Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of ECW

by Scott E. Williams, Shane Douglas (Foreword by), George Tahinos (Photographer)

Overview

Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was one extreme contradiction on top of another. An incredibly influential—but never profitable—company in the world of professional wrestling in the 1990s, it portrayed itself as the ultimate in anti-authority rebellion, but its leadership was working covertly with the World Wrestling Federation and the World Championship Wrestling. Most of all, it blurred the line between reality and the fantasy world of professional wrestling.

Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of ECW offers a frank, balanced look at the evolution of ECW starting before its early days as a Philadelphia-area independent group and extending past its death in 2001. Featuring dozens of interviews with fans, officials, business partners, and the wrestlers themselves, this is a very balanced account of this bizarre company—and it’s sure to be extremely controversial for fans and critics of ECW, and wrestling, alike.

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613218730
Publisher:	Sports Publishing LLC
Publication date:	03/08/2016
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	35 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Scott E. Williams is an award-winning wrestling columnist and criminal justice reporter who has authored Terry Funk: More Than Just Hardcore and The Cowboy and the Cross: The Bill Watts Story.

Shane “The Franchise” Douglas began his professional wrestling career in 1982 and quickly became a fan favorite. In addition to his incredible success as a five-time World Champion wrestler, he also became the NWA World Heavyweight Champion in 1994.

Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Acknowledgments ix

Chapter 1 Tri-State Wrestling Alliance 1

Chapter 2 Eastern Championship Wrestling 8

Chapter 3 Hot Stuff 14

Chapter 4 Raising the Bar (And Slamming It Through the Table) 26

Chapter 5 The Birth of Extreme 37

Chapter 6 Quoth the Raven 47

Chapter 7 Extreme Defections 59

Chapter 8 House Party 1996-Endings and Beginnings 80

Chapter 9 Brian Pillman 84

Chapter 10 A Matter of Respect 93

Chapter 11 Growing Pains 100

Chapter 12 Mass Transit 106

Chapter 13 Barely Legal 112

Chapter 14 WWF Versus ECW? 121

Chapter 15 The Split and Other Farewells 129

Chapter 16 The Whole F'n' Show 144

Chapter 17 TAZ On Top 153

Chapter 18 ECW On (And Off) TNN 161

Chapter 19 Extinct Championship Wrestling 186

Chapter 20 Bankruptcy 193

Chapter 21 Invasion 199

Chapter 22 Where They Ended Up 204

Chapter 23 Extreme Nostalgia 216

Chapter 24 Lasting Impressions 231

Chapter 25 June 10, 2005 Hardcore Homecoming 241

Chapter 26 (WW)ECW 246