The legendary storytellers worthy of a spot in the pro wrestling hall of fame You can’t escape pro wrestling today, even if you want to. Its stars are ubiquitous in movies, TV shows, product endorsements, swag, and social media to the point that they are as much celebrities as they are athletes. Pro wrestling has morphed from the fringes of acceptability to a global $1 billion industry that plays an everyday role in 21st-century pop culture. In this latest addition to the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame series, Greg Oliver and Steven Johnson explain how the sport’s unique take on storytelling has fueled its remarkable expansion. Hundreds of interviews and original accounts inform this exploration of the imaginative ways in which wrestlers and promoters have used everything from monkeys to murderers to put butts in seats and eyes on screens. From the New York City Bowery in the 1890s to a North Carolina backyard in 2017, readers will encounter all manner of scoundrels, do-gooders, scribes, and alligators in this highly readable, heavily researched book that inspires a new appreciation for the fine (and sometimes not-so-fine) art of storytelling.

本書は単なる格闘記録ではなく、虚構と現実を織り交ぜた物語が世界を熱狂させる過程を紐解く極上の文化論です。膨大な取材に基づき、善悪を超越した興行師たちの狂気と情熱を浮き彫りにする筆致は、大衆を惹きつけるストーリーテリングの本質を抉り出し、読者の知的好奇心を激しく揺さぶります。 映像版が肉体の躍動を鮮烈に伝える一方、本書は画面に映らない緻密な心理描写や歴史的背景を補完し、物語に圧倒的な奥行きを与えています。視覚的な興奮と活字による深い解釈が共鳴する時、プロレスという文化の真実が立ち現れ、読者はかつてない感動を体験するはずです。