Percy Pringle / Paul Bearer [RF Video Shoot Interview]

The Good
Great stories by a great storyteller, Percy Pringle (aka Paul Bearer) has had such a full career that it was easy for him to just go on and on with road stories, rib stories and funny memories. Who else could tell you what always makes the Undertaker vomit, how creative a teenage Michael Hayes was or what made Rick Rude such a likable guy? Percy Pringle's gift of gab just boils over here and he lets his guard down more and more as time passes. While he could and other interviews have proven this, go more into the psychological aspects and behind the scenes workings of companies, Percy delivers the endless tales that RF Video is always trying to pull out of an interviewee. It makes for a light-hearted and enjoyable interview. Percy is also so passionate about pro-wrestling that he seems almost mournful that kayfabe is dead and that young people cannot experience it or breaking into it the way he did. In a few instances he gets into that sentiment, but even that and the issue of drug abuse, deaths and political nonsense do not seem to hamper his excitement and he largely glazes over those negative aspects.

The Bad
If you've never heard Percy Pringle do a shoot interview, I cannot image how you would not love this. If you have, then you might see how this has is not a great as some others he has done. His series with Jim Cornette are second-to-none and are like ramped up versions of these as he gets into some of the same stories and issues. Although it is briefly mentioned, I think focusing more on his recollections of Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling would be so fascinating. Obviously he was just a mark fan then, but it is an area that is simply unexplored and forgotten. The road stories are great and plentiful here, but it seems like this is someone who could get more into the psychology of the business. Finally, Percy Pringle is pretty reserved in naming names. I think one of the great strengths of the Jim Cornette interview is that Corny will blast almost anyone, so it was easier for Percy to do it. These all seem knit-picky, but it prevented this from being a five-star interview in my view.

The Rating: ****1/2

World's Greatest Wrestling Managers

Directors: Kevin Dunn
Distributor: WWE Home Video
Released: 6/06

Featured Talent
Captain Lou Albano, Steve Austin, Shelton Benjamin, Gerald Brisco, John Cena, Michael Cole, Bob Costas, Ted Dibiase, Danny Doring, Howard Finkel, Mick Foley, Todd Grisham, Jimmy Hart, Bobby Heenan, Hulk Hogan, Iron Shiek, Ken Kennedy, Jerry Lawler, Steve Lombardi, Theodore Long, Chris Masters, Stephanie McMahon, Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels, Gene Okerland, Bob Orton Jr., Pat Patterson, Roddy Piper, Bruce Pritchard, William Regal, Road Warrior Animal, The Rock, Jim Ross, Terri Runnels, Sharmell, Arnold Skaaland, Sgt. Slaughter, Trish Stratus, Joey Styles, Tazz, Triple H, Nikolai Volkoff, Harvey Whippleman

The Good
The WWE's expansive pro-wrestling library is something that are always trying to market. Who can forget all those Coliseum Video releases from back in the 80s with some pretty strange themes. This is a takeoff on that tradition and it is not without the campiness of those releases from over twenty years ago. Vince McMahon has the sharpest and best insight in this and it is one that is so often missing from his comments on WWE documentaries. He concisely explains a manager's job and is pretty blunt about the strengths and weaknesses of the managers covered here. It seemed not-so-surprising that female managers/valets are put over strongly as that is the norm in the WWE nowadays. The argument against female managers has been that it is not so easy when it is time for them to get their comeuppance and there is simply not the big payoff in the end. Although that argument is not stated here, it is certainly demonstrated and it should make a fan watching scratch their heads about current WWE “managers”. Particular highlights were demonstrating the mic skills of numerous managers, including Freddie Blassie, Bobby Heenan and Jim Cornette. It was also curious that the legacy of Sunny was fairly covered. The Paul Bearer transformation from Percy Pringle is also great to see because it is so unique. There are some neat questions posed, whether or not a manager needs to be/have been a worker, being the best one. This DVD pretty much delivers what you'd expect and it is fine, well-edited piece.

The Bad
The title is grossly misleading because this does not exactly cover non-WWF/WWE managers and worse yet it ignores the past of many of them. A short list of great managers who are not mentioned or even shown here - Saul Weingeroff, Gary Hart, Skandor Akbar, Sir Oliver Humperdink, Dr. Ken Ramey, Lord Alfred Hayes, J.C. Dykes, Professor Boris Malenko, Eddie Creatchman, Precious, George “Crybaby” Cannon and Robert Fuller. Now several of those people they simply don't have footage of, but others are just sad omissions. If they wanted to keep this purely WWWF/WWF/WWE managers than they should have done that. The idea that Freddie Blassie was the “first” manager is laughably ignorant because there were some legends (see above) that predated him. Seriously, they included Arnold Skaaland (a road agent) and left out even people like Slick, Mr. Fuji and Harvey Whippleman who while not the best were certainly superior to Skaaland. The commentaries from talent are largely good, although there is the usual kayfabe and Jerry Brisco nonsense and some horrendous decisions on what to wear for taped interviews. Todd Grisham, the host, only detracts from this and is given some stupid material to segue between segments. For extras, they have some matches that are largely dull and some promos and angles that are largely great. This may sound like a scathing or nit-picky review, but this DVD certainly has its flaws and a follow-up seems unlikely, which is sad. Hopefully Greg Oliver and Stephen Johnston have a PWHOF Managers book in the wings.

