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Rating: 
Summary: dont buy this!
Review: After reading the great "Idiot's Guide to Pro-Wrestling" and then digging into this book, I was vastly disappointed. She writes it like a school essay, trying to theorize wrestling with philosophers and other absurd quotes, and talks about the "homoerotic" style of wrestling moves. She continually never let the reader forget that she is a "scholar" and "acedemic". Hard to believe that she spent so long at ringside and never got the sport. Wrestlers are mostly smart, educated atheletes, like many fans, but that's not the point. Wrestling is made to entertain, be fun, and suspend disbelief. Try and guess what's "real" or "fake" (I prefer "choreographed", since the hard moves wrestlers perform are not "fake".) All in all, I found this book insulting to fans and performers alike. If you want a good book, pass this one up.
Rating: 
Summary: An intellectual look at pro wrestling
Review: I was surprised by the book. Most accounts of the business are very superficial and border on mark fanaticism. This woman, who had no other wrestling viewing experience before seeing Rick Rude on tv in 1987, jumps headlong into the sport and analyzes it academician-style. She does not condemn it, instead pointing out the intricacies and driving forces behind it. She does not focus on the negative and the scandals, just what makes the sport tick and why people watch it. She uses correct wrestling terminology like "mark" and "heat" and does not single out just WWF or WCW either. She refers often to the indies and has selected good pictures to boot. Moreover, it is not a survey of the most recent wrestling boom. More than once it dives back to the Gorgeous George era as well as the 1980s cartoon gimmick era. A well-done book and a good, unbiased effort all around. I was mighty impressed, and I am not usually by books written about pro wrestling these days. Quite a well-rounded work.
Rating: 
Summary: Grapplers in the Mist
Review: Like Dian Fossey living among the apes, Sharon Mazer sought to live among pro wrestlers and learn their ways. In the process, she takes what could be an interesting subject and makes it boring. She observes training at a small wrestling school. But alas, there is little information about how the training is done or who these people are who are involved. To Ms. Mazer, everything is an outworking of some kind of gender or ethnic dominance. Worse yet, this book was reseached at a time when pro wrestling was turning out a lot of poor characters and story lines. It was painful to read Ms. Mazer's attempts to uncover the deep meanings of matches involving Tatanka, Sensational Sherry, Brutus Beefcake, and other very forgettable characters. I will not say that the book is completely worthless. Almost by accident, Ms. Mazer occasionally gives a tidbit of information about the life of an aspiring pro wrestler. One has to feel a bit sympathetic for the men and women who are pouring their time and money into training, yet obviously have no chance of getting to the top of the business. There is nothing in the book about the big-time wrestlers, except what she picked up from watching tapes. Instead of this book, read Mick Foley's books and watch _Beyond the Mat_. Those will give you a much better "inside" look at pro wrestling.
Rating:
Summary: A inside look at pro wrestling.
Review: One thing professional wrestling has going for it is the fans. People either love; rant and cheer or they simply hate it. One thing is for sure, the entertainment that wrestling provides is a multi-million dollar industry with no end in sight. Sharon Mazer has put together a book that shows what wrestler goes through in order to prepare for the "sport" they love. Mazer makes solid arguments about why wrestling is so popular. This easy to read book is a sure fire winner with the pure wrestling fan. Follow the 180 page book as Mazer take you on a journey through the WCW, WWF and talks with wrestlers about how they train, what rigors they face and what it takes to make it in the squared circle. The overall read of this book will give you a new insight into pro-wrestling and the entertainment industry. The price of $18.00 is a little steep, but for the "real" wrestling fan this shouldn't be an obstacle. I have read over 10 books on the sport and this one certainly ranks among the best.
