Opinion: There's No Such Thing as the Big Bad Wolf

What a 2017 it has been for UK Wrestling already and it’s only the middle of January okay nearing the end, I’m not good with dates! Anyway fans have witnessed ITV's World of Sport, amazing shows from PROGRESS, Rev Pro and many others, not to mention the WWE United Kingdom Tournament.

I went to the Tournament for both days and it was incredible. The event brought together wrestling fans and united them in positivity and hope for what the event will bring. There was no arguments of booking and it was great to see and read. But that euphoria of positivity can only last so long before issues arise, so I’ll discuss some here.

How often have wrestling fans said, “(insert UK wrestler name here) should be in the WWE” or “if WWE took notice of (insert UK wrestler name here) they will be signed!”. I've seen quite a lot of fans saying this type of thing over the years and guess what, your dreams have come true. The WWE in all its glory is shining a very big spotlight over Wrestling in the UK & Ireland and many of your favourite wrestlers are signed to one year contacts with a possible extension depending on their success.

Now how is this a bad thing, oh it must be a bad thing right? Because some fans are now saying WWE are ‘stealing’ the UK talent, ‘robbing’ fans of seeing their favourite wrestlers in promotions and even showing signs of trying to monopolise the UK and Irish Wrestling scene with ‘insiders’ claims they have links to Insane Championship Wrestling, PROGRESS, Over the Top Wrestling and RevPro as well attempting stop any wrestlers they have feature in any worldwide streams no involved with WWE.

Okay that's one way to look at it, but here’s something you should look at, UK and Ireland are jam packed with incredible talent and equally resourceful promotions and promoter, as well as brilliant training schools, with many of the countries top talent passing on their knowledge to a whole new generation of potential Tyler Bate's or Dave Mastiff's. If you’re a fan of a wrestler who has signed one of the "exclusive" WWE or ITV or any contracts...be happy for them! Each one has worked and made sacrifices to get there, whether it is for a year or more, the experience of being part of WWE will be something that they will benefit for years as well as other wrestlers if they chose to share their knowledge. Is WWE “robbing” fans either? I don’t see how, WWE is planning a weekly TV show in the UK with exclusive wrestlers to their brand, why will you go see a wrestler in WWE if you can see them every week in another promotion, for a perhaps cheaper price in-fact? Also take into account the risks, the wear and tear on the body of the pressures by wrestling continuously that the Indie circuit causes, WWE can ill afford to take these risks with individuals they see can evaluate their image in the UK.
If you bought a ticket to go to an event just for one or two wrestlers. I may question your logic on that one, sitting through a 3 hour show to see one wrestler…erm okay and that is why every promotion has card subject to change on there advertising, because anything can really happen. It is that point a promotion if a wrestler pulls out either the promoter might be able to call another top line star in and they will demonstrate why their show should be seen in spite of the absent star. Case in point, PROGRESS Wrestling on January 15th, didn't have their World Champion or their Tag Team Champions due to the WWE UK Championship Tournament were some fans concerned at the start, hell yeah they were. But afterwards as per usual they were raving about how incredible the Chapter 42 show was and rightly so. (Editor's Note - Whilst this was partly down to PROGRESS' WWE connections getting Finn Balor and Tommy End to appear on the card, as well as a surprise appearance from World Wrestling Network star Matt Riddle, the hard work of British and European talent like Axel Dieter Jr., Rockstar Spud, Jimmy Havoc, El Ligero, Dave Mastiff and more was just as, if not more valuable)
How did that happen? Forward planning, great story lines and even better wrestling, something PROGRESS does extremely well and they aren’t alone in that. As I said earlier, the British Isles has resourceful promotions, they book their events well in advance, but are are also capable of managing potential problems and turning them into positives, as well as not relying on one of two wrestlers to make that show a success. My personal opinion is that while wrestling is a business, cold and calculating, it needs to generate and promote emotion for it to thrive.

My thoughts, start from the Academy level, if you have trainees that are ready to showcase their talents on the Academy or Main shows, put some effort into getting the fans interested and invested, promote them, teach them to cut a promo or even a 30 second vignette otherwise why should fans watch them, or take interest in them, a move set can only do so much. The end result is fans who many have gone to the show to see someone else will sit silently on their phones and it will awkward and weird. That isn’t just about trainees either, it’s across the board. Why not raise your game for the wrestlers to be noticed, get the fans emotionally involved in what might happen during their matches, do what you need to create an angle, storyline or even consistent narrative of why wrestlers are wrestling. It sounds simple but I would believe how many times I’ve gone to a show and I’ve wondered why are these two wrestlers fighting, because you know…reasons?! Just get fans invested in your shows dammit.

