Wanderone was known for ostentation, self-aggrandizement, tall tales, fast talk, and entertaining banter. He was even publicly recognized by famed boaster Muhammad Ali as better at boasting. His critical biographer, R.A. Dyer, documents that Wanderone completely fabricated a "here-by-fate" tale about a car wreck which brought the player to Little Egypt; it was a tale that Wanderone encouraged to be spread and further embellished in his autobiography to lend an air of the mystical to his public persona. He made false claims about beating Willie Mosconi so frequently that Mosconi filed a slander lawsuit, to little avail.