Rating:
Summary: Two thumbs down
Review: The book "Professional Wrestling Sport and Spectacle" bySharon Mazer outright ... She not only takes the fun out of professional wrestling but put the reader to sleep. Mazer tries to bring in to many philosophical views on professional wrestling. She also never drops the point of her being a "scholar or academic". She also mentions that wrestling is homoerotic. She only visits one school of wrestling and expects to get everything out of the one school. She should have taken at look at some of the big businesses at the time like WWF or WCW. She never talks about what actually captures the audiences into watching this sport. The only good part of the book is the inside look of a newcomers training into the sport and the look on women in wrestling. The best part of the book was the insides look at a newcomers training. How they learn to fall before they do much of anything else. Then they go to basic moves and including falling backward and rolling forward, holds and reversals, and takedowns. While the newcomers are doing their basic drills, wrestlers with more experience play out scenarios and roles. They take turns winning and losing, acting as faces and heels. What a lot of people don't know about wrestling is that newcomers get initiated into the group. As it says in the book it is a process of assimilation via discipline and submission into the wrestlers' fraternity. They are initiated by different means by different people some are just face planted into the mat while others are sent to the hospital due to broken bones. If these people come back next time they are thought of as one of the group. I also like the look on women what sky magic does other than training. Such as apartment wrestling and phone wrestling. Which are two things that I did not know existed. The two best chapters in the book I guess would have to be chapter three and five. Chapter three is the one that talks about the newcomers learning the ropes. It also talks about how the newcomers get initiated to get assimilated into the group. There are only a couple times in this chapter when Mazer starts to analyze too much, and she starts to bore the reader. Chapter five talks about women in professional wrestling. As I said earlier this book outright sucks the title basically would sways you into buying the book. Even the information on the back of the book doesn't say it will philosophically look at and analyze professional wrestling. If you want a good book to read before bed when you can't sleep this book is a winner. Sharon Mazer will bore you right to sleep in about three pages. I also don't like how she says wrestling is homoerotic. Mazer says wrestling is nothing but clichés of sexual engagement. She points out that wrestling relies on the display on male bodies in extravagant costumes and almost naked. She also says that the male bodies in performance are seen to touch and embrace. Of course they are going to touch each other it is a physical sport. They don't say football players are homoerotic. The quarterback puts his hands through the centers legs to get the ball every down. They are also always lying down on each other when the get tackled. Mazer also never drops the point that she is a "scholar or academic" thinking this is going to make her readers think she is smart. She is completely mistaken by this fact if that is what she is thinking. Mazer saying this just makes me think she is not sure of herself and she has to prove to herself that she is smart. She says she does not belong in a gym she belongs in library, at a computer or at a coffee bar. Well if she thinks that then why doesn't she. She questions herself on being at the gym since she has never been inclined to do athletics. And the readers need to know this because? This is useless information that the reader does not need to know. Mazer only visits one school of wrestling why is that she should at least have visited a couple. Granted she did spend months there but a broader view would have been nice. She doesn't even get into professional wrestling very much. Such as the big businesses at the time like the WWF or WCW which both were making money and headway at the time. This is a limited literary work and should not be sold to readers. Mazer does not even go into what makes this business a business. Why do these young men and women want to train and go to Rodz's school for, what motivates these people. She does not look into what makes this sport tick and thrive through the decades. What makes this sport go are the fans, if not for the fans professional wrestling would be nothing. These people are going to the gym to train and learn to become superstars. And at the time of the book was being written that would be Hulk Hogan. This book I guess is not as bad as I am saying it is but it is not my kind of writing. And not what I thought the book would be like. Mazer is too philosophical for this kind of book. I don't think she is anticipating her readers as wrestling fanatics and them getting upset when she say wrestling is homoerotic. If I would have a choice of reading this book or not I would not have read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Snoozer of a book not even for the hardcore fan
Review: This book is written from a scholarly standpoint. I have a doctorate degree and LOVE wrestling. I figured this would be an insightful book but it was not. This author wrote this book as a thesis for her doctorate and that is where it should have stayed and out of print. Larry Nelson's book was better than this and that is saying a lot. If you are the type of person who has to read everything on wrestling then get it otherwise find your kayfabe fix elsewhere.
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