Death of the Territories: Expansion, Betrayal and the War that Changed Pro Wrestling Forever Kindle Edition

A few years ago a Louisiana indie wrestling vet sold me ,for cheap,Tim Hornbaker's book on the history of the NWA. I loved that book and decided that I would read any wrestling history book that Mr Hornbaker did.Skip ahead to fall of 2018 and I see that Tim Hornbaker has put out a new book. Death of the Territories expansion,betrayal,and the war that changed pro wrestling forever. I added it to my Amazon wishlist. And totally forgot about it.Skip ahead,this time to November of 2019,my mother had asked me what I wanted for Xmas. I remembered the Death of the Territories book. Saw it was cheap on Amazon,under 15 bucks,so told her that was what I wanted.It came in about a week later. But at the time I was knee deep in another book. So I thought OK I will put this in the bathroom and read it while taking a dump. What I didn't plan on was how captivating this book would be. There has been a few times where I go so into reading the book that I sat on the toilet too long and my legs went to sleep.Before the 1980s the US was divided up into a bunch of territories. Each territory had a wrestling fed that ran that area. And feds from outside the area would not run another fed's area. This is a rule that is still kinda in effect with indie wrestling. And most feds worth watching will not run another feds area. The few that do run other feds area will run into problems.By the early 80s Vince McMahon Sr was ready to sell the WWF. Being based in the NYC area the WWF got lots of press. But back then if you lived outside the Northeast you usually couldn't see WWF wrestling. For example I grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Back then that was Mid South territory.Well once Vince Jr bought the WWF he started going into other feds territory. Add in that WWF was now on the USA Network. Which meant people all over the US could see WWF wrestling. So Vince used this TV exposure plus some dirty tactics to help kill off the territory system. Vince would so stuff like offering say the Mid South territory's biggest name huge money to come work for WWF.Now most wrestling fans that were around back then,or have an interest in history of wrestling know part of this story. But this book is the first time I know of where in one place you can find all the info on what Vince Jr did and what the other feds did to fight him.The Tim Hornbaker NWA book while it was a great book ,it was very dry and could be a chore to read. Death of the Territories on the other hand is a fast easy read.You can tell Tim did lots of research. And there is stuff in this book that I had never heard before. And if you didn't already dislike Vince Jr for all the stuff he has done to pro wrestling you will really dislike him after reading this book.So if you are a fan of pro wrestling and want to learn about a important time in modern wrestling history this is a great book to pick up.

Mr. Hornbaker has done it again. In his third book diving into pro wrestling history, Mr. Hornbaker has crafted a narrative that is both compelling and informative. Death of the Territories is incredibly well researched and carries with it the weight of legitimacy that many wrestling books lack because they aren't researched with the detail that Mr. Hornbaker puts into his work. He takes what could be done as just a boring recitation of information and creates a narrative that puts you into the world, into the war of 1980s professional wrestling that left Vince McMahon controlling a wrestling empire and saw the dismantling. of a system that had been in effect since the 40s.

The book gives an overall history of the multiple wrestling regional territories up until WWF and WCW had near total control. The book is well documented, but it’s not a narrative format so at times it reads rather dry other times it’s better paced. Good to read if you’re looking for how the territories were overrun.

I would recommend this book to anyone who grew up watching wrestling in the 70’s & 80’s. I remember when McMahon started taking over the territories & I was pissed. This is a great read that tells how it took place.

I consider myself a pretty knowledgeable wrestling fan and historian,but jeesh Tim Hornbraker makes me look like a starry eyed rookie. The level of research is simply astonishing.The history of the territories is explained, little fiefdoms across the country and a "good ol boys" mentality of not treading on someone else's turf. For decades the system worked. Then cable television came along. Superstations out of Atlanta, Chicago and New York began sending their programing across the country and it was the beginning of the end of the territory system. Vince K. McMahon had the foresight to see the possibilities in roughly 1983 and by 2001 the business of professional wrestling was his alone.Greed,hubris,old age, and the many poor business decisions of others helped him along,but McMahon's asencion was a done deal regardless,the only variable was time.Enjoy this treasure.

Amazing amount of research by the author, with over 400 footnotes. I left having learned a lot about the small to mid sized territories. The book is laborious to get through at times, as it reads like a listing of facts, rather than telling a story.

A must read wrestling book for fans!

This book is a must for anyone interested in wrestling history. Found myself pausing my reading and searching for footage of paragraphs I just read. In a way it is a companion piece to reliving great wrestling moments. Very well written and worth everyone's time.