The WWE arriving is making every wrestling fan in the world take notice of the wrestling involved in UK and Ireland, right now fans across the world are staring at every promotion in the UK thanks to the WWE Network, that is a fact. Fans and other international promotions are keen to see where wrestlers started, who to watch out for, who's the next promotion to keep an eye on, who to work with and they are starting to see great promotions that may have not have been able to be seen to a larger audience, Attack!, Alpha Omega, Fight Club: Pro, PBW and PWU only to name a few are being seen by fans as far as Australia. Sure WWE focusing their microscope here has drawbacks in the short term but its larger gains in the long term are out of this world. For that to happen every wrestler, promotion, hell even wrestling journalists need to raise their game now more than ever. This message is for wrestlers not just in the WWE United Kingdom Series, but wrestlers all over and this counts for the promoters as well, fans from all over the world hear that wrestling from the UK and Ireland is the best in the world, you’ve now got the floor, the world is watching you now show them exactly why those fans should be watching you, why they should care about you and show them what you got because it might not just be the WWE that is watching you.

Words - Craig Hermit

Images - Craig Hermit & James Marston

Editor - James Marston 

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Opinion: 2017 - I Knew You'd Come

This time last year, I gazed into my crystal ball gimmick in an attempt to forecast the year ahead for professional wrestling. On reviewing the article, it’s fair to say that I got more of my assumptions wrong than right. However, I’m claiming credit for my prediction that Paige would marry Ric Flair: what is Alberto Del Rio, with his expensive suits and love of a bevy, if not a Mexican Ric Flair?

Given my less than stellar hit rate, I’ve adapted the column for the new year: I’m not predicting what will happen in 2017; rather I’m stating what I would like to see happen, a pro-wrestling wish list if you will. Let’s start with matters close to home.

The British Wrestling Wars.

WWE vs WCW was an American wrestling conflict that audiences were deeply invested in. Many fans watched both shows but everyone had their favourite, their brand that they wanted to see secure bragging rights when the Monday Night Wars reached their inevitable conclusion. The action on television may have been scripted but the real life competition gave it an edge that elevated the viewing experience.

Could British wrestling be about to get a taste of such competition? For years, the UK scene has been territory based, with promotions running certain towns and cities, happy to share talent and never going head to head within the same market. This collaborative approach has been great for the wrestlers and the fans but could the business model be about to change? As WWE prepare to launch their own UK brand, ITV have resurrected World of Sport: two major companies are set to fund the biggest battle UK wrestling has ever seen, competing over talent and media attention. This could lead to great storytelling and immense match ups. Marquee events could go head to head as WWE run London while WOS hit up Manchester: wrestling would be a hot ticket across the land. And with PROGRESS making reference to their own “tapings” in March, it could be that a third dog will enter the fight, with Camden’s finest taking the ECW role: the alternative, cult offering with the rabid following and unique vibe. 2017 could well be the year when wrestling goes mainstream in the UK.

TNA finds a home…the WWE Network.

There is a chance that this is the year in which TNA might be deleted. But let’s stay positive. Sure, it seems that no network in the US or UK is keen on picking it up but this is 2017- streaming is where it’s at. TNA could become the crown jewel of the Floslam network or it could go where the real money is…

If the WWE Network is to become the true hub of wrestling, it needs as much diversity as possible. It has NXT, 205live and now the UK brand but these are all quite similar: indie in HD. TNA has more history attached to it, a roster that sets it apart and a touch more sports entertainment in its DNA: its back catalogue could be promoted alongside new episodes of Impact and current WWE performers such as Bobby Roode, Samoa Joe and Sting could make cross-over appearances. We all know that Vince has never seen TNA as competition so an invasion angle with the WWE wouldn’t happen. However, a TNA vs NXT feud could allow Triple H the chance to rebook the invasion in his own image, providing Network only content that could legitimately appeal to new subscribers.

Due to various court cases, legal disputes and interference from mid 90s alt rockers, this happening is the longest shot of all. But if a deal could potentially be made that results in Broken Matt Hardy on Renee Young’s Unfiltered, I think we should allow ourselves to dream.

Connor McGregor at WrestleMania.

I’m a big Ronda Rousey fan but this year’s WrestleMania may be a bit soon to book the MMA star, who, whilst a pioneer to be respected, has lost some lustre in the wake of two devastating knock outs. This doesn’t mean that WrestleMania can’t have some MMA involvement: in fact, Connor McGregor should be booked in a prominent role. Just as Mike Tyson’s notoriety enlivened the build to WrestleMania 14, the UFC lightweight champ, a bona fide super star and, despite his comments in the media, a wrestling fan, would  use his promotional know how to draw attention to the show of shows. There is no way that the UFC would let him wrestle but as he is on a hiatus from the fight game, he would be available to appear (should the price be right). Best use of the man: he and The Rock enter a Trump/McMahon style challenge and select and corner two fighters for a mega match. That’s a massive rub for the two wrestlers chosen but the real appeal would be the promo wars between The Notorious One and The Great One. Elite banter guaranteed.

The Omega Man

Hey RevPro, book Kenny Omega for York Hall in 2017. Cheers.

