A Lion's Tale_ Around the World in Spandex - Chris Jericho [0]
DEDICATION
AUTHOR’S NOTE
COAUTHOR’S NOTE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
FOREWORD
THE COUNT DOWN
PART ONE WINNIPEG
CHAPTER 1: SHUT UP, KID, OR I’LL SLAP YOUR FACE
CHAPTER 2: GROTTO VALLEY DEATH MATCH
CHAPTER 3: BODY SLAMS, BISCUITS, AND BIBLES
CHAPTER 4: MATH FOR HINDUS
PART TWO GALGARY
CHAPTER 5: THE OBVIOUS TRANSITION FROM ARCHERY TO WRESTLING
CHAPTER 6: I WOULD’VE SIGNED AWAY MY UNIT
CHAPTER 7: ROB BENOIT
PART THREE WICHITA AND ELSEWHERE
CHAPTER 8: IRON WILL
CHAPTER 9: THE PIED PIPER OF PONOKA
CHAPTER 10: HOW TO DRINK LIKE A WRESTLER
CHAPTER 11: PROPER CRACK-BUYING ETIQUETTE
CHAPTER 12: A HOT DOG AND A GLASS OF ORANGE JUICE
CHAPTER 13: MY NAME IS CHRIS TOO
PART FOUR MEXICO
CHAPTER 14: THE WORST BALL-HUGGERS EVER
CHAPTER 15: TOILET WATER IS TOILET WATER
CHAPTER 16: THE GOAT BUS
CHAPTER 17: AN EMBARRASSING WAY TO DIE
CHAPTER 18: CORAZON DE POLLO
CHAPTER 19: HALCION BOWLING
CHAPTER 20: WHEN YOU LOSE A BROTHER
PART FIVE GERMANY
CHAPTER 21: THE TRIANGLE OF DECADENCE
CHAPTER 22: THE JERICHO CURSE
CHAPTER 23: THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT JERICHO
CHAPTER 24: MY FIRST FELONY!
PART SIX KNOXVILLE
CHAPTER 25: AIN’T NO PARTY LIKE A WAL-MART PARTY
CHAPTER 26: TRUE TO THE CREW
CHAPTER 27: STRANGE KENTUCKY PEOPLE
CHAPTER 28: AIN’T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE A FAMOUS WRESTLER?
CHAPTER 29: MY WHITE WHALE
PART SEVEN JAPAN
CHAPTER 30: DONALDO MAKUDONALDO
CHAPTER 31: THE DOM DELUISE OF WRESTLING
CHAPTER 32: PRAY FOR BLOOD
CHAPTER 33: WRESTLE AND ROMANCE
CHAPTER 34: YASKY
CHAPTER 35: THE WHITE URKEL
CHAPTER 36: THE LOVELY LADS
CHAPTER 37: YOU’LL NEVER WORK IN JAPAN AGAIN
CHAPTER 38: CALGARY KIDS
CHAPTER 39: KENNY AND DOLLY
PART EIGHT PHILADELPHIA
CHAPTER 40: PRETTY BOYS WERE CRUCIFIED
CHAPTER 41: CAN YOU DIG IT?
CHAPTER 42: THE GOLDEN TICKET
PART NINE ATLANTA
CHAPTER 43: DOOMED FROM THE START
CHAPTER 44: BASKETBALL HIGHLIGHTS #12
CHAPTER 45: INDIAN CASTE SYSTEM
CHAPTER 46: CHRIS BIGALOW, ORIENTAL GIGOLO
CHAPTER 47: THIS IS SHOW BUSINESS, BABY
CHAPTER 48: CONSPIRACY VICTIM
CHAPTER 49: CRUISERWEIGHT PURGATORY
CHAPTER 50: DWARFBERG
CHAPTER 51: NO TICKEE, NO LAUNDRY
CHAPTER 52: SHE WAS MY DENSITY
PART TEN NEW YORK, NEW YORK
CHAPTER 53: TIME TO RACK
CHAPTER 54: ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG
CHAPTER 55: THE CLOCK HITS ZERO TONIGHT
REQUIEM
Copyright © 2007 by Chris Jericho
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Grand Central Publishing
Hachette Book Group USA
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Visit our Web site at www.HachetteBookGroupUSA.com.
First eBook Edition: October 2007
ISBN: 0-446-40888-3
1. Jericho, Chris. 2. Wrestlers—Canada—Biography. 3. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. I. Fornatale, Peter. II. Title.
DEDICATION
For Eddy
Friend, Colleague, Brother, Inspiration
AUTHOR’S NOTE
I started working on this book in August of 2005 and finished it in May of 2007. It was a long process and a labor of love, and when the final manuscript was handed in I was convinced that it was exactly the way I wanted it to be.
The book was typeset and put into galley form (industry talk for pretty much finished, with no more changes allowed), and that was to be it.
But a horrible additional chapter unfolded.
One of the main characters in this book is Chris Benoit. He was a huge influence on my career and on my life, and he is a very important part of this story.
The majority of the events within this book focus on my life from 1990 to 1999. The Chris Benoit in this book is the one I knew within that same time frame. The man that I knew and loved exists within these