I'm Sorry, I Love You: A History of Professional Wrestling

by Jim Smallman

'Clever, funny, authoritative and illuminating' - Times Literary Supplement 'Filled with passion, humour, and a little bit of welcome weirdness. A must-read for every die-hard wrestling fan' - Mick Foley For fans of books from Chris Jericho, Steve Austin, Daniel Bryan, Mick Foley and Jim Ross. 'We have all felt every emotion today. Remember today, the next time a family member or workmate tells you that wrestling is stupid. We've laughed, we've cried, we've screamed our lungs out. Professional wrestling is the greatest thing in the entire world.' - Jim Smallman, 2016 Comedian and PROGRESS Wrestling founder Jim Smallman takes us on a wild ride through the history of pro-wrestling, from its beginnings at the turn of the twentieth century to the pop-culture, pay-per-view juggernaut that it is today. Join Jim as he looks at the most defining and iconic moments in wrestling's history and attempts to nail down just why this ludicrous, over the top, compelling quasi-sport means so much to so many people.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, History, Sports

416 pages, Paperback

Published May 16, 2019

Reviews

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review is of the Audiobook version of this title.

This book started so promisingly. Jim had clearly done his research on the beginnings of pro-wrestling and was able to deliver a both informative and entertaining lesson on wrestling before my lifetime. By the half way point I was thoroughly enjoying myself and recommending the book to both wrestling fans and non-wrestling fans alike.

Unfortunately it all changed there, with the second half of the book becoming far more of a history of WWF/E programming during their key eras and focusing too much on the minutiae of wrestling's major boom during the Attitude Era. As a lifelong WWE fan, I wasn't able to learn anything at this point. I found myself eager for the end of the book to come around and wondering who this part of the book was really targeted towards - most long-term WWE fans will already know this stuff and many indie-wrestling fans won't care.

I especially enjoyed Jim touching upon Japanese, Mexican and British wrestling during the 70's and 80's and was hugely disappointed that this was not carried on through the 90's and 2000's. It felt a bit like Jim got bored of researching and decided to just write the rest of the book from memory.

Being a podcaster and public performer, Jim's narration is very good. His passion and respect for wrestling and love of those goosebump-moments wrestling fans know well really shines through. Jim did use the book to say a few things to obviously irritating wrestling / twitter fans which felt a bit unnecessary and out of place, but probably raised a smile from his multitude of friends in the business, of which we learn there are many.

I could forgive Jim's name-dropping and his repeating of certain stories or facts. I can even overlook his bias during his "Jim's Top 10" lists - they are subjective afterall. Combining this with the lack of real original content during the second half of the book made the whole thing fall a bit flat for me, which was a real shame after such an interesting first half of the book.

[Lauryn Keller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A genuine JOY to listen to. I love wrestling!!!!

[Jonathan Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

For fans and non-fans alike; this is a fascinating, entertaining and humorous history of the truly wonderful world of professional wrestling.

[Scott Cumming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgia is becoming a bad word, or at least where it is considered to be completely empty.

Nostalgia led me to pick up this history of pro wrestling written by a British comedian I've never heard of and who at times marred the experience with some outdated quips even for when the book was written. These lessened as things progressed thankfully.

I think this was the first time I really read about the early days of wrestling and basically anything before WWF and Hogan blew things sky high. The acronyms are dizzying at times as American promotions signed up with the NWA rather than there being one company ruling the roost.

The behind the scenes stuff was really interesting and I guess when you reach a certain age becomes positively more interesting than in-ring events. My knowledge of the Montreal screwjob was sorely lacking as I think I got back into wrestling around the attitude era, but more because of the WarZone video game than anything.

It's a great distillation of the top of the tree and the way WWE managed to swallow their competitors whole in the end. The Monday Night Wars are slightly amusing from a British perspective as in the halcyon early internet days, Raw wasn't shown until a Friday night here.

Jim's top tens were quite cool and broke up the chapters well giving me a bit more insight into some Japanese superstars and some of their legendary reigns. This has definitely awoken in me the need to seek out a few of the better autobiographies by wrestlers and will probably end up seeing me get the latest WWE game to relive those WarZone and SmackDown memories of consoles old.

[Mirranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jadored this - i think the first bit is more interesting than the second half because i knew a lot of the modern stuff but was still rlly fun nonetheless. Also i love jims writing style it was funny and earnest and i respect how much he plugs progress cos why wouldnt u?? Im now entering my watching retro wwf era and i LOVE IT

[Davide · Rating 3 out of 5]

Professional Wrasslin’ is the marmite of the entertainment world. Frowned and discredited as a “sport” by most, yet adored by many.

Growing up as a wrestling fan in the 90’s boom period, I slowly started to be influenced by my peers in the secondary school playground. In my first few years of secondary school, I would trade VHS tapes with the few remaining watchers of WWE/WWF almost as if we were dealing drugs under the school desk. This culminated in attending the WrestleMania 20 extravaganza in New York City. As 05/06 rolled around, my head was turned...I was officially too old to watch this lame excuse of a sport anymore. I had always been a massive football fan since 4 or 5 years old, and as the GCSE exams came thick and fast, I needed to be selective as to where I would devote my free time. Football won.

In the last couple of years, my life has come full-circle, and I found myself drawn back to the aura and bright lights of WWE. I notice similarities in myself with the author, Jim Smallman.

It is in this book then, with which I hoped to have found a justification in my actions. Is it okay as a late 20-something to get back into this? Are people going to think this is strange? It all seemed so promising with the synopsis on the back of the book. The same people who will “poo-poo” wrestling will also cry watching a character die in Coronation Street. 🤣 Perfect rebuttle to anybody who questions this beloved sport of mine!

Instead, (and yes, the sub-title of this book is “A History of Professional Wrestling”) I found this to be a humorous walk through the ages. Nothing I haven’t read before, however with a personal twist from the author, including his own personal favourite matches, wrestlers, etc.

The author apart from being a stand-up comic, is also the owner of a wrestling promotion in the UK, and it is with this personal touch, he feels compelled to include these unknown wrestlers in his Top 10 lists. This in turn makes it feel like the book is served mainly as a way of getting his promotion noticed in the UK, hidden behind the guise of talking about his personal love story with the sports-entertainment world.

So yes, I would award 3 stars based on the historical walkthrough (with a comic touch) and for any young fan out there wanting to know the story behind wrestling, this is perfect. I wanted to see more of the man though, not of his promotion.

I wanted to hear more of his experience as a youngster growing up being a fan, those years he shied away from it, and his reaction now to being a 40 year old man who still watches it. That is the personal touch I was looking for, so I could relate it to my life, and no doubt countless others.

[Mika · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yes, I'm a long time wrestling entertainment fan as the previous reviewers down below. 30 years give or take a year or couple (don't tell my childhood friends, they moved along centuries ago). However it doesn't mean it's a damn great book just because.

It had passion and it had a life worth of interest in it. But (!), poorly written to be honest. Long chapters and uneventful it its character. Abrupt and nothing to grip on. No photos or anything to promote itself. Cool cover though!

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like reading Wikipedia with an opening set comedian looking over your shoulder.

[Mark Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you don’t understand the title of this book, then you are not a fan. Which I am, and have been, since I was about 11 years old. So like 88/89? And it has been a part of my life/guilty pleasure ever since. Some people like Neighbours or Emmerdale or Eastenders. Their guilty pleasure is Abba or eating the inside of Oreo cookies and throwing the biscuit away. Or The X Factor. Actually, I like Eastenders too, nevermind.

Essentially, in a nutshell, Jim Smallman has recently written the book I always wanted to write about wrestling I never got around to/didn’t have the confidence/too many publishers rejections to do. And I hate him for it.

I was going to do it one day, but probably not. I would wait for the right time and everything would be fine, because I really never thought anyone else would do this. Especially someone from the UK, my age, with the same watching experiences, liking the same people and having the same opinions about ‘the business’, and the world of wrestling, since I was very young.

FUCK.

But then my media position isn’t suddenly more attractive to a major publisher, because I don’t run the biggest UK wrestling promotion in the country, I guess. Because let’s face it, this would never be published, if he was me.

