Straight Shootin' with Ken Patera

The Good
Over-the-top shoot interviews can be fun and they certainly gain the most notoriety. While not as wild as the Iron Sheik, Jamie Dundee or Billy Jack Haynes, Ken Patera certainly has some unique perspectives, candid comments and colorful language to say the least. He could be billed as angry, bitter and crazy based on this (and his drunken RF Video shoot), but he unquestionably had a stellar career and worked on or near the top in a variety of promotions for over a decade. However, he had some rough times in life and never quite reached the upper echelon. He was a top-notch Olympic lifter who is often seen as someone who blew it at the Olympics (he did get a bronze with a bad knee, so his "failure" was not quite like Mark Henry's). He was a great working heel with legit credentials, but is not mentioned in the same breath as many other "legends" he worked alongside. He is often remembered best for his low points - his pathetic babyface run in 87-88, his two years in prison, his wacky Shiek gimmick in the AWA. He is a man who really gave everything he had to a business that left him with numerous personal problems. I think he has some validity in his bitterness, but he goes about it in a much more entertaining way than many of his peers. In spite of some of the insanity here, Patera is able to really get into his greatness and if you can move past the bullshitting, mudslinging and name-calling, you can know that he is not obscenely overstating his legacy. All of that aside, he is a hilarious storyteller. He rambles, he stumbles over words, he swears incessantly and has incredible stories involving Ric Flair, Wahoo McDaniel, Curt Hennig and many others known for their decadence. While he does have a filter, he is more wide open than a great many legends. He talks frankly about his own personal, professional, physical and martial problems. Even with all this, I am still not sure if I would call him "bitter."

The Bad
I really think this was tremendous shoot interview and rate as the best of interviews of the bitter, angry and possibly crazy crowd. Ken Patera is probably the biggest star of all those guys (Ole Anderson could probably stake a serious claim to that as well), yet he has plenty of nasty things to say about half the people he worked with and some unflattering stuff about many of the other half. While I don't think he is really delusional or a bold-faced liar, he certainly has some screwy stories that I simply cannot buy. Some seem to have no merit past his convincing telling of them - Jesse Ventura was a heroine addict, Bruno Sammartino cussed out Vince McMahon back in the day for coming in the lockerroom and he was the person largely responsible for getting Ric Flair in and keeping him in the business early on. He is quite a character and curses and spits through many great anecdotes, but I'd question some of the details in this one.

The Rating: ****3/4

Straight Shootin' with Ron Killings

The Good
I tend not to like shoot interviews with active wrestlers because they can be a little too politically cautious, too angry about a recent release, too positive about their current situation and simply not have not been able to step back and reflect on a full career. They can be very interesting, especially to listen to subsequent interviews. Al Snow's first RF Video was angry and perhaps bitter, his second RF Video shoot was amazingly thoughtful considering the short span of time between them. As of 2010, Ron Killings is working in the WWE near the top as R-Truth, during this interview he was a few years into his TNA run after a failing WWF run. Some of the things he mentions (his name changes, for example) were very interesting because of how his career changed after this shoot. He seems honest, without burying WWF personnel. I think this should stand out as an example why going nuts and blasting Triple H, the McMahons and John Laurenitis is not necessary to come across as being honest and straight. In the same breath, letting some steam off about how you were wronged (because few people are let go for justifiable reasons) is fine. I found this interesting, but more in a historical relic sense, rather than a genuine shoot interview sense.

The Bad
Shoots with younger guys can be really good if they're funny and/or have good stories, but usually they're nothing special. Ron Killings, at this point, was fresh off his second NWA title run in TNA, who had just started up on FOX Sports Net. Obviously, things have changed dramatically since that time. The basic story was him breaking in, working the indies, catching a break with the WWF, having stints in developmental and at the big show, then hooking up with NWA-TNA and reinventing himself and being very successful. He was very positive and seemed quite honest, which makes for a dull interview in this case. Not that he should have been burying everybody, but for someone who is a great promo, he was mediocre shoot interview candidate. Gabe Sapolsky is a solid interviewer and even he could not bring this into the interesting category for me.

The Rating: ***

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