The Celestial Hammerlock

"The Celestial Hammerlock" by Donald Colvin is a science fiction book from the 1950s that uses humor to look at what happens when different cultures meet in space. A worker named Jed Michaels, who works for a company that puts on shows in space gets lost and lands on Eros, a planetoid full of super smart but physically weak people. Through funny accidents, Jed and his wrestler friends end up changing Eros. Their wild wrestling shows become super popular, even with Princess Aliana, and the people of Eros start to value being strong and active as much as being smart. The story ends with Eros becoming a fun, lively place, showing that being energetic and social is just as good as being calm and thoughtful.