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Death of the Territories

Expansion, Betrayal and the War That Changed Pro Wrestling Forever

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Death of the Territories

By: Tim Hornbaker
Narrated by: Kyle Tait
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About this listen

For decades, distinct professional wrestling territories thrived across North America. Each regionally based promotion operated individually and offered a brand of localized wrestling that greatly appealed to area fans. Promoters routinely coordinated with associates in surrounding regions, and the cooperation displayed by members of the National Wrestling Alliance made it easy for wrestlers to traverse the landscape with the utmost freedom.

Dozens of territories flourished between the 1950s and late '70s. But by the early 1980s, the growth of cable television had put new outside pressures on promoters. An enterprising third-generation entrepreneur who believed cable was his opportunity to take his promotion national soon capitalized on the situation.

A host of novel ideas and the will to take chances gave Vincent Kennedy McMahon an incredible advantage. McMahon waged war on the territories and raided the NWA and AWA of their top talent. By creating WrestleMania, jumping into the pay-per-view field, and expanding across North America, McMahon changed professional wrestling forever.

©2018 Tim Hornbaker (P)2019 Tantor Combat Sports & Self-Defense Sports History Wrestling Sports Combat Sports Wrestling Biographies
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Incredibly thorough research from Tim. All the information you could want on this topic - the power players, the gate numbers, the cards... Fantastic

Excellent

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I'm so grateful this book exists because it captures a truly amazing piece of wrestling history a story that deserves to be told

a book every wrestling fan should read

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