Guest Booker with Luke Williams

The Good
Luke Williams has an unusual resume and a booking style that is not necessarily well thought of by some. His over-the-top antics arguably led to San Antonio's demise, yet they've worked well in the more violence-inclined pro-wrestling island of Puerto Rico. What was really interesting about this was the little details because the big picture was kind of goofy. The premise is to take the cartoonish WWF of the early-to-mid 1990s and transform it into a hardcore product more akin to the Sheepherders' signature style. Luke takes a few midcard feuds: Ron Simmons vs. Goldust, Godwinns vs. Headshrinkers and Bushwackers vs. Smokin' Gunns and makes them blood feuds complete with gimmick matches galore, cross-dressing, implied animal-slaying, double juices and all the rest of it. Luke's attention to detail for TV angles is interesting because many guest bookers seem to be mostly big picture people.

The Bad
As interesting as parts of this was, it did not sell me on Luke Williams as a great booker. He seemed to be the blood n' guts, hot-shotting, gimmick match pushing type that is so often buried. Although he has his strengths, this did not convince that he was great. The fact is there are only a handful of notable bookers still around today and it seems that Kayfabe Commentaries has exhausted much of the supply. Would I prefer to listen to Vince Russo, Ed Ferrera or some others do the same thing? Probably not, but I want to get excited by the glimpses of genius. Although many of the true legendary bookers are deceased, the likes of Paul Heyman, Red Bastien, George Scott, Dutch Mantell, Len Denton, Konnan, the Funks and Buck Robley are all great candidates for Guest Booker episodes that I'd prefer to see.

The Rating: ***1/2