Books about Wrestling from Amazon.com

Randy Couture -- voted "The Greatest Fighter of All Time" by viewers' choice -- recounts his record-breaking career, which has made him an undisputed UFC legend.

Randy Couture wins fights with the seemingly effortless ease with which lesser mortals eat or breathe. He's the only athlete to have held championship titles in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions of the UFC, and he's the only six-time title earner in UFC history.

In Becoming the Natural, Couture tells his story for the first time, beginning with a childhood spent in search of an elusive father figure, followed by the pure adrenaline rush that accompanied his first wrestling bout in grade school. In 1997, at the age of thirty-three, Couture made his UFC debut, defeating two opponents in the heavyweight class and then scoring a TKO victory against Brazilian phenom Vitor Belfort to earn the nickname "The Natural." He won his first heavyweight title that same year. At the age of forty, he defeated five-time defending champion Tito Ortiz for the undisputed light heavyweight title. Couture retired in 2006, only to reemerge the following year and seize the heavyweight championship title once again.

Becoming the Natural is the remarkable story of one of the world's most gifted and dedicated athletes -- a born fighter whose skill and showmanship have helped to lift mixed martial arts out of the shadows and into the mainstream..
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Written without collaborators and based on decades of tape recordings he made throughout his career, HITMAN is Bret Hart's brutally honest, perceptive and startling account of his life in and out of the ring that proves once and for all that great things come in pink tights..
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This is the first-ever biography of the legendary wrestler Gorgeous George, filled with incredible never-before-told stories George directly influenced the likes of Muhammad Ali, who took his bragging and boasting from George; James Brown, who began to wear sequined capes onstage after seeing George on TV; John Waters, whose films featured the outrageous drag queen Divine as an homage to George; and too many wrestlers to count. Amid these pop culture discoveries are firsthand accounts of the pro wrestling game from the 1930s to the 1960s.

The ideal American male used to be stoic, quiet, and dignified. But for a young couple struggling to make ends meet, in the desperation born of the lingering Depression and wartime rationing, an idea was hatched that changed the face of American popular culture, an idea so bold, so over-the-top and absurd, that it was perfect. That idea transformed journeyman wrestler George Wagner from a dark-haired, clean-cut good guy to a peroxide-blond braggart who blatantly cheated every chance he got. Crowds were stunned—they had never seen anything like this before—and they came from miles around to witness it for themselves.

Suddenly George—guided by Betty, his pistol of a wife—was a draw. With his golden tresses grown long and styled in a marcel, George went from handsome to . . . well . . . gorgeous overnight, the small, dank wrestling venues giving way to major arenas. As if the hair wasn't enough, his robes—unmanly things of silk, lace, and chiffon in pale pinks, sunny yellows, and rich mauves—were but a prelude to the act: the regal entrance, the tailcoat-clad valet spraying the mat with perfume, the haughty looks and sneers for the "peasants" who paid to watch this outrageously prissy hulk prance around the ring. How they loved to see his glorious mane mussed up by his manly opponents. And how they loved that alluringly alliterative name . . . Gorgeous George . . . the self-proclaimed Toast of the Coast, the Sensation of the Nation!

All this was timed to the arrival of that new invention everyone was talking about—television. In its early days, professional wrestling and its larger-than-life characters dominated prime-time broadcasts—none more so than Gorgeous George, who sold as many sets as Uncle Miltie.

Fans came in droves—to boo him, to stick him with hatpins, to ogle his gowns, and to rejoice in his comeuppance. He was the man they loved to hate, and his provocative, gender-bending act took him to the top of the entertainment world. America would never be the same again.

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Price: $9.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Randy "The Natural" Couture is the most respected and celebrated MMA combatant in the history of the UFC. A UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight World Champion, and a UFC Hall of Famer, Randy Couture's reputation and fighting style are among the best in the world.

Now, with Wrestling for Fighting: The Sport of Mixed Martial Arts, Couture presents the techniques and strategies that allowed him to devastate the world s best strikers and grapplers time and time again. His unique fighting system, a mix of martial arts, wrestling, boxing and jiu-jitsu, is broken down clearly and concisely for amateurs and seasoned veterans alike. Couture also includes important information on creating fight game plans, and a variety of training tips you won t find anywhere else..
Price: $20.47 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $18.45 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In the notoriously crooked and exploitative world of professional wrestling, WWE legend Chris Benoit was supposed to be the exception Chris was universally recognized as the best pro wrestling had to offer: a decent, humble, and devoted family man loved and admired by all who knew him. Nobody could have predicted the horrific events of June 22-24, 2007 when Chris strangled his wife and seven-year old son before committing suicide. RING OF HELL is the true story of Benoit's journey through the destructive, dysfunctional, and bizarre pro wrestling industry and the catastrophic physical and mental breakdown that led to his grisly end.

