Listen free for 30 days

  • Nitro

  • The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner's WCW
  • Written by: Guy Evans
  • Narrated by: Guy Evans
  • Length: 17 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (49 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Nitro cover art

Nitro

Written by: Guy Evans
Narrated by: Guy Evans
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $31.26

Buy Now for $31.26

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

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.

*Features interviews and comments from 120+ WCW/TBS employees*

©2018 Guy Evans (P)2020 Guy Evans

What listeners say about Nitro

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    42
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    33
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    39
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The best WCW book bar none.

There was so much I did not know about the WCW until I listened to this book. Guy Evans does an amazing job to give us a "Front Office" type view of the biggest wrestling showh of the 1990s. It's refreshing as it's not just telling us the same We restler stories about jokes in the locker room and drug abuse but rather taking a serious scholarly look at how this show (and company) worked, what made it thrive, and eventually what killed it (The answer is more complex than you think. The author provides narration here and it's serviceable albeit a slight bit too slow but otherwise clear and entertaining enough. If you're a fan of 90s wrestling this is a must read/listen. I wish the Author could have his Eric Bischoff biography done in an audio format as well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • J
  • 2024-01-11

Excellent History

If you have a fond memory of the Monday Night War and the attitude era this is a must listen. Lots of behind the scenes perspectives and excellently narrated.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great for any wrestling fan during this era

almost an in depth view very interesting yo hear how it all went down. could've called it Eric Bischoff the ticking time bomb.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this book

There will always be an argument over what eneded WCW. This book gives you the answer, TBS execs and the Time Warner merger.
Add all the other issues that contributed, but hearing all the stuff going on in the offices and behind the scenes. Great read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

WCW Nitro Book

This book truly gives you another angle of what went down in WCW without WWE umbrella effecting the story.

I really enjoyed this while biking and plan to re listen!

Get it now!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

HORRIBLE NARATIVE

THIS WAS READER I HAVE EVER HEARD, AS THE BOOK JUMPS FROM COMPLETE DIFFERENT TOPICS IN SECONDS, SKIPPING WHOLE POINTS OF A TOPIC
THIS IS 1 BIG JUMBLED UP MESS!! NEVER STAYING ON POINT AND NOT UNDERSTANDING HOW 1 TOPIC RELATES TO ANOTHER!! HORRIBLE SUMMARY OF WCW DAYS! AWFUL VOICE! GIGANTIC WASTE OF MONEY

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful