WOW, a.k.a. World of Wrestling, looks as hyped as wrestling itself. Embossed covers with silver and gold inks and close-ups of enraged wrestler, WOW has enough glamour and theatrics on its covers to make you think that Stone Cold Steve Austin is fighting right in front of you.

WOW really stands out from the many other wrestling titles we've seen this year. It's high quality printing, choice graphics and overall coverage of all three wrestling organizations, the WWF, the WCW and the ECW, make it memorable. It makes sure to keep up with who's in, and every issue has a feature on the hottest wrestlers as well as pictures of sexy female wrestlers like Sable. Its launch was fan-friendly with a pull-out poster of The Undertaker.

WOW makes sure to cover the international wrestling scene and each issue includes the most recent rankings in each organization. For the fan who is just entering the sport of wrestling, the launch issue includes a dictionary of terms. That kind of attention to the reader's needs is not missed by WOW, a magazine that can be enjoyed by both the new and the "seasoned" fan.

WOW does have a history of difficulty with its name. Since I started publishing a guide to the new magazines in 1985, WOW is the fourth magazine to use that name. First there was Wow!, a teenage fanzine launched in 1987 that has since gone belly up, and then, a year later, W.O.W., a.k.a. Women of Wrestling, launched and soon faded. In 1997 WOW launchedit stood and still stands for Wild Outdoor World, a children's magazine for and about the outdoors.