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Old School And New School Wrestling Tapes

Posted: Mar 7th 2008 By: CMBurnham

Last week I got my hands on Mid South Wrestling 'Giants, Midgets, Heroes, And Villans Volume #2'. The DVD rules. The DVD is totally old school. My definition of old school are angles that clearly define the baby face and heel having a personal issue that the audience can relate to. Personal Issue draw $$$$ [Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler used that motto for booking angles]. The baby face gets the beating that gains sympathy from the audience that desperately wants the baby face to get revenge. The heel might lose, but they get the last word to keep the program continuing. That's the wrestling direction that I miss.

The Ted DiBiase VS. Ric Flair match makes the DVD worth picking it up. Classic baby face turn by Dibiase [Dick Murdoch double crosses and juices Dibiase prior to his match]. Dibiase makes the desperate bayface comeback. But the blood loss and Murdoch dumping him on his head is too much. Flair picks up the cheap win [still keeps heat, even through he is secondary to Murdoch and Dibiase starting their program]. Dibiase becomes a instant face, since he got screwed out of a title shot and is hospitalized. Murdoch is the dastardly heel who will screw over his friend for his selfish means. Awesome! 'Old School' Ref Hansen will be annoying me for this DVD this weekend [ughh!]

The DVD got Shawn Micheals as a jobber [remember when HBK wouldn't lay down for anybody?]. I enjoyed Kerry Von Erich VS. Flair in a cage [famous match where The Freebirds turn on Kerry]. That angle popped the Von Erich territory big time. I'm not the biggest fan of Bill Watts on a personal level [I hate bully promoters who scream and fine the wrestlers that are making them rich], but Bill knows how to get every angle and point accross so effectively. Thank god Jim Ross got started in Mid South, since Ross is the last real announcer in the biz. Jim Duggan was such a great baby face. The angle where Duggan supposedly got jumped in the parking lot, but struggles to make a interview vowing revenge is a classic. Hopefully future volumes will have Hyatt & Hot Stuff International.

I'm all psyched for the WSU 1 Year aniversary show this Saturday. They just added Micki Knuckles. Mickie kicks ass for IWA. Mickie is a old school brawler and I'm glad to see her venture to the North East for a rare appearance. I hope she wrestles Awesome Kong or Amy Lee in some form this weekend. Awesome Kong and Mickie Knuckles is worth the price and car ride alone [luckily I'm being paid to commentate, so I'm not paying].

Becky Bayless [my dog's favorite wrestler] is wrestling Alexa Thatcher. Both wrestlers are going to break out in 2008. Dawn Marie [super mom] and Angelina Love [TNA hottie] are also booked. I'm going to be doing a Missy Manor with Lacey Von Erich. I'm sorry that I won't be wrestling Awesome Kong [I value my life], but her match will definitely be stiff.

Normally I'm not a big fan of wrestling books [unless its my book that can be purchased at www.missyhyatt.net]. I find them to be dishonest, not historically accurate, fabrication of reality, and as a sanitized account of the authors life. I'm very sure Eric Jerkoff rewrote wrestling history in his book that dissolved him from being responsible for WCW losing 25 million dollars and eventually going out of business. Ric Flair's book makes him come across as a loving husband and family man [everybody knows his gimmick is a shoot].

Recently a back yard wrestler/hanger on/indy wrestler/underground cult favorite/manager/social deviant/drug addict sent me his wrestling book. The author is J.R. Benson and he wrote 'Extremely Strange' [it can be purchased at jrbenson.com]. I vaugely recall his name from his one sentence mentions in the Wrestling Observer from ten years ago. He ran a underground wrestling cult favorite called 'Extremely Strange Wrestling'.

I remember hearing about characters called Nambla, The Rapist, Ku Klux Clows, Harley Racist, The Abortionist, Cletus The Fetus, and more. Unfortunantly I could never get a tape. Even if I had a tape, I probably would have been offended [I'm total old school], But even this cult hit was recognized by the Missy radar. I'm still waiting for a DVD of 'Human Cock Fighting '96'.

When I received the book, I told my signifigant other to read it [I value his opinion. But I really value Bryan Alvarez' opinion higher than Meltzer and the boy toy]. My house boy couldn't shut the hell up about the book. So I repossesed the book for my cruel enjoyment and for reading material. The book kicked ass. I found the drug fueled life of J.R. Benson to be beyond fascinating [he consumed 150 hits of acid in a year]. J.R. interwindes his passion for wrestling, drugs, sleazy strippers, and offensive wrestling booking ideas in to a very enjoyable book.

J.R. Benson's wrestling character would be revived by his female valet that would urinate on him and perform felatio [this is too extreme]. I was so stunned to read about the other characters. A homeless wrestling commisioner, Cletus the Fetus, The Abortionist. AIDS Infected Syringe Death Match, and other wrestling ideas that were definitely fueled by heavy drug consumption and a twisted mind.

The chapters about XPW are the best in my opinion. You very rarely hear about behind the scene antics of XPW [I was there for the early parts of XPW]. J.R. mentions how one local wrestler got recruited to do a porno for Rob Black [he slept with a 80 year old]. New Jack going in to business for himself by using a stun gun on Vic Grimes. The drug filled antics at the hotel. How Rob Black the wrestling character was very close to the actual Rob Black in personality.

J.R. also takes the reader thru his many wrestling journeys in the hopes of being discovered. Instead the net working with the wrestlers end up in drug fueled interactions. The book is a black eye to the main stream wrestling biz. If your a fan of dark comedy, demented wrestling angles, and drug fueled wrestling stories, than this is a must read book [my book is still the best].

Tags: Missy Hyatt, MSW, Ted DiBiase, Ric Flair, Dick Murdoch, Kerry Von Erich, Bill Watts, Jim Ross, Jim Duggan,