Literary Squared Circle #30 – UNDISPUTED
20 years ago this week, on December 9, 2001, Chris Jericho defeated both The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to become the first Unified Champion in WWE history. To mark the occasion, the Literary Squared Circle blog is reviewing Jericho’s second memoir, 2011’s Undisputed: How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps by Chris Jericho with Peter Thomas Fornatale (Grand Central Publishing, 2011).
Undisputed picks up right where Jericho’s first book, A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex left off. A Lion’s Tale covered Jericho’s life from birth to his World Wrestling Federation debut in August 1999, ending with him stepping through the curtain to confront The Rock on Raw. Undisputed covers Jericho’s career from when he first stepped through the curtain into the WWF to his return to the now WWE in November 2007 following a two-year hiatus away from wrestling.
Jericho devotes an entire chapter (chapter 21) to his being crowned the Undisputed Champion of the World. He states that when he arrived at the arena the night of the Vengeance pay-per-view, he had no idea that he would be coming out the winner. Jericho, who meticulously keeps a record of all of his matches, notes that it was the 1,372nd match of his career… thus the subtitle of the book, “How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps”.
Jericho discusses his feud with Chyna over the Intercontinental Championship. His programs with William Regal, The Rock, Triple H, Goldberg, and Christian among others are also covered. In addition, Jericho discusses his life outside of wrestling including the formation of his rock band, Fozzy, as well as his getting married and starting a family. He even coins a new word, “froot” which is akin to “awesome”.
He left wrestling for two years to tour with Fozzy. Just prior to his 2007 return to the WWE, the unthinkable happened. Jericho’s close friend Chris Benoit murdered his wife and son before committing suicide. In what is perhaps the most compelling part of Undisputed, Jericho openly and honestly discusses his friendship with Benoit and his reaction to the horrific events involving his friend. Jericho responds to the WWE erasing Benoit from their company history stating, “I’ll never be able to erase Chris Benoit from my memory, and his actions still haunt me every single day.”
Undisputed ends the same way A Lion’s Tale did, with Jericho going through the curtain and entering a new stage of his career. The book began with his 1999 WWF debut and ends with his 2007 return to the WWE. Undisputed is not better than A Lion’s Tale, but it is equal to it. If read together the two books could run together one long tome. Both are well worth your time, and both are among the best wrestling memoirs out there. Chris Jericho joins Mick Foley, Jim Ross, and a select few others as the best in the wrestling memoir business.
If you haven’t done so already, check out Undisputed: How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps. It’s froot!
5 Stars out of 5
Undisputed picks up right where Jericho’s first book, A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex left off. A Lion’s Tale covered Jericho’s life from birth to his World Wrestling Federation debut in August 1999, ending with him stepping through the curtain to confront The Rock on Raw. Undisputed covers Jericho’s career from when he first stepped through the curtain into the WWF to his return to the now WWE in November 2007 following a two-year hiatus away from wrestling.
Jericho devotes an entire chapter (chapter 21) to his being crowned the Undisputed Champion of the World. He states that when he arrived at the arena the night of the Vengeance pay-per-view, he had no idea that he would be coming out the winner. Jericho, who meticulously keeps a record of all of his matches, notes that it was the 1,372nd match of his career… thus the subtitle of the book, “How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps”.
Jericho discusses his feud with Chyna over the Intercontinental Championship. His programs with William Regal, The Rock, Triple H, Goldberg, and Christian among others are also covered. In addition, Jericho discusses his life outside of wrestling including the formation of his rock band, Fozzy, as well as his getting married and starting a family. He even coins a new word, “froot” which is akin to “awesome”.
He left wrestling for two years to tour with Fozzy. Just prior to his 2007 return to the WWE, the unthinkable happened. Jericho’s close friend Chris Benoit murdered his wife and son before committing suicide. In what is perhaps the most compelling part of Undisputed, Jericho openly and honestly discusses his friendship with Benoit and his reaction to the horrific events involving his friend. Jericho responds to the WWE erasing Benoit from their company history stating, “I’ll never be able to erase Chris Benoit from my memory, and his actions still haunt me every single day.”
Undisputed ends the same way A Lion’s Tale did, with Jericho going through the curtain and entering a new stage of his career. The book began with his 1999 WWF debut and ends with his 2007 return to the WWE. Undisputed is not better than A Lion’s Tale, but it is equal to it. If read together the two books could run together one long tome. Both are well worth your time, and both are among the best wrestling memoirs out there. Chris Jericho joins Mick Foley, Jim Ross, and a select few others as the best in the wrestling memoir business.
If you haven’t done so already, check out Undisputed: How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps. It’s froot!
5 Stars out of 5
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