Danny Spivey [RF Video Shoot Interview]

The Good
The career of Danny Spivey seems to be a succession of bad luck that prevented him from ever reaching a pinnacle he could have. He had been a curtain-jerker in JCP even though Dusty liked him, so he couldn't move up the ladder there. He was too much like Hulk Hogan, so he could not get far in the WWF. He did well in Japan, but kept chasing opportunities in the States that never panned out and prevented him from becoming a top gaijin in All Japan. He had the size, look and ability to be a top heel in WCW, but they kept squandering him as he was still committed to Japan. He had a fantastic character in Waylon Mercy, but the WWF just did not get how to push him to the next level and gave up on him. In spite of all of this perceived failure, Danny Spivey had a respectable career and had some great experiences to share. While he was not bitter, he did seem frustrated that people like Ric Flair, Bret Hart and the Road Warriors used their stroke to hold him back. Sometimes, you hear a guy who had a career like Spivey's and it really seems like he was lacking something, but Spivey seemed to really have that untapped potential. His honesty about his stiff style, his drug use and his burn-out from being on the road, makes you think that he is a pretty straight-shooter. Enjoyable and informative as a good shoot should be.

The Bad
Danny Spivey's career included a fair amount of bouncing around and never quite living up to his potential. To listen to him, you'd think it was mostly poor booking, poor timing and bad luck that cost him superstardom. While there is truth to that, there is also the fact that he continually went back to WCW, despite the fact they misused him several times. If he had stayed in Japan, it might have shaved a few years off his career, but he would have had the chance to reach the echelon that Stan Hansen, Steve Williams and Terry Gordy reached. Danny Spivey might come across as bitter to some, but when comparing him to many of his colleagues, he seems pretty down-to-earth and content with his career.

The Rating: ****

"The Patriot" Del Wilkes [One-on-One Shoot Series]

The Good

Japanese promotions brought in anyone who was anyone up through the 1990s, but very few had extended runs and even fewer of those people have done shoot interviews and talked extensively about their experiences in Japan.  Del Wilkes, in this nearly three hour shoot, talks about his career in an engrossing way.  An accomplished collegiate football player who broke in with the Great Moolah and had a few unique chances before hooking up with All Japan, this is a guy who can really pull listeners in.  He was a man with a dream and he worked hard to accomplish that dream.  That is one of the charming aspects of this shoot.  However, Wilkes is honest about the people he liked, disliked and worked with over the years.  Without coming across as bitter, he goes into his thoughts on people like Jeff Jarrett, Eric Bischoff, Bret Hart and Giant Baba and his justifiable issues with those people.  He talks about how Tom Brandi "stole" his Patriot persona and gives some very candid thoughts on the matter, which are among the more noteworthy parts of this.  While some of his anecdotes about WCW, the WWF and other American companies are interesting, the meat of this is his reflections on his time in All Japan.  From the workrate and workers to the hierarchy and cultural differences, Wilkes goes into all of it.  What is unfortunate, to an extent, is there is not a lot of specific questions and there is not much chronology.  Luckily, Wilkes is a good storyteller and does not need much direction, even better, they periodically stop so he can collect his thoughts.  Actual editing in shoot interview?

The Bad

I sometimes listen to interviews and realize that while I enjoy it, others might not.  The Patriot obviously had a more significant career in All Japan than in the States.  If you have little knowledge or interest in 90s All Japan, you might not think much of this.  There is also the issue that hearing about him breaking in through Moolah's camp, starving in Memphis, working as The Trooper in the AWA and becoming The Patriot in Global and some of those might be irrelevant to some folks.  If you were a Monday Night Wars fan, he has a some stuff about his WWF run, but it is limited.  Overall, this is great shoot, but it probably only has interest to a smallish group of hardcore fans.

The Rating: ****1/4

Terry Gordy [RF Video Shoot Interview]

The Good
Shot about a year before his death in 2001, this is one of RF Video's earlier shoots and while I am happy it exists, I'm saddened that it is so poor. This was back when RF Video would have a shoot and tack on some matches and I'll just say the Japanese matches they included certainly saved this from being an utter failure. Terry Gordy's sharpness had been altered by a drug-induced coma in 1993 and you can tell it here. He does however have some worthwhile stories and thoughts to share that are made more important by the fact this is the only shoot interview that he did (that I know of) before his untimely death.  Doug Gentry really saves the questioning side of things (although "saves" might be a bit strong) by having a working knowledge of All Japan Pro-Wrestling, so that part is not left out completely.

The Bad
Everybody is a "good guy," every match was "easy" and every negative "do you think he…?" is answered with a "yeah, he sure was." It is maddening. Although Terry was not exactly talkative and did not have stories springing to mind, this was such a barrage of vague questions, closed comments and loaded inquiries that anyone would have struggled. After ten minutes, they've already covered breaking in, partnering up with Michael Hayes, forming the Freebirds trio and blinding the Junkyard Dog. They spend more time of his ECW run than that initial Mid-South run!! I can say that RF Video's quality has improved across the board, but not by the leaps and bounds I would have hoped for.

