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Irresistible Force: The Life and Times of Gorilla Monsoon
“What a monumental achievement this book is. I was fascinated from the first page. Brian Solomon filled in so many blanks for me and also reintroduced many wrestlers I’d long forgotten about. I’ll put it right next to my favorite pro wrestling books ever!” — Bret Hart
Features rare photos and a detailed career timeline, exploring Gorilla’s groundbreaking contributions to the sport.
A crucial figure in the development of what would eventually become the juggernaut known as WWE, Robert “Gino” Marella, better known as Gorilla Monsoon, has never had his whole story told — until now.
It’s a story that starts with the aspirations of the son of Italian immigrants who becomes a national standout in collegiate wrestling and an Olympic hopeful, then takes an unlikely trajectory through the bizarre world of pro wrestling, eventually landing him in what was then known as the WWWF.
From Gino's wrestling days as the rampaging monster who sold out Madison Square Garden and challenged world champion Bruno Sammartino dozens of times, to his pivotal role behind the scenes as part owner and would-be successor to Vince McMahon Sr., to his days as the beloved television commentator who narrated the memories of millions of young fans, Brian Soloman, the author of Blood and The Unbelievable Real-Life Story of Wrestling's Original Sheik, has once again crafted the definitive biography of one of the most fascinating characters in pro wrestling history. Gino's name and his voice are etched deep in the memory of wrestling fans the world over. This is his incredible story.
Features rare photos and a detailed career timeline, exploring Gorilla’s groundbreaking contributions to the sport.
A crucial figure in the development of what would eventually become the juggernaut known as WWE, Robert “Gino” Marella, better known as Gorilla Monsoon, has never had his whole story told — until now.
It’s a story that starts with the aspirations of the son of Italian immigrants who becomes a national standout in collegiate wrestling and an Olympic hopeful, then takes an unlikely trajectory through the bizarre world of pro wrestling, eventually landing him in what was then known as the WWWF.
From Gino's wrestling days as the rampaging monster who sold out Madison Square Garden and challenged world champion Bruno Sammartino dozens of times, to his pivotal role behind the scenes as part owner and would-be successor to Vince McMahon Sr., to his days as the beloved television commentator who narrated the memories of millions of young fans, Brian Soloman, the author of Blood and The Unbelievable Real-Life Story of Wrestling's Original Sheik, has once again crafted the definitive biography of one of the most fascinating characters in pro wrestling history. Gino's name and his voice are etched deep in the memory of wrestling fans the world over. This is his incredible story.
- GenresNonfiction
Kindle Edition
Published September 30, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 4, 2025
”Irresistible Force,” my most anticipated wrestling book of 2025, exceeded my expectations. As a lifelong wrestling enthusiast, we’re living in an era of remarkable wrestling historians and journalists. Brian R. Solomon stands out as one of the best, and his book is a testament to his expertise. It’s the best wrestling book I’ve read since Brad Balukjian’s 2024 masterpiece, “The Six Pack.”
Solomon’s dedication to this book is evident on every page. He’s meticulously researched and crafted a comprehensive understanding of Gorilla Monsoon’s life and career. Beyond that, the book offers a fascinating history lesson on the WWF. Even as a well-read wrestling fan and documentary enthusiast, I discovered new insights and perspectives while reading this book.
The book often stirred emotions, as I felt a deep connection with Gorilla Monsoon. Solomon’s storytelling effectively conveys Monsoon’s values, his family’s importance to him, and his passion for the sport. The best compliment I can give this book is that I couldn’t put it down. The stories are both entertaining and enlightening. While many wrestling fans perceive Monsoon as the charismatic announcer with a colorful vocabulary, he was much more than that in the wrestling world. He was truly one of the last giants of professional wrestling.
