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Nitro

The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner's WCW

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Nitro

Written by: Guy Evans
Narrated by: Guy Evans
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About this listen

In April 1999, Entertainment Weekly asked its readers what many were surely wondering to themselves: How did wrestling get so big?

As 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.

Once 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.

But 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.

For by the end of the five-year plan, WCW ceased to exist.

But 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.

*Features interviews and comments from 120+ WCW/TBS employees*

©2018 Guy Evans (P)2020 Guy Evans
Combat Sports & Self-Defense Sports Wrestling Combat Sports Programming Wrestling Biographies
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    5 out of 5 stars

The best WCW book bar none.

There was so much I did not know about the WCW until I listened to this book. Guy Evans does an amazing job to give us a "Front Office" type view of the biggest wrestling showh of the 1990s. It's refreshing as it's not just telling us the same We restler stories about jokes in the locker room and drug abuse but rather taking a serious scholarly look at how this show (and company) worked, what made it thrive, and eventually what killed it (The answer is more complex than you think. The author provides narration here and it's serviceable albeit a slight bit too slow but otherwise clear and entertaining enough. If you're a fan of 90s wrestling this is a must read/listen. I wish the Author could have his Eric Bischoff biography done in an audio format as well.

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Excellent History

If you have a fond memory of the Monday Night War and the attitude era this is a must listen. Lots of behind the scenes perspectives and excellently narrated.

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Loved this book

There will always be an argument over what eneded WCW. This book gives you the answer, TBS execs and the Time Warner merger.
Add all the other issues that contributed, but hearing all the stuff going on in the offices and behind the scenes. Great read.

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great for any wrestling fan during this era

almost an in depth view very interesting yo hear how it all went down. could've called it Eric Bischoff the ticking time bomb.

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WCW Nitro Book

This book truly gives you another angle of what went down in WCW without WWE umbrella effecting the story.

I really enjoyed this while biking and plan to re listen!

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The best WCW book bar none

I loved many things including the reaserch, the narration, the pacing of the story as well as all the details and interviews done to make this one of the best books I have read on wrestling.

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HORRIBLE NARATIVE

THIS WAS READER I HAVE EVER HEARD, AS THE BOOK JUMPS FROM COMPLETE DIFFERENT TOPICS IN SECONDS, SKIPPING WHOLE POINTS OF A TOPIC
THIS IS 1 BIG JUMBLED UP MESS!! NEVER STAYING ON POINT AND NOT UNDERSTANDING HOW 1 TOPIC RELATES TO ANOTHER!! HORRIBLE SUMMARY OF WCW DAYS! AWFUL VOICE! GIGANTIC WASTE OF MONEY

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