The Essential Legal Guide for the Professional Wrestler

Download The Essential Legal Guide for the Professional Wrestler PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781403313447
Total Pages : 120 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (134 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Essential Legal Guide for the Professional Wrestler by : Eric C. Perkins

Download or read book The Essential Legal Guide for the Professional Wrestler written by Eric C. Perkins and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The year is 2123 and the world has changed greatly from the one that existed in the 20th century, and not for the better. America is no longer a world power, the dollar is no longer the world's standard unit of currency, and the world is still trying to recover from a world wide economic disaster. Every aspect of life has undergone major changes, including the Christian religion, which has suffered a serious loss of credibility since Christ failed to return at the beginning of the 3rd millennium.. Wars have changed, and continue to change, the face of the world map. The worst of these wars are to be found in the Muslim world that is still trying to recover from two major wars with the Jews in which they suffered major defeats. The Muslims lost all that they had gained during the end of the 20th century and now no longer have access to the Holy sites in what is left of Jerusalem. The Muslim world is suffering from a lack of both unity and leadership such as they have not known for many years. Into this void comes a man of charisma and mystery, who holds out the promise of order and peace to a world that desperately needs it. This man holds out this promise not only to the Muslim world, but to everyone, everywhere. To the world at large, he offers the economic stability and prosperity that can only come with world wide peace. To the Jews, he offers to end the conflict between themselves and the sons of Ishamel forever. To the Muslims, he offers a return to the Holy sites of Jerusalem without conflict. To the Arabs, he offers a return to the glories of the reign of Salah al-Din, known to the West as Saladin the Great. Could this be the Mahdi that Islam has been waiting for? This man that comes to be known as.......The Arab. A novel of a world that may really come one day.....and a warning.

Professional Wrestling and the Law

Download Professional Wrestling and the Law PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476692971
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (766 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Professional Wrestling and the Law by : Alex B. Long

Download or read book Professional Wrestling and the Law written by Alex B. Long and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2024-05-24 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by a law professor (who also happens to be a wrestling fan), this book is an entertaining and informative exploration of legal cases involving professional wrestling. Relying upon judicial decisions and court documents, it discusses the legal theories and procedures involved in legal disputes involving professional wrestling and explores how the legal system--an institution devoted to arriving at the truth involved in any conflict--has dealt with the business of professional wrestling, a business with a long history of obscuring the truth. Topics include: the legal issues involved when a wrestler goes into the crowd and beats up a fan; Hulk Hogan's defamation lawsuit against World Championship Wrestling for statements made during a live pay-per-view event; and race and sex discrimination in professional wrestling.

Professional Wrestling and the Law

Download Professional Wrestling and the Law PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476652007
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (766 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Professional Wrestling and the Law by : Alex B. Long

Download or read book Professional Wrestling and the Law written by Alex B. Long and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2024-05-02 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by a law professor (who also happens to be a wrestling fan), this book is an entertaining and informative exploration of legal cases involving professional wrestling. Relying upon judicial decisions and court documents, it discusses the legal theories and procedures involved in legal disputes involving professional wrestling and explores how the legal system--an institution devoted to arriving at the truth involved in any conflict--has dealt with the business of professional wrestling, a business with a long history of obscuring the truth. Topics include: the legal issues involved when a wrestler goes into the crowd and beats up a fan; Hulk Hogan's defamation lawsuit against World Championship Wrestling for statements made during a live pay-per-view event; and race and sex discrimination in professional wrestling.

