Wrestling Babylon

Professional wrestling’s most notorious scandals and drug-fueled spectacles are laid out using insider details and investigative journalism in this powerful expose of the sport. Featuring pieces previously published in magazines such as Penthouse and People, this book examines the demise of the old Mafia-like territories, whose wake, with the help of cable television and deregulation, helped fuel the astonishing growth of professional wrestling. These solemn and thoroughly investigated accounts—of Hulk Hogan’s drug use, the untimely death of Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka’s girlfriend, the ill-fated Von Erich clan, and various scandals associated with World Wrestling Entertainment’s Vince McMahon—go beyond the theatrics to illustrate what really goes on behind the curtain and where the sport now stands.