A Pictorial History of Wrestling

by George Napolitano

Gives a brief history of professional wrestling, but concentrates on the colorful wrestlers themselves, the heroes, villains, and the legends who have made the arena so spectacular

Genres: Sports

Hardcover

First published February 1, 1985

Reviews

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes! I know that professional wrestling as, as they say, more entertainment than sport. But my experience with this has been pretty cool. In high school, I'd go with friends to Muny Stadium in Rock Island to watch wrestlers such as Cowboy Tex McKenzie, Rene Goulet (of course, claiming to be a cousin to Robert Goulet), Mad Dog Vachon, and so on. In graduate school, I went to the Aud in Buffalo to see the likes of Dynamite Dom DeNucci and Ernie "Big Cat" Ladd.

As Bert Sugar puts it in his (very) brief foreword (Page 9): "This book is a celebration of the excitement, the color, the pageantry of America's fastest growing sport, professional wrestling." Well, I'm not sure it was so fast growing, but let that go. . . . I grew up in the American Wrestling Alliance territory. This book is organized around the wrestlers themselves, as the subtitle has it, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly."

The good? Among those whom I saw in person or on TV: Andre the Giant, "Naughty" Nick Bockwinkel, Hu7lk Hogan, Junkyard Dog, Ivan Putski, Sergeant Slaughter, . The bad? Ric Flair, "Superstar" Billy Graham, Ernie Ladd, Roddy Piper, "Handsome" Harley Race (he was also a tag team partner with "Pretty Boy" Larry Hennig), Jesse Ventura, and Nikolai Volkoff. The ugly? Lou Albano, The Iron Sheikh, and George Steele. Women? I do recall seeing the Fabulous Moolah. The legends? Not that I saw all of these, but they are legends! Verne Gagne (my favorite AWA wrestler, along with the Crusher), Killer Kowalski, Buddy Rogers, Bruno Sammartino, and Lou Thesz.

Downside? Lots of wrestlers are NOT included here, such as The Crusher or Mad Dog Vachon. Also, the role players, such as Kenny Jay, deserve some recognition.

Still and all, what a load of fun! Professional wrestling is obviously a niche sport. This book came out before the more recent glitz set in. It does not quite hearken back to the more innocent era of the sport. A fun read.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ingested this book in the eighth grade - I knew every single wrestler, or at least their onstage personae. This look back at the days before people admitted pro wrestling was staged gives me an odd sense of nostalgia for a more innocent time. That statement is more earnest than I wish it was.

[Ryan Shoemaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun nostalgic look back at yesteryear of pro wrestling. This book covers a time when “kayfabe” was alive and well. Very enjoyable, highly recommended to those fans from days gone by.

[John Cress · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like 80s wrestling? Like pictures? It is what the title suggests. This is a fin look back (no pun intended).