Walking A Golden Mile

I found William Regal's autobiography - Walking a Golden Mile - to be one of the most interesting wrestling books that has been written.

Regal, born Darren Matthews, was born in Staffordshire and became a professional wrestler during the time wrestling was a main fixture on ITV.

His career is chronicled throughout the book starting with his debut in the carnival-type bouts he took part in up in Blackpool all the way to his current employment as a star for World Wrestling Entertainment.

I found the stories of his time working in the UK and Europe to be very interesting as it's a territory that only Tom Billington and Bret Hart have covered in their memoirs.

His comical interactions with Giant Haystacks were a charming read.

I first learned of Regal when he was under the alias 'Lord' Steven Regal when he worked for World Championship Wrestling in 1993.

His bout against Ric Flair in the Cardiff International Arena was also mentioned. I have fond memories of that show myself as it was the first American wrestling event I attended.

Matthews is brutally honest about his alcohol and drug addictions that could have ended his life. It was shocking to see what he put his body and his family through and was kind of inspiring to see how he managed to turn his life back around and regain his employment with WWE.