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Title details for There's Just One Problem... by Brian Gewirtz - Wait list

There's Just One Problem...

True Tales from the Former, One-Time, 7th Most Powerful Person in WWE

by Brian Gewirtz
Greg Baglia
Audiobook (Includes supplementary content)
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Former WWE head writer Brian Gewirtz brings readers behind the scenes for an unprecedented look at the chaotic, surreal, unbelievable backstage world of the WWE.
With untold stories from a career spanning over 15 years and featuring the biggest names and controversial moments in wrestling history, THERE'S JUST ONE PROBLEM is an honest, unflinching look on how an introverted life-long fan unexpectedly became one the most powerful men in all of professional wrestling.
For decades wrestling was shrouded in secrecy. It had larger than life personalities, bone crunching physicality and jaw-dropping theatrics but backstage it was an industry devoid of outsiders. Then in 1999, after working together on a special for MTV, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson turned to 26-year old television writer Brian Gewirtz and asked "You ever consider writing for WWE?" That question, and its answer, would have a profound effect on both of their lives for years to come.
THERE'S JUST ONE PROBLEM is a story about perseverance, tenacity, and steel chairs. Most writers in the WWE last for a matter of months; Gewirtz was there for over 15 years, writing some of most memorable and infamous storylines in WWE history (covering the "Attitude Era", the "Ruthless Aggression Era" and into the "PG" and "Reality" eras).

Throughout this journey Gewirtz found himself becoming both friend and antagonist to some of the biggest names in WWE history – Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, Stephanie McMahon, Bill Goldberg, Paul Heyman, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, and the two men who he worked the most closely with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. These men not only shaped his life professionally but also personally, forcing him to grow and change both as a writer and a human being.

So how does a lifelong fan and outsider break through to become the ultimate insider? How does a low-key personality deal directly with his boss, the most brash, unpredictable "alpha male" on the planet, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon? How does one gain respect in a locker room that wants nothing more than to see him disappear? Where does one go when every year in wrestling takes you further away from the writing career you always wanted? Taking advice from his idol, the late "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, when you're so full of fear, there's only one way to push through: become fearless.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 16, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781668605752
      • File size: 269106 KB
      • Duration: 09:20:38

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      August 1, 2022
      A longtime scriptwriter for pro wrestling takes us behind the scenes. Gewirtz grew up a wrestling nerd, with action figures of Rowdy Roddy Piper and other accouterments of a teendom spent in the rec room. The knowledge came in handy when, after a start-and-stop early career writing Hollywood TV comedies, he landed a job writing for pro wrestling. "WWE is unlike any other form of entertainment with its mix of the verbal and physical, the fact that it's on fifty-two weeks a year from a different city every week, has a cast of over sixty characters, and a history/backstory that spans decades," he writes, adding that this makes a semischolarly approach to the genre necessary. That history and backstory can be spun in novel directions, and Gewirtz writes brightly of scripting elaborate contests between, say, the Rock and John Cena, both crossover stars now busily employed in Hollywood. Though fans of pro wrestling will get the most out of Gewirtz's memoir, the business-inclined can take away many valuable lessons from his in-the-trenches moments with wrestling entrepreneur and boss Vince McMahon, who pounded into his head countless rules to live by. For example, if you're driving from place to place and have the passenger seat, don't dare fall asleep, since it's your duty to keep the driver company; or if you're in business, you have to accept the bad with the good, or, as McMahon intones, "Sometimes you need to learn to eat a shit sandwich and like the taste of it." The book is perfect for devotees of Hulk Hogan, the Undertaker, the improbable Kane ("a scarred mute monster secretly living in a mental institution probably would not have gone to high school," Gewirtz writes about a storyline gone awry), and other ring legends. An entertaining look at life backstage beyond the ropes.

      COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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