rohgenextfan
09-27-2006, 04:08 PM
credit: http://pdw2kx.awardspace.com/Reviews/Independant/PWW/SJFA.html
Pro Wrestling WAR "Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary"
December 18, 2005
The Gym at the Park in La Habra, California
With Michael "Millhouse" Zorilla on Commentary
"The Rocky Balboa Challenge": "The Modern Day Warrior" Charles Mercury vs. Markus Riot
Basically, a #1 Contender's match, with whoever wins getting a title shot at the next show. The two competitors do a lot of ground grappling to begin with, and then Riot hits a suicide dive- with emphasis on the "suicide". There's some contact, but basically, Charles Mercury ducks (and I'm not joking, he even covers his head with his hands) and Riot goes flying past him, crashing into the guardrail nearly spine-first. I get some sick, morbid fun from a little girl getting ushered to get out of the way- after her brother just got clipped by Riot- and opting to grab her purse first. I mean… you're just a little kid, and there's a large man flying at you, and then you notice your brother's been hit…and what do you do? Instead of getting the **** out of there, you grab your purse and casually walk away. But I digress, and the match soon continues, with Riot even managing to come back from his suicide attempt with numerous harsh moves like Double Stomps and plenty of stiff shots. Even so, Mercury drills Riot with a nasty suplex to the outside floor, but Markus is able to hit a Poor Man's (homeless drunkard would be a more fitting term) Standing Shooting Star Press for 2ฝ. In an admittedly fine-ass moment of wrestling, Riot reverses a sidewalk slam, counters into an Ace Crusher, holds on, rolls over, lifts back up into a Dragon Sleeper position, picks up Mercury in an Inverted Suplex position and places him on his shoulders, and then murders the guy with a neck-cracking Over-Shoulder Inverted Piledriver. Both men then get a bunch of near-falls on each other, but it's Charles Mercury that gets the win in the end, following three swinging backdrops that all plant Riot right square on his neck.
Analysis: I have to admit, this one really grew on me. In my own unique way of brutal honesty, I'll be blunt: both men exhausted themselves in the opening minutes of the match, or seemed like it, but still managed to tough it out. Some parts stalled for a while, most of them stemming from Riot's out-of-ring accident, but some were just due to bad time management. Sometimes, though, these two had a great flow with one another and knew exactly the next thing they should do in order to help get each other over. There was some occasional botching and miscommunication, but both men showed a lot of heart. I honestly felt the match is hit-or-miss depending on how harshly you view it- to me, it had its problems, but it also had this "indy-small-time-but-still-excellent" appeal. Consequently, if you're looking for detractors, you'll get some stalling, blown spots, occasional "what do we do now?" moments of confusion, and you may even be bored at times. But on the positive side, the match had an incredible aura of unpredictability at the end, with a "do or die" atmosphere that nothing else on the card would top. For the last five minutes, maybe more, I knew that virtually anything could end the match, with every near-fall and false-finish adding to the importance of the match: both men wanted to win so badly that they pushed themselves far past their limits, and in Riot's case, he basically almost killed himself and kept going. Charles Mercury ending the match with a middle-finger to the crowd while he was scoring the pinfall also sent a clear, concrete message that he was a serious contender. Whether you personally end up liking the match or not, I believe it became increasingly better with time, and would remain in close contention for Match of the Night. ***ผ
After this, we get a "Pain and Suffering" highlight movie, basically a plug for the EPIC Pro Wrestling show "Pain and Suffering" in the form of your standard "tribute video". The opener, a multi-lined up-and-down "tracking problem" type of thing is a bit hard on the eyes, but the show itself looks somewhat appealing. This'd also be a show from 2002, which would explain things like a Super Dragon/Samoa Joe vs. Spanky/Bryan Danielson match and a match with "Sick" Nick Mondo.
Streetfight: Biggie Bigz vs. The Human Tornado
This particular match starts when Biggie comes out requesting a job after getting fired for the attack on Jack Evans and Anthony Maris by himself and Gary Yap, then gets Human Tornado dressed in New Jack attire as a surprise opponent. Not surprisingly, Tornado uses the element of surprise to get in some trash can shots over Biggie's head. Human Tornado then uses a bunch of other weapons and cracks them all over various parts of Biggie's anatomy- very, very harshly- before pummeling him with some hard shots. Biggie is finally able to get in some offense, but Human Tornado uses a staple gun as…a gun…and peppers Biggie Bigz with staples. Still, it's Human Tornado, so of course there's a comedy segment involving a blanket and a POUNCE~ right before Tornado ends the match decisively with a double knee drop through a trash can that was over Biggie's head. Post-match, per the stipulation of getting his job back, Biggie asks for the fan's approval. In the end, the fan's respond positively, so even though Biggie loses, at least he keeps his job.
Analysis: An enticing, alternate version of the Human Tornado dubbed "New Tornado" made for an entertaining mostly-squash match. The match itself was very violent in its own way, as Tornado was extremely unrelenting with all of his shots, whether they be regular or weapon-assisted. Although the match was basically non-stop owning of Biggie Bigz, I actually liked it, since Biggie displayed some good character development- effectively portraying a big, slightly dumb guy that went astray just because he needed the money. That, and a new, violent side of Human Tornado made an otherwise standard garbage match more entertaining. **พ
After this, there's another hype video, this time for Pro Wrestling WAR's "War is Declared" event. This one is also well done, and I have to admit, whoever's making them can make them look pretty appealing.
