Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2015 17:36:42 GMT -5
It seems like a lifetime ago that I was on this forum. There was a time where never more than a couple hours would pass without checking in, seeing what was going on. That was a marriage ago, an entire continent and before my eight year old daughter was born. My online presence never really went away, though in the past year or two I really have been very active again. Mainly however, my wrestling presence has been in the form of my blog and very very recently, Twitter. The other night, I got rather nostalgic with a friend, a person who used to be a regular as well. The subject of the message boards came up, going all the way back to the AFR or whatever it was called. Long story short, I figured since I am devote time to my blog, why not stop in and say hello to my ancient home? Granted, I doubt anyone would even remember me, nor will I probably know any of you. Still, let the good times roll as I present a review from my blog.
The Coliseum Archives
ICW Fear & Loathing VIII
With an announced attendance of four-thousand people and a visual that would make it hard to dispute, you’re going to catch people’s attention. It caught mine at least. I saw that video of Grado’s entrance circulating and figured what the hell, so I clicked play. My initial response was to pause on a wide shot of the crowd; it grabbed my attention greatly. This many people in Glasgow are coming out to see an independent? I felt like I was missing out on something. The building was packed and this wasn’t just some couple hundred seat venue. Then of course, I popped for everything about Grado’s entrance, from Like A Prayer as his music to his moves on his way to the ring. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention the level of production. I had to check out this product. As if a Hunter S. Thompson fan like myself didn't want to give them a go anyway, just for their choice of event name and tagline.
As a first time viewer, it was very easy to see that this was a very Attitude Era inspired product. Not that it doesn’t make sense that it would be. You tend to promote wrestling based on what you grew up with and most of these people would have only ever had the World Wrestling Federation. Even with the fact that this is a sports entertainment promotion, I felt they did it better than WWE does, right now at least. There was never a point at which I felt bored.
After doing a little research before watching, I learned that this is their biggest show of the year and it indeed felt big time. For an independent promotion, the level of the entire production was off the charts. They had the big screen (at the entrance and above the ring), they had the ramp, the steel cage that lowered from the ceiling and the whole nine yards. While the cameras were great, there is always room for improvement in that department and the audio most certainly needs some work, everything felt big time on the production end. I’m always nitpicky on actual camera work, so I won’t tread down that road. Filming a match is not the easiest thing in the world to do.
On the wrestling side of things, there was nothing that was MUST SEE stand-out type of work, however it was entertaining. While the show was made to feel big and was big, one has to keep in mind that this is still an indy in a part of the world that is still developing in the talent area. There were definite moments of indyriffic-ness to be sure, both on the level of in-ring and commentary, but refer to the former sentence. It also must be noted on an aesthetic level, some of these guys really need to get in the gym. Your work can be solid, but you really can’t look like a random person you would see in the crowd. I love all type of bodies in wrestling from short and skinny to tall and fat, but you really need to look like an athlete of some sort.
When it comes to the talent, I would say the people that stood out the most to me were Drew Galloway(without saying), Grado and Joe Coffey. With Grado and Coffey it was mostly due to how over they were with this crowd, but I got into it. It was very clear and easy to understand why these people were so into these guys as well. I could only imagine if I had a long term emotional investment with the talent going into this show. I don’t think Joe’s gimmick would work anywhere else though, because he made Rhino look like a tall man. He’s billed as 5′11″, but there is no way. I’m not even sure Rhino is that tall, comparing him against people he has worked in the past. On a negative standout side of the spectrum, Jack Jester comes to mind. He has a good look and seems to be over to this crowd, but to my eyes seemed very lost in between the ropes. I don't wish to pass too much judgement though, as this is the only match of his I have ever seen. Before I forget, Mick Foley also seemed like he was having a blast. I don’t know if he was just playing the part or he was authentically having a lot of fun being the guest commissioner. It was almost heartwarming to see how happy he seemed.
Throughout the show in several different matches there was a lot of sport entertainment smoke and mirrors, which isn’t my flavor. That being said, what they did do seemed to be effective and again, more entertaining than the current WWE product. It was once again another example of the Attitude Era influence.
