What do you think?
Rate this book
Way of the Blade: 100 of the Greatest Bloody Matches in Wrestling History
There's something about blood that can take a routine professional wrestling match and turn it into a work of art. Blood spilled, pooling on the mat or painting blonde hair red, immediately raises the stakes of any match. In the business, they used to believe red turned into green—when the blade emerged from its hiding place to scrap the forehead, box office receipts grew right alongside the scar tissue. It's visceral and inarguably real, a physical repudiation of the age-old heckling every fan has heard a million times—"it's all fake, isn't it?" In Way of the Blade, Segunda Caida's Phil Schneider, a leading wrestling critic and internet wrestling pioneer with the Death Valley Driver Video Review, looks at 100 of the best, bloodiest matches in the sport's history. Starting in the 1950s and spanning the decades and continents, Schneider tells the story of a very weird sport. You'll meet wrestling chickens, Nazi doctors of philosophy and Japanese death match specialists. You'll relive classics everyone knows and discover some hidden gems previously witnessed by a mere handful of fans lucky enough to have been in the building the night the carnage went down. Gorgeously illustrated by Chris Bryan, this book is destined to become a classic in the burgeoning field of wrestling criticism and a handy guide for fans looking for insight into their favorites and to be introduced to new matches, complete with the context necessary to explain why and how they became legendary.
315 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 16, 2021
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 30, 2021
It's hard not to admire such a clear labour of love, and I've come away from this with a long list of matches I need to check out.
Unfortunately, I do have a couple of issues that stopped this from being a four star review. The format, and the conversational (and often opinionated) style, tend to make this feel more like you're reading someone's blog than a published book, and that's made worse when a select few metaphors and comparisons are repeated multiple times throughout - it would likely go unnoticed if each entry was read a week or more apart, but reading them in succession it becomes obvious. Similarly, wrestlers are introduced with a short biography, which in some instances is then repeated almost verbatim the next time the same wrestler appears. It feels like a missed opportunity to have better structured the book, using the repetition to add additional information, rather than repeating it.
Similarly, the style of writing means that some wrestlers are introduced as if the reader is expected to have no knowledge of them at all, while others are introduced with reference to fairly obscure wrestlers or promotions with little surrounding discussion of who or what they are, which can be inconsistent. The writer's opinions on modern wrestling litter the book - sometimes positively (comments on the increased homogenisation of wrestling are more than welcome!), while others are little short of spiteful, with not enough surrounding information to necessarily justify why.
Ultimately, for anyone interested in discovering new and unusual wrestling, or matches outside of their comfort zone, this is a fantastic reference guide in spite of its flaws.
Unfortunately, I do have a couple of issues that stopped this from being a four star review. The format, and the conversational (and often opinionated) style, tend to make this feel more like you're reading someone's blog than a published book, and that's made worse when a select few metaphors and comparisons are repeated multiple times throughout - it would likely go unnoticed if each entry was read a week or more apart, but reading them in succession it becomes obvious. Similarly, wrestlers are introduced with a short biography, which in some instances is then repeated almost verbatim the next time the same wrestler appears. It feels like a missed opportunity to have better structured the book, using the repetition to add additional information, rather than repeating it.
Similarly, the style of writing means that some wrestlers are introduced as if the reader is expected to have no knowledge of them at all, while others are introduced with reference to fairly obscure wrestlers or promotions with little surrounding discussion of who or what they are, which can be inconsistent. The writer's opinions on modern wrestling litter the book - sometimes positively (comments on the increased homogenisation of wrestling are more than welcome!), while others are little short of spiteful, with not enough surrounding information to necessarily justify why.
Ultimately, for anyone interested in discovering new and unusual wrestling, or matches outside of their comfort zone, this is a fantastic reference guide in spite of its flaws.
July 3, 2024
I can't recommend this to any of my friends but God I loved it
June 1, 2021
This is now one of my favorite wrestling books up with Have a Nice Day, John Molinaro's Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All time, Hooker and the Andre book from last year. More than any of those, this is the one I most wish I had written.
I will likely read it through a second time.
While I assume it was done at least partially as an alternative to photo rights, the illustration of the book gives it a quasi-comic feel although it doesn't go all the way to being sequential art (nor did it intend to). Likewise, while the decision to not colorize the pictures is likely financial, it provides for a superior experience in my mind. It gives the reviews a more gritty feeling, much like the matches that the author prefers. It reads more like From Hell rather than Spawn and that is unquestionable favorable from an artistic perspective.
I will likely read it through a second time.
While I assume it was done at least partially as an alternative to photo rights, the illustration of the book gives it a quasi-comic feel although it doesn't go all the way to being sequential art (nor did it intend to). Likewise, while the decision to not colorize the pictures is likely financial, it provides for a superior experience in my mind. It gives the reviews a more gritty feeling, much like the matches that the author prefers. It reads more like From Hell rather than Spawn and that is unquestionable favorable from an artistic perspective.
