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Death of the Territories: Expansion, Betrayal and the War that Changed Pro Wrestling Forever
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About Death Of The Territories: Expansion, Betrayal And
Product Description For decades, distinct professional wrestling territories thrived across North America. Each regionally based promotion operated individually and offered a brand of localized wrestling that greatly appealed to area fans. Promoters routinely coordinated with associates in surrounding regions, and the cooperation displayed by members of the National Wrestling Alliance made it easy for wrestlers to traverse the landscape with the utmost freedom. Dozens of territories flourished between the 1950s and late ’70s. But by the early 1980s, the growth of cable television had put new outside pressures on promoters. An enterprising third-generation entrepreneur who believed cable was his opportunity to take his promotion national soon capitalized on the situation. A host of novel ideas and the will to take chances gave Vincent Kennedy McMahon an incredible advantage. McMahon waged war on the territories and raided the NWA and AWA of their top talent. By creating WrestleMania, jumping into the pay-per-view field, and expanding across North America, McMahon changed professional wrestling forever. Providing never-before-revealed information, Death of the Territories is a must-read for fans yearning to understand how McMahon outlasted his rivals and established the industry’s first national promotion. At the same time, it offers a comprehensive look at the promoters who opposed McMahon, focusing on their noteworthy power plays and embarrassing mistakes. Review "Tried-and-true wrestling fans will find lots to get excited about." ― Publishers Weekly "Tim Hornbaker has penned the definitive story of the death of the wrestling territories and pro wrestling itself as many of us loved it. Tim takes an incredibly complex story with many moving parts and boils it down with precision to just what you need to know." ― Jim Cornette, Pro Wrestling Legend and Historian "With Death of the Territories, Tim Hornbaker further establishes himself as possibly the finest wrestling historian writing today." ― Jon Langmead, Writer, PopMatters, SLAM! Wrestling "Armed with excellent research, Tim Hornbaker puts the reader in the centre of the purge that wiped out the fiefdom that once ruled professional wrestling, leaving Vince McMahon the last man standing." ― Mike Johnson, PWInsider.com About the Author Tim Hornbaker is the author of eight nonfiction books, including National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling and Capitol Revolution: The Rise of the McMahon Wrestling Empire. His biography Turning the Black Sox White was nominated for SABR’s Larry Ritter Award and the Seymour Medal in 2015. He lives in Tamarac, FL, with his wife, Jodi. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter One The Established System From makeshift mats in barns to the largest arenas in the world, professional wrestling has really come a long way to become an international phenomenon. Though its evolution has been gradual, it received significant help from innovative promoters looking to change the core aspects of the business. For example, the matches themselves needed to be improved. Instead of developing at a snail’s pace with protracted rest holds, bouts became more action-packed and exciting with aggressive competitors using a whole host of newfangled moves. The introduction of the flying tackle and the dropkick in the late 1920s and early ’30s was revolutionary, and promoters wisely built upon their popularity. Around the same time, wrestlers were testing the waters with character-based gimmicks, and good versus evil feuds were born, invoking incredible audience reactions. This is all old hat in today’s marketplace, but in the early days, everything was remarkably unsophisticated. With no clear-cut and defined wrestling organizations to manage the day-to-day operations of the industry, the sport was completely devoid of orderliness. It wasn’t until the 1920s and ’30s that circuits