The Miz gets one more World title run

One of my predictions for 2016 was for the The Miz would have a great year; the thing is that I thought it would come as result of a managerial role, whereby he represented a larger, more dominant wrestler, essentially becoming a Paul Heyman who could bump. Instead, the addition of a manager to the Miz’s own act, in the form of his real-life wife Maryse, has proven the catalyst to refining and perfecting his arrogant, Hollywood bubble heel. His feud with Dolph Ziggler in the fall was excellent, their bout at No Mercy the first time that the former reality show star has truly competed in a near perfect match. Now WWE should strike while the iron is hot. A title run in 2017 would reward Miz’s self-belief and hard work and he would be the perfect foil for John Cena and (the surely soon to be babyface) AJ Styles. If John Morrison where to come back, that’s a three month programme that writes itself.

I’d slightly tweak the gimmick and add Baron Corbin to the package as a heater; such chicanery would suit the Miz’s act, allowing him to keep the strap whilst preventing Maryse’s interference from getting over-exposed. It would also set up a future programme between the two. Miz vs Corbin could be effective whichever way you cast the face/heel roles. Whilst I’m at it, here’s a crazy prediction for 2018: The Miz will be one of the biggest babyfaces in the promotion.

Whilst, I’m sure you would agree, that has the makings of a damn good year, I wouldn’t be rushing to Paddy Power to stick an accumulator on it all coming to pass. But when we’re following a year in which a Hall of Famer became the president of the United States, Spud got beaten by a toddler, World of Sport was revived and Goldberg returned to absolutely ruin Brock Lesnar, then I guess anything is possible really...

Words - Sean Taylor-Richardson

Images - James Marston

Editor - James Marston

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Opinion: Social Recall

We are reaching the conclusion of 2016, a year when departures in the entertainment industry rocked the world and people questioned the type of world we are living in as religion, colour, and origins of birth were called into question, dividing nations. But for fans of Wrestling, 2016 was a fantastic year, a year when WWE expanded their horizons with the Cruiserweights, FloSlam presented itself as an indie wrestling fans haven for action and Brit Wrestling showed the wrestling world exactly what it is capable of when given the chance.

Seriously look at 2016 objectively, can you say in recent memory that wrestling has had a better year? Across the world interest in wrestling has grown significantly, not just in WWE but in promotions everywhere. Thanks to an increase in social media, streaming channels and on:demand services, promotions and casual fans are no longer at the mercy of word of mouth from travel hardened fans as well as eagle eyed DVD collectors, now promotions can show exactly what they offer and those fans can finally see shows without making exhausting journeys but still contribute to the success of said promotion.

Numerous times throughout the years I’d hear fantastic reviews of wXw based in Germany, especially regarding their 16 Carat Gold event (this year held on March 10th to 12th) that regularly features the industry’s best wrestlers and thanks to the increase in authorised streams, I now have the choice of the journey or watch it at home. It doesn’t end there, Melbourne City Wrestling in Australia has been making waves across the world and rightly so, the action displayed in that promotion is fantastic and deserves to be seen on a bigger stage and thanks to it’s on:demand service it can.

That’s just two examples, I’m based in the UK, now how the hell would I have heard about those promotions without the increase of social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and others, I can imagine the chance would be very slim.

This year social media has helped wrestling reach that new level in popularity, acceptance. Don’t get me wrong as fans we hear the same questions, “it’s fake right?” and “Wrestling? I used to watch that when…”, however the stigma isn’t there as much as it previously was, and if you feel that someone is judging you on what you like…Fuck them, it’s their loss, wrestling is great.

I’m getting off topic, let me continue so…social media in 2016 has improved wrestling promotions of old and new, helping them gain more chances of getting noticed, but it shouldn’t stop there. One thing I have noticed on many wrestling websites is a lack of up to date information or even an effort to generate interest from new fans. Here’s a thought, a lot of fans will look up a website to buy tickets rather than go to Facebook or Twitter and if your website looks shit, you just lost a sale. My point being, if you're going to go to the trouble of setting up your promotion to look incredible across social media to gain interest why put the closing of a sale at risk with an outdated website.

It doesn’t stop with the promotions, wrestlers this goes to you as well, now I’d never tell you what you should be doing in the ring because let’s face it I’m not qualified, as I’m not trained to be a wrestler. However selling a product and promoting I can say I know something about. Turning my attention to the UK scene here, there are incredible wrestlers in the industry here, the world is about to see what I’m talking about thanks to the WWE United Kingdom Championship held in Blackpool during January on WWE Network, but some of those wrestlers are only just starting to promote themselves, to get themselves noticed to the fans. I've seen numerous instances where a fan has asked if a certain wrestler is actually going to be at a certain event as the promotion may have said they are going to be there but the wrestler hasn’t promoted the event or even themselves, leaving the question is that wrestler going to be there or if they are going to be there to they even care that they are?