The Squared Circle

Download The Squared Circle PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1592408818
Total Pages : 402 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (924 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Squared Circle by : David Shoemaker

Download or read book The Squared Circle written by David Shoemaker and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2014-11-04 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Wrestling to Rasslin

Download Wrestling to Rasslin PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Popular Press
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 180 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Wrestling to Rasslin by : Gerald W. Morton

Download or read book Wrestling to Rasslin written by Gerald W. Morton and published by Popular Press. This book was released on 1985 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Wrestling to Rasslin' traces the roots of one of man's oldest competitive sports. Beginning in sporting bars in the late 1800s and graduating to Barnum sideshow tents, wrestling has thrilled the world over with such early athletes as William Muldoon, George Hackenschmidt, and Tom Jenkins. After World War II and the advent of television, wrestling took a turn toward the dramatic, emphasizing conflicts between good and evil.

Hitman

Download Hitman PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Vintage Canada
ISBN 13 : 0307371468
Total Pages : 594 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (73 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Hitman by : Bret Hart

Download or read book Hitman written by Bret Hart and published by Vintage Canada. This book was released on 2009-02-24 with total page 594 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his own words, Bret Hart’s honest, perceptive, startling account of his life in and out of the pro wrestling ring. The sixth-born son of the pro wrestling dynasty founded by Stu Hart and his elegant wife, Helen, Bret Hart is a Canadian icon. As a teenager, he could have been an amateur wrestling Olympic contender, but instead he turned to the family business, climbing into the ring for his dad’s western circuit, Stampede Wrestling. From his early twenties until he retired at 43, Hart kept an audio diary, recording stories of the wrestling life, the relentless travel, the practical jokes, the sex and drugs, and the real rivalries (as opposed to the staged ones). The result is an intimate, no-holds-barred account that will keep readers, not just wrestling fans, riveted. Hart achieved superstardom in pink tights, and won multiple wrestling belts in multiple territories, for both the WWF (now the WWE) and WCW. But he also paid the price in betrayals (most famously by Vince McMahon, a man he had served loyally); in tragic deaths, including the loss of his brother Owen, who died when a stunt went terribly wrong; and in his own massive stroke, most likely resulting from a concussion he received in the ring, and from which, with the spirit of a true champion, he has battled back. Widely considered by his peers as one of the business’s best technicians and workers, Hart describes pro wrestling as part dancing, part acting, and part dangerous physical pursuit. He is proud that in all his years in the ring he never seriously hurt a single wrestler, yet did his utmost to deliver to his fans an experience as credible as it was exciting. He also records the incredible toll the business takes on its workhorses: he estimates that twenty or more of the wrestlers he was regularly matched with have died young, weakened by their own coping mechanisms, namely drugs, alcohol, and steroids. That toll included his own brother-in-law, Davey Boy Smith. No one has ever written about wrestling like Bret Hart. No one has ever lived a life like Bret Hart’s. For as long as I can remember, my world was filled with liars and bullshitters, losers and pretenders, but I also saw the good side of pro wrestling. To me there is something bordering on beautiful about a brotherhood of big tough men who pretended to hurt one another for a living instead of actually doing it. Any idiot can hurt someone. —from Hitman

The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling

Download The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Ten Speed Graphic
ISBN 13 : 0399580506
Total Pages : 186 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (995 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling by : Aubrey Sitterson

Download or read book The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling written by Aubrey Sitterson and published by Ten Speed Graphic. This book was released on 2018-10-02 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the host of the critically acclaimed pro wrestling podcast Straight Shoot, this graphic novel history of wrestling features the key grapplers, matches, and promotions that shaped this beloved sport and form of entertainment. As a pop culture phenomenon, professional wrestling--with its heroic babyfaces and villainous heels performing suplexes and powerbombs in pursuit of championship gold--has conquered audiences in the United States and around the world. Now, writer/podcaster Aubrey Sitterson and illustrator Chris Moreno form a graphic novel tag team to present wrestling's complete illustrated history. Featuring legendary wrestlers like Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, and The Rock, and modern-day favorites like John Cena, Kenny Omega, and Sasha Banks, the book covers wrestling's progress from the carnival days of the Gold Dust Trio to the dominance of the WWF/WWE to today's diverse independent wrestling scene, and it spotlights wrestling's reach into Mexico/Puerto Rico (lucha libre), the U.K. (all-in), and Japan (puroresu).

