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SARAYA, NWO, BEYOND NITRO, DAVE PENZER AND MORE: COMPLETE LISTING OF FORTHCOMING WRESTLING BOOKS

By Mike Johnson on 2024-09-25 08:15:00

The following professional wrestling-related books are in the pipeline for future release:

November 12 - Wrestling Is My Gimmick: My Life on the Wrong Side of the Three-Count by Barry Horowitz and Jason Norman

For someone whose career spanned nearly four decades, Barry Horowitz might have the lowest winning percentage in professional wrestling history. But there's a reason why his name reached household levels among fans of the sport. Wrestlers who put on a deliberate losing performance (known as "jobbers") provide the starting points for the game's top names, and Horowitz was always there to help every new generation of talent rise to the next level. He took all the moves. He made them all look good. He absorbed every pin and submission. And then he came back to do it for someone else. From the local federations in Florida to years in the World Wrestling Federation, Horowitz helped launch the careers of wrestlers from Ric Flair to the Ultimate Warrior to Kane to Bill Goldberg, and everyone in between.

This book presents the life and career of Barry Horowitz. From his life outside the ring to his storied career in professional wrestling's most unsung role, this biography hopes to shed light on why Horowitz was so committed to an industry who sometimes failed to return the favor. From Horowitz comes a tale of defining one's own success and doing the best for the toughest of businesses--and about becoming a cornerstone in a part of pro wrestling that's commonly underrated, but an integral part of the trade!

November 12 - Jim Londos: The Golden Greek of Professional Wrestling by Steven Johnson

The most famous active athlete in the world during the Great Depression was not Babe Ruth, Sonja Henie or Babe Didrikson. It was a determined Greek immigrant who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean as a 15-year-old to escape a demanding father and start a life abroad. Jim Londos slept in railcars and firehouses to make ends meet and quickly found refuge on the mat.

Combining an Old World work ethic with a flair for the dramatic, Londos overcame skeptics and antagonists to become pro wrestling's greatest star, an international celebrity who walked with presidents, prime ministers and the common man. He was responsible for keeping wrestling alive during the Depression and representing achievement to ethnic minorities, underdogs and women, all of whom he attracted in record numbers. This complete biography of Jim Londos tells the story of the first great immigrant athlete, a man who rescued the soiled sport of wrestling when it was down for the count, and brought hope and inspiration to his countrymen and millions worldwide.

November 29 - Beyond NITRO: Untold Stories from the WCW era by Guy Evans

New WCW book solves nWo logo mystery, tells story of Dusty Rhodes in the world of motorsports + much more!

After several years of development, Guy Evans' long-awaited follow-up book to NITRO is set for release on 11/29. 

Famously, Evans' original book provided the inspiration for the recent Who Killed WCW series on VICE TV, and in his new book - Beyond Nitro: Untold Stories from the WCW era - he returns with an array of incredible untold stories, engrossing personal profiles, and detailed reflections on the enduring legacy of WCW.

Always engaging - and frequently revelatory - the stories featured in Beyond Nitro are interspersed with additional chapters on a wide variety of incisive subjects, including the importance of WCW to fans in the South, the 'dream match' that never was, and a look at wrestling nostalgia in its contemporary form. 

Some of the questions answered in Beyond Nitro include:

  • Who REALLY designed the iconic nWo logo?
  • How did a teenage WWF fan get on WCW payroll?
  • What (or who) is the unlikely thread connecting WCW...and the CIA???
  • How did Dusty Rhodes - at the height of the Monday Night Wars, no less - become an announcer for...*checks notes* swamp buggy racing in Florida?
  • What was the story behind a filmed WCW vs. nWo vignette which never made air?
  • Why exactly did Hollywood Hogan wrestle at a private event, circa 1997, in the red-and-yellow as HULK Hogan?
  • What explains the public's continued fascination with WCW - and the Monday Night Wars in general?
  • What was the secret 'ambush meeting' in 1999 which caused serious personal and professional repercussions for one party?
  • Whose set of previously unpublished communications shine new light on the chaos of WCW, circa 2000-01?

And much, much, much more!!!

Informed by the same attention to facts, research, analysis, drama and detail which made NITRO a bestseller, Beyond Nitro is finally here.