I've also seen in the past, older wrestlers mock younger wrestlers for their promotion of merchandise and what events they will be wrestling at, well guess what, if they are as good as they say they are I know at a glance where and when I can buy their stuff and where to see them next. Sometimes I’m not in the mood (this goes for many fans) for a treasure hunt of where to buy merch, thanks! But going into 2017 I look forward to seeing more self-promotion from wrestlers, with the risk of repeating myself not just in this column, but previous outings and my Twitter page, there are fantastic wrestlers in the UK as well as Ireland and the rest of Europe and they deserve to be seen. Case in point, ITV's World of Sport and as mentioned WWE UK Championship will be on primetime TV and worldwide on WWE Network respectively, that features an incredible wealth of talent on both shows but there are British wrestlers not featured on either show that should be seen more but with only with promotion from themselves and fans will we see that happen.

It doesn’t end there with the benefits for the increase of Social Media, mainstream publications as well as sports channels have realised just how popular Wrestling Entertainment has become and know they can draw ratings and viewership by featuring stories about wrestling promotions on their shows not to mention interviews. All this will help raise the image of wrestling within communities and many who previously looked down their nose at pro wrestling now how can that be a bad thing. In my opinion it won’t. Look at the promotions in the UK who have sold out shows, produced shows at major venues, held events over full weekends and witnessed a growth in their fan base this year, it’s down to their advertisement on Social Media and fans sharing their experiences more often over it. It’s safe to say 2017 will be incredible.

Words - Craig Hermit

Images - Craig Hermit 

Editor - James Marston 

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Opinion: WWE - How Much is Too Much?

With the brand split and the ever-growing NXT, WWE has a lot of shows to keep up with. There's Raw on Monday, Smackdown on Tuesday, NXT on a Wednesday, then there's a pay-per-view each month from each of them, then there's Main Event, Total Divas and a tonne of other shows to watch on the Network...AAAAAAH. That's a lot of content to be keeping up with, even if you are only watching Raw and Smackdown.  

Now I'm not here to talk about the logistics of it, or how much money it'll be making them/losing them; I'm not qualified to do so and I'm not daft enough to even pretend that I understand the runnings of a multi-million dollar corporation and the logic behind what they do and what they broadcast. As a fan though, and as someone who has kept up with them religiously for the past 5 or 6 years I do have to ask...how much is too much? 

I've tried to look at it from an adult perspective; it's certainly going to be hard work keeping up with the three main brands that they have if you're working full-time or are in full-time education. Keeping up with three shows a week is going to be extremely difficult, especially if you intend on watching them all live; that's a lot of sleep you're gonna be missing out on and I've found that as I've gotten older, going into work on a few hours sleep just ain't kosher. I'm old, I like my sleep and the cold weather hurts my hip, what can I say?  Then there's the PPVs; if you have work on a Monday morning (I did up until very recently) then you've not got a lot of options if you want to watch it live. You can get the day off but if you want to do that for every PPV then you're not gonna have any holidays left for anything else, or you can try and struggle through a full shift on a few hours sleep (which I again don't recommend at all). Of course you can always just wait and watch it the next day like I used to do but for the people that hate missing it live then I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice, either way doing whatever you're gonna do twice/three times a month is gonna be a lot harder than doing it just the once. Trying to balance full-time work/study plus a social life PLUS your passion for wrestling is extremely tough and not everyone is going to be able to do it with the amount of content that's available to us.

Of course, from the other side of the fence, if you've already been keeping up with Raw, Smackdown and NXT before the brand split then it's really only an extra PPV per month that you're needing to watch. Some might not see it as that big of a deal but considering that the ratings are dwindling for WWE in general it just seems like it's a lot for people to be keeping track of. It doesn't help that almost all of the major wrestling companies and a lot of the bigger indy companies all have their own versions of the Network to keep up with too; when they're putting out more interesting stories than what the WWE are providing us with then of course people are going to switch their interests elsewhere, especially if they only have a set period of time to watch wrestling each week like most of us do. If you keep up with your local wrestling scene then that takes even more time out of your schedule, whether you're attending shows or watching them online. That's been the big one for me; I much prefer going to live shows now than I do watching them on TV/online. 

What I've found works for me is just watching the PPVs and doing a monthly catch up of NXT. I don't watch any of Raw and Smackdown (and if I do it's usually because someone has told me that it's a particularly good show) and I don't watch the PPVs live because I always end up falling asleep two matches in and need to watch the rest of it the next day anyway. I've found something that works for me and I'm sure that you lot have found something that works for you, whether it's watching it all live or doing something similar to what I do. I just feel that there's so much content being put out by WWE that it's too much for me to keep interest in anymore.  

Let me know what you think, do you agree with me and think that there's too much to bother with now or are you quite happy with the amount of content that WWE are broadcasting?  Do you even, dare I say, want even more programmes from them?  You can tweet me @LestrangeLock with your thoughts or send me Howlers in the post, whatever's easiest.  

