Looking at the Lights


Book Description

How did an untrained former college football player end up in the middle of a ring, wrestling during the highest-rated segment during the WWE’s acclaimed Attitude Era? That’s the story behind Looking at the Lights. As a childhood friend of Shane McMahon, Pete Gas was given the opportunity most only pray for. Beginning with appearances to interfere in McMahon’s matches, his role blossomed into becoming a full-fledge wrestler and leading the Mean Street Posse to WrestleMania, becoming one of the most fascinating success stories of the era. From his humble upbringing and friendship with Shane (and the McMahon family as a whole), Gas shares how a 9-to-5 average Joe got the chance of a lifetime and made the most out of it. But getting your foot in the door is one thing; staying is a completely different animal. With all eyes on him, knowing his lack of training and meal ticket being the boss’s son, Gas knew he had to win over all those doubters: from the fans and announcers to the wrestlers themselves. Knowing he had to prove himself, Gas took beatings, chair shots, and additional training to not only show that he could wrestle, but that he belonged with such superstars as The Rock, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and The Undertaker. Featuring forewords by Edge and JBL, who famously nailed Gas in the head with a steel chair, readers will get an inside look into not only the training and sacrifice these athletes go through, but the behind-the-scenes workings of a day in the WWE.




Wrestling the Light


Book Description

Loder gives expression to the depths and joys of the human struggle in these intensely personal prayers, complimented by six powerful stories.




The Wrestling


Book Description

'A brilliant oral history of the golden age of British wrestling and magnificent wider social history.' Richard Osman The classic account of the men and women who used to fight each other for pride and money. Simon Garfield brings them to life in one last glorious bout of jealousy, myth, revenge, passion and deep devotion. When British wrestling was dropped from the ITV schedules in the mid-80s it left the giants of the ring - Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, Kendo Nagasaki - bereft. This is the true story of the circuit, the big names and their rivalries, told with humour, warmth and affection. This edition features a new afterword by the author.




Hitman


Book Description

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




Wrestling in the Daylight


Book Description

A selection of posts from the author's blog, Shalom Rav.




The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling


Book Description

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).




Wrestling Prayer


Book Description

Eric and Leslie Ludy have a strong platform among 20-to-40-year-olds—because their lives show that "Christian ideals," when practically lived out, become realities that make the lives of Christians the most satisfying and challenging on earth. In Wrestling Prayer, readers who hunger for this pattern of living will see that a great prayer life is more than a nice-sounding concept—it's down-to-earth and attainable. Eric and Leslie urge transformation— from doubting God's power to expecting His supernatural intervention from distance from God to connection with Him from the sense of falling short to the strength of victory from "bless this food" prayers to world-changing intercession from feeling defeated to setting people free Readers whose concept of prayer has fallen into disrepair will newly desire to pray and bring God's purposes to bear on earth. Wrestling Prayer will light a soul-fire that can burn bright and hot for years to come.




Wrestling with the Devil


Book Description

Lex Luger, wrestling megasensation and three-time world heavyweight champion, ruled the ring for years as “The Total Package.” Whether he was making a dramatic entrance from a helicopter, defeating champ Hulk Hogan, or sculpting a near-perfect physique, Lex was on top of his game. Yet backstage, he was wrestling with addictions to sex, drugs, and alcohol—things he clung to even when his mistress died suddenly of a drug overdose and Lex went to jail. There, Lex faced the truth: he was losing the fight for his life. And still awaiting him was his most brutal opponent yet, when the wrestling champ found himself helplessly paralyzed from the neck down. In Wrestling with the Devil, Lex Luger reveals never-before-told stories from his career, his struggle with personal demons, and how, through unexpected faith, grace, and redemption, he overcame all odds to fight the only battle that really matters.




Wrestling With My Thoughts


Book Description

She couldn't believe it. There she was with her medical qualifications sitting on the floor of a mental hospital. She'd been baptized, offered her life to God, wanted to serve him anywhere, but no, surely not this... Sharon Hastings is absolutely passionate about helping anyone who suffers from 'severe and enduring mental illness' (SEMI): schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder. She wants the church to know all about these illnesses: how they devastate ordinary people and how they need to be treated. By telling her story, warts and all, showing her own tortuous, painful journey, she equips us to come alongside loved ones, fellow church members, friends and neighbours, understanding the social and spiritual ramifications of their illnesses, including them in our activities (where appropriate) and encouraging their spiritual growth. A natural storyteller, the author draws us in. We journey with her as she shares deeply. With wisdom, kindness and the heart of a bruised survivor, she interweaves her exceptional story with vital teaching which cannot be ignored by anyone within the church today.




Shooters


Book Description

From William Muldoon to Brock Lesnar, this history covers those who have divided themselves as tough guys on the professional wrestling circuit and legitimate confrontations. From catch wrestling master Billy Robinson to the Japanese professional wrestler who gave birth to the global phenomenon that is modern mixed martial arts (MMA), this investigation travels from the shadowy carnival tent and the dingy training hall to the bright lights of the squared circle and the Las Vegas glitz of the octagon. Billy Riley's legendary Wigan Snake Pit and the rigorous UWF Dojo in Tokyo are explored, revealing the secret history of both professional wrestling and the rising sport of MMA. Squared circle icons Strangler Lewis and Lou Thesz and Olympic heroes Danny Hodge and Kurt Angle are also featured.