"The Russian Hooligan" Alex Koslov vs. "Mr. Wrestling" Kevin Steen
This is actually only a day after the Dragon/Steen Guerilla Warfare match in PWG, which would explain Steen being in such rough shape, with a big bandage on his head. Koslov starts out the match leading, but is quickly caught with a Stungun and drilled with a gutbuster. Both men are pretty evenly matched, and when Steen tries the Package Piledriver, he's caught with an enzugiri. Koslov is able to nail Steen with a Cobra Clutch Side Russian Legsweep and combo's it with his "Red Dawn" ground submission, but Steen gets a rope break. Steen answers back with his Swinging-Into-Schwein spot/move, but gets only 2พ. Koslov responds with a nearfall of his own, but Steen is able to hit the Package Piledriver for the win.
Analysis: An o.k. match. Steen worked a bit harder here to accommodate his weaknesses. This would be the first time I saw Alex Koslov, and while he wasn't too impressive, I did find him likeable. This was a typical Steen match in my estimate- he hit some signature moves, did some heelish things, scored some pinfalls and a couple neck-drops, etc. But as a whole, an otherwise good encounter was hampered by a lack of a proper flow- both men seemed to be throwing in things at random, creating a convoluted feel- and degrades the match into "average" territory. **ฝ
"Color Bars" Disc 1 Bonus Match: "The Suicidal, Homicidal, Genocidal" Sabu vs. "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels
As Disc 1 concludes with Steen/Koslov, there's a "Color Bars" section of the first DVD- the entire thing is a three-DVD set- that displays…color bars. After fast-forwarding through them, though, we're treated to a hidden bonus match from the "Pain and Suffering" EPIC Pro Wrestling show. Sabu comes out with his manager, Lazie, and Lazie talks about the "bounty" placed on both their heads, and then challenges anyone to come out and try to claim it. Lo and behold, the wrestler to answer that challenge is Christopher Daniels.
Both men do a lot more wrestling than I thought they would in the early minutes of the match. Sabu is able to hit an Avalanche Hurricanrana, but he's tripped up and planted face-first into a chair after attempting the Triple Jump Moonsault. Daniels then flies high with a rope-assisted somersault senton to the outside, crashing into Sabu and sending both men sprawling. The blow-away spot of the match comes when Sabu vaults from a chair to the third rope and obliterates Daniels with a legdrop through a table that was propped up between the apron and the guardrail. But, this is not without repercussions: as the table is breaking, a part of it splinters off and smacks right into Sabu's jaw as he's falling. After a Triple Jump Moonsault gets 2พ, Daniels is able to score the Best Moonsault Ever with a chair placed underneath Sabu, but it's Sabu that comes out the winner following an Arabian Facebuster. Post-match, there's some mutual respect, as Sabu shakes Daniels' hand.
Analysis: As far as a possible "dream match" goes, this one delivered. There was plenty of action and energy, with a very nice blend of character that I really liked. Nothing too innovative in the "moves" department, but I liked how both men went along with each other and developed a sort of chemistry between their unique characters and their shared similarities. Could've been a bit better by my standards- nothing particularly outstanding aside from one big spot, less false finishes than I would've hoped, things like that- but I enjoyed this one a lot, and think it's a pretty good bonus, effectively ending Disc 1 on a high note. ***
Fatal Fourway Match: "The Technical Wizard" Joey Ryan vs. "The Generic Luchador" El Generico vs. Jack Evans vs. Super Dragon
Before the match there's a lot of Dragon/Evans animosity, but Super Dragon starts out by brawling all over the gym with El Generico, even throwing him into some trashcans. Then, the match kinda devolves into a tag match…yeah…Anyway, Generico fakes out Ryan on a crowd dive only to get clubbed from behind by Super Dragon, but Generico responds with the Yakuza Kick to Dragon. Super Dragon isn't done receiving punishment just yet, as Evans nails him with a Sasuke Special. Joey Ryan then tries to steal a win, and everything breaks down again into a free-for-all. There's an excellent "everyone takes out everyone else" segment, and Super Dragon even hits the Badunkadunk. To his credit, Joey Ryan is able to hit his finisher, the Moustache Ride, to Evans. Jack responds with the 630 to Ryan while Super Dragon nails a Psycho Driver to El Generico. Super Dragon makes the mistake of rolling Generico out of the ring instead of pinning him, a mistake Jack Evans doesn't make with Joey Ryan, so Jack gets a somewhat-sneaky win and taunts Dragon post-match. As one could guess, Super Dragon goes ape-**** and attacks both Ryan and Evans.
Analysis: A match filled with pure chaotic bliss, so it's a match I liked. Everyone had a spot-on character and interacted with each other great: Generico still played that never-say-die face, Joey Ryan was the quirky heel guy, Evans was his usual charismatic ghetto self, and Super Dragon still bleeds ass-kicking-ness. I felt the match was a bit spotty, with more of a "wow the crowd" instead of a "put on an epic match" feel, but it flowed well from segment to segment. The whole weird point where the match turned into a Dragon/Ryan vs. Generico/Evans tag match was pretty funky, but still, this was another one of the matches that would be in top contention for "Match of the Night" status. One good match, plus great characters, multiplied by four, and divided by one weird segment still manages to equal fun times. ***ผ
After this match, we get yet another hype video, this time for the EPIC show "For the Messiah", dated August 18, 2002. To be honest, these things are becoming more of a treat than a bore, since the things are very well put-together, set to good music, and they seem to have a lot of effort put into them. The show itself looks good, as well.
Davey Richards vs. Low Ki
Both men do some pretty MMA-like ground grappling to start, complete with half-guards, full-guards, and the like. Ki manages to sneak in his corner-armbar-over-the-ropes thing, and then hits plenty of stiff kicks. There's even an exchange of hard shots between the two, which Ki wins from some wince-inducing blows. Low Ki manages to hit Davey with a Standing Double Stomp, but Davey fights back with a huge S.T.O. Both men go back-and-forth with each other constantly, neither one getting a lead for all that long, until Davey Richards tries to hit a Shooting Star Press and Low Ki rolls away. Davey Richards has a very good Shooting Star Press, by the way. What he doesn't have, though, ends up being a victory, as Low Ki slams into Davey with the Ghetto Stomp and pins him for the win. Post-match, both men (surprisingly?) shake hands.
Analysis: Another good one, with brutal amounts of stiffness. Both men struck a highly competitive blend, with very entertaining results. Sometimes there seemed to be a bit too much fluff, though: they spent a little too much time with "stand-off" segments and looking at each other as equals instead of just plain wrestling. Then again, when they did full-on wrestle, they produced to a high degree, and the post-match show of respect was surprisingly poetic in its justice. A high-octane match driven by constant stiffness and lots of ferocity, this was also one of the best matches of the night. ***ผ
Pro Wrestling WAR Championship Match: Austin Aeries ฉ vs. "The Hardkore Kidd" Aaron Aguilera
Aries begins the match with his springboard back elbow spot after a few headlocks, and follows it up with a big dive through the ropes. Despite some protest by Aeries, Aguilera remains in firm control for most of the match, mostly with brawling and occasional power moves. Aeries is able to mount a comeback with things like chops, elbows, kicks, and even a step-up enzugiri. Austin Aeries then dabbles into some high-flying, but can only get some near-falls. Aaron Aguilera gets in his fair share of pin attempts as well, but eats a brainbuster. Aeries attempts the 450 Splash, but gets planted with a Spinning Avalanche Chokeslam before being twirled around with a lariat, leading to the pin, a win, and a new WAR champion. Post-match, Aaron Aguilera does an "anytime, anywhere, any place you want a rematch" promo, mostly out of respect than as a challenge, and the fans give Aeries a warm reception on his way out.
Analysis: Very fitting, actually. Bit of a typical "big man vs. little man" match, but still entertaining. Both had a lot of chemistry with each other, and Aaron Aguilera used a basic but very effective style, which I liked. Aeries was his usual self in terms of quality wrestling, and took a convincing beating. A pretty engrossing match; Aguilera displayed a lot more skill in working a match than I thought he had. I knew Aeries would bring the goods, and he didn't disappoint, but a good challenger and a fitting, respectful end to Aeries' long-held reign as WAR Champion made this another good match. ***
Finally, we get a "This is WAR" 1-year anniversary highlight tribute video. This is the best one yet, and is highly entertaining, with a very effective blend of a bunch of shows and plenty of good clips.
"Color Bars" Disc 2 Bonus Match: The Human Tornado vs. Supa Badd
This'd be from WAR's debut show, and after some crowd brawling, Tornado does the Balls of Steel => Pimp Slap spot. There's some more comedy, a bit of stiffness, then Tornado crashes into Badd with a Somersault Senton off the top rope and into the crowd. Both men then brawl all over the crowd, the highlight being when Supa Badd grabs a stack of loose-leaf paper, screams "This is for no reviews! No reviews!" and hits Tornado with it. They even brawl into the men's restroom, and the match ends in a No Contest when they brawl out of the arena.
Analysis: Human Tornado can deliver the comedy full-force when he wants to, and with Supa Badd backing him up, parts of this match were just plain hilarious. Tornado was at his comedic best, while Supa Badd was excellent, too. Lots of crowd brawling, so this must've been excellent live, since the match still managed to retain that "live" feeling even on DVD, with the crowd extremely hot for the match and both men brawling all over the stands. A fun, funny, surprising, and good break from the very-serious nature of the rest of the show. ***
Disc 3: The Super Duper Ever Lovin' Bonus Disc
To round out the entire thing, the set comes with a "Bonus" disc filled with plenty of extras. So, of course, I've taken the time to get them all down.
The Attack on Jack Evans: With Optional, Behind-the-Scenes Commentary with Gary Yap
Basically, the entire skit, which basically ran for a little over five minutes, consisted of Biggie Bigz and Gary Yap beating the crap out of Jack Evans in multiple ways, even nearly drowning him in a pool, putting him in the trunk of a car, and throwing him out into a deserted area. The corniness of it being a wrestling skit counter-balances the fact that it felt like a really involving segment. If you can suspend your belief reasonably well, this one's pretty good. The Behind the Scenes optional commentary track by Gary Yap really goes in-depth with the who's, what's, and where's of the skit, why it didn't surface for so long, the controversy regarding and leading up to it, and things of that nature. Some occasional self-indulgences by Yap are saved by a couple self-jokes at how fake the stuff looks, and my two favorite comments were when Yap said "What am I doing with a bat?" and "completely tasteless…yadda yadda yadda" at a Rob Black reference. Overall, the skit itself is good, the inside commentary is insightful, and the Extra's are off to a good start.
