‘Tod is God’ a revealing look at ECW
You would expect a book written about the origins of a company revered for its violence and referred to as “E-C-f’n-W” to be equal parts entertaining, funny, and raw, and that is exactly what you get from Tod is God: The Authorized Story of How I Created Extreme Championship Wrestling.
Tod is God is written by Tod Gordon himself, alongside Sean Oliver, and came out in July 2023 (so we’re a little late to the review party). Gordon is a charismatic man who is unapologetically himself, and it shows through his storytelling in the book, making for a very interesting read from page to page, whether he is talking about wrestlers we all know and love, or talking about his father’s jewelry store which he operated the whole time he was running Extreme Championship Wrestling. The way that Gordon writes is very loose and conversational, making reading seem like more of a message on your phone from a friend with a crazy story rather than a book.
As someone who is too young to have seen ECW live, the book does a very good job detailing how Gordon first purchased ECW, back when it was called Eastern Championship Wrestling, and how it became the industry rebel that it was, including the first time that he ever met Paul Heyman and how and why their relationship blossomed into Paul eventually owning almost half the company, with 49% of it (Gordon wanted to be the final word, and had he gone 50/50 with Paul he would have lost that power). Heyman was a man that Gordon becomes fast friends with because of a shared enjoyment of the devil’s lettuce. Gordon was warned about being in business with Heyman by none other than Ric Flair, but went into business with him anyway. Heyman started out working for free for the company, as he was set to join Jim Crockett’s promotion, and wanted to use ECW as a place to build up and test out new talent.
Alongside explaining the origin of ECW, the book also does a very good job of showing what ECW was like. The behind the scenes look that we get on the talent was captivating, seeing that the same men that we idolize swear, drink, smoke and act like us really tears down the mythical veil that surrounds many of them and humanizes them. Gordon does a great job recounting the locker room pranks they pulled, the life issues that wrestlers faced, and how they were as people outside the ring.
One aspect of the book that I enjoyed was the unfiltered realness in it. Gordon did not shy away from telling stories that are shocking or could be seen as controversial. One funny story he told was about “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka. Snuka was one of the first big name talents that Gordon signed to ECW, and he and Snuka became friends. One common interest they shared was the enjoyment of sparking a joint. Gordon would ride with Snuka for a lot of shows, but eventually had to stop riding with him as Snuka blew so much smoke in the car when they drove together, Gordon said it was impossible to drive, stay awake or move.
For anyone interested in the financial or business side of the wrestling entertainment business, Gordon included numbers and how negations went for many deals with venues, as well as with TV networks, giving readers a real up close and inside perspective into how money is spent, and how money is made when it relates to wrestling events.
Overall, as someone who was too young to witness the era of ECW, Tod is God does a great job of telling, in detail, the story of how the company came about, the style of the brand and what it stood for, the wrestlers which represented it, and how they were as people and keeping the reader interested and invested in the book for the whole time.
