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I was recently reminiscing about my overall LOP experience and it dawned on me that, since my book debuted, I had given you reasons why other people thought you that should read it, but I never really told you why I thought you should read it. I’m unsure, looking back, why that had been the case. I suppose I got so wrapped up in doing what I was advised to do that I neglected to do what I’ve always done on here: give you my opinion and hope that it sparks an intelligent discussion about pro wrestling. Discussion. That’s really the key word when encouraging you to read my labor of love to pro wrestling history. I love to read about the things that interest me, particularly when the work stimulates a new thought or an analytical perspective. I had just finished reading the Bill Simmons epic, The Book of Basketball: The NBA According To The Sports Guy, and I decided I wanted to read the wrestling equivalent. Simmons counted down the greatest players in NBA history; a subjective concept to be sure, but one that he executed with a fair of amount of objectivity as best he could. The thing about the NBA, though, is that its G.O.A.T. is pretty obvious. It’s rare that you find someone who isn’t a complete fanboy that will tell you another answer besides “Michael Jordan.” There’s data to back up the claim and then there’s merely what any of us who saw him play witnessed with our own two eyes. When I found that nobody had ever written the pro wrestling version of the greatest ever debate, I was a little surprised at first. I wondered why, eventually concluding that it was because there were so many potential options and much more complicated factors to consider beyond wins and basic stats. I made a bold decision to tackle the project and be the one to write that book. Man, it was a blast. I researched and studied for several months just trying to figure out how I would actually go about ranking the greatest in wrestling lore before I ever put the proverbial pen to paper. Five categories. 30 years. The 90 definitive greatest and, of course, the all encompassing argument for who deserves to be #1 – not just based on what I had seen, but also on what could be statistically analyzed. Larry Matysik, famous for his time promoting the NWA in St. Louis back in the territory days, apparently had the same idea, only he decided to look at the entirety of pro wrestling history dating back to Hackenschmidt. I read his book and enjoyed it, but I care to read about the World Champion who wrestled two hour shoot matches in 1905 in a comparison against Steve Austin about as much as I care to read an argument that a pro football player from the 1940s is in any way comparable to Peyton Manning. My choice to stick to what I deemed “The WrestleMania Era” (from the first modern super card at Starrcade ’83 to the present) was simple: I wanted to spark the ultimate debate about pro wrestling / sports entertainment as we know it today. Who was the best wrestler? Who was the greatest talker? Who drew the most money? Who was the superior champion? Who did it best for the longest? Bring all of those elements together into one gigantic forum and break it down as you guys know I can do quite well. And, in the end, put you in a position to do what you do in response to my columns: counter with your thoughts. The book is certainly not an extended column. I definitely put thought into my work here on LOP, but not to the degree that I did with the book. Something like this year’s “Road to WrestleMania Countdown” series, for instance, was done purely for fun; it was a vehicle to help get us all excited for WM31. The WrestleMania Era shares with my historical columns a desire to celebrate pro wrestling’s finest, but it has a broader intent, namely to become an adaptable (right now we’re on the 2nd edition) resource guide for all fans that generates the kind of engaging conversation that we all enjoy having about our pastime. And there is no greater dispute amongst us than “Who’s the greatest of all-time?” So, if you have not already, I hope you check it out. It’ll keep you busy for awhile with its near 600 pages, but it’s sectioned into multiple parts and discusses 90 different wrestlers counting down to the top 10 and #1 overall. Thank you for all the years of enjoyable discussions, “The Doc” Chad Matthews --------------------- A couple of promotions for you to consider: Promotion #1: The E-Version of The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment will be on sale from now until the Raw after Summerslam. If you’re interested, click here to download for $5.49 Promotion #2: The first three people to order the regular print edition will receive the t-shirt pictured below for FREE. Just send an email with your receipt to [email protected]. To order the regular print edition, click here 
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