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Tito Santana: Don't Call Me Chico: Official Autobiography
Governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura affectionately called him "Chico Santana" in the golden age of wrestling and in turn helped propel this WWE Hall of Famer into stardom. Tito Santana's 400-page autobiography brings you a comprehensive and historical look at one of wrestling's most legendary Latinos. Overcoming countless obstacles in the territory days helped Tito pave the way for many main event Hispanic wrestlers today into America's mainstream spotlight. ...With guest passages by Sgt. Slaughter, Konnan, Paul Orndorff, and Demolition Ax, Tito gives you all the dirt on Andre the Giant, Ole Anderson, Dick Murdoch, Blackjack Mulligan, Adrian Adonis, Shawn Michaels, Roddy Piper, Greg Valentine, Hulk Hogan & more!
407 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 29, 2022
Don't Call Me Chico is the biography of WWF wrestler Tito Santana.
One of my early wrestling memories is Randy Savage cheating to win the Intercontinental belt from Tito Santana so I had to snap this up.
Tito seems like a class act so you'd think his story wouldn't be that interesting but not so. Tito, aka Merced Solis, grew up the son of migrant workers and became a wrestler after his would-be football career hit the rocks. He knew Tully Blanchard from college and Tully was his foot in the door.
Tito is pretty humble when it comes to telling his story but has a good sense of humor so the book is pretty engaging. It talks about Tito's stints in George, Texas, the Bill Watts territory, Japan, the AWA, and finally the WWF. Tito wasn't a big partier with a wife and kids at home but there are still some great road stories in here.
Did anyone like working for Ole Anderson? I thought it was interesting that one of Tito's early names was Richard Blood, the real name of Ricky Steamboat, given to him as a way to connect him to Steamboat after he left the territory. I also thought it was interesting that when Jimmy Snuka had some legal woes, Santana got tapped to replace him high on the card on house shows before he was even a regular in the WWF. Tito also gives his account of backstage events such as Danny Spivey handing Adrian Adonis' ass to him and various ribs.
It gets a little sad after the Strike Force run when the WWF was running out of things to do with him. The Matador gimmick is covered. It's interesting to think about the WWF pushing into Mexico instead of Canada and pushing Tito Santana instead of Bret Hart.
The end has a silver lining, though. Tito got out of the business before it destroyed his life and left with enough money to start a new life as a teacher that also owns a hair salon.
Like all wrestling books, there's stuff that wasn't mentioned that I wouldn't have minded hearing about, like Tito teaming with Pedro Morales or Tito teaming with Danny Spivey. There were a good amount of road stories but I'd always read more. I really liked that the pre-wrestling chapters were interesting and not Tito patting himself on the back, though he doesn't seem like the type to do that anyway.
Four out of five stars.
One of my early wrestling memories is Randy Savage cheating to win the Intercontinental belt from Tito Santana so I had to snap this up.
Tito seems like a class act so you'd think his story wouldn't be that interesting but not so. Tito, aka Merced Solis, grew up the son of migrant workers and became a wrestler after his would-be football career hit the rocks. He knew Tully Blanchard from college and Tully was his foot in the door.
Tito is pretty humble when it comes to telling his story but has a good sense of humor so the book is pretty engaging. It talks about Tito's stints in George, Texas, the Bill Watts territory, Japan, the AWA, and finally the WWF. Tito wasn't a big partier with a wife and kids at home but there are still some great road stories in here.
Did anyone like working for Ole Anderson? I thought it was interesting that one of Tito's early names was Richard Blood, the real name of Ricky Steamboat, given to him as a way to connect him to Steamboat after he left the territory. I also thought it was interesting that when Jimmy Snuka had some legal woes, Santana got tapped to replace him high on the card on house shows before he was even a regular in the WWF. Tito also gives his account of backstage events such as Danny Spivey handing Adrian Adonis' ass to him and various ribs.
It gets a little sad after the Strike Force run when the WWF was running out of things to do with him. The Matador gimmick is covered. It's interesting to think about the WWF pushing into Mexico instead of Canada and pushing Tito Santana instead of Bret Hart.
The end has a silver lining, though. Tito got out of the business before it destroyed his life and left with enough money to start a new life as a teacher that also owns a hair salon.
Like all wrestling books, there's stuff that wasn't mentioned that I wouldn't have minded hearing about, like Tito teaming with Pedro Morales or Tito teaming with Danny Spivey. There were a good amount of road stories but I'd always read more. I really liked that the pre-wrestling chapters were interesting and not Tito patting himself on the back, though he doesn't seem like the type to do that anyway.
Four out of five stars.
April 24, 2020
I was highly anticipating this book as a life long Tito fan and had read reviews about the grammatical and typo errors but figured I would give it a shot. Well, it’a definitely FILLED with those errors and it’s embarrassing. Was there an editor? That is a real bummer as his stories are great and as a wrestling legend, he deserves better than what this publisher has given us. Seriously this thing is riddled with errors and that drags the book down big time. Unlucky.
December 23, 2024
As a kid I was always a huge fan of Tito so this book did not disappoint. A good read and listen. I did the audio book. Despite the narrator being a bit over the top, I enjoyed Tito’s story pre wrestling, as a superstar, and post.
February 4, 2020
I really wanted to like this book, being a big Tito fan, along with liking the author's other two books on Vader and Brutus Beefcake, but the spelling and grammar errors made me frustrated reading this. There are pages where as many as 3-4 errors are on a page., along with a few inaccuracies throughout in terms of timelines, especially for a 400 page book. This was a struggle for me.
