The Life and Meaning
of Pro Wrestling Legend Rikidōzan
Reserve your autographed copy of the book as soon as it becomes available in the second half of 2026, by putting down a $20 deposit toward the purchase price. The funds can be sent to paypal@muchnick.net, and your order will be acknowledged and you will be billed for the balance. (The price is expected to be set at either $22.95 or $24.95, and will include free shipping to U.S. addresses.)
Coming in 2026 from ECW Press,
distributed by Simon & Schuster
Irvin Muchnick, the late sportswriting great Frank Deford said, “produces magnificent investigative journalism.” Reporting for Underwater: The Greed-Soaked Tale of Sexual Abuse in USA Swimming and Around the Globe (2024) spurred government and sports governance investigations in five countries. He also took on the public health crisis in football with Concussion Inc. (2015) and Without Helmets or Shoulder Pads (2023). His classic books explaining the pro wrestling phenomenon in American society include Wrestling Babylon: Piledriving Tales of Drugs, Sex, Death, and Scandal (2007) and Chris & Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling’s Cocktail of Death (now in its third “Ultimate Historical Edition”).
Muchnick was born in St. Louis and lives in California. A former assistant director of the National Writers Union, he was lead respondent of the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming freelance writers’ copyrights and economic rights, Reed Elsevier v. Muchnick.
PREVIOUSLY: “Alex Pussieldi Update: Decade After Ouster in Florida, Peeping Tom and Multinational Trafficker Coach Remains a Powerful Figure in Brazilian Swimming,” October 27, 2025, https://concussioninc.net/?p=15882 “Questions
PREVIOUSLY: “Alex Pussieldi Update: Decade After Ouster in Florida, Peeping Tom and Multinational Trafficker Coach Remains a Powerful Figure in Brazilian Swimming,” October 27, 2025, https://concussioninc.net/?p=15882
PREVIOUSLY: “Dustin Perry – Grotesque Swimming Coach Serial Abuser – Is Reported to be Back in Pocatello, Idaho. Police There Are Investigating,” January 8, https://concussioninc.net/?p=16502 “Pocatello
PREVIOUSLY: “Dustin Perry – Grotesque Swimming Coach Serial Abuser – Is Reported to be Back in Pocatello, Idaho. Police There Are Investigating,” January 8, https://concussioninc.net/?p=16502
by Irvin Muchnick The U.S. Center for Safe Sport – tasked with disciplining sexually abusive coaches in the Olympic sports – this week named a
by Irvin Muchnick Dustin Perry, a heinous perpetrator of serial abuse across swimming programs in several regions of the United States and in Mexico, has reportedly
The Greed-Soaked Tale of Sexual Abuse in USA Swimming and Around the Globe
A deep dive into the unsafety of youth athletes — in the U.S. and abroad — under the commerce-driven Olympic system
The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling’s Cocktail of Death
Third and “Ultimate Historical Edition.” Full account of the sensational 2007 episode that still shines light on the dark side of the wrestling industry and of American business, media, and politics.
Investigative journalism isn’t ‘peer-reviewed literature.’ It’s a contact sport.
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