1993: The Year in Pro Wrestling: All the WWF and WCW supershows plus historic shows from Smoky Mountain and UFC

1992: The Year in Pro Wrestling now available for pre-order

From the author of The Year in Pro Wrestling series, "Really well written and very engaging from cover to cover" - Amazon review of 1993

We all know 1993 sucked, right? Shock Master falling on his face on live TV? Paul Roma as a Horseman? Hulk Hogan having the laziest world title reign in history? That’s why every review of a 1993 show on the internet starts with “1993 was a terrible year…” or a less family friendly variation.

But is that fair? Vader has one of the great WCW title reigns in 1993. Ric Flair returned home. Jim Cornette worked for every promotion on the planet. And not all of WCW’s new talents were horrible.

Of course I’ll cover the Shock Master’s debut (along with Giant Gonzalez lumbering to the ring in his yeti pyjamas, Paul Roma playing the part of Tully Blanchard to a less than appreciative audience and Lex Luger sporting some natty knitwear to promote Survivor Series) but I’ll also highlight some of the good things that happened. Like the only decent strap match I’ve ever seen, the greatness of the Hollywood Blonds, the classic feud between Bret Hart and Jerry Lawler, as well as the best Frankensteiner in WWF history. Not to mention the launch of Monday Night Raw in January. Oh, and the debut of a little thing called the Ultimate Fighting Championship which launched on pay per view with a belch.

I'm going to tell the story of the year through every PPV and Clash of the Champions broadcast (as well as a few side steps and archive rarities). The matches, the angles, the interviews and the talent - it's all here along with a healthy dose of humour.

Forget star ratings - this is a lapsed fan enjoying some frequently awful pro wrestling and gaining a new understanding of a year that had its terrible moments but wasn’t as bad as people think.