The Rating: **3/4

Tributes: Remembering Some of the World's Greatest Wrestlers


Author, Ghost Writer, Editor: Dave Meltzer
Publisher: Winding Stair Press
Released: 10/01

The Good
An excellent look at a handful of deceased wrestlers that are edited and somewhat shortened versions of his WON obits. This is Dave Meltzer's strong suit because he knows things, understands things and is good at explaining things. You get a number of people from the 1950s through modern times.  I would think that even the casual fan could enjoy this as I know a couple who've read it and enjoyed it.  Meltzer is great at digging up anecdotes and putting a person's legacy into a proper perspective.  An enjoyable read from pro-wrestling's preeminent journalist and critic.

The Bad
Obviously there are a few off-facts (from what I've heard, but none stood out to me). The stories are kind of condensed and some might not like that. I really can't point much fault at this, it is what is and probably the best non-autobiographical wrestling book there is.  I know a lot of people knock Dave's writing and this is much more cleaned up than the run-on sentences laded grammatical errors, but it still has that Meltzer feel.  If you do not like WON, than perhaps you might not like this.

The Rating: *****

       

Stan Hansen [RF Video's "Behind Closed Doors" Shoot Interview]

The Good
RF Video's second shoot interview with Stan Hansen is not much different from the first. It is a little more scattered, but that can be okay. Stan Hansen has a variety of experiences in both the US and Japan that could be explored. Rob goes more into the Japanese experiences than I would have expected, but ultimately his ignorance of the culture, product and legacy of Stan Hansen limit the depth of discussion there. Hansen explains how he grew to enjoy Japan, why the preferred that style and some of his experiences with different people in and out of the ring. Overall, he seems to understand the nature of this interview better than previous outings, so he is a little more open. I found this enjoyable, but it was certainly not all I would have hoped for.

The Bad
A notorious kayfaber, Stan Hansen even says, "What's kayfabe?" when asked about it. Rob takes the bait and tries to explain it before realizing how stupid he is. Hansen sort of knows what the score is and answers a fair number of question with "that's what I've heard, so it must be true" and perpetuates old angles with a grin (i.e. breaking Bruno's neck with the Lariat). While he was not as bad as I've heard, it got aggravating at times as he did not give the straightforward answer you'd hope for. Overall, it seems that Rob's inability to develop a narrative, ask follow-up questions or carefully ask more prying questions really hindered this. If Stan Hansen wants to play the kayfabing game, you've got to be a better interviewer to get more out of them. People like Arn Anderson, Jimmy Valiant and Stan Hansen will always be worthwhile people to interview, but it takes a quality interviewer to get them to really shoot.

The Rating: ***1/2

The Greatest Feud of All-Time: Misawa vs. Kawada - Part 1 of 15

The pro-wrestling world was saddened last summer when Mitsuharu Misawa, heralded as one of the greatest performers that the sports has ever seen, died following injuries from a match.  He was not only one of the biggest stars of puroresu, one of the most influential personalities in pro-wrestling, but one of the most gifted pro-wrestlers of all-time.  Throughout his career, he wrestled many legendary names in legendary matches, but one name and one series stands out above all the others.

Toshiaki Kawada was a "kohai" (junior) of Misawa's for many years.  As amateur wrestlers and professional wrestlers, Kawada often walked a step or two behind Misawa.  2010 marks the twentieth anniversary of Misawa's ascension from Tiger Mask (II) to being his own man.  Appropriately, Kawada was his partner that summer night and the man who untied his mask, allowing Mitsuharu Misawa to explode onto the All Japan scene.  Before the year was through, Misawa had become locked in an epic feud with Jumbo Tsuruta, which propelled him into a top spot in All Japan Pro-Wrestling.  Kawada, again, was a few steps behind.




(this is the middle part of the match in which Misawa unmasked, at approximately the 4:20 mark.)

Kawada continued to fight his way up the ladder and in 1992, these two forces finally met one-on-one.  This match marked the beginning of a rivalry that is undoubtedly one of pro-wrestling's finest. From the athleticism and technical excellence to the intensity and natural storyline, this feud had it all.


Here is a collection of highlights from that first epic encounter with my review of the match itself below.







They hype this first big match between these two by showing their history, namely their win over the Miracle Violence Combo (Steve Williams & Terry Gordy) for the Double Tag titles and when Kawada unmasked Misawa. They also show the build for this particular match with Misawa winning his first Triple Crown by defeating Stan Hansen and Kawada defeating Akira Taue to get this shot.


1. Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs. Toshiaki Kawada [Triple Crown Championship] (10/21/92)
The crowd is really hungry for this and knowing All Japan's undercards, I'm not surprised. The pacing is really slow as it's clear they have a great story to tell and you give the fans their money's worth by not making it a brief action flick. Kawada jump starts things with a great looking back suplex and that's really the only big move in the first 15 minutes. They use a lot of submissions, going back-and-fourth and throwing in a strike here and there to pop the crowd. The strikes are so well-timed and placed that it's ridiculous and the crowd pops for every one of them. It's not like throwing a few punches in there to stun people between moves, it is a pivotal part of the match and it's all building. Kawada enjoys much of the offense, which is logical because he's the challenger and that's how you do it. Misawa is the champion though and he's not going to be hope spotting his way through this. Their movesets are so well established and individualized that the crowd and announcer get really into a lot of it. This is fun to watch because they're able to do things so much better than we're used to seeing in the past few years, but there are still some rough patches that would be worked out. Kawada's selling is there, but it'd get much better as he became perhaps the greatest seller ever. The finish
is good and it seems appropriate for this stage of the feud. Simple post-match handshake that adds a nice dimension to it all.

The Rating: ****1/4