Hardcore History is the story of the history of the wrestling promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling

Extreme Championship Wrestling

Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...

 from the point of view of the fans and the wrestlers by Scott E. Willams. It was published in 2006

2006 in literature

The year 2006 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Literature:*Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Half of a Yellow Sun*Chris Adrian - The Children's Hospital *Martin Amis - House of Meetings...

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Plot summary

The book follows the history of ECW from its start in 1991 under the banner Tri-State Wrestling Alliance with owner Joel Goodhart. To being sold to partner and then announcer Tod Gordon

Tod Gordon

Tod Gordon is the President of Carver W. Reed Co. Inc, a Philadelphia jewelry store and loan office that was established in 1860. He is also the founder of both defunct Professional wrestling promotions Eastern Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling...

. Gordon then renamed the company Eastern Championship Wrestling. It goes into detail of the impact of the early competitors like "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert. Then it shows how the selling of Eastern Championship Wrestling to Paul Heyman

Paul Heyman

Paul Heyman is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film....

 would later change the world of wrestling forever.

Under Heyman, Eastern Championship Wrestling would be renamed to Extreme Championship Wrestling. From there the book shows on how Heyman would focus on not a cartoon like wrestling show that was being shown be the other 2 promotions WWF

World Wrestling Entertainment

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

 and WCW

World Championship Wrestling

World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...

, to a darker more adult orientated wrestling show. The book talks about ECW's first PPV Barely Legal. And goes into a full recap of a wrestling match that went wrong called the Mass Transit incident.

The book ends with how ECW went bankrupt in the late 1990s and early 2000. From being pushed off of TNN

ECW on TNN

ECW on TNN was a weekly American professional wrestling television program that aired on The Nashville Network from August 27, 1999 to October 6, 2000...

 for Monday Night Raw

WWE RAW

WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...

, to losing all of its top talent to WWF and WCW.

In 2007

2007 in literature

The year 2007 in literature involves some significant new books.-Events:*November 19 - First Kindle e-book reader released.*December 11 - Terry Pratchett informs fans on-line that he has been diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's disease.-Literature:...

, the paperback version of the book was released with an updated chapter on WWE's revival of the ECW brand in 2006 and how it was met by fans.