For an in depth review, visit my page at : https://lancewrites.wordpress.com/202...
For an in depth review, visit my page at : https://lancewrites.wordpress.com/202...
January 9, 2024
Wrestling came into my life some Saturday morning back in the early 1980s, just before the rise of Hulkamania. In those days, heroes and villains were diametrically opposed; there were no gray areas. You cheered for the wrestlers who stood for everything that was good and clean and honest; you booed anybody who broke the rules.
Tito always stood for what was right.
Reading this book, it seems pretty obvious why he never had a heel turn. He was just too nice of a guy. It would have been a real stretch to have him become a rulebreaker. I'm sure other true good guys in the profession have done it, but Tito just seemed to be too genuine.
The book is loaded with insider stories of life on the road, which, he proves, is basically what wrestlers in his era did: travel professionally. When it all boiled down, a wrestler's day consisted of about 15 minutes per day in the ring, the rest being spent on moving from town to town on an almost daily basis. He gives his perspective on well-known behind-the-scenes events, like the Raymond Rougeau-Dynamite Kid altercation, and reveals some stories only he so far has told. He talks of becoming a cartoon character, on Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling Saturday morning show, and in real life, switching his gimmick from "Tito Santana" to "The Matador."
I watched Tito's WWF career religiously for a few years, from the time I was 11 to about the time I was 15. I went to three or four WWF cards during those days at the Boston Garden, and lo and behold, one night I was witness to the undoing of a champion, when Randy "Macho Man" Savage pinned Tito for the Intercontinental title. The fans at the Garden went crazy, cheering the moment, though I was confused - Macho Man was a bad guy! To this day I believe it was the euphoria of seeing history in action. In the pre-internet days, to see a wrestling title change hands in person was a real rarity. Yet there it was, right before our eyes. I still left mad that one of my heroes had lost.
In life, Merced Solis, the man behind "Richard Blood," Tito Santana and The Matador, won. He rose from nothingness and became a superstar and an excellent family man. It's funny to think now, decades later, that this was a hero who truly was one. Despite the grittiness of the industry in which he toiled, the backstabbing and position grabbing, he held true to his morals (unless this book is a work!) and lived life the best way he knew how.
Thank you, Tito!
Tito always stood for what was right.
Reading this book, it seems pretty obvious why he never had a heel turn. He was just too nice of a guy. It would have been a real stretch to have him become a rulebreaker. I'm sure other true good guys in the profession have done it, but Tito just seemed to be too genuine.
The book is loaded with insider stories of life on the road, which, he proves, is basically what wrestlers in his era did: travel professionally. When it all boiled down, a wrestler's day consisted of about 15 minutes per day in the ring, the rest being spent on moving from town to town on an almost daily basis. He gives his perspective on well-known behind-the-scenes events, like the Raymond Rougeau-Dynamite Kid altercation, and reveals some stories only he so far has told. He talks of becoming a cartoon character, on Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling Saturday morning show, and in real life, switching his gimmick from "Tito Santana" to "The Matador."
I watched Tito's WWF career religiously for a few years, from the time I was 11 to about the time I was 15. I went to three or four WWF cards during those days at the Boston Garden, and lo and behold, one night I was witness to the undoing of a champion, when Randy "Macho Man" Savage pinned Tito for the Intercontinental title. The fans at the Garden went crazy, cheering the moment, though I was confused - Macho Man was a bad guy! To this day I believe it was the euphoria of seeing history in action. In the pre-internet days, to see a wrestling title change hands in person was a real rarity. Yet there it was, right before our eyes. I still left mad that one of my heroes had lost.
In life, Merced Solis, the man behind "Richard Blood," Tito Santana and The Matador, won. He rose from nothingness and became a superstar and an excellent family man. It's funny to think now, decades later, that this was a hero who truly was one. Despite the grittiness of the industry in which he toiled, the backstabbing and position grabbing, he held true to his morals (unless this book is a work!) and lived life the best way he knew how.
Thank you, Tito!
April 3, 2022
A lot clearer about 70s wrestlers
July 2, 2022
One of the true babyfaces in wrestling!
This book could have been helped tremendously by an editor or even a proofreader to fix the multitude of spelling, grammar and punctuation errors, but I don’t see how you can NOT help but be impressed by the true babyface personality of one of the nicest guys to ever step into the squared circle.
Arriba! To the man we all knew as Tito Santana, thanks for all the years of professional wrestling entertainment.
This book could have been helped tremendously by an editor or even a proofreader to fix the multitude of spelling, grammar and punctuation errors, but I don’t see how you can NOT help but be impressed by the true babyface personality of one of the nicest guys to ever step into the squared circle.
Arriba! To the man we all knew as Tito Santana, thanks for all the years of professional wrestling entertainment.
November 15, 2023
Kenny works well as ghostwriter with various wrestlers, and this is another fun read. You always feel you are sat with the subject as he tells his stories.
Tito comes across like such a nice guy and had a great career. Some editing for repetition is a minor knock, but overall a really enjoyable book for old school wrestling fans.
Tito comes across like such a nice guy and had a great career. Some editing for repetition is a minor knock, but overall a really enjoyable book for old school wrestling fans.
May 10, 2021
If you read it, you would love it.
October 5, 2022
interesting read loved that he actually detailed his upbringing then just glancing through it
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews