Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
Several new professional wrestling centric books were officially released today;
BIGGER! BETTER! BADDER!: WRESTLEMANIA III and the Year It All Changed by Keith Elliot Greenberg will be published by ECW Press on March 25, 2025.
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.
Keith Elliot Greenberg is a New York Times bestselling author, as well as a monthly columnist for Inside the Ropes Magazine. A lifetime New Yorker, he co-authored the autobiographies of “Classy” Freddie Blassie, Ric Flair and “Superstar” Billy Graham, as well as two editions of the WWE Encyclopedia of Sports Entertainment. His previous books for ECW Press include Too Sweet: Inside the Indie Wrestling Revolution, Follow the Buzzards: Pro Wrestling in the Age of COVID-19 and Best Seat in the House: My Life in the Jeff Healey Band, co-written with Tom Stephen. He regularly appears as a wrestling historian on A&E’s WWE documentary series.
****
Hell in Boots: Clawing My Way Through Nine Lives by Saraya-Jade Bevis will be officially released on 3/25.
Promotional material for the book, by current AEW star Saraya, who performed as Paige during her time in WWE, notes:
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.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
