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

Name: Nitro: The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner's WCW
SKU: 73231
Availability: InStock

4.6 | 1,759 ratings

Price: 21.83

Last update: 06-08-2024

Top reviews from the United States

Thomas

well-written deep research into, and history of, WCW

Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2024

This book covers, in great detail, the history rise, and fall of the WCW wrestling organization. Just about everything you could ever want to know about WCW is in here, and for me (who tuned in weekly from 1997-1999) this was a great walk down memory lane - this time with the background knowledge about what was going on. Random side question: why nothing (zero!) about the Nitro Girls? Anyhow, this is a reference-level work that should be in any wrestling fan's library.

Tabe

Ignore the terrible cover - this is the best wrestling book ever written.

Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2018

I'll give you the bottom line up front: This is the best wrestling book ever written. If you're a fan at all, go buy it.

"Nitro" tells in great detail the story of WCW's rise to the top of the wrestling world in the mid-late 90s and their even more amazing crash and burn in 2000/01. Fueled by an amazing cast of stars, an innovative TV program (the "Nitro" from which the book gets its name), and tremendous storylines, WCW rose to amazing heights in in 1995-98. Their rise challenged the WWF to be better and wrestling fans, as a result of "The Monday Night Wars" were thrilled to multiple high-quality shows every week.

"Nitro" tells this story through the eyes of the people who were there. With over 120 exclusive interviews, Guy Evans paints a wonderfully detailed, complete picture of WCW - the wrestling itself, the TV show, the Turner network, and so on. We hear from Eric Bischoff, Kevin Nash, Kevin Sullivan and a whole host of production and behind-the-scenes folks.

The focus here is on the big picture, not always the details of matches and what's actually going on in the ring for WCW. This is both good and bad. Occasionally, it feels like the wrestling gets short shrift but...that's what WCW did, too. They made the wrestling of secondary importance and lost their audience as a result. The plus side is that we get a lot more of the "other" details in WCW and that's where the fun stuff is - the backstage maneuvering, politicking, and dumb decision-making.

"Nitro" is 560+ pages of amazing. It flies by and you'll be left wanting for more. It's packed with details and tidbits that you probably didn't know going in and it's told in an easy, fast moving style.

HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommended. I've read dozens of wrestling books and this one is tops among the crowd. It's fabulous.

p.s As for the cover...Guy Evans did himself no favors. Using a blurry, poor quality photo of a wrestling move that's not even from the "Nitro" show - bad idea. Using a lame white block font for the title - bad idea. Not putting his own name on the cover - really bad idea. But don't judge this book by its cover!

Jason Martin

Great book. Only negatives are in the lack of edits.

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2018

There’s really only one noticeable issue with Evans’ book, which is meticulously researched and sourced, and although it may be a bit too favorable in its coverage at times...it’s exceptional. I only wish, and it’s likely a result of budget and distribution, publishing company, etc... it needs an editor. There are far too many typos and words out of place, or doubled up, or the wrong versions of your, you’re, and things of that sort. It took me out of the experience within every few pages when another one cropped up. I worked in pro wrestling for nearly a decade and found it an excellent retelling of history we knew, but with much more focus on both business and most importantly, the challenges of Turner from day one.

Dr. Death

When wrestling was the thing on the marquee!

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2019

This is it! Finally, a well written and thoroughly researched book on what really happened behind the scenes at Turner's infamous wrestling extravaganza that actually got too big and started to believe it's own storylines. I can clearly remember when I first saw Georgia Championship Wrestling airing on WTBS back in the day; it was like a breath of fresh air! Two guys actually wrestling, not just jobbers getting beaten up, and storylines that were believable and interesting. After growing up with the WWWF's product for my earlier years, I wanted to see characters that seemed authentic and real. I can remember seeing Ole Anderson wrestling with his partner Arn, and howling with delight as they both worked on their opponent's leg, leaving the man limping after a furious bout. And seeing Ric Flair for the first time was a true delight; no one could work the mike like he could, cutting incredible promos that set the place on fire! In Guy Evans book, he tells us how GCW morphed into WCW and how Eric Bishoff came in and took charge with a bottomless checkbook. At first things were on a roll but then some major egos got involved and then before you knew it, it was us the fans that ultimately paid the price as WCW hemorrhaged money, trying desperately to once again be on top. I was lucky because I got to witness the entire rise and fall of greatness and now we are left with the laughable product that the WWE serves up on Monday nights now. Thank goodness for New Japan Wrestling and for the hours of footage on You Tube that are available to die hard fans like myself. This is the definitive wrestling book to have in your library, featuring many of the people that were working behind the scene, that helped create an incredible moment in time. This story has been told before in other books, but never like this. Evans does an incredible job presenting the facts for themselves so that the reader can be the judge. Highly recommended!

Pedro Pereira

Extremely detailed.

Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2024

I had read about 170 pages awhile back but this weekend I decided to pick up the book again and once I realised it was Sunday afternoon and I was done.

I'm not an avid reader so that doesn't happen often it just speaks volumes to how good Guy's writing is. I also really loved how mostly everyone involved with WCW was able to participate in the book and tell their side of the story. The last few chapters were a tough read and it had me on the verge of tears. I'm just 26 years old, I wasn't around to watch WCW but I wish I was, it was a magical time and the book describes just that.

After the read I'll always be asking myself "what if?" as in: What if Eric Bischoff had been able to buy WCW? Where would it be today?

I 100% recommend this book.

Best Sellers in

Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World

4.6 152

22.04

Stay Sane in an Insane World: How to Control the Controllables and Thrive

4.6 543

11.57

438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea

4.6 7671

13.12

Just Add Water: My Swimming Life

4.7 246

13.12

Racing to the Finish

4.8 3488

17.32

Into Siberia: George Kennan's Epic Journey Through the Brutal, Frozen Heart of Russia

4.4 112

18.8

Quiet Leadership: Winning Hearts, Minds and Matches

4.5 1567

13.72

Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith

4.8 324

17.32