Solomon delves into Monsoon’s wrestling career, his behind-the-scenes personality, his contributions to the wrestling industry, his family life, and his reflections on the wrestling industry after his retirement. The most poignant aspects of the book revolve around Monsoon’s marriage to Maureen, his close-knit family, and his legendary partnership with Bobby “The Brian” Heenan.
I highly recommend this book to all wrestling fans. It’s a must-read that offers a comprehensive and captivating exploration of the life and legacy of Gorilla Monsoon.
Solomon’s dedication to this book is evident on every page. He’s meticulously researched and crafted a comprehensive understanding of Gorilla Monsoon’s life and career. Beyond that, the book offers a fascinating history lesson on the WWF. Even as a well-read wrestling fan and documentary enthusiast, I discovered new insights and perspectives while reading this book.
The book often stirred emotions, as I felt a deep connection with Gorilla Monsoon. Solomon’s storytelling effectively conveys Monsoon’s values, his family’s importance to him, and his passion for the sport. The best compliment I can give this book is that I couldn’t put it down. The stories are both entertaining and enlightening. While many wrestling fans perceive Monsoon as the charismatic announcer with a colorful vocabulary, he was much more than that in the wrestling world. He was truly one of the last giants of professional wrestling.
Solomon delves into Monsoon’s wrestling career, his behind-the-scenes personality, his contributions to the wrestling industry, his family life, and his reflections on the wrestling industry after his retirement. The most poignant aspects of the book revolve around Monsoon’s marriage to Maureen, his close-knit family, and his legendary partnership with Bobby “The Brian” Heenan.
I highly recommend this book to all wrestling fans. It’s a must-read that offers a comprehensive and captivating exploration of the life and legacy of Gorilla Monsoon.
October 14, 2025
If a book can have you laughing out loud in one chapter, and cause tears to well up in your eyes at its conclusion, you're reading something special.
Solomon's book is special.
The book is a breath of fresh air: a positive story about an honorable man who achieved success and earned the love and admiration of all those whose lives he touched. Whether advocating for Latino wrestlers, mentoring broadcasters, or giving a stern lecture in order to help someone get better, Gino seemed to embody all that can be good about the wrestling business--the type of mentor you would want, regardless of what line of work you're in.
My knowledge of Monsoon was always superficial--his voice was the soundtrack to some of the most indelible moments we wrestling fans have. While those moments are covered nicely, this book covers so much more. Monsoon is shown to be a shrewd businessman who helped grow the WWWF into pro wrestling's #1 territory. Maybe the shrewdest move of all was negotiating his slice of the pie when his shares were bought out by Vince "Vinny" McMahon by getting a contract with a "no-show job" clause (my only critique of this book--Monsoon was a shareholder, and not merely a "stakeholder"). I also had no idea Monsoon had auditioned for Rocky III and the role that would truly launch Hulkamania.
I'm always fascinated with old stories of policing the business, and Solomon unearths some fascinating stories in this regard also, specifically Monsoon teaching a lesson to boxer Chuck Wepner's handlers and being ringside for the champion-vs-champion showdown between Superstar Billy Graham and Harley Race to make sure a double-cross did not occur.
The friendship/partnership with Bobby Heenan is poignantly captured by Solomon. Wrestling fans all remember the call of the 1992 Royal Rumble, and have their favorite memories of Prime Time Wrestling. But how many ever knew of their call from the stands at a high school baseball game, the same high school Heenan's daughter was attending? ("Should I be embarrassed? Or should I be proud?")
On top of this, while it's only just a couple paragraphs, Solomon accomplishes something I didn't expect: a fresh observation on Montreal. Monsoon never did speak his thoughts on what happened. For Bret Hart to wonder if Gino "would've been disappointed in me for being as difficult as I was" is a stunning thing to read after all this time.
This is the best wrestling biography that's been published since Liam O'Rourke's book on Brian Pillman. Highest recommendation.
Solomon's book is special.
