I’m an internet wrestling addict, let’s just make that clear. No shame in admitting it, it’s n
ot like I could fool anyone. I write a weekly wrestling column, I mindlessly surf the web for wrestling goodies, and have made some “friends” along the way. If I let a day go by without laying my eyes on wrestling-related writing, it’s a struggle. Sometimes, though, the internet doesn’t adequately feed my addiction. That’s why I read wrestling books.
I like to consider myself a seasoned wrestling book reader, with my list of autobiographies read at a respectable length, so long that I have resorted to lesser known competitors. Other non-biographical wrestling novels fill my archive, ranging from those little WCW books at the library to “The Rise and Fall of ECW” – yes, there was a book too. Christmas for me will surely add many new wrestling books to my inventory. I can’t get enough of them.
Yet I’ve always had one enormous, gaping gripe with the wrestling book genre: Fiction wrestling novels are a rarity. Until earlier this year, the only fictive wrestling books I could find were about amateur wrestling; that real stuff. Icky! Reluctantly, I accepted that it’s just not meant to be. My search for a professional wrestling fiction book was a lost cause—I quickly resumed my search for a Heidenreich memoir.
And then, the stars aligned and I found One Fall by Spencer Baum. At first, I was skeptical. “This isn’t real!” my conscience shouted. So many useless trips to the library, so many wasted internet searches, how could this be? A wrestling fiction exists?
Yes, it does, and One Fall did not disappoint.
The novel begins with Joey Mayhem, a charismatic rookie for the fictional Global Wrestling Association (essentially the equivalent of the WWF during the late nineties), competing in the main event of Burn in only his first televised match. Mayhem is adored by the crowd, his loose cannon gimmick putting them into an excited frenzy. While the match ended with Mayhem getting crushed by a chair shot from Jumbo, his opponent, Joey had officially gotten himself over by simply not backing down. The Internet Wrestling Community spent the night ranting and raving about their newfound darling, but that wasn’t the only thing they were posting about. They were posting about the wink.
After the chair shot that knocked seemingly knocked Joey into next week, he winked at his opponent to let him know everything was okay. Little did Joey know, the cameras caught it clear as day. That began a downward spiral of Joey’s status in the locker room, which was filled with politicking, egotistical, backstabbing men. But while Joey’s chance at being liked by the boys was squashed, his push wasn’t. Duke Correlli (think Vince McMahon but shorter, fatter, and much more of a shithead) saw money in Mayhem, and pushed him toward the World Title.
Then, Joey knocked out the World Champion in his big match on television. Combine that with the fact that if he didn’t dump his newfound girlfriend, Jade, Duke would end his push, and things became unraveled. This is only the beginning of the compelling twists and turns of One Fall.
Not sold? This part is what I think any member of the IWC would enjoy. While all of that ridiculousness (and much, much more) takes place, you get to see the opinions of Steve Garcia, wrestling reviewer and webmaster of Wrestling Hotline, a fictional website that is read by thousands. This area of the book is done with incredible realism, sometimes to the point where I believed I was reading a critical wrestling review in real life. While Steve reviews both GWA Burn and Revolution Riot and their “Monday Night Battle”, he is also trying to lead an internet crusade against the Family Television Group, a snooty, shady group that is targeting the GWA and trying to destroy the historic wrestling company. Let me tell you, it gets INTRICATE.
The stories eventually come to a head in an incredibly dramatic fashion, and the climax is something that you simply cannot stop reading. Call it a cliché, but this book is impossible to put down at times. When you close the back cover on this incredible roller coaster ride, you’ll feel satisfied, yet sad. You’ll want to stay in this incredibly compelling universe.
Overall, I feel like any wrestling fan should have this book. If you are able to slightly suspend your disbelief (and if you’re a wrestling fan, you should be more than experienced in that field), this epic thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat and make you anxious to turn the page. Buy it, you won’t regret it. It really shows that wrestling books don’t have to be autobiographies to be good, and that’s coming from a devout autobiography bookworm.
So relinquish your search for a Damien Demento autobiography, fiction wrestling books exist. While they’re rare, One Fall is a gem.