Holiday Gift Guide for a Pro Wrestling Fan

Wrestling fans are easy to shop for - buy them anything to do with their obsession and they are happy. However, there is so much stuff out there that you want to get the best bang for your buck. You should know who your loved one's favorite wrestlers are. If he's any kind of big star, he should have his own T-shirt and possibly his own DVD. If you don't know the fan's favorite grappler, here is a guide to some good wrestling shows and merchandise.

DVDs
Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology - I'm not a Hulkamaniac, but I know I'm in the minority. Hogan ruled the 80s and made a lot of noise in the 90s. These days, he hobbles out of retirement every once in a while, and the fans still go nuts. The WWE just produced a four-DVD set of Hogan's greatest matches. Since WWE owns so much wrestling footage, this set of matches goes back to Hogan's days in the old AWA. You can follow the Hulkster from his first title win over The Iron Sheik to his more recent battles with Shawn Michaels and Triple H. The WWE does a good job of bundling its merchandise together. The four Hogan DVDs can be packaged with a Hogan bandana and T-shirt.

McMahon - This DVD tracks the evolution of Vince McMahon from genial announcer to psychotic WWE boss. The highlight of the DVD is McMahon's battles with Stone Cold Steve Austin. You can package the McMahon DVD with a T-shirt and a signed plaque.

History of the WWE Championship - You can't go wrong with this DVD, because you know you're going to get to see Bret Hart, Randy Savage and Ric Flair. If you're old school, you can enjoy footage of Bruno Sammartino and Superstar Billy Graham. Me? I'm partial to the 568-pound Yokozuna. You can buy this DVD along with a T-shirt that lists all the champions.

Sting: Return of an Icon - TNA Wrestling, the No. 2 group in the country, has seen the rebirth of Sting's career. Sting dropped out of wrestling in 2001 after the WWE bought WCW.

Samoa Joe: Unstoppable - If you haven't seen Samoa Joe yet, you'll be converted after just one match. He has never been pinned in TNA, and he was the longest reigning champ in the history of the No. 3 group, Ring of Honor.

TNA Anthology - There is a lot of solid wrestling going on in TNA, so you can get a big dose of action with this three-disc set that includes Victory Road 2004, Turning Point 2004 and Lockdown 2005. Lockdown was the first wrestling show ever in which all of the matches took place in a steel cage.

ROH Milestone Series - Ring of Honor has been improving in wrestling quality since it started in 2002. In the spring of 2006, ROH put on an outstanding series of seven shows that are packaged together as the Milestone Series. The set begins with the Fourth Anniversary Show (Feb.25) and ends with The 100th Show (April 22).

Independent action - Some of the best wrestling around doesn't take place in the top three promotions. Some good shows include IWC Super Indy V and this year's Ted Petty Invitational from IWA Mid-South.

Chikara and Shimmer - Chikara is a family friendly promotion that features the high-flying Lucha Libre (Mexican) style of wrestling. The Tag World Grand Prix is a good set of shows to pick up. Also, Shimmer is an all-women's group that actually features women as great wrestlers, not as arm candy for the guys. Shimmer is a good pick-up for the female wrestling fan on your Christmas list.

T-SHIRTS
CM Punk - The straight-edge star from ECW has a good shirt on WWE Shopzone with his arms crossed and X on each fist. The slogan on the shirt is "My Life., My Rules." Punk is starting to catch fire in the new ECW.

Other good shirts at the WWE shopzone include John Cena's shirt for his movie "The Marine," the white Rey Misterio shirt, the personalized ECW football jersey and the Randy Orton "rko" basketball jersey.

BOOKS
Controversy Creates Cash - History is usually rewritten by the winners. Former WCW boss Eric Bischoff lost his war with Vince McMahon and now works or him. Bischoff wrote a book about his rise from third-string announcer to leader of the top promotion in the country. Yes, WCW was No. 1 for about a year and a half before boneheaded ideas and rampant cronyism led to the loss of $85 million and the demise of the company. The WWE has smartly packaged this book with the Monday Night War DVD.

Cheating Death, Stealing Life - This is another wrestling autobiography, this one by Eddy Guerrero. Born into a wrestling family, Eddy's talent and undeniable charisma led him from the Lucha scene in Mexico all the way to the WWE title. Eddy also battled drug addiction, which he conquered before his body gave out and he died in late 2005.

This Side of the Mic - Of course, I have to wrap this up with the story of my life as a pro wrestling announcer. In my 12-year career, I worked for Ring of Honor, IWC, Chikara and countless other groups. I got to work with Mick Foley, Eddy Guerrero, Samoa Joe, CM Punk and scores of future stars and legends. Best of all, I made a lot of friends and found a family of my own. You can get this book at www.bn.com or get an autographed copy by sending an e-mail to gormanwriter@yahoo.com.