The antagonists-oiled, shaved, pierced, and tattooed; the glaring lights; the pounding music; the shouting crowd: professional wrestling is at once spectacle, sport, and business. Steel Chair to the Head provides a multifaceted look at the popular phenomenon of pro wrestling. The contributors combine critical rigor with a deep appreciation of wrestling as a unique cultural form, the latest in a long line of popular performance genres. They examine wrestling as it happens in the ring, is experienced in the stands, is portrayed on television, and is discussed in online chat rooms. In the process, they reveal wrestling as an expression of the contradictions and struggles that shape American culture.The essayists include scholars in anthropology, psychology, film studies, communication studies, and sociology, one of whom used to wrestle professionally. Classic studies of wrestling by Roland Barthes, Carlos Monsivais, Sharon Mazer, and Henry Jenkins appear alongside original essays. Whether exploring how pro wrestling inflects race, masculinity, and ideas of reality and authenticity; how female fans express their enthusiasm for male wrestlers; or how lucha libre provides insights into Mexican social and political life, Steel Chair to the Head gives due respect to pro wrestling by treating it with the same thorough attention usually reserved for more conventional forms of cultural expression. Contributors. Roland Barthes, Douglas L. Battema, Susan Clerc, Laurence de Garis, Henry Jenkins III, Henry Jenkins IV, Heather Levi, Sharon Mazer, Carlos Monsivais, Lucia Rahilly, Catherine Salmon, Nicholas Sammond, Phillip Serrat, Philip Sewell

A competition of strength, endurance, and strategy, wrestling is one of the world's oldest sports, boasting such famous participants as Plato, Henry VIII, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln. The author provides a compelling look at the different styles and maneuvers of wrestling. Vibrant photos and informative writing bring this sport to life for the reader.

This meticulously crafted and searing critique of pro wrestling is unlike any wrestling book published: Chokehold is a penetrating description of pro wrestling's dark side, a secret underworld of deception, exploitation and greed. The storyteller is "Big Jim" Wilson, All-American football player and survivor of seven years in the NFL, who was promised wealth and the world championship as pro wrestler. Instead, Jim Wilson found a surprisingly lucrative sports entertainment industry built on a pyramid of secrets that included abusive control of its performers and a long history of illegal business practices and corruption of politicians and state athletic commissions. Chokehold describes and documents the abuses that Jim Wilson witnessed and endured - blacklisting, strong-arm tactics, homosexual blackmail, defiance of the U.S. Justice Department and bribery of TV executives and arena managers. Chokehold is an explosive indictment of the pro wrestling industry's business practices as well as a thoughtful proposal for pro wrestling's reform. This book is not a conventional expos' of pro wrestling's orchestrated stunts, gimmicks and blade jobs. Instead, it is an unprecedented examination of pro wrestling's less visible cons outside the ring -- its hidden manipulation of wrestlers with broken promises and broken bones and a backstage power of the pencil that writes scripts for wrestler stardom or extinction. Chokehold describes a secret slice of the wrestling life where traveling troupes of heels and babyfaces understand how they got into the game, but cannot find a way up or out. This is the story of why and how the big guys almost always lose. Chokehold is part autobiography and part pro wrestling history. Written in wrestlespeak (the industry's insider argot), it is dedicated to the memory of "the older boys whose broken bodies and shattered lives should have taught us something." In addition to Jim Wilson's experiences in The Bus

On 23 May 1999 in the midst of a World Wrestling Federation stunt, wrestler Owen Hart plummeted eight stories from the top of Kansas City's Kemper Arena to his death on the hard canvas of the wrestling ring. His death, witnessed by 16,000 live audience members and millions more on TV lead to a brutal seventeen-month legal battle of finger pointing for responsibility. In this book, Owen's wife speaks poignantly about her days by Owen's side, the life that they created for their two children, and the tremendous loss that she has been confronted with every day. From their days as high school sweethearts to Owen's performances in sold-out stadiums, she illuminates the tragic story of this modern gladiator and his horrific demise brought on by the neglect of the professional wrestling world.

Spanning the "Roaring Twenties," Prohibition and The Great Depression, Pile Driver is set in one of the most colorful periods of United States history. The story of Charles Berthold Fischer reveals hardship, humility and honor. Wrestling honestly in a dishonest era, Fischer, standing but 5'3," simultaneously held middleweight and light heavyweight world titles. Despite national sports figure status, Charlie was never ashamed to declare Butternut, Wisconsin, as his home. A man to whom many taller men looked up, Pile Driver is the untold story of an exceptional individual: Charles "Midget" Fischer.

