Sickles, Studs & Stolen Cars: The Many Faces of Barry Darsow

by Barry Darsow, Dante Richardson (Editor), Graham Johnson

A man of many faces, Barry Darsow has been everywhere and worked with everyone in professional wrestling.

Whether he was Krusher Krushchev, Demolition Smash, Repo Man, or another of his many identities, the Minnesota native wrestled the likes of Dusty Rhodes, The Junkyard Dog, Bret Hart, The Road Warriors, Andre the Giant, and so many more stars of the squared circle.

Sickles, Studs, and Stolen Cars tells the story of Barry Darsow’s life and the ups and downs, the many trials, and the light-hearted moments of a world-traveled wrestler who’s seen and done it all.

311 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 10, 2025

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darsow goes from training with Eddie Sharkey to the territories to his big runs as Krusher Kruschev and Demolition Smash, all the way to the end of his career. As far as wrestling books go, this is one of the better ones. Not too much pre-wrestling stuff, lots of road stories, not a lot of kissing ass.

[Tony Farinella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barry Darsow comes across as humble, down-to-earth, funny, and likable in his memoir, where he discusses his wrestling career, where he portrayed various characters in different wrestling promotions (Krusher Kruschev, Repo Man, Smash, etc.). Whenever a wrestler from the territory days writes a book, I’m interested in reading it because I’m fascinated by that period in the wrestling business. Darsow worked for Ole Anderson, Bill Watts, Jim Crockett, and Vince McMahon, to name a few. He broke into the business with the likes of The Road Warriors, Curt Hennig, and Rick Rude from his Minnesota days.

The book has plenty of great wrestling stories and ribs in it. Barry is a great storyteller, and it makes for a quick and breezy read. However, he doesn’t have a single negative thing to say about any promoter or wrestler he encountered during his career. He even states in the book that he’s a glass-half-full kind of guy. Even though this is an admirable quality, the book sometimes lacks a balanced perspective. While I wasn’t looking for him to rip other wrestlers or promoters, I did want further context or details on pivotal moments in wrestling history. When you write a memoir, I think a good, healthy balance is needed. The book is overwhelmingly positive, and he shies away from anything controversial or troubling about professional wrestling.

Barry Darsow seems like the kind of guy you would love to sit down and chat with, as he has stories for days about some of the biggest names in professional wrestling. However, his book is good, but it’s not great because he doesn’t dive into the darker aspects of the wrestling business, which he had to have seen or been around, even if he doesn’t strike me as the kind of person that would be involved in anything nefarious or shady.

[Christopher Szczepanik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here comes the Smasher

Whether you're a Darsow fan, fan of the territory days or just a fan of the legendary Demolition this is a must read.

[Michael Cushing · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books that I've read on memories of life as a professional wrestler. I think to fully appreciate what Barry has provided for us here you would have had to have lived through these years as a wrestling fan. Since it's pretty much just Barry providing a summary of his career and writing down the memories that he stil holds of his friends. Most of those friends having passed many years ago now.

1985 until about 1993 were some of the best years to have been a wrestling fan.

[Richard Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational

I grew up watching demolition demolish their opponents. Barry truly shows that dedicated hard work and professionalism can succeed. Overcoming adversity like Dean Hart aside, I'm most impressed that he is a committed husband and father, which in these times are more impressive than a Vader moonsault. Thank you for the great memories Barry.

[glen Sophocleous · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for Demolition fans

I was a huge fan of Demolition as kid, loved the book. I was not of fan of the gimmicks after demolition, especially the golfer.

[Jonathan Rickwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the good guys

I always enjoyed hearing interviews with Barry Darsow as he seems like a genuinely nice guy with a huge passion for wrestling and sport in general. His book affirms all of this and allows the reader to join him on his journey along the ups and downs of life as a wrestler. One of the most nourishing and positive books from a former pro wrestler and one that I couldn’t put down. Thank you Barry and thanks for sharing your story.

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun quick read. Darsow wrestler all over the country with everyone you can think of. There wasn't any major new ground covered but some fun stories and a nostalgic read.

[Terry Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many wrestling bios and enjoyed them all! Barry Darsow’s is one of the best. What great storytelling and authenticity!

[justin jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun easy read

[ReadinRasslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barry Darsow's autobiography was one of my most anticipated wrestling book releases of 2025. Darsow has pretty much seen and done it all, with decades of experience in the wrestling industry during the most chaotic, impactful periods it's ever gone through. Darsow comes off as warm, humble, and authentic in his writing style. Beyond the occasional funny wrestling story going fishing with Curt Hennig or John Nord, most of the content is this is pretty straightforward and comes off as Darsow reading his Wikipedia article and giving a little more detail into specific events. That's not to say this isn't fun and well-written. I breezed through this because I enjoyed Darsow's storytelling demeanor so much, and while it was nearly all events I already was pretty familiarized with having met Barry in the past and having researched his career previously, I was still hooked and spent a lot of late nights before bed going through a chapter or two of this. The actual material in this is good, but to hardcore fans may seem a little redundant, especially if you're already a big Krusher or Demolition fan. Either way, hearing Darsow's authentic two cents feels like talking to a new friend, and you can tell he genuinely loves the business, his friends, his family, and his fans. Was hoping for a little more juicy dirt, but Darsow's too kind to go down that avenue, and I respect it.

[Jason Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 5 of 2026

4.5 Stars.

Barry Darsow started in wrestling school along with 3 others… The others were Joe, Mike, and Rick. Those guys turned Road Warrior Animal, Road Warrior Hawk, and Rick Rude!
Barry himself turned into Krusher Krushchev, Demolition Smash, and The Repo Man!

I’ve read most if not all of wrestler’s bios/autobios, and this one ranks up there with the best!

If you are a newer fan or an old school guy like me read Barry’s book, it’s a fun read that takes you back to the hey day of wrestling!

[Roger Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was fantastic I didn't know that Robbinsdale was such a hot spot for wrestlers to come out of. I remember all of them going to wrestle for wwf / wwe. sadly some of them have passed away at a young age but the memories of these wrestlers remain.