Pro-Wrestling: Tricks of the Trade

Director: Rick Bassman

Distributor: Travel Channel

Released: 2002
Featured Talent

Afa Anoa’i, Lynn Anoa’i (Afa’s wife),Tovale Anoa’i (Afa’s daughter),Ariel,Rick Bassman, Jonathan “Raging Dog” Cedillo (School of Hard Knocks Trainee), Christopher Daniels, Dylan Dean, Rob Feinstein, Jungle Grrrl (Erica Porter), Terri Gold (Heather Lee Millard), Havoc (Heriberto Irizarry Jr.), Jesse Hernandez, Tom Howard, Frankie Kazarian, Joanie Lauer, Low-Ki, Shelly Martinez, Steve Masters (School of Hard Knocks Trainer), Big Dog Molson (Chris Fisher), Roddy Piper, Gabe Sapolsky, Smooth Tommy Suede, Sugaa (WXW wrestler), Robert Taylor (School of Hard Knocks Trainee), Wild Child (Ron Rivera),

The Good

A very generic one-hour show that looks at most aspects of pro-wrestling offered up by the Travel Channel.  It explores independent wrestling throughout the US, namely Ring of Honor in their first year, the forgettable WOW (Women of Wrestling) as well as Jesse Hernandez and Afa’s respective schools and small companies.  It is about what would envision - tons of highlights with an emphasis on stunts, discussing the basics of pro-wrestling and an endless stream of tongue-in-cheek narration.  Looking back at this footage that is more than a decade old reveals some interesting gems - Ring of Honor getting started, Shelly Martinez training and some UPW trainees hoping to get a break with Zero-One.  This was being produced in the wake of “Beyond the Mat” and the height of the WWF’s popularity, but this was during its descent.  This seems to have more value within that context than as an actual informative and educational production.  It all comes back to the director of this - Rick Bassman.  On of the most successful hangers-on in pro-wrestling history, Bassman has been able to tie himself to a number of low-level operations in the LA area and at this time he was running UPW and working to hook them up with Zero-One in Japan.  Perhaps in an attempt to mirror what "Beyond the Mat" and MTV's "True Life" did for APW and the HWA respectively, Bassman promotes the indies, the small schools and in the end makes UPW look like the necessary bridge to big success.

The Bad

One of the drawbacks of these short documentaries is that they often give a simple overview and lack depth.  In essentially 45 minutes, how much can a feature focus on anything substantively?  It tries to get at the blend of art and sport, trying to pull apart what is real and what is worked with mixed results.  This, like several other similar productions of that time period, focuses on the Los Angeles area, which was not a hotbed until PWG really caught on years later.  They have a hodge-podge of stereotypes - the legends who give back, the veterans still hanging on, those who are on the cusp of “making it” and those just starting the journey.  This was an uplifting approach that did not dwell on all the problems like “Beyond the Mat” did.  They talk about Afa’s training of local at-risk youth, people doing it for the love and get the desire and drive as opposed to the struggle and sacrifice.  This is a fairly shallow documentary that is not worth going out of your way to watch, unless you have nothing better to watch.  As stated, this seems like a carefully crafted tool by UPW's Rick Bassman, which ultimately did not work.

The Rating: **

Tonga Kid [RF Video Shoot Interview]

The Good
The Samoan lineage in pro-wrestling is well-known and only a handful of them have done extensive interviews. The Tonga Kid's career was unique in that he broke in very young, travelled extensively with Afa and Sika and worked in the height of the Rock-N-Wrestling era. While his memory seems scattered at times, the timeline formula that RF Video sticks to keeps this orderly. His story is really fascinating and he is excited to share it with all his mistakes and successes. He flings some mud, plays it safe and tries to keep it positive, which make this entertaining enough to be worthwhile and honest enough to stay out of the bitter veteran area. While this is not the first shoot interview I'd recommend, it has some great names, great angles and such covered that make it a good one-time listen.

