The power players behind the wildly popular and often controversial world of professional wrestling are examined in this chronological look at the past 10 years of wrestling entertainment. The competition between the four major wrestling organizations—World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (later renamed as World Wrestling Entertainment [WWE]), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)—is rendered in detail, from wrestling's late-90s resurgence and the financial troubles of WCW and ECW to WWE's singular dominance and TNA's present-day struggle for market share. The reasons behind pro wrestling's popularity surge are explored in terms of key statistics such as television ratings, pay-per-view buy rates, and live-event attendance, as well as how the major organizations have capitalized—or not—on wrestling's trends. Commentary from the authors' seven-year-old weekly wrestling radio program is featured throughout alongside opinions from The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, and Vince McMahon.

Brian Fritz's profile page

Christopher Murray is associate professor of drama and theatre history at University College Dublin. He is the author of Twentieth-Century Irish Drama: Mirror Up to Nation.

Christopher Murray's profile page

"It's an honest wrestling book...chock full with inside information coming from eight years of doing the radio show."  —The Orlando Sentinel

"Allows the reader to go through key points in wrestling history with people that lived the experience."  —Wrestling Observer

"Truly unique insights...a sense of immediacy not found in most other wrestling history books."  —The Galveston County Daily News

"The love of wrestling...shines throughout the book.... Highly recommended."  —About.com

"Brian Fritz and Christopher Murray's defining moment.... Should capture the fans just like the radio show did and still does."  —A1 Wrestling News

"Outsider and insider perspectives...chronicl[e] the triumphs and failures of...ambitious wrestling companies."  —Obsessed With Wrestling