Professional Wrestling

From ESPN reporter Marc Raimondi comes a compelling, gripping narrative history of professional wrestling’s legendary faction, The NWO (New World Order), from their inception in 1996 to their influence on American pop culture today. In 1996, professional wrestling was one of the most watched...

As a WWE wrestler with millions of fans, Shawn Michaels had adulation and all the attention he could ask for, but he found himself longing for something more. When he became a committed Christian at the height of his career, Shawn learned what it's like to be a man of faith in a secular arena...

A breakthroughexamination of professional wrestling - its history, its fans, and its widercultural impact - that does for the sport what Chuck Klosterman did for heavymetal

The Squared Circle grows out of David Shoemaker'swriting for both Deadspin, where hestarted the column "Dead Wrestler of the Week" - a feature on the many wrestlingsuperstars who died too young because of the abuse they subjected their bodiesto - and Grantland,where he covers the pro-wrestling world and its place in the pop culturemainstream. Shoemaker's sports writing has since struck a nerve withgenerations of wrestling fans who, like him, grew up worshiping a sport oftenderided as "fake" in the wider culture. To them, these professional wrestlingsuperstars are not just heroes but an emotional outlet and the lens throughwhich they learned to see the world.

Starting in the early 1900s and exploring the path of prowrestling in America through the present day, The Squared Circle is thefirst book to acknowledge both the sport's broader significance and wrestlingfans' keen intellect and sense of irony. Divided into eras, each section offersa snapshot of the wrestling world, profiles some of the period's preeminentwrestlers, and examines the sport's influence on our broader culture. Throughthe brawling, bombast, and bloodletting, Shoemaker argues that pro wrestlingcan teach us about the nature of performance, audience, and, yes, art.

Full of unknown history, humor, and self-deprecatingreminiscence - but also offering a compelling look at the sport's rightful placein pop culture - The Squared Circle is the book that legions of wrestlingfans have been waiting for. In it, Shoemaker teaches us to look past thespandex and body slams to see an art form that can explain the world.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Riveting, essential reading.” —Rick Perlstein, author of Reaganland This definitive biography of Vince McMahon, former WWE chairman and CEO, is “riveting, essential reading” (Rick Perlstein, New York Times bestselling author) as it charts his rise...

Ballyhoo! The Roughhousers, Con Artists, and Wildmen Who Invented Professional Wrestling is a history of professional wrestling’s formative period in the U.S., from roughly 1874 to 1941, and the contested interplay of wrestlers and promoters who built the “sport” as we know it. During this period, the major conventions that would define wrestling to the present day were perfected and codified, as wrestling morphed from a rough sport practiced on farms and at town gatherings to melodramatic mass entertainment that reliably drew large crowds in cities across the nation.

Virtually every big name in wrestling in the second half of the 20th Century crossed paths with "Ms. Christine," as she was known to most. If they followed her rules, Christine "Teeny" Jarrett probably taught them a thing or two about staying out of trouble and saving money for a rainy day. If they got out of line, they likely faced The Grip. Over the course of her 50-year career in wrestling, Teeny worked her way from selling tickets in the back of a Nashville, Tennessee shoe store to running a network of towns for Nick Gulas and Roy Welch...

The Wrestlers' Wrestlers spotlights elite performers and analyzes exactly what made them your favorite wrestler's favorite wrestlers. Authors Dan Murphy and Brian Young interviewed more than 40 in-ring veterans, historians, referees, and promoters to get a unique insider's look at the people who have made a lasting impact on the world of professional wrestling. It offers a special peek "behind the curtain" and a rare look into the top stars' thoughts on their peers, their influences, and their personal favorites.

Telling the remarkable tale of a man who is still remembered on the streets of New Orleans and in the hearts of professional-wrestling fans, this book aims to restore the overlooked Junkyard Dog to his proper place in the history books. In 1979, Sylvester Ritter, also known as the Junkyard Dog, managed to break one of the final color barriers in the sport by becoming the first Black wrestler named undisputed top star of his promotion, and this biography reveals all the famous feuds and business back stories that made him a wrestling legend.

