We Promised You a Great Main Event

“We Promised You a Great Main Event is a fascinating dive into the physical art of modern-day wrestling entertainment and the unbelievable characters who make it work in the ring and the back, and a curiously heartwarming indictment of what neglects we allow in the name of entertainment. Highly recommended for both wrestling and non-wrestling fans alike.” — Chris Kluwe "Bill Hanstock loves wrestling more than most people love their families, even though he knows how silly it can be. That's exactly the kind of voice you want writing a comprehensive history of the sport, and he nails it, from the early days of the McMahon empire to its future. This is an impressive tome that's required reading for wrestling fans." — Grant Brisbee, The Athletic "A welcome WWE history that takes us from the very beginning all the way to the new challengers of AEW, streaming wrestling, and COVID-19, Hanstock's (at times personal) history never loses its love for the legend, commitment to the backstory, well-earned heartbreak, and sense of the moral, the metatextual, and the absurd that—to varying degrees—always lie at the heart of loving the squared circle." — Jeb Lund, former columnist, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Gawker, OOWrestling "Bill Hanstock's We Promised You A Great Main Event looks at the complete WWE story with heartfelt nostalgia while still managing to be incisive and deeply analytical about the world of professional wrestling....This may be an "unauthorized" history but it's definitive nevertheless." — David Dennis Jr., Morehouse Journalism Professor and writer "This book is a ticket to the ridiculous, uniquely American history of WWE, and Bill Hanstock (the funny smart friend who brought you to the show) keeps up a non-stop stream of fascinating, often hilarious, sometimes disturbing backstory as an endless parade of larger-than-life characters charge into the ring." — DC Pierson, author, The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep And Never Had To