Performance and Professional Wrestling

Download Performance and Professional Wrestling PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1317385071
Total Pages : 226 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (173 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Performance and Professional Wrestling by : Broderick Chow

Download or read book Performance and Professional Wrestling written by Broderick Chow and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2016-08-12 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Performance and Professional Wrestling is the first edited volume to consider professional wrestling explicitly from the vantage point of theatre and performance studies. Moving beyond simply noting its performative qualities or reading it via other performance genres, this collection of essays offers a complete critical reassessment of the popular sport. Topics such as the suspension of disbelief, simulation, silence and speech, physical culture, and the performance of pain within the squared circle are explored in relation to professional wrestling, with work by both scholars and practitioners grouped into seven short sections: Audience Circulation Lucha Gender Queerness Bodies Race A significant re-reading of wrestling as a performing art, Performance and Professional Wrestling makes essential reading for scholars and students intrigued by this uniquely theatrical sport.

Steel Chair to the Head

Download Steel Chair to the Head PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Duke University Press
ISBN 13 : 0822334380
Total Pages : 380 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (223 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Steel Chair to the Head by : Nicholas Sammond

Download or read book Steel Chair to the Head written by Nicholas Sammond and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2005-01-13 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 Monsiváis, 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 Monsiváis, Lucia Rahilly, Catherine Salmon, Nicholas Sammond, Phillip Serrat, Philip Sewell

Professional Wrestling

Download Professional Wrestling PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Enactments
ISBN 13 : 9780857427946
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (279 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Professional Wrestling by : Sharon Mazer

Download or read book Professional Wrestling written by Sharon Mazer and published by Enactments. This book was released on 2020-11-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A wildly popular form of mass media and live entertainment, professional wrestling makes a spectacle of violent acts. With its long history of working contemporary events into storylines and commenting upon cultural and military conflicts, professional wrestling is also intrinsically political. Its performance--theatricalities, machinations and conditions of production, figurations, and audiences--arises from and engages with the world around. Whether flowing with the mainstream of popular culture or fighting at the fringes, professional wrestling shows us how we are fighting, what we are fighting about, and what we are fighting for. This edited volume asks how professional wrestling is implicated in the current resurgence of populist politics, whether right-wing and Trump-inflected, or leftist and socialist. How might it do more than reflect and, in so doing, reaffirm the status quo? While provoked by the disruptive performances of Trump as candidate and president, and mindful of his longstanding ties to the WWE, this timely volume looks more broadly and internationally at the infusion of professional wrestling's worldview into the twinned discourses of politics and populism. The contributors are scholars from a wide range of disciplines: theater and performance studies; cultural, media, and communication studies; anthropology and sociology; and gender and sexuality studies. Together they argue that the game's popularity and its populist tendencies open it to the left as well as to the right, to contestation as well as to conformity, making it an ideal site for working on feminist and activist projects and ideas.

Fighting for Recognition

Download Fighting for Recognition PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Duke University Press
ISBN 13 : 0822376407
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (223 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Fighting for Recognition by : R. Tyson Smith

Download or read book Fighting for Recognition written by R. Tyson Smith and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2014-07-21 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Fighting for Recognition, R. Tyson Smith enters the world of independent professional wrestling, a community-based entertainment staged in community centers, high school gyms, and other modest venues. Like the big-name, televised pro wrestlers who originally inspired them, indie wrestlers engage in choreographed fights in character. Smith details the experiences, meanings, and motivations of the young men who wrestle as "Lethal" or "Southern Bad Boy," despite receiving little to no pay and risking the possibility of serious and sometimes permanent injury. Exploring intertwined issues of gender, class, violence, and the body, he sheds new light on the changing sources of identity in a postindustrial society that increasingly features low wages, insecure employment, and fragmented social support. Smith uncovers the tensions between strength and vulnerability, pain and solidarity, and homophobia and homoeroticism that play out both backstage and in the ring as the wrestlers seek recognition from fellow performers and devoted fans.

