Lance Storm [RF Video Shoot Interview `99]

The Good

These early RF Video shoots were largely a mixed bag of poorly executed interviews with big names who could talk well and interviews that are "better" executed with ECW stars.  Here, Lance Storm sits in the chair and talk about his first decade in the business.  Lance is a tremendous talker in this atmosphere as he is thoughtful, respectful and is able to really dig deep on topics.  This is why his involvement with Bryan Alvarez and the Figure-Four Daily has been so great.  Although this predates his WCW and WWF runs as well as his post-retirement activities, he has plenty of time to talk about his various experiences in Germany and Japan that probably would go undiscussed if a comparable first interview was done today.  I particularly found his reflections on Germany to be great because few people have talked about it much, but he was able to put over Fit Finley and Danny Collins while talking frankly about Otto Wanz, Dave Taylor and others.  Others might find his comments on Japan to be more interesting as he discussed Jushin Liger, Shinjiro Otani, Atsushi Onita, Genichiro Tenryu, Yuji Yasuroaka and many others.  Lance also talks about breaking in with the Harts, his experiences working for Jim Cornette in Smoky Mountain as well as getting into ECW and moving up the ladder there.  If you've never heard Lance Storm, I'd highly recommend his shoots, co-hosting gigs and so on.

The Bad

The obvious digs on this would be, who is Lance Storm to have the opinions he has here?  This is slippery slope because while he had almost ten years in the business and was well-traveled, he was still relatively young and didn't have experience compared to people like, say, Jim Duggan, who were kind of negative about Lance.  In any event, Storm is a very intelligent and principled person who delivers an interview like few others because of those factors.  Some people might not have been crazy about his work, his personality or find him the most enjoyable to listen to, but I would put him in the upper echelon of shoot interviews.

The Rating: ****1/4

Lanny Poffo [57Talk Shoot Interview]

The Good
An early shoot interview by Gary Cubeta and it is very good, largely because he's interviewing Lanny Poffo. Although you might know him as the effeminate heel known as The Genius, the younger brother of Randy Savage or even WWF jobber Leapin' Lanny Poffo, this guy can talk and is one of the best shoot interviews there is. His RF Video shoot really opened a lot of eyes to his abilities and thankfully he's gotten more interviews as a result. Gary, always with the focused questions, spends a lot of time talking about the Sheik and Detroit, the ICW and his time with Hulk Hogan in the WWF. I enjoy that approach because it makes this a very different interview (although not as different as Lanny's anti-communist rant against Canada's national healthcare when he was on the LAW). I thought the discussions on hardcore wrestling, steroids and developing one's persona were all great, insightful parts to this 90 minute shoot.

The Bad
With Gary Cubeta's interviews, there is always the issue of the bits and pieces being left out. Since he does not try to shoehorn a career retrospective into an hour and a half, he leaves a lot out. Sometimes those parts are very significant and sometimes he never hooks back up with that person. I always enjoy Lanny's little sayings and such, but he seemed to have a few foul balls here. I guess it was early in the morning or something. Anyway, I feel this was a good, but not the best performance by Lanny Poffo.

The Rating: ***3/4

Sex, Lies and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince MacMahon and the World Wrestling Federation


Author, Ghost Writer, Editor: Shaun Assael, Mike Mooneyham
Publisher: Crown Publishing
Released: 7/02

The Good
For anyone who doesn't know much about wrestling in America pre-last week, you might want to buy this book. Assael not only covers Vinny Mac, but his dad, the NWA, Turner, WCW, Mid-South, Watts, the steroid trial and on and on. Basically he gives a nice overview of the ongoings of the post-NWA era and even covers some of that stuff too. I strongly suggest this to anyone who isn't a long-time WON or Torch reader.


The Bad
This is an overview - like 3/4 of the story at most. For people who know their stuff this'll be just a different take on the same story. Some issues are skirted, some short-changed and some half-truths, but that's to be expected from an "outsider." You get some dirt, but nothing scandelous if that's what you're looking for. I've heard the transitions are bad, so I suppose a base knowledge is required, they really didn't lose me in any parts. Some parts are less interesting and the more you know the less you'll care.


The Rating: ****

In the Pit with Piper: Roddy Gets Rowdy


Author, Ghost Writer, Editor: Roddy Piper, Robert Picarelli
Publisher: Berkley Boulevard
Released: 11/02

The Good
Really fun stuff. Similiar to all wrestling books in that it has some priceless retelling of funny road stories. Piper might not explain psychology perfectly, but I think he does a better job than most. I guess it's just a matter of fact thing for him.

The Bad
This book is like a montage of Piper interviews. When you know what he's trying to say it's easy to follow and has funny bits thrown in. But when he's just talking...he's just talking. The rambling gets tedious at times with funny jokes having no real purpose. While chronology is good, he bounces around in his thoughts it seems. The prevalence of contradictions is really bad. One chapter he's saying his morals took over when something immoral happened then in the next chapter he says he was totally devoid of moral character. The faulty reaccounts are obvious in points like that, but I don't think he was malicious in his fallacies. My one complaint is that Piper's delivery isn't as good as Heenan's because Piper's might sound better on tape, but doesn't read as well. His voices and facials are 75% of his interviews and you can't have it here. You hafta want to read this to read, otherwise it can be slow going.


