If you’re caught in an airplane spin about what to give the rasslin’ fan on your shopping list, the following list of grapplin’ goodies should be helpful. For you greedy bastards out there, feel free to forward this list to your girlfriend, who has no idea why you “watch that crap.”

In Observance: Dave Meltzer’s TRIBUTES II is the best wrestling book on the market today. With a vastly improved, professional layout compared to Melzer’s first obit-filled book, his TRIBUTES II looks as great as it reads. TRIBUTES II examines the lives and deaths of Road Warrior Hawk, Curt Hennig, Elizabeth, Stu Hart, Tim “Mr. Wrestling” Woods, Davey Boy Smith, Gorilla Monsoon, Terry Gordy, Wahoo McDaniel, Johnny Valentine, The Sheik, Freddie Blassie and Lou Thesz, along with updated looks at the late Owen Hart and Andre the Giant. (Someone should really send a copy of TRIBUTES II to ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd of “The Herd.” In his usual annoying shtick of sports-announcer-playing-Devil’s-advocate, Cowherd recently went on a rant about baseball players using steroids, asking, “If these things are so dangerous, why don’t you hear about pro wrestlers dropping like flies?”) Sadly, guys like Hawk, Hennig and Smith, along with TRIBUTES I subjects Eddie Gilbert, Rick Rude, Brian Pillman and Louie Spicolli are proof of the dangers associated with the apparent lifestyle that comes with being a professional wrestling. Meltzer’s work serves as warning yet celebrates the lives of these reckless individuals — which is fitting since most of these boys probably justified their drug use with being a necessary part of their success and fame. There is a contrast to the tone of the tributes written about the younger guys who doomed themselves compared to those about Lou Thesz and Johnny Valentine; however, Meltzer is consistently objective with his subjects. More than anything, he gives us in-depth looks at the lives of these men, while the mainstream media, for the most part, ignores them in death, because, hey, it’s just a dead wrestler, right? The book also comes with a DVD, which some fans will find bland because of the lack of in-ring footage to accompany Dave’s keen opinions.

Qualifying Race: In some ways, Harley Race’s KING OF THE RING is a letdown. Coming in at a lightweight 178 pages (as opposed to the hyped 248 count in the pre-release hype), the book gives more insight into the family life of a wrestler compared to most wrestling bios, chronicling how the requirements of being NWA World champion took its toll on his marriage and his relationship with his son Justin. In the book, Race finally comes clean on the second of his two infamous no-shows (the only two of his career, mind you) for Paul Boesch, which led to the Houston promoter booking AWA World champ Nick Bockwinkel more frequently as opposed to the NWA titlist. (Book editor take note: That’s “Bockwinkel,” not “Bockwinkle.” The latter was the Apter-mag spelling for a while until they finally got it right after years of misspelling the AWA kingpin’s name. Also, make that “Dick Murdoch,” not “Murdock.”) But while Race’s stories give great insight into what made him the man who the entire wrestling world respects and admires, there are some glaring omissions on his professional side: his perspective on dropping the NWA World title to Tommy Rich at a spot show in Georgia; the story on the near-shoot with Jerry Lawler in Memphis; mention of his eighth NWA World title win over Flair in New Zealand; the background on the wild angle in which he regained the NWA World title via disqualification from Dusty Rhodes (the only time the NWA title ever changed hands via DQ); his thoughts on working the much-ballyhooed Super Bowl of Wrestling with WWWF champion Superstar Graham in the Orange Bowl; and greater insight into working with the Von Erich family. Then again, the publishers couldn’t include everything — you’d have an encyclopedia-sized set of books otherwise. We do get a lot of inside info in KING OF THE RING: the scoop on his decision to drop the NWA title to Giant Baba despite not having the NWA board’s approval, along with his experiences with Terry Funk, Ted DiBiase, and Elvis Presley (you read that right) as well as details of his pre-Starrcade ’83 meeting with Vince McMahon that were not included in Ric Flair’s book, TO BE THE MAN.

