Stu Hart: Lord of the Ring


Author, Ghost Writer, Editor: Marsha Erb
Publisher: ECW Press
Released: 5/02

The Good
Excellent overview of the life and times of a wrestling icon. Hart's childhood was extremely hard, yet he clawed his way up to becoming quite an exceptional person. There is tragedy after tragedy, which provides a very human side to the man. It is quick read with good stories without really delving into the all too colorful world of pro-wrestling all that much.

The Bad
If you have no interest in this book...don't read it. It's not really insightful to wrestling, but it's not designed to be. This lacks the insider stuff that many people might want and a lot of the dirt and it's close to the DiBiase book, however it has much more content and even his story is more uplifting and fascinating.

The Rating: ***

Rob Van Dam (2000 Shoot Interview)

The Good
This was a very comprehensive shoot interview that covered Rob Van Dam's career (and life practically!) from growing up in Battle Creek to being the top star in ECW.  RVD is a good storyteller and is able to both put himself over as a great talent and come across as a likable dude, which takes talent in and of itself.  His martial arts background is covered, his acting "career" is mentioned and his various experiences on the indies, in Japan, WCW and elsewhere is well explored.  While this seems to predate his top years (in terms of mainstream fame), Rob Van Dam does not seem burnt out or bitter, which is ideal.  He is blunt (no pun intended) about his issues with various people in the business, but does not seem negative.  Interesting to catch his thoughts before ECW's demise and his up-and-down run with the WWF.

The Bad
I could really see someone loathing this.  If you don't like Rob Van Dam, if you think he's overrated, if you think ECW is overrated, if you find him arrogant or any have any number of little pro-wrestling pet peeves, this might seem like garbage to you.  While the scope is good, it could be deemed to much time for someone on the cusp of his prime.  While the answers are thorough, they could be seen as long-winded.  I liked this for what it was, but can appreciate the fact many people would not.

The Rating: ****
             

Body Slam! Want to Be a Professional Wrestler?
Director: Dennis Lofgren
Distributor: TLC (The Learning Channel)
Released: 6/01
Featured Talent 
Pamela Adams, Rick Bassman, Paul Bearer, Chris Daniels, John Heidenreich, Mike Henderson, Mikey Henderson, Tom Howard, Andrew Johnson, Nathan Jones, Deron "Malibu" McBee, Drzan McBee, Marty Rubalcaba, Test

The Good
This documentary focuses on Ultimate Pro-Wrestling (UPW), which was the WWF's West Coast developmental territory for a time. Although they had a respectable setup, UPW was very limited and that is perhaps why none of its stars never left for superstardom without a stop over somewhere else. This does feature a handful of WWF and TNA "stars"-to-be, most notably Samoa Joe and Nathan Jones. The focal points are four workers: Christopher Daniels, John Heidenreich, Mikey Henderson and Drzan McBee, whose success is about in that order. Daniels' story is interesting and for years people were rooting for him and he's probably reached the peak of his career. John Heidenreich was touted as a can't-miss from this period, but one can see the issues already present in his life. He has repeated setbacks from wrecking his car to breaking his hand, but gets a developmental deal in the end. Mikey Henderson's hardships are standard for undersized workers, but they pull in some material from his personal life that add a different twist. Drzan McBee's story is distinct due to her gender, faith and husband (American Gladiator Malibu). Overall, this seems like an honest depiction of how difficult it is to break into the pro-wrestling business. However, the landscape is much different than it was here, so the ladder is even higher to the top.

The Bad
One could definitely knock this as a run-of-the-mill documentary about pro-wrestling that is simply to ride the wave of popularity of that time. At the time, it was good, but every channel had some feature on pro-wrestling from A&E to MTV, but few were exceptional. This touched upon the big time, independent and even backyard wrestling. The latter part was as worthless as backyard wrestling itself. The overall feel of this is and was positive, however one could certainly be saddened thinking about how far pro-wrestling has fallen, how the WWF/WWE developmental system has shriveled up and how the independent scene is so depleted.


The Rating: ***1/4

 

Icons of Wrestling: Pepper Gomez

Director: Dale & Claude Barnes
Distributor: TWC (The Wrestling Channel)
Released: 1/06
Featured Talent
Bonnie Gomez, Pepper Gomez, Dr. Mike Lano, Jim Melby, Paul Vachon, Jimmy Valiant

The Good
This series selected an interesting variety of talent to feature and Pepper Gomez is one of those curiosities. A top babyface in several territories with a great look, decent talent and great fire, Gomez is one of those legends who are certainly overlooked for some reason. This mini-documentary focuses largely on his life story with the pro-wrestling being part of the story. It talks about his childhood, the “Pepper” nickname, his time in the US Navy and how he broke in to pro-wrestling in the first part of this. Then it delves into his wives and family and eventually his health problems. The real strength of this is Mike Lano and Jim Melby explaining his strengths as a performer and essentially his legacy in pro-wrestling.

The Bad
This series loves to do convoluted historical tie-ins and here we have the development of the talkie and how that was the time when Pepper Gomez was b orn. It is a strange setup. The real flaw of this is two-fold it lacks a strong explanation of Gomez’s legacy and it only features two matches to showcase his ringwork. One match is a tag match from his prime, which is okay, but the other is a battle with Dick the Bruiser when he was nearing retirement due to physical ailments. This featurette is not wholly bad, but it is perhaps the least interesting from the “Icons” series.