Pro Wrestling WAR Championship Match: Austin Aeries ฉ vs. "Tornado" Tony Kozina
Both men do a lot of fist-fighting, and Kozina ducks out of the ring a bunch of time just when Aeries seems to be hitting his stride. Kozina even goes backstage at one point, prompting Aeries to roll out of the ring and drag him back. After some assorted offense with neither man able to put each other down, the ref gets taken out just before Aeries hits the brainbuster and the 450 Splash. Team EPIC then comes out, and almost screws Aeries out of the title by mauling him, having Kozina pin him, and then grabbing the still-knocked-out referee's hand and slapping it on the mat three times. New Jack comes out, of all people, and runs them off. After a promo that involves a lot of swearing, semi-shoot comments, and New Jack brandishing weapons and threatening to hurt Gary Yap at the next show, the referee eventually rules the match a No Contest, meaning Aeries keeps his title.
Analysis: An average match played second-fiddle to an awesome promo, here. The New Jack interview was excellent, at times hilarious, at times violent, with things like "for the record, yes, I am drunk" and New Jack shilling "101 Reasons Not to be a Pro Wrestler" by saying "Buy my ****, *****es, I needs my drug money" saving an otherwise standard match. Most of the match was filler- some of it bad filler, at that. Nothing really appealed to me during this match, both men felt slightly robotic throughout. In the end, the post-match happenings with New Jack were the best part of an otherwise average match. **ฝ
Charles Mercury vs. Markus Riot: With Behind the Scenes Commentary by Gary Yap, Michael "Millhouse" Zorilla, Biggie Bigz, and Anthony Maris
After some occasional shots at Markus Riot, the highlight of the commentary comes when Riot crashes into the bleachers…and everyone begins laughing. So very wrong, but so very, very hilarious. The entire commentary track feels like just a bunch of friends talking, sitting around, and making fun of Markus Riot. They even play Riot's voice mail from his cell phone, which features Markus Riot singing. Everyone even starts making fun of each other, and Biggie Bigz makes my day by responding to Gary Yap's insults with "I'd make an EPIC joke, but EPIC was a joke in and of itself". As a whole, the match itself is barely covered, but I'll be damned if there's not some seriously hilarious **** on this commentary track.
"Color Bars" Disc 3 Bonus Match: Super Dragon vs. Davey Richards
This'd be from WAR's Inoki Dojo show, and starts out with Davey Richards getting a beat-down, Super Dragon coming out for the "save", and then, of course, nailing Richards with a nasty, nasty lariat. Following that, both men assault each other, with Davey Richards getting psyched up in a corner, leading to him getting a Violence Party for all his STRONG-STYLE~ no-selling. Davey fights back from plenty of Super Dragon offense, though, but once again misses a Shooting Star Press, and gets a Curbstomp for his efforts. After a battle on the top rope, Super Dragon flings Davey off and nails a sickening Double Stomp to the back of his skull to get the 3. Post-match, Super Dragon pretends to respect Richards, but then grabs his hands and makes him clap before double-stomping him.
Analysis: Some top-notch action all around that helped end the D.V.D. on a higher note than most. Everything you probably expected and wanted to be in this match was pretty much there, and done well: excellent pacing, story, flow, fantastic stiffness, and another good bonus match that deserves its fair share of praise. In the end, though, this was a bit atypical of both men, as they didn't do anything new, but what they did do they did effectively. ***
Final Thoughts: If I could sum this entire set up with one comparison, it'd be this: this DVD does a hell of a lot more than the other indy shows I've seen. Not only is the cover art fantastic, Michael Zorilla does a good job on commentary, though he's going at it solo. The event itself was a showcase of some great stuff, with only a small margin of mediocrity. It's the constant extras and bonus's that make this DVD stand out. Normally, just about any indy show I've seen has the event itself and one or two extras. This set had highlight videos after almost every match, a bunch of bonus matches, and an entire separate disc devoted to nothing but extra content. The bonus matches were all expertly chosen, and really made me feel that this DVD set wasn't just one show- it was a compilation of various things that kick a whole lot of ass. Just look at the facts: you get four bonus matches, with two of them being Christopher Daniels vs. Sabu and Super Dragon vs. Davey Richards. You get a bunch of insider commentary by Gary Yap and others, which provide a lot of insight into the process of putting together a skit, feelings on other wrestlers, and in the end, a lot of very comedic moments. Instead of cutting from one match to the next, you get highlight videos of other shows to keep you entertained, not just simple splash-screens detailing what's next. My one constant feeling throughout the set was that it had a lot of effort put into it- no matter what form it came in, I was always entertained. Instead of "shut up and watch", you got "please keep watching- here's some bonus **** to make sure you do".
The event itself, when you strip away all the extra's from it, isn't horrible at all, it's actually very good. Aside from two decent matches that you may or may not be interested in, everything else is very high-octane and involving. The camera angles are clear and concise, the lighting is standard but fine, and the crowd is involved and positive throughout the show. Plus, you had three or four serious contenders for Match of the Night. In the end, though, I feel that Charles Mercury vs. Markus Riot deserves that distinction, because for two guys I've never heard of before, most of this match plain blew me away. So if you think a ****-load of extra's is all this thing has to offer, think again, because the show itself doesn't disappoint at all.
As previously mentioned, the effort put into this D.V.D. is its shining hallmark, and makes it well worth a purchase. If you notice, I've taken special credence to not call this D.V.D. set an "event", and that's done purposely, because I feel that all the extra content is compelling enough to label this outside of just a standard wrestling event captured on D.V.D. The pricing is also standard for a show, $20.00 plus $5 shipping, but I got my money's worth and then some. Without a doubt, this set has more things crammed into it than almost any other indy show I've had the pleasure of seeing. That, above all else, puts it above most of the rest and makes it well-deserving of your money. With 3 discs, some great matches, and some downright hilarious moments and commentary, this was one of the most fun, most enjoyable viewings of wrestling that I've had in a long time. Definitely pick this one up.
