Relive the greatest moments, biggest superstar debuts, and key matches of WWE SmackDown. This action-packed anniversary edition covers 20 years of WWE's popular blue brand-SmackDown. Spectacular full-color photographs from WWE's own archive capture the most unforgettable moments, both in the ring and behind the scenes. Key matches are explored in depth: relive the moment when Triple H and Shawn Michaels double-crossed The Rock for the WWE Championship, John Cena's rivalry with Undertaker, Rey Mysterio's awe-inspiring debut, and Stone Cold Steve Austin's disastrous run-in with Booker T in a supermarket. This dynamic book celebrates all the most exciting matches, celebrity appearances, and controversies in SmackDown history. Packed with vital stats and info on your favorite WWE Superstars, WWE SmackDown: 20 Years and Counting will get you ready to "lay the smack down!" for another 20 years. TM & © 2019 WWE. All Rights Reserved.

From the bestselling author of The Wax Pack, comes another eye‑opening road trip adventure into a pocket of iconic pop culture—professional wrestling—starring the Iron Sheik, Hulk Hogan, Tito Santana, and many more larger‑than‑life characters of the WWF of the 1980s. In 2005, Brad Balukjian left his position as a magazine fact-checker to pursue a dream job: partner with his childhood hero, The Iron Sheik (whose real name was Khosrow Vaziri), to write his biography. Things quickly went south, culminating in the Sheik threatening Balukjian’s life. Now seventeen years later, Balukjian returns to the road in search of not only a reunion with the Sheik, but something much bigger: truth in a world built on illusion. Balukjian seeks out six of the Sheik’s contemporaries, fellow witnesses to the World Wrestling Federation’s (WWF) explosion in the mid-‘80s, to unearth their true identities. As Balukjian drives 12,525 miles around the country, we revisit the heady days when these avatars of strength, villainy, and heroism first found fame and see where their journeys took them. From working out with Tony Atlas (Tony White) to visiting Hulk Hogan’s (Terry Bollea) karaoke bar, we see where these men are now and how they have navigated the cliffs of fame. The Six Pack combines the spirit of a fan with the rigor of an investigative reporter, tracking down former WWF employees, childhood friends, and mutually curious archivists. Wrestling is perceived as a subculture without a cultural home, somewhere between sport and theater—often dismissed as silly and low‑brow. But what makes this book so compelling is the humanity beneath each wrestler. The Iron Sheik, Hulk Hogan, and the rest of the cast were not characters in a comic book movie. They were real people, with families and feelings and bodies that could break. Most of them did, in fact, break; some have been repaired, but none of them will ever be the same.

Wrestling Figure Checklist is a signature look into the world of professional wrestling and its action figures. Unlike any other wrestling figure checklist out there, this publication uniquely presents almost 10,000 different action figures, playsets and accessories in rough chronological order of their release, designed to show the reader the evolution of wrestling figures from their inception in the 1960s, all the way to the end of the 2010s. The idea behind this is to allow the reader to go back to a certain era, and to see what they toy aisle would look like at that respective time. And it's not just America, this book also explores the world of Japanese and Mexican figures as well. Even if you consider yourself a wrestling figure historian, you are bound to expand your knowledge with this one-of-a-kind book! This publication contains many wrestling promotions, including: WWE and WWF, TNA, WCW, ECW, AWA, NJPW (Japan), AJPW (Japan), NOAH (Japan), AAA (Mexico), and CMLL (Mexico). On top of this, also the many manufacturers, including: Mattel, Jakks Pacific, Hasbro, LJN, Toy Biz, Marvel Toys, Remco, Character Product (Charapro), Mogura House, Kelian, The Original San Francisco Toymakers, Just Toys, and Galoob. Whether you want to expand your knowledge, find out what figures you are missing, or find out all the figures of a particular wrestler, your journey begins here.

In its 114th year, Billboard remains the world's premier weekly music publication and a diverse digital, events, brand, content and data licensing platform. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the latest music, video, gaming, media, digital and mobile entertainment issues and trends.