In days gone by, professional wrestlers were to fatherhood what Gus Polinski and the Kenosha Kickers were to… well, fatherhood. You watch Home Alone every year, you know the monologue. “We’re on the road 48, 49 weeks out of the year, we hardly see our families. Joe over there… gosh, you know, he forgets his kids’ names half the time. Ziggy over there, he’s never even met his kid. And Eddie… let’s just hope none of them write a book about him.”
The top pro wrestlers of today still spend a considerable amount of time on the road, away from their children. It’s a struggle to be a good parent in that situation, but it’s a challenge one the company has embraced more than any generation that came before.
No one in the WWE embodies that spirit more than Titus O’Neil. Fatherhood means too much to him, he’s written a new book on the subject. ECW Press published Wrestling with Fatherhood: My Championship Journey to My Greatest Title: Dad in September of this year. It’s the second book written and published by O’Neil, following the 2019 release There’s No Such Thing as a Bad Kid.
If you’re a dad, Wrestling with Fatherhood will inspire you. In just over 200 pages, O’Neil shares his own personal story of growing up without a father, finding two men who stood in the gap to become father figures for a troubled teen, and growing up to become a father of three himself. The book is personal, relatable, and funny. O’Neil’s not afraid to poke fun at himself, and he’s brutally honest at every turn.
If there’s one critique I can give the book, it’s right on the front cover below the title. This is not a story of Titus O’Neil, professional wrestler, but Thaddeus Bullard, proud father and grateful son. Right from the get go, the author makes it clear that Thaddeus, not Titus, is sharing his own personal insights on fatherhood.
“I had perspectives on fatherhood just based on the things that I saw around me,” said Bullard in a recent phone interview with SlamWrestling.net. “When I actually became a father, it was a lot of fear and worry and excitement and all wrapped in one. I think that those feelings regardless of whether you grew up with a dad or not reside in every man. It’s a path to manhood. Having children changes people’s lives. I know it changed my life for the better.”
Bullard wants readers to know this is not an educational text on fatherhood but one father’s reflections on what being a dad means to him. He shares insights from personal friends like Bob Gries, Will Packer, and WWE legend Mark Henry. His kids, Titus., T.J., and Leah, also pitched in, helping their dad to remember and flesh out some of their favorite family stories. “They read, and they’re all very proud of it,” says Bullard.
Readers will get an understanding of what fatherhood meant to Bullard, long before he became a dad. Two men in particular — Charles Blalock and the late Pastor Greg Powe — took an interest in the struggling son of a single mother, teaching him what it means to be a man. The life lessons imparted by Poe and Blalock — whom Bullard still refers to as Dad — set him on a course to go to college, to play professional sports, and become a father.
The story of Bullard’s family comes with many twists and turns. He talks about the impact divorce had on his two sons, Titus and T.J. He shares how his father figures, friends, and even his two sons helped him to navigate life as a divorced co-parent. There’s also the story of Leah, the daughter Bullard adopted as a teenager, and how father and daughter changed each other for the better.
What a Night ❤️#Legacy @TJBullard1 @TitusBullard1 @GatorsFB pic.twitter.com/qqTLU3SKsS
— Titus O'Neil (@TitusONeilWWE) October 7, 2024
The most eye-opening segment of the book comes when Bullard speaks of giving “The Talk” to his children. To most parents, “The Talk” is about sex, but for an African-American father, it’s something very different.
“It’s two different conversations that we’re having at the house: how you respond to the things that they see on television in regards to police brutality. I have to combat that consistently, simply because I do believe in law enforcement and I have great relationships with law enforcement. But I also came from trauma as a kid seeing law enforcement do some things that I didn’t necessarily agree with.
“It’s still a minority of men and women that put that uniform on versus the majority who actually take pride in that oath and take pride in being able to protect and to serve and to build relationships and community. As men we have this opportunity to really change the narrative for a lot of things that we see on social media and in the media just based on the example that we live.”
Bullard’s ultimate message in the book is one he adapted from the Marvel movie Black Panther: “Don’t be like me. Be better than me.” He’s always been honest about his own imperfections with his children, and he encourages each of them to strive not to simply follow his example, but do better for themselves and for others.
Wrestling with Fatherhood certainly tackles the challenges of being a dad from multiple angles, but the overriding theme of the book is full of joy. Even after traveling the world and working WrestleMania, the greatest moments of his life are times spent with his three children. He’s especially grateful for the ways the WWE allowed him to bring his kids along for the adventure.
Titus O’Neil lifts Curtis Axel at a WWE show at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto on Saturday, July 9, 2016. Photo by Mike Mastrandrea
“All of us [in WWE] go through the same process, trying to balance the thought process of not feeling guilty that you’re on the road working while missing birthday parties, graduations, and sometimes holidays. The thing I loved about a lot of people is that they actually brought their kids on the road. I brought my kids on the road so that they can see what’s going on but also to to continue that bond.”
Despite the challenges so much travel presents, Bullard sees a lot of dads and moms in the WWE working hard to form those bonds with their kids on the road. “Mark Henry, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, MVP, Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford, the Usos. I mean, I can go down the entire roster. Roman Reigns and I did a fatherhood campaign for the Ad Council which still runs to this day. Even at the top with Triple H. I’ve seen him take time off and miss stuff because of his commitment to his daughters.
“We constantly say that WWE is a big family. That’s very very true in so many ways, shapes, and forms.”
With the release of Wrestling with Fatherhood, Bullard is looking forward to getting out on the road and speaking to more dads. He understands that his platform as WWE superstar Titus O’Neil affords him the opportunity to speak to men from many walks of life, and he’s hoping to inspire more than just a fresh take on fatherhood.
“Love and fatherhood are universal languages that we all need to learn how to speak. When you focus on the human beings, you focus on the the characteristics and the traits that will not only allow our communities to grow in a positive way but our next generation to move in a better direction than what we came from.”
More than anything, Thaddeus Bullard is a father, still guiding three young people in the process of discovering who they are and how they can make a positive impact on their world.
“I just got off the phone with my oldest,” he said near the end of our call. “They lost this weekend. My youngest lost this weekend too, but they’re both doing great. My daughter had a concussion a couple weeks ago, but she’s over that and fine. She played really well the other night. I love having grown up conversations with them. Academically, they’re all doing amazing.”
Wrestling with Fatherhood is now available in paperback and on Kindle. It’s an easy, fun, and inspiring read for any dad, but especially those who have a fondness for pro wrestling. Whether your kids are young are old, you’ll enjoy Titus O’Neil’s take on fatherhood and be challenged to be a better man and father.
RELATED LINKS
- Buy Wrestling with Fatherhood: My Championship Journey to My Greatest Title: Dad at Amazon.com or Amazon.ca
- SlamWrestling Master Book List
- Titus O’Neil story archive