Missy Hyatt [Wrestling Universe Shoot Interview]

The Good
Missy Hyatt is one of those rare people who despite having little or nothing to do with pro-wrestling anymore, not supplying much insight and a less than legendary career keeps getting brought onto radio shows and asked to do shoot interviews? The reason being that Missy Hyatt loves to fling mud and loves to talk about all the sex and drugs in the business. Shockingly, Missy never entirely comes across as bitter, but rather as someone who will dish the dirt and makes no bones about who she likes, who she dislikes and what opinions she has of everyone else. The WrestlingUniverse shoot series is exceptional and they largely throw softballs at Missy, so she can hit jaw-dropping homeruns (if you've never heard Missy Hyatt before). She says who screwed who, who she screwed, who she did not screw and who she owes favors. You'll learn about certain pro-wrestler's abilities, inabilities and adequacy. You'll learn about valet's drug problems, man problems and attitude problems. It is a free-for-all with the only caveat being she does not want to spoil her book (which was about what you'd expect).

The Bad
If you've never heard Missy, than you'd probably dig this. If you've heard her on WOL or a tame radio show, you'll probably notice she's a bit more colorful. If you've heard her YouShoot or some other shoots (RF Video, SmartMark Video, etc.) than this will probably seem like more of the same. She puts people over, but rarely specifies their good qualities usually just that they were "nice" or "smart." Conversely, she often buries people like Kevin Sullivan, Tony Anthony and Jeff Jarrett for no apparent reason and does not validate her thoughts with examples of being wronged. In the overall scope of her shoots, I'd rate this as "above average." I must insert though, you have to enjoy listening to the kind of interview she does.

The Rating: ***1/2

Bam Bam Bigelow [Wrestling Universe Shoot Interview]

The Good
One in the Wrestling Universe's series that is definitely a standout. Bam Bam Bigelow, who passed away in 2007, conducted this in 2002, so he was on the comeback trail after severe burns (from saving some kids from a fire) put him on the shelf. He seemed like such a friendly guy who had many good stories and a really good memory. Bigelow's tales of breaking in were about what you'd expect, but the parts about Japan (which started early on for him) were fascinating. Here is a guy who traveled over there many times and worked for four of the top companies and he had some thoughtful and honest comments. He had no problem burying Akira Maeda for his unprofessionalism, FMW for its second-rate status or Genichiro Tenryu for subpar booking decisions. At the same time, he put over the talent, the culture, the learning experience and the style. Puroresu fans should enjoy that aspect of this shoot. There was plenty of time talking about his runs in the WWF (2), WCW (3) and ECW (2), which were filled with great successes and some unfortunate situations. Bigelow seems to have everything in a proper perspective that he can address the good and bad of each. I've heard him put over strongly by Sid (as the greatest ring general he ever worked) and buried by Lanny Poffo (as someone that no one would ever pay to see), but I tend to think the majority of his peers liked him and respected his work. From this shoot interview, you can kind of understand why.

The Bad
Although I found Bigelow to be pretty straightforward, he was not as professionally self-effacing as I might have expected. While he never put himself over as strongly as many people do in shoot interviews (certainly not personally as he seemed quite humble and down-to-Earth), I expected him to perhaps reflect upon his unfulfilled potential, drug problems and inconsistent pushes over the years. He admitted to not being a complete package (good body, good interviews, good work), but felt he had the third category for sure. I wouldn't argue that point, but it seems like he might have been a little more reflective as to why someone of his in-ring ability never got the consistent shove that so many expected time and time again. He seems to blame injuries, politics and poor booking more than I care to believe. My other issue is his mellowness. Bam Bam Bigelow seems like an intense individual who would speak his mind and have no problem burying people, but here, he is relatively reserved in his comments on Big Van Vader, Andre the Giant and even the Kliq. He always seemed to temper a negative comment about someone being a "pain in the ass" or whatever by putting over their hard work, status or something. Regardless of those concerns, I felt this was a good look at pro-wrestling from 1985-2001 with some detailed inclusion of Japan and even Mexico.

The Rating: ****1/2

Wrestling Universe - Virgil

The Good
If you've ever seen the picture of Virgil waiting at an autography session with "WWF Superstar Virgil" above his head and not a soul in sight…this shoot is the audio equivalent of that. If you like shoot interview that are serious, informative and straightforward, you might want to avoid this. Now I do not want to totally mock the accomplishments and career of Mike Jones, but I have to scratch my head at a great number of things he says here. Perhaps I should be writing about these things as negatives, but they made this interview hilarious. Comments like "why are you massaging his feet like a prick?," "I hate the hell out of snakes" and "you ain't jackshit unless you sellout that Garden" are just a few morsels of this buffet of ridiculousness. Jones, who alludes to a past as a collegiate standout at the University of Virginia as well as a past as a Golden Gloves boxer, which probably explains why he did not back down from Dan Severn when the two alleged went at it and it goes on from there. He was, at best, a peripheral talent, who got hooked up with Ted Dibiase, the nWo and such and was able to reach a level of success that he never could have achieved on his pure talents alone. It is interesting (and that is an understatement) to hear him talk about his career, but take everything with a grain of salt.

The Bad
I could easily pull out a few statements that Mike Jones made and quickly refute them. I could easily point out some erroneous facts and figures. I could easily paint Mike Jones as a self-important asshole. But none of those things need to be done by me. The interview does it all simply in listening to it. He makes so many lofty claims that anyone with a little knowledge about his tenure in the WWF could see the BS. There are a number of things he mentions that jump out as false. He dresses the interviewer down on camera for lacking ability and confidence and although he's no Sean Oliver, the Wrestling Universe do a good job by my estimation.

The Rating: ***