If you’ve found your way onto this blog, you’ve probably already seen The Man in Red and Yellow Who Will Live Forever on my My Books page. If not, feel free to take a look — it’s my tribute to Hulk Hogan, and in many ways it sums up how much professional wrestling shaped my love of stories.
Now, I know what some people are thinking: wrestling? Storytelling? Really? But hear me out. Believe it or not, wrestling taught me a lot about how to tell a story. And it’s surprisingly simple once you break it down.
Heroes, Villains, and Shades of Grey
At its heart, wrestling works because it taps into one of the oldest structures in fiction: good versus evil. You’ve got your babyface — the good guy. You’ve got your heel — the bad guy. And sometimes, you’ve got someone caught in between, dancing on that line.
Every match is a mini-narrative. The characters clash, obstacles get in the way, and the crowd invests because they feel the stakes. A babyface fighting from underneath against a much larger heel is just David versus Goliath retold in spandex. Simple? Absolutely. But simplicity doesn’t mean ineffective — sometimes the most stripped-back storytelling hits the hardest.
The Build Matters as Much as the Pay-Off
One thing wrestling makes crystal clear: the story isn’t just about the ending. It’s about the build. The promos, the betrayals, the unexpected alliances, the slow-burn tension. Without the build, the big match doesn’t feel like it matters.
As a writer, that taught me that the climax of a story only works if the groundwork has been done properly. Readers need a reason to care, otherwise even the most explosive twist falls flat.
Beyond the Ring
Wrestling wasn’t the only thing that shaped me as a storyteller. I’ve said before that I consume a lot of films and TV shows. Those worlds gave me an eye for character building, for pacing, for seeing a story from multiple perspectives. But wrestling taught me something different: how to strip storytelling down to its bones.
At the end of the day, it’s all the same craft whether you’re watching Hogan slam André, following Tony Soprano through therapy, or writing a spy thriller at 2am. It’s about heroes, villains, choices, consequences — and giving people a reason to keep turning the page.
Closing Thoughts
So, yeah, wrestling really is just a soap opera in spandex — but it’s also a masterclass in the basics of narrative. And once you understand the basics, you can take them anywhere: novels, films, even your own life.
If you enjoyed this little peek into how I think about storytelling, why not check out my coming soon page? Wrestling shaped the way I write — and I like to think some of those lessons are stamped into every page.