Ivan Koloff Book: Is That Wrestling Fake?-The Bear Facts Review
Is That Wrestling Fake?-The Bear Facts is written by Ivan Koloff and Scott Teal, 2007. Ivan Koloff is one of the most well known “Russian” pro wrestlers; he is known for defeating Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship in 1971 and being Nikita Koloff’s “uncle” in the NWA in the 1980’s.
Ivan Koloff’s autobiography reads like his oral history- he sounds like your old uncle or grandfather telling you his unbelievable life story. The book starts off with Ivan Koloff describing his childhood and growing up in Canada [his real name is Oreall Perras and he has nothing to do with Russia or communism...but hey it's a living, and everyone needs a gimmick in life]. In fact the bulk of the first few chapters is about his brothers, parents, work ethic, climate, and going to prison for cattle rustling.
Ivan tells his life story chronologically but once he hits his wrestling career, it jumps around a bit, and is not as detailed as some other wrestling books. Ivan is an Enneagram Personality Type 8. He keep things simple and some of his stories are really out there in a humorous (and morbid) way. Ivan is a walking conundrum and full of unintentional contradictions. He seems like a good-natured person who just wants to mind his own business, but his stories show that he usually got into fights, and was addicted to the road life (drugs, alcohol, women, fighting at bars, etc.) He’s extremely lucky he never was imprisoned after his cattle rustling days in Canada, and frankly, he’s very lucky to be alive today.
Ivan is from a different era and setting- he had to learn how to survive at an early age, so I can’t judge or condemn him for repeating his mistakes and going down the wrong path, especially since he was having a great time most of his life, and always had a good heart. He’s doesn’t feel sorry for himself and just wanted to work for a living as a pro wrestler.
Unlike other books, Ivan Koloff is not negative at all and doesn’t bash promoters or wrestlers. You really have to read in between the lines to detect if he felt slighted in any way (for example, head booker Dusty Rhodes did not tell Ivan he was turning Nikita Koloff to be a good guy, even though Ivan trained Nikita and was his tag team partner).
The only time Ivan felt low in his career was when WCW (the NWA) phased him out in the late 1980’s because they couldn’t find a spot for him anymore. But Ivan knows that “business is business” and is still friends with Dusty Rhodes to this day.
Ivan can’t say enough good things about The Living Legend Bruno Sammartino- Bruno was kind, compassionate, and classy. Ivan also preferred Vince McMahon, Sr. to Vince McMahon, Jr., which falls in line with many veterans who worked with both promoters feel.
Funny story- The first time Nikolai Volkoff wrestled Ivan Koloff, Nikolai- who is Croatian- was calling moves to Ivan in their matches, but Ivan had no idea what he was saying. Nikolai finally yelled at him in English since Koloff was messing up all the moves: “Are you an IDIOT???” Nikolai shouted. Koloff said, “Yes.”
Since Is That Wrestling Fake?-The Bear Facts is mostly stories told from Ivan’s memory, and his career spanned 29 years, it goes without saying that it is not an accurate or very detailed pro wrestling history book. However it is still entertaining. There is even a tidbit that I have never heard before, and many wrestling “experts” online never mentioned before. According to Ivan Koloff, Vince McMahon had it planned for Ivan Koloff to beat Bob Backlund for the WWF World Title to Hulk Hogan in January 1984, but Ivan didn’t know that at the time, and had moved on since he wanted to switch territories. The Iron Shiek was the #2 choice.
Ivan wraps up the last few chapters discussing how he became a Born Again Christian thanks to Nikita Koloff. Ivan had been heavily into drinking, smoking weed, and snorting cocaine. Ivan is happy now and spreads the Word of the Lord now.
Blackjack Mulligan provides an additional chapter at the end discussing why we should devote our lives to Christ. Ivan Koloff is not as preachy as Blackjack since Ivan is more down to earth and simple-minded. Blackjack turned me off when he said homosexuality is a sin (and a choice).
After reading this book, I have respect for Ivan Koloff as a person and a wrestler. His gimmick was SO HATED by wrestling fans (including myself) that we really never thought there was a human being behind that communist gimmick, and I certainly never analyzed his matches with the other greats from his era [I grew up with Ivan Koloff teaming with Krusher Khrushchev and Nikita Koloff in 1985. I saw his early WWWF matches on video tape when I was a kid, and last year I finally saw his later WWF run against Bob Backlund in 1983].
I have read other pro wrestling books and did a ranking. Here is my updated list of Best Wrestling Autobiographies of All Time:
1- (THREE WAY CHAMPS) Ric Flair/Chris Jericho/Bret Hart
4- Mick Foley I
5- Dynamite Kid
6- Billy Graham
7- Fred Blassie
8- Lou Thesz
9- Shawn Michaels
11- Ted DiBiase
12- Jerry Lawler
13- Mick Foley II
14- Harley Race
15- Dusty Rhodes
16- Terry Funk
17- Ivan Koloff
18- Bobby Heenan I
20- The Rock
21- Roddy Piper
22- Bruno Sammartino
23- Arn Anderson
Is That Wrestling Fake?-The Bear Facts
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