BIGGER! BETTER! BADDER!: WRESTLEMANIA III and the Year It All Changed
$17.99-
How did WrestleMania III legitimize wrestling as entertainment and reshape the industry? Greenberg lays it bare and offers insights into WWE’s evolution and WrestleMania’s lasting impact
On an overcast day in 1987, the pro wrestling landscape was altered forever when a reported 93,173 fans converged on the Pontiac Silverdome outside Detroit to see Hulk Hogan defend his championship against André the Giant. For several years, Vincent Kennedy McMahon had been transforming old-time rasslin’ into mainstream “sports entertainment,” incorporating A-list celebrities into storylines and forcing even cynics to follow the proceedings. But the massive turnout for WrestleMania III convinced sponsors, licensees, and media conglomerates that the company that would become World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was no longer a fringe diversion for the unwashed masses; it was now legitimate physical theater worthy of global attention. From this point forward, it would be acceptable for devotees to make the annual pilgrimage to WrestleMania from the far corners of the Earth, the way others journeyed to the World Cup or Super Bowl.
BIGGER! BETTER! BADDER! is the story behind the seminal event, told from the perspective of company executives, wrestlers who appeared on the card, fans who attended the show, and other wrestling personalities. But wrestling author and historian Keith Elliot Greenberg also examines the entire industry at the time, including insights from representatives from the rival promotions McMahon was putting out of business as pro wrestling transitioned from a regional phenomenon into an international juggernaut.
Available March 25, 2025. PRE-ORDER NOW!
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Keith Elliot Greenberg is a New York Times bestselling author, as well as a monthly columnist for Inside the Ropes Magazine. A lifetime New Yorker, he co-authored the autobiographies of “Classy” Freddie Blassie, Ric Flair and “Superstar” Billy Graham, as well as two editions of the WWE Encyclopedia of Sports Entertainment. His previous books for ECW Press include Too Sweet: Inside the Indie Wrestling Revolution, Follow the Buzzards: Pro Wrestling in the Age of COVID-19 and Best Seat in the House: My Life in the Jeff Healey Band, co-written with Tom Stephen. He regularly appears as a wrestling historian on A&E’s WWE documentary series.
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Published: March 2025
ISBN: 9781770417854
Dimensions: 6 x 9 in.
Pages: 304
Reviews
“Whether you experienced the transcendence of WrestleMania III as it unfolded before your eyes or want to study its impact on American pop culture, BIGGER! BETTER! BADDER! is a provocative and masterfully told account of an event that made pro wrestling an entertainment mushroom cloud.” — Tim Graham, The Athletic
“To understand the United States, you also need to grasp the place that professional wrestling holds in the culture. In his groundbreaking book, BIGGER! BETTER! BADDER! WRESTLEMANIA III and the Year It All Changed, Keith Greenberg shows us in vivid detail how the 1987 spectacular WrestleMania III cemented a remaking of pro wrestling and how it would be forever consumed. This book is a gift not only to pro wrestling fans but also to anyone who wants to comprehend what goes on behind the curtain because to really understand the guts of pro wrestling is to understand this country. I haven’t found a work of nonfiction so readable in a long time.” — Dave Zirin, sports editor, The Nation
“An excellent, extensive account of the event that shaped professional wrestling as it is today. Greenberg sets the scene and tells the story with fascinating insider detail, putting you both ringside and behind the scenes. A must-read book — an irresistible force of modern wrestling history.” — Tom Fordy, The Telegraph