Under the Black Hat: My Life in the WWE and Beyond
Mar 2020 · Simon and Schuster
4.8star
83 reviewsreport
Ebook
320
Pages
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About this ebook
From legendary wrestling announcer Jim Ross, this candid, colorful memoir about the inner workings of the WWE and the personal crises he weathered at the height of his career is “a must-read for wrestling fans” (Charleston Post Courier).
If you’ve caught a televised wrestling match anytime in the past thirty years, you’ve probably heard Jim Ross’s throaty Oklahoma twang. The beloved longtime announcer of the WWE “has been a driving force behind a generation of wrestling fans” (Mark Cuban), and he’s not slowing down, having signed on as the announcer of the starry new wrestling venture All Elite Wrestling. In this follow-up to his bestselling memoir Slobberknocker, he dishes out about not only his long career, which includes nurturing global stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and John Cena, but also about his challenges of aging and disability, his split from collaborator Vince McMahon, and the sudden death of his beloved wife, Jan. The result is a gruff, endearing, and remarkably human-scale portrait, set against the larger than life backdrop of professional wrestling.
Ross’s ascent in WWE mirrors the rise of professional wrestling itself from a DIY sideshow to a billion-dollar business. Under the Black Hat traces all the highs and lows of that wild ride, in which Jim served not only as on-air commentator, but talent manager, payroll master, and even occasional in-ring foil to threats like Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Undertaker. While his role brought him riches and exposure he had never dreamed of, he chafed against the strictures of a fickle corporate culture and what he saw as a narrow vision of what makes great wrestlers—and great story lines. When suddenly stricken with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis that makes it impossible to smile, he started down his greatest fear—being cast out of the announcing booth for good.
Picking up where Slobberknocker left off and ending on the cusp of a new career in a reimagined industry, Under the Black Hat is the triumphant tale of a country boy who made it to the top, took a few knocks, and stuck around—just where his fans like him. Not only being one of the greatest wrestlers of the WWE, Ross is also “a master storyteller, and this book is the perfect forum for his forty years’ worth of tales” (Chris Jericho, former WWE champion).
If you’ve caught a televised wrestling match anytime in the past thirty years, you’ve probably heard Jim Ross’s throaty Oklahoma twang. The beloved longtime announcer of the WWE “has been a driving force behind a generation of wrestling fans” (Mark Cuban), and he’s not slowing down, having signed on as the announcer of the starry new wrestling venture All Elite Wrestling. In this follow-up to his bestselling memoir Slobberknocker, he dishes out about not only his long career, which includes nurturing global stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and John Cena, but also about his challenges of aging and disability, his split from collaborator Vince McMahon, and the sudden death of his beloved wife, Jan. The result is a gruff, endearing, and remarkably human-scale portrait, set against the larger than life backdrop of professional wrestling.
Ross’s ascent in WWE mirrors the rise of professional wrestling itself from a DIY sideshow to a billion-dollar business. Under the Black Hat traces all the highs and lows of that wild ride, in which Jim served not only as on-air commentator, but talent manager, payroll master, and even occasional in-ring foil to threats like Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Undertaker. While his role brought him riches and exposure he had never dreamed of, he chafed against the strictures of a fickle corporate culture and what he saw as a narrow vision of what makes great wrestlers—and great story lines. When suddenly stricken with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis that makes it impossible to smile, he started down his greatest fear—being cast out of the announcing booth for good.
Picking up where Slobberknocker left off and ending on the cusp of a new career in a reimagined industry, Under the Black Hat is the triumphant tale of a country boy who made it to the top, took a few knocks, and stuck around—just where his fans like him. Not only being one of the greatest wrestlers of the WWE, Ross is also “a master storyteller, and this book is the perfect forum for his forty years’ worth of tales” (Chris Jericho, former WWE champion).
Ratings and reviews
4.8
83 reviews
D Lyn
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April 20, 2020
Jim Ross recounts the last 20 odd years of his life. Mixing his thoughts in with actual quotes and wrestling storylines. It gives a real in depth feel as to what WWE talent may be thinking in their mind when asked to do certain storylines and gimmicks: A dash of reality and Vince's desires are poured in to what you see on television and all parties agree to do it, for money. Some pages fly by as JR just recaps what happened on tv, but the most interesting pages are eye opening when he gets in to what popular stars reveal to JR behind the scenes. I ate up the whole book and finished in only a few days. Every wrestling fan should read it.
8 people found this review helpful
Amraj Dhamu
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November 16, 2020
One of the single best wrestling autobiographies by THE voice that narrated more than just a weekly wrestling show. A voice that narrated my childhood, my teen years and early adult years too. It's a roller coaster filled with some highs, some lows and a whole lot of amazing insight for the long time wrestling fan. Fantastic!
Matt Read
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May 15, 2021
I have both of JR's books on Audible and they are both fantastic. Not many people have seen as much as Jim. Definitely worth the money.
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, Ross is also a New York Times bestselling author, a BBQ guru, and the cohost of his own podcast, Grilling JR. He is the weekly voice of All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite, shown on TNT in the United States, TSN in Canada, and ITV and FITE in the United Kingdom. In addition to Under the Black Hat, he is the author of Slobberknocker: My Life in Wrestling and two cookbooks: J.R.’s Cookbook and Can You Take the Heat?
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