July 26, 2021
The illustrations were very much appreciated though I'm not sure the idea of using pull quotes was necessary for this kind of book. Descriptions of wrestling matches don't always translate terribly well into the printed format so it got to be a little redundant but still an enjoyable read for a wrestling fan.
February 11, 2022
As a kid, I was heavy into wrestling. I had the Nintendo games, the rubber action figures, and I whistled the fighters' entrance music to myself whenever I rode my bike or walked to school. I saw those guys basically the way that the Greeks viewed their Olympians, or maybe even their gods.
After awhile I got more into boxing, and, like a lot of people, became a bit snobbish about wrestling and all of its kayfabe "shoots" and carnival theatrics. I'm not sure when exactly I got down off my high horse (probably sometime around when "The Wrestler" came out), but, like a lot of people, I was finally forced to reckon with the athleticism, skill, and toughness that comes with a "fake" sport.
"Way of the Blade," is a fun, straightforward collection of a hardcore fan's favorite bloody matches. Some of these took place on the glitzy televised shows I remember from my childhood. Others were "Apuestas" brawls between luchadores battling it out in sawdust juke joints south of the border. A lot of the mayhem matches seemed to have happened in Japan, where the concepts of honor and face, translated from the Samurai code, are given a sadistic twist in matches in which fighters try to shame and ritually humiliate their opponents.
Each bloody encounter is described in entries of two to three pages, mentioning every ladder fall, razorblade slash, or tumble into a pile of broken glass that took place. The author stresses several times that his focus is on blood rather than technique. The accompanying illustrations by artist Chris Bryan make it crystal clear for anyone who didn't take the author's word for it.
The best matches seem to be between older men, former stars now battling Father Time more than their opponent across the ring. These battles usually take place in smoky VFW halls or in high school gymnasiums where the basketball backboards need to be stowed before the ring could even be set up. These bouts, somehow both bathetic and noble, show the great appeal of wrestling. It is undoubtedly broad drama, yes, but it is still drama. And while many matches are scripted in advance, it takes great athletic ability to sell it to the crowds, especially those who've seen it all before. What's more, sometimes a wrestler will violate his end of the bargain and really go for broke despite what the contract says. When that happens, the fans get their money's worth and the wrestlers get a ride to the hospital in the back of the ambulance.
Recommended, especially for hardcore wrestling fans, or those who once were fans, but whose interest may have waned or lapsed (even if the memories remain).
After awhile I got more into boxing, and, like a lot of people, became a bit snobbish about wrestling and all of its kayfabe "shoots" and carnival theatrics. I'm not sure when exactly I got down off my high horse (probably sometime around when "The Wrestler" came out), but, like a lot of people, I was finally forced to reckon with the athleticism, skill, and toughness that comes with a "fake" sport.
"Way of the Blade," is a fun, straightforward collection of a hardcore fan's favorite bloody matches. Some of these took place on the glitzy televised shows I remember from my childhood. Others were "Apuestas" brawls between luchadores battling it out in sawdust juke joints south of the border. A lot of the mayhem matches seemed to have happened in Japan, where the concepts of honor and face, translated from the Samurai code, are given a sadistic twist in matches in which fighters try to shame and ritually humiliate their opponents.
Each bloody encounter is described in entries of two to three pages, mentioning every ladder fall, razorblade slash, or tumble into a pile of broken glass that took place. The author stresses several times that his focus is on blood rather than technique. The accompanying illustrations by artist Chris Bryan make it crystal clear for anyone who didn't take the author's word for it.
The best matches seem to be between older men, former stars now battling Father Time more than their opponent across the ring. These battles usually take place in smoky VFW halls or in high school gymnasiums where the basketball backboards need to be stowed before the ring could even be set up. These bouts, somehow both bathetic and noble, show the great appeal of wrestling. It is undoubtedly broad drama, yes, but it is still drama. And while many matches are scripted in advance, it takes great athletic ability to sell it to the crowds, especially those who've seen it all before. What's more, sometimes a wrestler will violate his end of the bargain and really go for broke despite what the contract says. When that happens, the fans get their money's worth and the wrestlers get a ride to the hospital in the back of the ambulance.
Recommended, especially for hardcore wrestling fans, or those who once were fans, but whose interest may have waned or lapsed (even if the memories remain).
