Showdowns

Book excerpt: Two decades of the top twenty fan favorites and the matches that made them famous. It starts with an insult...then comes a push, a shove...a betrayal. Before you know it, the two wrestlers are at each other's throats. It's a rivalry, it's personal...it's a showdown. Some showdowns are straightforward: John Cena wants to prove himself by taking on JBL; Randy Orton knows that if he can slay Undertaker, it will prove that he is the legend killer. Others are grudge matches -- The Rock is finally going to put Stone Cold Steve Austin, the bionic redneck, in his place. There are conflicts we can all identify with: Steve Austin doing to Mr. McMahon what we dream of doing to our boss every Monday morning. There are the epic showdowns that evoke the eternal struggle: Undertaker versus Kane. And the truly bizarre: Mankind against Shawn Michaels. Here for the first time ever, Jeremy Roberts (co-author of Controversy Creates Cash and Batista Unleashed) examines the top twenty rivalries of the past twenty years. Roberts takes us on a veritable tour of recent wrestling history, from Hulk Hogan's showdowns with Randy Savage to the gargantuan struggles between Undertaker and Batista. The high-flying action of the Hardy Boyz, the Dudleys, Edge & Christian -- all are examined in what amounts to a brief for the wrestlers' inclusion in the hall of fame. From the Monday Night Wars between nWo and D-Generation X to the real-life conflict that spawned Matt Hardy's memorable bloodfest with Edge, Roberts takes you into the ring so vividly you'll come away with bruises.