Ugh, what would I have done differently?

A lot of the content and stories and background are repeated throughout the chapters, a lot. I wouldn’t have done that. I would have made it more personal and anecdotal (especially with his experience in the business) and would have made it more of a memoir than a ‘history’ and I wouldn’t have just copied a lot of the timeline and information from the WWE Encyclopaedia. Which if you have read, you don’t need this at all.

Apart from his Top 10s, a lot of this is irrelevant to the ‘hardcore’ fan and reveals nothing we don’t already know. Apart from the older history, that was good and worth reading. I never knew any of that. For what it is, it's a really good book.

But apart from that, it was a bit blah really. Good on him for creating (and his success with) Progress Wrestling though, maybe a backstage memoir (and the cool people he has met) about that would have been better.

Damn him.

[Elliot Coombe · Rating 3 out of 5]

It doesn't tread on any new ground, nor does it claim to. Rather 'I'm Sorry - I Love You' gives a pretty good overview of the weird world of wrestling over the past 100 years or so. While this can get a bit repetitive for existing fans, the book shines when it touches on the experiences of actually being a wrestling fan. I particularly enjoyed the mention of the stages of loving wrestling - from avid super-fan as a child, weirdly shame as a teenager and then finally acceptance come adulthood.

Smallman's writing style is very engaging and fans both old and new will enjoy this book. As an avid fan, I didn't find myself learning anything new (other then a couple of fantastic match recommendations), but still enjoyed every page of this book.

Hopefully the success of this book will lead to future more specialised books. I'd especially love to hear him talk about running his own company or a book more focused on his fandom and the experiences around it.

[Fran · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a long time wrestling fan, I feel like just half this book was aimed at me. The chapters covering the early history of wrestling and the rise and fall on the smaller companies in the US and Japan had plenty of tales and names that I had heard in passing but still had plenty to learn about. In my opinion the latter half of the book suffers a bit when it primarily becomes a potted history of the WWF/WWE and the majority of long term wrestling fans will have heard all these stories ad infinitum. However those chapters are still very well written and Jim's passion and enthusiasm for all things wrestling shines through in his prose and any casual or brand new fans will probably find this section really interesting.

Jim clearly knows and loves the industry he works in and if he did another book that covered anything other than the WWF/WWE which already has so much coverage then I'd be sure to give it a read.

[George Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've mentioned a couple of times on here before, but my big challenge for 2022 is to read more non-fiction. I've been doing really well with that lately, but I wanted to throw myself in the deep end and actually read a non-fiction book on something I had virtually no knowledge on at all. I've got no idea why I settled on this one considering it's not something I've ever even been remotely interested in, but I feel like I learnt a lot from this one that I just wouldn't ever have otherwise.
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This is a a comprehensive history to the Professional Wrestling industry that's been characterised by companies like WWE. I had absolutely no idea that the "sport" of pro wrestling dates back to the turn of the last century, and I was super surprised that the loud and quintessentially-American world of pro-wrestling basically got founded in the UK. The tone of the book is really accessible, too, and that was really welcome as someone with basically no knowledge on the subject; the author was able to make the topic really fun and interesting. The only thing I didn't "love" was that I feel like some of the details came flying at me and it was occasionally difficult to keep who's who straight in my head. I can't fault the book for that entirely though, because like I said, it might just be because I didn't have a framework for any of these figures before going in.
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In short, I really enjoyed this one! It was really informative, and an incredibly well-researched look into the bizarre and surprisingly technical world of pro-wrestling. You can tell the author absolutely loves this subject matter, and it really shows!

[Richard Tubb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read for any Pro-Wrestling fan.

The author is a life-long Wrestling fan, the promoter of UK-based indie promotion PROGRESS, and at the time of writing this, works for WWE. Primarily, though, he's a fan and this book is written as a fan.

The book looks at the history of Wrestling, through the NWA and territories through to the modern day WWE and woman's revolution.

It's a great read that, as you'd expect, focuses heavily on WWE in the latter part of the book.

The writing is positive, upbeat and hilarious at times, as you might expect from an author who is also a stand up comedian.

