Looking at the Lights ─ My Path from Fan to a Wrestling Heel

How did an untrained, overweight former college football player end up in the middle of a ring, wrestling during the highest-rated segment during the WWE’s acclaimed Attitude Era?

That’s the story behind Looking Up at the Lights. As a childhood friend of Shane McMahon, Pete Gas was given the opportunity most only pray for. Beginning with appearances to interfere in McMahon’s matches, his role blossomed into becoming a full-fledge wrestler and leading the Mean Street Posse to WrestleMania, becoming one of the most fascinating success stories of the era.

From his humble upbringing and friendship with Shane (and the McMahon family as a whole), Gas shares how a 9-to-5 average Joe got the chance of a lifetime and made the most out of it.

But getting your foot in the door is one thing; staying is a completely different animal. With all eyes on him, knowing his lack of training and meal ticket being the boss’s son, Gas knew he had to win over all those doubters: from the fans and announcers to the wrestlers themselves.

Knowing he had to prove himself, Gas took beatings, chair shots, and additional training to not only show that he could wrestle, but that he belonged with such superstars as The Rock, ?Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and The Undertaker.

Featuring a foreword by JBL, who famously nailed Gas in the head with a steel chair, and an afterword by Edge, readers will get an inside look into not only the training and sacrifice these athletes go through, but the behind-the-scenes workings of a day in the WWE.

Pete Gas is a retired wrestler who first made his first WWE appearance in 1999, at the age of twenty-nine. As a part of the ?Mean Street Posse,” Gas, along with friend Rodney Leinhardt, were Shane McMahon’s muscle. During his time in the WWE, Gas was a two-time Hardcore Champion and feuded with Test and the Acolytes. He still makes appearances on the independent circuit and is a recurring guest on the Edge and Christian Show.

Jon Robinson is the author of numerous books on wrestling, including WWE: The Attitude Era, My Favorite Match, and as the co-author of Ultimate Warrior: A Life Lived ?Forever” (written with the Ultimate Warrior).

John ?JBL” Layfield is a retired professional wrestler and the current color commentator for the WWE. He spent twenty years in the squared circle, winning 24 championships during his career. Aside from his time in the ring, he is also a guest panelist on Fox News Channel’s The Cost of Freedom, as well as the author of the financial planning book Have More Money Now.

Adam ?Edge” Copeland is a retired professional wrestler who starred with the WWE. During his career he won 31 championships, as well as the 2001 King of the Ring and 2010 Royal Rumble. Currently working with the WWE as the host of The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness, he is also the best-selling author of Adam Copeland On Edge.