Regular visitors here know that I will read and review books on professional wrestling even though it is not really considered a “sport” and instead falls under “entertainment.” Here is another book on that form of entertainment, “Tod is God.”
Title/Author:
“Tod is God: The Authorized Story of How I Created Extreme Championship Wrestling” by Tod Gordon with Sean Oliver
Rating:
3 ½ of 5 stars (good)
Review:
Tod Gordon, along with Paul Heyman, are credited with being the creators of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It was as advertised- an extreme amount of violence and debauchery in its shows and its fans loved it. The title of this book, written by Gordon and Sean Oliver, came from a chant started by some of these fans and Gordon is very happy to tell you about it.
That was one of the issues I had with the book. Of course, any memoir of anyone who had success in whatever line of work they did will want to talk about proudly. But I felt that Gordon did that a little too loudly and for a little too long. Plus, he spent some time defaming Heyman as best he could. Finally, he gave far too many accounts of the drinking, drug use and sexual escapades of not only the wrestlers but also of himself. It was not needed in this much volume to give a reader a picture of went on in the locker room and in bars and hotels. It also painted a less than flattering portrayal of Gordon.
So why did I give the book a favorable rating? The stories about the actual business and about the wrestlers. The book actually starts out quite well with Gordon talking about his work in a Philadelphia pawn shop and his venture into the wrestling business. The way he was able to land a regular time slot on cable television for his new product Eastern Championship Wrestling (which of course was later changed to Extreme) made for great reading, just for one example of the type of text about the business side.
The other reason I gave this book a favorable rating is because there are mostly great stories of some of the wrestlers. Not just the well-known ones like Terry Funk, Mick Foley and the Sandman but also ones who are not as well known except for the hard core fans. One can learn a lot about the history of ECW through these stories and Gordon gives proper credit to his talent (as he calls the wrestlers throughout the book) as he should since it was them who puts on the shows that drew the fans.
The end of ECW did not mean the end of Gordon in the business but there isn’t much about that. Instead, it’s a mostly fun romp through the history of ECW that fans of the product will enjoy immensely.
I wish to thank Permuted Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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