Hardcore History

Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was one extreme contradiction on top of another. An incredibly influential—but never profitable—company in the world of professional wrestling in the 1990s, it portrayed itself as the ultimate in anti-authority rebellion, but its leadership was working covertly with the World Wrestling Federation and the World Championship Wrestling. Most of all, it blurred the line between reality and the fantasy world of professional wrestling.

Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of ECW offers a frank, balanced look at the evolution of ECW starting before its early days as a Philadelphia-area independent group and extending past its death in 2001. Featuring dozens of interviews with fans, officials, business partners, and the wrestlers themselves, this is a very balanced account of this bizarre company—and it’s sure to be extremely controversial for fans and critics of ECW, and wrestling, alike.

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team.

In addition to books on popular team sports, we also publish books for a wide variety of athletes and sports enthusiasts, including books on running, cycling, horseback riding, swimming, tennis, martial arts, golf, camping, hiking, aviation, boating, and so much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Scott E. Williams is an award-winning wrestling columnist and criminal justice reporter who has authored Terry Funk: More Than Just Hardcore and The Cowboy and the Cross: The Bill Watts Story.

Shane “The Franchise” Douglas began his professional wrestling career in 1982 and quickly became a fan favorite. In addition to his incredible success as a five-time World Champion wrestler, he also became the NWA World Heavyweight Champion in 1994.