What went wrong with WCW? In 1997, World Championship Wrestling was on top. It was the number-one pro wrestling company in the world, and the highest-rated show on cable television. Each week, fans tuned in to Monday Nitro, flocked to sold-out arenas, and carried home truckloads of WCW merchandise. Sting, Bill Goldberg, and the New World Order were household names. Superstars like Dennis Rodman and KISS jumped on the WCW bandwagon. It seemed the company could do no wrong. But by 2001, however, everything had bottomed out. The company -- having lost a whopping 95% of its audience -- was sold for next to nothing to Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment. WCW was laid to rest. How could the company lose its audience so quickly? Who was responsible for shows so horrible that fans fled in horror? What the hell happened to cause the death of one of the largest wrestling companies in the world? The Death of World Championship Wrestling is the first book to take readers through a detailed dissection of WCW's downfall.
Reviews "The most definitive, well written and thoroughly researched book on the rise and fall of WCW." --Eric Bischoff, former WCW President "This is - without question - the very best book ever written on professional wrestling." --Conrad Thompson "Well written and captivating...a fresh take on [the] time period." --Chris Harrington, AEW VP of Business Strategy "...may be the best overall pro wrestling book to date." --David Bixenspan, Deadspin Synopsis In April 1999, Entertainment Weekly asked its readers what many were surely wondering to themselves: how did wrestling get so big? As a consequence of the heated ratings competition between World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), the spectacle had taken over Monday nights on prime-time cable television. But in a departure from the family-friendly programming produced by the last industry boom - the 1980s wave, which made household names of Hulk Hogan, 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper and Andre the Giant - the new era of wrestling combined stunning athleticism with a raunchy sex appeal, engrossing story lines and novel production techniques that reflected a changing society and its shifting values. Once again, wrestling was a ubiquitous phenomenon - only this time, it seemed as though the fad would never end. With both WCW and WWF expanding into other forms of entertainment - movies, video games, music and the like - the potential for growth appeared to be limitless. But with uncertainty surrounding its corporate future, and increasingly uninspired programming eroding its audience, WCW stood on the verge of collapse. Three years into a five-year plan devised by its charismatic leader - a former Blue Ribbon Foods salesman named Eric Bischoff - the company whose unexpected ascension initiated the entire boom was operating on borrowed time. For by the end of the five-year plan, WCW ceased to exist. But NITRO is a story about much more than WCW and the Monday Night Wars. It is a story of an era, a time in which the media and cultural landscape precipitated - and later supported - pro wrestling's mainstream popularity. It is a story of how a company made in the image of an intuitively brilliant risk-taker betrayed its original promise. It is a story of how a handful of men, each struggling with their own limitations, facilitated a public obsession that changed television forever. And so, with the inside knowledge of a journalist, the perspective of a historian, and the passion of a fan, author Guy Evans provides a fresh look at an unfortunate inevitability - the downfall of World Championship Wrestling. Bolstered by exclusive interviews with over 120 former TBS and WCW employees, NITRO is the definitive picture of the last wrestling boom. Featuring exclusive interviews and comments from: Eric Bischoff, fmr. President of World Championship Wrestling;Harvey Schiller, fmr. President of Turner Sports;Jamie Kellner, fmr. CEO of Turner Broadcasting System;Bill Burke, fmr. President of TBS network;Joe Uva, fmr. President of Turner Entertainment Sales and Marketing; Scot Safon, fmr. SVP of Marketing for TNT network;Kevin Nash, WWE Hall of Famer and 5-time WCW world champion; Diamond Dallas Page, WWE Hall of Famer and 3-time WCW world champion;Vince Russo, fmr. WCW writer;Marcus 'Buff' Bagwell, fmr. WCW superstar and 5-time world tag team champion;Kevin Sullivan, fmr. WCW superstar and head booker;Hugh Morrus, fmr. WCW superstar;Neal Pruitt, fmr. WCW Feature Producer and voice of the nWo;David Crockett, fmr. WCW Vice President of Production;Dick Cheatham, fmr. Group Controller for TBS;Alan Sharp, fmr. WCW Director of Public Relations;Mike Weber, fmr. WCW Director of Marketing;Rob Garner, fmr. WCW Vice President of TV Programming and SalesJerry Jarrett, legendary wrestling promoter and booker...And many, many, many more!
For decades, distinct professional wrestling territories thrived across North America. Each regionally based promotion operated individually and offered a brand of localized wrestling that greatly appealed to area fans. Promoters routinely coordinated with associates in surrounding regions, and the cooperation displayed by members of the National Wrestling Alliance made it easy for wrestlers to traverse the landscape with the utmost freedom. Dozens of territories flourished between the 1950s and late ’70s. But by the early 1980s, the growth of cable television had put new outside pressures on promoters. An enterprising third-generation entrepreneur who believed cable was his opportunity to take his promotion national soon capitalized on the situation. A host of novel ideas and the will to take chances gave Vincent Kennedy McMahon an incredible advantage. McMahon waged war on the territories and raided the NWA and AWA of their top talent. By creating WrestleMania, jumping into the pay-per-view field, and expanding across North America, McMahon changed professional wrestling forever. Providing never-before-revealed information, Death of the Territories is a must-read for fans yearning to understand how McMahon outlasted his rivals and established the industry’s first national promotion. At the same time, it offers a comprehensive look at the promoters who opposed McMahon, focusing on their noteworthy power plays and embarrassing mistakes.
