Post by Scorpion's Den on Jul 23, 2008 22:18:36 GMT -5
Tenn & Den both doing reviews within a 24-hour timespan. Polaroids, please.
So OK, here we are in the upwardly-mobile, grunge band-spawning, tech career oasis of Seattle, WA. Nice to see the CWF roll into town for the long-awaited Redemption pay-per-view event. Couldn’t resist the nudg—- err, the urge to take in the show & give my take on my good homey Tenn’s latest Pay TV offering.
Opening Package: I must say, you had me at hello with this nugget o’goodness. Kind of reminded me of something... can’t put my finger on what it is, but the apocalyptic feel to it with the young man in the confession booth, the wording, the imagery created as the scene unfolded... there are very few in this “business” that can do it like this. It was good enough that I wanted more. That’s gotta be a good sign.
Sidenote: Jim Ross & Paul Heyman as an announce team certainly is a winning formula.
1. Above & Beyond Semifinal - Kurt Angle vs. Dean Malenko: The pudgy, legendary match-caller under the black Resistol would certainly call this a restaurant-quality opener. Fifteen-plus of style-capturing goodness, with near-falls-o-plenty (Damn, anyone getting hungry?), in front of a presumably hot Seattle crowd, is a great way to set the tone for an evening that I imagine will get hotter before anything else. Malenko tests Kurt’s limits, as promised, and the Olympian gets the duke. And just think, his night’s just beginning. I can only hope, with an opener like this, with this number of climactic near-falls, that the great Seattle crowd doesn’t get used up too soon in the night.
Van Dam Backstage: Solid, realistic visit with Van Dam, but with a very vintage 80’s Saturday Night’s Main Event-esque kickback to the arena. CWF is good for this.
2. Rob Van Dam vs. Mystery Opponent: Somehow, knowing Sir Tenneth like I do, learning that Regal is the mystery opponent here comes as no jaw-dropper for this booking mainstay. But a seat-edger, to be sure. Since Rob is already in line for a high-profile night, t’was interesting to see that he may end up in some peril to begin his evening. Aaaaand what do ya know...
Hmmm, Taz (one ‘Z’, you sellouts) blows into town & business is likely to pick up. “Regal releases Van Dam’s carcass and goes to attack the interloper”. I bet you kiddies had no clue that, in addition to everything else, Taz is an interloper. CWF’s always been fun AND educational. Taz making a huge mark immediately with the impromptu encounter with Bulldog. Great job, not only setting off a huge welcome siren for Taz, but also cementing that this night might just be one of “those” nights. And that is a good thing.
Solid job seamlessly reinserting Lash into a meaningful circumstance (the Gauntlet) right away, given his lost main event opportunity. Modern-day WWE would’ve allowed him to go invisible for the next 3 weeks, before sending him back out to work dark matches with Charlie Haas or Jim from Hoboken. But here, we get across that Lash is the opportunist who won’t let the night go completely bust for him, and we add to the anything-can-happen mood that’s been brewing so far.
3. The Gauntlet Match for the I-C Title: Admittedly, matches like these can be a challenge, in that they can become a bit cumbersome to handle. However Tenneth did a solid job of pulling the pieces together. After a while, it seemed like Big Show was on his way to a statement night, before the left turn. Gunn? No sir, enter Shamrock & we have ourselves an I-C Champ.
Use of Sponsors -– Well look at you, Mr. Sposed Old School! I actually blushed.
Bulldog & Regal Backstage: Why could I picture Regal & Taylor also for this, in the overall tone? Rule Britannia. Interesting. A bit... nebulous, but maybe it’ll grow on me. I’d rather take that chance on you than someone else, at least.
4. Cruiserweight Title Mayhem: And boy, did the finish to this one live up to that name. Again, unpredictability is king on this night – a sickness I definitely am down with. Many places one can go, here. Again, both masters served; unpredictability of the evening, and opportunism of the personalities. Best commentary of the night so far in this one – especially during the big de-tobogganing.
OK so Stephanie has arrived. Why does this remind me of the movie “The Ten Commandments”, when Moses is first born, and he & his bassinette wash ashore? “McMahon just glares at Gene, spins on his heel and escorts his daughter into the locker room, loudly slamming the door.” ...Rrrrright. You know, as much as a CWF show can be a literary experience, I must say this image serves to not appear to be Vince’s most masculine of moments. I was hearing a club mix version of “I Will Survive” on that last visual. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But I got what you were going for... I think.
I can smell the meat & potatoes cooking, as this night seems to be galloping along here.
3-way Tag Titles: Solid action, with the champs ultimately retaining. Liked the description on the finish. D’Lo/Henry heat a-brewing? Well it is 1999, isn’t it.
Above & Beyond Finals – RVD vs. Angle: Match of the Night for me thus far. I have no complaints here, as I thought the styles were both captured & utilized as they should’ve. The timing, the changes in match direction, the peaks & valleys, it all worked here. And with Van Dam getting the duke, after a pretty rocky beginning to his night, he certainly earned his fate at night’s end. And now, with him firmly in the Heavyweight Title picture, business is certainly about to pick up. Laud my originality on your own time.