Overall Rating of Pro Wrestling WAR "Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary": ***ฝ
Pro Wrestling WAR "Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary"
December 18, 2005
The Gym at the Park in La Habra, California
With Michael "Millhouse" Zorilla on Commentary
"The Rocky Balboa Challenge": "The Modern Day Warrior" Charles Mercury vs. Markus Riot
Basically, a #1 Contender's match, with whoever wins getting a title shot at the next show. The two competitors do a lot of ground grappling to begin with, and then Riot hits a suicide dive- with emphasis on the "suicide". There's some contact, but basically, Charles Mercury ducks (and I'm not joking, he even covers his head with his hands) and Riot goes flying past him, crashing into the guardrail nearly spine-first. I get some sick, morbid fun from a little girl getting ushered to get out of the way- after her brother just got clipped by Riot- and opting to grab her purse first. I mean… you're just a little kid, and there's a large man flying at you, and then you notice your brother's been hit…and what do you do? Instead of getting the **** out of there, you grab your purse and casually walk away. But I digress, and the match soon continues, with Riot even managing to come back from his suicide attempt with numerous harsh moves like Double Stomps and plenty of stiff shots. Even so, Mercury drills Riot with a nasty suplex to the outside floor, but Markus is able to hit a Poor Man's (homeless drunkard would be a more fitting term) Standing Shooting Star Press for 2ฝ. In an admittedly fine-ass moment of wrestling, Riot reverses a sidewalk slam, counters into an Ace Crusher, holds on, rolls over, lifts back up into a Dragon Sleeper position, picks up Mercury in an Inverted Suplex position and places him on his shoulders, and then murders the guy with a neck-cracking Over-Shoulder Inverted Piledriver. Both men then get a bunch of near-falls on each other, but it's Charles Mercury that gets the win in the end, following three swinging backdrops that all plant Riot right square on his neck.
Analysis: I have to admit, this one really grew on me. In my own unique way of brutal honesty, I'll be blunt: both men exhausted themselves in the opening minutes of the match, or seemed like it, but still managed to tough it out. Some parts stalled for a while, most of them stemming from Riot's out-of-ring accident, but some were just due to bad time management. Sometimes, though, these two had a great flow with one another and knew exactly the next thing they should do in order to help get each other over. There was some occasional botching and miscommunication, but both men showed a lot of heart. I honestly felt the match is hit-or-miss depending on how harshly you view it- to me, it had its problems, but it also had this "indy-small-time-but-still-excellent" appeal. Consequently, if you're looking for detractors, you'll get some stalling, blown spots, occasional "what do we do now?" moments of confusion, and you may even be bored at times. But on the positive side, the match had an incredible aura of unpredictability at the end, with a "do or die" atmosphere that nothing else on the card would top. For the last five minutes, maybe more, I knew that virtually anything could end the match, with every near-fall and false-finish adding to the importance of the match: both men wanted to win so badly that they pushed themselves far past their limits, and in Riot's case, he basically almost killed himself and kept going. Charles Mercury ending the match with a middle-finger to the crowd while he was scoring the pinfall also sent a clear, concrete message that he was a serious contender. Whether you personally end up liking the match or not, I believe it became increasingly better with time, and would remain in close contention for Match of the Night. ***ผ
After this, we get a "Pain and Suffering" highlight movie, basically a plug for the EPIC Pro Wrestling show "Pain and Suffering" in the form of your standard "tribute video". The opener, a multi-lined up-and-down "tracking problem" type of thing is a bit hard on the eyes, but the show itself looks somewhat appealing. This'd also be a show from 2002, which would explain things like a Super Dragon/Samoa Joe vs. Spanky/Bryan Danielson match and a match with "Sick" Nick Mondo.
Streetfight: Biggie Bigz vs. The Human Tornado
This particular match starts when Biggie comes out requesting a job after getting fired for the attack on Jack Evans and Anthony Maris by himself and Gary Yap, then gets Human Tornado dressed in New Jack attire as a surprise opponent. Not surprisingly, Tornado uses the element of surprise to get in some trash can shots over Biggie's head. Human Tornado then uses a bunch of other weapons and cracks them all over various parts of Biggie's anatomy- very, very harshly- before pummeling him with some hard shots. Biggie is finally able to get in some offense, but Human Tornado uses a staple gun as…a gun…and peppers Biggie Bigz with staples. Still, it's Human Tornado, so of course there's a comedy segment involving a blanket and a POUNCE~ right before Tornado ends the match decisively with a double knee drop through a trash can that was over Biggie's head. Post-match, per the stipulation of getting his job back, Biggie asks for the fan's approval. In the end, the fan's respond positively, so even though Biggie loses, at least he keeps his job.
Analysis: An enticing, alternate version of the Human Tornado dubbed "New Tornado" made for an entertaining mostly-squash match. The match itself was very violent in its own way, as Tornado was extremely unrelenting with all of his shots, whether they be regular or weapon-assisted. Although the match was basically non-stop owning of Biggie Bigz, I actually liked it, since Biggie displayed some good character development- effectively portraying a big, slightly dumb guy that went astray just because he needed the money. That, and a new, violent side of Human Tornado made an otherwise standard garbage match more entertaining. **พ
After this, there's another hype video, this time for Pro Wrestling WAR's "War is Declared" event. This one is also well done, and I have to admit, whoever's making them can make them look pretty appealing.
