5 Truly Wild Pro Wrestling Memoirs

When people discuss wrestling, one thing that always seems to come up is whether or not it's real. I remember when the WWF (now the WWE) became incredibly popular in the 1980s, with its breakout stars seemingly everywhere. The kids at my school who were really into it were always teased about it being fake. Whether or not you believe wrestling is staged, there is no denying that it is incredibly physical, challenging entertainment. Pro wrestling draws millions of fans to the stands every year, and the wrestlers themselves are in amazing physical shape, performing wild stunts and risking injury night after night.

Many of pro wrestling’s wrestlers achieve great celebrity. Some even go on to do television and movies, with Dwayne The Rock Johnson being a notable example. It makes sense, since these athletes have not only been trained to do amazing physical stunts and acrobatics, but also given lessons in acting to be able to convincingly sell their story lines. There are even special schools for people interested in getting into televised wrestling, where the top prospects make it to the big screen.

As many pro wrestlers turn to professional acting, even more of them write memoirs or are the subjects of pro wrestling biographies. There are so many fascinating things to learn about the sport, and about the men and women who don the spandex and spangles in the ring. Did you know that André the Giant used to get rides to school from Samuel Beckett? Or that a wrestler who intentionally loses a match to build up their opponent’s reputation is called a jobber? Or that the term pencil-neck geek was coined by a WWF manager?

If you’re a fan of pro wrestling, or just like to learn, here are five great listens about the sport and its athletes to help you learn more fascinating stuff!