In this first volume of his magisterial study of the foundations of Mormon thought and practice, Terryl L. Givens offers a sweeping account of Mormon belief from its founding to the present day. Situating the relatively new movement in the context of the Christian tradition, he reveals that Mormonism continues to change and grow.

Get ready to rumble, with this fun introduction to the world of professional wrestling Professional Wrestling For Dummies is the essential guide for fans eager to explore pro wrestling around the world―from the top American promotions to the vibrant Japanese scene and the high-flying spectacle...

This audiobook tells the story of the production of wrestling from black and white TV straight to the Internet. First, I discuss about the transition period from black and white TV to color TV and the transition to cable TV. It was the height of the territory wars, which featured the broken up territories of the NWA and the WWWF which became the WWF when Vince McMahon took over.

International pro wrestling star Jeff Bearden has gone by many names: Butch Masters, Giant Warrior, Big Tiger Steele, and Colossus the Gladiator. Under these guises, he became part of wrestling history. Enter the wild, bloody life of pro wrestling during its Golden Age, from the viewpoint of one of its “biggest” stars. At seven feet tall, Jeff Bearden towered over his competition from the time he premiered in territory wrestling in 1987, through the crazed and dangerous wrestling scenes, infamy, and championships.

John Arezzi was a lifelong Mets fan who dreamed of a job in baseball. In 1981, he took a job with the Mets Class A team in North Carolina. But Arezzi had another love: professional wrestling. Mat Memories is Arezzi's chance to hold the mic, and he holds nothing back - he names names and tells the untold behind-the-scenes stories: from the ring, the stage, and the diamond. 

Vince Russo, known as the most successful writer in the history of professional wrestling, brought the World Wrestling Federation to its greatest success during the Attitude Era, creating a brand of wrestling that brought the industry to record heights. Three decades later, Russo is still talked about as one of the most influential men in the industry.

The follow-up to former WCW President Eric Bischoff’s first autobiography, 'Grateful' picks up where 'Controversy Creates Cash' left off! Produced in partnership with 'NITRO' author Guy Evans, 'Grateful' covers Bischoff’s post 2006-career, including his WWE return, AEW involvement, TNA experience and much more.

As a kid growing up in New York in the late '50s, Bill Apter fell in love with professional wrestling, and it wasn't long before he was rubbing shoulders with the greats as a young reporter and photographer. He's since become the world's best-known wrestling magazine personality, and he's had professional and personal relationships with a who's who of the business, like Triple H, Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Sting, and Ric Flair.

Is there a way to find truth in the stuff of legend? You may think you know Andre the Giant - but who was Andre Roussimoff? This comprehensive biography addresses the burning questions, outrageous stories, and common misconceptions about his height, his weight, his drawing power as a superstar, and his seemingly unparalleled capacity for food and alcohol. But more importantly, The Eighth Wonder of the World transports listeners beyond the smoke and mirrors of professional wrestling into the life of a real man.

Are you settling for less than your full potential? Ryback, also known as "The Big Guy", may seem like he has it all - success as a professional athlete, health, money, and a physique to envy. But in Wake Up! It's Feeding Time he reveals that he hasn't always been so successful; he had to earn it. The key to his success - and yours too, if you heed his advice - is to "believe in yourself, even when nobody else does", set smart goals, and work toward achieving them.

In A Wrestling Life: The Inspiring Stories of Dan Gable, famed wrestler and wrestling coach Dan Gable tells engaging and inspiring stories of his childhood in Waterloo, Iowa; overcoming the murder of his sister as a teenager; his sports career from swimming as a young boy, to his earliest wrestling matches, through the 1972 Olympics; coaching at the University of Iowa from the Banachs to the Brands; life-changing friendships he made along the way; and tales of his family life off the mat.

The New York Times bestselling autobiography from WWE's Daniel Bryan, who has come out of retirement to get back in the ring. One of WWE's most unlikely champions of all time and also one of its most popular, Bryan has proved to the world and to all of WWE that looks can be deceiving. Just ask...