Author: Scott E. Williams Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1613218737 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 426
Book Description
Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was one extreme contradiction on top of another. An incredibly influential—but never profitable—company in the world of professional wrestling in the 1990s, it portrayed itself as the ultimate in anti-authority rebellion, but its leadership was working covertly with the World Wrestling Federation and the World Championship Wrestling. Most of all, it blurred the line between reality and the fantasy world of professional wrestling. Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of ECW offers a frank, balanced look at the evolution of ECW starting before its early days as a Philadelphia-area independent group and extending past its death in 2001. Featuring dozens of interviews with fans, officials, business partners, and the wrestlers themselves, this is a very balanced account of this bizarre company—and it’s sure to be extremely controversial for fans and critics of ECW, and wrestling, alike. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. In addition to books on popular team sports, we also publish books for a wide variety of athletes and sports enthusiasts, including books on running, cycling, horseback riding, swimming, tennis, martial arts, golf, camping, hiking, aviation, boating, and so much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
Author: John Lister Publisher: Exposure Publishing ISBN: 9781905363780 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 196
Book Description
ECW was the upstart promotion which revolutionised the wrestling industry. Turning The Tables is the first published history of the company which grew from a run-down bingo hall to become a national pay-per-view competitor... then crashed in a sea of debt. John Lister (author of Slamthology) gives an independent, objective and informative account that reveals hidden secrets and shatters common myths. From a little-known truth about ECW's most famous feud to a blow-by-blow account of what really happened in Revere, this book will give you the true story behind America's most controversial wrestling group.
Author: New Jack, Publisher: McFarland ISBN: 1476638306 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 211
Book Description
You may have cheered him. You may have booed him out of the building. But until now, you've never really known "The Most Dangerous Man in Wrestling." For the first time, Jerome "New Jack" Young opens up about his rise to stardom in Extreme Championship Wrestling. From his crazed dives off balconies and scaffolds to his bloody weapons matches that trampled the line between reality and entertainment, this candid memoir reveals the man behind the infamy, with new disclosures about the Mass Transit incident, the brutal beat-down of Gypsy Joe, and the stabbing of a fellow wrestler in Florida. Beyond the gimmicks that united white supremacists and the NAACP against him, New Jack discusses his violent youth that nearly led him to a life of crime, his career as a bounty hunter, a near-fatal drug addiction, the last months of ECW, and his place in wrestling history.
Author: Thom Loverro Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1416561560 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 276
Book Description
Independent wrestling promotions were once the norm all across the country. However, with the rise of World Wrestling Entertainment and the creation of World Championship Wrestling -- out of three Southern promotions -- the possibility of an independent succeeding grew fainter and fainter. As the nineties began, independents were looking for creative ways to survive. In the East, several banded together to share cost and talent; they were known as Eastern Championship Wrestling. Based out of a warehouse in Philadelphia that stored parade floats and hosted bingo, this promotion seemed doomed to be just one more ninety-day wonder. When they hired a brash New Yorker, Paul Heyman, he warned Eastern Championship Wrestling that the job was just temporary. He would come in, shake up a lot of the wrestlers, and then leave. But what Heyman did redefined professional wrestling in the nineties. What he created was a company that dared to push the boundaries of sports entertainment. What he created became Extreme Championship Wrestling. As the person responsible for booking -- who was going to wrestle and who was going to win -- Heyman dared to break with tradition. Rather than relying on local talent and down-and-out veterans to draw in crowds, he created new characters and story lines that would appeal to the core wrestling fans: eighteen- to twenty-four- year-old men. Paul also realized that to persuade them to come, you had to get their interest and keep it. You had to offer the fans more than just the match. ECW became known for the interview, the shoot. Heyman got to know each wrestler's style, and in their interviews he would encourage them to speak from their hearts. When it came to the matches, ECW broke even farther from the mainstream. Tables, ladders, chairs, barbed wire, and even frying pans were used with abandon. Wrestlers not wanting to be topped put their bodies on the line, taking ever greater risks, daring to jump, leap, and fall from places never tried before. ECW matches became the stuff of legend. Word spread as savvy wrestling fans began talking about the promotion and exchanging tapes. To keep the buzz building, wrestlers used the age-old trick of taunting the fans, and ECW fans responded in kind. By including the fans in the shows, ECW attracted a rabid, cult-like following that is still going strong today. For nearly a decade, ECW redefined professional wrestling with a reckless, brutal, death-defying, and often bloody style that became synonymous with "hardcore." Through extensive interviews with former ECW talent and management -- Paul Heyman, Mick Foley, Tazz, Tommy Dreamer, Rob Van Dam, and many more -- The Rise & Fall of ECW reveals what made this upstart company from Philadelphia great -- and what ultimately led to its demise.