"The Russian Hooligan" Alex Koslov vs. "Mr. Wrestling" Kevin Steen
This is actually only a day after the Dragon/Steen Guerilla Warfare match in PWG, which would explain Steen being in such rough shape, with a big bandage on his head. Koslov starts out the match leading, but is quickly caught with a Stungun and drilled with a gutbuster. Both men are pretty evenly matched, and when Steen tries the Package Piledriver, he's caught with an enzugiri. Koslov is able to nail Steen with a Cobra Clutch Side Russian Legsweep and combo's it with his "Red Dawn" ground submission, but Steen gets a rope break. Steen answers back with his Swinging-Into-Schwein spot/move, but gets only 2พ. Koslov responds with a nearfall of his own, but Steen is able to hit the Package Piledriver for the win.
Analysis: An o.k. match. Steen worked a bit harder here to accommodate his weaknesses. This would be the first time I saw Alex Koslov, and while he wasn't too impressive, I did find him likeable. This was a typical Steen match in my estimate- he hit some signature moves, did some heelish things, scored some pinfalls and a couple neck-drops, etc. But as a whole, an otherwise good encounter was hampered by a lack of a proper flow- both men seemed to be throwing in things at random, creating a convoluted feel- and degrades the match into "average" territory. **ฝ
"Color Bars" Disc 1 Bonus Match: "The Suicidal, Homicidal, Genocidal" Sabu vs. "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels
As Disc 1 concludes with Steen/Koslov, there's a "Color Bars" section of the first DVD- the entire thing is a three-DVD set- that displays…color bars. After fast-forwarding through them, though, we're treated to a hidden bonus match from the "Pain and Suffering" EPIC Pro Wrestling show. Sabu comes out with his manager, Lazie, and Lazie talks about the "bounty" placed on both their heads, and then challenges anyone to come out and try to claim it. Lo and behold, the wrestler to answer that challenge is Christopher Daniels.
Both men do a lot more wrestling than I thought they would in the early minutes of the match. Sabu is able to hit an Avalanche Hurricanrana, but he's tripped up and planted face-first into a chair after attempting the Triple Jump Moonsault. Daniels then flies high with a rope-assisted somersault senton to the outside, crashing into Sabu and sending both men sprawling. The blow-away spot of the match comes when Sabu vaults from a chair to the third rope and obliterates Daniels with a legdrop through a table that was propped up between the apron and the guardrail. But, this is not without repercussions: as the table is breaking, a part of it splinters off and smacks right into Sabu's jaw as he's falling. After a Triple Jump Moonsault gets 2พ, Daniels is able to score the Best Moonsault Ever with a chair placed underneath Sabu, but it's Sabu that comes out the winner following an Arabian Facebuster. Post-match, there's some mutual respect, as Sabu shakes Daniels' hand.
Analysis: As far as a possible "dream match" goes, this one delivered. There was plenty of action and energy, with a very nice blend of character that I really liked. Nothing too innovative in the "moves" department, but I liked how both men went along with each other and developed a sort of chemistry between their unique characters and their shared similarities. Could've been a bit better by my standards- nothing particularly outstanding aside from one big spot, less false finishes than I would've hoped, things like that- but I enjoyed this one a lot, and think it's a pretty good bonus, effectively ending Disc 1 on a high note. ***
Fatal Fourway Match: "The Technical Wizard" Joey Ryan vs. "The Generic Luchador" El Generico vs. Jack Evans vs. Super Dragon
Before the match there's a lot of Dragon/Evans animosity, but Super Dragon starts out by brawling all over the gym with El Generico, even throwing him into some trashcans. Then, the match kinda devolves into a tag match…yeah…Anyway, Generico fakes out Ryan on a crowd dive only to get clubbed from behind by Super Dragon, but Generico responds with the Yakuza Kick to Dragon. Super Dragon isn't done receiving punishment just yet, as Evans nails him with a Sasuke Special. Joey Ryan then tries to steal a win, and everything breaks down again into a free-for-all. There's an excellent "everyone takes out everyone else" segment, and Super Dragon even hits the Badunkadunk. To his credit, Joey Ryan is able to hit his finisher, the Moustache Ride, to Evans. Jack responds with the 630 to Ryan while Super Dragon nails a Psycho Driver to El Generico. Super Dragon makes the mistake of rolling Generico out of the ring instead of pinning him, a mistake Jack Evans doesn't make with Joey Ryan, so Jack gets a somewhat-sneaky win and taunts Dragon post-match. As one could guess, Super Dragon goes ape-**** and attacks both Ryan and Evans.
Analysis: A match filled with pure chaotic bliss, so it's a match I liked. Everyone had a spot-on character and interacted with each other great: Generico still played that never-say-die face, Joey Ryan was the quirky heel guy, Evans was his usual charismatic ghetto self, and Super Dragon still bleeds ass-kicking-ness. I felt the match was a bit spotty, with more of a "wow the crowd" instead of a "put on an epic match" feel, but it flowed well from segment to segment. The whole weird point where the match turned into a Dragon/Ryan vs. Generico/Evans tag match was pretty funky, but still, this was another one of the matches that would be in top contention for "Match of the Night" status. One good match, plus great characters, multiplied by four, and divided by one weird segment still manages to equal fun times. ***ผ
After this match, we get yet another hype video, this time for the EPIC show "For the Messiah", dated August 18, 2002. To be honest, these things are becoming more of a treat than a bore, since the things are very well put-together, set to good music, and they seem to have a lot of effort put into them. The show itself looks good, as well.
