Book Review: This Book is All Elite: The Inside Story of All Elite Wrestling by Keith Elliot Greenberg

This Book Is All Elite: The Inside Story of All Elite Wrestling by Keith Elliot Greenberg
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

All Elite Wrestling put out an official book looking back at its first five years of existence, you know what that means. This Book is All Elite: The Inside Story of All Elite Wrestling by Keith Elliot Greenberg & All Elite Wrestling reveals how the wrestling promotion began and developed over its first five years through interviews with cast and crew along with a dazzling number of photographs to reveal moments in the ring and backstage.

When it debut on TNT in October 2019, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) broke the near two-decade monopoly that had existed since the demise of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) yet as explained in the book it took more than a billionaire wanting to start his own promotion, it needed the right circumstances in the industry and media connections to get on a well-known platform. Through 218 pages, Greenberg chronicles how AEW came about but how it developed and rose to meet challenges, most notably the pandemic in front of no crowds, during its first five years of existence through quotes from talent and crew as well as detailing what transpired from 2018 to the end of 2024. Save for the last few pages, the book is chronological with the only deviation being Greenberg’s decision to end the book with AEW’s biggest moment, All In 2023 in front of over 81000 attendees in Wembley Stadium. While not directly addressing some of the more controversial moments—the assaults by one individual against coworkers on multiple occasions—of the promotion, the unaddressed reasons for some individuals leaving or being away are telling. While the page is over 200 pages long, its coffee table format means that images take up more space than words and so while a chronicle, it’s not in-depth. Overall, it can be said the book is meant for the promotion’s fans than for a general audience, which frankly is what AEW is known for, adhering to and focusing on keeping its core audience.

This Book is All Elite chronicles through interviews, retelling, and photographs the journey of All Elite Wrestling from idea to a year’s long airing weekly television show.

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