In closing, this may not be your cup of tea, if it is however, I feel you will absolutely love it. If not, I would still recommend at least watching this show to see what else is out there in the world. It was almost a demonstration that If people are going to be producing a sports entertainment product, they can do it in a manner that can keep your attention. I do have to admit though, these Scottish accents might take me a while. I watch a lot of British TV but nothing could prepare me for the spectrum of Scottish dialect
Card:
Coliseum Grade: B+
The Coliseum Archives
ICW Fear & Loathing VIII
With an announced attendance of four-thousand people and a visual that would make it hard to dispute, you’re going to catch people’s attention. It caught mine at least. I saw that video of Grado’s entrance circulating and figured what the hell, so I clicked play. My initial response was to pause on a wide shot of the crowd; it grabbed my attention greatly. This many people in Glasgow are coming out to see an independent? I felt like I was missing out on something. The building was packed and this wasn’t just some couple hundred seat venue. Then of course, I popped for everything about Grado’s entrance, from Like A Prayer as his music to his moves on his way to the ring. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention the level of production. I had to check out this product. As if a Hunter S. Thompson fan like myself didn't want to give them a go anyway, just for their choice of event name and tagline.
As a first time viewer, it was very easy to see that this was a very Attitude Era inspired product. Not that it doesn’t make sense that it would be. You tend to promote wrestling based on what you grew up with and most of these people would have only ever had the World Wrestling Federation. Even with the fact that this is a sports entertainment promotion, I felt they did it better than WWE does, right now at least. There was never a point at which I felt bored.
After doing a little research before watching, I learned that this is their biggest show of the year and it indeed felt big time. For an independent promotion, the level of the entire production was off the charts. They had the big screen (at the entrance and above the ring), they had the ramp, the steel cage that lowered from the ceiling and the whole nine yards. While the cameras were great, there is always room for improvement in that department and the audio most certainly needs some work, everything felt big time on the production end. I’m always nitpicky on actual camera work, so I won’t tread down that road. Filming a match is not the easiest thing in the world to do.
On the wrestling side of things, there was nothing that was MUST SEE stand-out type of work, however it was entertaining. While the show was made to feel big and was big, one has to keep in mind that this is still an indy in a part of the world that is still developing in the talent area. There were definite moments of indyriffic-ness to be sure, both on the level of in-ring and commentary, but refer to the former sentence. It also must be noted on an aesthetic level, some of these guys really need to get in the gym. Your work can be solid, but you really can’t look like a random person you would see in the crowd. I love all type of bodies in wrestling from short and skinny to tall and fat, but you really need to look like an athlete of some sort.
When it comes to the talent, I would say the people that stood out the most to me were Drew Galloway(without saying), Grado and Joe Coffey. With Grado and Coffey it was mostly due to how over they were with this crowd, but I got into it. It was very clear and easy to understand why these people were so into these guys as well. I could only imagine if I had a long term emotional investment with the talent going into this show. I don’t think Joe’s gimmick would work anywhere else though, because he made Rhino look like a tall man. He’s billed as 5′11″, but there is no way. I’m not even sure Rhino is that tall, comparing him against people he has worked in the past. On a negative standout side of the spectrum, Jack Jester comes to mind. He has a good look and seems to be over to this crowd, but to my eyes seemed very lost in between the ropes. I don't wish to pass too much judgement though, as this is the only match of his I have ever seen. Before I forget, Mick Foley also seemed like he was having a blast. I don’t know if he was just playing the part or he was authentically having a lot of fun being the guest commissioner. It was almost heartwarming to see how happy he seemed.
Throughout the show in several different matches there was a lot of sport entertainment smoke and mirrors, which isn’t my flavor. That being said, what they did do seemed to be effective and again, more entertaining than the current WWE product. It was once again another example of the Attitude Era influence.
In closing, this may not be your cup of tea, if it is however, I feel you will absolutely love it. If not, I would still recommend at least watching this show to see what else is out there in the world. It was almost a demonstration that If people are going to be producing a sports entertainment product, they can do it in a manner that can keep your attention. I do have to admit though, these Scottish accents might take me a while. I watch a lot of British TV but nothing could prepare me for the spectrum of Scottish dialect
Card:
- ICW Zero-G Title Match
Stevie Boy (c) vs. Davey Boy (w/The Wee Man) - Doug Williams, Liam Thomson & Lionheart vs. Joe Hendry, Kenny Williams & Noam Dar
- ICW Women's Title Tournament Final Match
Kay Lee Ray vs. Nikki Storm - Joe Coffey vs. Rhino
- ICW Tag Team Title Match
Polo Promotions (Jackie Polo & Mark Coffey) (w/Coach Trip & DCT) (c) vs. The 55 (Kid Fite & Sha Samuels) (w/James R. Kennedy & Timm Wylie)
- Steel Cage Six Man Tag Team Match
The New Age Kliq (BT Gunn, Chris Renfrew & Wolfgang) vs. Legion (Michael Dante, Mikey Whiplash & Tommy End) - Jack Jester vs. Big Damo
- ICW World Heavyweight Title Match
Drew Galloway (c) vs. Grado
Coliseum Grade: B+