Shining a Spotlight 4.12.07: Review-O-Rama

Hope you all had a good Easter. Myself, was out of town for family deal in Michigan which got several inches of snow, something I’ll continue to throw up to global warming arguments. But it was good to be with the family.

Also saw Grindhouse which didn’t do as well as I thought it would. Guess the three-hour length and the holiday weekend took its toll. Too bad, awesome movie.

Well, this week’s column will be a bit of a mix. I’ll be taking a look at some new releases in books and DVD to do with wrestling. I think it’s an intriguing mix of new items that shine some good light on the sport and deserve some attention paid to them.

First off, a look at a book that just hit the shelves: Wrestling Babylon: Piledriving Tales of Drugs, Sex, Death and Scandal (ECW Press, $17.95). With a title like that, you know it promises to be rather sensational. However, for those who suspect this is another case of an IWC guy railing on stuff he learned second-hand, the fact that this is written by Irv Muchnick should be a tipoff it’s not.

Muchnick’s experience in wrestling is a product of his childhood. His uncle was Stan Muchnicik who, long before Vince McMahon, was turning wrestling into a national obsession. He would book amazingly entertaining shows out of the St Louis Wrestling Club (the book Wrestling at the Chase chronicles the great action) and helped form the National Wrestling Alliance. Irv would follow his uncle’s exploits and shows over the years, giving him a great look at how the business was.

So, Irv knows the business and has written about it quite often. His articles have appeared in various magazines over the years, some to great acclaim. The book basically reprints many of his best and famous with new postscripts and offer a fascinating look at how the business has changed over the years. It also talks about the backstories of some of the more infamous bit of wrestling history over the last several years, all done in a truly professional style that sets it apart from other wrestling books.

In his introduction, Irv makes it clear he’s not one of the classic “old-timers” who moan over how much better things were in the days before Vince began his expansion. “Did I oppose (it)? You bet I did. Why? Beats the hell out of me. It seemed important at the time though I can’t really identify what discrete principle was at stake.” While he does talk a lot of the mess of WWF/E, he also seems to have a respect for Vince. His foreword even cites an interview he did with Vince several years ago, Vince open and apparently honest when he admits to not knowing the exact amount of a settlement made by the company and talking about how much he and his people enjoyed the passion fans brought to the business.

What Muchnick is attempting with his book is to show how ingrained in the public mentality wrestling has become. He notes in the foreword that the proof was how legitimate sports began to resemble wrestling with over the top personalities and interviews. Another interesting note he makes is how wrestling is not as unique in storylines as many have stated, that all he has to do is click on any wrestling show and he can be caught up to who’s who and what’s at stake in minutes.

Indeed, Muchnick does a great job showing how, despite what his many critics say, Vince McMahon really isn’t that much different than Stan and the other old-time promoters. One of his first chapters tells how, the day JFK was killed, Stan Muchnick ran a show and didn’t have much bad press about it. Compare that to the yells that went out when Vince did a show only a few days after 9/11. People may rail on Vince for picking at stereotypes but Irv admits how his uncle toed the line in the Jim Crow St. Louis of the 1950’s. All Vince did, Irv argues, was merely taking wrestling to a new level, even comparing him to Michael Milken, the guy who shook the financial world with the advent of junk bonds. It’s pretty cool to see someone show how Vince wasn’t destroying the business, just adapting, which is why he survived.

One chapter is a reprint of Irv’s most famous article, a 1988 story on the tragedies of the Von Erich family that appeared in Penthouse. Despite that dubious source material, it was selected in a compilation of the best magazine articles of ’88. He delves deep into the problems of the company and its workers and how Fritz Von Erich refused to accept his sons needed help and refused to break their long-standing image, which led to so many of their problems down the road. The postscript notes the death toll of World Class rising higher since, leaving one to wonder what happened to that place.

A great historical article talks about how wrestling managed to avoid the problems of athletic commissions and such by presenting itself as entertainment. It’s a great look at the backstage politics of the business, which could be quite dirty. Also dirty is the column on the sexual harassment accusations prevalent in the WWF, particularly on Pat Patterson, who comes off as a true freak here. There’s another whole article on Vince’s bodybuilding venture with talk on steroids with Irv making the now-ironic comment on Vince being “the uncharismatic Zeppo of pro wrestling.” This leads to talk on Hogan’s steroid use and a timeline of articles from 1991-92 on the various scandals in WWF emerging in the press.

