Abraham Josephine Riesman

Last updated

Abraham Josephine Riesman
Born1985 (age 38–39)
Oak Park, Illinois, U.S.
OccupationReporter, Essayist
Education Harvard University (AB)
Notable works True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee
Spouse S.I. Rosenbaum
Website
abrahamriesman.com

Abraham Josephine Riesman (born 1985) is an American reporter and essayist based in Providence, Rhode Island. She is the author of two biographies, True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee (2021), and Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America (2023).

Contents

Background and education

Riesman was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. [1] She graduated from Harvard College in 2008 with a degree in Social Studies. [2] After college, she moved to New York City, where she contributed to a variety of publications, including The New York Times , The Washington Post , and The Wall Street Journal . [2]

Career

In 2017, Riesman published her first book, True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee . The book is a biography of Stan Lee, the comic book writer, editor, and publisher who is best known for creating Marvel Comics superheroes such as Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Hulk. [3]

Riesman's second book, Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America , was published in 2023. The book is a biography of Vince McMahon, the professional wrestling promoter who is the chairman and CEO of WWE. [4] Ringmaster was a New York Times bestseller, [5] and was described in the New York Times as "magisterial." [6]

Riesman has contributed as a freelance journalist and essayist to numerous publications, including New York Magazine , [7] [8] The Washington Post, [9] Slate , [10] and The Daily Beast. [11]

Personal life

Riesman is transgender. [12] She is married to the journalist S.I. Rosenbaum. They live in Providence, Rhode Island. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWE</span> American professional wrestling and entertainment company

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings, a global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into fields outside of wrestling, including film, football, and various other business ventures. The company is additionally involved in licensing its intellectual property to other companies to produce video games and action figures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephanie McMahon</span> American professional wrestler (born 1976)

Stephanie Marie McMahon Levesque is an American businesswoman and retired professional wrestler. She is known for her various roles within WWE between 1998 and 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vince McMahon</span> American professional wrestling promoter (born 1945)

Vincent Kennedy McMahon is an American businessman and former professional wrestling promoter. McMahon, along with his wife Linda, is a co-founder of the modern WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Outside of professional wrestling McMahon has occasionally ventured into promoting other sports; his projects have included the World Bodybuilding Federation and the XFL football league. He is the owner of Alpha Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shane McMahon</span> American professional wrestler, producer, and businessman

Shane Brandon McMahon is an American businessman and professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in WWE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sable (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler and model

Rena Marlette Lesnar, better known as Sable, is an American retired model, actress, and professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenures in World Wrestling Entertainment from 1996 to 1999 and from 2003 to 2004. As Sable, she gained immense popularity during the Attitude Era. After feuding with Luna Vachon, and Jacqueline, Sable became the second WWF Women's Champion after the title was reinstated into the company. After leaving the company in 1999, she filed a $110 million lawsuit against the company, citing allegations of sexual harassment and unsafe working conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stone Cold Steve Austin</span> American professional wrestler and actor (born 1964)

Steve Austin, better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, producer and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, as an ambassador. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the development and success of the World Wrestling Federation during the Attitude Era, an industry boom period in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Heyman</span> American professional wrestling promoter

Paul Heyman is an American professional wrestling manager, executive and former promoter. He is currently signed to WWE, where he appears on the SmackDown brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda McMahon</span> American political & business executive (born 1948)

Linda Marie McMahon is an American political executive, business executive, and retired professional wrestling performer. She served as the 25th administrator of the Small Business Administration from 2017 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWE Studios</span> Subsidiary of WWE

WWE Studios Inc. is an American film studio owned by the professional wrestling promotion WWE, a division of TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. WWE Studios movies frequently mix well-known actors and actresses in lead roles with WWE wrestlers, and teams with existing production and distribution companies resulting in lower cost for both parties.

This list brings together authority figures—people who hold on-screen power—in professional wrestling promotions or brands within North America. The North American wrestling industry portrays authority figures as responsible for making matches, providing rules and generally keeping law and order both in and outside the ring. The role can vary according to disposition as a face authority figure tends to give what the fans want and does what is fair while a heel authority figures tend to run their shows out of their own self-interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Barnett (wrestling)</span> American wrestling promoter (1924–2004)

James Edward Barnett was an American professional wrestling promoter and executive. During his career, he was at times one of the owners of the Indianapolis National Wrestling Alliance promotion, Australia's World Championship Wrestling, and Georgia Championship Wrestling, as well as serving as an executive with the World Wrestling Federation and Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling. He also served as a member of the National Council on the Arts during the Presidency of Jimmy Carter. Barnett was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996, the NWA Hall of Fame in 2005, and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019.

