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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

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Defector

The Defector Crewneck Sweatshirt Is Back In Stock

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Merch v3

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Lauren Theisen

View of a wrestling ring during a tag team match at White Eagle Hall

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Pro Wrestling

Deadlock Pro-Wrestling Is As Fun As It Is Fragile

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Luis Paez-Pumar

Chairman Vince McMahon is introduced during the WWE Monday Night Raw show at the Thomas &amp; Mack Center August 24, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

WWE Monday Night Raw In Las Vegas

‘Mr. McMahon’ Is An Incomplete Portrait Of Wrestling’s Reprehensible Kingpin

Visual Editor. Runs <a href="http://defectorstore.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">defectorstore.com</a>. Philadelphia-based, if you couldn’t tell.

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Dan McQuade

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WWE Informs Viewership Of Tyrese Haliburton

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Flaws Can Make A Wrestler Feel Real

Brad Balukjian, PhD has chosen two careers—journalist and scientist—which converge on pursuit of the truth. He has been published in Rolling Stone, Smithsonian, National Geographic, and many others. His first book, The Wax Pack: On the Open Road in Search of Baseball’s Afterlife, hit #7 on the LA Times bestseller list and was named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020. He is a Research Associate at the California Academy of Sciences, and he discovered 17 species of insects (green flash bugs) in Tahiti, one of which he named after Harrison Ford. He lives on the road, where he’s in an open relationship with his VCR.

Brad Balukjian author photo courtesy of author

Brad Balukjian

An image of Tito Santana in the ring during his time in WWF, with the cover of Brad Balukjian's book "The Six Pack" visible at lower left.

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Book Excerpts That Don't Suck

Before He Became A Wrestling Legend, Tito Santana Needed A Name

Heather Chen is a former Defector intern and the sports editor at the Columbia Daily Spectator. She loves hockey, photography, and the good ol’ state of Michigan.

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Heather Wei-Xi Chen

SUNRISE, FLORIDA - JUNE 24: Matthew Tkachuk #19 of the Florida Panthers smokes a cigar while wearing the NHL/WWE Stanley Cup Championship belt in the locker room after Game Seven of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on June 24, 2024 in Sunrise, Florida.

2024 Stanley Cup Final – Game Seven

My Beloved American Girl Doll Will Not Stop Wearing His Big Belt