Coming Soon: It’s all about brand awareness in today’s marketplace.
Heavyweight Title: Sabu[c] vs. Chris Benoit: OK, so this is definitely an unpredictable upgrade to the alternative match-up we were otherwise in line for. Hence, the (1999) $29.99 is officially well-spent... Or is it? OK, so since Unpredictability was crowned King, almost at the beginning of the night, I was loving every moment of this Vince McMahon high-stakes proposition to Chris Benoit.
BUT!...
Me being the lover of detail that I am, and being the greatest proponent of using this medium as a means of really capturing every blessed thing to be captured, viscerally : A personality, a setting, an emotion, a reacting emotion, a physical impact, etc (I always strive to essentially be the booker who posts shows in HD or Blu-Ray, as it were), I was kind of left hanging by the loss of 1 extremely important detail to this moment: Benoit shockingly takes McMahon up on the offer, the entire building, announcers included, all seem to go into irate labor over it. And yet... what visual reaction do we have for Benoit, himself? The guy who cemented the moment of worldwide protest! What kind of turn was it? When he hugged McMahon, was he smiling? Was he angrily seething under his breath & begrudgingly refusing to walk away from such a tantalizing offer? Was he oblivious to the outrage around him? Was he enjoying it? That’s THE moment to capture, if ever there’s a moment to capture at such a time as this one. But I digress, as it was an unforeseen & unpredictable turn of events, to be sure!
Wuh-oh! It’s Taz again (one ‘Z’, sellouts)! And what do ya know, Taz gets the big title shot. The King is on his throne for sure on this evening. Great drama here, with a chaotic ending befitting & thematic of the night as a whole. And, a new champion has been crowned in super-dramatic fashion. Heck of an ending indeed.
FINAL THOUGHTS: OK, as PPV events go, especially for this series, the twists & turns of this night were great for the series, and where it has a chance to go from here. At times, I found myself a bit more compelled by the chain of events than even the details that illustrated the chain. And it’s not a bad thing, by any means, necssarily. From a sheer booking perspective, certainly a night to remember for the CWF seal, without a doubt. Aside from a few of the nitpicks listed along the way, I wanted a smidge more meat at what I felt needed to be the most visceral “moment” of the show. But I thought the chain itself made up for it & kept me much more on the side of this night being a major launching pad for this post-draft era.
-- Den
So OK, here we are in the upwardly-mobile, grunge band-spawning, tech career oasis of Seattle, WA. Nice to see the CWF roll into town for the long-awaited Redemption pay-per-view event. Couldn’t resist the nudg—- err, the urge to take in the show & give my take on my good homey Tenn’s latest Pay TV offering.
Opening Package: I must say, you had me at hello with this nugget o’goodness. Kind of reminded me of something... can’t put my finger on what it is, but the apocalyptic feel to it with the young man in the confession booth, the wording, the imagery created as the scene unfolded... there are very few in this “business” that can do it like this. It was good enough that I wanted more. That’s gotta be a good sign.
Sidenote: Jim Ross & Paul Heyman as an announce team certainly is a winning formula.
1. Above & Beyond Semifinal - Kurt Angle vs. Dean Malenko: The pudgy, legendary match-caller under the black Resistol would certainly call this a restaurant-quality opener. Fifteen-plus of style-capturing goodness, with near-falls-o-plenty (Damn, anyone getting hungry?), in front of a presumably hot Seattle crowd, is a great way to set the tone for an evening that I imagine will get hotter before anything else. Malenko tests Kurt’s limits, as promised, and the Olympian gets the duke. And just think, his night’s just beginning. I can only hope, with an opener like this, with this number of climactic near-falls, that the great Seattle crowd doesn’t get used up too soon in the night.
Van Dam Backstage: Solid, realistic visit with Van Dam, but with a very vintage 80’s Saturday Night’s Main Event-esque kickback to the arena. CWF is good for this.
2. Rob Van Dam vs. Mystery Opponent: Somehow, knowing Sir Tenneth like I do, learning that Regal is the mystery opponent here comes as no jaw-dropper for this booking mainstay. But a seat-edger, to be sure. Since Rob is already in line for a high-profile night, t’was interesting to see that he may end up in some peril to begin his evening. Aaaaand what do ya know...
Hmmm, Taz (one ‘Z’, you sellouts) blows into town & business is likely to pick up. “Regal releases Van Dam’s carcass and goes to attack the interloper”. I bet you kiddies had no clue that, in addition to everything else, Taz is an interloper. CWF’s always been fun AND educational. Taz making a huge mark immediately with the impromptu encounter with Bulldog. Great job, not only setting off a huge welcome siren for Taz, but also cementing that this night might just be one of “those” nights. And that is a good thing.