RIP WCW: Speaking of wrestling-related deaths, another notable recent release comes from the dastardly duo of R.D. “Ringmaster” Reynolds, author of the cult-classic WRESTLECRAP: THE VERY WORST OF PRO WRESTLING, and FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY’s Bryan “adidas” Alvarez, a former member of the Fabulous Ones. (Apparently, that reincarnation of the Fabs gimmick must have occurred after Reynolds went to shooting-star press with his first book.) The book contains a more objective look at the WWF vs. WCW battle than you’ll find on the WWE MONDAY NIGHT WARS DVD, a given since not a single McMahon was involved in the publication of this 240-page release. With the exception of myself, Reynolds and Alvarez are the two wittiest rasslin’ journalists on the face of God’s green earth. (Admittedly, though, Meltzer makes more money than all three of us combined.) And unlike the deaths of former WCW stars, this is an obit that’s sure to be thoroughly enjoyable.

Aw, shoot: Back in my days in the biz, if you wanted to see a shoot interview you’d have to tune in to WMC-TV5 to see Eddie Gilbert leaving Memphis unceremoniously for the umpteenth time. Nowadays, several shoots featuring guys like Mick Foley, The Midnight Express, Jim Cornette, Lex Luger (that should be interesting in light of the guy’s last couple of years), Race and Rhodes are available. Some shoots are better than others, but most provide insight you won’t find anywhere else. Check out highspots.com or rohwrestling.com for more info.

Extremely entertaining: The best DVD on the market now is WWE’s THE RISE AND FALL OF ECW. You’ve read the stellar two-out-of-three part series from Scott Bowden…now see what really happened. The three-hour documentary is one of the best I’ve seen on the wrestling business.

Promoter Sam Muchnick’s approval not required: If you’ve ever wanted to parade around your living room wearing only swim trunks, a bathrobe and the old NWA World title “Domed Globe” strap (and, hey, who hasn’t?), then the replica of the legendary 10 pounds of gold is right for you. After all, Jeff Jarrett shouldn’t be the only one who gets to pretend he’s the NWA champ. Made by Figures, Inc., and available for sale via highspots.com, the most recognizable wrestling title ever can be yours for a reasonable $199. (Somebody please send this info to my girlfriend, who apparently can’t take a hint.) And, if you really want to look like the man, contact Ed Chuman (edchuman@aol.com) at midwestwrestling.com for details on upgrading your Figs. Inc. replica with custom releathering, studs between the plates and single-loop stitching. (Serious, hardcore-mark inquiries only.) Of course, you could always try to break into Harley Race’s house and take his version of the Domed Globe, but I strongly discourage that. Nick Bockwinkel fans take heart: Replicas are slowly being produced of the turkey-platter-sized AWA World title strap worn by Tricky Nicky.

Pluck of the Irish: The hottest place for wrestling in the early ’80s wasn’t Madison Square Garden, The Spectrum, Greensboro Coliseum or even the Mid-South Coliseum. No, that honor belonged to the Irish McNeil Boy’s Club in Shreveport, La., the home of Mid-South Wrestling TV tapings. Promoter Bill Watts went against the grain of his contemporaries of the time, who often featured mismatches or “squash” bouts. Much like RAW and SMACKDOWN! nowadays, Mid-South Wrestling regularly aired North American and Mid-South tag title matches, featuring such stars as Junkyard Dog, Stagger Lee (ahem), Hacksaw Duggan, Ted DiBiase, The Midnight Express and The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express. Hiptoss in some Memphis-like mayhem and announcer Jim Ross into the mix, and you had the best wrestling show on the planet. (I’ve always wondered how the wrestling world would look today if Ted Turner had kept his word to Watts and kept Mid-South Wrestling on TBS instead of going with Jim Crockett. Granted, it probably just would have slightly delayed McMahon’s juggernaut.) Luckily, the Watts family is in the process of transferring their entire library over to DVD, with two releases already available, including such classics as Ric Flair defending the NWA World title against Ted DiBiase (one of the most intense angles ever, with Dick Murdoch appearing as if he’d nearly killed the challenger with a brainbuster on the floor) and the loser-leaves-town tag bout with JYD and Mr. Olympia vs. DiBiase and Matt Borne. Check out www.universalwrestling.com for ordering information.

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