One reprinted article that may get attention is on Jimmy Snuka. It’s not as well known now, but back in 1985, the “Superfly” was implicated in the death of his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino, who was found at her hotel room not breathing. Rumors had been that Snuka had been abusive to her during their relationship and kept changing his story on her injuries to police. No indictment was filed but the stain of it pretty much removed Snuka from the main event scene at the time and it’s still the elephant in the room whenever he’s around. To his credit, Muchnick doesn’t say his guilt one way or another but simply lets the facts stand on their own.

The book ends with a summation on how wrestling is a vital part of American culture, with everyone from major sports stars to political pundits adopting the over-the-top mentality of the business. There’s also a (sadly long) list of workers who have died before their time, illustrating how dangerous the business is. Overall, while short (only about 150 pages with photographs), the book is a great even-handed examination of the business and how important it is to our way of life. It all tells of how we fans will continue to get sucked in no matter what, because that’s the pull the sport has on us. “Vince McMahon isn’t through with us, nor are we of him. Our attention wanes at our own peril.” That attention is something the book shows vividly and in an excellently done way.

Moving over to DVDs, the market long cornered by WWE has seen some competition in the last year or so from TNA. Now, we all know how awesome WWE DVDs are with the great library at their feet. Indeed, it’s been four years since the Ric Flair set and its massive success made the company realize the gold mine they were sitting on with the library of footage from just about every company around (with the notable exception of Mid-South/UWF and if I were Bill Watts, I’d think a DVD of that stuff is a hit waiting to happen). Their slate of stuff this year (Horsemen, World Class and updates of Mysterio, Austin and Cena) shows they’re continuing the plan to market to the wrestling geek.

TNA has been trying to crack into the market for a bit with their own DVD releases. They are at an obvious disadvantage due to the fact they’re not yet five years old and thus don’t have that big history. They’ve been pushed to make “best of” sets with various topics, some better than most. The “Knockouts” DVD, which showed women like Christy Hemme, Gail Kim and others, was a total waste, given how little they’re given to do on shows. Also, I find it laughable that Jeff Hardy got a 2-disc set after only a year with the company. Contrast that with Christopher Daniels, a guy who’s been with them since the start, getting a one-disc set which heavily edited the matches. It was totally ridiculous to see the awesome XXX-AMW tag title cage match from 2003 clipped to less than four minutes.

Another problem is that some releases seem to prefer to imagine TNA didn’t really exist before the three hour PPVs started in 2004 with older releases (Raven and AJ Styles sets) showing some of the old weekly PPV matches. They did make a good turn from that with their “50 Greatest Moments” DVD, although one can argue on the way those moments were ranked (like Jarrett hitting Hulk Hogan with a guitar all the way up at #3).

So I was interested in how TNA’s latest two releases would look. The first Best of the Tag Teams vol 1 came out last month and continues the trend of “best of” sets that barely go back a year. In this case, the DVD showcases matches from 2006 only, a bit odd given the tag scene was a bit rough then. It is nicely divided into some of the top teams. We kick off with America’s Most Wanted with their title defenses against AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels, first on “Impact” then “Sacrifice.” There’s then a defense against the Naturals that kicked off the Shane Douglas angle. It then moves to Team 3D with them getting pounded by Team Canada in a cage match. Then the fun bout with them against AMW that led to a Team Canada attack and the debut of Spike as Brother Runt. That leads to the “national anthem cage match” at “Lockdown ’06.”

Mike Tenay and Don West go overboard as usual talking about all these teams as so special and amazing, making it sound like every single one is the best in the business. Some of their stuff is just too much like how Douglas fit the Naturals when they really didn’t go anywhere. That’s nothing compared to the talk on Vodoo Kin Mafia and how “daring” and “shocking” their skits mocking DX were. They actually show the bits from Genesis and Turning Point with their impressions, acting so daring doing it all. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: TNA has got to get rid of this delusion that they’re on an equal par with WWE because it just makes them look more second-rate than they are.

LAX fans will enjoy seeing how well the team improved in various matches on “Impact.” We also get their two big title wins over Styles and Daniels, first on “Impact” in the Border City Brawl, then the great cage match at Bound for Glory. Each team gets highlights like a photo montage to their themes and various interviews. It’s not too bad a selection but it does show that, while better than WWE, TNA’s tag division could stand some improvement (then again, so could a lot in the company).