The McMahon family is an Irish-American family primarily known for owning the world's largest professional wrestling company, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Vince McMahon, a third-generation wrestling promoter, served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of WWE between 1982 and 2023. Shane McMahon is a 4th generation wrestling promoter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of WWE</span> History of American professional wrestling company WWE

The history of American professional wrestling promotion WWE dates back to the early 1950s when it was founded on January 7, 1953 as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC). The public branding of the company has undergone several name changes throughout the years, from the CWC to the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1963, then the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979, and to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002. Since 2011, it has branded itself solely as WWE. On September 12, 2023, Endeavor, the parent company of mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship, and WWE merged the two companies into a new parent company, TKO Group Holdings. WWE and UFC continue to operate as separate divisions of the company with WWE focusing on professional wrestling and UFC focusing on mixed martial arts. In 2023, WWE's legal name was changed to World Wrestling Entertainment, LLC, though the branded name remained WWE.

Rita Chatterton is a retired professional wrestling referee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kayfabe</span> Portrayal of staged events as being real

In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. The term kayfabe has evolved to also become a code word of sorts for maintaining this "reality" within the direct or indirect presence of the general public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attitude Era</span> Adult-oriented period of WWF (now WWE) (1997–2002)

The Attitude Era was a major era of professional wrestling within the World Wrestling Federation. The term "WWF Attitude" was used to describe its programming from November 9, 1997, to May 6, 2002. It began during the Monday Night War, a period in which WWF's Monday Night Raw went head-to-head with World Championship Wrestling's (WCW) Monday Nitro in a battle for Nielsen ratings each week from September 4, 1995, to March 26, 2001. The era officially started on March 23, 1997 at WrestleMania 13. This was way before the main event of the Survivor Series (1997) on November 9, 1997 featuring Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, which retrospectively would be known as the Montreal Screwjob due to the match's controversial finish. WWF's programming in this era featured adult-oriented content, which included increased depicted violence, profanity, and sexual content. This era was part of a wider surge in the popularity of professional wrestling in the United States and Canada as television ratings and pay-per-view buy rates for the WWF and its rival promotions saw record highs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NWA Hollywood Wrestling</span> Defunct professional wrestling territory

NWA Hollywood Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It was founded in 1958 as the North American Wrestling Alliance, a member of the National Wrestling Alliance. It broke away from the NWA in 1959 and was renamed Worldwide Wrestling Associates in 1961. In 1968, it rejoined the NWA and adopted its final name, remaining a member until closing in 1982.

WWE Hall of Fame (2013) was the event which featured the introduction of the 14th class to the WWE Hall of Fame. The event was produced by WWE on April 6, 2013, from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The event took place the same weekend as WrestleMania 29. The event was hosted by Jerry Lawler. A condensed one-hour version of the ceremony aired on the USA Network the following Tuesday. In March 2015 the ceremony was added to the WWE Network.

<i>United States v. McMahon</i> 1994 criminal court case

United States v. McMahon et al (9:93-cr-01276) is a 1994 United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York criminal court case brought against Vince McMahon, chairman of the World Wrestling Federation on suspicion of supplying illegal anabolic steroids to his professional wrestlers. The jury found McMahon not guilty on July 23, 1994.

<i>True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee</i> 2021 biography of Stan Lee written by Abraham Riesman

True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee is a biography of Stan Lee written by Abraham Riesman.

References

  1. ↑ Kelly, Dan (March–April 2022). "Looking for the Real Stan Lee". Harvard Magazine. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Bio". Abraham Josephine Riesman // Writer. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  3. ↑ Riesman, Abraham Josephine (2022). True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee. New York, NY: Penguin Random House. ISBN   9780593135730. OCLC   1153337602.
  4. ↑ Riesman, Abraham Josephine (March 28, 2023). Ringmaster. Simon and Schuster. ISBN   978-1-9821-6944-2.
  5. ↑ "Hardcover Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - April 16, 2023 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  6. ↑ Smith, Rory (July 14, 2023). "When You Can't Believe What You're Seeing". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  7. ↑ Riesman, Abraham (December 26, 2016). "How Children of Men Became a Dystopian Masterpiece". Vulture. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  8. ↑ Riesman, Abraham (June 23, 2021). "My Grandfather the Zionist". Intelligencer. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  9. ↑ Riesman, Abraham (July 28, 2022). "What the fall of WWE's Vince McMahon reveals about post-Trump politics". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  10. ↑ Riesman, Abraham Josephine (March 13, 2022). "The Impatience of Job". Slate. ISSN   1091-2339 . Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Abraham Riesman". The Daily Beast. December 25, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  12. ↑ Riesman, Abraham (July 29, 2022). "Abe, Vince, and Gender". Type Slowly. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.