"Asking Scott Keith about professional wrestling is like asking Wayne Gretzky about hockey." --Murtz Jaffer, Inside Pulse The True Story Behind Wrestling's Deadly Secret On June 25, 2007, Canadian pro wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their seven-year-old son Daniel were found dead in their Fayetteville, Georgia, home. The ruling of murder-suicide caused a media frenzy and stunned wrestling fans around the world. Yet the Benoit tragedy was only the latest in a string of disasters that have dogged Stampede Wrestling, operated by the Calgary-based Hart family. In the first book of its kind, Scott Keith offers an in-depth look at the Hart family "curse" that has left all the Stampede Wrestling alumnae either crippled or dead. Were these deaths preventable or inevitable? How did a sport famous for showmanship and entertainment become overrun by rampant drug use, depravity, and greed? Chris Benoit isn't the only wrestler to be brought down by a history of drug use--many other big names in the sport have fallen victim to wrestling's drug culture and steroid obsession. Why has nothing been done about this, even now after these latest deaths? Scott Keith knows wrestling from the inside out. This compelling and candid account reveals not only what's gone wrong in the world's most spectacular sport but what must be done to save it.
Many have tried to explain the inner workings of wrestling's most turbulent era, but this is the first time someone in the centre of the maelstrom has laid everything bare. Taking readers from the death of WCW to the rise of TNA - the world's fastest growing and most cutting-edge wrestling promotion - Vince has crafted a remarkable storyline about how he came to terms with, and found peace within, the insanity of the squared circle.
For almost twenty years, the world wrestling federation ruled under the big top of sports entertainment... Then it all came crashing down. But how did things get so bad so quickly? What really triggered the federation's self-destruction? And how did a man acknowledged as a genius in business, promotion, and entertainment, a latter-day P.T. Barnum of wrestling's greatest show on earth, become his own worst enemy? All will be revealed in this shocking, entertaining, and always witty foray into the One Ring Circus that is pro wrestling.
A breakthrough examination of the professional wrestling, its history, its fans, and its wider cultural impact The Squared Circle grows out of David Shoemaker’s writing for Deadspin, where he started the column “Dead Wrestler of the Week” (which boasts more than 1 million page views)—a feature on the many wrestling superstars who died too young because of the abuse they subject their bodies to—and his writing for Grantland, where he covers the pro wrestling world, and its place in the pop culture mainstream. Shoemaker’s sportswriting has since struck a nerve with generations of wrestling fans who—like him—grew up worshipping a sport often derided as “fake” in the wider culture. To them, these professional wrestling superstars are not just heroes but an emotional outlet and the lens through which they learned to see the world. Starting in the early 1900s and exploring the path of pro wrestling in America through the present day, The Squared Circle is the first book to acknowledge both the sport’s broader significance and wrestling fans’ keen intellect and sense of irony. Divided into eras, each section offers a snapshot of the wrestling world, profiles some of the period’s preeminent wrestlers, and the sport’s influence on our broader culture. Through the brawling, bombast, and bloodletting, Shoemaker argues that pro wrestling can teach us about the nature of performance, audience, and, yes, art. Full of unknown history, humor, and self-deprecating reminiscence—but also offering a compelling look at the sport’s rightful place in pop culture—The Squared Circle is the book that legions of wrestling fans have been waiting for. In it, Shoemaker teaches us to look past the spandex and body slams to see an art form that can explain the world.
One of the most inspiring stories in wrestling history, Cheating Death, Stealing Life sees Eddie Guerrero recount his saga in remarkably candid fashion, chronicling a life of heartbreaks and painful personal struggles in frank, graphic detail. Guerrero was born into Mexico's first family of sports entertainment, and his life story spans three generations of the wrestling business. His father, Gory Guerrero, was among the greatest legends of lucha libre—Mexican wrestling. Before Eddie was twenty, he was competing in the border town of Juarez, going on to work throughout Mexico. The family name made him an instant sensation but also cast a large shadow from which he would spend years trying to emerge. Paired with the late Art Barr, Guerrero cofounded what became the most hated—and popular—tag team in lucha libre, the infamous Los Gringos Locos. Cheating Death, Stealing Life offers a no-holds-barred glimpse behind the curtain into the secret world of wrestling, from the harsh realities of a lifetime spent in hotels and rental cars, to the politics that permeate the dressing room. Of course, tight-knit friendships are also forged. Guerrero tells of his personal bonds with such Superstars as Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko. It's also the story of Guerrero's private struggle, of a son caught in the shadow of a larger-than-life father and three older brothers, of a marriage that reached the brink of disintegration before being reborn as a more powerful and fulfilling relationship. Throughout, Eddie Guerrero pulls no punches describing his battles with self-doubt and inner darkness. In the end, Cheating Death, Stealing Life is a story of great courage and personal redemption, of Guerrero's bravery in facing his disease and fighting to become a better man in every light.
"Ring of Hell" is the true story of Chris Benoit's journey through the destructive, dysfunctional, and bizarre pro wrestling industry, and the catastrophic physical and mental breakdown that led to his grisly end.
Delivering an inside account of one of wrestling's most famous fighters, this autobiography offers a rare chance to learn about Joe "Animal" Laurinaitis's life both inside and outside the ring. Revealing riveting stories about his participation in the 1980s and 1990s superstar wrestling team the Road Warriors, it recounts memorable fights with his partner Mike "Hawk" Hegstrand. He describes how he and Mike rose to become a revolutionary tag team—reinventing themselves with spiky accessories and wearing face paint before it was popular—and chronicles famous rivalries, movement between different wrestling associations, and dealing with Mike's longtime struggle with drugs and alcohol. He also invites fans into his personal life and discusses his family and newfound Christian faith. Featuring stories of incredible physical feats and deep-felt companionship, this testimony will help fans relive the glory days of a wrestling legacy.
