Greg Oliver (born February 2, 1971, in

Kitchener, Ontario Kitchener is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, about west of Toronto. It is one of three cities that make up the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and is the regional Administrative centre, seat. Kitchener was known as Berlin until a ...

) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

sports writer Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism has its roots in coverage of horse racing and boxing in the early 1800s, mainly targeted towards elites, and into t ...

. He currently resides in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada.

Early life and education

He earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts in journalism, newspaper major, in 1993 from

Ryerson Polytechnic University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...

Writing

He is the author of seven books on professional wrestling, and six books on hockey. He is also the co-founder of the Slam Wrestling website, which began as a part of the Sun Media family on the Canoe.ca website. On June 1, 2020, Slam Wrestling ended its association with Postmedia and established SlamWrestling.net. In June 2025, Oliver announced he has left SlamWrestling. Oliver has contributed to many other publications, including ''

The Hockey News ''The Hockey News'' (''THN'') is a Canadian-based ice hockey magazine. ''The Hockey News'' was founded in 1947 by Ken McKenzie and Will Cote and has since become the most recognized hockey publication in North America. The magazine has a reader ...

'', ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', The ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices are located at Pos ...

'', ''

Kingston Whig-Standard ''The Kingston Whig-Standard'' is a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It is published four days a week, on Tuesday and Thursday to Saturday. It publishes a mix of community, national and international news and is currently owned by Postm ...

'', ''

Kitchener-Waterloo Record The ''Waterloo Region Record'' (formerly ''The Record'') is the daily newspaper covering Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, including the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, as well as the surrounding area. Since December 1998, the ''R ...

'', ''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

'', ''

Fighting Spirit Magazine ''Fighting Spirit Magazine'' (''FSM'') was a monthly professional wrestling and mixed martial arts magazine published in the United Kingdom by Uncooked Media. The publication launched in 2006, becoming the UK's largest professional wrestling magazi ...

''. As a teenager, he published ''The Canadian Wrestling Report'' (1985-1990). Oliver's work has been reviewed by ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

'', ''

Quill and Quire ''Quill & Quire'' is a Canadian magazine about the book and publishing industry. The magazine was launched in 1935 and has an average circulation of 5,000 copies per issue, with a publisher-claimed readership of 25,000. ''Quill & Quire'' reviews ...

'', ''Publishers Weekly'', ''

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Free Press'' (or FP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press''; previously known as the ''Winnipeg Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, natio ...

'', '' London Free Press'', ''Kitchener-Waterloo Record'', ''New York Journal of Books''. ''Don't Call Me Goon: Hockey's Greatest Enforcers, Gunslingers, and Bad Boys'', made ''

'' Top 10 for non-fiction in October 2013, and ''Gibby: Tales of a Baseball Lifer'' written with baseball's

John Gibbons John Michael Gibbons (born June 8, 1962) is an American professional baseball coach, manager and former player. Gibbons played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher with the New York Mets in 1984 and 1986. Gibbons became a coach for the ...

rose to #2 on Canada's non-fiction bestseller list. The 2017 documentary, Sweet Daddy Siki, about professional wrestler Reginald "Sweet Daddy" Siki, was written by Oliver. In March 2025, the documentary ''Lunatic: The Luna Vachon Story'' about

Luna Vachon Gertrude Elizabeth Vachon (; January 12, 1962 – August 27, 2010) was an American-Canadian professional wrestler, better known as Luna Vachon.Lisa S. Davis,Ex-wrestler Luna Vachon, 48, found dead", ''Tampa Bay Online'' (August 31, 2010). Over th ...

was released, with Oliver as an associate producer. In September 2021, it was announced that Oliver is working with

Madusa Debrah Ann Miceli (born February 9, 1963), better known as Madusa, is an Americans, American monster truck driver and retired professional wrestler. She is currently signed to National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as a producer. In professional wre ...