Solid job seamlessly reinserting Lash into a meaningful circumstance (the Gauntlet) right away, given his lost main event opportunity. Modern-day WWE would’ve allowed him to go invisible for the next 3 weeks, before sending him back out to work dark matches with Charlie Haas or Jim from Hoboken. But here, we get across that Lash is the opportunist who won’t let the night go completely bust for him, and we add to the anything-can-happen mood that’s been brewing so far.
3. The Gauntlet Match for the I-C Title: Admittedly, matches like these can be a challenge, in that they can become a bit cumbersome to handle. However Tenneth did a solid job of pulling the pieces together. After a while, it seemed like Big Show was on his way to a statement night, before the left turn. Gunn? No sir, enter Shamrock & we have ourselves an I-C Champ.
Use of Sponsors -– Well look at you, Mr. Sposed Old School! I actually blushed.
Bulldog & Regal Backstage: Why could I picture Regal & Taylor also for this, in the overall tone? Rule Britannia. Interesting. A bit... nebulous, but maybe it’ll grow on me. I’d rather take that chance on you than someone else, at least.
4. Cruiserweight Title Mayhem: And boy, did the finish to this one live up to that name. Again, unpredictability is king on this night – a sickness I definitely am down with. Many places one can go, here. Again, both masters served; unpredictability of the evening, and opportunism of the personalities. Best commentary of the night so far in this one – especially during the big de-tobogganing.
OK so Stephanie has arrived. Why does this remind me of the movie “The Ten Commandments”, when Moses is first born, and he & his bassinette wash ashore? “McMahon just glares at Gene, spins on his heel and escorts his daughter into the locker room, loudly slamming the door.” ...Rrrrright. You know, as much as a CWF show can be a literary experience, I must say this image serves to not appear to be Vince’s most masculine of moments. I was hearing a club mix version of “I Will Survive” on that last visual. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But I got what you were going for... I think.
I can smell the meat & potatoes cooking, as this night seems to be galloping along here.
3-way Tag Titles: Solid action, with the champs ultimately retaining. Liked the description on the finish. D’Lo/Henry heat a-brewing? Well it is 1999, isn’t it.
Above & Beyond Finals – RVD vs. Angle: Match of the Night for me thus far. I have no complaints here, as I thought the styles were both captured & utilized as they should’ve. The timing, the changes in match direction, the peaks & valleys, it all worked here. And with Van Dam getting the duke, after a pretty rocky beginning to his night, he certainly earned his fate at night’s end. And now, with him firmly in the Heavyweight Title picture, business is certainly about to pick up. Laud my originality on your own time.
Coming Soon: It’s all about brand awareness in today’s marketplace.
Heavyweight Title: Sabu[c] vs. Chris Benoit: OK, so this is definitely an unpredictable upgrade to the alternative match-up we were otherwise in line for. Hence, the (1999) $29.99 is officially well-spent... Or is it? OK, so since Unpredictability was crowned King, almost at the beginning of the night, I was loving every moment of this Vince McMahon high-stakes proposition to Chris Benoit.
BUT!...
Me being the lover of detail that I am, and being the greatest proponent of using this medium as a means of really capturing every blessed thing to be captured, viscerally : A personality, a setting, an emotion, a reacting emotion, a physical impact, etc (I always strive to essentially be the booker who posts shows in HD or Blu-Ray, as it were), I was kind of left hanging by the loss of 1 extremely important detail to this moment: Benoit shockingly takes McMahon up on the offer, the entire building, announcers included, all seem to go into irate labor over it. And yet... what visual reaction do we have for Benoit, himself? The guy who cemented the moment of worldwide protest! What kind of turn was it? When he hugged McMahon, was he smiling? Was he angrily seething under his breath & begrudgingly refusing to walk away from such a tantalizing offer? Was he oblivious to the outrage around him? Was he enjoying it? That’s THE moment to capture, if ever there’s a moment to capture at such a time as this one. But I digress, as it was an unforeseen & unpredictable turn of events, to be sure!
Wuh-oh! It’s Taz again (one ‘Z’, sellouts)! And what do ya know, Taz gets the big title shot. The King is on his throne for sure on this evening. Great drama here, with a chaotic ending befitting & thematic of the night as a whole. And, a new champion has been crowned in super-dramatic fashion. Heck of an ending indeed.
FINAL THOUGHTS: OK, as PPV events go, especially for this series, the twists & turns of this night were great for the series, and where it has a chance to go from here. At times, I found myself a bit more compelled by the chain of events than even the details that illustrated the chain. And it’s not a bad thing, by any means, necssarily. From a sheer booking perspective, certainly a night to remember for the CWF seal, without a doubt. Aside from a few of the nitpicks listed along the way, I wanted a smidge more meat at what I felt needed to be the most visceral “moment” of the show. But I thought the chain itself made up for it & kept me much more on the side of this night being a major launching pad for this post-draft era.
-- Den