A little disappointing

As an avid pro wrestling fan for most of my life, I often find myself thrilled to read any book about the bonkers world of sports entertainment. I am even more excited when those books are about Vince McMahon, who is easily one of the most awful humans to live.

I love anything that calls out Vince McMahon on his terrible actions in life, and this book does that to a certain degree, but I did find myself slightly disappointed. Ringmaster goes into some of the less-than-savory aspects of McMahon’s life, such as his alleged rape of a female referee and his accused cover-up of the murder of Nancy Argentino to protect Jimmy Snuka, which I appreciated. These stories are well known within the wrestling community, but few people know of the horrible things McMahon has (allegedly) done outside of it. The only real issue I had with this book is that it is very heavy toward the front end of McMahon’s rise, and most of the exciting stories end in the early 2000s with the attitude era when WWF was at its peak. It barely touches on so many more contemporary acts of McMahon, such as the aftermath of the Chris Benoit murder-suicide, the death of Ashley Massaro, and the accusations that went with that situation. It’s a fine book if you want a biography of Vince McMahon, but if you want a deep dive into more of his modern-day issues and how they have affected the pro-wrestling landscape, this lacks a bit.

Title: Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America
Author: Abraham Riesman
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 461
ISBN: 9781982169442

Three Descriptors: Detailed, Current Events, Compelling

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