June 14, 2021
if you're looking for a "to watch" or "to find" list of wrestling matches, look no further.
don't expect a comprehensive history of blood in wrestling here (i wrote a magazine-length treatment here but there's much more to say: https://www.theringer.com/2019/9/17/2...), but do expect a breezy, informal, and surprisingly comprehensive overview of the bloodiest wrestling matches, going from the territories to US and Mexican indies. some have said this is "blog-style writing," but there's good blog-style writing and bad blog-style writing...and this is the former. scattered throughout are observations about the changing nature of the business, the impact of tape trading and internet forums on the wrestlers themselves, etc. because the chapters aren't cumulative, schneider does reintroduce people like chris hero several times, but he seems to have varied the content enough that you're not left thinking you're reading the same spiel.
the fact that every chapter got an illustration means this is worth owning in the print edition, if you can swing it. plus you can keep it above or behind the toilet -- the chapters are short enough to read in 3-5 minutes, meaning you can cover several chapters a "session" depending on how bad your gastrointestinal or hemorrhoid issues are.
recommended!
don't expect a comprehensive history of blood in wrestling here (i wrote a magazine-length treatment here but there's much more to say: https://www.theringer.com/2019/9/17/2...), but do expect a breezy, informal, and surprisingly comprehensive overview of the bloodiest wrestling matches, going from the territories to US and Mexican indies. some have said this is "blog-style writing," but there's good blog-style writing and bad blog-style writing...and this is the former. scattered throughout are observations about the changing nature of the business, the impact of tape trading and internet forums on the wrestlers themselves, etc. because the chapters aren't cumulative, schneider does reintroduce people like chris hero several times, but he seems to have varied the content enough that you're not left thinking you're reading the same spiel.
the fact that every chapter got an illustration means this is worth owning in the print edition, if you can swing it. plus you can keep it above or behind the toilet -- the chapters are short enough to read in 3-5 minutes, meaning you can cover several chapters a "session" depending on how bad your gastrointestinal or hemorrhoid issues are.
recommended!
April 7, 2022
A fairly abbreviated and breezy sort of compendium containing a lot of details, trivia and fantastic art. "Way Of The Blade" isn't going to educate people nearly as well as the matches themselves might help the reader, but Schneider's great achievement is making a trainspotting guide all across the many different perspectives of professional wrestling in it's strange long history. Certainly some fans may be put off by the conjecture or the obscurity of several of the names for casuals or fans best comfortable with more mainstream American pro-wrestlers. Admittedly, I'd be eager to hope for an expanded edition down the line with a lot more meat on the bone; but in it's desire to contextualize dozens of freakish nightmares in wrestling history and make it's audience think of individuals as disparate as Homicide, Abdullah The Butcher, Megumi Kudo, Bret Hart, Kazunari Murakami, Tommy Rich, La Parka & Eddie Guerrero in the same class is too noble to chastise. It's the foundation of a distinct sort of canon that is fun to entertain in all it's gory glory.
December 5, 2022
The history of blood in pro wrestling
Really solid book on the history of bloody matches in rasslin. It runs in chronological order as to avoid arguments about which match was “the best,” and in doing so, gives some context on old-school wrestling. It also provides great examples of how mainstream some of these matches were. While a couple of matches I thought definitely should’ve been included (Sabu/Funk’s barbed wire match in ECW specifically) were not, the book provides a well-rounded & global look at some great bouts. The author’s hyperbole was a little distracting at times, with a lot of the matches being “the greatest ever” but I looked at that as more being caught up in the excitement of writing about the specific match rather than an actual declaration of the GOAT. Giving the book a final chef’s kiss are the tremendous illustrations kicking off each chapter. They match the tone & content flawlessly & add to the overall vibe. If you’re a wrestling fan, be it old school, modern, deathmatch, et al, this is a fun read & a must-have grappling reference book.
Really solid book on the history of bloody matches in rasslin. It runs in chronological order as to avoid arguments about which match was “the best,” and in doing so, gives some context on old-school wrestling. It also provides great examples of how mainstream some of these matches were. While a couple of matches I thought definitely should’ve been included (Sabu/Funk’s barbed wire match in ECW specifically) were not, the book provides a well-rounded & global look at some great bouts. The author’s hyperbole was a little distracting at times, with a lot of the matches being “the greatest ever” but I looked at that as more being caught up in the excitement of writing about the specific match rather than an actual declaration of the GOAT. Giving the book a final chef’s kiss are the tremendous illustrations kicking off each chapter. They match the tone & content flawlessly & add to the overall vibe. If you’re a wrestling fan, be it old school, modern, deathmatch, et al, this is a fun read & a must-have grappling reference book.
April 15, 2023
This book is full of deep cuts (get it) and as a pretty knowledgeable US wrestling fan, I learned a lot about other promotions. The chapters are brief so you can pick up and go in short bursts or the long haul. The art was not amazing but it got the point across. This is a YouTube reference guide at heart. I would love to see this combo tackle another book.
September 23, 2023
A bloody look at some very violent matches ranging from French Catch in 1957 to Houston Wrestling 1969 all the way to EMLL in 1986 and New Japan 1987 to modern day. AWA, WWC, ECW, AEW, WWF, and more with a variety of wrestlers are showcased here
October 14, 2021
Very enjoyable. The artwork is brilliant too. I’ve discovered so many awesome matches and wrestlers from this book. Check it out!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews