According to a recent study by the American Publishing Association, practically every professional wrestler on earth has now published at least one autobiography — in some cases more than one.

“Wrestling memoirs have become the most common book genre on earth,” reports the study. “Professional wrestlers now account for 77 per cent of the entire literary industry, followed by vampire romance novels for tweens and self-help books.”

The wrestling memoirs phenomenon was essentially kick-started in 1999 after the runaway success of Mick Foley’s Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks.

A slew of wrestling books followed — many ghostwritten and hastily thrown together — chronicling the lives of wrestlers including: Bill Watts, Shawn Michaels, Chyna, Batista, Bobby Heenan, Chris Jericho, Corporal Kirschner, Edge, Eric Bischoff, Gene LeBell, Ivan Koloff, Harley Race, Jerry Lawler, Lita, Jimmy Hart, Missy Hyatt, The Missing Link, Ric Flair, Ted DiBiase, William Regal, Tony Atlas, The Rock, Terry Funk, Steve Williams, Stan Hansen, and countless others.

New books due out this month include: It’s Not Easy Being Green by Hornswoggle, Aarrraghhh! by The Great Khali, and several more memoirs by Mick Foley.