10. World Wrestling Insanity: Shoot First, Ask Questions Later!
In the 1990's, the idea of the 'shoot interview' really started to gain traction. This coincided with the general rise of the internet, and the subsequent acceptance that many wrestling fans had 'smartened up' to the wrestling industry. Therefore, this created a market for aging veterans or those discarded by the major companies to tell their side of the story. Penned by James Guttman, Shoot First, Ask Questions Later revolves around the man's website, World Wrestling Insanity. For years, Guttman interviewed literally hundreds of wrestlers, with the only criteria being that they had to have wrestled for the WWF/WWE, WCW or ECW during their careers. This adds a certain level of star power to the book. The read is simply a collection of interesting anecdotes which were born from interviewing wrestlers. It's gripping to read about Tito Santana's idea that he was going to be pushed ahead of Bret Hart if the WWF decided to expand into Mexico instead of Canada. It's also unintentionally hilarious to read about the barmy interview Guttman conducted with Ole Anderson, which went badly wrong.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