It's a simply sensational sequel!

Note: Pre-orders can ONLY be made at this URL: https://guyevansbooks.com/products/guy-evans-beyond-nitro

December 30 - Daffy: Golden Age Wrestling Queen

DAFFY: GOLDEN AGE WRESTLING QUEEN is the first of a historic two-volume series collecting at long last the complete adventures of Daffy Dill, the original comic book Queen of Wrestling. Originally serialized in Smash Comics in the 1940s, and featuring an array of contributors, DAFFY showcases playfully innovative cartooning and design as the titular heroine battles a lineup of unusual challengers from crooked gangsters and bootleggers, to monsters and rogue toreadors. Daffy's adventures showcase a stunning variety of classic cartooning styles, from series creator Gill Fox's chunky brawler, to the flashy, stylish lines of the great Janice Valleau (working as “Ginger”). Witness the evolution of Daffy Dill as she evolves from a lovably klutzy behemoth to a whip-smart, scrappy fighter who can solve any problem and suffers no fool for long. Daffy Dill's adventures are presented here for the first time in 80 years, painstakingly restored and ready at last for another round in the ring.

March 4, 2025 - Becky Lynch: The Man: Not Your Average Average Girl  PAPERBACK EDITION by Rebecca Quin

A New York Times bestseller! This “infectious and contagious” (“Stone Cold” Steve Austin) memoir from WWE superstar Rebecca Quin—a.k.a. The Man, a.k.a. Becky Lynch—delves into her earliest wrestling days, her scrappy beginnings, and her meteoric rise to fame.

Raised in Dublin, Ireland, in a devoutly Catholic family, Rebecca Quin constantly invented new ways to make her mother worry—roughhousing with the neighborhood kids, hosting secret parties while her parents were away, enrolling in a warehouse wrestling school, nearly breaking her neck and almost kneecapping a WWE star before her own wrestling career even began—and she was always in search of a thrilling escape from the ordinary.

Rebecca’s childhood love of wrestling set her on an unlikely path. With few female wrestlers to look to for guidance, Rebecca pursued a wrestling career hoping to change the culture and move it away from the antiquated disrespect so often directed at the elite female athletes who grace the ring. Even as a teenager, she knew that she would stop at nothing to earn a space among the greatest wrestlers of our time and to pave a new path for female fighters.

Culled from decades of journal entries, this “endearing debut memoir” (Publishers Weekly) offers a candid depiction of the complex woman behind the character Rebecca Quin plays on TV.

March 18, 2025-  Lucha Libre: The History of Mexican Wrestling

An illustrated historic and cultural dive into the world of Mexico’s most beloved sport, sure to please fans

In this handsome bilingual book, the best Mexican specialists analyze all facets of the lucha libre phenomenon: the history and roots of the sport, the most important luchadores, the way the world of Mexican wrestling is organized, the history and practice of female wrestling, the meaning of the masks and costumes, and lucha libre’s influence in worldwide pop culture.

Over the decades, lucha libre has become a symbol of Mexico, transcending the nation’s borders. Halfway between sport and religion, this synthesis of Hispanic, Aztec, European, and American represents the quintessence of Mexican culture. The luchador is a living god, and products in his image are idolized like sacred relics. A symbol of urban working-class culture, the significance of lucha libre is massive.

Artes de México is a magazine with 28 years of experience that promotes and disseminates the cultural diversity of Mexico in all its creative manifestations. Since its inception, it has been linked to the most important writers, researchers, and creators, and has been recognized with more than 150 national and international awards.

March 25, 2025 - Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Pro-Wrestling's New World Order Changed America Hardcover by Marc Raimondi

From ESPN reporter Marc Raimondi comes a compelling, gripping narrative history of professional wrestling’s legendary faction, The NWO (New World Order), from their inception in 1996 to their influence on American pop culture today.

In 1996, professional wrestling was one of the most watched sports on cable television, with more than 5 million people tuning in every week. And in the late 1990s, pro-wrestling was the hottest thing in American pop culture, with companies making millions in action figures, video games, and simple black t-shirts emblazoned with three little letters: NWO.

The NWO, or New World Order, became a business like no other, and was responsible for the explosive ratings and rabid fanbase. It started with an ingenious storyline starring Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and the titular Hollywood Hogan—Hulk Hogan gone bad. Together, they formed a new era of characters to root for: The Bad Guys.

