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Guy Evans' Wrestling Book Bundle: 3 Incredible Pro Wrestling Books!

Guy Evans' Wrestling Book Bundle: 3 Incredible Pro Wrestling Books!

Regular price £49.00 GBP
Regular price £81.00 GBP Sale price £49.00 GBP
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This bundle is ONLY FOR UK WRESTLING FANS!

THREE of Guy Evans' incredible pro wrestling books - as seen on VICE TV's Who Killed WCW - all in one amazing bundle!

PLUS...this bundle is 40% off - buying the books individually via Amazon would cost £78!

PLUS...FREE SHIPPING TO THE UK IS INCLUDED!

The amazing books in this bundle include:

  • NITRO: The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner's WCW - the bestselling classic! Over 1,700 reviews on Amazon!
  • Sitting Ringside, Volume 1: WCW (co-authored by David Penzer) - brand new release with the former WCW ring announcer!
  • Grateful (co-authored by Eric Bischoff) - a unique collaboration with the former WCW President, covering his 2007-2002 career! 

NITRO Synopsis:

In April 1999, Entertainment Weekly asked its readers what many were surely wondering to themselves: how did wrestling get so big?

As a consequence of the heated ratings competition between World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), the spectacle had taken over Monday nights on prime-time cable television. But in a departure from the family-friendly programming produced by the last industry boom - the 1980s wave, which made household names of Hulk Hogan, 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper and Andre the Giant - the new era of wrestling combined stunning athleticism with a raunchy sex appeal, engrossing story lines and novel production techniques that reflected a changing society and its shifting values.

Once again, wrestling was a ubiquitous phenomenon - only this time, it seemed as though the fad would never end. With both WCW and WWF expanding into other forms of entertainment - movies, video games, music and the like - the potential for growth appeared to be limitless.

But with uncertainty surrounding its corporate future, and increasingly uninspired programming eroding its audience, WCW stood on the verge of collapse. Three years into a five-year plan devised by its charismatic leader - a former Blue Ribbon Foods salesman named Eric Bischoff - the company whose unexpected ascension initiated the entire boom was operating on borrowed time.

For by the end of the five-year plan, WCW ceased to exist.

But NITRO is a story about much more than WCW and the Monday Night Wars. It is a story of an era, a time in which the media and cultural landscape precipitated - and later supported - pro wrestling's mainstream popularity. It is a story of how a company made in the image of an intuitively brilliant risk-taker betrayed its original promise. It is a story of how a handful of men, each struggling with their own limitations, facilitated a public obsession that changed television forever.

And so, with the inside knowledge of a journalist, the perspective of a historian, and the passion of a fan, author Guy Evans provides a fresh look at an unfortunate inevitability - the downfall of World Championship Wrestling. Bolstered by exclusive interviews with over 120 former TBS and WCW employees, NITRO is the definitive picture of the last wrestling boom.

Featuring exclusive interviews and comments from:

Eric Bischoff, fmr. President of World Championship Wrestling;Harvey Schiller, fmr. President of Turner Sports;Jamie Kellner, fmr. CEO of Turner Broadcasting System;Bill Burke, fmr. President of TBS network;Joe Uva, fmr. President of Turner Entertainment Sales and Marketing; Scot Safon, fmr. SVP of Marketing for TNT network;Kevin Nash, WWE Hall of Famer and 5-time WCW world champion; Diamond Dallas Page, WWE Hall of Famer and 3-time WCW world champion;Vince Russo, fmr. WCW writer;Marcus 'Buff' Bagwell, fmr. WCW superstar and 5-time world tag team champion;Kevin Sullivan, fmr. WCW superstar and head booker;Hugh Morrus, fmr. WCW superstar;Neal Pruitt, fmr. WCW Feature Producer and voice of the nWo;David Crockett, fmr. WCW Vice President of Production;Dick Cheatham, fmr. Group Controller for TBS;Alan Sharp, fmr. WCW Director of Public Relations;Mike Weber, fmr. WCW Director of Marketing;Rob Garner, fmr. WCW Vice President of TV Programming and SalesJerry Jarrett, legendary wrestling promoter and booker...And many, many, many more!

Reviews

"The most definitive, well written and thoroughly researched book on the rise and fall of WCW."
--Eric Bischoff, former WCW President

"This is - without question - the very best book ever written on professional wrestling."
--Conrad Thompson

"Well written and captivating...a fresh take on [the] time period."
--Chris Harrington, AEW VP of Business Strategy

"...may be the best overall pro wrestling book to date."
--David Bixenspan, Deadspin

Sitting Ringside Synopsis:

From 1995 to 2001, Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling (WCW) famously battled Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation (WWF) for Monday night ratings supremacy. While on the WCW side, numerous autobiographical accounts have been written of the time period, relatively few participants witnessed the ‘War’ in its entirety. As the unmistakable ‘voice of WCW’ and its long-time ring announcer, David Penzer was featured on every episode of Monday Nitro and Thunder - the only on-screen personality in WCW to do so. Moreover, he witnessed the proceedings from the best seat in the house - ringside!

