Professional Wrestling

Earl Hebner used hard work and determination to become the most recognizable officiating name in professional wrestling, if not "the greatest of all time." Starting in Virginia as ring crew, he gained the respect of Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair, going on to referee NWA's biggest events. Then, in front of 33 million fans, Earl debuted on WWF's most-watched event ever as the evil twin ref who stole Hulk Hogan's title. As WWE senior official, he played an integral part in "The Montreal Screwjob", calling an unplanned controversial finish that screwed Bret Hart out of his championship for real. ...

You think you know Hollywood Hulk Hogan ? Think again. Listen to this and you'll learn how a fat kid named Terry Bollea grew up to help revolutionize the sport-as-entertainment industry. Along the way, lock up with the likes of Mr. T, Ted Turner, The Rock...and of course, Vince McMahon, head of World Wrestling Entertainment.

Bobby Blaze Smedley's forthright autobiography, Pin Me, Pay Me, Have Boots Will Travel, is a powerful and insightful look at the inner workings of the world of professional wrestling, written in an introspective story-telling style that puts you in the ring with him. Overcoming illness and adversity to rise to the heights of his chosen profession, Bobby takes you on the road and around the world as he realizes his lifelong dream, to be one of the rare individuals who earns his living as a professional wrestler.

The Matches Which Built and Crippled an Industry Frank Gotch turned pro wrestling from a fringe spectacle to one of the most popular spectator sports. Still, it took Gotch three years to lure undefeated World Champion George Hackenschmidt to the United States for a title defense. The result was two controversial but legitimate wrestling matches, whose effects were felt for the next two decades. Read the true story of this series of matches.

Lex Luger, wrestling mega-sensation and three-time world heavyweight champion, ruled the ring for years as "The Total Package." Yet backstage, he was wrestling with addictions to sex, drugs, and alcohol - things he clung to even when his mistress died suddenly of a drug overdose and Lex went to jail. In Wrestling with the Devil, Lex Luger reveals never-before-told stories from his career, his struggle with personal demons, and how, through unexpected faith, grace, and redemption, he overcame all odds to fight the only battle that really matters.

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.

Do Not Make Lewis Angry Powerfully built, skilled at submissions and vicious, Evan "Strangler" Lewis became the most feared professional wrestler of the 19th Century. Six Buffalo, New York police officers could not back Lewis down. This book takes a detailed look at Lewis' career inside and outside the ring including the two controversial matches with Sorakichi Matsada that forever marked him as a villain. The Catch Wrestler Other Wrestlers Avoided

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...

Rich Dad Poor Dad is Robert's story of growing up with two dads - his real father and the father of his best friend, his rich dad - and the ways in which both men shaped his thoughts about money and investing. The book explodes the myth that you need to earn a high income to be rich and explains the difference between working for money and having your money work for you. In the 20th anniversary edition of this classic, Robert offers an update on what we’ve seen over the past 20 years related to money, investing, and the global economy.

The legitimate professional wrestler who despised working matches. John "The Nebraska Tigerman" Pesek was born twenty years too late. A legitimate wrestler who debuted as the sport transitioned to working matches. Pesek was made for the late 19th Century wrestling ring. Promoters were wary of Pesek but only too happy to use his legitmate skills to end promotional wars and to double-cross adversaries. Learn the true story of one of professional wrestling's last great legitimate wrestlers.

The Art of Letting Go is all about organizing the mess in your mind. It's about how to stop focusing on the past that is over, or the future that may never occur, and being present in the situations that you can actually have agency in.

The One Opponent Frank Gotch Feared Wrestling fans believed no living man could defeat World Champion Frank Gotch. To stimulate fan interest, Gotch’s manager lured Stanislaus Zbyszko, a European Greco-Roman wrestling champion, to America for a match with Gotch. The pairing produced one of the most controversial falls in Gotch’s lengthy career. The controversy dogged both men for the next four years. Why Did Gotch Duck the Challenge of Stanislaus Zbyszko?

The early years of one of the top legitimate professional wrestlers of all-time Myths and tall tales obscure the true history of Ed "Strangler" Lewis' early years in professional wrestling. How many legitimate matches did Lewis wrestle prior to 1916? How did he really meet Billy Sandow? Why did he change his name to Ed "Strangler" Lewis? Learn the true history of Lewis' first five years in professional wrestling.

If you thought the world of pro wrestling was wild, imagine what you haven’t seen on TV and in the ring. Add to that the backdrop of building a renegade production company, negotiating with impossible wrestling talent, and hosting groundbreaking, shoot-style programming, and you have the story of Sean Oliver. Sean has seen industry-wide accolades for the company he co-founded and for which he serves as front man. Watch the unpredictable and unconventional story through Sean’s eyes.

Take a hardcore journey. Follow a wrestler who started with just a dream, then became everything his name says he is. See his early days, his training, and his first few steps into the WWF spotlight. Jump in the ring with Aldo Montoya, go on the road with the Kliq, and watch his incredible ECW transformation to the extreme. Then, in the main event, witness PJ Polaco battle his toughest opponent to date – the demons who tried to end his life, and his subsequent struggle to make a miraculous comeback. Wrestling fans of all kinds will agree that this book is not just the coolest, not just ...

Pastor and leadership development expert Steve Cuss explains how personal anxiety and leadership frustration is the result of not being “self-aware” and provides simple tools listeners can use to do something about it. Listeners will be empowered to take back control of their lives and lead in mature and vibrant ways.

From Nathan Rabin, the original head writer of the A.V Club, coiner of the phrase "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" and the author of Weird Al: The Book (with Al Yankovic), comes 7 Days in Ohio, the riveting concluding entry in the "Trilogy of Psychological Terror." The tragicomic, pop-culture-crazed trilogy began with 2009's The Big Rewind (which The New York Times hailed as "full of caustic wit") and continued with 2013's You Don't Know Me But You Don't Like Me, which was named by Rolling Stone and Slate as one of the best books of the year. The "If We Make It Through November expanded edition" ...

They were nomadic warriors, their business shrouded in secrecy. They navigated a world fraught with pitfalls. Abuse was rampant. Their world was perilous. And they had kids. This is the true story of pro wrestlers raising children while working the unrelenting road. All content was constructed via personal new interviews with the stars and their families. See how Sullivan, Atlas, Bischoff, Poffo, Russo, Santana, Bigelow, and more scored their most important wins and heartbreaking losses, told in a most riveting narrative style.

The last 16 decades are rife with incidents like the "Montreal Screwjob", but in this new audiobook, it's time for some unsung heroes of professional wrestling's past to finally get their due. When did tag team wrestling migrate from Australia to the United States? How did a mid-ring heart attack reshape lucha libre? What was the first intergender wrestling match? There’s an unlimited amount of angles from which to view the fits and starts of professional wrestling’s serpentine growth.

Fresh out of rehab, and on the verge of permanently becoming a Hollywood has-been, veteran and (formerly) well-respected TV producer Jillian Newkirk accepts the only job left in town for him - running the ratings-challenged Thursday Night Wrasslin’ for his ex-fiance’s struggling network. Jabroni: noun, 1) One who is paid to lose. 2) In professional wrestling, a wrestler who loses in order to make another wrestler look good. 3) Jillian Newkirk You’ve heard of David Chase (The Sopranos). You know Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad). Now, meet Jillian Newkirk, the writer of the biggest show ...