Review Fix Exclusive: Steven Verrier Talks George Gordienko Canadian Wrestler, Artist and Renaissance Man

Review Fix chats with George Gordienko Canadian Wrestler, Artist and Renaissance Man author Steven Verrier who lets us know about this awesome wrestling bio and so much more.

About the Book:

George Gordienko (1928–2002) may be the greatest wrestler you’ve never heard of. From humble, Ukrainian/Cossack immigrant roots in the Canadian Prairies, he endured a tough childhood during the Great Depression to emerge as a leading “shooter” and one-of-a-kind artist on the mat. Excluded from wrestling in the U.S. during the McCarthy era because of his association with the Communist Party as a young man, he was deprived of a run with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, for which he was hand-picked by the great Lou Thesz. After retirement, Gordienko transitioned to a different sort of canvas and became a successful painter. This first full-length biography traces his remarkable career.

About the Author:

Steven Verrier has previously written works of short drama, fiction, and nonfiction published in the United States, Canada, and Japan. He lives in Bonney Lake, Washington.

Review Fix: How did this project begin?

Steven Verrier: I was long familiar with some aspects of the career or careers of George Gordienko, but I never considered researching his life and writing his biography until Vance Nevada suggested it might be a project I was suited for. I’d just completed a biography of Gene Kiniski, and Gordienko was a wrestler from a fairly similar setting and background during the same era who, like Kiniski, accomplished some great things.

Review Fix: What makes George a captivating subject?

Verrier: Gordienko wasn’t just an elite wrestler but, you could argue, a victim of history who simply wouldn’t let himself be a victim for long. Barred from the United States during the McCarthy era, he went on to be a top attraction worldwide for about two decades. And throughout his amazing wrestling career, he never lost sight of his long-term goal of being a full-time artist.

Review Fix: What was the research process like?

Verrier: I went through many materials pertaining to his life dating back to his youth in North Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he was a top amateur athlete in multiple sports. Then I talked to as many people as I could who knew Gordienko from the 1940s until his passing in 2002. George’s nephew Ted Gordienko provided materials and insight that would have been difficult or impossible to gather elsewhere.

Review Fix: What did you learn that you weren’t expecting?

Verrier: Perhaps what struck me most was the gap between the extent of George Gordienko’s accomplishments in wrestling and art and the extent to which so many people, even in his home country of Canada, are unaware of him. Gordienko was a Canadian of great accomplishment.

Review Fix: Where do you think he’d rank if he was a wrestler today?

Verrier: Gordienko was a top shooter or legitimate grappler of his era, and one of the most powerful. I don’t think there are many true grapplers near his level even today. But a lot of high-profile professional wrestling nowadays has become so silly that I doubt he’d even want to be involved in it. He was an excellent submission artist, and I suspect, if Gordienko were in his prime today, he might be involved in mixed martial arts and not pro wrestling. Even when he was wrestling professionally decades ago, he liked to mix it up for real outside the ring with fighters from other disciplines.

Review Fix: What are your goals for this book?

Verrier: I just mentioned the gap between Gordienko’s great accomplishments and people’s awareness of them. I hope the book will help close that gap at least a little.

Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy this book the most?

Verrier: Gordienko was an international figure, and there’s interest in the book particularly in some of the European and Asian countries where he wrestled. But the audience I’m probably hoping to impact most are fans of wrestling and art in North America who know little or nothing about this amazing athlete and artist but really ought to, along with other people who are just hungry to learn about an amazing life.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Verrier: After George Gordienko: Canadian Wrestler, Artist and Renaissance Man, my next book, which should be out in the summer of 2022, will be The Two-Party Trap, which is about US politics and not wrestling—though there are some similarities between the two.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Verrier: I’ve started cowriting a biography of another wrestler from the Gordienko and Kiniski era. It’ll be another account of a fascinating life, and it should be available in 2023.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13820 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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