Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Oates Brothers on Ringside Rap

The Good
Ringside Rap is a tremendous show and Les Thatcher is able to create an environment that helps .  The Oates brothers, Ted and Jerry, have great careers behind them and they are able to give glimpses of its significance here.  Great stories of Jack Brisco, Dutch Mantell and especially mythical bookers Leo Garibaldi and Tom Renesto take this to a level of exceptionality that these shortish radio interviews rarely hit.

The Bad
The time is just too brief on this one as trying to say much about the careers of the Oates Brothers together let alone separately or as promoters just cannot be done in an hour.  While the banter between Rich, Les and Mike is good, it is not the highlight of the show and I often fast-forward to the interview.  It also seemed like while generally positive about the business, they were pretty negative about today's product, rising stars and all that.  Fair criticisms, but unwanted when there is so much history to explore.

The Rating: ***1/2










Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Shocker Shoot Interview [Highspots]

The Good
I never realized this existed and never heard anything about it, so I practically did not believe it was Shocker of CMLL fame and expected two hours with Fred "Shockmaster" Ottman (who is actually very personable and enjoyable on shoot interviews).  But this was very much Mr. 1000% Guapo himself in great form with Highspots.  Shocker, who is originally from the States, speaks great English and seems like someone that should get more attention from interviewers.  Although this was only 45 minutes, Shocker blows through and needs little direction.  He tells his story, tells funny stories, has an infectiously hearty belly laugh and gives some great insight as well, what more could you want?  This totally made me want to see him get a heel run opposite Rey Mysterio, although this was from seven years ago and the world is very different.

The Bad
Forty-five minutes is just too short to have a top-notch interview.  Did Shocker need four hours to tell his life story?  No, but he seems like someone who could fill it with hilarious tales of lucha libre.  This was before his time with MLW and TNA, so he does not have those stories to share, but he can talk about New Japan, FMW and even Tokyo Pro.  This is probably lacked the depth a hardcore lucha fan would want, but considering the limited amount of shoot interviews done in English by authentic luchadors, I can't complain much.

The Rating: ****