouldn’t even dare to repeat in his book, which is pretty amazing considering that all manner of craziness is usually included in wrestling books. After reading that story and reading about some McMahon’s other pet peeves when it comes to announcing (for example, he doesn’t like the use of “he” or “it” or “she” – instead he wants proper names always used), I watched a few minutes of WWE RAW this past Monday night and I couldn’t help but laugh to myself a little bit. Not only was Foley right on the money about McMahon’s pet peeves, but it was really funny listening to Michael Cole have to say things like, “Jack Swagger comes off the ropes into Daniel Bryan and Daniel Bryan, King, seems like he’s ready to launch a comeback against Jack Swagger. I wonder if Jack Swagger will be able to hold off the brunt of the offense being unleashed now by Daniel Bryan!? And Daniel Bryan with a few big right hands against the head of Jack Swagger; Jack Swagger reeling from this assault from Daniel Bryan and Daniel Bryan is on top!”

It’s ridiculous to listen to the announcers on WWE programing when you’re listening after reading this chapter in Foley’s book.

There are a lot of gems in Countdown to Lockdown and I think that readers of all types and ages will enjoy reading this book. It’s one of those rare pieces that starts in one literary world (wrestling books) and crosses over into a variety of other worlds including inspirational piece, autobiography, historical commentary, and work of art. If you’re looking for a good, solid read, then I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this book.

If you don’t know, that suite of websites consists of the blog that you are currently reading and a variety of professional wrestling websites. When I was younger, I was a big professional wrestling fan. However, as I was in college and then graduate school, I began to grow apart from watching the sport. Plus, I was a big fan of the old World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promotion and once it was bought up by Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) group, I gradually stopped watching the shows. Once the wrestler that I hated watching the most married his way into the McMahon family and, essentially, wrote the scripts so that he always won at the end of each feud, I was turned off to professional wrestling completely.

And then this upstart promotion out of Nashville and Orlando started putting out a product. I watched here and there, but my watching habits were nothing worthy of merit. Then about two years ago I started watching that TNA Wrestling promotion more and more and more and you know what? It began to grow on me. It reminded me of the old WCW and the old Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and it was fun to watch. More than that, though, it made me want to get back into the business of professional wrestling websites. When I initially started making websites back in 1996, I was making primarily professional wrestling websites (The Balrog’s Lair, The Brood, and Wrestle Universe were the three wrestling-themed websites that I worked with back on the old GeoCities platform).

But this entry isn’t supposed to be a history lesson, so I’ll get on with it!

These days I own three professional wrestling websites – TBLWrestling.com, XHeadlines.com, and TNAStars.com. Of the three, I actively manage and operate the TNAStars.com website. TBLWrestling.com has been around the longest as it has existed in one incarnation or another since 1996. XHeadlines.com was the next site that I created and I think that, for a long time, it was my best work in terms of laying out the design of a professional wrestling website. However, I began working on TNAStars.com on and off during the summer of 2008. Once it was announced that Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff were moving to TNA Wrestling during the fall of 2009, I kicked the development of that site into high gear and we went live completely live on January 1, 2010.

On the first day that TNAStars.com was live back in January, it received 2 hits. And believe it or not, that is where this success story begins.

Viewership on the site gradually increased as the news articles were picked up by the various search engines. By the middle to end of January 2010, TNAStars.com was routinely pulling in around 500 hits per day and I was really pleased that the site had a decent presence with less than a month of existence underneath its belt. However, my goal for all of the new websites that I start is for them to be at 1,000 hits per day on a consistent basis – then grow from there. Sometime in March 2010, TNAStars.com began generating 1,000 hits per day, but then the summer months came on and – as has been my experience with professional wrestling websites – the hits began to go down until August, when they started to pick up again.

But I’m always looking for a consistent 1,000+ hits each day and I knew that TNAStars.com was so close. I’m not sure what it took to make the jump, but sometime around the end of September the website began consistently generating 1,000+ hits per day. Then on October 1, 2010, TNAStars.com generated 1,989 hits in a single day – the most in the site’s history. I was very pleased!

Until October 7, 2010 (last Thursday), when the site drew in 3,189 hits in a single day. I was floored at the great response, but knew that hard work always pays off in the end. Last Thursday I began to wonder – how high could this thing go? Then on Friday, the site drew in 3,147 hits – only a small decrease from the day before. But it didn’t stop there…

On Sunday, October 10, 2010, TNAStars.com drew in some 5,017 hits in a single day. Phenomenal! I was convinced that this number was going to be the high mark in the series of banner days for TNAStars.com. Then yesterday came around and wouldn’t you know it, but the website drew in some 8,500 hits in a single day!

Let me put this in perspective and explain why this is significant and worthy of celebration. The most hits that any of my websites ever received in a single day was on June 26, 2007 when TheBalrogsLair.com (which eventually became TBLWrestling.com) received 25,305 hits due to its thorough coverage of the Chris Benoit double murder suicide. Not really something to go screaming around about, but it’s true. The next highest day of hits in the history of my suite of websites? That would be the day before – June 25, 2007 – when the Chris Benoit coverage began. Blech. The story is the same with the third highest day in my suite of websites’ history – June 27, 2007 – Chris Benoit coverage.

