Reviews

Verdict: One cannot deny the number of wrestlers who have died prematurely, so while Randazzo's work must be looked at with a discerning eye, it should not be dismissed. Recommended for larger public libraries. Background: Most of us consider professional wrestling rather campy, but if one iota of what Randazzo says is true, it is not to be chortled over and dismissed. This is a sport in which unscrupulous promoters force their chattels to wrestle with severe injuries after first encouraging them to pump themselves full of steroids so that they might look acceptably menacing. The punishment is real, even if the outcome has been predetermined. So it was with Chris Benoit, who became much better known for murdering his wife and son and then hanging himself than for being a wrestling champion. The operative word, though, is if. Randazzo, whose previous works have dealt with the mafia, draws much of his material from unnamed sources and from statements and biographies of wrestlers, all of whom have their axes to grind, and he has a disconcerting habit of lacing his text with profanity, even when not quoting others.--Jim Burns, Jacksonville P.L., FL Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.