This account of Chris Benoit’s life and time in wrestling has been described as a true crime story. It reads like the case for the prosecution. (Before going further, I must say that had I been reading this book for “pleasure” rather than a review, I would have quit when I reached the point where the author refers to a group of sex workers as “subhuman ogresses”.) There is nothing wrong with a book on Benoit being extremely negative about him and the wrestling industry — indeed, it would be bizarre for that not to be the case. It’s also not inherently wrong to write a book that seeks to make an argument and concentrating solely on examples that back up that point. Once you accept a book is effectively just a list of every shitty part of Benoit’s relationship with pro wrestling, you can concentrate on the inescapable truth that there sure are a lot of shitty parts to list. The problem with Ring of Hell, however, is the absolute lack of nuance or ambiguity that is a part of even the grimmest reality. Almost everything in the book is stated with absolute certainty, with no room for doubt…
Steven Bell has a new title due for release on 5 October, The Man Of All Talents. It covers Douglas Clark, a key figure in the UK’s pro wrestling revival in the 1930s. A Man of All Talents is the remarkable story of rugby and wrestling legend Douglas ‘Duggy’ Clark. Born in 1891 in the sleepy Cumbrian village of Maryport, at 14 he left school to work for his father’s coal merchant business. Duggy grew into an exceptionally strong but quiet and reserved young man. His two great passions were rugby and Cumberland and Westmorland-style wrestling, and he excelled at both. By 24 he was already a rugby league great and a key member of Huddersfield’s ‘Team of All Talents’, winning every honour the sport could offer. He represented Britain in the infamous 1914 ‘Rorke’s Drift’ tour of Australia before being called up to serve in the Great War. He was awarded the Military Medal for bravery, but his war injuries were so severe he was discharged with a 20% disability certificate. Doctors gave Duggy an ultimatum: either he could stay home and live a long but sedate and ordinary life or risk his health by returning to sport. He…
Author Abraham Riesman has announced he is writing a biography of Vince McMahon to be published by Atria Books (part of Simon & Shchuster) with the blurb: …a biography of Vince McMahon, who went from a dyslexic boy growing up in a trailer park to the iconoclastic Chairman and CEO of the multi-billion dollar WWE empire, with new reporting and exclusive interviews from those witnessed, aided and suffered from his ascent. Riesman previously wrote a biography of Marvel Comics writer Stan Lee. This will be the first full-blown bio of McMahon, though Shaun Assael’s Sex, Lies and Headlocks was loosely organised around his life and career. Hold your excitement however, as the new book has no scheduled release date and Riesman is aiming for late 2022.