Guest Booker with Kevin Sullivan [KayFabe Commentaries] 



The Good
The first "Guest Booker" is arguably the best. Kevin Sullivan is excellent at explaining psychology, capable of booking in this theoretical capacity and is able to really show off his genius. I think getting into the minds of these guys can be so difficult, yet some people make it so easy. Sully is one of them. He was so well traveled and understands so many aspects of the business and sees so many holes in logic that he is able to roughly book a year and makes you really want to see it. His main stars (the premise is that Hulk Hogan is not coming) are Paul Orndorff and "Superstar" Graham with people like Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham and the Freebirds in key supporting roles. He thinks very critically about keeping the title sacred, keeping the angles simple and building the heat for a worthwhile payoff. Like Cornette with the WCW Invasion, he recognizes the hypothetical nature of this session and does not get to caught up by that. Some talk too broadly, some don't really book much and some can really capture your attention and get their points across. Kevin Sullivan does that in what I would deem his best shoot interview performance!

The Bad
I really hate to nit-pick this because it is so excellent, but there are a few issues. One is the wide-open nature of this, which KFC reeled back on for future "Guest Booker" episodes. Sullivan cherry picks talent and there are guys he never even brings up again, so that seems unfortunate. He seems to be talking about guys as versions other than their 1984 version, specifically "Superstar" Graham, Rick Rude and even Curt Hennig to an extent. Graham had had his meltdown and was not the man of five years earlier. Rude and Hennig, while they became excellent four or five years later were not at the level that Sullivan seems to put them at in 1984. There are always little points like that in these "Guest Booker" shoots, so I shouldn't be too surprised.

The Rating: *****

Behind Closed Doors with Kevin Sullivan [RF Video]

The Good
Kevin Sullivan is easily on my top ten shoot interviewees' list.  A big part of it is his personality - he is funny as hell, tells tales in a captivating way, does wacky voices and seems quite frank about everything.  What makes him different from other strong personalities of shoot interview notoriety (Jamie Dundee, New Jack, Honky Tonk Man, Raven, etc.) in that he had an exceptionally varied and successful career.  From Atlanta to Knoxville and Florida to Alabama, Kevin Sullivan has been all over and been a top star and/or creative force in all those places.  Aside from his booking prowess, Sully can has a deep understanding of the business and pro-wrestling psychology that he can explain better than almost anyone.  That makes this gold!


The Bad
RF Video...will you ever get your act together.  While they don't have to work hard with Kevin Sullivan, you really hunger for a real probing interviewer.  One who can ask tough questions, guide the interview and seems to have done some real research.  Luckily, Sully is so great that RF's inadequacies matter little.

The Rating: *****