Drawing Heat the Hard Way

Thrilling but flawed, entertaining despite the swerves and double-crosses,
captivating even when repugnant? professional wrestling has enjoyed the
attention and loyalty of untold millions for nearly a century. How and why is
precisely what Larry Matysik examines in his third book, Drawing Heat the Hard
Way: How Wrestling Really Works. Wrestlers have their own private language,
and in the unique world of wrestling "drawing heat" is a very good thing: the
successful generation of crowd reaction and fan excitement. The Hard Way?
That's both exactly what it sounds like and something no one in the industry
plans for: a legitimate and unintentional wound suffered because something's
gone awry. In Drawing Heat the Hard Way, Matysik explains what it takes to win
the hearts and minds of wrestling fans, and how, at times, mistakes,
controversy and unexpected turns of events have damaged the reputation or
forever changed the business he loves. If anyone understands wrestling, the
problem-child offspring of whatever "real" sport is, it's Matysik. Drawing
Heat the Hard Way takes on the way wrestling is booked or planned; analyzes
the roles of wrestlers and announcers, and explores steroids as an industry
and fan issue. It also considers wrestling's power-brokers, from those who
influence the business by reporting on it, like Dave Meltzer, to those who
make the final decisions on what gets broadcast every week, like the
omnipresent Vince McMahon, and even to those who influence the sport with
their pocketbooks - the fans themselves. At times humorous, occasionally
heartbreaking, always insightful, Drawing Heat the Hard Way is ultimately an
objective take on what it means to be a wrestling fan, from someone who knows
the business inside and out.