Wrestle Book Review: Review: Wrestling With The Devil By Lex Luger

Review: Wrestling With The Devil
Lex Luger, John D. Hollis (contributor)
Tyndale Momentum, 2013
Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, Audiobook

As a performer, Lex Luger was a polarizing figure. While he possessed one of the best physiques in wrestling, many feel that his only asset was his appearance and that he lacked many, if not all, of the other assets required to have achieved the the level of fame he did. Others would argue that Luger was a unique performer who fit perfectly into the pro wrestling industry of the 1980s and 90s where matches were typically short, in-ring technical skills were less important and showmanship trumped sport. While hindsight may be 20/20, there is no doubt that several promoters and an exponentially larger number of fans were firmly planted on the Lex Luger bandwagon (or tour bus.) Regardless if he deserved his success or not - debates rage on - Luger's in ring career was very notable as he achieved far more than the vast majority of his contemporaries.
After his full-time wrestling career ended, Luger's life spiralled out of control. Wrestling With The Devil chronicles Luger's life as a young athlete who seemed destined for a pro football career, his entry and rise in the professional wrestling industry, his chaotic and often times tragic post-wrestling life and his transition to life as a born-again Christian.

Wrestling With The Devil is a solid book. Luger chronicles his early life and his life post-wrestling very effectively. Luger would have been wise to focus more pages on his career in wrestling. While his life before and after his time in the spotlight are well detailed, his presents his career in very broad strokes and omits a fair bit of content that would have been interesting to readers and fans. While there is a proportionately small amount of the book devoted to his wrestling career, Luger presents a story that remains compelling. That being said, the book (especially the latter part) is very much the story of Luger's adoption of a Christian life style. While this is effectively written, it may be off putting for readers who are of different philosophical mindsets. That being said, the book was written for and marketed to a Christian reader more than it was to wrestling fans.

The book would have benefited from more in depth reflection on certain elements of Luger's life. While he does a good job detailing facts, he lacks at elaborating on his specific thoughts and feelings he had while significant life events happened. For example, when he was passed over for a run as the WWF Champion, Luger provides very little regarding his mindset upon learning this and simply continues with the narrative. He treats most of the events (good or bad) in his life in the same way. While too much emotion and reflection can be a bad thing and a writer is not expected to expose everything, readers cannot fully understand how high the highs and how low the lows were without some emotional demonstration and/or reflection. At times, Luger writes about his time at the top of his profession with the same tone that he writes about his time in prison.

Wrestling With The Devil is not a light read, but it is an easy one. While it may not be everyone's cup of tea, it is well written and provides insight into the life - though not much of the career - of one of an era's top stars. Lex comes across as a decent guy who has narrowly avoided being another name on a sad list of wrestling statistics and has, despite many hurdles along the way, established a happy life.