The book is a breath of fresh air: a positive story about an honorable man who achieved success and earned the love and admiration of all those whose lives he touched. Whether advocating for Latino wrestlers, mentoring broadcasters, or giving a stern lecture in order to help someone get better, Gino seemed to embody all that can be good about the wrestling business--the type of mentor you would want, regardless of what line of work you're in.
My knowledge of Monsoon was always superficial--his voice was the soundtrack to some of the most indelible moments we wrestling fans have. While those moments are covered nicely, this book covers so much more. Monsoon is shown to be a shrewd businessman who helped grow the WWWF into pro wrestling's #1 territory. Maybe the shrewdest move of all was negotiating his slice of the pie when his shares were bought out by Vince "Vinny" McMahon by getting a contract with a "no-show job" clause (my only critique of this book--Monsoon was a shareholder, and not merely a "stakeholder"). I also had no idea Monsoon had auditioned for Rocky III and the role that would truly launch Hulkamania.
I'm always fascinated with old stories of policing the business, and Solomon unearths some fascinating stories in this regard also, specifically Monsoon teaching a lesson to boxer Chuck Wepner's handlers and being ringside for the champion-vs-champion showdown between Superstar Billy Graham and Harley Race to make sure a double-cross did not occur.
The friendship/partnership with Bobby Heenan is poignantly captured by Solomon. Wrestling fans all remember the call of the 1992 Royal Rumble, and have their favorite memories of Prime Time Wrestling. But how many ever knew of their call from the stands at a high school baseball game, the same high school Heenan's daughter was attending? ("Should I be embarrassed? Or should I be proud?")
On top of this, while it's only just a couple paragraphs, Solomon accomplishes something I didn't expect: a fresh observation on Montreal. Monsoon never did speak his thoughts on what happened. For Bret Hart to wonder if Gino "would've been disappointed in me for being as difficult as I was" is a stunning thing to read after all this time.
This is the best wrestling biography that's been published since Liam O'Rourke's book on Brian Pillman. Highest recommendation.
October 18, 2025
Great read. A book that hits you right in the external occipital protuberance area.
November 3, 2025
Great wrestling biography. Great biography in general. It truly served as an educational instrument for those, like me, who did not see Gorilla Monsoon wrestle and as a warm stroll down memory lane for those that knew Gorilla as the voice of wrestling growing up. Plenty of great stories and interesting facts without having to be sensationalistic and tawdry. The author did a great job in providing a book that mirrored the life and times of the larger than life person. I would highly recommend this book to any fan of professional wrestling and to any fan of great non-fiction storytelling.
October 18, 2025
Informative and engaging. I only knew Gorilla as the voice of my WWF fandom. It was a great dive into his career as an active wrestler without being too granular. Some wrestling history can be a slog to get to the interesting stories; that wasn’t a problem here. I only use 5 stars when I’m confident anyone interested in a title will enjoy the read, and that’s definitely true in this instance.
October 5, 2025
Another great wrestling bio by Solomon. Very well researched and gives a great chronological recap on Monsoon’s life.
A good a bio as you can get unless written by Gorilla himself. Also gives a great history into the early formation of the WWF.
A must read for fans of pro wrestling history.
A good a bio as you can get unless written by Gorilla himself. Also gives a great history into the early formation of the WWF.
A must read for fans of pro wrestling history.
October 13, 2025
A phenomenal biography that’s worthy of its subject. It was well researched and written with a good balance of sentimentality and historical perspective.
This should be the new standard against which all other wrestling biographies are measured.
This should be the new standard against which all other wrestling biographies are measured.
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December 6, 2025There are have been few books that I have read more than 500 pages long, that are this engrossing and spectacular. Even more so, while I’ve reviewed dozens of fiction books that exceed this page count, non-fiction of that length has been a bit more sparse. At no time while reading this book, was I wishing it was over. In fact, I wish there was more to the story, but I wonder if much more could be said about this wrestling legend.
