By Bill De Mott with Scott Teal.
Published by Crowbar Press.
Released June, 2011.
Pages 247, paperback.

A man whose career is certainly no laughing matter. Bill De Mott, a man who has only won gold in a major promotion on three separate occasions; the United States heavyweight championship twice, and the tag team championship once both in World Championship Wrestling. He is considered a talented sports entertainer and has continued on to find his niche in training the next generation of hopefuls.

For anyone who has followed the career of the ‘Laughing Man’ they would expect exactly what lays beneath the covers of this autobiography. The Last Laugh offers a no holds barred, straight talking, frank look inside the world of Bill De Mott, pulling no punches as he openly talks of his own personal demons and downfalls through-out life. A fascinating read from his early beginnings as a misfit trying to find a place within school, sitting in a jail cell, to his breaking into the business thanks to a well renowned trainer by the name of Johnny Rodz. Bill let’s his opinions, whether good or bad flow as he progresses in his own life story. Telling it how it was from his perspective. De Mott goes into detail about the early trips to Mexico, Japan’s W*ng, Extreme Championship Wrestling [the former Eastern Championship Wrestling], and other independents that he partook in, before finally settling in WCW and transforming into Hugh Morrus. Just like the rest of the book, this period of De Mott’s life is also covered openly and what certainly appears to be honestly. He discusses his drug abuse, womanising, the adventures of the ‘Chubba Bubba’s', and home life as well as the tumultuous ongoings of his professional life in the world of wrestling. Bill takes the reader along through one of the most anticipated periods of wrestling [WWE purchasing WCW], and bluntly shares his views on what went wrong with the infamous Invasion Angle. The reader then tails Bill through yet more frustrating times in his professional and personal life, with the added bonus of being allowed to read excerpts from his journal. Providing an inside look at his divorce and subsequent second marriage, the effects of it all on his children, and how he a long with WWE dealt with a severe and potentially career threatening neck injury. Bill De Mott’s autobiography continues with him finding his calling in training on seasons 3 and 4 of the original Tough Enough and moving to work with Joe Hamilton at the Deep South Wrestling developmental territory for WWE. Over the course of these chapters Bill gives insight into each of his trainee’s, also looking at the more than rocky relationship between DSW and WWE at it’s very core. All through-out the story De Mott covers funny and embarrassing stories containing a whose who in professional wrestling, and individuals who are going to be future stars in the industry from his days as a trainer. The book however finishes with the humbling of Bill De Mott having to swallow his pride and take a job working at the local Fed Ex depot while trying to start his own training company, but finding some form of inner peace with the help of religion.

Scott Teal has helped Bill De Mott put together the moments, people, and events that helped shaped him into the Christian he has become today. The Last Laugh is a real treat to read, more candid than you could ever dare to imagine. At times the story of Bill De Mott proves to be a real tear jerker at times before turning 180 degrees and making the reader laugh with his often hilarious sarcasm or recounting a humorous tale. This is a book that is a must read for any Bill De Mott fan, but more than that, this is a unique and priceless look in a honest manner at the workings of professional wrestling and what it takes to be in the business on any level, let alone what it took for him to make it to the big leagues of WCW and WWE.

5/5 Stars