Hardcore Wrestling!

Hardcore Wrestling!
Author: Tyler Christian
Publisher: Sybex
Total Pages: 148
Release: 1999
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 9780782126914

This full-color guide covers the whole wrestling phenomenon, including moves, cheats, and strategies for all the top-selling wrestling video games. Inside information topics include: photos and profiles on top performers; background history; league information; wrestling moves and holds; and more.

Hardcore History

Hardcore History
Author: Scott E. Williams
Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2006
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1596700211

Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of ECW offers a frank, balanced look at the evolution of the company, starting even before its early days as a Philadelphia-area independent group called Eastern Championship Wrestling in 1992 and extending past the death of Extreme Championship Wrestling in 2001. Writer Scott E. Williams has pored through records and conducted dozens of interviews through records and conducted dozens of interviews with fans, company officials, business partners, and the wrestlers themselves to bring readers the most balanced account possible of this bizarre company.

Professional Wrestling and the Commercial Stage

Professional Wrestling and the Commercial Stage
Author: Eero Laine
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 179
Release: 2019-11-14
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 135113437X

Professional Wrestling and the Commercial Stage examines professional wrestling as a century-old, theatrical form that spans from its local places of performance to circulate as a popular, global product. Professional wrestling has all the trappings of sport, but is, at its core, a theatrical event. This book acknowledges that professional wrestling shares many theatrical elements such as plot, character, scenic design, props, and spectacle. By assessing professional wrestling as a neglected but prototypical case study in the global business of theatre, Laine argues that it is an exemplary form of globalizing, commercial theatre. He asks what theatre scholars might learn from pro wrestling and how pro wrestling might contribute to conversations beyond the ring, by considering the laboring bodies of the wrestlers, and analyzing wrestling’s form and content. Of interest to scholars and students of theatre and performance, cultural studies, and sports studies, Professional Wrestling and the Commercial Stage delimits the edges of wrestling’s theatrical frame, critiques established understandings of corporate theatre, and offers key wrestling concepts as models for future study in other fields.

Wrestling and Hypermasculinity

Wrestling and Hypermasculinity
Author: Patrice A. Oppliger
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2015-03-21
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0786481366

Professional wrestling revels in its exaggeration of masculinity. This hyper-masculinity is evident in the physical appearance of wrestlers, the sexuality-charged and violent moves used in and out of the ring, the role assigned to women and the extensive use of weapons such as chains, barbed wire and steel folding chairs. This study explores the link between watching televised wrestling matches and increases in verbal aggression, rebellion and propensity toward violence and retaliation. Wrestling is placed within the larger context of popular culture and other hyper-masculine entertainment. The book begins with a brief history of professional wrestling, a summary of the criticisms of the sport, and a discussion of the author's research methods. One chapter discusses how gender socialization plays a part in the effects of wrestling on its viewers, arguing that wrestling goes beyond the image of physically violent acts to models of interpersonal behavior. The expansion of wrestling into storylines outside the ring includes problem situations involving class, race, homophobia and nationality, to which violence is often presented as a solution. The book concludes with an investigation of the attractiveness of wrestling and its ability to lure fans back year after year.

Pro Wrestling

Pro Wrestling
Author: Keith Elliot Greenberg
Publisher: Lerner Publications
Total Pages: 136
Release: 2000-01-01
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9780822533320

A history of professional wrestling from its roots in legitimate sport to its days as a carnival attraction followed by the growth of regional rivalries and culminating as television-centered entertainment.

Wrestling's Greatest Moments

Wrestling's Greatest Moments
Author: Mike Rickard
Publisher: ECW Press
Total Pages: 429
Release: 2010-12-15
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1554903319

Brings readers the most memorable (and controversial) moments from the world of modern wresting.

Wrestling's New Golden Age

Wrestling's New Golden Age
Author: Ronald Snyder
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2017-08-08
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1683580214

Ever since the “Monday Night Wars,” where WWE and WCW battled for wrestling supremacy (with the WWE coming out on top), there was now only one game in town. If fans wanted to watch wrestling, it was WWE or bust. That is no longer the case. Wrestling’s New Golden Age is both a historical look at the sport, while showing how everything has finally come full circle. Going back to the past, the sport was originally territory-based, with wrestlers traveling across the country from promotion to promotion. From the East coast (Jim Crockett, WWWF) down to Texas (World Class) and all the way up to Canada (Stampede), wrestling was run on an individual level. But once Vince McMahon Jr. came into the picture, that all changed. While the territory system is long gone, indie wrestling is bigger than ever. Whether it’s ROH, CZW, NXT, NJPW, or any of the other numerous promotions, wrestling has a new face. With information spreading online through social media and video streaming, fans are able to watch wrestling on a consistent basis, as opposed to only when the WWE is on TV. They not only have more options, but are able to watch wrestlers travel up the ranks to the “big show.” Now when a wrestler from the indie’s makes his WWE appearance, he already has a gimmick, a storyline, and a faithful fanbase. As can be seen with CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and many others, the independent promotions are the new face of professional wrestling. Featuring interviews with wresting stars, including Jake Roberts, Jim Ross, Rob Van Dam, Matt Hardy, Tommy Dreamer, and numerous others, Wrestling’s New Golden Age shares how the wrestling world has finally come full circle, to the joy of fans across the globe.

World Wrestling Insanity Presents

World Wrestling Insanity Presents
Author: James Guttman
Publisher: ECW Press
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2010-12-15
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1554903289

An unprecedented look behind the scenes of professional wrestling with over 100 of its most beloved stars. This latest offering from bestselling author Guttman tells the real story behind contacting, cajoling, convincing and interviewing the unique personalities from the field. Readers can journey with Guttman through the sometimes-twisted business of sports entertainment, making startling discoveries about the way the industry really works. And, for the first time, Guttman offers keen insight into the true personalities in the wrestling ring.

(Un)Controlled Chaos

(Un)Controlled Chaos
Author: Vance Nevada
Publisher: FriesenPress
Total Pages: 479
Release: 2022-08-19
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1039154816

The heroic feats of ring gladiators have taken wrestling fans on an emotional journey—living vicariously through every body slam, dropkick, and piledriver. The investment of the crowd is demonstrated by their roars of excitement, their cheers for their heroes, and their catcalls at nasty ring villains. (Un)Controlled Chaos: Canada’s Remarkable Professional Wrestling Legacy re-lives those unforgettable moments between the ropes. It provides a fascinating snapshot of the world behind the curtain, and a glimpse into the lives of the men and women who have both competed in the ring and served as the very architects of the industry.

Wrestle Radio U. S. A.

Wrestle Radio U. S. A.
Author: Vinnie Carolan
Publisher: ECW Press
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2004
Genre: Electronic books
ISBN: 1550226460

Interviews with more than 30 wrestling performers, conducted between 1992 and 1997, offer firsthand accounts stretching as far back as the 1930s and provide a glimpse into the lives of grapplers and those involved in the industry today.