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“...the most comprehensive look at the wrestlers whose job it is to make fans mad... a thrilling ride of mat mayhem.”
Slam! Wrestling's Greg Oliver and Steven Johnson Ph.D. have been a busy duo in the last few years, writing a series of books under the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame title.
They have written about Canadians and legendary tag teams, and now they return with a book dedicated to the bad guys, also known as The Heels (ECW Press, 400 pages, $19.95 US.)
I didn't get a chance to read those two books, but if they are anything like this new book, I will be adding them to my library. Sorry about the length of this review, but this book does not need to be spoiled by a page by page breakdown.
Oliver and Johnson go above and beyond the average wrestling history book, discussing heels from the beginnings of the sport through the territorial era to today's WWE and TNA Wrestling stars.
After an interesting foreword by The Model Rick Martel, the duo compiles what they consider the Top 20 all time which is filled with legends from Nature Boy Buddy Rogers and the Sheik to modern stars Rowdy Roddy Piper and Nature Boy Ric Flair.
They begin the section with a reminder that their list is not a scientific Top 20. An interesting omission is Superstar Billy Graham.
Along with those extensive bios, they also group wrestlers into the next five, the pioneers, the madmen, the egoists, the monsters, the technicians, the connivers, the tough guys and the foreigners.
In those sections, you will find some of my favorites including Ric Flair, Jeff Jarrett, Tully Blanchard and Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase. as well as stars your parents and grandparents grew up watching on a regional and national level.
Mixed into the bios are some stories and legends brought to light after several decades including the world famous Jerry Lawler-Andy Kaufman battle. This is a great book, and I cannot wait to see what Oliver and Johnson have in store for their next installment in the series.
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