You have to go to the fourth highest day in the history of my suite of professional wrestling websites to find a banner day in terms of visitors that were not drawn to the site because of a tragedy! And that day was Monday, March 15, 2004 when TheBalrogsLair.com took in some 7,299 hits in a single day due to its excellent coverage of WrestleMania XX. That was a good day for my professional wrestling websites.

Incidentally, the fifth and sixth highest traffic days in the history of my suite of sites are both Chris Benoit double murder suicide. Annoying.

But all of that changed over this weekend when TNAStars.com’s Bound for Glory 2010 coverage took the number one traffic spot away from the original TBL’s post-WrestleMania XX coverage. And it changed again when the post-Bound for Glory coverage pushed TNAStars.com ahead of one of the Chris Benoit coverage days back on the original TBL.

I hope that the momentum stays with TNAStars.com as it’s a great little website that isn’t bogged down with crap and annoyances. If you’re into professional wrestling, I highly recommend heading over there and seeing what we’ve done. Here’s hoping that the days of growing hits continues for the entire suite of professional wrestling websites that I own!

I don’t want to sound like I’m hating on WrestleMania XXV since I’m sure all of the guys in these matches will put on tremendous performances. However, it’s just not the type of event that I’m looking to spend $50 on to watch. Plus, I won’t be around tomorrow night since I have to run out to a meeting to make a quick award presentation.

For those of you who are wrestling fans, you’ll want to run over to TBLWrestling.com and XHeadlines.com for the very latest information on WrestleMania XXV as well as the best in wrestling news and rumors. All I know is that The Undertaker’s undefeated streak better stay intact. Enjoy!

By far, my favorite part of the DVD was the story of how Andre the Giant almost knocked out the Warrior during a match. For those of you that don’t know, Andre the Giant was a legitimate “tough guy” wrestler who could easily smash anyone that was in the ring with him. He told the Warrior time and time again that he wanted to do a “spot” during the match, but that he wanted to do it his way. And after the Warrior did it his OWN way for two matches in a row, the Giant took matters into his own hands. In the third match, the Warrior came off the ropes looking to clothesline Andre and all Andre did was put his bowling ball-like fist out and smashed the Warrior right in the head.

The Warrior did the spot Andre’s way from that point on. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

The other thing that is really funny about this DVD is the way TNA’s Christian (a WWE wrestler at the time of the taping) and WWE’s Edge and Chris Jericho go over some of their favorite Ultimate Warrior promos. First of all, their memory of these promos is uncanny. And second – it is absolutely hilarious to hear them say things that make you think to yourself, “the Warrior would never say that,” only to have the tape of the Warrior saying it from almost two decades earlier.

I was glad that they went over the Warrior’s time in WCW because that’s what really sealed the deal on his tenure in professional wrestling. I was also glad that they covered the now deceased “Renegade” and how he was a cheap Warrior rip-off (though Bischoff claims otherwise). Looking back at Warrior’s time in WCW shows you just how crazy the guy was; his first promo upon debuting made little to no sense at all!

Hulk Hogan has a few good lines where he says that both he and Bischoff knew in the ring that night that the Warrior was an exhausted commodity.

For the wrestling fans who remember the Ultimate Warrior, I suggest seeing this DVD. It gets a little long in some places and thus it could easily be a half an hour shorter in length, but the story told about the Warrior’s maniacal ways in the wrestling world is worth the time watching this DVD. For those of you who are NOT wrestling fans – don’t bother seeing this one as it will probably make little sense to you.

This DVD was a biography/archive of the Superstar’s wrestling career. I enjoyed the stories that he told of getting into the business and the way that the other wrestlers who were interviewed showed their adoration for the Superstar. Many of the greatest names in professional wrestling history cite the Superstar as their inspiration to enter the wrestling business. Men from Hulk Hogan to Ric Flair to Dusty Rhodes to Governor Jesse Ventura – all of them give Graham proper praise on this DVD.

The DVD gets very interesting when Vince McMahon and Billy Graham each recount their involvement in the lawsuit that Graham brought against McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation. Both sides tell their story, from Billy’s belief that he was thrown aside by the company he helped to build to Vince saying that many wrestlers don’t want to hear the honest truth of, “You’ve got nothing left to offer,” before they get fired.

The story does have a happy ending, though. Before going under the knife for a liver transplant, Superstar got a phone call from McMahon saying how the entire WWE was behind him. This buried the hatchet between the two and led to an eventual visit by Graham to a WWE PPV event in Phoenix. And, rightfully so, this led to Superstar Billy Graham’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.

For the wrestling fan, I think this DVD is a must-see. I’m in the process of reading the autobiography that goes along with the DVD, so I’ll be able to post a review of that soon enough. However, if you’ve got a few bucks laying around or a Blockbuster rental and you don’t know what to get, go for this DVD.