"This searing confessional reads like a novel and is just as suspenseful...Any female athlete would be interested in this story." -- Library Journal Lisa Whitsett grew up in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where she began the first of 27 years dedicated to sports and athletics. Her experiences as a mental health counselor and her adventures as a business consultant motivated her to write about development, change and transformation. Beneath the Armor of an Athlete was inspired by her own experiences of personal growth as well as her clients'. While many sports books contribute to a reader's athletic development, this book also focuses on the private, personal development of the athlete. Beneath the Armor of an Athlete is the story of a female Olympic Freestyle wrestler. Her love for the sport and striving for success expose her to rare challenges, all of which introduce new experiences in her life. From all-male wrestling camps and tournaments to the competitive ranks of national and international women's freestyle wrestling, this athlete learns that her sport is the gateway to learning more about who she really is and what she is capable of becoming.

Grappling (wrestling) is probably the oldest genre of combat known to man. Throughout the world, wrestling and grappling have been part of every culture, probably due to the fact that pulling, holding, lifting and carrying are far more natural to us as living and working human beings than punching and striking. This manual takes the reader step by step through the moves and techniques required to become competent in the grappling arts. These moves can be used to compliment other forms of martial arts, or used alone in close-range self defence. Topics covered include beating kickers and punchers, history of grappling, training equipment, safety in practice, vertical grappling, groundwork, joint locks, throws, stance and grips.

The millions of fans who watch World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) programs each year are well aware of their role in building the narrative of the sport. #WWE: Professional Wrestling in the Digital Age explores the intersections between media, technology, and fandom in WWE's contemporary programming and business practices. In the Reality Era of WWE (2011 to the present), wrestling narratives have increasingly drawn on real-life personalities and events that stretch beyond the story-world created and maintained by WWE. At the same time, the internet and fandom have a greater influence on the company than ever before. By examining various sites of struggle and negotiation between WWE executives and in-ring performers, between the product and its fans, and between the company and the rest of the wrestling industry, the contributors to this volume highlight the role of various media platforms in shaping and disseminating WWE narratives. Treating the company and its product not merely as sports entertainment, but also as a brand, an employer, a company, a content producer, and an object of fandom, #WWE conceptualizes the evolution of professional wrestling's most successful company in the digital era.

In 1997, World Championship Wrestling was on top. It was the number-one pro wrestling company in the world, and the highest-rated show on cable television. Each week, fans tuned in to Monday Nitro, flocked to sold-out arenas, and carried home truckloads of WCW merchandise. It seemed the company could do no wrong.
But by 2001, however, everything had bottomed out. The company -- having lost a whopping 95% of its audience -- was sold for next to nothing to Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment. WCW was laid to rest.
What went wrong? This expanded and updated version of the bestselling "Death of WCW" takes readers through a detailed dissection of WCW's downfall, including even more commentary from the men who were there and serves as an object lesson -- and dire warning -- as WWE and TNA hurtle toward the 15th anniversary of WCW's demise.

Take a look back at the Golden Era of wrestling with some of the spectacular merchandise from that awesome time. Featured here is the story of the wrestling merchandise that could be found as pro wrestling took the world by storm. Featuring action figures, gym bags, whacky T-shirts, VHS tapes and much more, this is merchandise that excited a generation. Kevin Williams, also the author of Wrestling Action Figures of the Early 1990s, will take you back in time to grapple with your wrestling passion.

The millions of fans who watch World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) programs each year are well aware of their role in building the narrative of the sport. #WWE: Professional Wrestling in the Digital Age explores the intersections between media, technology, and fandom in WWE's contemporary programming and business practices. In the Reality Era of WWE (2011 to the present), wrestling narratives have increasingly drawn on real-life personalities and events that stretch beyond the story-world created and maintained by WWE. At the same time, the internet and fandom have a greater influence on the company than ever before. By examining various sites of struggle and negotiation between WWE executives and in-ring performers, between the product and its fans, and between the company and the rest of the wrestling industry, the contributors to this volume highlight the role of various media platforms in shaping and disseminating WWE narratives. Treating the company and its product not merely as sports entertainment, but also as a brand, an employer, a company, a content producer, and an object of fandom, #WWE conceptualizes the evolution of professional wrestling's most successful company in the digital era.