The Wrestling Observer Newsletter named Brian Solomon’s “Blood And Fire: The Unbelievable Real-Life Story of Wrestling’s Original Sheik” the Best Book of 2022! It tells the story of Ed Farhat aka The Sheik and how this veteran, family man, and businessman became wrestling’s most feared villain! Brian explains how he pieced together The Sheik’s story given his whole life was a complete mystery shrouded in kayfabe until his dying days. Brian chronicles the Sheik’s wrestling start, his early matches, how and when he morphed into his character, his feud with Bruno Sammartino, what inspired him to start and run his own territory in Detroit, and how he was able to go years without losing! He talks about The Sheik’s promotional war against Dick The Bruiser in Detroit, his impact in Japan during the 70s with Giant Baba’s All Japan, his resurgence in the 90s at FMW, the fire match that nearly killed him, his time working for Vince McMahon Sr., and his last matches tagging with his nephew and protégé Sabu. Brian Solomon also spent 7 years working for the WWE Magazine in the early 2000s and has some great behind-the-scenes tales about the stories featured in the mag, including why Chris Jericho lost to Ricky Steamboat in a Fantasy Warfare battle!
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