DVD Review: 101 Reasons Not to be a Pro Wrestler
Web site: HollymoodEntertainment.com
produced by Michael Moody & Hollymood Entertainment
Review by Jonathan Barber on Thursday, June 30, 2005
I found this DVD very fun to watch overall. The main feature is three
hours long and the bonus features run another two hours long. The
film was almost entirely documentary style, featuring interviews with
various wrestlers; there was only one instance where actual in-ring
footage was shown, and that was a full match, which I?ll get into
later. There are enough interviewees so that the producers were able to
splice in a diverse range of personalities, so you never go from one
person to another, back to the original, back to the second person,
back to the original, etc.
The people who were interviewed are Rikishi, Psychosis, Joanie Lauer
(a.k.a. Chyna), Diamond Dallas Page, New Jack, Vampiro, Sean O?Haire
(just days after being let go by WWE), Konnan, Major Gunns, Nosawa,
Predator/Sylvester Turkay, and Babi Slymm. I found there to be a good
mix of seriousness and humor in the film.
Babi Slymm - an up-and-coming wrestler in Southern California - comes
off really funny and is a bigger part of the DVD than you?d expect, and
that?s a good thing because his ?gangsta? style a brilliant counterpart
to New Jack?s similar - yet brasher - humor. Rikishi, Diamond Dallas
Page, and even Vampiro are very down to earth when being interviewed.
Even though most people haven?t heard of him, Predator is very
well-spoken and he and Sean O?Haire offer first-hand knowledge when
comparing pro wrestling with mixed martial arts.
O?Haire is otherwise somewhat reserved about some questions, as he
refuses to go on record about his thoughts on Vince McMahon, politics
in
WWE, or drugs in wrestling. However, O?Haire does have interesting
comments about how he got into WCW, saying that it was the right time
and the right place. Lastly, O?Haire goes into detail about his side of
the story that he beat up two women at a bar a few months ago, saying
that it was nothing like the media portrayed it.
Joanie Lauer, on the other hand, well, she comes off weird, but you
know
that already if you?ve seen her on Howard Stern anytime recently.
She?s honest and candid about her relationship with Triple H, her
relationship with Sean Waltman, her feelings on Stephanie and Vince
McMahon, Playboy, and how she had to adjust to the male-dominated WWF
locker room, but she was drinking and smoking during the interview and
clearly her mind was elsewhere at some points.
DDP?s ?Positively Page? character is reflected in the film in that he?s
really optimistic when talking about the different subjects that were
brought up - he takes the high road when asked about Ric Flair?s
comments about him in his book and says that although Flair didn?t
think that he could ever be a star and even though that judgment was
wrong, he considers Flair to be one of the greatest wrestlers ever and
highly respects him. DDP also takes full responsibility for his
lackluster run in WWE, even though it was really not his fault at all.
DDP also tells a funny story about how he got into the business,
specifically his audition with AWA.
Rikishi talks about his family?s background in the wrestling business
and also comes off as very optimistic, saying that while he?s not with
WWE anymore, he is thankful to have had such a great job there for
almost 15 years. Rikishi also comes off very passionate about life in
general when talking about how celebrity status has affected him, his
opinion on his heel turn in 2000, and the story he tells about when he
was shot in the chest during a drive-by shooting will definitely keep
on the edge of your seat. Rikishi also tells a funny ?stink face? story
when asked about his favorite ribs. However, although Konnan,
Psychosis, and DDP have no problem letting the camera stay in the
locker room while they?re planning their matches (Konnan and Psychosis
wrestled Ricky Reyes & Puma and DDP wrestled Babi Slymm), Rikishi asks
the cameraman to leave the locker room when it?s time for him to go
over the finish of his match with his opponents.
If you?ve seen Vampiro?s shoot interview with Highspots, you know that
he?s very candid about any subject that people bring up for him, and
his role in this DVD is no exception. Vampiro really made me leave his
segments internalizing just how corrupt the wrestling business is, as
he talks about egos, drugs in WCW, unions, and more. Vampiro also comes
off as pretty funny by cracking jokes with people off camera, but
perhaps most interestingly, during the commercial shoot, he comes off
as a very caring individual, as his main concern is protecting New
Jack?s safety in a stunt they have to perform, which isn?t what you?d
expect from a straight-shooting guy like Vampiro.
Konnan has a very unique perspective on every subject he discusses. As
a prime example, when he?s asked about where he sees the wrestling
business in five years, he actually predicts a lucha libre revolution
on an international scale and gives some great insight to back up that
vision. I would?ve liked to have seen him go into the politics in WCW
more than he did because in other interviews I?ve heard him do, he?s
told some really shocking stories about just how corrupt WCW booking
was. Konnan is really candid about TNA and admits that while there are
politics in that company just like any other company, and he also has
some interesting answers to the question of what else he would like to
accomplish in the wrestling business.
Psychosis and Nosawa?s English skills aren?t great, and Nosawa is
really hard to understand, although he does a good job of using body
language to convey his points. He also makes a really hilarious
introduction of himself. Nosawa really isn?t featured much at all, as
he talks about his thoughts on backyard wrestling and that?s about it.
Psychosis comes off as really down to earth and humble. Even though he
doesn?t speak English too well, he repeats what he says a few times and
eventually you understand him. He compares American fans with Lucha
Libre fans, talks about his mask, and also explains how in ECW,
wrestlers were encouraged to go all-out, while in WCW the luchadores
were told to hold back some. For some of his appearance, Psychosis is
wearing his mask and other times he?s not wearing it.
Major Gunns is getting her hair done while she does her interview,
which she talks a lot about how women were treated by WCW. She says
that drugs are justified in some situations, gives some stories about
training with the other divas (Madusa, Paisley, Stacy Keibler, etc.)
and tells an interesting story about a confrontation she had with
Goldberg backstage in WCW. Plus, she?s really hot to just stare at.
