Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20149 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Observer
'Funny, tragic, and full to the brim with outrageous arse-whupping, The Wrestling does its subject proud.'

Synopsis
The classic account of the men and women who used to fight each other for pride and money. Simon Garfield brings them to life in one last glorious bout of jealousy, myth, revenge, passion and deep devotion. When British wrestling was dropped from the ITV schedules in the mid-1980s it left the giants of the ring - Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, Kendo Nagasaki - bereft. This is the true story of the circuit, the big names and their rivalries, told with humour, warmth and affection. This edition features a new afterword by the author.

Customer Reviews

the definative book
This has to be the definative book about British wrestling,written at just the right moment in time before the likes of Giant haystackand Les Kellett had gone to the big ring in the sky.I have to say that watching reruns of WOS wrestling on The Fight channel only reinforces what Jackie Pallo has to say about it.To see the same scenario time and again in Big Daddy tag team contests just reinforces the knowledge that this was entertainment not a sport.My big hero was Les Kellett and it is sad to see that he was held in universal hostility and fear by his fellow professionals.His life seems to have petered out into a rather sad decline.For anyone who experienced the era of its greatness this book is a must.

A walk down memory lane......
It is all here in this lovely book by Simon Garfield. For those of us who remember "Good Afternoon Grappling Fans!" by Kent Walton, this book is a must. The information we get on Mick McManus and Steve Logan, Kendo, Jackie Pallo and the boys is well written and compulsive reading. Later on the book the WWF/WWE appears briefly, and the differences between the British and American scene are explained succinctly.
What a pity British wrestling has been allowed to decay. There was some real talent in the ring, and as the author points out, there were dozens of moves the Americans have not even heard of.
Sadly many of the contributors and chaps mentioned have passed to that great square circle in the sky.
Well done Mr Garfield.
READ THIS BOOK!

the best of uk wrestling
Simon Garfield gives a timely reminder of the days before the World Wrestling Federation,a time when World of Sport was supreme and Saturday afternoon was taken up with an old friend Big Daddy beating the shhhh out of the masked man Kendo.A totally different world to todays superstars but to those of us in the UK who remember the times a worthy publication.