But the other TNA DVD release is more than worth the price: Phenomenal: The Best of AJ Styles vol 2. I’ve made no secret of how huge a mark I’ve become for Styles since TNA got started. Some may accuse him of resting on his laurels but when the big matches come, this guy can still pull out moves no one else would dare think of, let alone attempt. This DVD is a great showcase of his stuff from 2005 to late ’06 and every match is a must-have.

We get the main event of the first “Lockdown” as he battles Abyss, starting off by leaping through the cage door to splash Abyss. When Abyss hurls him to the guard rail, AJ, in a move I’ve never seen anyone do before, slides under the rail and then attacks Abyss. Then, minutes later, he’s hurled to the rail again but leaps over the rail, into the seats and then leaps out to nail Abyss with a forearm. This dude is amazing. Abyss shows some good stuff too by being splashed on tacks and, when AJ is climbing the cage, grabs the referee and throws him into the cage wall to make AJ lose his balance. That’s just brilliant.

We move to AJ’s winning the NWA title from Jarrett at “Hard Justice ’05,” a good match marred by special ref Tino Ortiz punching Jarrett out so AJ can win. I still argue he’d lasted longer as NWA champ but reportedly, AJ wanted to move on to the X Division. You can’t argue as the next match is the three-way from “Unbreakable” with Daniels and Samoa Joe and any DVD with that match on it is worth the price alone. All three put on a brilliant showcase that was the best match of 2005 with great moves all around like the start when Joe snapmares Daniels and nails him with a savage kick to the back. AJ shoves Joe and yells “that’s not how you do it!” and gives Daniels a kick. Joe shrugs, kicks Daniels again and AJ just shakes his head and hits his own kick. The hysterical payoff comes as Daniels leaps to his feet to yell “STOP…kicking me! so naturally, AJ kicks him in the leg and Joe in the chest to knock him down, a move that has the entire arena laughing and applauding.

Other great moments from that battle:

*AJ moonsaulting off the top rope to splash Joe and Daniels on the outside.
*Joe having Daniels in the Kona Crunch so AJ gives them both the Spiral Tap to break it up.
*An utterly brilliant spot where Joe hurls Daniels at Styles, who’s in the corner. Daniels leaps up, grabs Styles and monkey-flips him onto Joe but Styles manages to hit him with a rana. Incredible thanks to how seamless it was and the best part is Daniels looking as shocked as everyone that it happened.
*AJ and Daniels battling on the outside so Joe leaps over the top rope to splash them both, impressive with a guy his size.
*AJ and Daniels once more fighting, this time on the top rope so Joe gets on the second rope to flip them both off.

Just an incredible match and as I said, worth the price alone. But there’s more. We get the first-ever Spike “Impact” where AJ was chosen by the fans to have the first match, against Roderick Strong. Then the battle with Petey Williams at “Genesis ‘05” in a great battle of finishers. Surprisingly, we skip the X Division title loss to Joe and in fact, we skip completely over the first half of 2006. Instead, we open with two matches I had hoped would be on the Tag Team DVD: First, Styles and Daniels winning the tag titles from AMW in the terrifically paced “Slammiverary ‘06” matchup, a fitting end to AMW’s reign. The Tag Team DVD has them losing the belts to LAX so the next battle is them winning them back in the first ever tag team Ultimate X match. While cool at the time, now that I see it on DVD, it seems a bit less exciting although AJ does an awesome job selling during it.

We end with the oddly placed match during the NWA Title contender’s tournament where AJ won his sixth X Division title from Chris Sabin, a fair match but not as good as it could have been. The extras are good with AJ talking about growing up and his family, going back to his old home for a tour and talk about breaking into the business. While the Tag Team DVD may appeal to a few, the AJ one is a must have for TNA fans as it showcases one awesome worker at his wild best.

Also around 411 this week:

That Was Then talks about MySpace.

Chris Hero talks about ROH, not bad even if he does insult me.

The Shimmy looks back at interpromotional matchups.

Can They Be Champion talks Wrestlemania losers.

Julian counts down the Top 10 WCW matches.

Kayfabe Chronicles looks back at the HHH-Cactus Jack battle.

Evolution Schematic examines Dude Love.

Don’t forget Three R’s, Triple Threat, Ask 411, Fact or Fiction and the rest.

Next week, in honor of their new DVD, a special look at the greatest heel stable of all time. For now, the spotlight is off.