Have I mentioned before that I like the fake fighting? I do. However, I probably wouldn’t have purchased Amy Dumas’ autobiography because she didn’t stick around the business all that long (I think a total of about 7 years, 3 after the publication of this book). But when it came available free, I figured why not?
I’m glad I did, because it was actually fairly interesting, particularly when compared with Chris Jericho’s book which was middle of the road in quality. The strong point of the book is that it feels like a retelling of Dumas’ struggles, rather than a list of the matches, feuds, and promotions in which she participated. Not a great autobiography, but at least I felt like I got to know my Dumas as a person (even if it’s just a persona she’s projecting).
The first chapters of the book detail her life growing up and just out of high school. Not a lot of home life, but some. The bulk of this is Dumas’ life as an aimless punk girl. Crashing on couches. Riding along with small punk bands as they toured. Making ends meet as a stripper. Not exactly a winning strategy for achieving at life. This part I think comes off as less meaningful than the author intends.
Somewhere along the line she got introduced to watching professional wrestling, and decided that was what she wanted to do with her life. Rather than sign up for a wrestling school, she essentially became a groupie for a while, looking for an in to learning the business. She learned a few things at various independents. She headed to Mexico with no clue where the wrestlers there were, hoping to break into lucha libre. She was successful in breaking in at least, and worked independent shows for a year or so. One thing that seemed less than fully covered was her time learning wrestling in North Carolina with Matt and Jeff Hardy. From parts later in the book this was quite meaningful to her but the description seemed pretty abbreviated.
Only a year after her professional debut, she signed on with the then World Wrestling Federation. This part of the book focused on two areas: her personal relationships with the people backstage, and the feuds in which she participated. The latter wasn’t a recap of the feuds alone. She includes her opinions of the feuds, her skill progression, and her general state of mind. Things like trying to figure out how to have a match with someone even more unskilled than she was. This part and the book ends with a few chapters on her neck injury on the set of Dark Angel (the short-lived Fox series that launched Jessica Alba’s career), and subsequent surgery and rehabilitation. The final chapters end with her depression over her time off, feeling useless, and the plans for her to eventually return.
When she did return, she lasted another three years, mostly as a valet for Edge. But that period came after the book was published. Which is somewhat of a shame, because the big storyline during her return surrounded a love triangle between her, Edge, and Matt Hardy that was possibly based on real life events. How much the three of them cooked up the story, how much was W.W.E. scripting, and how much was real life would have made for an interesting story.
It’s not really important to the book, but it does include early photos of Amy Dumas prior to her television wrestling career. She looked much better before W.W.E. tarted her up. Less make-up. Less boob. Far more interesting. W.W.E. Playboy-izes
their female performers, to much the same effect. It turns them from people to cookie cutter Barbie dolls, although at least Dumas avoided the blond hair and kept her tattoos.
Title: Lita: a less traveled R.O.A.D. — the reality of Amy Dumas
Authors: Amy Dumas, Michael Krugman
Cover photographer: John Giamundo
Imprint / publisher: Pocket Books / Simon & Schuster
Format: Hardcover
Length: 352 p.
Publication date: September 2003
ISBN-10: 0-7434-7398-1
Subject: World Wrestling Federation
Subject: Women wrestlers — United States — Biography
LC classification: GV1196.D86 A3 2003
