Pro Wrestling Books

Kesar is better known as WWE’s Karrion Kross, but this is not a pure autobiography. It’s somewhere between a life story and a self-help book, but it may be too much of a blend of formats to find wide appeal. Perhaps the most similar previous wrestling title is Bobby Heenan’s second book, but that was more explicit about tying life lessons to moments in Heenan’s career. This explores Kesar’s wider life story, including his time working as a bouncer and competing in martial arts and combat events of varying levels of professionalism. As a result, those looking purely for wrestling content will be out of luck, particularly as some of the more specific stories have names removed. The advice, or rather life philosophies, is often interesting and well thought-out, with a degree of levelheadedness and self-awareness that’s not always present in a wrestling book. The parts that do relate to the wrestling business may well be engaging to fans. There’s a particularly interesting observation by Kesar, who didn’t make his pro debut until 29, that he benefitted by gaining life experience first rather than growing up while navigating the unique world of pro wrestling. The main drawback is that the…

Think more the Channel 4 version of Fighting With My Family than the Hollywood remake and you’ll be closer to the feel of this no holds barred book. Explaining the movie to some non-wrestling fan viewers, I noted that while much of the story may have been fictionalised, everything that happened before Saraya/Paige’s move to to the US certainly felt like something that was believable, if not true. This book, which shows no signs of toning things down to appease a wrestling employer, reveals that this was quite the understatement. Knight appears to hold nothing back in her description of an extremely unorthodox childhood in a family which was, to say the least, not typical. It’s affectionate without being naive, highlighting the very clear realisation that what we each experience as normal is not always what the rest of society would see the same way. The movie of course ended with the dream moment of debuting on the main roster and winning the WWE womens title and wrestling fans will no that what happened next was far from a Hollywood dream story. Knight doesn’t shy away from discussing her subsequent highs and lows, the pressures of fame at a young…

A mixed bag by its very nature, this part-history, part-travelogue covers a wide range of aspects of the WWF’s national expansion. The book has its origins in the early 2000s when Balukjian began work ghostwriting the Iron Sheik’s autobiography before their professional relationship broke down. Two decades later he decided to adapt the project as a follow-up to The Wax Pack, in which he attempted to track down every player in a pack of baseball trading cards. For this book he attempted to do the same with six wrestlers who appeared on the card where Iron Sheik won the WWF title from Bob Backlund. Not only are these very different men to one another, but they allow Balukjian to explore different elements of the business. With Iron Sheik we get as close to a verifiable biography as possible of the real Khosrow Vaziri and the blurring with his character. With Bill ‘Masked Superstar’ Eadie, we get facts and figures about the finances of national expansion thanks to his lawsuit against the WWF for underpayment. With Tito Santana we learn that even the man seen as unsullied by the business and the great escaper has his secrets. Meanwhile Tony Atlas gives…