Back in March, WWE Superstars The New Day teamed up with the company and wrote and released their own unique piece of literature, known as: “The Book of Booty: Shake it, Love it, Never be it.”
Now, wrestling books are a common sight, as everyone from Hulk Hogan to Booker T to Rey Mysterio have released an autobiography. Some of my favorites are the one that started it all, Mick Foley’s “Have a Nice Day,” any of Chris Jericho’s books and Bret Hart’s “Hitman.”
The common trend for these books is to include the story of the journey the author took to get to where they are, and the trials and tribulations they faced. Of course, many books also have dirt and gossip thrown around, and several shots at fellow wrestlers.
But in 2018, wrestling autobiographies are a dime a dozen. Following Foley’s success, everyone jumped on the gravy train and few have the amount of detail, care and personal touch that the former Dude Love had. The bad wrestling books don’t sound authentic due to ghostwriting, and focus more on negativities and throwing shade at other competitors.
That’s where The New Day comes in. On the fateful Monday following Fastlane 2018, I marched to the Miamisburg Barnes and Nobles and bought the book, waited in line for about two and a half hours and met the Tracksuit Trio and had them sign the sacred tome. It was a great moment that was well worth the wait.
But, on to the book. It is not your typical wrestling book. With only 170 pages, several trivia quizzes, a coloring section, word searches and full color images throughout, this is definitely marketed toward a younger fan base. Upon realizing this, it was a little embarrassing, especially since it cost a pretty penny.
Yet, that’s not a bad thing. The New Day isn’t a super serious group of guys. They love unicorns, Lucky Charms inspired cereal, ice cream and pancakes. Making the typical wrestling book with the same journeyman format, a small insert section for pictures and attacks on other people in the wrestling business would feel disingenuous to who they are.
Instead their authentic personality is on full display, as every page is vibrant and full of color. We get to see many facts and statistics breaking down their record-setting reign with the titles, and we get a ranking of the group’s favorite matches they’ve competed in.
Also, throughout the book we get two to three page inserts telling the story of the group and how they were able to break out of the original preacher gimmick they had at the start of their careers.
We get fun sections where we learn more about each New Day member, with Q & As with each, and sections dedicated to Woods’ YouTube show “Up Up Down Down,” Kofi’s collection of kicks and even instructions on how to dance like Big E. That last one is worth the price of admission alone.
It’s bright, colorful chaos, and it feels true to the group. Essentially it is a coffee table book presented in a smaller package, and it is a very fun read.
So if you want to know the nitty-gritty and get a long detailed overview of the career of the trio and how they were able to become huge stars in spite of the backstage politics of the WWE, you won’t like this book, and should probably wait until one of them writes their own traditional autobiography.
But if you want a colorful, entertaining read with a lot of solid jokes, it’ll fit right in with the box of Booty O’s, the unicorn horn and any other New Day merchandise you have on your mantle.
Henry Wolski
Executive Editor