Debrah Miceli on her autobiography, covering her time in wrestling and in monster trucks. ''The Woman Who Would Be King: The MADUSA Story'' came out in the spring of 2023 from ECW Press.. John Lister at Pro Wrestling Books wrote: “Definitely more of a life story than a wrestling book, this should still appeal to Miceli’s fans.” In February 2024, Oliver teamed with Canadian comedian Eric Johnston on ''Run with the Bull: Three Generations of Sports and Entertainment'' (with Joseph Casciaro), which not only details Johnston's adventures in comedy and acting, but also his family's history in professional wrestling, namely his grandfather, Bull Johnson, father, Bullwhip Danny Johnson and uncle Randy Johnson.

Criticism

In July 2008

Bret Hart Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal U ...

spoke about Oliver at the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame during the induction banquet for his father

Stu Hart Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian sport wrestling, amateur and professional wrestling, professional wrestler, wrestling Booker (professional wrestling), booker, professional wrestling promotion, promoter, and ...

. Upset over his ranking in one of Oliver's books – #14 in the greatest Canadian performers, behind midget wrestler Sky Low Low – Hart called Oliver a "charlatan". Sports journalist Heath McCoy also criticized Oliver for his placement of Hart, asking if he was joking with that decision and saying the book was highly biased toward Ontario wrestling.

Works

*''The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Canadians'' (2002) *''The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams'' (with Steven Johnson) (2005) *''The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels'' (with Steven Johnson) (2007) *'' Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror that Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport'' (with Steven Johnson, Irv Muchnick and Heath McCoy) (2007) *''SLAM! Wrestling: Shocking Stories from the Squared Circle'' (Editor, with Jon Waldman) (2009) *''The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heroes & Icons'' (with Steven Johnson) (2012) *''Written in Blue and White: The Toronto Maple Leafs Contracts and Historical Documents from the Collection of Allan Stitt'' (2014) *''The Goaltenders' Union: Hockey's Greatest Puckstoppers, Acrobats, and Flakes'' (with Richard Kamchen) (2014) *''Don't Call Me Goon: Hockey's Greatest Enforcers, Gunslingers, and Bad Boys'' (with Richard Kamchen) (2015) *''Duck with the Puck'' (with Quinn Oliver) (2015) *''Blue Lines, Goal Lines & Bottom Lines: Hockey Contracts and Historical Documents from the Collection of Allan Stitt'' (2016) *''Father Bauer and the Great Experiment: The Genesis of Canadian Olympic Hockey'' (2017) *''Gratoony the Loony: The Wild, Unpredictable Life of Gilles Gratton'' (2017) *''Santa's Day Job'' (2018) *''The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Storytellers (From the Terrible Turk to Twitter)'' (with Steven Johnson) (2019) *''Who's The Man? Billy Van!'' (with Stacey Case) (2020) *''Mat Memories: My Wild Life in Pro Wrestling, Country Music, and with the Mets'' (with John "Alexander" Arezzi) (2021) *''Gibby: Tales of a Baseball Lifer'' (with John Gibbons) (2023) *''The Woman Who Would Be King: The MADUSA Story'' (with Debrah Miceli) (2023) * ''Run with the Bull: Three Generations of Sports and Entertainment'' (with Eric Johnston and Joseph Casciaro) (2024)

Awards

*2021

Bill Fitsell John Walter "Bill" Fitsell (July 25, 1923December 3, 2020) was a Canadian journalist, writer and historian. He was a columnist for ''The Kingston Whig-Standard'' from 1961 to 1993, and was the founding president of the Society for Internationa ...

President's Award from the

Society for International Hockey Research The Society for International Hockey Research (SIHR) is a network of writers, statisticians, collectors, broadcasters, academics and ice hockey buffs. The society, based in Toronto, Ontario, has an international membership. The society cultivate ...

*2020 James C. Melby Historian Award from the

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Ab ...

*2008 James Melby Memorial Award for wrestling journalism from the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame

Personal

He is married to author Meredith Renwick, and he worked on the book, ''Duck with the Puck'', with their son, Quinn Oliver. His brother, Chris Oliver, is a well-known college basketball coach and instructor.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Greg Canadian sportswriters 1971 births Writers from Kitchener, Ontario Living people Professional wrestling journalists and columnists Professional wrestling historians