50 Greatest Professional Wrestlers of All Time

Download 50 Greatest Professional Wrestlers of All Time PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : ECW Press
ISBN 13 : 1770903054
Total Pages : 663 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (79 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis 50 Greatest Professional Wrestlers of All Time by : Larry Matysik

Download or read book 50 Greatest Professional Wrestlers of All Time written by Larry Matysik and published by ECW Press. This book was released on 2013-03-14 with total page 663 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No-holds-barred, honest, and objective, this is a definitive look at the greatest pro wrestlers who ever stepped through the ropes. Blending the old and the new and delving into what made these 50 remarkable performers the best in their sport, this guide illustrates their contributions to the massively popular spectacle of the wrestling world. The antidote to the marketing-motivated claims made by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is provided here, sweeping aside the corporate profit motive of listing standouts who can sell DVDs and dolls and instead shooting from the hip, revealing who sincerely belongs among the cream of the crop. The complexity of choosingand rankingthe 50 finest ever from a strong group of talented candidates also spins a secondary tale about the evolution of pro wrestling and how this unique sport operates. Revealing these stars' compelling stories in detail, this collection adds up to an entertaining and enlightening description of a monumental business through the history of its legends.

'I'm Sorry, I Love You'

Download 'I'm Sorry, I Love You' PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781472254238
Total Pages : 416 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (542 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis 'I'm Sorry, I Love You' by : Jim Smallman

Download or read book 'I'm Sorry, I Love You' written by Jim Smallman and published by . This book was released on 2019-05-16 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Filled with passion, humour, and a little bit of welcome weirdness. A must-read for every die-hard wrestling fan' - Mick Foley For fans of books from Chris Jericho, Steve Austin, Daniel Bryan, Mick Foley and Jim Ross. 'We have all felt every emotion today. Remember today, the next time a family member or workmate tells you that wrestling is stupid. We've laughed, we've cried, we've screamed our lungs out. Professional wrestling is the greatest thing in the entire world.' - Jim Smallman, 2016 Comedian and PROGRESS Wrestling founder Jim Smallman takes us on a wild ride through the history of pro-wrestling, from its beginnings at the turn of the twentieth century to the pop-culture, pay-per-view juggernaut that it is today. Join Jim as he looks at the most defining and iconic moments in wrestling's history and attempts to nail down just why this ludicrous, over the top, compelling quasi-sport means so much to so many people.

National Wrestling Alliance

Download National Wrestling Alliance PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : ECW Press
ISBN 13 : 1554902746
Total Pages : 399 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (549 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis National Wrestling Alliance by : Tim Hornbaker

Download or read book National Wrestling Alliance written by Tim Hornbaker and published by ECW Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After 32 years, Montreal will soon lose its professional baseball team. The former president of the Expos explains how the team went from being one of major league baseball's most promising franchises to becoming a financial pariah, barely escaping extinction at the end of the 2001 season and now facing demise in 2002. This history of the team's troubled existence covers years of gradually declining revenue and attendance, the sale of the team to a consortium of business leaders in 1991, and the league's ongoing debate over eliminating the Expos once and for all.

Backlund

Download Backlund PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1613216963
Total Pages : 536 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (132 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Backlund by : Bob Backlund