Brian Solomon has written many books about the wrestling world, but he definitely has outdone himself with the ultimate biography about this larger than life legend. The ironic and almost sad part of this book, is the fact that many younger wrestling fans will have no idea who this man was, and what he was all about. But by the time you have finished this book (if you a more modern fan of the sport), you will swear you know everything about him and are an expert on this talented superstar.
Solomon makes his life an open book (pardon the pun), talking about Robert “Gino” Marella, which was his real name. We learn about his high school and college life where he excelled at wrestling. Being almost 350 pounds then, gave him the upper hand, making him a force to be reckoned with. The love of the sport was always in his blood, and when he made he debut in the old WWWF, he was known as the Manchurian Giant. Vincent McMahon Sr. was the head of Capital Sports, which transitioned into the WWWF. He was a massive man, starting out when the legends of the mat owned the sport.
The name dropping of hundreds, maybe thousands of wrestlers throughout the book, let us revisit the greatest of the mat world. But before that is his first bout in 1958, known as Gino Marella. We know that Monsoon (which I will refer to him as that for the rest of the review) fought with the best of them, holding his own, and convincing fans that he was a menacing monster who could tangle with stars like Bruno Sammartino, plus teaming with Killer Kowolski, and other heels of the the mat world. He traveled all across North America, and as well wrestling over in Japan, Puerto Rico and dozens of other countries around the world. He always gave each match his all, becoming one of the most popular wrestlers of that time.
But it was in 1969 he became a baby face, and the Manchurian Giant was reborn as Gorilla Monsoon. He was admired and respected so much, teaming with other popular stars of that era, traveling from one wrestling promotion to the other. The book of course looks at more modern days as well in the ring, and how after scaling back from wrestling, he was used as an announcer and a sort of behind the scenes planner for the WWWF, later the WWE.
A tragic moment happened when his son Joey Marella who was a referee for the WWE, died in a tragic car accident in 1994. They said he never totally recovered from that tragedy. There is so much to the book that you have to see for yourself just how thorough it was, leading to the passing of Monsoon in 1999. He lives again is so many ways in the pages of this truly amazing and inspirational tribute to one of the wrestling elite.
Brian Solomon has written many books about the wrestling world, but he definitely has outdone himself with the ultimate biography about this larger than life legend. The ironic and almost sad part of this book, is the fact that many younger wrestling fans will have no idea who this man was, and what he was all about. But by the time you have finished this book (if you a more modern fan of the sport), you will swear you know everything about him and are an expert on this talented superstar.
Solomon makes his life an open book (pardon the pun), talking about Robert “Gino” Marella, which was his real name. We learn about his high school and college life where he excelled at wrestling. Being almost 350 pounds then, gave him the upper hand, making him a force to be reckoned with. The love of the sport was always in his blood, and when he made he debut in the old WWWF, he was known as the Manchurian Giant. Vincent McMahon Sr. was the head of Capital Sports, which transitioned into the WWWF. He was a massive man, starting out when the legends of the mat owned the sport.
The name dropping of hundreds, maybe thousands of wrestlers throughout the book, let us revisit the greatest of the mat world. But before that is his first bout in 1958, known as Gino Marella. We know that Monsoon (which I will refer to him as that for the rest of the review) fought with the best of them, holding his own, and convincing fans that he was a menacing monster who could tangle with stars like Bruno Sammartino, plus teaming with Killer Kowolski, and other heels of the the mat world. He traveled all across North America, and as well wrestling over in Japan, Puerto Rico and dozens of other countries around the world. He always gave each match his all, becoming one of the most popular wrestlers of that time.
But it was in 1969 he became a baby face, and the Manchurian Giant was reborn as Gorilla Monsoon. He was admired and respected so much, teaming with other popular stars of that era, traveling from one wrestling promotion to the other. The book of course looks at more modern days as well in the ring, and how after scaling back from wrestling, he was used as an announcer and a sort of behind the scenes planner for the WWWF, later the WWE.
