Tuesday, October 6, 2020

On the Beat With John Cosper of Eat Sleep Wrestle

John Cosper is an award-winning writer and author with a resume that includes 25 years of writing sketch comedy, stage plays, film, television, and fiction. A long time fan of wrestling, John grew up cheering for “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels and the Von Erich family. John's passion for wrestling merged with his talent with words in 2013 when he started writing Bluegrass Brawlers, his first book. His website, EatSleepWrestle.com soon followed, as did 20 other books.
Along the way, he crossed paths with wrestling legend Mad Man Pondo and the two formed a friendship. The two men worked together to produce Memoirs of a Mad Man, Pondo's autobiography. It's filled with wild stories, all true, from the even wilder life of Pondo.
John is also a fan of Girl Fight Wrestling, the promotion Pondo started. Girl Fight Wrestling is all about the women in all the right ways. The focus is on highlighting and promoting them. If you're looking for bikini wrestling, look elsewhere, although the ladies of Girl Fight Wrestling would do well in any type of match. At Girl Fight Wrestling, it's about featuring the finest women's wrestling and developing young stars, like Skye Blue, Billie Starkz, Su Yung and Charlie Kruel.
Kruel is the subject of one of John's latest books, Charlie Kruel: Escape From VHS Hell, which tells the origin of Charlie Kruel, the purple-haired maniac. Summoned from an old VHS tape, Kruel has to battle some familiar villains, while dealing with the real world. It's a thrilling story of one of the most unusual characters on the wrestling scene (and elsewhere).
I talked about this book with Charlie in an earlier interview. A couple days ago, I interviewed John and got his take on the book and other fun stuff. 
John also gives his review of the recent Girl Fight Wrestling: Jawbreaker and previews Night of the Living Girl Fight, the upcoming event. John writes about Girl Fight Wrestling's events on EatSleepWrestle.com, but he was also kind enough to assist me with my coverage of Girl Fight Wrestling here on Global Women's Sports Radio.
Epic Wrestling Entertainment presents Girl Fight Wrestling: Night of the Living Girl Fight on October 17 at the Park Memorial UMC in Jeffersonville, Indiana. One match already signed pits Mickie Knuckles against Kruel. After their interaction at Jawbreaker, Mickie Knuckles demanded the match and Pondo granted that request.
The main event will be a Broad Brawl. The battle royal will start with two women and every 30 seconds another woman will enter the fray. The last woman standing will be crowned the Girl Fight Wrestling champion. A few women have already been announced, including Hazel Croux and Aleida Ortiz. I'm sure a lot of Girl Fight Wrestling's familiar faces will soon follow.
John will once again cover it for his site, while I'll be doing the same here. John has also agreed to rejoin me here for more talk of Girl Fight Wrestling.
Near the end of the interview, John stopped just short of giving a scoop on his next book project. He did promise to talk about it with me soon though.
His most recent book The Ballad of Cousin Elvira sheds light on a true pioneer in women's wrestling. It's the life story of Elvira Snodgrass, one of the biggest, yet unheralded, wrestling stars of the 1940s. As much as she was the biggest challenger to champion Mildred Burke, she is too often overlooked by many, but not by John, who has a keen appreciation for the history of wrestling.
The Ballad of Cousin Elvira showcases one of John's strengths. His appreciation for and knowledge of wrestling goes beyond the most famous. Selecting Snodgrass as the subject might not be the popular pick, but the book is a fascinating look at one of the first true characters in wrestling. In addition to Snodgrass, John has brought to life the stories of Tracy Smothers, David Schultz, Lord Carlton and more.
It was a lot of fun talking to John and we plan on doing more interviews. It's always a treat talking wrestling with someone who really appreciates wrestling, especially women's wrestling. I thank John for his time and I look forward to our next chat.
Go to EatSleepWrestle.com for more info on John and his books. Also, check the Eat Sleep Wrestle Facebook page for more frequent updates. Of course, be sure to check out the Girl Fight Wrestling Facebook page, too.

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