World Wrestling Insanity: The Decline and Fall of a Family Empire (Paperback)

by James Guttman (Author) "There's an old adage when it comes to the world of professional wrestling: For those who enjoy it, no explanation is needed..." (more)
Key Phrases: World Wrestling Entertainment, Randy Orton, World Champion (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A tremendous job combining intensive research, on-point commentary, and a liberal amount of humor...Highly recommended."  —Figure Four Weekly Online, f4wonline.com

Product Description
In an industry where nothing is real and no one actually wins or loses, the possibilities for manipulation are endless. World Wrestling Insanity sets out to expose the nepotism, backward logic, and power plays that have made World Wrestling Entertainment go round. Alongside many well-known wrestling personalities, author James Guttman uses sarcasm, humour, and hard facts to break down the secrets of Vince McMahon's company and analyze the reasoning behind many of its creative and business decisions. Never before have WWE, the McMahon family, Triple H, and others been held up to the light and examined so closely. Why are some of the shows written as they are? Who has the company's best interests at heart? Who has their own best interests at heart? Could the WWE's errors be nothing more than accidents or are they the product of cold and calculated manipulation?

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Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Ecw Press (May 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550227289
• ISBN-13: 978-1550227284
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #142,423 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TREMENDOUS!, June 11, 2006

By	Rick Blume "R.B." (Maryland) - See all my reviews

I've read this book twice so far. Usually with wrestling books, I'll get them once and read through them. With this, there was not only content but it was a good read (something you dont see enough of in todays book IMHO). It delivered on everything I expected and ended up having more information than I thought it would. Guttman has stories from backstage meetings and employee handbooks. There's things about WWE I have never seen anywhere else before and on top of that it was a fun read. I give it five stars.

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read, June 26, 2006

By	Mr. Richard D. Coreno "Mr. C" (Berea, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

James Guttman uses a great sense of humor to develop major themes in the stagnation of the WWE.

He tackles the storylines that have pushed HHH to super-duper star status after he married into the McMahon family and serious topics like racisim and sexism through interviews with industry insiders like Tom Pritchard, Missy Hyatt, Terry Funk and D-Lo Brown.

The chapter on the bumbling and stumbling Diva Search was especially telling about a company that much too often demonstrates little clue on how to create unique storylines and equally proven inept in protecting new employees from abuse by "the boys in the locker room."

In a short section, Guttman questions why the wrestlers have yet to demand a union to better protect their rights as entertainers and a means to assist them upon retiring.

It is amazing that Vince McMahon has failed in every attempt to branch his product out from the core that is wrestling. His bodybuilding group folded after countless millions of dollars dumped into it began to have a bottom-line impact on the WWF and the XFL was an absolute joke. How about that slick reality show on MTV? Gone.

The McMahons take all criticism very personal, which is not unlike many entities in the sports and entertainment industries. But the McMahons have evolved the WWE into a family fun park and who cares if the public doesn't like the rides. Where else will a fan - or a wrestler - go?

At the end of the book, Guttman comes out as a person more concerned about the future of the company than those running the show.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable/Entertaining, June 24, 2006

By	Allison "Amazin" - See all my reviews

I've read other wrestling books before but found this one stood out. The book found a way to combine humor with wrestling analysis that readers of James Guttman's work have come to apreciate. I was very happy with this book and was more than happy to reccommend it to other people.