Review: WWE Ultimate Superstar Guide

WWE Ultimate Superstar Guide

Steve Pantaleo
DK Books
Street: 03.24

In recent years, the WWE has aimed to include a younger generation on their now lengthy history. Even if you just look at the Wrestlemania era of the company, 31 years is a long time to catalog. The Ultimate Superstar Guide takes WWF/E superstars of the past and present, as well as many NXT names currently in the company, and gives them an animated look and a brief bio. Steve Pantaleo gives a great description of every superstar, while Daz Tibbles works his illustration magic to really cartoon-up every individual, sometimes to the extreme (even The Rock doesn’t have that many muscles when he’s lifting weights in a gym). The one downside to the book, if you’re a longtime fan, is the exclusion of people who don’t necessarily “gel” with the company these days—such as CM Punk, Jesse Ventura, Lita, and Demolition to name a few. The superstar’s history also only reflects on WWF/E- related events. So, in the case of a man like Harley Race, more emphasis is put on his short, late-’80s run as the WWF King and practically glosses over his long NWA career as World Champion. Regardless, if you have kids or teenagers who are into WWE right now, this is definitely a book you should own. –Gavin Sheehan