Top products from r/SquaredCircle

We found 141 product mentions on r/SquaredCircle. We ranked the 671 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.

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Top comments that mention products on r/SquaredCircle:

u/Xalazi · 4 pointsr/SquaredCircle

The TL:DR version is that when Wrestling from a regional industry to a national one in the 1980's, the NWA territories put their eggs in the Jim Crockett Promotions basket. It's an interesting, but too long for this post history why. Crockett did well for a time, but a combination of behind the scenes mismanagement and WWF ended up driving Crockett into bankruptcy in 1988. Turner Broadcasting bought the TV company side(overly simplifying that) that's how WCW was born.

As far as fans knew NWA = WCW. In reality, WCW was the TV and wrestling company. The NWA was a committee that controlled the booking the NWA titles. In 1991 there was controversy regarding who should be NWA Champion. Some complicated title history shenanigans happened and basically you needed up with two titles. The WCW title and the NWA title. The title histories of both belts criss cross through between 1991-1993 with some reigns being recognized by both, and some recognized by only one side. There was also a WCW international title in 1993-1994. It's all very complicated. In 1994 WCW and the NWA finally 100% split.

The NWA decides to crown a Champion based out of Philadelphia's NWA: Eastern Championship Wrestling booked by Paul Heyman. They pick Shane Douglas. Douglas and Heyman swerve the NWA and disown the title forming Extreme Championship Wrestling. By that point the NWA is basically a joke. Nothing but a bunch of indie promotions with no hope calling themselves the NWA. The NWA did crown Dan Severn as NWA champion in 1995. He wore it to UFC and WWE, which was cool, and the title did pop up in New Japan and Mexico a few times over the years, but basically the people that where in charge of the NWA from this point on didn't have any sort of power or money to compete. They were local indies basically. TNA started as an NWA indie and that brought the title back into prominence a little bit in the early 2000's. TNA eventually grew big enough that they felt like they didn't need the NWA name any more. After that the NWA went back to being a local indie thing until Billy Corgan bought it.


The history of the NWA is basically the history of professional wrestling on a global scale. I recommend this book. It's a long, but very interesting read.

[edit]

u/Just_Joey · 24 pointsr/SquaredCircle

Full Story - I thought it was really ridiculous that there's a tag team called "The Authors of Pain" and they've never actually written a book called Pain, so I got a bunch of my friends together to write it for them. Originally it was just a digital book, but you guys really dug it so I formatted it for paperback and it's now available on Amazon for $4.

https://www.amazon.com/Pain-Authors-collection-literary-powerhouse-ebook/dp/B074SFN64R

You can still download a free pdf of it at http://supercolliderpress.com/

It's a book of bad poetry from the perspective of Akam and Rezar and with a foreword by Paul Ellering. This thing took several months to put together and I could not be more proud of this. Former WWE writer Matt McCarthy, the head writer of Kayfabe News, the creator of Botched Spot and RD Reynolds of Wrestlecrap.com and a bunch of other really funny writers even contributed pieces. Now it's a literal, physical book which is insane to me.

Edit: Regarding all of the comments about the legality of this, I have a few friends that are parody book publishers that I talked this over with. I'm certainly in a legal grey area, but I doubt this thing is going to set the world on fire sales wise and it's available as a free download at the previously posted Supercollider Press page so I'm definitely not trying to get rich off of it. I mainly created the paperback because a bunch of people in the old thread asked for copies. If I'm asked to take it down, I will but until then I'm not super worried about it. Regardless, the heads up is appreciated.

u/Mr_Sedgewick · 2 pointsr/SquaredCircle

I've collected a few guides and stuff over the years and bookmarked them, here they are if you want them...

Guide to different Japanese styles - https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/2xzbgx/guide_to_japanse_wrestling_styles/

A really great video on the rise of Puro in Japan - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLyqDSXgYQI. I'd say this is honestly the best direct answer to your question.

Another great video on how puro fits into Japan nowadays, another great watch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7fZTuR5bgU

How to sign up for New Japan World (Puro's biggest promotion's streaming service - https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/2nxb1q/how_to_sign_up_for_njpw_world_compliments_of/

Recommended viewing for NJ World - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZsZCBTpKjHzdbCpKZ1No1KAdpmOd2OcgSMfC1-oa7pI/edit?pli=1#gid=0

A book on the history of NJPW - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lions-Pride-Turbulent-History-Wrestling/dp/4990865812

A couple of podcasts on puro/New Japan...

u/olschooljabroni · 5 pointsr/SquaredCircle

It's cool to hear of academic papers being written about wrestling. There aren't a lot of them, especially in academic journals. I once wrote a paper in my communications class entitled: "Pro Wrestling as an Empowering Text for the Working Class", built around the notion that on TV most scripted shows generally focus on upward mobility and middle class families, and how in wrestling if you're rich, you're generally an asshole/bad guy (Ted DiBiase, McMahon).

Anyway, here's a link to the trailer for a documentary based on these cholita wrestlers, called Mamachas Del Ring:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8CbhUww3hU

And here's an article about the documentary:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cynthia-ellis/imamachas-del-ringi-a-wre_b_661417.html

I saw the documentary on the Indie Crush channel on Roku for free. So you have Roku, definitely check it out. Hope it helps.

Don't know how extensive your paper is , but this book is also worth looking into: Steel Chair to the Head. It's a collection of essays focusing on different cultural aspects associated with wrestling.
http://www.amazon.com/Steel-Chair-Head-Professional-Wrestling/dp/0822334380

Good luck!

u/NoahGairn · 3 pointsr/SquaredCircle

All of Tim Hornbakers work is a must read. The man is the best Wrestling Historian around and goes into great details about events and people plus he has his own website where you can learn from and buy his books.

If you really want a hidden gem then you need Fall Guys: The Barnums of Bounce.

It is a detailed account of the wrestling buisness written in the 1930's and is the best source for the old Gotch and carnival days of wrestling.

u/adamd28 · 2 pointsr/SquaredCircle

The Masked Man writes for Grantland and wrote for Deadspin for a while. He just wrote a pretty awesome book last year called The Squared Circle



Peter Rosenberg is a hip hop DJ in New York who really likes wrestling and interviews wrestlers pretty frequently on youtube.

u/JeffRSmall · 1 pointr/SquaredCircle

If you like/love/are interested in Andre the Giant, I would definitely recommend Box Brown's Graphic Novel. I got my hands on it a couple of weeks ago, and it's fantastic:

http://www.amazon.com/Andre-Giant-Legend-Box-Brown/dp/1596438517

u/mrbangpop · 2 pointsr/SquaredCircle

If you'd like a good idea of how New Japan was formed, the Inoki/Baba booking styles and a general guide to boom and bust periods for Japanese wrestling, I'd highly recommend reading Chris Charlton's Lion's Pride; I think it's $5 on Amazon (Kindle). Was a good three day read.

u/JervisCottonbelly · 7 pointsr/SquaredCircle

If you enjoy stories about Andre, I urge you to purchase this graphic novel by my friend, Box Brown, https://www.amazon.com/Andre-Giant-Legend-Box-Brown/dp/1596438517.

It is as heartbreaking as it is lovely. A fine read. I am quite looking forward to this documentary as well.

u/bobbo1701 · 8 pointsr/SquaredCircle

I really enjoy them too. He's actually coming out with a book, looking forward to checking that out.

Mostly I just find it cool that a mainstream publication is taking pro wrestling seriously, I think it's a great move on the part of Grantland to differentiate them from ESPN or typical sports content on the internet.

u/Luchaluchalunch · 2 pointsr/SquaredCircle

I'm not sure, but I'm waiting for my Amazon purchase of Chris Charlton's book on the history of NJPW. It's supposed to be awesome, and I know it does into your question in depth.

