Wrestling Observer reviews Brody

It is vastly ironic that the biography of one of pro wrestling’s most
intimidating individuals happens to be one of the most intimate of all
wrestling books.

Pure Dynamite was brutal at its core, and Mick Foley’s books are honest, but
there’s something inherently deeper to the story of Frank Goodish – Bruiser
Brody to you and me and countless other hardcore types. Brody is certainly on
par with the greatest of the books on professional wrestling.

Of course, there are few similar instances in the history of the industry, where
a superstar on several continents, at the prime of his career, was senselessly
murdered by a heartless, jealous piece of human garbage in Puerto Rico. That
event immediately draws the reader in, and the layout of the book is excellent
as it immediately addresses it.

The whole tapestry of Brody's life is built on reputation, interacting on
various levels and sheer willpower, so there should be little doubt that Brody
can greatly influence the reader by the expectations and his presence.

Well, not until after a powerful forward by this site’s pre-eminent pro
wrestling journalist, Dave Meltzer. It’s always easy to praise Dave’s work, and
hard to avoid such praise, even if there are obvious conflicts of interest in
writing for his site, but the reality is that Dave excels at detailing the
lives of fallen warriors. But when Dave is passionate about the subject, like
he is for the man who helped open doors for him in Japan, then he has few peers
in prose.

At first, that powerful outline and introduction to Frank Goodish’s career as
Brody (King Kong, Bruiser or whatever moniker you know him best by) seemed to
be overbearing, but the book quickly rose to new heights.

Larry Matysik himself is a passionate friend and fan of the man, and has a
unique perspective, having “bonded with Brody when he made his 1978 St. Louis
debut.”

And of course, the co-author is the late superstar’s wife, Barbara Goodish.
Words cannot describe the tragedy that beset Mrs. Goodish and her son, Geoff.
Sympathy is readily with her, but her contributions are no mere words on paper.

Between the facts and business perspective of Matysik and the shaping of the
complex individual that Frank Goodish portrayed to the world (both industry and
“reality” as well as those same distinctions in Japan,) there emerges a wealth
of details and facets of this amazing individual’s life and his impact on
others, his incredible ability to work, and his fascinating mindset that forged
his reputation and legend.
While a review can get lost in platitudes, this book does not.

The story of Frank Goodish/Bruiser Brody shows a complexity of a man who grew
into the sport of professional wrestling, and created his own incredibly unique
style. The backstory is provided through tons of great quotes, from both the
“inner circle” of Brody friends, and from the greater fraternity of
professional wrestling superstars, including Terry Funk, Gary Hart, Stan
Hansen, Buck Robley, JJ Dillon and a slew of others.

Nearly two decades after his death, and the intensity is still there.

The complexity of Brody is laid out in his ability to pick and choose his
friends. His public persona was of his creation – rough, inapproachable and
extremely dangerous. But those whom he “let in” saw a different man. The
interesting thing is, he was such a gentle giant towards children that it is
hard to imagine how he could turn that switch to become a madman, a
bloodthirsty and overwhelming opponent in the ring.

Brody built his reputation and did a lot of little things to annoy promoters, to
impact his fellow workers and to make himself a vastly talented professional
wrestler of his own making. It’s interesting to read quotes by Nick Bockwinkle,
who readily compares Brody to Ray Stevens and places him at the upper echelon
of all time workers, and yet admits he didn’t really like working with the man.

Brody was unpredictable. A force of nature. A self-styled madman, and yet a the
core, and ultimately what this book is all about, he was a gifted intellect, a
businessman with few peers, and a man who was able to traverse the wrestling
industry even as it was dramatically changing.

Whether his style and impressions were his downfall is not addressed, nor should
it be. The complexity though, that is expounded upon and highly detailed.

But those stories of interaction with kids, from the young fan who walked with
him from the arena to the parking lot, to the relatives of business
acquaintances to the friends and children of his family, these are all
heartwarming and touching and really hits it home what was lost in that
dastardly murder.

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The overwhelming sense in the book is “What if?” Which to me is a little
misguided.

Sure, Brody had a potential run with Hogan, and may likely have reaped the
whirlwind of money – something he always positioned himself for – in the crazy
cable war of the 1990’s. Sure, he was on the tail end of his prime (his body
breaking down,) but in a sport where reputation and image often persisted a
career of a talented worker well into his fifties, he was set for bigger and
better things.

And even so, he was looking to that run after wrestling. His BAM – Brody
Athletic Management concept – how well could that have been in an age where
agents really exploded on the scene in the 1990’s, and here’s Frank Goodish,
vastly intelligent, having learned manipulation in the most cut-throat business
of all, and an imposing figure even as a rep for really imposing and large men
in whatever sport you could name.

Frank Goodish was set for life.

The sad thing is, the whirlwind of a life he lived left little time for his wife
and child. You can read how he cherished his time alone, how he deferred a
honeymoon, how even a twenty minute ride to or from the airport was important
for wife and son. You can gain the sentiment that “Brody” the wrestler was
fading and destined for retirement, while Frank the loving husband and father
was gearing up for enjoying time with his family.

All that gone. All that taken away.

I for one don’t care about how many millions Bruiser Brody would have made and
how he would have changed the face of the industry, and how he could have
taught a generation of wrestlers how to work in a different way.

I defy anyone to read this book and not come away with the reality that the
tragedy of Frank Goodish’s death transcended the wrestling industry and
impacted his family far beyond anything that should have befallen that family.

Goodish lived and worked in the industry when it was still consumed by non-stop
travel, ongoing threat of injury and pushing oneself to the limits, and all
that happened to the detriment of a family life. And here’s Barbara Goodish,
her story told for probably the first time to a wide audience, and the
realities of her situation – not only losing her husband, but living in a
nation she did not grow up in (she’s from New Zealand) and on many instances
realizing that she was all but destined to meet Frank Goodish, but only to see
it end in tragedy???

That’s a story that is hard to imagine, hard to consider being made up by any
writer with an ounce of humanity or a shred of sentiment.

While there are books that greatly expose the industry and books that provide
deeper insight into the daily grind of the business, I have yet to come across
a professional wrestling book that can even touch “Brody” in terms of its
portrayal of a man, the story of his life and the essence of his being.

I came out of this book with two thoughts, one of importance and one of a
trivial nature: One, Frank Goodish was truly a great man in all respects, and
Two, I really need to track down that one hour broadway against Ric Flair and
see how great a wrestler Brody was.

Joe Babinsack can be reached at chaosonejoe@yahoo.com. One more book on the near
horizon (History of the NWA,) and its back to DVDs for a while. Bios are also
on the way. I always welcome suggestions and new things to review.

Brody: The Triumph and Tragedy of Wrestling's Rebel by Larry Matysik and Barbara Goodish and foreword by Jim Ross $22.95 CAD Details Add to Cart