Pro Wrestling Books

British wrestler Jonny Storm has released an autobiography, “The Unofficial Legend?” with the following blurb: Celebrating 30 years in the British professional wrestling industry, wrestler Jonny “The Wonderkid” Storm has seen and done it all. With a wealth of experience working for some of the biggest companies in the world and being at the forefront of the start of the thriving independent scene this book will take you on a journey like never before. Hear insider stories of some of his most famous matches and adventures from all around the globe in over 300 action packed pages. You will find some very famous wrestling names within this book which add wonderfully to his epic life story. This book is a must for any wrestling fan and anyone who wants to know about the inner workings of the wrestling industry told by someone who has been part of it since 1995 to the current day. Forgotten periods of British wrestling from the mid 90,s to early 00,s come back to life showcasing that there was indeed a thriving scene before there was the internet. Jonny aims to show you the rich history in this industry during his time right up until…

Former independent wrestler Daniel Alexander Harrington has written a novel based on his experiences in and out of the ring. Before It Kills Me, to be released on December 10, is: “a raw and deeply personal exploration of the relentless world of indie professional wrestling. Drawing from his own experiences, Harrington weaves a powerful story of dreams, addiction, and sacrifice. Set in the Southern wrestling circuit, the novel follows Mason Grady, known in the ring as ‘High Heat,’ as he battles the ghosts of addiction and the physical toll of his craft. Harrington  captures the grit of indie wrestling, where the lights are dim, the paychecks slim, and the sacrifices heartbreakingly real. Promoting the book, Harrington said wrestling “was the only thing I ever felt I was truly good at. Wrestling wasn’t just a business—it was a part of who I was. The day I was told my dream was over was devastating. Writing helped me process that loss and gave me a way to create something meaningful.” Here’s the full blurb An Insider’s Perspective: Harrington draws on his years in the ring to create an authentic portrayal of the indie wrestling world, from the camaraderie to the grueling toll…

Titus O’Neil has a second book scheduled for September release (blurb below.) It’s a sequel to There’s No Such Thing As a Bad Kid: How I Went from Stereotype to Prototype which we previously reviewed. As with that title, it appears to be largely non-wrestling content. Wrestling with Fatherhood: My Championship Journey to My Greatest Title: Dad After a decorated career in college football and WWE, Titus O’Neil considers being a father his greatest accolade. In 2015, O’Neil was named the Celebrity Father of the Year, but like all parents, he realizes he is far from perfect. In Wrestling with Fatherhood, O’Neil shares his successes and failures in parenting his three children, hoping that others can learn from his experiences. O’Neil first became a father 19 years ago with the birth of his first son, and his second followed two years later. Having grown up fatherless, he learned on the fly how to raise two babies into thriving young men and later adopted a teenage daughter. This book details the numerous trials and tribulations along the way, offering guidance for those facing similar circumstances. Each chapter tackles an important parenting topic, replete with revealing anecdotes, advice, and commentary from celebrity friends….

Following a question from a reader, I thought I’d share some recommendations from among the 250+ books I’ve reviewed on the site, broken into a few categories. The Must Haves These are books that every wrestling fan should own: A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex by Chris Jericho Gorgeous George by John Capouya Have A Nice Day by Mick Foley Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart Hooker by Lou Thesz (which I appear to have not reviewed for some reason. The best version is the annotated reprint from Crowbar Press.) Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling by Heath McCoy Pure Dynamite by Tom Billington Hidden Gems These are books which I particularly enjoyed but have either been forgotten or didn’t get as much buzz for some reason: A Chosen Destiny by Drew McIntyre Chair Shots And Other Obstacles: Winning Life’s Wrestling Matches by Bobby Heenan Headquarters by Mike Quackenbush Lita: A Less Traveled R.O.A.D. – The Reality of Amy Dumas by Amy Dumas Spandex Ballet by Lee Kyle Tod is God: The Authorized Story of How I Created Extreme Championship Wrestling by Tod Gordon & Sean Oliver Niche Topics…

Congratulations to reader Jason Norman on the publication of his book American Women in Amateur Wrestling, 2000-2022. Although it’s primarily about the growth of the female amateur scene and it’s tumultuous status in the Olympics, it does include a chapter on women who have moved from the amateur ranks into pro wrestling.

Having reached the milestone of my 250th review, I’ve decided now is the right time to cease regular updates of Pro Wrestling Books. This is primarily because the money generated by ads and affiliate links no longer justifies the time I spend on the blog. A secondary issue is that the way Amazon is now flooded by low quality “books” produced either through cut-and-pasting of Wikipedia or generative AI tools, to the point that when a wrestler dies, there’ll be literally dozens of so-called biographies published within a day. This has overwhelmed Amazon’s algorithms such that search tools for upcoming or recent releases of wrestling titles are virtually useless. The practical changes of my move as as follows: The 250 reviews on the site will remain online. I’ll still add new reviews as and when I read a wrestling title, but these will become less frequent. I will no longer post the weekly release schedule or the recent release round-up features. As these are time-sensitive, I’ll be removing the archive posts for these categories which may mean the site as a whole works more smoothly and loads quicker. Thank you to everyone who has read, subscribed to the blog, shared…

John Ellul has a biography of Adrian Adonis to be published on 23 March in paperback and ebook. Pre-orders of the Kindle version are available from Amazon now. Flowers for Adrian: The Life and Death of Adrian Adonis is a detailed and engaging look at the life, death, and legacy of professional wrestler Keith Franke, who competed as “Gorgeous” Keith Franks and “Adorable” Adrian Adonis during the 1970s and 1980s before his untimely death in 1988. This biography, the first of its kind, takes readers from Franke’s start in life as an orphan, to achieving his childhood dream of becoming a pro wrestler. The tale plays out across the vibrant background of wrestling’s territories, where Franke learned his trade the ‘old-fashioned’ way in California, Amarillo, Portland, and elsewhere. One-half of the pioneering East West Connection with future Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura, Adonis headlined Madison Square Garden before being front and centre during the WWF’s international expansion. What could possibly go wrong?  Through meticulous research and interviews with a range of sources, readers will learn the story of Adonis’ life and career, and much more, including: The tale of the original Adrian Adonis, dating back over 100 years. The true story of his infamous…

ESPN’s Marc Raimondi is to write a book about the nWo for Simon and Schuster. Titled “For Life: The Inside Story Of Pro-Wrestling’s New World Order, And How It Changed America”, it’s described as: A narrative history of how professional wrestling’s most popular faction impacted and influenced American culture by blurring the lines between reality and entertainment. Raimondi plans to document the book’s progress at https://twitter.com/NWObook

British writer Rob Cope will soon be releasing Giant Haystacks: My Heavyweight hero. It’s adapted from interviews Cope originally conducted in 1998 for what would have been a ghostwritten autobiography, with Cope describing the revised book as a: personal memoir of how a young fan was invited to the home of his wrestling hero, and the story Martin Ruane told me of his life… Its not a book about wrestling (although wrestling does feature) but is of how a unique figure battled through against the odds to become a British icon. The book will be sold online only with all proceeds going to Manchester’s Christie’s Cancer Hospital.

Matt Stroud has just gone live with a database aiming to list every professional wrestling book. The Wrestling Book Inventory is available as both a sortable list web page and a full-blown database. It currently has 492 titles, with plans for frequent updates. While it’s already sortable through details such as publisher and publication date, the next planned step is further tagging by subject to allow, for example, filtering to show biographies about British wrestlers.