Davey Richards vs. Low Ki
Both men do some pretty MMA-like ground grappling to start, complete with half-guards, full-guards, and the like. Ki manages to sneak in his corner-armbar-over-the-ropes thing, and then hits plenty of stiff kicks. There's even an exchange of hard shots between the two, which Ki wins from some wince-inducing blows. Low Ki manages to hit Davey with a Standing Double Stomp, but Davey fights back with a huge S.T.O. Both men go back-and-forth with each other constantly, neither one getting a lead for all that long, until Davey Richards tries to hit a Shooting Star Press and Low Ki rolls away. Davey Richards has a very good Shooting Star Press, by the way. What he doesn't have, though, ends up being a victory, as Low Ki slams into Davey with the Ghetto Stomp and pins him for the win. Post-match, both men (surprisingly?) shake hands.
Analysis: Another good one, with brutal amounts of stiffness. Both men struck a highly competitive blend, with very entertaining results. Sometimes there seemed to be a bit too much fluff, though: they spent a little too much time with "stand-off" segments and looking at each other as equals instead of just plain wrestling. Then again, when they did full-on wrestle, they produced to a high degree, and the post-match show of respect was surprisingly poetic in its justice. A high-octane match driven by constant stiffness and lots of ferocity, this was also one of the best matches of the night. ***ผ
Pro Wrestling WAR Championship Match: Austin Aeries ฉ vs. "The Hardkore Kidd" Aaron Aguilera
Aries begins the match with his springboard back elbow spot after a few headlocks, and follows it up with a big dive through the ropes. Despite some protest by Aeries, Aguilera remains in firm control for most of the match, mostly with brawling and occasional power moves. Aeries is able to mount a comeback with things like chops, elbows, kicks, and even a step-up enzugiri. Austin Aeries then dabbles into some high-flying, but can only get some near-falls. Aaron Aguilera gets in his fair share of pin attempts as well, but eats a brainbuster. Aeries attempts the 450 Splash, but gets planted with a Spinning Avalanche Chokeslam before being twirled around with a lariat, leading to the pin, a win, and a new WAR champion. Post-match, Aaron Aguilera does an "anytime, anywhere, any place you want a rematch" promo, mostly out of respect than as a challenge, and the fans give Aeries a warm reception on his way out.
Analysis: Very fitting, actually. Bit of a typical "big man vs. little man" match, but still entertaining. Both had a lot of chemistry with each other, and Aaron Aguilera used a basic but very effective style, which I liked. Aeries was his usual self in terms of quality wrestling, and took a convincing beating. A pretty engrossing match; Aguilera displayed a lot more skill in working a match than I thought he had. I knew Aeries would bring the goods, and he didn't disappoint, but a good challenger and a fitting, respectful end to Aeries' long-held reign as WAR Champion made this another good match. ***
Finally, we get a "This is WAR" 1-year anniversary highlight tribute video. This is the best one yet, and is highly entertaining, with a very effective blend of a bunch of shows and plenty of good clips.
"Color Bars" Disc 2 Bonus Match: The Human Tornado vs. Supa Badd
This'd be from WAR's debut show, and after some crowd brawling, Tornado does the Balls of Steel => Pimp Slap spot. There's some more comedy, a bit of stiffness, then Tornado crashes into Badd with a Somersault Senton off the top rope and into the crowd. Both men then brawl all over the crowd, the highlight being when Supa Badd grabs a stack of loose-leaf paper, screams "This is for no reviews! No reviews!" and hits Tornado with it. They even brawl into the men's restroom, and the match ends in a No Contest when they brawl out of the arena.
Analysis: Human Tornado can deliver the comedy full-force when he wants to, and with Supa Badd backing him up, parts of this match were just plain hilarious. Tornado was at his comedic best, while Supa Badd was excellent, too. Lots of crowd brawling, so this must've been excellent live, since the match still managed to retain that "live" feeling even on DVD, with the crowd extremely hot for the match and both men brawling all over the stands. A fun, funny, surprising, and good break from the very-serious nature of the rest of the show. ***
Disc 3: The Super Duper Ever Lovin' Bonus Disc
To round out the entire thing, the set comes with a "Bonus" disc filled with plenty of extras. So, of course, I've taken the time to get them all down.
The Attack on Jack Evans: With Optional, Behind-the-Scenes Commentary with Gary Yap
Basically, the entire skit, which basically ran for a little over five minutes, consisted of Biggie Bigz and Gary Yap beating the crap out of Jack Evans in multiple ways, even nearly drowning him in a pool, putting him in the trunk of a car, and throwing him out into a deserted area. The corniness of it being a wrestling skit counter-balances the fact that it felt like a really involving segment. If you can suspend your belief reasonably well, this one's pretty good. The Behind the Scenes optional commentary track by Gary Yap really goes in-depth with the who's, what's, and where's of the skit, why it didn't surface for so long, the controversy regarding and leading up to it, and things of that nature. Some occasional self-indulgences by Yap are saved by a couple self-jokes at how fake the stuff looks, and my two favorite comments were when Yap said "What am I doing with a bat?" and "completely tasteless…yadda yadda yadda" at a Rob Black reference. Overall, the skit itself is good, the inside commentary is insightful, and the Extra's are off to a good start.
Pro Wrestling WAR Championship Match: Austin Aeries ฉ vs. "Tornado" Tony Kozina
Both men do a lot of fist-fighting, and Kozina ducks out of the ring a bunch of time just when Aeries seems to be hitting his stride. Kozina even goes backstage at one point, prompting Aeries to roll out of the ring and drag him back. After some assorted offense with neither man able to put each other down, the ref gets taken out just before Aeries hits the brainbuster and the 450 Splash. Team EPIC then comes out, and almost screws Aeries out of the title by mauling him, having Kozina pin him, and then grabbing the still-knocked-out referee's hand and slapping it on the mat three times. New Jack comes out, of all people, and runs them off. After a promo that involves a lot of swearing, semi-shoot comments, and New Jack brandishing weapons and threatening to hurt Gary Yap at the next show, the referee eventually rules the match a No Contest, meaning Aeries keeps his title.
