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Several new professional wrestling-related books have been recently released:
NOW RELEASED:
As The Sun Rises Over Diamond Head: The Life and Family of Curtis "Da Bull" Iaukea by Liane Patricia Carmen Iaukea
Liane P.C. Iaukea shares the story and photos of her husband, Curtis "Da Bull" Iaukea, with reminisces of their life together. Also known as King Curtis, Iaukea was a professional wrestler whose career and presence spanned decades, time zones, international and local communities, and world events. His life was representative of a time in Hawaiʻi and abroad when the grit, determination, and celebrity of professional athletes and entertainers were gaining fandom and notoriety, not just in their own communities but around the globe. Coming from Hawaiʻi, he rose to wrestling stardom rapidly and was able to capture audiences with his theatrics and larger-than-life personality. Liane Iaukea shares their adventures from her perspective, and opens up the family's photos albums with pictures from Curtis's wrestling career, to his life with his family on their farm in Maui.
Jim Londos: The Golden Greek of Professional Wrestling by Steven Johnson
The most famous active athlete in the world during the Great Depression was not Babe Ruth, Sonja Henie or Babe Didrikson. It was a determined Greek immigrant who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean as a 15-year-old to escape a demanding father and start a life abroad. Jim Londos slept in railcars and firehouses to make ends meet and quickly found refuge on the mat.
Combining an Old World work ethic with a flair for the dramatic, Londos overcame skeptics and antagonists to become pro wrestling's greatest star, an international celebrity who walked with presidents, prime ministers and the common man. He was responsible for keeping wrestling alive during the Depression and representing achievement to ethnic minorities, underdogs and women, all of whom he attracted in record numbers. This complete biography of Jim Londos tells the story of the first great immigrant athlete, a man who rescued the soiled sport of wrestling when it was down for the count, and brought hope and inspiration to his countrymen and millions worldwide.
David Penzer and Guy Evans are BACK with Sitting Ringside, Volume 2: The XWF, TNA and Life After Wrestling!
This incredible volume covers David's career POST-WCW (2001-2024), including just some of the following topics (among many others!):
The UNTOLD story of the XWF...
On The Road with Roddy Piper...
Adventures in TNA Wrestling...
'Nash Time'...
The Kurt Angle 'Angle'...
Flirtations with WWE...
Life After Wrestling...
An iMPACTful return...
+ MUCH, MUCH more!
PLUS: 200+ pages of rare documents, materials and formats/scripts you've NEVER seen before!
It's all here - order NOW! Link: https://guyevansbooks.com/.../sitting-ringside-volume-2...
Evan Ginzburg's Book- Wrestling Rings, Blackboards and Movie Sets NOW available on Amazon..
Muhammad Ali, Nicolas Cage, Bruno Sammartino, SuperStar Billy Graham, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, Bruce Willis, Jimmy and Johnny Valiant, The Iron Sheik, Al Green, Adult film legends Seka and Desiree Cousteau, Killer Kowalski, and George “The Animal” Steele all appear in Evan Ginzburg’s Wrestling Rings, Blackboards, and Movie Sets. Ginzburg has worn many hats- Film Producer, educator, radio and TV host, author, and professional wrestling agent are among them. Best known for his work as an Associate Producer on The Academy Award-nominated The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke, he acted with Rourke in his Golden Globe-winning role and here pens never-before tales of the making of The Wrestler. He also colorfully and poignantly chronicles encounters, projects, and even friendships with these legends. Wrestling Rings, Blackboards, and Movie Sets’ one hundred tales will make you laugh and cry and bring back countless memories.
SAMPLE STORY and Details here: Inside Evan Ginzburg's Wrestling Rings, Blackboards & Movie Sets
Amazon Ordering Link: Amazon.com: Wrestling Rings, Blackboards, and Movie Sets eBook : Ginzburg, Evan: Kindle Store
UPDATES
The forthcoming Ring of Honor book by Shane Hagadorn and Jonathan Snowden is in final edits. No official word on a release date.
Snowden is also working on a new Bret Hart project that will focus on his WWE singles run.
Michael Kingston and Gangrel's Friday Night Bigfoot Kickstarter was successful so the first issue of the book, etc. are in the process of being produced for future release.
Paul London and his brother Jonathan will be launching a Kickstarter next month to produce a new comic featuring a fictional version of Paul as a failed pro wrestler who gets transported to another dimension, based on a sizzle reel they did several years ago for a potential fantasy project:
The following professional wrestling-related books are in the pipeline for future release:
January - Raising Cain: From The Inferno to The Great Mephisto by Frankie Cain & Scott Teal, published by Crowbar Press, official release date forthcoming
March 4th - Becky Lynch: The Man: Not Your Average Average Girl PAPERBACK EDITION by Rebecca Quin
A New York Times bestseller! This “infectious and contagious” (“Stone Cold” Steve Austin) memoir from WWE superstar Rebecca Quin—a.k.a. The Man, a.k.a. Becky Lynch—delves into her earliest wrestling days, her scrappy beginnings, and her meteoric rise to fame.