One of the best books ever written about professional wrestling certainly the best ever written by a non-wrestler. (Shelton Hull, Columnist for Folio Weekly)

Were it not for fact that pro wrestling is the redheaded stepchild of American society, Randazzo would likely be up for a Pulitzer Prize for the journalism contained in this book.... This book sets a new standard for exposing the truth about pro wrestling, one that may never be topped and certainly won't be anytime soon. (Rick Morris, Sports Talk Network radio host and McGraw-Hill business journalist.)

While dissecting what made Chris Benoit tick, Matthew Randazzo takes a scathing look at the sleazy manner in which the pro-wrestling business operates. Randazzo adroitly exposes the elements that contributed to Benoit's demise. So much sordid behavior is described from Benoit's time in WWE and the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling that hard-partying rock stars seem like choirboys in comparison. (Alex Marvez, columnist for Fox Sports and Scripps-Howard News Service.)

I know [Matthew Randazzo V], and he is legit. For an outsider to the industry, if that's the correct term, he seemed to have more access to inside info than all but a few people. No matter what the book says about this period [in wrestling], it's a viewpoint that should be looked at and thought about. (Dave Meltzer, Yahoo! Sports and Editor of The Wrestling Observer.)

It's an amazing story well-told and an honest look inside a brutal and backwards business. (Jon Snowden, author of Total MMA and editor of the Total MMA Newsletter)

Randazzo takes a scalpel to the dark underbelly of the wrestling business and slices away with a butcher's intensity and surgeon's skill and carves out a tale of desperation, frustration, misplaced loyalties and heartbreak. (Dan Madigan, former World Wrestling Entertainment writer, and author of Mondo Lucha a Go-Go and the 2006 feature film See No Evil.)

Matthew Randazzo has written a great pro wrestling book that requires no knowledge of the business. But if you are a fan, there's a deeper experience to be gained. Ring of Hell challenges your perception of these heels and high-flyers and confronts you with the flesh-and-blood price paid for your precious childhood memories. (Chad Damiani, former World Championship Wrestling announcer.)

Ring Of Hell is an unfiltered, unbiased look into the world of professional wrestling and sheds light upon the shortcomings of an industry that has shrouded itself in paranoid secrecy for years. A must-read book for anyone. (Domenic Cotter, former World Wrestling Entertainment producer.).
Price: $15.47 [Notify me when price goes down.]

People around the world know Dave Batista as World Wrestling Entertainment's "the Animal," the rope-shaking, spine-busting World Heavyweight Champion, one of the most popular Superstars in recent years.The crowd turned Batista from heel to babyface after they were electrified by his awesome physique and physical wrestling style.

Few fans, however, know that Batista didn't join the profession until he was thirty years old -- an age at which many wrestlers are thinking about hanging up their boots. Nor do most fans know the tremendous toll the climb to the top has taken on Batista's personal life. While successfully staying away from hard drugs and -- usually -- liquor, he found sex too tempting to resist.

"Women were my drug of choice," the Animal confesses. That addiction cost him his marriage, destroying a relationship that had helped him climb from poverty to the pinnacle of sports entertainment in less than two years.

Now, in Batista Unleashed, the WWE Superstar comes clean about the choices he made and the devastating effects they had on his family. He talks about the injury that stripped him of his title -- an injury he blames on Mark Henry's carelessness. While being sidelined cost Batista untold hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost income, it also set the stage for a tremendous comeback that cemented the Animal's reputation as a true champion.

Batista talks about growing up in the worst part of Washington, D.C., where three murders occurred in his front yard before he was nine. He speaks lovingly about his mother -- a lesbian -- and how hard she worked to keep the family not just together but alive. He talks candidly about his own criminal past: a conviction on a drug charge and another, since overturned, on assault. He speaks of his days as a bouncer and a lifeguard, and tells how bodybuilding may have saved his life.

Once he made it to the WWE, Batista realized he wasn't really ready for the big time. His career seemed headed for a fall until Fit Finlay took him under his wing. But his real education came when he joined Evolution and rode with Triple H and Ric Flair, two of sports entertainment's all-time greats. Batista talks about what they taught him, and details some of their wild times on the road.

But the champ also reveals a kinder, gentler side. While his soft-spoken manner in the locker room has sometimes been misinterpreted as arrogance, in truth Batista's always been somewhat shy and quiet. Emotional by nature, he reveals for the first time that the tears fans saw at WrestleMania 21, when he won the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time, were very real. And he speaks movingly about his problems with his ex-wives and teenage daughters, and how it felt to become a grandfather.

