{"product_id":"nitro-the-incredible-rise-and-inevitable-collapse-of-ted-turners-wcw-9780692139172","title":"Nitro: The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner's WCW","description":"\u003cb\u003eReviews\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The most definitive, well written and thoroughly researched book on the rise and fall of WCW.\"\u003cbr\u003e--Eric Bischoff, former WCW President\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This is - without question - the very best book ever written on professional wrestling.\"\u003cbr\u003e--Conrad Thompson\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Well written and captivating...a fresh take on [the] time period.\"\u003cbr\u003e--Chris Harrington, AEW VP of Business Strategy\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"...may be the best overall pro wrestling book to date.\"\u003cbr\u003e--David Bixenspan, Deadspin\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSynopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn April 1999, Entertainment Weekly asked its readers what many were surely wondering to themselves: how did wrestling get so big?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnce 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor by the end of the five-year plan, WCW ceased to exist.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFeaturing exclusive interviews and comments from: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEric 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!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Wcwnitrobook.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51890657689874,"sku":"9780692139172","price":43.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_cce1324a-4245-44b1-96b9-039bfeef97bb.jpg?v=1768313485","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/nitro-the-incredible-rise-and-inevitable-collapse-of-ted-turners-wcw-9780692139172","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}