The Bad
I hate to really knock someone when they have memory problems, but the Tonga Kid's were pretty constant and glaring. Forgetting where you had your first match, forgetting how many times you walked out on the WWF, not remembering if you were a babyface or a heel, those are hard things to overlook. While these issues were always cleared up, it makes you suspicious of those details that were not checked. Sure, people makes mistakes. The point of these interviews is to gain a new perspective on pro-wrestling history. If you're version of it is riddled with errors than your interpretation of the past becomes less valued by those interested in pro-wrestling's past.

The Rating: ***3/4

The Most Powerful Families in Wrestling


Directors: Kevin Dunn
Distributor: WWE Home Video
Released: 11/08
Featured Talent
Afa, Animal, Steve Austin, Chris Benoit, Eric Bischoff, Nick Bockwinkel, Jerry Brisco, Jim Brunzell, Carlito, John Cena, Mike Chapman, Christian, Deuce, Tommy Dreamer, Ric Flair, Dory Funk Jr., Greg Gagne, Verne Gagne, Billy Graham, Mike Graham, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Chavo Guerrero Sr., Cuqui Guerrero, Eddie Guerrero, Hector Guerrero, Herlindo Guerrero, Linda Guerrero, Mando Guerrero, Chris Jericho, Ata Johnson, Rocky Johnson, Jeff Hardy, Stu Hart, Larry Hennig, Hulk Hogan, Jerry Lawler, Steve Lombardi, Lia Maivia, Dean Malenko, Sherri Martel, Stephanie McMahon, Vince McMahon, Blackjack Mulligan, Rey Mysterio, Gene Okerland, Bob Orton Sr., Bob Orton Jr., Randy Orton, Pat Patterson, Roddy Piper, Bruce Pritchard, William Regal, Dusty Rhodes, Rikishi, Jake Roberts, The Rock, Jim Ross, Mike Rotundo, Samu, Sika, Davey Boy Smith, Diana Smith, Ricky Steamboat, Joey Styles, Triple H, Barry Windham, Kendall Windham, Greg Valentine, Val Venis, Kevin Von Erich, Baron Von Raschke

The Good
The title of this DVD is quite specific and makes someone interested in pro-wrestling history want to see it.  If we add a few qualifiers than we can perhaps deal with what we're really getting here.  “The Most Powerful Families (who have had at least a member under WWF/WWE contract) in Pro-Wrestling (of the past 25 years)”.  The first family featured, the Ortons, is really fascinating and comprehensive, which certainly gives a lot of hope to the quality of this.  Not every family featured is as good, but overall this is a strong product.  The sheer number of people interviewed and the variety to those people adds greatly to this.  You get everyone from Vince McMahon himself (whose insight is often wonderful) and Hulk Hogan to Gory Guerrero and Peter Maivia's wife and daughters.  This is great overview of some of the most prominent pro-wrestling families.  If you can set aside the reality of this being a WWE history recreation attempt, this is very good.

The Bad
Shockingly, this is hosted by a WWE underachiever and son of a legend in one small market.  No its not Brian Christopher, Robert Fuller or Rene Dupree, although all three would've been preferable.  It's Carlito (Colon) whose hosting is campy and adds nothing to this DVD.  His lines are not funny, his only positive contributions are in the interview portions, it forever dates this DVD and his ties to Carlos Colon have never really been part of his persona.  That aside, this “historical” DVD is quite lacking in accordance to its lofty title.  If we're talking about families who were “powerful” in terms of having stroke, then it seems like you need to include some of those promoter/wrestler families.  The Welch/Fuller/Fields/Golden clan is certainly pro-wrestling's most prolific family with early twenty members who promoted, wrestled and refereed throughout Tennessee, Alabama and elsewhere.  Other families like: the Cormiers, the Duseks, the Farhats, the Garibaldis, the Poffos, the Scotts and the Smiths (Grizzly, Jake Roberts, etc.) all had families with promoters, bookers and/or top stars yet none of them were featured or even mentioned here.  If we're talking about “powerful” families as in having physical strength, then it seems like the Steinborns (father Milo was a legendary strongman, while Dick was a top hand and booker) should be mentioned.  There is definitely some gaps in the history, but we've come to expect that from WWE Home Video.

The Rating: ****1/4