Raised in Dublin, Ireland, in a devoutly Catholic family, Rebecca Quin constantly invented new ways to make her mother worry—roughhousing with the neighborhood kids, hosting secret parties while her parents were away, enrolling in a warehouse wrestling school, nearly breaking her neck and almost kneecapping a WWE star before her own wrestling career even began—and she was always in search of a thrilling escape from the ordinary.
Rebecca’s childhood love of wrestling set her on an unlikely path. With few female wrestlers to look to for guidance, Rebecca pursued a wrestling career hoping to change the culture and move it away from the antiquated disrespect so often directed at the elite female athletes who grace the ring. Even as a teenager, she knew that she would stop at nothing to earn a space among the greatest wrestlers of our time and to pave a new path for female fighters.
Culled from decades of journal entries, this “endearing debut memoir” (Publishers Weekly) offers a candid depiction of the complex woman behind the character Rebecca Quin plays on TV.
March 18th- Lucha Libre: The History of Mexican Wrestling
An illustrated historic and cultural dive into the world of Mexico’s most beloved sport, sure to please fans
In this handsome bilingual book, the best Mexican specialists analyze all facets of the lucha libre phenomenon: the history and roots of the sport, the most important luchadores, the way the world of Mexican wrestling is organized, the history and practice of female wrestling, the meaning of the masks and costumes, and lucha libre’s influence in worldwide pop culture.
Over the decades, lucha libre has become a symbol of Mexico, transcending the nation’s borders. Halfway between sport and religion, this synthesis of Hispanic, Aztec, European, and American represents the quintessence of Mexican culture. The luchador is a living god, and products in his image are idolized like sacred relics. A symbol of urban working-class culture, the significance of lucha libre is massive.
Artes de México is a magazine with 28 years of experience that promotes and disseminates the cultural diversity of Mexico in all its creative manifestations. Since its inception, it has been linked to the most important writers, researchers, and creators, and has been recognized with more than 150 national and international awards.
March 25th - BIGGER! BETTER! BADDER!: WRESTLEMANIA III and the Year It All Changed Paperback by Keith Elliot Greenberg
How did WrestleMania III legitimize wrestling as entertainment and reshape the industry? Greenberg lays it bare and offers insights into WWE’s evolution and WrestleMania’s lasting impact
On an overcast day in 1987, the pro wrestling landscape was altered forever when a reported 93,173 fans converged on the Pontiac Silverdome outside Detroit to see Hulk Hogan defend his championship against André the Giant. For several years, Vincent Kennedy McMahon had been transforming old-time rasslin’ into mainstream “sports entertainment,” incorporating A-list celebrities into storylines and forcing even cynics to follow the proceedings. But the massive turnout for WrestleMania III convinced sponsors, licensees, and media conglomerates that the company that would become World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was no longer a fringe diversion for the unwashed masses; it was now legitimate physical theater worthy of global attention. From this point forward, it would be acceptable for devotees to make the annual pilgrimage to WrestleMania from the far corners of the Earth, the way others journeyed to the World Cup or Super Bowl.
BIGGER! BETTER! BADDER! is the story behind the seminal event, told from the perspective of company executives, wrestlers who appeared on the card, fans who attended the show, and other wrestling personalities. But wrestling author and historian Keith Elliot Greenberg also examines the entire industry at the time, including insights from representatives from the rival promotions McMahon was putting out of business as pro wrestling transitioned from a regional phenomenon into an international juggernaut.
March 25th - Hell in Boots: Clawing My Way Through Nine Lives by Saraya-Jade Bevis
An eye-opening memoir of family drama, stardom, despair, and resilience from the wildly popular wrestling superstar.
Saraya-Jade Bevis, formerly WWE’s Paige, is one of the biggest names in the wrestling world. She is the youngest two-time WWE Divas Champion and was inaugural NXT’s Women Champion. She ranked first in Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Female 50 and was named Diva of the Year by Rolling Stone in 2014. She was also the subject of the critically and commercially successful 2019 film Fighting with My Family, produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and starring Florence Pugh. But before ascending to wrestling superstardom, she was just Saraya.
Hell in Boots is Saraya’s real, uncensored, story. From her early days in her famous (and chaotic) wrestling family, to leaving home at fifteen, to forging her own path in professional wrestling, Saraya has been through hell and back. As she fought to make it in the incredibly competitive—and at times sexist—wrestling world, she faced incredible highs and devastating lows. Saraya recounts years of struggling with substance abuse, clawing back her pride after an ex’s sex tape leaked, adjusting to stardom in the WWE, healing from a nearly career-ending injury, a making triumphant return to wrestling as AEW Women’s World Champion. Through it all, Saraya tells her whole truth in a way she never has before.
June - Consensual Violence by Del James,
A new graphic novel by Del James, who wrote the story Without You that inspired one of the greatest music videos of all time, Guns N' Roses' November Rain will be released in June 2025, featuring a gritty story about a female professional wrestler out for revenge after being assaulted by her trainer. James is a long-time wrestling fan and has attended shows all over the world and is a major piece of the GNR organization. Promotional material for the book, which will be released by Deadsky Publishing, notes:
An aspiring wrestler's life is changed forever when her trainer sexually assaults her, leading her down a dark path for revenge and on a collision course with dirty cops, cartel killers, and a remorseless rapist.