Words - Lily Lestrange
Images - James Marston

Product Review: August's Wrestle Crate

So I try to change it up a bit each month with my guest blogs and I realise I've done a few Wrestle Crate reviews now... BUT GUYS.  I CAN'T HELP IT.  They're so good.  So here's a review of the August crate; last month was the first month since they started that I've not ordered a crate and it made me hella sad and hella mad seeing what I missed out on, so I made sure that I wasn't going to miss out again... And I wasn't disappointed!

It seems to be a standard that they send you at least either two shirts and a DVD or a shirt and two DVDs with the Ultimate crate... Well this month we've gotten two of each.  What lucky wee sausages we are eh?  In total the Ultimate subscribers got two shirts, two DVDs, a little book, a badge, a coaster and an A4 print (which is another thing that seems to be guaranteed every month).

Let's start with the shirts, shall we?  They're at the usual standard of quality that they usually send out; good quality cotton shirts, a nice quality print and accurate sizing.   

We knew we would be getting a Progress item this month and I was expecting it to be a DVD but finding that it was this nifty t-shirt was just as good; Progress is one of the most popular and fast-growing promotions in the UK and certainly one with a loyal fanbase, so I can imagine a LOT of people were happy to see this when they got their crates.  

The second t-shirt is a tribute to luchador wrestling and a sly dig to THAT Kalisto promo (he's here to make a, uh, eh... Lucha thing).  To be fair Kalisto himself said that WWE should start making Lucha Thing shirts so Wrestle Crate have just gotten in there before him. As nice as the design is I'm not a fan of the bright orange (purely because my hair's usually bright orange so I can't wear it for fear of completely turning into a giant satsuma) and I've been a good pal and donated it to my mate who's a bigger fan of Kalisto than myself.

So we have a ROH 14th Anniversary DVD and The Best of LCW Volume 1.  I'll be honest; I don't think I've watched any of the DVDs I've received in my crates, purely because there aren't enough hours in the day to keep up with all the decent wrestling promotions but hopefully I will get round to them one day.  Who knows, I might even make a new blog project out of it. The ROH I imagine will be as good as any other product they've put out before and I've never heard of LCW until now so it's another new promotion to be introduced to which I always love.  They seem to have booked a few big names on this particular DVD so I look forward to watching them... whenever that may be.

Probably one of my favourite items in this crate, an exclusive signed Billy Gunn print by Erle Tompkins.  Erle also done the artwork for my Dusty Rhodes article in Calling Spots (absolute SHAMELESS self-promotion) so naturally I'm a big fan. I love the exclusive prints that we get in the crates, be it drawings or promotional photos; I like collecting them all like Pogs or Pokemon cards (really showing my age here).  I've got mad hoarder tendencies so giving me new things to collect is both a blessing and a curse so cheers Wrestle Crate!

This is a fun and interesting wee book that was also included in the crate.  It's an A-Z of gimmick matches and they didn't hold back on the creativity when coming up with some of these.  My favourites include A, the "anus explosion death match" and Y, the "Yokohoma Piranha death match", both of which are as gruesome as they sound.  Some of them are a lot tamer than those two so if any of you can find any actual real examples of those two matches then hit ya gurl up. 

I sighed when I saw this, not because of what it is but because I can imagine people flipping out at Wrestle Crate daring to include an item relating to what they believe to be the most hated wrestler in the world right now.  If you think that way then well, give yourself a wee shake because there's worse things that could happen to you.  Aaaaanyway, it's a nice wee bit of artwork on a foam coaster and I'll be using it alongside either my Triple H water bottle or my Hart family mug.  The artist wasn't specified but it's a nice art style and hopefully we see more quirky little items like it in future crates.

And last but not least we have this cute little badge!

Playing on the whole "Netflix and chill" patter that all you darned kids are coming out with these days, the badge reads "Network and Chill" (I'd assume it's plain to see but my phone camera is probably boggin because all of these photos came out slightly blurred).  Again, I'll be adding it to my wee collection of badges that I've gotten from crates past; I think we've had 4 so far including this one?  It's definitely the cutest one we've received so far anyway.

And that's all for this month's crate!  It was up to their usual standard of great and varied content and they seem to want to include even more stuff each month for us which is nice.  Although I'm really running out of storage space for DVDs and t-shirts because of it so if they want to include a wrestling themed storage unit in next month's crate then that would be greeeeeat.  

If you like what you see in this crate you can subscribe to the Ultimate Crate for £21.99 a month plus shipping on their website: http://www.wrestlecrate.co.uk.

All content - Lily Lestrange 

Blu-Ray Review: WWE The Monday Night War Vol. 2 - Know Your Role

WWE's The Monday Night War - Vol. 2 Know Your Role is out now on DVD and Blu-Ray from www.wwedvd.co.uk and all other good home video outlets. The set takes the form of the ten remaining episodes of the Monday Night War series originally aired on the WWE Network between 7th July 2014 and 13th January 2015. There's a little bit of bonus footage from the series original run with former WCW President Eric Bischoff returning to WWE to present interconnecting commentary and there's just under an hour of Blu-Ray exclusive content (including ONE wrestling match)....but is it any good?

