Sex, Lies, and Headlocks-The Real Story of Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation

by Shaun Assael

Other authorsMIke Mooneyham
2002

Description

"Current fans and recovering Hulkamaniacs alike should find [Sex, Lies, and Headlocks] as gripping as the Camel Clutch." --Maxim Sex, Lies, and Headlocks is the ultimate behind-the-scenes look at the backstabbing, scandals, and high-stakes gambles that have made wrestling an enduring television phenomenon. The man behind it all is Vince McMahon, a ruthless and entertaining visionary whose professional antics make some of the flamboyant characters in the ring look tame by comparison. Throughout the book, the authors trace McMahon's rise to power and examine the appeal of the industry's biggest stars--including Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Gorgeous George, Bruno Sammartino, Ric Flair, and, most recently, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. In doing so, they show us that while WWE stock is traded to the public on Wall Street, wrestling remains a shadowy world guided by a century-old code that stresses secrecy and loyalty. With a new afterword, this is the definitive book about the history of pro wrestling. "Reading this excellent behind-the-scenes look at wrestling promoter McMahon . . . is almost as entertaining and shocking as watching the most extreme antics of McMahon's comic-book style creations such as Steve Austin and The Rock." --Publishers Weekly "A quintessentially American success story of a cocky opportunist defying the odds and hitting it big . . . Sparkling cultural history from an author wise enough to let the facts and personalities speak for themselves."--Kirkus Reviews… (more)

Library's review

From the cable television ratings to the bestseller lists, profrssional wrestling is red-hot. How it got that way is not a pretty picture, but it's one that is painted in more detail than ever before in Sex, Lies, and Headlocks, the first in depth, journalistic look at the world of wrestling.

At the
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heart of the story is Vince McMahon, the mercurial owner of the World Wrestling Federation. The authors trace his beginnings as the forgotten son of a second-generation wrestling czar who left rural North Carolina to stake is own claim to the family business. They detail his early, ruthless genius in declaring war on the old territory czars who had grown fat and lazy. And they show how his first brush with fame in the 1980s with Hulk Hogan and Cyndi Lauper sowed the seeds for the drug and sex scandals that nearly toppled his empire in the 1990s. They also tell us the inside story of McMahon's blood feud with Ted Turner, adding some surprising details about the two men's quests to ruin each other.

Throughout the book, the authors examine the appeal of the industry's biggest stars-including Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Gorgeous George, Bruno Sammartino, Ric Flair, and, most recently, Stone Cold Steve Auston and The Rock. In doing so, they show us that while WWF stock is traded to the public on Wall Street, wrestling remains a shadowy world guided by a century-old code that stresses secrecy and loyalty.

Sex, Lies, and Headlocks is the ultimate behind-the-scenes look at the history, personalities, back-stabbing, scandals, and high-stakes gambles that have made Vince McMahon the king of the ring and wreslting an enduring television phenomenon.

Shaun Assael, a senior writer for ESPN: The Magazine, is the author of Wide Open: Days and Nights on the NASCAR Tour.

Mike Mooneyham, an editor with the Charleston Post and Courier, pens the longest-running wrestling column in the country.
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User reviews

LibraryThing member HvyMetalMG
By now, everyone knows what happens behind the scenes of the WWE ain't kosher! Of course most people hate wrestling, but for a wrestling fan, it is interesting to read about the business side of wrestling that is more ruthless than being thrown through a flaming table. A few facts here are actually
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wrong and I feel like a loser for knowing those, but some of the business elements are very interesting to discover.
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ISBN

609606905

Publication

Crown Publishers New York
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