Giulia Brusco was born in Italy and graduated in Foreign Languages and Literature at the University of Bologna. Her career in comics began in 2000 coloring Star Wars Tales for Dark Horse Comics, followed work with DC Comics. Her most popular works include the Millennium Trilogy adaptations, Scalped, Django Unchained, and Saucer Country for Vertigo Comics. Brusco also worked on adaptations for Marvel of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Ender's Shadow, as well as the mature readers’ Max series The Punisher. She has since worked on The Goddamned for Image Comics as well as titles for TKO presents, including Feeding Dangerously. Currently, Brusco lives in London and works on Texas Riders and Judge Dredd for 2000 AD with r.m.Gué ra.
Born and raised in New York, Del James is a meat-eating, pro-choice, sober atheist. He writes horror fiction and is best known for the short story "Without You" that inspired the "November Rain" video by Guns N' Roses. Published in numerous horror anthologies and magazines, James released a collection of short horror stories entitled The Language of Fear that's on its third printing. James has directed music videos as well as writing live television for the Ultimate Fighting Championship but prefers professional wrestling over MMA.
Arjuna Susini was born in Livorno, Italy, in 1984. He graduated from the International School of Comics in Florence in 2008. In 2011, his first comic, Bullet Ballad, was published by BD Edizioni. Since then he's worked on a growing number of titles for a myriad of publishers; Mistry P.I., Shikary Force: Hunters, Made Men, Leone, The Replacer, Heist or How to Steal a Planet, Blood of Sunset, Forever Forward, Lamentation, and as a concept artist for Mighty Box on the game Posthuman: Sanctuary. He's a teacher of the "Scuola internationale di Comics" in Florence.
July 22th -Pro Wrestling in Memphis: A History by Mr. G. Wayne Dowdy
Mayhem on the Mat in Memphis
For most of the 20th Century, professional wrestling was the most popular sport in the City of Memphis. It not only had great entertainment value, but also reflected the city’s culture of cruelty, kindness, and violence. The vibrant professional wrestling culture that developed in Memphis, with its emphasis on elaborate promotions, strong characters, and wild performances, transformed the sport and made the Bluff City one of the most significant wrestling centers in the United States. Join author G. Wayne Dowdy as he chronicles Sputnik Monroe’s successful battle against segregation, the Jerry Lawler/ Andy Kaufman feud, and introduces wrestling legends like Jackie Fargo, Tojo Yamamoto, Bill Dundee, Handsome Jimmy Valiant, Kamala the Ugandan Giant, and Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson.
July 29th - Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Pro-Wrestling's New World Order Changed America Hardcover by Marc Raimondi
From ESPN reporter Marc Raimondi comes a compelling, gripping narrative history of professional wrestling’s legendary faction, The NWO (New World Order), from their inception in 1996 to their influence on American pop culture today.
In 1996, professional wrestling was one of the most watched sports on cable television, with more than 5 million people tuning in every week. And in the late 1990s, pro-wrestling was the hottest thing in American pop culture, with companies making millions in action figures, video games, and simple black t-shirts emblazoned with three little letters: NWO.
The NWO, or New World Order, became a business like no other, and was responsible for the explosive ratings and rabid fanbase. It started with an ingenious storyline starring Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and the titular Hollywood Hogan—Hulk Hogan gone bad. Together, they formed a new era of characters to root for: The Bad Guys.
Never before had audiences cheered for the villains, rooting for them over the heroes. The NWO broke down wrestling’s fourth wall in a clever new way, blurring the lines between fiction and reality. And suddenly, watching professional wrestling not only became socially acceptable, but a necessity if you wanted to stay up to date with pop culture. Their impact was infectious and long-lasting. It was entertainment that shaped a generation.
Written by Marc Raimondi, a current ESPN reporter with nearly twenty years of experience in journalism, this narrative history explores professional wrestling’s most popular faction and how their existence influenced American culture like never before.
SEPTEMBER 2025 - Irresistable Force: The Life & Times of Gorilla Monsoon by Brian Solomon
Being published by ECW Press.
December 30th - Daffy: Golden Age Wrestling Queen
DAFFY: GOLDEN AGE WRESTLING QUEEN is the first of a historic two-volume series collecting at long last the complete adventures of Daffy Dill, the original comic book Queen of Wrestling. Originally serialized in Smash Comics in the 1940s, and featuring an array of contributors, DAFFY showcases playfully innovative cartooning and design as the titular heroine battles a lineup of unusual challengers from crooked gangsters and bootleggers, to monsters and rogue toreadors. Daffy's adventures showcase a stunning variety of classic cartooning styles, from series creator Gill Fox's chunky brawler, to the flashy, stylish lines of the great Janice Valleau (working as “Ginger”). Witness the evolution of Daffy Dill as she evolves from a lovably klutzy behemoth to a whip-smart, scrappy fighter who can solve any problem and suffers no fool for long. Daffy Dill's adventures are presented here for the first time in 80 years, painstakingly restored and ready at last for another round in the ring.
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