I loved the Top Ten lists that were scattered throughout the book, plus the appendix with resources including where to watch videos of Wrestling, and a list of other Wrestling biographies and books. For this reason, I'll be keeping the book on my shelf to refer back to.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun narration through the history of pro wrestling from former comedian, Jim Smallman. Filled with plenty of quotables. Enjoyable rather you are new to the bizz or a die hard. Enjoyed reliving the atitude era told by Jim. Jim Smallman might be a newer wrestling historian but his contribution to modern uk wrestling and now NXT UK makes him more than worthy to talk shop. Jims use of lists at the end of chapters helps understand his preference for wrestling while potentially introducing readers to must watch matches or people to look up to enhance the learning opportunity. The matches in his top 10 are guaranteed bangers while his names of breakout stars are making their names as we speak in every chance they get. Got to meet Jim and get my copy signed. Very humble yet lovable human being.

[Dan White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Between me starting and me finishing this book, Jim Smallman has announced that he is leaving PROGRESS, his Camden based wrestling promotion, to work for the WWE full time.

Based on this book alone I’d argue WWE have done a wonderful thing getting him on their books. Everything about Smallman’s prose shows that he absolutely adores professional wrestling - the passion drips from the page.

Whilst this is a very well written book that touches upon all the major cultural points of wrestling in America, Japan and Britain by 2019 it has already become a little bit dated. I would love to see an update with a new chapter taking in the latest updates to NXTUK, Impact and the rise of AEW.

[Rik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not great. Not a wresting fan but wanted to know more about it. This drops the ball on a history of the 'sport' in the sense all the inner working and development of how it came to be are only briefly sketched in and the vast majority of the book is detailing the big names and who won the belts and breaking down the matches. I get that is also the history but as a non fan the history of the development of the industry itself would be more interesting. Was looking for something to stoke some interest in me and this bored me senseless...the deeper information on how wresting changed and grew down the decades is about as indepth as a wikipedia page.

[WaterstonesBirmingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a truly excellent book.

For an avid fan, the casual watcher or someone who is totally new to the world of wrestling, this is a great read.

It is written with such affection for wrestling, while never ignoring the controversies and downsides.

I also think the lists are a great idea, it made me make lists of my own.

Grace

[Joseph Morris]

Not a bad read.

It's not a bad read because it written by someone who is in the actually industry, so it has nice, personal insight. As a (Now defunct) Power Slam, there was a lot of stuff covered in the book that I already knew. Saying that it was engaging, humourous, and entertaining.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read highly recommended

Amazing book on a sport that i have loved since the days of World of Sport in the 70's ,well written and triggered so many memories,highly recommend this book if you love pro wrest

[Tim Chilvers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light hearted and breezy look at the history of Pro Wrestling. It never dwelt on the darker side, nor did it reveal many hidden details, but it was comprehensive in its coverage (From my understanding) and showed a true love for the art.

[xmikerx75 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

Brilliant. The writer is clearly a wrestling need and can and it shines through. Like Cornette without the hatred of Russo. Loves the business and if he book as his promotion with the level of love he shows here, it has to be worth watching.

Great book. Loved it.

[Kelly Bond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book

the must for a wrestling geek who wants to improve their knowledge
Wannabe geeks who are interested
and even those who do not know wrestling would enjoy this book

I love it and it has given me an idea of some other books to read

[Matt B · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s nothing in this you don’t already know, and is more of a history of wwf/e that touches on the origins of wrestling, and an in depth look att wrestling from the 80’s to 2018. Good book a lot of humour, solid 4 stars.

[Timothy Franklin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant book!!! Loved the history of the territories part. I was aware of the majority of the more recent stuff (2001 onwards) but the parts looking at wrestling from the 40s onwards was extremely interesting

[Mr Soft · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horny

[Richard Luck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. A book on Smallman's Progress promotion can't arrive soon enough.

[Ilya Inozemtsev · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book lacks true wrestlers’ stories and profiles, however, it’s a stellar chronology and who’s who in the business. Definitely recommended for the fans of the sport

[Dan Stapleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good fun

[James Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun read.

[Nat · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5