D-Generation X, or DX as they came to be known, was headed by Triple H and Shawn Michaels, two of the biggest Superstars in wrestling history, and had a changing roster of rebels who did whatever they wanted, whenever, wherever -- regardless of the ultimate outcome. First created in 1997 as a means for two friends to work together, the faction rapidly grew so popular with audiences and fans that other wrestlers were clamouring to join it.Their anti-establishment, authority-busting attitude was key to their appeal and they were instrumental in the success of WWE over the rival WCW, occupying a special place in the hearts and minds of wrestling fans to this day. Different incarnations of DX followed -- but always with Triple H and Shawn Michaels at their centre. DX were notorious for speaking their minds, no matter whom they provoked or how. Told by the men who created DX, this is their inside story.

Andre the Giant is known to millions beyond the boundaries of the wrestling ring. From his sheer size of 7' 4" and 500 pounds to his memorable acting role in The Princess Bride, the circumstances of his life and career ensured him recognition wherever he went. Born Andre Rousimmof in a small village in France in 1946 (to parents of average height, as were his four siblings) he suffered from acromegaly, or giantism, which results in an overabundance of growth hormones. By the age of seventeen Andre was 6 ' 7", and continued to grow throughout his life. At the time there was no treatment and life expectancy for this rare condition was forty-five. Determined to make the most of his life, Andre looked for a profession where he could put his size to good use and enjoy each day as if it were his last. As a wrestler he travelled to Canada and then to the USA where, under the aegis of Vince McMahon Sr, he quickly became a superstar, performing to crowds of up to 90,000. Chronicling his life and his phenomenal rise to stardom and featuring input from many who knew and worked with him, this book gives readers a unique insight into the man known and loved across the world as the gentle giant.

Everyone's got a price.
Everyone's got to pay.
'Cause the Million Dollar Man always gets his way.
After proving his point, Ted DiBiase would laugh and fan out his large roll of hundreds, worsening the degradation of whoever had been foolish enough to accept his challenge or get in his way. Defeated opponents -- put to sleep with his Million Dollar Dream -- would have the added humiliation of awakening to discover that the Million Dollar Man had been stuffing bills down their throats. Winning match after match, yet no closer to the championship, DiBiase wanted the title, but he couldn't seem to win it. His solution: pay Andre the Giant to win the title, make sure the referee was also "taken care of," and then have Andre hand the championship title over to him.
True to his taunt, the Million Dollar Man had gotten his way, and Ted DiBiase became the most hated person in sports entertainment.
Making his way to the top of the profession that he had loved since he was a child, Ted DiBiase never did anything by half measures. He couldn't, because the men he respected and worked side by side with expected that "Iron" Mike's kid would give his all. And each day while on the road learning what it was to be a wrestler, Ted remembered how his father had taught him to give his all every time. It was how his father lived -- and how he lost his life, dying during a wrestling match while Ted was still a boy.
From the dusty roads of Texas to the bayous of Louisiana, Ted moved from one wrestling promotion to another -- sometimes a babyface, other times a heel. He learned how to tell a story and how to draw the fans in, both inside and outside the ring. In 1987, Vince McMahon had an idea for a new character, the Million Dollar Man, and one person came to mind: Ted DiBiase. For nearly a decade, fans waited to see just how Ted could prove his adage that "Everyone's got a price." When he was sidelined by a neck injury, DiBiase started a second wrestling career, as a manager. He managed some of the biggest stars: Bam Bam Bigelow, King Kong Bundy, and a very green wrestler, the Ringmaster (who would later be known as Stone Cold Steve Austin).
Ted DiBiase, the Million Dollar Man, is fondly remembered by wrestling fans for his style and his command of the ring. This is the inside glimpse of three decades inside and outside the squared circle.

