Pro Wrestling FAQ

All That's Left to Know About the World's Most Entertaining Spectacle

Brian Solomon

• Publisher: Backbeat
• Year: 2000
• eBook ISBN:
  9781617136283
• Edition: 1

Sport? Entertainment? Art form? Perhaps a bit of all three, with a certain intangible extra something thrown in for good measure, making professional wrestling a truly unique entity unto itself. From its origins in carnivals and sideshow attractions of the 19th century, right up to the multimillion-dollar, multimedia industry of the present day, and all the bizarre, wild, and woolly points in between, Pro Wrestling FAQ delves into the entire history and broad scope of one of popular culture's most enduring yet ever-changing spectacles.

With chapters devoted to the many fascinating eras in the history of the business, as well as capsule biographies of some its most memorable and important figures, this book will serve as the ultimate one-volume reference guide for both long-time wrestling nuts and initiates to the grappling phenomenon.

Revisit the legendary 1911 "Match of the Century" pitting World Champion Frank Gotch against archrival George Hackenschmidt, "the Russian Lion"; experience wrestling's TV golden age in the 1950s, a time of such colorful personages as Gorgeous George and Antonino Rocca; relive the glory days of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, when WWF impresario Vince McMahon took the business mainstream; and get the lowdown on recent favorites, such as John Cena, CM Punk, and others who have taken the business boldly into the 21st century.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Before the Bell
• 1. Kayfabe: Wrestling’s Time-Honored Code of Secrecy
• 2. Let There Be Tights: Wrestling’s Carny Origins
• 3. Legit Tough Guys: Wrestling’s Heyday as an Actual Sport
• 4. Slam Bang Western Style: How the Gold Dust Trio Invented Modern Pro Wrestling
• 5. Wrestling as You Liked It: The Golden Age of Television
• 6. Gentlemen’s Agreement: The Glory Days of the Territorial System
• 7. Rock and Wrestling: The ’80s Explosion
• 8. Are You Ready?: How Wrestling Got “Attitude”
• 9. Theater of the Absurd: Wrestling as Performance
• 10. National Wrestling Alliance: Grappling’s Venerated Monopoly
• 11. What the World Is Watching: WWE, Wrestling’s Most Powerful Empire
• 12. Lucha Libre: A Proud Mexican Tradition
• 13. Puroresu: Japan’s Wrestling Religion
• 14. Sex and Violence: The Queens of the Ring
• 15. From Parts Unknown: Wrestling’s Most Bizarre and Unforgettable Gimmicks
• 16. Tag Team Turmoil: Wrestling’s Dynamic Duos
• 17. Big Mouths and Bad Suits: The Vital Role of the Wrestling Manager
• 18. A Head for the Business: Fifteen Visionaries Who Changed the Course of Wrestling History
• 19. This Is Extreme: ECW and the Rise of Hardcore Wrestling
• 20. Double-Cross! The Monday Night War and Other Notorious Promotional Battles
• 21. The Dark Side of the Business: Wrestling’s Most Infamous Scandals and Controversies
• 22. In This Very Ring: Twenty-Five Matches That Have Defined the Business
• 23. The Gift of Gab: Wrestling’s Most Terrific Talkers
• 24. Small Shows, Big Hearts: The Independent Wrestling Scene
• 25. Calling the Action: Referees, Commentators, and Announcers
• 26. The State of the Game: Professional Wrestling Today
• 27. Shoots, Marks, Broadways, and Babyfaces: A Glossary of Insider Wrestling Terms
• Selected Bibliography