Download or read book Backlund written by Bob Backlund and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2015-09-15 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bob Backlund began life as a poor farm boy in the little village of Princeton, Minnesota, with a population of just over 2,000 people. He was a below-average student with a lackluster work ethic and a bad attitude, who hung with the wrong crowd and made a lot of bad choices. He was a kid whose life was headed for disaster—until a local coach took interest in him, suggested that he take up amateur wrestling, and offered to work with him if he promised to stay out of trouble. It was in North Dakota that Bob Backlund had the first of several chance encounters that would shape his destiny. While working out at the YMCA gymnasium in Fargo, North Dakota, where he wrestled for North Dakota State, Backlund met a well-known professional wrestler, “Superstar” Billy Graham. The men talked, and at Graham’s suggestion, Backlund was inspired to pursue a career in professional wrestling. Less than five years from that day, on February 20, 1978, Backlund would find himself halfway across the country, standing in the middle of the ring at Madison Square Garden with his hand raised in victory as the newly crowned World Wide Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion. The man Backlund pinned for the championship that night was none other than "Superstar" Billy Graham. Featuring contributions from Bruno Sammartino, Harley Race, Terry Funk, Pat Patterson, Ken Patera, Sergeant Slaughter, The Magnificent Muraco, George “The Animal” Steele, “Mr. USA” Tony Atlas, The Iron Sheik, and many others, this book tells the incredible story of the life and nearly forty-year career of one of the most famous men to ever grace the squared circle. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. In addition to books on popular team sports, we also publish books for a wide variety of athletes and sports enthusiasts, including books on running, cycling, horseback riding, swimming, tennis, martial arts, golf, camping, hiking, aviation, boating, and so much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Inside Out

Download Inside Out PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780974554501
Total Pages : 391 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (545 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Inside Out by : Ole Anderson

Download or read book Inside Out written by Ole Anderson and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Chokehold: Pro Wrestling's Real Mayhem Outside the Ring

Download Chokehold: Pro Wrestling's Real Mayhem Outside the Ring PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Xlibris Corporation
ISBN 13 : 9781462811724
Total Pages : 556 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (117 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Chokehold: Pro Wrestling's Real Mayhem Outside the Ring by : Weldon T. Johnson

Download or read book Chokehold: Pro Wrestling's Real Mayhem Outside the Ring written by Weldon T. Johnson and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2003-09-02 with total page 556 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This meticulously crafted and searing critique of pro wrestling is unlike any wrestling book published: Chokehold is a penetrating description of pro wrestlings 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 industrys business practices as well as a thoughtful proposal for pro wrestlings reform. This book is not a conventional expos of pro wrestlings orchestrated stunts, gimmicks and blade jobs. Instead, it is an unprecedented examination of pro wrestlings 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 industrys 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 Wilsons experiences in The Business, this book reviews significant but forgotten episodes in the wrestling industrys long history of gangland tactics. The industrys infamous blacklist is revisited by revealing the dozens of wrestlers from the past whose names were on it. The industrys history of predatory promotional wars in California, Georgia, Texas and Virginia is told with FBI reports obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. From court documents, this book names compromised state athletic commissions, TV station managers and local politicians from wrestlings viewpoint, the best that money could buy. There are many famous wrestling names in this book --Gorgeous George, Lou Thesz, Jack Brisco, the Funk brothers, Dusty Rhodes, Bruiser Brody, Bill Watts and others. Another is The Sheik (Eddie Farhat), who says: There aint no nice guys in this business. There aint no people theres dollars! Another is Jim Wilsons tag team partner Thunderbolt Patterson who warned Jim, The wrestling business takes advantage of anybody who has any notoriety or ability. You got to understand that wrestlers are worse than whores. They are pimped. They use you as long as they possibly can or as long as you dont complain. When you complain, they get rid of you. Another is Jim Wilsons friend The Magnificent Zulu (Ron Pope) who summarizes his career this way: Its such a crooked business. The guys [wrestlers] are a bunch of crooks. They steal from the marks and the promoters steal from them. The guys [wrestlers] want to be stars! Theyll do anything theyll cut throats for it. Actually, wrestlers dont have to be paid. All they need is a couple of six packs of beer a night and a nice looking ring rat with a good body. Or, drugs and a ring rat. Its not the money. Its being a star! Its the glory and the pussy! This book confronts the wrestling industrys traditional practice of punishing wrestlers who refuse