ECW burst onto the sports entertainment scene in the early 1990s and redefined the industry with a reckless, brutal, death-defying, and often bloody style that became known as 'hardcore'. In the process it attracted a rabid, cult-like following that is still going strong today. The ECW 'hardcore' style changed the wrestling business forever; and more than any other single factor it was the adoption of this 'new breed of wrestling' from the young upstart company by the WWE that was largely responsible for the subsequent WWE domination of the industry. Through extensive interviews with former ECW talent and management, fans will have an inside look at what made the company great -- and what led to its ultimate demise.

The 1980s ushered in the golden age of professional wrestling as television shifted from the scratchy, black and white screened grapplers of the earlier years to colorful, larger-than-life men like Hulk Hogan, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Jessie 'The Body' Ventura. Professional wrestling became the place to be, and the place to be seen. This was the era that cemented WWE as home to the best wrestlers on the planet. MAIN EVENT: WWE IN THE RAGING 80s dips into those years and reveals the most celebrated matches that are portrayed as not just the best of the eighties but the best of the ages. Everyone knows Hulk Hogan. This was his era. This is when he wrestled his most famous matches. But Hogan wasn't a lone figure -- he wrestled against and with some of the most colorful men in the business. Now, in vivid detail, their stories are told, from Andre the Giant to 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper and many, many more. Capturing every major Superstar and covering every major event, this is the retrospective that every wrestling fan with fond memories of this era will want to own.

"Classy" Freddie Blassie was universally acknowledged as one of the most hated heels in wrestling history. Freddie really knew how to antagonize the fans -- how to "get heat." Death threats were frequent, enraged fans stabbed him twenty-one times, and he was even doused with acid. Undeterred, Blassie just took the action up a level. He reveled in being the heel. It was commonplace to see him biting his opponents and then spitting out their blood. Blassie would routinely "file" his teeth during interviews. His matches in Los Angeles' Olympic Stadium brought him to the attention of Hollywood. Freddie's style and unpredictability made him a natural for the medium, and he became one of the biggest draws in the wrestling business. In the early '60s, he was invited to wrestle in Japan. Blassie both horrified and mesmerized sedate Japanese society.

At seventeen, Freddie made his wrestling debut in a carnival. Unhappy with his choice of occupation, his family persuaded him to get a "real" job, and for a while he worked as a meatcutter. But after serving in the Navy in World War II, Freddie returned to wrestling. Here he picked up his catch phrase: "pencil neck geek."

Early in his career, Blassie wrestled for Jess McMahon, and would later work for both his son, Vincent James McMahon, and his grandson, Vincent Kennedy McMahon, the current owner of World Wrestling Entertainment. (TM) When his days in the ring ended, "Classy" Freddie Blassie became the manager of heels, transferring to a whole new generation of wrestlers the style, moves, and ring knowledge that had made him a legend of wrestling.

Released just prior to his death, "Legends of Wrestling: "Classy" Freddie Blassie" containsvibrant tales of his days in wrestling with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Killer Kowalski, and the Iron Sheik. He frankly chronicles his dealings with the wrestling fraternity and the promoters, even recounting the infamous "boxer vs. wrestler" match with Muhammad Ali, who was managed by Blassie.

His out-of-the-ring stories are equally compelling. Freddie details his countless sexual exploits, and his three marriages. He reflects on the cult status that he gained after his song "Pencil Neck Geek" rocketed to the top of the Dr. Demento Show play list. He recounts his touching relationship with comedian Andy Kaufman, who cast him in "Breakfast with Blassie" -- an underground classic in which Blassie uttered: "What the hell ever happened to the human race?"

Added to this edition is an epilogue, recounting Freddie's last days and his unforgettable funeral.

Are you a real fan of World Wrestling Entertainment ®? Do you have ruthless aggression? Do you have to know it all -- and beyond? Now you can step up and prove it! Here for the first time, test just how much you really know in The Ultimate World Wrestling Entertainment Trivia Book. Not for the fan who just knows it all, but for the fan who lives it all!

