Six Pack: On The Open Road In Search Of Wrestlemania By Brad Balukjian (It’s A Book)

I found this book at WrestleCon and got to meet the author (Brad Balukjian, a rather nice guy) in person. I asked him to sell me on the book and he started by telling me about the time the Iron Sheik threatened to kill him. That was more or less enough to get my attention and the rest of the premise was more than good enough.

Basically, he looked at some of the bigger names on the card from a WWF house show from the early 80s and went to see what they were doing about 40 years later. Each chapter is about an individual wrestler (some of whom sat down for interviews) and looks at his road trip around the country to meet them.

I sat in the car and read the first fifty pages between Stand & Deliver and Wrestlemania and then blew threw the rest of it when I got home. The writing is very easy to follow and it feels like you’re on the road with Balukjian as he is a rather natural storyteller. You get a bit about the wrestlers’ careers, but for the most part it is a look at what happens when their careers are mostly over. That isn’t something you get to see very often and it made for a fascinating read.

Check this out if you get the chance (I’ve seen it at Barnes & Noble and it’s available on Amazon) as you should be able to knock it out in a few days as it’s not exactly heavy reading but it more than held my interest. It’s also easier/more fun than a good many wrestling biographies/autobiographies I’ve read, which is impressive for someone who is writing as a fan rather than an insider/veteran.

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