Episode 44: Who Killed WCW? (Episode 1)

Neal and Guy are back to discuss Episode 1 of VICE's Who Killed WCW? series!

BOOK INFO

SITTING RINGSIDE, VOLUME 1: WCW 
DavidPenzerBook.com

SYNOPSIS
From 1995 to 2001, Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling (WCW) famously battled Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation (WWF) for Monday night ratings supremacy. While on the WCW side, numerous autobiographical accounts have been written of the time period, relatively few participants witnessed the ‘War’ in its entirety. As the unmistakable ‘voice of WCW’ and its long-time ring announcer, David Penzer was featured on every episode of Monday Nitro and Thunder - the only on-screen personality in WCW to do so. Moreover, he witnessed the proceedings from the best seat in the house - ringside!

In this candid, revealing and highly entertaining memoir, Penzer recounts his unlikely journey to the big-time - from his humble beginnings in South Florida to the lofty heights of WCW and the ‘Monday Night Wars’. With an affable, engaging and self-effacing style, Penzer takes readers behind the curtain like never before, revealing both the personal and professional struggles he encountered in rising the ranks of a famously tough business.

In Sitting Ringside Volume 1, Penzer also ‘opens the vault’ on a veritable ‘treasure trove’ of bonus materials - from production notes, to show formats, to internal documents which he has kept for over 20 years. Fans may be surprised to discover what’s included!

As Kevin Sullivan states in the book’s foreword, Penzer was the “least likely to succeed in the wrestling business” - but over the course of a ten-year (1991-2001) association with WCW, Penzer became a utility player like no other. In addition to fulfilling the role of WCW’s lead ring announcer, Penzer provided assistance on the production end of the business, as well as talent relations, and even the creative department during the company’s dying days. As such, he provides an intriguing insiders’ account of WCW’s ‘rise and fall’ - delivered with unprecedented insight and perspective.

In particular, Penzer demonstrates an astute, compelling, and highly nuanced view of several of his most well-known contemporaries, including:

• ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper;
• Chris Jericho;
• Eric Bischoff;
• Kevin Sullivan;
• Vince Russo;
• Dusty Rhodes;
• Jody Hamilton;
• Tony Schiavone;
• ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund; and
• Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan.

Co-written by NITRO author Guy Evans, Sitting Ringside Volume 1 is a unique look at an historic era in pro wrestling - and one man’s dream to be a part of it.

Foreword by Kevin Sullivan

Contains rare documents, show formats and notes from behind the scenes at World Championship Wrestling!

Print Length: 500 pages