Analysis: An average match played second-fiddle to an awesome promo, here. The New Jack interview was excellent, at times hilarious, at times violent, with things like "for the record, yes, I am drunk" and New Jack shilling "101 Reasons Not to be a Pro Wrestler" by saying "Buy my ****, *****es, I needs my drug money" saving an otherwise standard match. Most of the match was filler- some of it bad filler, at that. Nothing really appealed to me during this match, both men felt slightly robotic throughout. In the end, the post-match happenings with New Jack were the best part of an otherwise average match. **ฝ
Charles Mercury vs. Markus Riot: With Behind the Scenes Commentary by Gary Yap, Michael "Millhouse" Zorilla, Biggie Bigz, and Anthony Maris
After some occasional shots at Markus Riot, the highlight of the commentary comes when Riot crashes into the bleachers…and everyone begins laughing. So very wrong, but so very, very hilarious. The entire commentary track feels like just a bunch of friends talking, sitting around, and making fun of Markus Riot. They even play Riot's voice mail from his cell phone, which features Markus Riot singing. Everyone even starts making fun of each other, and Biggie Bigz makes my day by responding to Gary Yap's insults with "I'd make an EPIC joke, but EPIC was a joke in and of itself". As a whole, the match itself is barely covered, but I'll be damned if there's not some seriously hilarious **** on this commentary track.
"Color Bars" Disc 3 Bonus Match: Super Dragon vs. Davey Richards
This'd be from WAR's Inoki Dojo show, and starts out with Davey Richards getting a beat-down, Super Dragon coming out for the "save", and then, of course, nailing Richards with a nasty, nasty lariat. Following that, both men assault each other, with Davey Richards getting psyched up in a corner, leading to him getting a Violence Party for all his STRONG-STYLE~ no-selling. Davey fights back from plenty of Super Dragon offense, though, but once again misses a Shooting Star Press, and gets a Curbstomp for his efforts. After a battle on the top rope, Super Dragon flings Davey off and nails a sickening Double Stomp to the back of his skull to get the 3. Post-match, Super Dragon pretends to respect Richards, but then grabs his hands and makes him clap before double-stomping him.
Analysis: Some top-notch action all around that helped end the D.V.D. on a higher note than most. Everything you probably expected and wanted to be in this match was pretty much there, and done well: excellent pacing, story, flow, fantastic stiffness, and another good bonus match that deserves its fair share of praise. In the end, though, this was a bit atypical of both men, as they didn't do anything new, but what they did do they did effectively. ***
Final Thoughts: If I could sum this entire set up with one comparison, it'd be this: this DVD does a hell of a lot more than the other indy shows I've seen. Not only is the cover art fantastic, Michael Zorilla does a good job on commentary, though he's going at it solo. The event itself was a showcase of some great stuff, with only a small margin of mediocrity. It's the constant extras and bonus's that make this DVD stand out. Normally, just about any indy show I've seen has the event itself and one or two extras. This set had highlight videos after almost every match, a bunch of bonus matches, and an entire separate disc devoted to nothing but extra content. The bonus matches were all expertly chosen, and really made me feel that this DVD set wasn't just one show- it was a compilation of various things that kick a whole lot of ass. Just look at the facts: you get four bonus matches, with two of them being Christopher Daniels vs. Sabu and Super Dragon vs. Davey Richards. You get a bunch of insider commentary by Gary Yap and others, which provide a lot of insight into the process of putting together a skit, feelings on other wrestlers, and in the end, a lot of very comedic moments. Instead of cutting from one match to the next, you get highlight videos of other shows to keep you entertained, not just simple splash-screens detailing what's next. My one constant feeling throughout the set was that it had a lot of effort put into it- no matter what form it came in, I was always entertained. Instead of "shut up and watch", you got "please keep watching- here's some bonus **** to make sure you do".
The event itself, when you strip away all the extra's from it, isn't horrible at all, it's actually very good. Aside from two decent matches that you may or may not be interested in, everything else is very high-octane and involving. The camera angles are clear and concise, the lighting is standard but fine, and the crowd is involved and positive throughout the show. Plus, you had three or four serious contenders for Match of the Night. In the end, though, I feel that Charles Mercury vs. Markus Riot deserves that distinction, because for two guys I've never heard of before, most of this match plain blew me away. So if you think a ****-load of extra's is all this thing has to offer, think again, because the show itself doesn't disappoint at all.
As previously mentioned, the effort put into this D.V.D. is its shining hallmark, and makes it well worth a purchase. If you notice, I've taken special credence to not call this D.V.D. set an "event", and that's done purposely, because I feel that all the extra content is compelling enough to label this outside of just a standard wrestling event captured on D.V.D. The pricing is also standard for a show, $20.00 plus $5 shipping, but I got my money's worth and then some. Without a doubt, this set has more things crammed into it than almost any other indy show I've had the pleasure of seeing. That, above all else, puts it above most of the rest and makes it well-deserving of your money. With 3 discs, some great matches, and some downright hilarious moments and commentary, this was one of the most fun, most enjoyable viewings of wrestling that I've had in a long time. Definitely pick this one up.
Overall Rating of Pro Wrestling WAR "Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary": ***ฝ