Professional wrestling has long been one of America’s most misunderstood art forms — equal parts spectacle, sport, and storytelling. Author and journalist Alison Lyn Miller brings that complexity to Novel in conversation with Rhodes College professor Charles L. Hughes to celebrate the release of her debut book, Rough House: A Father, a Son, and the Pursuit of Pro Wrestling Glory.
Miller’s deeply reported narrative centers on Hunter James, a Georgia teenager determined to make it to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and finish what his father, Billy Ray, started decades earlier. What unfolds is more than a backstage look at indie wrestling’s bruising circuits — it’s an intimate portrait of inheritance, masculinity, and the complicated love between a father who knows the ring’s grip and a son who can’t resist it.
The project began in 2019 with a single interview. A third-generation wrestling fan told Miller that as a child he found comfort in knowing that every Saturday night, wrestling would be there — a world where “the lines are very clear: you know who the bad guy is.” That clarity, Miller realized, offered something deeper than escapism. It was community, catharsis, and connection.
Embedding herself in Georgia’s independent wrestling scene — in Boys & Girls Clubs, VFW halls, and pop-up venues — Miller found a culture built on trust. Wrestlers trade blows in the ring and share meals at Waffle House afterward. Families fill the bleachers. Kids scream for heroes and heckle villains. “It’s like church fellowship meets little league,” she says. Far from the high-production polish of WWE, indie wrestling feels like immersive theater: you might have to move if a body tumbles your way.
In Memphis, of course, wrestling isn’t niche — it’s legacy. From Sputnik Monroe’s role in desegregating arenas in the 1950s to Jerry Lawler’s legendary feud with Andy Kaufman, the city is sacred ground. Hughes, author of Country Soul and at work on a history of professional wrestling and racial politics, will bring historical depth to a conversation that promises to explore how wrestling mirrors America — its pageantry, its inequities, and its ongoing evolution.
For readers who think wrestling is “fake,” Rough House offers a corrective. The outcomes may be scripted, but the sweat, soreness, and sacrifice are real. Miller’s ringside reporting captures young men chasing glory, pushing their bodies, and using the ring to say what words can’t.
Whether you’re a lifelong fan or a skeptic, this event will propel you to read Miller’s book and search for the nearest indie wrestling show — all while cheering a little louder.
ALISON LYN MILLER WITH CHARLES L. HUGHES: ROUGH HOUSE, NOVEL, 387 PERKINS EXT., MEMPHIS, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 6 P.M.