Wrestling for My Life: The Legend, the Reality, and the Faith of a WWE Superstar

Shawn Michaels is one of my all-time favorite wrestlers and when he became a Christian that finally validated my faith. Okay, not really. Like, not at all. But that is how I used to think about things like this and how we often find ourselves operating. We want God to choose the exalted people of the world because their salvation will really make a difference and, bonus!, we can know that our decision to follow Christ was worth it. “Hey, if (insert favorite celebrity here) thinks the Gospel is alright, then so do I…and so will so many!!”

Ridiculous, right? But we do it. And then, when someone in a public position is made alive by the Spirit of God, we put them under the greatest scrutiny we can muster. Every word. Every decision. Every turn. Every thought. If you are a Christian and you blow it, don’t worry about the world coming after you. We have blogs, message boards, youtube comments, emails, passing jabs, etc. We exhibit an unhealthy love of breaking bruised reeds. We are spiritual Darwinists who devour our weak out of some twisted desire to purify the spiritual gene pool.

These reasons combined, the borderline idolatry of celebrities and the excessive scrutiny of having a public faith, make a project like this book tricky to critique (and, I would assume, of even greater difficulty to put together in a God-honoring way). I do not want to be a fan-boy simply because I am excited that a celebrity, one that has brought me hours of entertainment, has embraced the Christian faith. I also do not want to be overly critical based on criteria I have created in regards to what a celebrity believer should be and what his memoir should look like. Hopefully this review avoids both of those extremes.

Shawn is a wrestling personality. This book is a wrestling book. And it is a good one. I enjoyed the back stories because, and it was skillful how it was done, Shawn did a terrific job weaving his faith throughout the stories. He did not turn it into one object lesson after another, but he made a great effort to show how his faith affected his new life just as his lack of faith affected it before.

Shawn is not a pastor. He is a, relatively, new believer. He has obviously made great strides in his faith but he is not a scholar. He is not seminary trained. And his book shows it. That is not a dig. It is refreshing to hear from this brother who simply loves the Lord and spends time in God’s word and under the ministry of his church. The way he says things sometimes is unrefined and lacks the precision that would be necessary in pastoral counseling or in the ministry of the Word. But the tone is not sermon. It is more discipleship-over-coffee. And it is nice.

Shawn is a believer who wants to use every opportunity he has to make much of the Lord. That is the lens through which he views his role in the WWF(take that wildlife-lovers). That is the lens through which he views his outdoor show, his marriage, his life. And that is a trait that is worthy of emulation. Follow Shawn as he follows the Lord in this way. His book is, to him, another means of bringing honor and glory to the Lord. That knowledge in itself makes this a work worth reading and enjoying.

Shawn is affiliated with a church that I have strong disagreements with; a church that has some teachings that greatly undermine the Gospel. I was pleasantly surprised to find virtually none of those sorts of teachings find their way to his book. In fact, I found Shawn to be wise beyond his spiritual years and I was greatly encouraged on numerous occasions. He is transparent about his sin without ever glorying in it. He is humble and God-honoring. He offers some immensely practical ideas for spiritual growth and does so in a way that his “this worked for me” never comes across as “this is law for you.” Many pulpits would benefit from this ability to lay out advice without undermining it with burden.

Where I was disappointed was in the fact that the Gospel was never explicitly discussed. The need for it was mentioned. Praying the “sinner’s prayer” was discussed. Many of the benefits and struggles of the Christian life were discussed. But the Gospel message of God’s redemption through the life, death, and resurrection of his sinless son was simply assumed. The fact that the Gospel could be alluded to, referenced, and praised, but never be verbalized in a book by a vocal Christian and published by a Christian publisher is disappointing. This aspect is a definite shortcoming and hopefully this will be made right before the final printing.

Overall this is a good book that many Shawn Michaels fans will greatly enjoy. It has its ups and a few downs but is worth the time and money to read and enjoy. A celebrity embracing the Christian faith does not validate it. But it is nice to see a brother with a far-reaching voice so willing to use his opportunities to speak the truth of God into people’s lives.

Without question, Shawn Michaels is one of the greatest showmen and in-ring performers that the business has ever seen. However, he's also undoubtedly the biggest douchebag that this business has ever seen. His self-aggrandizing behavior was downright despicable, and unfortunately, his assholishness far exceeded anything he ever accomplished in the ring.

Shawn Michaels was my childhood hero, and I enjoyed learning more about the man behind the wrestling persona and his journey in faith. To read what he was going through behind the scenes was shocking, and I'm thankful he was able to find God after all of it. God bless Shawn Michaels for sharing his story--and his wife Rebecca for helping him find his way! :)

I had a chance to review this book by The Booklook program of the Thomas Nelson publishing company. I am glad that I was giving that chance.

