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/wrestling /guests /Craig |
| Guest Columns | Richard Craig |
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VIDEO REVIEW: STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN - HELL YEAH Hello, if you're reading this review, then CRZ has kindly given me the platform to share my views on this latest video from the WWF chronicling the career of the most recognisable face perhaps ever seen in this industry, Stone Cold Steve Austin. Before I start proper, may I take this opportunity to thank my fellow Scot, Bill Gillon, who brings us "From the Brit Side" for his kind mention in his column last week. For those of you who read the column, I am the Richard who has taped Raw (save a few episodes) for the past four years. I modestly accept Bill's respect, especially since there are surely some fans amongst us who have amassed a far more comprehensive library of wrestling tapes than myself. This video kicks off with the WWF's Superbowl commercial, "Get It?, and is followed by a rather funny trail (which hitherto had been unseen in the UK: it had probably been played ad nauseum in the States...) in which Nostradamus predicts that the third antichrist (McMahon) would spread his pestilence and tyranny throughout the land and then gets whacked by a chair by a woman with a [bad] English accent (I'm SCOTTISH and even *I* have to defend the English and say that they don't just speak in Cockney accents or like the Queen!!!) who says "bastard". Following a commercial imploring you to invest in the other current WWF videos, we see the following [familiar] trail: WWF-ONE WORLD LEADER-ATTITUDE-TV14 (sorry, that's not very original now, is it?) The tape starts off (and ends) with a song entitled "Hell Yeah" (?) which I have my own theory upon. Does anyone agree with me when I propose that this song was probably intended to REPLACE Austin's current tune (which hasn't really changed much since he was a heel) but was in fact shelved cause they realised that NO-ONE would go for Austin losing his trademark theme? There is a precedent to wrestlers being issued more fan-friendly ring music once they turn face. Examples that immediately spring to mind are Diesel, whose truck horn entrance was tweaked to become "Diesel Blues" and Mankind, who lost his traditional theme the week after he solidified his face status by winning his first WWF title. As the tape contains [mostly] rapidly edited highlights of Austin's pay per view matches and prime angles from Wrestlemania 14 through until Backlash, I will get this out of the way by saying that in the main, this is done well, although for those WWF fans as eagle-eyed myself, and undoubtedly CRZ, it is all too easy to spot where they have merely reused the intros from PPVs, or recaps shown at the beginning of episodes of Raw. I can now concentrate on the most important part of the video, in my opinion, which are the segments in which we see the "real" Austin "shoot" with us, or so Titan would have us believe. The video received a 15 certificate here in the UK, which is chiefly due to the frequency of Steve's use of the word "fuckin' ". I feel that this really shows how alien the WWF product of 1999 is compared to even a few years ago. The WWF would NEVER have considered making a tape available for sale before "the change" where its top draw and babyface conversed in this fashion. I mean, he calls a dithering motorist a "dumb motherfucker", talks about how he loves his "fuckin' job", and so on. I really would like to be a fly on the wall of those parents who buy this video for their 12-14 year olds: serves em right for ignoring the certificate I say!!! This video is revolutionary in that it exposes both outtakes (the cameraman having the rug literally pulled out from under him by the monster truck was amazing) and draws attention to blown spots in minute detail. By this, I am of course referring to the clash of heads between Taker and Austin at Highway to Hell. I say "of course", but the truth is that until today, I had NEVER even been aware that this incident had been so clearly evident. I had read at the time that Austin had been involved in this incident, but had never picked up on it on my copy of Summerslam. This video is symptomatic of the fresh new approach to video production that the WWF has adopted with increasing success since they tested the waters in 1997 with the "Fab Four" special on Sky Sports here in Britain coinciding with the announcement of the first ever UK PPV, "One Night Only". (If Bill did not object, and I decide to venture any further articles, perhaps that [UK PPVs] is a whole other can of worms that can be tackled in a future submission) The sight of Austin making his way through the throng of fans waiting for him to depart after that evening's show, especially from the first-person perspective, would, I hope, dissuade the more markish fans from making the talent's life away from the arenas too troublesome. I have had the unfortunate distinction of witnessing such behaviour at first hand, after the security detail who were *supposed* to be guarding the wrestler's exit following December's "Capital Carnage" PPV at the London Arena, in the capital's Docklands area, completely derilicted their duty enabling several hundred fans to swarm the talent as they left, and leave them a little shaken by what I understand from certain fans I spoke to afterwards at my hotel bar. In closing, I feel that this video, as is becoming the norm with such "personality" releases, is a must for any self-respecting fan of WRESTLING. and not merely the WWF or Austin himself. By refusing to patronise the audience, soften the hard edges of the superstars they feature or of the nature of the business itself, these tapes are frequently compelling and always exciting looks at the people BEHIND the TV characters as well as the inner-workings of this great sport. Be it through your local video retailer or Shopzone or a friend or whatever, I recommend that you take the time to watch this tape, as it is certainly the best wrestling video I have seen since "3 Faces of Foley" and (although I have yet to see it) probably rivals "Wrestling with Shadows" in its realistic treatment of the subject matter. Richard Craig Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK Mail the Author What's up with a Scot having an aol.com email address? - CRZ |
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