OK, now we get into the actual weird stuff, like 1991’s All-Star Wrestling, from Afterthought Images.

A friend sent this to me in a care package a few years back. I don’t have anything more than the most rudimentary working knowledge of professional wrestling, so I haven’t actually read the book, but it looks like the work of a passionate and deep-thinking fan, creating not only a detailed combat system, but also dozens of wrestlers, fictional federations, belts, rivalries and history. I don’t have the knowledge necessary to truly appreciate it, but I love that this exists. I hope author Paul Shulze, wherever he may be, made his money back on the print run.

One more thing, and this is going to sound like I am taking the piss, but I mean this sincerely: this book looks great for an early 90s two-person small press effort. The type is clear, the illustrations decent enough; flipping through it doesn’t give me a headache. I’ve seen way more
famous RPG books look way, way worse (like, you know, the first D&D box set, or most of the early RuneQuest stuff that were hand typed and photocopied on cardstock…). The credits say one Peggy May is responsible for this. Thank you, Peggy.