Yes!: My Improbable Journey to the Main Event of Wrestlemania by Daniel Bryan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I will start off this review by admitting that I love WWE. Since I don’t believe in calling things “guilty pleasures” I’ll just openly admit it. It’s something I’ve enjoyed watching since my teenage years and I have an on and off relationship with watching it. I know it’s fake as hell, but then again, who in his right mind doesn’t? It’s quite obvious, but still it’s fun and brainless entertainment I really enjoy from time to time.

Daniel Bryan was one of my favourite underdog type wrestlers and when I saw that he had written a biography I just wanted to have it. I mean, the life of a pro wrestler must be very interesting, right? I was not disappointed by what I read in this wonderful and easy read.

“It is my belief that due to modern medicine, humans have stopped evolving in a way that produces healthy adults.” ~ Page 16

What’s clear to me is that to become a pro wrestler, especially one for the largest wrestling “brand” in the world, you have to work hard. Really, really hard. It’s not just the training, the diet, but everything. You have to travel, make a new for yourself, become a loved (or hated) persona fans can cheer or boo at. In other words, it really depends on a lot of factors whether or not you’ll become a successful wrestler.

I really enjoyed Daniel Bryan’s honesty about the wrestling world. He gave me insights into that world I didn’t have before. I also tended to agree with a lot of what he said when it came to his own life philosophy. He’s someone who worked his arse off to get to where he wanted to be.

The book builds up to the moment where Bryan fights in the main event on Wrestlemania. It’s absolute madness to see what his week looked like before that very moment. And when he finally won, it was all a hollow victory, because it was all fake, but still the pure joy and elation of the moment, it felt real.

“What I had done was not real; it was fiction. I fictionally bucked The Authority. I fictionally won a championship. I was surrounded by fiction, but succeeding in the fiction as if it were a real accomplishment. I wondered if the movie heroes ever felt like this after shooting an action movie, feeling as if they had really somehow saved the day. I would imagine not. I couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. Still I was proud.” ~Page 303

I think I understand Bryan all too well, seeing as I have written a scifi trilogy, all of which is pure fiction. Still, I’m proud of that accomplishment as well, although I have a feeling that I’ve only just began going down the road. I hope the same applies for Daniel Bryan and his wrestling career, because this book made for one hell of a story!

Final score:

Cover art: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Paper smell: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Print/lettering: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Originality: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Information: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Happy reading!

-Jeffrey

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