And New Jack, well, New Jack is New Jack. If you know New Jack, you
know
what to expect, well, actually, you don?t know what to expect because
you can never predict what New Jack will say or do. Just seeing how he
responds to certain questions and what offhand comments he makes is fun
to watch. Most of his interview takes place in a bar, anyway, so he?s
drinking, and New Jack + booze = funny jokes and a whole lot more.
New Jack talks about tons of stuff: drugs in wrestling, politics, ring
rats, unions, etc. He tells a hilarious story (part of which is
featured in the trailers on HollymoodEntertainment.com, and part of
which is not featured in the trailers) about one ring rat he got
pregnant and his reaction to an e-mail he later got from her telling
him that he was the father. We also follow New Jack walking up
Hollywood Boulevard as he hits a (in a way only New Jack can) on a
middle-aged hotel clerk. Plus, there?s footage of New Jack arguing
(albeit pretty politely) on his cell phone with a promoter who had
booked him for a show, and then took him off the card without telling
him and now didn?t want to pay him for preventing him from taking
another booking the same day.
Other footage includes New Jack, Vampiro, Major Gunns, and the Insane
Clown Posse filming a commercial for the video game, Backyard
Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood. This segment was one of the
highlights of the DVD for me. New Jack gets really pissed at one point
when there?s trouble with the filming, and he almost starts ripping
into Vampiro verbally before calming himself down. This segment is
especially interesting because you get to see New Jack at his most
crude (when he talks about how big his nuts are), at his most low key
(when he tries to walk off a an ankle-twist he suffers during the
filming and refuses to talk to the cameraman, and actually looks like
he?s about to cry at one point), and at his most angry (when they?re
having trouble setting up the stunt involving himself and Vampiro).
Perhaps best of all, though, included is the full, uncensored match
between New Jack and the 70+ years old Gypsy Joe. This almost becomes
Mass Transit #2, as the two start to legitimately shoot on one another
and New Jack throws legit knee smashes, punches, forearms, and even
whacks him with a chain and a metal baseball bat wrapped in barbed-wire
(which he swings HARD). More than anything, I found it interesting to
just watch how the match progressed from the two not wanting to
cooperate with each other in the ring, to them seeing how hard they
could chop and strike each other, to it becoming a real fight (albeit
one-sided), with the fans backing up and trying to keep their distance
from New Jack.
You can see a parent picking up her kid and leaving the building as the
action starts getting rough, but there are other kids who look to be as
young as 3 and 4 in the audience that remain there the entire match. As
Jack is about to leave the ring area, a fan shouts that he?s a ?f*ckin
n***er? and gets a really profanity-laced reply from New Jack, before
the segment cuts out and the interview format returns. This is
seriously worth a substantial part of the DVD?s price alone. The tape
of the match is REALLY hard to find as it is, *let alone* in this kind
of quality.
The main criticism that I had about this DVD was that it got really
annoying at times because a good 30 minutes or so of the bonus features
is stuff that actually was already in the main feature (the documentary
itself), so I had to fast-forward through those parts. The menus to
jump from feature to feature were also somewhat confusing to follow.
Also, the producers could?ve designed a better flow for the DVD.
Granted, the DVD is separated into chapters (i.e. Politics in
Wrestling, Traveling, Drugs in Wrestling, Wrestling and MMA, etc. It
would?ve just helped if there was a little bit better flow to the
documentary. I also would?ve liked to have heard New Jack talk about
the match with Gypsy Joe, being that he?s never once asked about it by
the interviewer.
Other than that, I really enjoyed this DVD. I?d put it on the same
level as Ultimate Insiders with Vince Russo & Ed Ferrera. This is
definitelya DVD worth checking out if you?re a New Jack fan, if you?re
into seeing how a match is planned, or if you want to hear comments
from the wrestlers about how the wrestling business has changed since
WWE absorbed WCW and ECW.
All of the interviewees - with the exception of Psychosis and Nosawa -
get a very sufficient amount of interview time for their personalities
to come across, and actually even with Psychosis and Nosawa (who only
appear a limited number of times), their personalities come across
pretty well, too, considering that neither was interviewed for more
than 10 minutes (and in Nosawa?s case, like three minutes). Psychosis
comes off as a very dedicated - yet humble - wrestler, while Nosawa
comes off as a ?happy-go-lucky? type of guy.
I have new (even better than my previous) views of Vampiro, Rikishi,
and DDP after viewing this, and I left with very good impressions of
two other people (Predator and Babi Slymm) who I had heard of, but
didn?t know much about. Also, if you?re into Joanie Lauer (I can?t
imagine why you would be, but that?s not my business), this DVD is
worth checking out, too. And for New Jack fans, it doesn?t get much
better than this - New Jack rambles about blading, doing drugs,
masturbating with himself,
and hookers; he pretends to take a sh*t in public; he shoots the shit
with the Hollywood Boulevard hotel clerk and quizzes her about what
?187? means (LOL); and so much more. Plus, you get the very
entertaining New Jack vs. Gypsy Joe match.
The ?101 Reasons not to be a Pro Wrestler? DVD is available at
HollymoodEntertainment.com. The web site also includes trailers with
clips from the DVD, a photo gallery featuring screen shots from the
DVD, a fan forum to discuss and ask the producer questions about the
movie, and more. The DVD will not be sold in stores, so you must buy it
online if you wish to see it.
Also, if you would are a producer of pro wrestling videos or DVDs and
would like me to review your merchandise on DOI and many other web
sites and message boards across the Internet, you may contact me at
Piratez4v3go2@aol.com.
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