A tragic moment happened when his son Joey Marella who was a referee for the WWE, died in a tragic car accident in 1994. They said he never totally recovered from that tragedy. There is so much to the book that you have to see for yourself just how thorough it was, leading to the passing of Monsoon in 1999. He lives again is so many ways in the pages of this truly amazing and inspirational tribute to one of the wrestling elite.
November 3, 2025
Shocking that Gorilla has never had a book (or video) all about him, but it is his tale is finally told by a great writer in Solomon. From the days of the WWWF as Bruno Sammartino's opponent at the Garden, his ealry days as a singing wrestling, to the announcing days of the 80s wrestling boom are covered here. Gorilla had more to to with the WWF than many give credit for, which s why he had a section named after him. He was an announcer, booker, loyal employee, and a part of angles with Ali and boxing with Andre The Giant.
A must have for wrestling fans for their collection.
For an in -depth review, visit my page at https://lancewrites.wordpress.com/202...
A must have for wrestling fans for their collection.
For an in -depth review, visit my page at https://lancewrites.wordpress.com/202...
November 9, 2025
My main issue with the book is how long it is, given that Gorilla Monsoon is… basically not that interesting a person? The account of his in ring career is finished about a third of the way into the book and can be summed up as “he had some big matches with Bruno Sammartino.” And then he’s basically a henchman for Vince McMahon Junior for a long time, telling wrestlers stuff like “Please show up on time.” Do we need 500 pages saying “he was a man of solid character, and very respected”.
Solomon takes this many pages because he is low key telling the story of WWF in this book, through the lens of Gorilla Monsoon. The book tracks the loss of decency, basically saying Monsoon wouldn’t have put up with this or that, and yearning for his bygone era.
So there’s all these other stories weaved in like Vince Junior’s takeover of the company or Bruno Sammartino’s career or Jesse Ventura’s push for unionization or Bruiser Brody’s death, where I’m left wondering why not just write the book about that instead? Even if it’s been written about before, it’s much more interesting than apolitical company man Monsoon. Solomon clearly lionizes Monsoon in a way that always makes a biography worse than it could have been if the author had any semblance of objectivity.
That said, you can’t knock Solomon’s hustle. With this book and his book about The Sheikh, he’s taken subjects that a lot is unknown about, and colored in the lines, relying heavily on interviews with family members or people who knew the person directly.
Solomon takes this many pages because he is low key telling the story of WWF in this book, through the lens of Gorilla Monsoon. The book tracks the loss of decency, basically saying Monsoon wouldn’t have put up with this or that, and yearning for his bygone era.
So there’s all these other stories weaved in like Vince Junior’s takeover of the company or Bruno Sammartino’s career or Jesse Ventura’s push for unionization or Bruiser Brody’s death, where I’m left wondering why not just write the book about that instead? Even if it’s been written about before, it’s much more interesting than apolitical company man Monsoon. Solomon clearly lionizes Monsoon in a way that always makes a biography worse than it could have been if the author had any semblance of objectivity.
That said, you can’t knock Solomon’s hustle. With this book and his book about The Sheikh, he’s taken subjects that a lot is unknown about, and colored in the lines, relying heavily on interviews with family members or people who knew the person directly.
November 27, 2025
Solomon does it again. His attention to detail on Monsoon’s life and career is astonishing. And the years covering Gorilla’s announcing career took me back to my days of first discovering the man they called Gino. It’s a miscarriage of justice that it took this long for a bio on Bobby “The Brain” Heenan’s best friend, but Solomon made it worth the wait.
December 28, 2025
Mr. Solomon does an excellent job crafting a narrative around one of the unsung legends of professional wrestling. Gorilla Monsoon provided the audio backdrop to scores of childhood wrestling fans but his story had never been told until this book and this book is an absolute must read if you are a wrestling fan.
December 22, 2025
brilliant insight of a great legend and gentle giant that is still missed to this day
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews