Between the Ropes: Wrestling's Greatest Triumphs and Failures [Paperback]

Brian Fritz (Author), Christopher Murray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 5, 2006

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

About the Author

Brian Fritz is the lead host of the Between the Ropes wrestling radio show. He is a host and producer for various live talk shows and sporting events for WQTM 740 AM and covers professional wrestling for The Orlando Sentinel. He lives in Orlando, Florida. Christopher Murray is a cohost of Between the Ropes. He lives in Staten Island, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: ECW Press (July 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550227262
• ISBN-13: 978-1550227260
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,493,298 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How can you review a book that hasn't been printed yet?, June 16, 2006

By 

amisFitbook (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Between the Ropes: Wrestling's Greatest Triumphs and Failures (Paperback)

Just to strike some balance, and to restore some sanity here.... I wonder how "Mr Francis" and "Coco" can say anything negative about this fine book. Actually, I wonder how they could have actually read this book--as of June 16th, it hasn't even shipped from the printer, let alone to stores. Anyone pretending to "review" Between the Ropes before it becomes available later this month is simply engaging in a self-interested, personal attack. I wouldn't dream of speculating as to why....

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on wrestling!, July 18, 2006

By 

Gary Hollinger - See all my reviews

This review is from: Between the Ropes: Wrestling's Greatest Triumphs and Failures (Paperback)

I just finished reading the Between The Ropes book and thought it was a great read. Good information on the biggest promotions over the past decade with some very interesting quotes from wrestlers mixed in the chapters. Plus, the book has some good stories behind the scenes of the Between The Ropes show.

A great read for anyone who already enjoys wrestling or for anyone who wants to learn more about it. This book has all the details you need to know. I highly recommend it!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Repetive of other books but some good touches, July 9, 2006

By 

Michael A. Weyer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Between the Ropes: Wrestling's Greatest Triumphs and Failures (Paperback)

I was looking forward to this book and it's not quite a dissapointment. If you don't have a large wrestling library, it's quite good covering what WWF/E, WCW, ECW and TNA have been up to the last decade. The problem is that so much of it has already been covered in other books. There are three histories of ECW that detail what happened there and "Death of WCW" is a much better look at that organization. As such, so much of this comes off as "oh, this again?" statements.

However, they are the first to delve into how TNA got started and how it's progressed, including backstage battles with Russo and Randy Savage. I also liked the in-between bits of the authors chronicling thier adventures with wrestlers and their interviews. In fact, even in the stuff on WWF, WCW and the rest, they insert great comments from various stars that are good to highlight things.

So if you don't have a large wrestling library, I'd recommend this very much. If you're a TNA fan, it's good to read how the company started. But if you already have a lot of the other books on WWF or WCW or ECW, this might be skippable.