Review Detail

Shawn Crusher Crossen did an amazing thing. In 1984, at the age of 14 he created a professional wrestling federation comprised of teenagers. He and a friend recruited a few teens and started filming the matches in the local cable studio. He aired them on local access cable and, through hard work, was able to expand viewership into nearby towns and even nationally. He attracted new young wrestlers and performed to sold out crowds in the local armory.

He encountered the same issues that businessmen face: disciplining his wrestlers if they misbehaved, paying for the rental of the armory and hoping ticket sales would cover the costs, advertising, press coverage, planning, recruiting and more. Crossens involvement in the National Wrestling Federation lasted until 1987. The huge time commitment and internal strife within the federation and its council caused him to withdraw from the federation. However, his accomplishment is undeniable.

In Pro Wrestling Kids Style, Crossens achievement is overshadowed by the poor manner in which the book is written. It would have benefited from a strong editor. It is dull, monotonous and totally uninspiring. The book contains black and white photos of some of the wrestlers. Even those are boring. In other words, it is a cure for insomnia. It is my understanding that Crossen is selling DVDs of the early wrestling matches, so those might be entertaining. This book is only for fanatical wrestling fans, but then, proceed with caution.