Here! https://www.amazon.ca/Lions-Pride-Turbulent-History-Wrestling/dp/4990865812

u/ParanoidEngi · 1 pointr/SquaredCircle

I highly recommend Lion's Pride by Chris Charlton, it covers the history of NJPW up to the time of writing in mid-2015, covers everything in a nice amount of detail, as close to a definitive history as we have right now. It's sometimes a bit odd in terms of writing, he tends to jump around from chapter to chapter (one will be chronologically following the last, the next is about the best gaijin in NJPW history) and repeat points across chapters, but it's well worth a read if you're into the history of New Japan

u/arisoncain · 1 pointr/SquaredCircle

Booker T and Mysterio are the only main event talent in that bunch that you just listed. That list is more of an indictment of the level of talent that they were able to hold onto than anything else. I bet if you spoke to Booker or Rey about their time in WCW, they probably wouldn't have many nice things to say about the way the company was managed, except for the fact that they were paid good money.

Look, I don't consider myself to really be a pro-WWE guy at all. I'm actually bummed that they bought the company. As a fan of WCW, it sucked to see all the real talent flee the ship as it was sinking. Even guys like Nash and Hall, the supposed "saviors" of WCW in it's heyday, just kind of waited for their contracts to expire. It was depressing.

I would definitely recommend you check out The Death of WCW by R.D Reynolds and Bryan Alvarez if you haven't read it yet. It's a very well-researched and detailed description of what was happening there at the time. WCW was hemorrhaging money due to their contractual practices. They were not doing good business.

u/HorseSteroids · 2 pointsr/SquaredCircle

None I can think of that are all interviews as wrestling was protected. Try this though or Lou Thesz's book.

As for some good Mania era dirt, check out Sex, Lies, and Headlocks. It ain't perfect but it's a good read.

And check out Dave Meltzer's Tributes books. They're reprintings of obituaries from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter but they're most likely new to you. If they're not new to you, don't bother.

Hope that helps.

u/zeppelin1023 · 2 pointsr/SquaredCircle

here you go. I still have mine back when i bought it at WWF NY in 2001. I still use it occasionally, it's pretty awesome.

u/Ragnar_OK · 2 pointsr/SquaredCircle

There's the 2006 McMahon DVD. It's about half-and-half kayfabe/non-kayfabe. It's overly praising of McMahon, though, it even makes the XFL seem like it could have worked, but it was only the media's faul for the unfair portrayal of a new and innovative idea.

Still, it's a decent DVD, solidly entertaining.

u/doublesuperdragon · 5 pointsr/SquaredCircle

National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling

It's a great, very detailed book that goes back to even before the NWA was initially started.

Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling

Another great book all about the Harts promotion.

u/FUCKBOY_JIHAD · 1 pointr/SquaredCircle

this book has some pretty good detail on the olden days of professional wrestling.

u/EvanDeadlySins · 6 pointsr/SquaredCircle

Japanese wrestling has such a storied history that it would be a fool's errand to try and write about it in an all encompassing manner. You're better off going company by company.

But the closest thing there is is the book Lion's Pride: The Turbulent History of New Japan Pro Wrestling, which you can buy on Amazon. But it mainly focuses on the biggest company in Japan today, though there are small bits of other companies where they're relevant.

https://www.amazon.com/Lions-Pride-Turbulent-History-Wrestling/dp/4990865812/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468814708&sr=8-1&keywords=Lion%27s+Pride

u/Lextucky · 11 pointsr/SquaredCircle

In 1937, this book: https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Guys-Barnums-Marcus-Griffin-ebook/dp/B00RKMYUSO

"Fall Guys: The Barnums of Bounce. The inside story of the Wrestling Business, America's most profitable and best organized professional sport.

Originally published in 1937, this well-researched book exposed the wrestling game and showed it to be a cutthroat business of fixed matches, shady promoters, and show wrestlers.