The Rating: **3/4

 Straight Shootin' with Jim Cornette - Konnan

The Good
Talk about the odd couple of odd couples.  Here is Jim Cornette, 40-something, Southern-style rasslin' performer and historian paired with lucha libre legend and former WCW and TNA undercarder Konnan.  How do these two communicate?  Very well actually.  Cornette, while not a lucha expert, shows that he's done his homework and directs Konnan through an interview respectfully and with his unique appeal.  Konnan, in sharp contrast to his on-screen persona, is well-spoken, thoughtful and insightful, so that he is able to work well with Corny.  I don't think this worked as good as Konnan and Bryan Alvarez or even Dave Meltzer, but there was something unique here that is undeniable.  Cornette pulls in his own experiences of Nick Gulas using Mexicans on the cheap, Vince McMahon working with Antonio Pena and WCW not knowing how to introduce and properly book distinct stars to get thoughts out of Konnan that you've never heard before.  He shared for the first time, according to him, the fact that he had to go back to "hustling on the streets" in between his WCW and NWA-TNA runs, which was a big shock.  Overall, I went in expecting a train-wreck of sorts, but got a gem of sorts instead.

The Bad
Like I said and as you'd expect, Jim Cornette is no lucha libre historian or even regular connoisseur, so his perspectives are limited in a way.  He and Konnan have a good rapport, but this is lacking in comparison to Corny with Bill Watts, Percy Pringle, Bobby Heenan, etc.  I actually think Konnan works better with Meltzer because he knows that Dave knows his stuff, even though Dave lacks Cornette's interviewing savvy.  Konnan seems to hold back some as a result and while it makes for a different type of Konnan interview, it is not necessarily better.  In some ways it is worse because he does not go into as much detail, Cornette is inconsistent in follow-up questions and something just seems amiss.

The Rating: ****

    

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: ****

Road Warriors: The Life and Death of the Most Dominant Tag-Team in Wrestling History

Directors: Kevin Dunn
Distributor: WWE Home Video
Released: 6/05

Featured Talent
Arn Anderson, Animal, Eric Bischoff, Booker T., Jerry Brisco, Jim Cornette, Barry Darsow (Smash), Darren "Droz" Drozdov, Edge, Paul Ellering, Ric Flair, Michael Hayes, Steve Keirn, Johnny "Ace" Laurenitis, Jerry Lawler, Steve Lombardi, Jim Ross

The Good
The WWE had not really put a lot into their documentaries, but this was one of the first that was really a step up. This did an excellent job at detailing the career, qualities and successes of the legendary Road Warriors. Animal, proved to be a good storyteller and that really helped this considerably. The barbells and bouncing past of the Roadies was detailed and it built up how they were a jacked up and aggressive pair that when transformed, they just clicked. They were groundbreaking and influential and that aspect was explained here. From their distinct look to their one-of-a-kind promos (which are included on the DVD extras), the Road Warrior package made them a top draw when tag teams were not usually big draws. It covers the many teams they worked, rightly focusing on the Midnight Express and the legendary scaffold match. Not surprisingly, Cornette is excellent in this. Perhaps the most interesting aspect was the role of Paul Ellering, who truly was their manager, helping them learn the ropes, make their shots and manage their money. However, the Road Warrior story wouldn't be complete without the nagging substance abuse and personality of Mike "Hawk" Hegstrand and that component is a focal point through out and essentially their inability to return to prominence again after their `92 break-up is explained. Since the LOD was not known for their workrate, including their best matches was not hard to do. Instead, the focus is on variety and that works well. Seeing them in the AWA, Georgia, Jim Crockett Promotions, the WWF, WCW and even in Japan is what this largely needed.

The Bad
One of the real flaws of WWE documentaries is, like VH1's Behind the Music, they tend to be formulaic in their rise-fall-retribution approach. This has that perhaps more than any documentary since. Instead of digging deeper, Hawk's substance abuse problems are put totally on him and not at all credited to the hellacious schedule, grueling physical demands and personal strain that, one might argue, leads many down this self-destructive path. The WWF's desire to take the edgy and unique Road Warriors and try to WWF-ify them in the early 90s is not touched upon. They changed their name to the Legion of Doom, made their outfits more professional-looking, did not bring in Paul Ellering until later on and even gave them Rocco (remember that dummy?). Although the Roadies were way over in the WWF, the company certainly did not always do the best things for them. They do touch upon the WWF's repacking attempts in the late 90s with LOD 2000, Road Warrior Puke and the Hawk the abuser storyline, but none are really addressed as poor creative decisions. Lastly, there is the issue of Japan. The Road Warriors were huge in Japan in the 1980s and it would have been nice to see Jumbo Tsuruta on a WWF DVD. Secondly, Animal seems to bury Kensuke Sasaki. The fact is by the time he was teaming with Hawk, Sasaki was already well-established as Riki Choshu's protégé. Aside from those small details and broader issues, this documentary and DVD set are among the better ones the WWE has put out.

The Rating: ****1/2