Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Tommy Rich [RF Video Shoot Interview]

The Good
An early RF Video shoot that features the legendary Tommy Rich at the start of his ECW run. Obviously, he'd had a great career and had great stories to share. I'd not heard him prior to this, so I was intrigued. His whole Tommy Rich act is really great the first time you hear it. I'm still not sure why he doesn't get more shoots (other than he largely seems humble and positive about things) because he is quite a character. He uses "Mama & the Babies," "wild-eyed southern boy," "cornbread" and other great phrases to explain his desire to stay off the road, his roguish attitude and his countryboy appeal. It seems so funny to hear this and than think about the goofy faux-Italian he played in ECW. This had its moments as Tommy Rich just seems like an affable and honest ol' boy.

The Bad
Did I say this was an early RF Video shoot? Needless to say the questions were passable, but their scope was atrocious. They did call-in questions, which are never good and thankfully they stopped doing. That was a pointless segment. Tommy Rich totally shilled ECW, which is understandable, but still obnoxious. I personally like Tommy Rich's character and find his shoots to be enjoyable, but I'm sure many would not like them. He does not bury people, he watches his language and he does not go into a lot of depth. Thankfully Gary Cubeta had him on a few times and showed how to get a really good interview out of "Wildfire."

The Rating: ***1/4