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Talk about it here.

Talk about it here.

Talk about it here.

So this was a really awesome Andre performance, first and foremost. The amount of sympathy that he garners while making Kamala look like a dangerous killer is astonishing. Here you have this giant of a man that the crowd loves and he takes Kamala's chops and bites and stumbles and staggers around the ring, carrying himself like some brittle big target that's being beaten down. There is a part in the match where Kamala goes for the door to escape and Andre uses all his strength to go after him and stop him, selling the entire time, slumping into the ropes after he's made the save. Kamala is always fun to watch and his wildness adds to the match. What he lacks in physicality is made up for in his presentation and the moments where he resorts to biting and slapping his belly and getting confused by the rules kind of enhance the element of danger. We also get some really fun Andre hip attacks and he comes off the top rope with a sitting splash for a really emphatic ending. This was a lot of fun, and a really good example of Andre working as a sympathetic underdog to great effect.

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The ebook version of Kamala Speaks recently landed on the Kindle store, so I decided to treat myself to it as a Christmas present. After reading Backlund's book, I dived right into Kamala's. I am a huge Kamala fan from childhood, so I was really excited to finally be able to devour this. As a kid, I knew I couldn't ever be Hulk Hogan or Ultimate Warrior, but maybe I could be Kamala... (I don't mean growing up to become an African savage - kind of hard for a white kid to aspire to, haha - and I definitely don't mean becoming a bodyguard for Idi Amin. I mostly mean the belly. I could rub my belly with the best of them!) I knew I'd have fun with this, of course, but I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it is. What really makes Kamala Speaks stand out is that James Harris (and/or Kenny Casanova, who is listed as the book's co-author) is not afraid to dig deep, show his emotions, and lay his soul bare for the reader - anger, sadness, regret, longing, fear, and those sweet but fleeting moments of happiness. Whether it's losing his legs or headlining Madison Square Garden with Hulk Hogan, all of his feelings are described powerfully. One of the most impactful moments of the book, for me, was when a retired Kamala returned to one of the arenas he headlined - this time as a truck driver making a delivery - and ran into his old wrestling co-workers. And Kamala definitely has some strong opinions about those co-workers - particularly Vince McMahon and Andre the Giant. He also goes into his low payoffs, racism in wrestling, the creation of the gimmick in Memphis with Lawler and Jerry Jarrett, Friday/Kim Chee, Mid-South, his WWF runs and eventual face turn there, his brief stint in WCW, his one remaining friend from the wrestling business, and all of the other topics you'd expect from his career. Occasionally, the book will slip off into weird side-tangents. In one instance, former WWF ring announcer Mel Phillips' foot fetish and accompanying scandal is mentioned - possibly to parallel Kamala's own foot amputation issues? There are also a bunch of Pat Patterson and "Brooklyn Brawler" Steve Lombardi stories. Kamala addresses those rumors head-on, apologizes for his part in them, and then goes on to make fun of Lombardi several more times anyway. It's all a bit bizarre, but it does make for strangely compelling reading. Oddly enough, Lombardi, Harvey Wippleman, and pretty much anyone from the WWE apparently refused to be quoted for Kamala Speaks - "out of fear," according to the author(s). I can believe it, because the book is pretty hard-hitting. But still, to me, it only makes everyone currently in the WWE look petty for not contributing their own thoughts to a former colleague's life story. What harm would that have really done? Kamala was going to write whatever he was going to write anyway - and he did! WWE didn't really do itself any favors by distancing itself for no reason, if you ask me. The foreword is written by Jim Ross, but the ebook version contains several unused forewords at the end and other extra material that didn't make it into the print version. There was nothing wrong with J.R.'s foreword - it was fine - but I have no idea why they didn't use Koko B. Ware's instead. It was far more personal and heartfelt. My only guess is that J.R.'s version was ultimately chosen because he's a "bigger name." There are a couple of minor errors in the ebook edition (not sure if they're also present in the print book). There are two instances where a sentence is cut off. I believe this happens in Chapters 1 and 7, but I'll have to double-check. Hopefully I can find a way to contact the authors so these tiny gaffes are corrected (easy enough in a ebook, since existing buyers can get updated versions automatically). Other than that, this is clean, polished, and professional. Overall, Kamala Speaks is fantastic - definitely up there with the best wrestling books I've ever read, and I've read most of them. Link to the ebook: http://www.amazon.com/Kamala-Speaks-eBook-Editors-Autobiography-ebook/dp/B019JJR59Q/

I think this is definitely worth watching as it is one of the most FUN trios matches I've ever seen. El Dandy & Satanico bring the fire against each other, Rayo does his usual thing & Kamala in Mexico is so freaking cool. He does so many things you'd never see him do anywhere else like disingenuous handshake attempts, bouncing around the ring in a boxer's stance, mocking his opponent's usual taunt, actually understanding tag rules. If you don't have fun watching this match then I don't know what to tell you.

Billy is a type of worker that Kamala could have a good match with. I loved the early brawling. I even liked Kamala's nerve hold.for the 1st 2 minutes at least. This is where Billy sold it wonderfully. I loved him balling his fist trying to get the nerves going in his arm.We get a comeb*.ck that is short lived. Then to a fun finish. I enjoyed aspects of the match, and want to see a rematch. 2 1/4.*.

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