Wrestling For My Life is the latest book by former WWE star Shawn Michael's. He talks about his conversion to Christ and how he is able to live a life dedicated to Him and still do the things he loves.

I used to watch Shawn, along withTriple H and Steve " Stone Cold" Austin all the time. You look at these guys and you think they have it all, they get to do what they love, get the girls, just have the best life. Maybe they do, but Shawn talks about is struggle with drugs and how it almost ruined his life, his marriage and his job.

But it wasn't until he found God and Jesus Christ that he changed his life. Shawn talks about in the book how he came to know Jesus and how Jesus Christ sweet love helps us all. I really loved reading this book and I hope that you will too.

I highly recommend this book.

Great Book, if you're interested in wrestling and probably a little older honestly then it will be a great read for you. Growing up, I watched a lot of wrestling, even though I don't watch know I still wanted to know about all of the people that I watched when I was younger. This book provides insight to some of the trials of Shawn Michaels and how he dealt with them to make his return to wrestling.

Wonderful book, great story, came autographed by Shawn himself!

Growing up, I watched a lot of professional wrestling. Early on, Shawn Michaels became my favorites wrestler, and I was very excited to hear that years after my childhood, he had become a Christian.

Michaels had written a previous book, but that one focused more on his wrestling career. This book, which does bring up numerous wrestlers and wrestling events, focuses more on his spiritual journey.

I haven't read his other book yet, but in a lot of ways I feel that learning about his spiritual journey first will be beneficial to me so that when I do read his other book I will have more insight into what was going on behind the scenes during his professional achievements.

I’m a member of the Family Christian Bloggers and they provided me with a free copy of Wrestling for My Life” for this review.

In Wrestling for My Life, Shawn Michaels opened up about his days in being in the WWE and the many different struggles he went through. He began the book by sharing how he became addicted to pain pills after suffering from extreme pain from his injuries in wrestling. He admitted that some days he took up to thirty to thirty-five pills a day. His wife, Rebecca was a devoted Christian and she was praying that God will set her husband free. He experienced a wakeup call when his two year old son, Cameron crawled up on him while he was resting after taking a few pain pills and said, “Daddy’s tired”. He realized that his son was finally seeing who is dad really was. He found a local church to attend regularly, “Cornerstone” (the church where John Hagee is the leading pastor). He began to also attend a Bible study group with Keith and Priscilla Parker. They poured into his life and became his mentor and they helped him to grow spiritually in Christ. He finally turned to Jesus and received salvation. Jesus began to change his life and he was able to overcome his pain pill addiction.

I would recommend this life changing book to anyone who enjoys the sport of wrestling and is looking for a book filled with a message of faith. I liked how Shawn was real throughout the book about his life and how he shared how God changed his entire life around. I also appreciated how he stood his ground when he returned to wrestling after retiring a few years ago. My favorite chapter was the chapter, “Aiming to Please” because he shared about how God set him free from having to please people and now he only needs to try and please God. This is critical in running our race and completing God’s calling on our lives. I liked how the book also contained personal pictures to give us a glance at his life. This book has the power to influence people for God’s Kingdom and it’s one definably checking out!

I really enjoyed this book. It was about the famous wrestler Shawn Michael's and about his life after he retired from wrestling and loving his kids and family and God.

I like the quote on page 66 which reads " I can compare it to my marriage. I still love Rebecca, but our relationship is not what it was like at the beginning. We have gone through tough times, working through them together. In the process of life's battles, we've grown closer to each other because we have learned more about each other. We've been wounded, and although those wounds have healed, they have left scars. "

I also like the quote on page 107 which reads " Some may not agree with how I do things, but as long as I pray and spend time reading God's word and sense that I am doing what he wants me to do when he wants me do it, then I figure that I am pleasing God, and this is the best that I can do."

I also like the quote on page 121 which reads " As Christian men, we can't be swayed by society's changing perspectives. If we do, we will have to change our beliefs to keep up with what's currently perceived as correct. But even that will change, too, with time. The bible hasn't changed and will not change. God's word is for all time, and I'm much more interested in God, not society, thinking I am cool."

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Great account of a man who as the song Amazing Grace says: "I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see." He gives honest and straightforward advice to men everywhere on what it means to be a Christian, as well as a father, and a man. I read it first and was very touched and challenged buy this. My hubby also enjoyed it, and the Lord used this book to help him make a very crucial job decision, which he does not regret.