While his straight-shooting mouth has occasionally gotten him into trouble -- most notably in a backstage confrontation with Undertaker after some remarks about SmackDown! -- Batista is his own harshest critic. He explains his early limitations as a wrestler and the work he has done to overcome them. Interspersing his memoir with accounts from life on the road, Batista lightens the narrative with a surprising sense of humor. An Animal in the ring, he reveals himself as an honest and even humble man in everyday life..
Price: $7.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Everyone's got a price.

Everyone's got to pay.

'Cause the Million Dollar Man always gets his way.

After proving his point, Ted DiBiase would laugh and fan out his large roll of hundreds, worsening the degradation of whoever had been foolish enough to accept his challenge or get in his way. Defeated opponents -- put to sleep with his Million Dollar Dream -- would have the added humiliation of awakening to discover that the Million Dollar Man had been stuffing bills down their throats. Winning match after match, yet no closer to the championship, DiBiase wanted the title, but he couldn't seem to win it. His solution: pay Andre the Giant to win the title, make sure the referee was also "taken care of," and then have Andre hand the championship title over to him.

True to his taunt, the Million Dollar Man had gotten his way, and Ted DiBiase became the most hated person in sports entertainment.

Making his way to the top of the profession that he had loved since he was a child, Ted DiBiase never did anything by half measures. He couldn't, because the men he respected and worked side by side with expected that "Iron" Mike's kid would give his all. And each day while on the road learning what it was to be a wrestler, Ted remembered how his father had taught him to give his all every time. It was how his father lived -- and how he lost his life, dying during a wrestling match while Ted was still a boy.

From the dusty roads of Texas to the bayous of Louisiana, Ted moved from one wrestling promotion to another -- sometimes a babyface, other times a heel. He learned how to tell a story and how to draw the fans in, both inside and outside the ring. In 1987, Vince McMahon had an idea for a new character, the Million Dollar Man, and one person came to mind: Ted DiBiase. For nearly a decade, fans waited to see just how Ted could prove his adage that "Everyone's got a price." When he was sidelined by a neck injury, DiBiase started a second wrestling career, as a manager. He managed some of the biggest stars: Bam Bam Bigelow, King Kong Bundy, and a very green wrestler, the Ringmaster (who would later be known as Stone Cold Steve Austin).

Ted DiBiase, the Million Dollar Man, is fondly remembered by wrestling fans for his style and his command of the ring. This is the inside glimpse of three decades inside and outside the squared circle..
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What would legendary Boston Celtics coach and 16-time NBA champion Red Auerbach say is the most critical quality for a person to be successful? Would his advice differ from 10-time NCAA championship coach John Wooden's? What would each say to a young person just starting out in pursuit of their dreams? What is the best advice they were ever given?

It took author Christian Klemash more than two years of research, persistence, and original interviews, but now he's ready to pass on the best advice you'll ever get. Only the rare individual has had the opportunity to pick the brain of just one legendary sports coach—let alone thirty-four of the best sports coaches of all time. Klemash gives sports fans a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn valuable life lessons from the most famous, intelligent, and victorious coaches ever. The legends span the sports world, from gold medal-winning gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi and three-time college football championship coach Tom Osborne to four-time World Series-winning baseball manager Joe Torre and hall-of-fame boxing trainer Angelo Dundee.

These coaches know how to teach top athletes about character and winning, how to manage pressure at crunch time, and how to bring out the best in their players when it matters most. How to Succeed in the Game of Life shares their insights into sports, life, and the most vital keys to sustain success.Featuring Exclusive Interviews with:

Red Auerbach, 16-time NBA World Champion

Bobby Bowden, College Football's All-Time Winningest Coach, 2-time National Champion

Scotty Bowman, 9-time Stanley Cup Champion

Bill Cowher, Super Bowl Champion

Tony Dungy, Super Bowl Champion

Dan Gable, 15-time NCCA Champion

April Heinrichs, Gold Medal Winning Coach of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team

Bela Karolyi, The World’s Greatest Gymnastics Coach

Bill Parcells, 2-time Super Bowl Champion

Emanuel Steward, Boxing Trainer of 30 World Champions

Joe Torre, 4-time World Series Champion

Bill Walsh, 3-time Super Bowl Champion

Lenny Wilkens, NBA’s All-Time Winningest Coach, NBA Champion

John Wooden, 10-time NCAA Champion

And More!

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Price: $12.21 [Notify me when price goes down.]