Author: Jon Barber Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 92
Book Description
Read about the Rise of Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) from some of those who lived through one of the most tumultuous times in professional wrestling. The tragedy and triumph of the late professional wrestling organization is explored in this unofficial retrospective. XPW carved a niche during a post-Monday Night Wars era that has since never been replicated!
Author: Tim Hornbaker Publisher: ECW Press ISBN: 1773052322 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 272
Book Description
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.
Author: Shaun Assael Publisher: Crown ISBN: 0307758133 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 274
Book Description
“Current fans and recovering Hulkamaniacs alike should find [Sex, Lies, and Headlocks] as gripping as the Camel Clutch.” —Maxim Sex, Lies, and Headlocks is the ultimate behind-the-scenes look at the backstabbing, scandals, and high-stakes gambles that have made wrestling an enduring television phenomenon. The man behind it all is Vince McMahon, a ruthless and entertaining visionary whose professional antics make some of the flamboyant characters in the ring look tame by comparison. Throughout the book, the authors trace McMahon’s rise to power and examine the appeal of the industry’s biggest stars—including Ed “Strangler” Lewis, Gorgeous George, Bruno Sammartino, Ric Flair, and, most recently, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. In doing so, they show us that while WWE stock is traded to the public on Wall Street, wrestling remains a shadowy world guided by a century-old code that stresses secrecy and loyalty. With a new afterword, this is the definitive book about the history of pro wrestling. “Reading this excellent behind-the-scenes look at wrestling promoter McMahon . . . is almost as entertaining and shocking as watching the most extreme antics of McMahon’s comic-book style creations such as Steve Austin and The Rock.” —Publishers Weekly “A quintessentially American success story of a cocky opportunist defying the odds and hitting it big . . . Sparkling cultural history from an author wise enough to let the facts and personalities speak for themselves.”—Kirkus Reviews
Author: Mick Foley Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1847395910 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 488
Book Description
What does it feel like to fall through a flaming table for the very first time? Or the umpteenth time for that matter. In the fresh off-the-cuff style that has earned him legions of admirers and made his previous wrestling books massive worldwide bestsellers, Foley gives readers a blow-by-blow first-hand account of exactly what it is like to step into the wrestling ring. As a champion wrestler he was known both for his tenacity in the ring and for the fearlessness which led him to take extraordinary risks in any number of groundbreaking dangerous stunts. And as an industry insider he offers a unique perspective on what it was like to perform at that level which readers will never find anywhere else. In HARDCORE DIARIES Mick Foley will take fans right inside a hardcore match, vividly recreating his experiences, and revealing how mentally and physically preparing for this extremely challenging sport has helped him become the legend he is today.
Author: Brian Solomon Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1451604505 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 276
Book Description
WWE Legends gives fans an inside look at more than fifty of the greatest wrestlers ever to slip between the ropes and enter the “squared circle.” They were World Heavyweight Champions: Bob Backlund, Superstar Billy Graham, and Bruno Sammartino. They were fan favorites: “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka, Chief Jay Strongbow, and Andre the Giant. They were the villains everyone loved to hate: Killer Kowalski, Ernie Ladd, and the Fabulous Moolah. They were ethnic heroes, someone just like you that you could cheer for: Ivan Putski, Pedro Morales, Peter Maivia. They were the stars that shined the brightest, and left an indelible mark on the memories of countless fans. In a time when professional wrestling was divided into territories, no place created bigger Superstars than World Wrestling Entertainment. From the company's centerpiece in Madison Square Garden, legends were born. WWE Legends is the every fan's guide to the legends of the ring. They are all in here, from Andre the Giant to George “the Animal” Steele, with quick stats and descriptions of their most famous matches. No true wrestling fan should be without this book.
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Author: Thom Loverro
Author: Scott E. Williams
Author: John Lister
Author: New Jack,
Author: Thom Loverro
Author: Jon Barber
Author: Tim Hornbaker
Author: Shaun Assael
Author: Mick Foley
Author: Brian Solomon