Discusses the early days of Frank Gotch before delving into the conglomeration of the business with the rise of the Gold Dust Trio (Strangler Lewis, Toots Mondt, and Billy Sandow) and its version of slam bang wrestling."

u/kentucky210 · 2 pointsr/SquaredCircle

You might want to try Lion's Pride: The Turbulent History of New Japan Pro Wrestling as a book its not only going to possibly expand your vocab but also expand your knowledge on Japanese culture.

u/Hadou_Jericho · 1 pointr/SquaredCircle

Go buy this book if you want a great history about NJPW and his role in this as well:

https://www.amazon.com/Lions-Pride-Turbulent-History-Wrestling/dp/4990865812

u/Jaomi · 3 pointsr/SquaredCircle

As a start, I'd recommend having a read of Steel Chair to the Head and Performance and Professional Wrestling. They're both books full of academic writing about wrestling. There's a really pertinent essay by Sharon Mazer in Steel Chair that you could use as a foundation for your argument, and then have a look at what she's cited in her references and who else has cited her online to help branch your research out from there.

Also, I did my dissertation on wrestling last year, so if you need a hand at all, drop me a line.

u/whmullally · 24 pointsr/SquaredCircle

Chris Charlton wrote the book on NJPW and is a really respected source that even Dave Meltzer regularly cites in the Observer.

u/2moar · 2 pointsr/SquaredCircle

I believe this is a really good one https://www.amazon.com/National-Wrestling-Alliance-Monopoly-Strangled/dp/1550227416/ I've heard anything by Tim Hornbaker is really good, but that might be a bit earlier than you are wanting

u/makeurselfamouskid · 13 pointsr/SquaredCircle

Oh, it's real, alright. ^And ^^only ^^^19,99$, ^^^^Maggle!!!

u/daflash00 · 19 pointsr/SquaredCircle

The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling: A Hardcore, High-Flying, No-Holds-Barred History of the One True Sport https://www.amazon.com/dp/0399580492/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_cDQRCbNYRVPJH

u/crank_3_i_am_on_fire · 4 pointsr/SquaredCircle

You'll probably be interested in this once it's published:

Performance and Pro Wrestling https://www.amazon.com/dp/1138937231/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_VwmqxbQBE4JZT

And I'm not just saying that because I have a chapter in it.

u/awc130 · 16 pointsr/SquaredCircle

He also has a book completely written in kayfabe that covers his life up to like '98.

https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Into-Darkness-Unauthorized-History/dp/1476738890

u/Dutch_Calhoun · 1 pointr/SquaredCircle

Steel Chair to the Head: The Pleasure and Pain of Professional Wrestling is a collection of amazingly insightful media studies essays of wrestling as a cultural form, and actually treats it seriously and respectfully.

u/AvieLikesThis · 2 pointsr/SquaredCircle

Approximately nine years after "The Self-Destruction of CM Punk" Blu-Ray comes out, only for him to die two days after being put into the Hall of Fame.

Or, one year after Vince, Steph, or HHH does an interview about why CM Punk shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame, given what some 8 year old could Google about him.

Yes, that was dark. But no one thought Ultimate Warrior would go back, and Chyna never can go back. These were the closest examples I could think of.

u/Justiceawaitsyou · 1 pointr/SquaredCircle

she chopped her throat and had the tights....uh not sure where that is clean in your book. https://www.amazon.com/Official-WWE-Book-Rules-Break/dp/1942556101

u/finerd · 57 pointsr/SquaredCircle

It it him or the publicist involved with the product? Either way, it's bad.

