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Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s
Every saturday night in the eighties fans would gather around their television to watch, not Saturday Night Live , but Saturday Night The Main Event . WWE wrestling beat the ratings for the most talked about show on television week after week. Here is that era captured.
“Introducing your champion, from Venice Beach, California, at three hundred and three pounds—Hulk Hogan! And his challenger . . .”
Hearing those words ring out across the arena meant you were there. It didn't matter if you were there in person, or watching on television or closed circuit. You were in the place where everyone wanted to be. You could feel the crowd; as the tension built, you were swept up and into the action. You knew you were going to witness history. You were experiencing the main event at a live WWE show.
It seemed that wrestling had changed overnight, that the men who entered the squared circle were suddenly larger than life.
Everyone wanted to see the behemoth Hulk Hogan wrestle. And the men who wrestled with and against him were his equals in creating a match and a character that no one would soon Andre the Giant, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Jake "the Snake" Roberts, Sgt. Slaughter. They all kept you pinned to your seat as they were pinning their opponents to the mat. You just knew that you were going to see things that no one had ever seen before.
The eighties was the era that cemented WWE as the place where the best wrestlers on the planet worked. Main Event -- WWE in the Raging 80s dips into those years and reveals the most celebrated wrestlers and the matches that will be recalled as not just the best of the eighties but the best of the ages.
“Introducing your champion, from Venice Beach, California, at three hundred and three pounds—Hulk Hogan! And his challenger . . .”
Hearing those words ring out across the arena meant you were there. It didn't matter if you were there in person, or watching on television or closed circuit. You were in the place where everyone wanted to be. You could feel the crowd; as the tension built, you were swept up and into the action. You knew you were going to witness history. You were experiencing the main event at a live WWE show.
It seemed that wrestling had changed overnight, that the men who entered the squared circle were suddenly larger than life.
Everyone wanted to see the behemoth Hulk Hogan wrestle. And the men who wrestled with and against him were his equals in creating a match and a character that no one would soon Andre the Giant, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Jake "the Snake" Roberts, Sgt. Slaughter. They all kept you pinned to your seat as they were pinning their opponents to the mat. You just knew that you were going to see things that no one had ever seen before.
The eighties was the era that cemented WWE as the place where the best wrestlers on the planet worked. Main Event -- WWE in the Raging 80s dips into those years and reveals the most celebrated wrestlers and the matches that will be recalled as not just the best of the eighties but the best of the ages.
- GenresNonfiction
208 pages, Paperback
First published November 7, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Shelved as 'dnf'
May 22, 2024DNF @ 26%
Look, I *LOVE* 80s pro wrestling. But this is basically just a compilation of Wikipedia entries. (Though "encylopedia entries" would probably be a more apt comparison since so much is out of date...this book was written in 2006, and a majority of the wrestlers covered have passed since then.) One note: the Ultimate Warrior did not become an "inspirational speaker" after he retired...he became an unhinged bigot who went around giving hate speeches against the LGBTQ community.
Look, I *LOVE* 80s pro wrestling. But this is basically just a compilation of Wikipedia entries. (Though "encylopedia entries" would probably be a more apt comparison since so much is out of date...this book was written in 2006, and a majority of the wrestlers covered have passed since then.) One note: the Ultimate Warrior did not become an "inspirational speaker" after he retired...he became an unhinged bigot who went around giving hate speeches against the LGBTQ community.
April 23, 2012
Decent, but very brief review of the best pro-wrestlers from this decade. Would have been better with more details and some of the behind-the-scenes issues leading up to such big matchups and matches...afterall, they had Andre, Hogan, Steamboat, and the best WrestlMania's to work from...
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews