Between the Ropes

the long version

The power players behind the wildly popular and often controversial world of professional wrestling are examined in this chronological look at the past 10 years of wrestling entertainment. The competition between the four major wrestling organizations—World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (later renamed as World Wrestling Entertainment [WWE]), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)—is rendered in detail, from wrestling's late-90s resurgence and the financial troubles of WCW and ECW to WWE's singular dominance and TNA's present-day struggle for market share. The reasons behind pro wrestling's popularity surge are explored in terms of key statistics such as television ratings, pay-per-view buy rates, and live-event attendance, as well as how the major organizations have capitalized—or not—on wrestling's trends. Commentary from the authors' seven-year-old weekly wrestling radio program is featured throughout alongside opinions from The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, and Vince McMahon.