EDIT: Same case on UK amazon. Two great reviews from people that haven't reviewed anything else before or since. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/194276183X

u/notquite20characters · 2 pointsr/SquaredCircle

The reviews seem honest too:


http://fakespot.com/product/wake-up-it-s-feeding-time-a-professional-athlete-s-advice-on-how-to-succeed-in-the-game-of-life

https://reviewmeta.com/amazon/194276183X

If anything, the 1/5 reviews are the most suspect. But there are only 19 reviews, so take with a grain of salt.

u/waffle_irony · 5 pointsr/SquaredCircle

Here's the Amazon listing:

The Official WWE Book of Rules: (And How to Break Them) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1942556101/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_UGMjybYYS5BHA

But it will ship a month later.

u/dionthesocialist · 12 pointsr/SquaredCircle

So you admit you're just regurgitating some stuff you heard other places? Cool.

And Bret only came back to WWE because after the Self-Destruction of Ultimate Warrior DVD, it was clear Vince was willing to do hit pieces on anyone who didn't want to play ball on these DVDs. Bret came back not for the money and not because he was "over" Owen (lol at him being over his brother's wrongful death), but because WWE strong-armed him and tons of other legends back into deals by threatening them with hit piece DVDs, which didn't stop them from pretending Warrior was the best thing since sliced bread after he died.

But again, there ain't no Network specials about that.

u/TheJezmeister · 1 pointr/SquaredCircle

I haven't read the book personally, I would love to, but the reviews look awful for it (Says he wrestled for TNA in the early 90's, refers to 'Brett' Hart), is it still worth picking up despite these mistakes? (Source for reviews: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cross-Rhodes-Goldust-Out-Darkness/dp/1439195161)

u/Destinyspire · 3 pointsr/SquaredCircle

If you want something a bit more academic, there's a book coming out next month that examines professional wrestling with a performance studies framework. Link to it here.

u/CrybabyJones · 2 pointsr/SquaredCircle

Jericho's two autobiographies are great. As for non-memoirs, check out David Shoemaker's "The Squared Circle: Life, Death and Professional Wrestling."

u/chrisgiff · 2 pointsr/SquaredCircle

Steel Chair to the Head

Published by Duke University Press. Has an article by Henry Jenkins, who was at MIT for years, among others.

u/TweetsInCommentsBot · 1 pointr/SquaredCircle

@Ryback22

> 2017-09-18 00:26 UTC

> Wake Up! It's Feeding Time: A Professional Athlete's Advice on How to ... https://www.amazon.com/dp/194276183X/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_api_flXVzbPA429B3 #Amazon

----

^This ^message ^was ^created ^by ^a ^bot

^[Contact ^creator]^[Source ^code]

u/Brysynner · 2 pointsr/SquaredCircle

> The WWE released a DVD titled "McMahon" which features a documentary portion on Vince. Obviously the same flaws as any other WWE version of history appear. It isn't on the Network yet. https://www.amazon.com/WWE-McMahon-Vince/dp/B000G0O5GE/

While it's a WWE product it still has the revelation that Vince pitched to his kids they do an incest angle so you still get a look inside Vince's head with a small filter.

u/jjohnson1979 · 21 pointsr/SquaredCircle

The closest you'll get right now is "Sex, Lies and Headlocks".

I highly recommend it, by the way!

u/livinginclip · 2 pointsr/SquaredCircle

I really enjoyed The Squared Circle: Life, Death, and Professional Wrestling

It takes you through various periods of wrestling, from carnival days to the territories to the golden age as told by the wrestlers of those eras that have passed.

u/gonszo · 4 pointsr/SquaredCircle

I don't know if you are just after a autobiography or just a quality book on the industry.

My personal favourite is "The Death of WCW" by R.D. Reynolds and Bryan Alvarez. Well worth checking out. check out some reviews here

u/rubixcoup · 10 pointsr/SquaredCircle

He did. It's from a couple years ago.

Cross Rhodes: Goldust, Out of the Darkness (WWE) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1439195161/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_oVrPBb4YE37WV

u/KaneRobot · 7 pointsr/SquaredCircle

Wish they would have referenced Journey Into Darkness for at least some of this.