So, for the last Volume of the Monday Night Wars set, I did an episode by episode review, which in hindsight I think was a little bit too much and became a little bit repititive at times, with certain points. Therefore, for the 2nd volume of the series, I thought I'd streamline things just a little. This review will take much more of an overview of the entire THREE-DISC Blu-Ray edition of the release.



Let's start with some of the positives, shall we? There's a great deal of variety, in terms of subject matter in here. If you've never purchased a WWE documentary set before, then I'd recommend this one to you for sure. Although obviously there's a lot of coverage of a similar time period, the set includes ten documentaries, all just under an hour in length. The topics covered in this set are Chris Jericho (Monday Night Jericho, aired October 28th 2014), ECW (The War Goes Extreme, aired September 23rd 2014), The Rock (The War Gets Electrified, aired 4th November 2014), Divas (Divas Gone Wild, aired 18th November 2014), Celebrities (The War Goes Mainstream, aired 25th November 2014) WWF and WCW's mid-carders (Assembling an Army, aired 9th December 2014), The Kliq (The Kliq, aired 16th December 2014), Infamous Mistakes (Mistakes on the Battlefield, aired 23rd December 2014), the dying days of WCW (The Fall of WCW, aired 6th January 2015) and the aftermath of the Monday Night War (Life After Wartime, 13th January 2015). Whilst some of these subjects have DVD sets already out, that are perhaps a little more focused, but if you're after a wide spectrum of subjects to kick off your collection you couldn't go much wrong. Think of it as picking up a variety pack of cereals, as opposed to a big box, less commitment and you can chop and change as you go. 


Whilst some of the more left-field earlier episodes (The War Goes Mainstream, Building an Army) are offer something different, I was especially pleased with the final three episodes of the set. They were exactly what I wanted from the Monday Night Wars when the series were first announced. The three episodes more or less follow on from one another, telling a good chronological story of the later part of the Monday Night War. Whilst having the first part of the episode recap things we've already seen allows each episode to stand alone, it does make it a little annoying when you're binge watching, as the story takes at least fifteen minutes before hitting something new. These episodes could easily have been merged into one longer episode to form a more satisfying story, or perhaps more interview content or archive footage added to give more depth. 


On the last Volume we had Renee Young acting as mediator between Sting and Triple H, but this time around we get Eric Bischoff going solo in his first WWE project in a long time. In a way I was a little disappointed with these segments, as the earlier ones are notably shorter than the one on the other volume, simply down to having just one voice, as opposed to three. However, what I did like is that Bischoff has clearly watched each episode, which couldn't have been said for Triple H or Sting, and he presents his thoughts on what he's just seen. Sometimes that's a clash of opinions with one of the interviewees and in a later episodes there's a great moment when Bischoff agrees with part of an Arn Anderson interviewee about some of the mistakes that Bischoff made while in charge of WCW. There's good stories in there as well, and certainly there's something bought to the show that the original was missing, in terms of the voice of one of the integral parts of the Monday Night War.


Unfortunately for the main feature, that is probably about all I have to say positive about it. Of course, there's individual gems in the various interviews and a handful of stories that I hadn't heard before, but these episodes are so repetitive. Not just sharing content with the first volume, but sharing content with the individual episode within this volume! The choice to focus on separate wrestlers or longer running topics, rather than tell a chronological story means that the same couple of, admittedly, pivotal moments. If these documentaries were on their own different releases there wouldn't be a problem, but as part of the same series we shouldn't be being told that Eric Bischoff wanted to remove the Southern feel from WCW, how Kevin Nash and Scott Hall jumped to WCW, about the formation of the nWo, how WWF's edgier direction during the Attitude Era helped to turn the tide over and over and over and over and over again. It's insulting to my intelligence and completely misses the trend of binge watching. People are going to want to watch two, three, four or maybe the entire ten episodes in one go, with a big bag of popcorn or whatever their snacks of choice are and this just isn't possible with this set. 


Alongside the repeated content, there's also a lot of content that comes from outside of the time period off the wars. Whilst I don't mind a little of this for the purposes of context, certain episodes really take the piss. The Mistakes on the Battlefield episode, discusses Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair not facing each other a WrestleMania VIII, three years before the debut of Nitro, Eric Bischoff's WWF job interview and various other things, taking TWENTY MINUTES before even beginning to talk about Nitro. Indeed the highlight of this section for me was Tony Schiavone's marvellous fleece. This isn't the only case of this either, and whilst certain episodes like Life After Wartime deserve to be included, it would've been nice to have seen the flab cut from earlier episodes and shorter more focus product created.


