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: **

Listen You Pencil Neck Geeks: "Classy" Freddie Blassie

Author, Ghost Writer, Editor: Freddie Blassie, Keith Elliot Greenberg
Publisher: First Pocket Books
Released: 5/03

The Good
The WWE books have been very hit-and-miss, this is a hit. It's tough to really do justice to a long, full life and a legendary and colorful career, but Keith Elliot Greenberg does an excellent job at both. Blassie's antecdotes are hilarious and Greenberg put them into a nice order and makes this story flow smoothly. Before he was "Classy" Freddie Blassie he was "Sailor" Fred Blassie and it shows in some colorful language. His stories are excellent and well-placed. The family and childhood is good enough for even the most impatient people, the love story is amongst the best parts of the book. Blassie doesn't short-change any part of his career and other parts aren't overblown, which is huge flaw in many recent books. He also seems to accurately portray himself and others, which is often a problem in wrestling books. A great book about a great career, period.

The Bad
I really can't knock this book all that much. It really exceeded my expectations in almost every way. I think some people might not be interested in a lot of it because they'd see his material as outdated and wouldn't know the many people he talks about from earlier times. This definitely reads like a WWE book because Greenberg has to get over the superiority of the product, which Blassie probably believed (but I doubt he closely followed pro-wrestling on a worldwide scale). This is a book for someone interested in wrestling's history, how it changed and one of it's legends. The stories are funny for non-fans or current fans, but I question if they could enjoyably read this whole book.

The Rating: ****1/4

Chris Adams [RF Video Shoot Interview]

The Good
Chris Adams is personable type who carries himself well in interviews such as these.  His negative qualities are easily swept behind the guise of the "gentleman," which almost makes you understand how a cocky, violent drug addict was able to do so well for himself for such a long period of time.  He seems quite straightforward with his opinions and while he does not knock too many people, he comes across as being someone whose reflected on his past mistakes and understands the abilities he truly had.

The Bad
Chris Adams has one of the worst reputations in pro-wrestling and that is probably not because people simply hated his accent.  He has been called too stiff, too arrogant, too messed up, too everything and there is probably truth to all of it.  In this format, he is able to downplay those negatives and you don't come away with a negative picture of him.  However, he surely had a dark side.  He's unwilling to do much more than hint at or briefly talk about all the bizarre situations (his wife having an affair with Kerry Von Erich, later Brian Christopher and another wife leaving him for Steve Austin), legal problems (arrests for headbutting an airline pilot and wifebeating) and drug problems (his myriad problems with street drugs, most notably GHB, and how they took a toll on him).

The Rating: ****