Still waiting for a Crisis on Infinite Earths-level book or comic to straighten out these characters once and for all (until it doesn't).

u/BoomanShames · 1 pointr/SquaredCircle

haven’t read it but i heard squared circle by david shoemaker is good!

also Death of WCW by Bryan Alvarez if u want history on WCW!

u/MrPrecyse · 2 pointsr/SquaredCircle

This one

A lot of WWE employees talking shit about Warrior on there.

u/qwertysd · 1 pointr/SquaredCircle

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1550227416?pc_redir=1408084640&robot_redir=1

I had this book a few years ago. I cannot recommend it though as it was stolen before I could really get into it.

u/AdamGMortis · 3 pointsr/SquaredCircle

Does The Death of WCW count? It was written by RD Reynolds and Bryan Alvarez.

u/ry4 · 2 pointsr/SquaredCircle

Wikipedia already did this for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Russo

Then there are his books for his POV, but outside POV is The Death of WCW.

u/hilld1 · 44 pointsr/SquaredCircle

It's available on Amazon!

Pain by The Authors of Pain: The debut poetry collection from WWE tag team and literary powerhouse The Authors of Pain.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074SFN64R/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ykaZAbGJNERA0

u/thatpj · 9 pointsr/SquaredCircle

What I Read : the Death of WCW

MY REVIEW:
Having grown up as a channel switcher during the Attitude Era, the selling point of "week to week analysis" of WCW's rise and ultimate fall intrigued me. But from the very start, I kinda knew this book wasn't for me. While there are a few funny bits here and there, I am left with disappointment of what could have been.

I was pretty taken a back by the tone of the book. It sounded like a Reddit commenter had written it. The 3 intros where he virtually said the same thing was the one of the most narcissistic things i have ever read. It read like an amateur. If you are going to beat your chest and tell the reader that you told them so, that you had better go down into the finest details why that is the case. The book failed to do so. Instead resorting to the refrain which comes up way too often in this book: It's shit.

WCW is never given a fair chance from the outset. Even as it's rising the author goes to great pains to point out how shitty it is. Even when it is selling out shows, the author points out how shitty it is. Even when it is killing it in the ratings, the author points out how shitty it is. So that when it is actual shit, you are no longer left with feeling that may have been the downfall of WCW.

Speaking of actual shit, for a 456 page book, I was expecting the big moments in WCW to be examined and critiqued. Instead they are passed off in a sentence or two. Or even dismissed outright as the author chooses not the explain it. Now, I thought I was reading a book about what led to downfall of WCW but it seems like anything but is discussed.

Instead of exploring the big moments, it takes more time talking about the authors nitpicks over booking. Like he complained nonstop about short matches and matches that ended with interference. Well anyone who was watching WWF during the Attitude Era could tell you the same thing was happening over there.

Anyways, the book gets funny when Russo arrives because how could it not. Russo gets thoroughly destroyed from beginning to end for his tenure and it is well deserved bro. But how can you dismiss the Judy Bagwell on a pole match!?

I also liked the Lesson Not Learned inserts in the book. It does at least give some perspective back on how current WWE is making same mistakes WCW was. I also liked how it served as callbacks fro things said earlier in the book.

Anyways, I wrote too much already! Death of WCW is a good overview of what happened with WCW during the Monday night war, but it lacks the details and insight that really could have put it over.