Of course, with any WWE product focusing on WCW and especially the tense subject of the Monday Night War (despite what Vince McMahon says here he's clearly still got a lot of pent up emotions over this period of his life) this is a very revisionist history of the period. WCW is only ever credited so far, and when it comes to current WWE superstars that are used to give fans opinion of the time, there is very little positive said about the company and any from WCW that has something positive to say about the company is presented as either as overly nostalgic or a bit mental. There's many a blanket term used and those blank terms are repeated times and time again, with little time to reflect the intricate details of the time period. Basically WCW was rubbish, especially when Vince Russo had anything to do with it (everyone burying Russo is actually an amazing thing to see) unless it was the nWo or the Cruiserweights, but even those got shit after a while and WWF was great as soon as the Attitude Era started and everyone on the card was amazing from top to bottom. 

Blu-Ray Exclusives

Hulk Hogan's Contract Signing Parade - A fun little piece of history, but a bit tedious to watch in full.

Post-WrestleMania 14 Press Conference - Mike Tyson involvement is a great addition, and he comes across very well with his "No one is bigger than the sport" mantra. Vince McMahon being asked if he's turning into a bad guy is a cute moment, with McMahon's answer being very guarded.


Hulk Hogan & Dennis Rodman vs. DDP & Karl Malone Contract Signing - A good sister piece of the WWF press conference, showing the difference between the two companies. Hulk Hogan leads the thing and seems more focused on getting a few laugh than making people want to see the upcoming tag bout.


Scott Steiner says WCW sucks - Scott Steiner on microphone for an extended period of time, you should know how this goes.

Finally...

I'm gonna be completely honest here and say that this addition to the WWE Blu-Ray offering was not for me. It's repititive watching and a lot of it, covering a lot of the ground that's been covered elsewhere. I can however reccomend it to anyone who has never purchased a WWE Documentary before (and doesn't have the WWE Network). Get this set and the 1st Volume and you'll get plenty of extra knowledge of one of the most succesful periods of wrestling history. 


If you have got the WWE Network, then the extra content probably shouldn't be enough to convince you to buy. Eric Bischoff's piece are quaint and there are some cool moments, but they aren't long enough to justify the price if you already have access to the episodes. The Blu-Ray exclusives all have their merit also, especially the WrestleMania 14 Press Conference. 


For me, this experiment of releasing WWE Network series on Home Video has not  work out in terms of producing an enjoyable watch from start to finish. Here's hoping that WWE sticks to bringing out new documentaries with added matches, as that format is a much more rewarding one. 

Islands in the Stream I - Old School: MSG 03/17/75

Just like the WWE Network itself, the initial edition of Islands in the Stream has been slightly delayed, but it's finally here for your reading pleasure. This series plans to chronologically run-through the content on the WWE Network, every Monday and Friday (except the first Monday of each month where Best of British will feature instead). It's a big task, but will hopefully help you to uncover some hidden gems and watch footage you otherwise might not.
This first edition will be looking at the 17th March 1975 show from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, USA, that can be found in the Old School category under the Vault section of the Network. The show is headlined by Bruno Sammartino defending the WWWF Heavyweight Championship against Spirios Arion, alongside three others matches. Vince McMahon goes solo on commentary.

WWWF Heavyweight Championship Match

Spirios Arion vs. Bruno Sammartino (C)

The main event of the show actually appear second on this broadcast, which is a little jarring as a fan used to the modern day WWE product. One of the things that makes this match notable is the crowd reaction to even the simplest of moves, because of their adulation for Bruno Sammartino and their utter hatred for Spirios Arion's manager Freddie Blassie. The live audience are completely hooked by this match from start to finish and that does, of course, bring something to the broadcast itself.

However, a modern WWE fan may struggle to get into the bare-bones styles of the WWWF, which mainly consists of punches and kicks, with the odd bodyslam thrown in. The pace is much, much slower than what fans are used to today and there's certainly nothing flashy about the way Sammartino and Arion go about their game. The bout does gets rather repetitive quickly, with the pair going through a similar pattern of action for the majority of the bout.

The main highlights actually come from outside of the match itself. Vince McMahon has an absolute nightmare on commentary, calling the bout a "Texas Death Match" multiple times, despite it clearly having no signs of being anything other than a regular match and the ring announcers confirming such a thing. He also goes on to call a Camel Clutch-esque move a "Modified Boston Crab". Arion also get's into a confrontation with a member of the crowd at one point, swiping out at the fan, which seemingly comes out nowhere, imagine if Brock Lesnar twatted a fan at ringside in 2015!

Whilst the match might not be to modern fans taste, the finish is a familiar and frustrating one. Following a bodyslam, Sammartino get's the pinfall victory, despite Arion's foot being clearly on the rope in front of the referee. It doesn't even feel like it should be a finish at all, and probably would've had Twitter saying things like "Who books this shit" and "Fuck this company", if Twitter were such a thing in 1975. It's probably a good job this isn't the final match on the show, because it's leaves things a little flat for the home viewer in 2015, even if the 1975 live audience are losing their shit with glee and it gives Blassie a reason to get Arion a rematch later on down the line.

