Slane's IwW Video Review!

Slane

Here is My Definitive Review of the IwW Video.

Review:After finally getting the tape and now finally getting time to watch it,here is my definative review of the greatest wrestling show Ireland has ever seen.Probably the biggest problem this video will have is getting people to watch past the first truly uninspiring match between Robbie Brookside and Flatliner.From the outset its just one big ball of cheese with Flatliner coming out and giving the old "Stupid potatoe eating Irish" gimmick another run for its money.He is then joined of course by Robbie Brookside who,shock horror, loves the irish,he even takes an irish flag from the crowd and waves it around,ahhhh.The match takes near on five minutes before it starts with Flatliner wasting alot of time going outside and taunting fans,even grabbing the irish flag and rubbing it between his legs(yawn).The match continues for a while longer but nothing spectacular happens.I suspect that Robbie Brookside could have had a much better match if placed against someone else,and overall the match was pulled down by Flatliner's lacklustre skills.It ends without climax and with some people,if you really cant stick the boredom it might be an idea to fast forward past this match,because it does somewhat sullen what is after that match,one hell of a show.Almost all of the rest of the matches on the video are thoroughly enjoyable.The EWA title ladder match deserves a special mention after an amazing performance by the two wrestlers involved(see,no spoilers,ah,the mystery!).Other matches that were especially good include Mike Modest V Doug Williams and another match I personnaly liked was the handi-cap match between Assasin and Lee Butler/Andy Hogg.The team of Butler and Hogg show Flatliner up,as they show how to really work a crowd.Andy Hoggs gimmick is a camp homosexual one,ok not that original,but the fact is that he plays the part well(no insult intended),and he plays the crowd like a violin.Lee Butler is definatly talented and he also has a niche for playing the crowd.Assasin and Butler/Hogg work well throughout the match and their is a fantastic climax to this match.The WWE could definatly do with a few more matches like this.It goes without saying that the Two Main events were Fantastic,and it definatly works in its favour that there are two matches,the first being more moves orientated with the secound being pure hardcore action.Both Zandig and Justice Pain put on a fantastic show as they hurl there bodies across the ring for our entertainment.Some highlights from the matches include Barbwire Hurley Stick shots(Including a rather nasty one to the crotch),numerous Barb-wire covered tables,Light bulbs,and about a dozen chairs being thrown into the ring by an insane section of the crowd.This was truly a fantastic match and i am only sorry i was not there to see it live.Overall almost every match is very enjoyable and besides the first match i have no real grievances.

Graphics:
The Box cover isn't the greatest pice of artwork you will ever see,but it serves its purpose.Before Each match there is a match title with the wrestlers involved and the type of match it is,which works fine,but it might be nice for the next time to have the name graphics appear as they come out.Besides that small thing(which i probably just want from being used to watching WWE)there are no other real problems with any of the graphics throughout the Video.Theres even a small IwW logo in the corner!

Commentary:
Many,many people were very apprehensive about this,and so they should be,as bad commentating cn sometimes ruin matches.So is the IwW commentating up to the standard?Well yes and no.There are two commentators,Gareth Cummings(At least I think it is) and Jamie Colman.The stronger of the two is definatly Gareth,his voice is instantly recognisable and he knows when to talk,when to shut up,and what to say to build up the tension in the match.Me thinks he has spent many the long evening infront of a tv watching wrestling videos with mute on calling the matches himself.Unfortunatly Jamie does'nt seem to be up to the standard of Gareth yet.theres alot of interupting,miscalling of moves,starting sentances and then not finishing them,and his awful,awful catch phrase "and that could be all she wrote",well,that and "Finches Water"(little in-joke for people who have seen the video there).I did say though that he is not up to gareths standard YET.It became clear as the video went on that jamie was improving and getting more comfortable in the role of commentator.So,hopefully, with alot of practice jamie will get better t this and learn when to call a move,when to shut up,and how to build the tension up,cos he certainly does seem to have repoire with Gareth.The main complaint i have though is EMOTION!In the next video i want alot more emotion from both.If someone dropkicks a guy to the face i dont want to hear a calm "Dropkick to the face there by .........",what i want to hear is "Oow!What a ferocious dropkick to the head by ........".Its something little but it does add alot to the matches.There was one point where some did a spinning asai moonsault or soemthing like that and all they said was "Jesus christ!"but with no emotion,it was like they had read it off a card.What i want is "Oh My GOD!What an explosive manouvre by ....... nearly taking himself out with that move!These two men are putting it all on the line tonight!".And also,some more witty banter would not be unwelcome.There a some humours moments
between the two which do make you believe they are pro cemmentators,and a few more conversational pieces added here and there will only aid them in their performance.Overall good,but it could,and probably will eventually,be alot better.

Editing:
Well,what can i say except well done IwW.From the moment you start the tape and are greeted with a fantastic IwW Promo showing you whats in store to the end of the final match its all done well.Some people have critisised the video for only haveing two cameras(one up high getting the whole ring shot,and another camera down by the ring)But this in fact works in the favour of the video.The editing is done almost always at the right time so you get the best shot possible.The camerman down by the ring knows the shots that are need and is almpost always in the right place to get the shot needed.Another plus of there just being the one camera man down by the ring means that the ring doesnt look cluttered with people around it(meaning your attention is focused more on what is in the ring)and there are no shots with another cameraman lingering in the background on the otherside of the ring.For the next show though it might just be worth it to have another cameraman down there,cathcing the action from another angl,as it might add just that bit more variety to the footage.One thing i would have liked to have seen more of would be some replays.There are numerous points in the video where they could have benifited from an action replay.But inexplicably action repla does appear in one match,The EWA ladder match,and then disappears for the rest of the show,but replay is something i would definatly like to see put to further use in the next Video.

Final Decision:
Overall,the IwW have done an absolutly fantastic job,the show was great,the video was even better.they showed that ireland really does have the fan base to make a great show like this possible.The matches are great,the editing is great and the commentary is good.There are no major problems with the video,and the great thing is,this can all only get better with each new video.In my opinion any half way decent Irish wrestling fan needs to get this,even if you were at the show,this is a great chance to relive the action from a differant viewpoint and also to see if you can spot yourself in the crowd.If i could think of one word to describe the tape,it would be Quality.Its almost everything we hoped for and some more and thats why the IwW video will take a proud position in my Video collection and why i will deifnatly be at the Next IwW show with as many friends as i can muster up to show our support for the IwW and be ready to f**k a chair in the ring if Zandig calls for it!!!

bombidol

Thanks for the great review:)

MiddleMan

Cheers for the kind words...
Lee Butler.:)

bombidol

Ahh Lee welcome to the board, you back from holidays then?

MiddleMan

Holiday was alrite m8..