This week I’m taking a little detour and doing a review of Dusty Wolfe’s new book, “Journal of A Journeyman”. The book was put together by Brian Tramel and Brian Thompson.
On the front end, I’ll let you know I enjoyed the book. Tramel and Thompson did an excellent job of structuring the book, it flows well. I’ve read just about every wrestling book out there and this one reads as easy as any I’ve seen. There are 54 chapters that range from 2-5 pages each. I found myself picking it up to read a chapter or 2 frequently.
As far as Dusty’s story, it held my interest. I consider myself well versed in wrestling and always look for as much “meat and potato” stories as I can get. I’m not interested in books that are told in somewhat Kayfabe style (as if the matches were real). This book has it all: the good, the bad and the ugly. Most wrestling books focus on the behind-the-scenes aspect of the subject’s time in wrestling and Dusty’s is no different. Very little in-ring time is covered as the focus is more on his: travels, friends, enemies, family, finding work, keeping work, drinking, working in the big leagues (WWE/WCW), deaths, etc.
As you read the book, it’s quick to see that “Journeyman” is a good term to describe the travels of Dusty Wolfe. In addition to travelling all over the U.S., Dusty covers his tours of Canada, Japan, South Africa, Korea, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Mexico, Israel, etc. There aren’t many places that Dusty didn’t travel to.
The toll that wrestling took on Dusty’s family life is made brutally clear. He doesn’t pull any punches and you can see the regrets he has. From not being there while his children grew up, to a string of ex-wives, Dusty talks about it all. In doing so, he acknowledges a life in wrestling was his decision to make.
There are many stories about the drunken times that occurred over the years. Some funny, some crazy. I did find myself thinking it sounded like a college frat party that never ended.
With the funny stories of drunken times, there are serious stories as well. Death of wrestlers are unfortunately a too common occurrence and Dusty cover the death of his good friend Ken Timbs (as well as Brusier Brody, Dick Murdoch, etc.) He pulls no punches and you can tell that the losses still affect him today.
The only thing I found hard to follow was the naming convention that they used. As an example, Ken Timbs and Ken Johnson became Ken T and Ken J. As I would read a chapter or 2 at a time, this became a hassle and I found myself having go back to previous chapters to try and find out who the Dusty was talking about.
In closing, I give the book a “thumbs up”. While the casual fan might not be interested in Dusty’s story, true wrestling fans will enjoy the journey through the dying days of kayfabe all the way into the Wal-Marts of wrestling (WCW & WWE).
----Mark James is the author of “Memphis Wrestling History – Cards, Matches, Results, Newspaper Clippings” Vol 1 and "Vol 2: The Programs 1972 - 1976" James also is the webmaster to the BEST Memphis Wrestling site in the area – memphiswrestlinghistory.com - Click on his site and order his books!!