The Rating: ***1/2

Ronnie P. Gossett [Highspots Shoot Interview]

The Good
If you don't know who Ronnie P. Gossett is, he is a heel manager of the Percy Pringle, Jim Cornette or Kenny Bolin grain. A slick talker who plays an arrogant, yet blubbery Southern jerk, Gossett never really traveled much outside of Tennessee where he was staple for a long time. Sometimes listening to that guy who worked a territory for many years is more fascinating because there is more depth. Listening to his thoughts on Nick Gulas, Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler was insightful. I've always been under the impression that Jarrett's booking was superior to Lawler's (they switched off every six months), but Gossett refutes that. He has choice comments for all kinds of stars who came through the Tennessee region. Certainly there were many and he had anecdotes about many and opinions on people whether they came through or not. There is all kind of great tales here, whether it is Ronnie selling Nick Gulas's promotion to some "marks" (a lawyer, a doctor, etc.) or him talking about Brian Pillman being a gigolo. Gossett is a fantastic talker (he was a great Southern manager after all), so he is able to really bury some people. The Jarretts, Hulk Hogan, Bill Dundee, Missy Hyatt, Bert Prentice and on and on, no one is immune to the wrath of Ronnie P. Gossett.

The Bad
If you don't have any interest in Southern wrestling, specifically Tennessee rasslin', then you probably will not care for this. Honestly, Gossett does not seem bitter, but he certainly has some grudges. He has a lot of negative things to say and rips on a lot of people, if that seems bitter or angry to you, then avoid this shoot interview. The one thing I felt was missing was that it was pretty widely known that Gossett was gay. Although not part of his persona, it just seems that his life in pro-wrestling as a gay man has some intrigue that was never touched upon here. Sadly, Gossett died shortly after this interview.

The Rating: ***3/4

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

The Legends of Wrestling - Managers

The Panel - JJ Dilon, Jimmy Garvin, Michael Hayes, Jim Ross, Joey Styles

The Good
The WWE series is one of the most noteworthy features of WWE 24/7. It features a handful of people who will seemingly never do extensive shoot interviews elsewhere and people who are great in the shoot interviews and gives them a topic to probe. I've never seen a bad one. They integrate footage from the expansive WWE video library and generally have good discussions. Michael Hayes and JR are regulars and they're always fantastic. I generally enjoy Joey Styles in venues such as these, Jimmy Garvin is always good for a story and a laugh and JJ Dillon is easily one of the best in-depth analysts on the business there is. I've seen the WWE's "Greatest Managers" release and found it enjoyable, although highly limited in its scope. This was excellent because it mentioned people like Bobby Davis, Maw Bass, Gary Hart and some others who never got their due on that release. There were some good stories and overall this was fun one.

The Bad
The panelists on these shows largely draw from their own experiences, which can provide a limited scope. While Gulf Coast wrestling was mentioned, Memphis and its many talented managers (from Saul Weingeroff and J.C. Dykes to Dr. Ken Ramey and Sir Clements) were left out completely! Other legends like Homer O'Dell, Big Bad John, Tarzan Tyler and Lord Alfred Hayes were left out. Although I've grown to expect that, it does mean it's okay. If you can move past the limitations of these discussions, as you typically have to if you want to enjoy WWE's documentaries, then you can certainly enjoy this.

The Rating: ****

Art of Managing with Gary Hart & Sir Oliver Humperdink

The Good
Gary Hart was one of the greatest shoot interviews ever and I've never heard him do anything that was not excellent. Sir Oliver Humperdink, in stark contrast to his on-screen character, is pretty low-key and uncontroversial, but insightful nonetheless. Mark Nulty is generally a meticulous researcher and interviewer and this is perhaps his best effort yet. What makes a great manager? How do you get talent over? How do you get the right heat? How do you cut a "money promo"? And so on and so on, Mark Nulty puts together an orderly and provocative interview. Gary Hart carries the day here (as one would expect) and even throws a couple jabs at John Nord, Jim Ross (I think?!) and "The" Sting. Humperdink is excellent as well and cuts a great lil' impromptu promo on Dusty Rhodes. This is just great stuff and what I think Kayfabe Commentaries is largely geared toward.

The Bad
I'm sure plenty of people might find this boring. It is in-depth, thorough and not particular controversial in its commentary. While one could find this dull that is largely a matter of opinion. I personally found this riveting and cannot say much negative about it.

The Rating: *****