When discussion the territory days of professional wrestling, some major areas come to mind. Jim Crockett as the promoter in the Carolinas. Verne Gagne in Minnesota. Dick The Bruiser and Wilber Snyder in Indianapolis, Fritz Von Erich in Texas, and the Sheik in Detroit. But one that is not talked about much is the wrestling from the Bahamas, which is featured in Ian C. Douglass’ Bahamian Rhapsody: The Unofficial History Of Pro Wrestling’s Unofficial Territory 1960-2020 (Darkstream Press, 2022).
Sure the title may be long, but this is filled with a rich history of wrestling that was known for fans who were almost as active as the wrestlers, by throwing bottles, rocks, and even at times attacking the wrestlers, which was mostly known in the territories such as Puerto Rico and the midwest.
The book starts in the 1960s and describes how boxing and wrestling started to gain a following, with wrestling switching places of the matches frequently from an airport hanger to the most known Nassau Stadium (obviously not to be confused the the Nassau Coliseum in New York, which was The McMahon’s territory). The Bahamas then started having a connection with Florida wrestling run by Eddie Graham, which then brought in many stars that one would figure from the Flordia area like Bearcat Wright, The Garvins, Jose Lothario, and more. However, bigger stars ended up coming for shows such as Dusty Rhodes, The NWA Champions like Dory Funk Jr and Ric Flair, while building up stars throughout the years via the Florida area, and most importantly, the black wrestlers who were over in the Bahamas. Wrestlers like Sweet Brown Sugar (who became the first NWA Bahamas Heavyweight Champion), Butch Reed, and Cyclone Negro.
The book isn’t just about wrestling history, but cultural and political history as well. For a time the NWA stars did not come to the area due to political reasons such as those in the Bahamas felt these U.S stars were taking away from the wrestlers who were born and raised in the region, taking the economy money back to Florida. Some outlaw wrestling promotions were also trying to get in the area at times without the approval of the NWA, which Florida wrestling was underneath their banner. Also, in the early days (much like in the other territory days), the idea of Kayfabe was real, where fans and officials were not in on the fact that wrestling was pre-determined, where a rules committee was created to stop the wrestlers from infuriating the fans who would throw bottles and other objects at the villains who were trying to work their gimmicks. The fans would riot at times when their black wrestler would get cheated out of a match (or titles) which made booking sometimes, along with the lives of the wrestlers, dangerous. Stories are told here how police officers with guard dogs would turn their heads when it came to protecting the wrestlers at times, and allow fans to get “real” with the athletes. Also in the text how boxing and NBA basketball affected audience attendance in the 70s and 1980s.
Stories of many wrestling names going into the ’80s and ’90s who made their way through the Bahamas are mentionable such as Lex Luger, The Nasty Boys, Buggys McGraw, Blackjack Mulligan and his sons Barry and Kendall Windham (not surprisingly when one realizes the working relationship with Florida wrestling, who were all stars). There is attention to the popularity of Tyree Pride (who I was brought to attention via the wrestling magazines in the 80s), Pez Whatley, and Billy Jack Haynes. When Dusty Rhodes was famously fired by WCW for the Road Warriors incident, he returned to the Bahamas before going to the WWF. In the later years Steve Keirn, along with announcer Gordon Solie tried to start up shows in the area after Florida wrestling was shut down and consoldated into WCW, which became more known as the NWA after Crockett sold. The book then details how Chris Jericho’s wrestling cruise traveled through the region with Ring Of Honor and AEW stars.
The text flows nicely with a mix of interviews and newspaper reports, along with Douglass doing his investigations into some myths of incidents that may (or not) have happened. I have reviewed several of his books for this site (you can check them out by typing in the search engine), and the writer does a great job of not just putting out a historical text filled with dates and results but adding the entertainment value as well with the stories readers want to know, or may not be aware of (such as Dusty Rhodes and The Nasty Boys in the back of a truck riding through the area to promote the matches). For a territory that doesn’t get mentioned as much, there were a bunch of major stars who went through here, which makes the book a fun read, and again, a historical one, with the political and cultural aspects as well. This is a book all wrestling collectors should have on their shelves.
This review copy was sent courtesy of the author.
Bahamian Rhapsody: The Unofficial History Of Pro Wrestling’s Unofficial Territory 1960-2020 by Ian C. Douglass (Darkstream Press, 2022) ISBN: 979-8-218-06966-7 can be ordered, along with author information at: http://www.iandouglass.net
The Overall: Pages: 308 Language:Mild Geared For: Ages 12 and Up For Fans Of: Professional Wrestling, Non-Fiction,History, Cultural History, Political History, Sports books.
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