Never before had audiences cheered for the villains, rooting for them over the heroes. The NWO broke down wrestling’s fourth wall in a clever new way, blurring the lines between fiction and reality. And suddenly, watching professional wrestling not only became socially acceptable, but a necessity if you wanted to stay up to date with pop culture. Their impact was infectious and long-lasting. It was entertainment that shaped a generation.

Written by Marc Raimondi, a current ESPN reporter with nearly twenty years of experience in journalism, this narrative history explores professional wrestling’s most popular faction and how their existence influenced American culture like never before.

March 25, 2025 - BIGGER! BETTER! BADDER!: WRESTLEMANIA III and the Year It All Changed Paperback by Keith Elliot Greenberg

How did WrestleMania III legitimize wrestling as entertainment and reshape the industry? Greenberg lays it bare and offers insights into WWE’s evolution and WrestleMania’s lasting impact

On an overcast day in 1987, the pro wrestling landscape was altered forever when a reported 93,173 fans converged on the Pontiac Silverdome outside Detroit to see Hulk Hogan defend his championship against André the Giant. For several years, Vincent Kennedy McMahon had been transforming old-time rasslin’ into mainstream “sports entertainment,” incorporating A-list celebrities into storylines and forcing even cynics to follow the proceedings. But the massive turnout for WrestleMania III convinced sponsors, licensees, and media conglomerates that the company that would become World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was no longer a fringe diversion for the unwashed masses; it was now legitimate physical theater worthy of global attention. From this point forward, it would be acceptable for devotees to make the annual pilgrimage to WrestleMania from the far corners of the Earth, the way others journeyed to the World Cup or Super Bowl.

BIGGER! BETTER! BADDER! is the story behind the seminal event, told from the perspective of company executives, wrestlers who appeared on the card, fans who attended the show, and other wrestling personalities. But wrestling author and historian Keith Elliot Greenberg also examines the entire industry at the time, including insights from representatives from the rival promotions McMahon was putting out of business as pro wrestling transitioned from a regional phenomenon into an international juggernaut.

March 25, 2025 - Hell in Boots: Clawing My Way Through Nine Lives by Saraya-Jade Bevis

An eye-opening memoir of family drama, stardom, despair, and resilience from the wildly popular wrestling superstar.

Saraya-Jade Bevis, formerly WWE’s Paige, is one of the biggest names in the wrestling world. She is the youngest two-time WWE Divas Champion and was inaugural NXT’s Women Champion. She ranked first in Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Female 50 and was named Diva of the Year by Rolling Stone in 2014. She was also the subject of the critically and commercially successful 2019 film Fighting with My Family, produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and starring Florence Pugh. But before ascending to wrestling superstardom, she was just Saraya.

Hell in Boots is Saraya’s real, uncensored, story. From her early days in her famous (and chaotic) wrestling family, to leaving home at fifteen, to forging her own path in professional wrestling, Saraya has been through hell and back. As she fought to make it in the incredibly competitive—and at times sexist—wrestling world, she faced incredible highs and devastating lows. Saraya recounts years of struggling with substance abuse, clawing back her pride after an ex’s sex tape leaked, adjusting to stardom in the WWE, healing from a nearly career-ending injury, a making triumphant return to wrestling as AEW Women’s World Champion. Through it all, Saraya tells her whole truth in a way she never has before.

OFFICIAL RELEASE TO BE CONFIRMED:

David Penzer and Guy Evans are BACK with Sitting Ringside, Volume 2: The XWF, TNA and Life After Wrestling!

This incredible volume covers David's career POST-WCW (2001-2024), including just some of the following topics (among many others!):

The UNTOLD story of the XWF...

On The Road with Roddy Piper...

Adventures in TNA Wrestling...

'Nash Time'...

The Kurt Angle 'Angle'...

Flirtations with WWE...

Life After Wrestling...

An iMPACTful return...

+ MUCH, MUCH more!

PLUS: 200+ pages of rare documents, materials and formats/scripts you've NEVER seen before!

It's all here - pre-order NOW! Link: https://guyevansbooks.com/.../sitting-ringside-volume-2...

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