1. Vince McMahon™'s first role in the WWE™was as a TV announcer. What Hall of Famer was his first broadcast partner?
a) Pat Patterson
b) Jesse "the Body" Ventura
c) Antonino Rocca

2. What was the outcome of the Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan™ match at WrestleMania™ IV?
a) Andre won by pinfall
b) Double disqualification
c) Time-limit draw
d) Hogan won by pinfall

3. After losing his Hardcore Championship -- on February 7, 2002 -- Undertaker™ took out his frustration on The Rock®, giving him a Tombstone™ on top of what type of vehicle?
a) Corvette
b) Truck
c) Zamboni
d) Limousine

4. Match the superstar with his/her hometown:
a) Maven
b) Brock Lesnar
c) Trish Stratus
d) Hardcore Holly
e) Eddie Guerrero
f) William Regal

1) El Paso, Texas
2) Charlottesville, Virginia
3) Minneapolis, Minnesota
4) Toronto, Ontario
5) Mobile, Alabama
6) Blackpool, England

Answers

1. c) Antonino Rocca

2. b) Double disqualification

3. d) Limousine

4. Match the superstar with his/her hometown:
a-2) Maven­Charlottesville, Virginia
b-3) Brock Lesnar­Minneapolis, Minnesota
c-4) Trish Stratus­Toronto, Ontario
d-5) Hardcore Holly­Mobile, Alabama
e-1) Eddie Guerrero­El Paso, Texas
f-6) William Regal­Blackpool, England

"The Wrestler's Body" tells the story of a way of life organized in terms of physical self-development. While Indian wrestlers are competitive athletes, they are also moral reformers whose conception of self and society is fundamentally somatic. Using the insights of anthropology, Joseph Alter writes an ethnography of the wrestler's physique that elucidates the somatic structure of the wrestler's identity and ideology.
Young men in North India may choose to join an "akhara, " or gymnasium, where they subject themselves to a complex program of physical and moral fitness. Alter's first-hand description of each detail of the wrestler's regimen offers a unique perspective on South Asian culture and society. Wrestlers feel that moral reform of Indian national character is essential and advocate their way of life as an ideology of national health. Everyone is called on to become a wrestler and build collective strength through self-discipline.

YES! YES! YES! Daniel Bryan is the real deal. Everyone's favorite underdog, he's proven to the world and to all of WWE that looks can be deceiving. Just ask everyone who's ever underestimated him...right before he went out and whipped the WWE Universe into a frenzy. This is Bryan's behind-the-scenes story told for the first time ever - from his beginnings as a child wanting to wrestle to his ten years on the circuit before finally making it in WWE. When his "YES!" chant becomes a full-fledged movement, his career skyrockets. This book chronicles all the hard work, values, influences, unique life choices and more leading to his watershed week at WrestleMania 30. You won't want to miss it. Yes! We're sure about this.

Few stones are left unturned in this account of the life of a champion professional wrestler old-time fans and wrestling historians remember well for his accomplishments in the ring, his run-'em-over approach to wrestling, his growly demeanor, and a razor-sharp wit he could unleash at will. Numerous people who knew Gene Kiniski firsthand-including boyhood friends and acquaintances in the Canadian prairie, fellow wrestlers and promoters who worked with him or against him, and people who became Kiniski's friends after he left the ring-recount touching stories and memories of an athlete and entertainer who was known internationally to a generation of wrestling fans and to Canadians everywhere as Canada's Greatest Athlete. In these pages, those who knew Kiniski best remember a giant of a man who impacted people around him even more than he impacted wrestling audiences in major centers in the United States, Canada, and Japan over the course of an outstanding career spanning well over three decades.

"How do you like me now?" In the ring and behind the scenes with Hardcore Holly Long before he became "Hardcore Holly," Robert Howard was a fighter. From humble beginnings -- a boy dominated by his disciplinarian stepfather but fueled by an unquenchable passion for pro wrestling -- Bob grew up struggling to make ends meet. As an adult with a family of his own to provide for, Bob fought in bars for money before finally following his dream of wrestling. From regional promotions all the way to the bright lights of the WWF, from false starts as Thurman "Sparky" Plugg and "Bombastic" Bob to fame as an internationally known superstar, The Hardcore Truth tells the story of Bob's life including his 16 years working for Vince McMahon. In this rollercoaster tale of success and frustration, replete with missed opportunities, broken promises, and a broken neck -- a story of fast bikes and faster cars, lost loves and wrestling bears, bar fights and betrayal -- Bob shares his uncompromised views on the present wrestling landscape with fascinating insights into the world leader in sports entertainment.