Singles Match

Killer Kowalski vs. Victor Rivera

Early on this match showed a lot of promise, teasing me with some attempts at phsycology as Killer Kowalski worked Victor Rivera's leg, whilst Rivera went after Kowalski's arm. Both men do a good job at selling their supposed weaknesses, however the match doesn't progress much from this point, with the pair going back and forth on these injuries for sometime. After a bit Kowalski even gives up and decides to whack on an Abdominal Claw instead. I'd worried that perhaps my modern fans mindset was the reason this match was boring me, however the almost silent MSG crowd made me think otherwise.
The finish is another disapointing one, involving a disqualification for Kowalski for a bite, just when it seems the match might be heading towards a satisfying conclusion. With almost 30 years in the business at this point, I'm not sure why Kowalski needed to be protected as much at this point in his career, when a win for Rivera over the veteran could have done a lot for him.

Singles Match

The Wolfman vs. Ivan Putski

Ivan Putski has a huge belly and the funniest facial expressions I may have ever seen. That alone was enough to keep me entertained throughout this match. Throw in the fact that he's wrestling a fella called THE WOLFMAN and you've got wrestling gold. I'm not even sure what happened, other than Putski picking up a quick win with a Bear Hug, I was too busy losing my shit for Putski and his Polish Power ways. He even drinks a beer once the match is finished, because he's the fucking man about town and he doesn't care who knows it.

Singles Match

Cheif Jay Strongbow vs. Butcher Vachon

The opening contest of the broadcast, this is a basically structured match. Vachon works the heel character nicely, however it's Strongbow's comeback that stands out as the most entertaining part of the match, for it's sheer hilarious-ness, as he struts around the ring like some kind of funky chicken. The finish of the bout comes almost completely out of the blue and with Strongbow picking up the win from a move that many will be familiar with as a transitional move these days, the Lou Thesz Press!

Finally...

These early shows aren't going to be for everyone, especially something as early as 1975, as the action is completely different to what WWE puts on these days and takes a lot of getting used to. This show isn't packed full of classic matches and big moments, but I still found something strangely fascinating about it and seening certain elements that would become WWE tropes over the next few years. Early Vince McMahon commentary is hilarious to say the least, whilst Ivan Putski vs. The Wolfman is the match that dreams are made of.

Next Time

Old School: MSG 6/27/77 featuring Baron Von Raschke vs. Ivan Putski, Superstar Billy Graham defending the WWWF Heavyweight Championship against Bruno Sammartino and more. 

FreeFreeFree

It was announced earlier this week that the WWE Network would be free TO NEW SUBSCRIBERS throughout November, including the Survivor Series event. The Network was also supposed to launch here in the UK yesterday (after initially changing the launch date from 1st October to 3rd November) but miraculously didn't. Luckily, I've been using Unblock-US since February so that doesn't really effect me. Oh and ICW on Demand launched yesterday for just $5.99 a month.

Now, I have an A-Level in Business Studies and I know that it's as important to treat your existing customers well, as it is to offer new ones an incentive to jump aboard your product. And by offering November on the Network up completely free to NEW subscribers WWE is neglecting and alienating it's existing customers, like myself. 

This would, perhaps, not be such a big deal if the Network hadn't lost 25% of the total sign ups it's had since launch date. Just under 1 million people had signed up to the Network since launch date and only 75% exist. Maybe WWE would be better looking at why that many subscribers decided it wasn't for them (many bypassing the supposed 6-month commitment which has now been dropped) and cancelled their subscriptions. I'm not sure if there's an exit survey currently in place, but there certainly seems to be no concerted effort by WWE to appease it's current subscribers as they desperately try to push the figures up. 

Of course, offering November free to everyone would most likely cripple the Network, even with the new adverts from Mattel, Pepsi and K-Mart (incidentally I haven't seen a single advert yet). But it's clear the deal could very entice new subscribers to the Network, if the Survivor Series card presents a series of well-thought out matches, that people want to see. Whether those new subscribers enjoy the other content and decide to stick around is then the moment of truth. I'm sure WWE will get new subscribers using this method, how many is difficult to really gauge, at this time. 

But hey, what about us existing subscribers Vinny Mac? Don't we deserve a little sumin sumin? After all, a lot of the existing subscribers have been with the Network since Day 1! Loyalty often counts for nothing in wrestling, but it should when it comes to customers and fan base. Something as simple as a WWE Shop voucher could have current subscribers feeling looked after and appreciated by the machine (which could in turn also lead to more spending on WWE products, win win!) How about introducing something that rewards a subscriber for staying with the Network for a full year when the Network turns 1 in February? Special first-look content maybe? I don't know the logistics of this, but it's certainly something I'd be looking into to keep a firm grip of the subscribers that the Network already has. 

The Network works great for me, and is certainly value for money, I see myself being a customer for a long time to come, but I also know I could find the content for free elsewhere, as do most of the subscribers I suspect. Therefore it's more important than ever to make sure that those current subscribers are chipper. As the old phrase goes "You don't what you got til it's gone"