My Rating: 2 1/2 out of 5

u/biffysmalls · 1 pointr/SquaredCircle
u/Coldcoffees · 24 pointsr/SquaredCircle

What I read: Death of WCW

My review: Having conducted the Wreddit census and finding that a small number of users had never read a wrestling book, I envisaged a 'book club' type idea for the sub since even I myself hadn't read a wrestling book for over ten years. I picked up the Death of WCW wanting to explore the Monday Night Wars. Given the alleged revisionist history-filled WWE Network series covering the battle between WWF and WCW, I wanted to explore a more reliable source. From the offset, the Death of WCW features annecdotes and history lessons featuring wrestling personalities big and small with a fun, comedic undertone. I've been a regular visitor to numerous social media platforms including wrestling message boards and so arrogantly would have expected to know of a lot of funny annecdotes and angles within different promotions in the 90s - how I was wrong. The Death of WCW is still incredibly informative to even the most hardcore fan with a reasonably unbiased perspective throughout. Facts and statistics throughout, there is no room for bias in Death of WCW. I was taken aback by the number of times I found myself putting the book down and doing further research into stories within the book itself and angles executed by the wonderful mess of a circus that WCW was. A clear, concise view of the events that led to the death of WCW with a fun, easy reading style; the Death of WCW is a must for every wrestling fan, particularly those interested in the Monday Night Wars.

Rating (out of 5): 4/5

u/Cynicayke · 5 pointsr/SquaredCircle

I mean, territories falling apart had been inevitable for a long time, starting with AWA breaking away and Lou Thesz's ego not allowing him to give Verne Gagne a test-run.

But the downfall sped up in the 80s, when the cracks from the 60's started to appear again. Territorial promotions were starting to use cable to put their wrestling on TV, where fans outside of the territory could see it. This flew in the face of NWA's business model - which required the territorial bubbles so fans couldn't see how the angles in their own areas conflicted with the what other territories were doing.

The NWA, as an organisation, wouldn't support national television because they no longer had control over what fans could see, and they got left behind because of it. It really screwed over smaller territories. Their larger promotions who had TV deals, the ones that arguably had the stars to match the WWF, were under poor management from people who were drunk on success. They pissed away money and expanded too quickly.

A lack of unity, resistance to embrace cable TV, and financial mismanagement by the bigger promotions opened cracks that Vince took advantage of. There's still debate as to whether Vince's tactics were unethical or not - I think the answer is somewhere in the middle, as the NWA left themselves wide open to be taken advantage of. And a lot of Vince's tactics were tactics that the NWA themselves had used decades before to take over wrestling in America.

But 'Vince killed the territories' is a very oversimplified version of events, which doesn't give the NWA their due blame for not changing with the times, and treating both fans and wrestlers badly.

For more information, this book is really useful: https://www.amazon.co.uk/National-Wrestling-Alliance-Strangled-Professional/dp/1550227416

But hey, the counter-arguments you made were totally valid as well.

u/nine25 · 82 pointsr/SquaredCircle

Nasties were reckless and unsafe as fuck

> I had one more match before the surgery-a Chicago street fight (an anything-goes, falls-count-anywhere match) that would team me and Maxx in a war with the Nasty Boys. I knew it was my last match, but I just couldn’t get up for it. I wondered, “How am I going to get through this without stinking the place up?” The answer was simple. Survival. Jerry Saggs broke a pool cue over my head, and Brian Knobbs nearly dented my skull. The Nasties were sloppy as hell, and more than a little dangerous, but they knew how to brawl. About a minute into this thing, I realized that I’d better start fighting or I was going to get killed out there. About three minutes in, I realized we were in the midst of something pretty special. Saggs attempted to piledrive me on a table for the finish. The table buckled under our weight and we crashed to the ramp. As I got up, Saggs pushed me and I fell backward off the five-foot ramp and onto the cold, hard concrete below. I didn’t land flat, however, and I knew that my shoulder was injured. But at least I’d earned the right to rest, right? Not quite yet. Saggs hopped down off the ramp, and I winced when I saw Knobbs throw him a scoop shovel. It was plastic, but I knew with this crazy bastard swinging, it would hurt just the same. He raised the shovel high overhead, almost like an axe. I remembered what DeNucci had taught us about protecting our teeth and nose, and I turned my head to the side. Saggs proceeded to hit me about as hard as another human being could, but at least I’d be out of WCW.

Have a Nice Day!