The Fabulous Wrestling Life of Steve Keirn

Book Review. Life as a pro wrestler in the 1970’s was pretty wild

Book review. The Keirn Chronicles: Volume One. The fabulous wrestling life of Steve Keirn. Written by Steve Keirn with Ian Douglass.

This is a great book about the professional wrestling territory days of the 1970’s and 1980’s. I didn’t even know who Steve Keirn was before reading this book but he crossed paths with every big wrestling star of his era.

Steve Keirn was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. At 13 years-old, his father was taken as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Steve’s search for a figure in his life lead him to a career in professional wrestling. He became high school friends with Mike Graham, the son of legendary wrestler and Florida wrestling promoter Eddie Graham. Steve idolized Eddie Graham.

Making his debut as a professional wrestler, 1972 in Championship Wrestling from Florida. Steve Keirn was mentored by CWF owner Eddie Graham and NWA champion Jack Brisco.

One of the greatest wrestlers of his era, Jack Brisco, gave Steve Keirn some valuable advice. It went something like this: wrestling isn’t just a bunch of moves, make sure you get along well with the boys backstage, always be a giver, ask your partner what you can do for them, don’t just go home after your match, stay and pay attention to what people in the audience like, and pay attention to what the main event guys are doing.

Originally a job guy whose theme music was “the national anthem”. Keirn worked himself up the card to the main event by mastering the sleeper hold as his finishing move.

Reading this book makes you feel like a fly on the wall of the pro wrestling days of the 70’s and 80’s. I enjoyed the great stories of “ribs” (practical jokes) being pulled on everyone from Freddie Blassie to Curt “Mr. Perfect” Henning. A classic Steve Keirn rib was to make friends with a police officer and have him “arrest” one of his fellow wrestlers after the show. Steve is a really great storyteller.

Keirn is pretty honest about his career. Admitting to taking Dianabol steroids and his weight going from 165 pounds to 245 pounds in the span of 3 months. Learning how to blade and cut himself open for a match. He did it alongside fellow wrestler Stan Hansen, both had never experienced blading so they bought Gillette razors and practiced cutting up their foreheads at home.

He got into fist fights with Koko B. Ware because he thought Koko was stealing his gimmick. He doesn’t always seem like the nicest guy and Steve admits that.

Steve Keirn worked for legendary wrestling promoters Eddie Graham, Jim Crockett, Jerry Jarrett, Verne Gagne, Antonio Inoki, and Vince McMahon. He became part of ‘The Fabulous Ones’ tag team with his partner Stan Lane. One of the first pretty boy tag teams, they would go on to be copied by tag teams like The Rockers, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, and the New Age Outlaws. The Fabulous Ones did it first.

Keirn spent a lot of time wrestling in Memphis for Jerry Jarrett and in the AWA for Verne Gagne. This is where he had his biggest success in those two wrestling territories.

Steve crossed paths and has stories with so many legends. Names including Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes, Jack Brisco, Terry Funk, Bob Backlund, Gene Kiniski, ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham, Paul Orndorff, Jerry Lawler, Jim Duggan, the Road Warriors, and Hulk Hogan.

I really hope he releases part two. I would expect that to cover the 1990’s, his WWF run, and becoming a trainer for younger talent. This book finished right before Keirn joined the WWF in the early 1990’s as the alligator hunter, Skinner.

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