Ian Douglass (MSJ06)

Spanning 60 years and covering professional wrestling events that took place on both land and sea, this book by Ian Douglass includes original input and interviews from nearly 50 wrestlers, writers, and other noteworthy individuals who played meaningful roles in the progression of the professional wrestling history of the Bahamas.

Not only was Douglass able to include insights from a broad range of wrestlers, including Dory Funk Jr., Jimmy Garvin, Mike Rotunda, Don Muraco, Tyree Pride, Kevin Sullivan, Steve Keirn, Brian Knobbs, Omar Amir and Adam Page, but Bahamian Rhapsody was also completed with the full cooperation of the leading Bahamian newspapers – The Nassau Guardian and The Nassau Tribune.

In addition to broadly covering the professional wrestling events that were held in the Bahamas by territories associated with the National Wrestling Alliance, the book also includes coverage of the development of the independent Bahamian wrestling companies of the 1970s, and events hosted by smaller independent organizations based in the United States and Canada. Furthermore, it explores the challenges of training and developing native-born Bahamian professional wrestlers, from local 1970s wrestling stars like “The Sensational Bahamian Grappler” Arnsel Johnson to multi-time Ohio Valley Wrestling Heavyweight Champion Omar Amir.

Douglass previously co-authored the autobiographies of wrestlers Dan Severn, Buggsy McGraw, Dylan “Hornswoggle” Postl and Brian Blair. He has also written for Men’s Health Magazine, MEL Magazine and Splice Today, and has been a contributor to both the International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Bahamas Historical Society.