The Rating: ***

      

BBC Video Diaries: Pro-Wrestling

Director: n/a

Distributor: BBC

Released: 1993

Talent Featured
Robbie Brookside, Ian "Doc" Dean, Brian Dixon, Bill Dundee (Sir William), Giant Haystacks,

 Ulf Hermann, Maxx Payne, Steve Regal, Johnny Saint, Dave Taylor, Steve "Skull Murphy" Young

The Good
An amazing little documentary from the early 1990s that features Robbie Brookside as he struggles to "make it" in pro-wrestling. Brookside was a hot young star in the final days of televised British wrestling as Brian Dixon's All-Star promotions utilized him well. A teenage star from Liverpool, Brookside fell into that era of excellent workers who were able to rub shoulders with many great British stars, but were too young, too small, too British or whatever to reach that next level. In 1988, British wrestling was taken off TV and the native version of the sport practically died over night. It had been ailing for several years, languishing under the influence of the Crabtrees, unable to compete with the flash of the WWF and suffering several other hardships. Many found scarce work across the country at independent shows, some traveled to Japan, some to the Continent and a select few tried to make it to the US. Other than Japan, this documentary focuses on that post-TV era. Brookside and partner Doc Dean travel from small show to small show working for Brian Dixon, but the conditions, payoffs and even some of the talent is pathetic. The two travel to Germany for a tour and you get a feeling for how vital that is for keeping many of these guys afloat. Otto Wanz and the CWA was able to give many European wrestlers a place to go and make good money for about a decade after British wrestling died. A portion of this focuses on his former partner Steve Regal (more recently known as William Regal) who managed to catch a break with WCW, reinvented himself as Lord Steven Regal and became one of the best workers in the US and one of the most underrated entertainers as well. While Regal had good size, Brookside never filled out, he looks like and kind of works like Edge (if you've never seen him). Brookside believes in the British style, but understands the need to adapt to the American approach. Unfortunately for him, Britain never had a domestic product that was able to do this and the last of the "World of Sports" generation are now retired and the independent scene over there is remarkably disjointed from the traditional British style. This is almost a tragic story and while the end is hopefully, you know fifteen years later how it would end.

The Bad
This documentary has a understandably narrow scope as it focuses on Robbie Brookside's career up to this point. He had not yet traveled to Japan, although he had opportunities with New Japan and Michinoku Pro that never panned out for him. There were a handful of great workers (Tony St. Clair, Fit Finlay, Dave Taylor and a others) who successfully bounced around and did not have a paycheck-to-paycheck career like Brookside. Many did though and it is interesting to focus on that story. People like Doc Dean, James Mason and others struggled to find their place and while some had chances abroad or even in the US, few found actual success. The sad story here, unfortunately is the real one for most British wrestlers and it has only gotten more dim as time has passed.

The Rating: ****1/2

The Stone Cold Truth - Audio Version


Author, Ghost Writer, Editor: Steve Austin, Jim Ross, Dennis Brent
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Publishers
Released: 10/03

The Good
I'd never done the audio book thing before and actually ordered it by accident, but it was a fun alternative. Austin and J.R. narrate, which is fine. They are redoing the book and are half in character, which is fine. Not as dynamic as you'd like, but the parts where Austin is funny, the audio makes it seem that much funnier. The part about he and Jeannie feuding with Chris and Toni Adams stands out to anyone I've talked to about it as being laugh-out-loud funny and so is his impression of the Undertaker.

The Bad
This is obviously an abridged version, so there is a fair amount lost. Austin's story is pretty well-known by most wrestling fans at this point and not much is revealed here that many wouldn't already know about. He isn't as venomous as you might expect and any heat he has towards people like Owen Hart, Jeff Jarrett and WWF creative is not really voiced, making this seem neither "stone cold" nor the whole "truth." While this is better than most of the WWF/WWE's autobiography releases, it is not what I think it should be. Again this was a 2 hour audio version, not the full-length book.
The Rating: **1/4

Terry Gordy [RF Video Shoot Interview]

The Good
Shot about a year before his death in 2001, this is one of RF Video's earlier shoots and while I am happy it exists, I'm saddened that it is so poor. This was back when RF Video would have a shoot and tack on some matches and I'll just say the Japanese matches they included certainly saved this from being an utter failure. Terry Gordy's sharpness had been altered by a drug-induced coma in 1993 and you can tell it here. He does however have some worthwhile stories and thoughts to share that are made more important by the fact this is the only shoot interview that he did (that I know of) before his untimely death.  Doug Gentry really saves the questioning side of things (although "saves" might be a bit strong) by having a working knowledge of All Japan Pro-Wrestling, so that part is not left out completely.

The Bad
Everybody is a "good guy," every match was "easy" and every negative "do you think he…?" is answered with a "yeah, he sure was." It is maddening. Although Terry was not exactly talkative and did not have stories springing to mind, this was such a barrage of vague questions, closed comments and loaded inquiries that anyone would have struggled. After ten minutes, they've already covered breaking in, partnering up with Michael Hayes, forming the Freebirds trio and blinding the Junkyard Dog. They spend more time of his ECW run than that initial Mid-South run!! I can say that RF Video's quality has improved across the board, but not by the leaps and bounds I would have hoped for.

The Rating: **3/4