Cross Rhodes is the story of one of the most famous families in the history of the WWE, as told by Dustin Rhodes, first son of the legendary Dusty Rhodes, and older brother of emerging star, Cody Rhodes. As a young boy, Dustin tried to find himself while growing up in his father's shadow. Dusty wanted his son to play football, mostly to avoid the brutal business that was making him famous. But Dustin wanted nothing more than to follow his father into the world of professional wrestling. It wasn't until the middle of a painful five-year estrangement between father and son that Dustin finally stepped out of his father's boots - literally - and made a name for himself as Goldust. But for Dustin, the dark edges of the controversial character became a matter of art imitating life, and despite an emotional reunion with his father, redemption and rehabilitation were still well down the line...

At the age of eighteen, Chad Rowan left his home in rural Hawaii for Tokyo with visions of becoming a star athlete in Japan's national sport, sumo. Five years later, against the backdrop of rising U.S.-Japan economic tension, Rowan became the first gaijin (non-Japanese) to advance to sumo's top rank, yokozuna. His historic promotion was more a cultural accomplishment than an athletic one, since yokozuna are expected to embody highly prized Japanese values such as hard work, patience, strength, and hinkaku, a special kind of dignity thought to be available only to Japanese. Perhaps the defining moment of the gaijin's unique success occurred at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, when Rowan, chosen to personify ""Japanese"" to one of the largest television audiences in history, performed a sacred sumo ritual at the opening ceremony. ""Gaijin Yokozuna"" chronicles the events leading to that improbable scene at Nagano and beyond, tracing Rowan's life from his Hawaii upbringing to his 2001 retirement ceremony. Along the way it briefly examines the careers of two Hawaii-born sumotori who paved the way for Rowan, Jesse Kuhaulua (Takamiyama) and Salevaa Atisanoe (Konishiki). The author shares stories from family members, coaches, friends, fellow sumo competitors, and of course Rowan himself, whom he accompanied on three Japan-wide exhibition tours. The work is further informed by volumes of secondary source material on sumo, Japanese culture, and local Hawaii culture.

A breakthrough examination of the professional wrestling, its history, its fans, and its wider cultural impact
"The Squared Circle" grows out of David Shoemaker's writing for Deadspin, where he started the column "Dead Wrestler of the Week" (which boasts more than 1 million page views)--a feature on the many wrestling superstars who died too young because of the abuse they subject their bodies to--and his writing for Grantland, where he covers the pro wrestling world, and its place in the pop culture mainstream. Shoemaker's sportswriting has since struck a nerve with generations of wrestling fans who--like him--grew up worshipping a sport often derided as "fake" in the wider culture. To them, these professional wrestling superstars are not just heroes but an emotional outlet and the lens through which they learned to see the world.
Starting in the early 1900s and exploring the path of pro wrestling in America through the present day, "The Squared Circle "is the first book to acknowledge both the sport's broader significance and wrestling fans' keen intellect and sense of irony. Divided into eras, each section offers a snapshot of the wrestling world, profiles some of the period's preeminent wrestlers, and the sport's influence on our broader culture. Through the brawling, bombast, and bloodletting, Shoemaker argues that pro wrestling can teach us about the nature of performance, audience, and, yes, art.
Full of unknown history, humor, and self-deprecating reminiscence--but also offering a compelling look at the sport's rightful place in pop culture--"The Squared Circle "is the book that legions of wrestling fans have been waiting for. In it, Shoemaker teaches us to look past the spandex and body slams to see an art form that can explain the world.