In this candid, revealing and highly entertaining memoir, Penzer recounts his unlikely journey to the big-time - from his humble beginnings in South Florida to the lofty heights of WCW and the ‘Monday Night Wars’. With an affable, engaging and self-effacing style, Penzer takes readers behind the curtain like never before, revealing both the personal and professional struggles he encountered in rising the ranks of a famously tough business.

In 
Sitting Ringside Volume 1, Penzer also ‘opens the vault’ on a veritable ‘treasure trove’ of bonus materials - from production notes, to show formats, to internal documents which he has kept for over 20 years. Fans may be surprised to discover what’s included!

As Kevin Sullivan states in the book’s foreword, Penzer was the “least likely to succeed in the wrestling business” - but over the course of a ten-year (1991-2001) association with WCW, Penzer became a utility player like no other. In addition to fulfilling the role of WCW’s lead ring announcer, Penzer provided assistance on the production end of the business, as well as talent relations, and even the creative department during the company’s dying days. As such, he provides an intriguing insiders’ account of WCW’s ‘rise and fall’ - delivered with unprecedented insight and perspective.

In particular, Penzer demonstrates an astute, compelling, and highly nuanced view of several of his most well-known contemporaries, including:

  • ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper;
  • Chris Jericho;
  • Eric Bischoff;
  • Kevin Sullivan;
  • Vince Russo;
  • Dusty Rhodes;
  • Jody Hamilton;
  • Tony Schiavone;
  • ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund; and
  • Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan.

Co-written by NITRO author Guy Evans, Sitting Ringside Volume 1 is a unique look at an historic era in pro wrestling - and one man’s dream to be a part of it.

Foreword by Kevin Sullivan
Contains rare documents, show formats and notes from behind the scenes at World Championship Wrestling!
Print Length: 500 pages

Grateful Synopsis:

The follow-up to former WCW President Eric Bischoff’s first autobiography, Grateful picks up where Controversy Creates Cash left off!

Produced in partnership with NITRO author Guy Evans, Grateful covers Bischoff’s post 2006-career, including his WWE return, AEW involvement, TNA experience and much more.

Explore the unlikely journey that culminated in Bischoff’s surprise induction into the WWE Hall of Fame!

Reviews
"A hell of a read...some incredible stuff on [Hulk] Hogan, being a son and father, aging, Vince McMahon and more. Well worth checking out...[a] truly enjoyable and emotional book."
--Mike Johnson, PWInsider

"Bischoff’s take on his [2019 WWE return], the reality of what he was in charge of versus what was reported at the time, is valuable knowledge to take away from the book...[furthermore], the bonus content makes the book more than worth the price."
--Greg Parks, Pro Wrestling Torch

"More than just a wrestling book...this is a life book...something really special."
--Conrad Thompson, AdFreeShows

Excerpt

Albuquerque, N.M., March 2016: I’m sitting in the back of a pickup truck in the parking lot of the Westside Community Center, waiting to make my appearance on an independent wrestling show. It took me about eight hours to drive here, but with only minutes to go before showtime, I’ll be damned if anybody sees me now. To the promoter of tonight’s event, I have repeated my feelings ad nauseum: just keep this thing a secret.

Don’t tell anyone who doesn’t need to know.

It’s hard not to smile back here. The assembled crowd – perhaps a few hundred of them in total – clearly don’t suspect a thing. As they excitedly file into the venue, it looks like some of the performers in tonight’s show have blended in with them. The very idea of a similar scene occurring elsewhere – prior to an episode of WWE’s Monday Night Raw, for example – makes my smile even wider.

One thing is for sure - the contrast between the two worlds is fascinating. This small venue – likely one of the more, ahem, affordable settings that the Destiny Wrestling Organization could get a hold of – doesn’t have any of the trappings of a major arena. In fact, it’s situated in an area that would never be confused with other, more affluent parts of town – and that’s being kind.

Still, I’m here, and not by necessity, by the way – I’m here by choice.

----

Sitting in my truck, I think back to an event produced under entirely different circumstances; specifically, my on-screen debut with WWE, the industry leader, televised to millions some 14 years earlier. On that night, the reaction to my surprise appearance – immortalized forever on WWE television – would become almost as famous as the appearance itself. Memorably, and shockingly, it was Vince McMahon himself - once my bitter business rival during the previous decade – with whom I embraced on the stage at Continental Airlines Arena.

That rumbling beneath your feet, I told Vince as 17,000 fans became unglued, is a whole lot of people turning over in their graves.

My agreement then to sign with Vince, the Chairman and driving force of WWE, sent shockwaves throughout the entire wrestling world...

...But here on this night – right now in Albuquerque - the final few patrons are starting to shuffle in. I could be wrong, but it looks like one guy may have spotted me in my truck. I see him slowly turn back to enter the building, and that’s enough for me - the time to wait is over. I glance left, glimpse right, and soon make an immediate beeline for the backdoor entrance.

One step inside, and my grin is incandescent: I’m in.

Grateful features exclusive bonus content - enabled via QR codes - at the end of each chapter!

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