{"id":59539,"date":"2018-05-07T15:11:47","date_gmt":"2018-05-07T20:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=59539"},"modified":"2018-05-07T15:11:47","modified_gmt":"2018-05-07T20:11:47","slug":"surfing-the-stream-debut-column-reviews-of-what-im-watching-online-and-whether-your-should-watch-it-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/05\/07\/surfing-the-stream-debut-column-reviews-of-what-im-watching-online-and-whether-your-should-watch-it-too\/","title":{"rendered":"SURFING THE STREAM (Debut Column): Reviews of what I&#8217;m watching online and whether your should watch it too"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1885026834\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>Have you noticed all of the new streaming sites for wrestling? There\u2019s Facebook, Twitch, Fite, Highspots, Powerbomb, and a bunch more.\u00a0 They offer thousands of matches ranging from free to 50 bucks,\u00a0 Who has time to watch all of that?<\/p>\n<p>I do.<\/p>\n<p>Okay, maybe not \u201call,\u201d but some.\u00a0 More than is healthy (according to my wife).\u00a0 So the goal of this column is simple. I\u2019ll watch a bunch of stuff and tell you about the best (and worst) of it. Hopefully, I\u2019ll help you spend your time &amp; money smarter than I do.\u00a0 Most weeks I\u2019ll try to cover a free show, a one-time PPV, and a subscription service.\u00a0 I\u2019ll keep that up until my wife, Mrs. Not-A-Fan, notices the credit card bill.<\/p>\n<p>A couple of provisos:\u00a0 I just want to share a few things to help you get the most from the articles. \u00a0(1) It\u2019s safe to assume that I spent my own money. If there ever is a situation where I get a free stream or whatever, I\u2019ll disclose it. \u00a0(2)\u00a0 I like stories, characters, and over-the-top silliness.\u00a0 I know all the cool kids are into \u201c920 Double Shining Star Planchas off the Empire State Building,\u201d but I\u2019m not cool or a kid.\u00a0 I\u2019ll certainly mention cool spots if I see any, but I don\u2019t seek them out.\u00a0 On the other hand, I\u2019m all in for characters: space aliens, drones, hypnosis, mind control, dual personalities and any other crazy stuff that seems amusing.\u00a0 You\u2019ve been warned.\u00a0 3) Given the option, I don\u2019t leave my recliner.\u00a0 There is some chance, however, that I\u2019ll actually report on a live show if one gets sufficiently close.\u00a0 I won\u2019t make it a habit.<\/p>\n<p>Okay. The recliner is locked in viewing position, let\u2019s get started.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Story 1: \u201cA Saturday Night in Kentville, Nova Scotia\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NNNuwUGURvk\">Free Show<\/a>)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"James Ellsworth vs Maddison Miles\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NNNuwUGURvk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>On April 28, it seems that approximately 75 people paid 20-25 bucks to see the Ultimate Championship Wrestling show.\u00a0 I actually don\u2019t know any of the folks on the undercard, but the main event is free on Youtube.\u00a0 It features the Intergender World Championship with former WWE talent James Ellsworth vs. Maddison Miles.<\/p>\n<p>This is precisely the kind of old-timey, corny, carney match that makes wrestling great.\u00a0 Ellsworth is a fantastic comedic weak heel. He unleashes the entire heel book of tricks in hilarious fashion.\u00a0 For folks old enough to remember, he is the wrestling equivalent of Bobby Riggs (young folks can Google that).\u00a0 He manages to get more heat from 75 folks than some heels could get in a huge arena.\u00a0 I\u2019m unfamiliar with Maddison\u2019s work, but I think that Ellsworth could have worked this one against a mannequin and been entertaining.\u00a0 Based on her attire, I\u2019m guessing she works heel most of the time.\u00a0 On this evening, however, she couldn\u2019t have drawn a boo if she bit the head off a puppy.<\/p>\n<p>The wrestling is, um, unremarkable. Given the inherently awkward nature of intergender matches, there is about as little actual contact as one could get into a 17 minute match.\u00a0 But wrestling wasn\u2019t the point of this match.\u00a0 This is about a \u201cbig star\u201d coming to a small town and entertaining the people.\u00a0 From the crowd reaction, it\u2019s clear he did his job.\u00a0 They were entertained and so was I.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3494763913\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><strong>The Sum-Up:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Cost: Free<\/p>\n<p>Stream Quality: 1 fixed cam, decent lighting, a distant microphone.<\/p>\n<p>Match Quality: Old Time Indie Goodness without any pretense of actual sport.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Overall Rating 2.5\/5 Recliner Potatoes<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Story 2: \u201cI Blame Alan4L\u201d (Subscription Service: Club WWN)<\/h3>\n<p>I love Alan4l\u2019s podcast. He is so passionate about wrestling that it is infectious.\u00a0 I was especially taken by his podcasts about his WrestleMania trip.\u00a0 He described SO Many shows. I had no idea that it was such a crazy weekend.\u00a0 I was almost inclined to leave the recliner and go join the fun. Almost, but not quite.<\/p>\n<p>Since that\u2019s crazy talk, I decided the next best thing is to watch the streams.\u00a0 They\u2019re kind of spread out across several services, but I decided to start with the WWN service, ClubWWN.<\/p>\n<p>ClubWWN is $9.99\/month. For that, you get unlimited Video on Demand from promotions like Evolve, Shine, Dragon Gate, FIP, and more.\u00a0 You also get 50% off live Pay per Views (They show up on VOD about 2 weeks after broadcast).\u00a0 It seems like you might also get some discounts in the store.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3883172235\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Sign-up was very easy.\u00a0 The interface is easy to understand and use.\u00a0 Overall, the service seems pretty professional.\u00a0 I watched on PC, but I understand they have a Roku app.\u00a0 I\u2019ll check on that and report back.<\/p>\n<p>For my first show, I fired up Mercury Rising 2018.\u00a0 I had heard that this was one of the best shows of the weekend and I was excited to see it.\u00a0 The video quality is very good, certainly better than some competitors (I\u2019m looking at you, ROH) and, frankly, better than I was expecting.\u00a0 The lighting is good. They switch between a hard cam and mobile cams that provide excellent close-ups.\u00a0 I like the camera work as much as any show I\u2019ve seen.\u00a0 The announcing is spot-on: Informational without being annoying.\u00a0 My first impression was very positive. The only downside is that the sound from the ring is hard to make out.<\/p>\n<p>Mercury Rising absolutely earns its acclaim.\u00a0 It\u2019s one of the better shows I\u2019ve seen this year.\u00a0 It has everything: High Flying, Technical Wrestling, Strong Style, and just about everything else. The show is well paced and booked to keep things interesting.\u00a0 It\u2019s honestly worth 9.99 by itself.\u00a0 Getting a month to watch the other stuff is a tremendous bonus.<\/p>\n<p>Highlight Matches:<\/p>\n<p><b>Sawa vs. Zack Saber Jr<\/b>.: One of the best wrestlers in the world against a living legend.\u00a0 Although I wouldn\u2019t say this is one of Zach\u2019s best matches ever, it\u2019s certainly good.\u00a0 He and Sawa clearly have tremendous mutual respect.\u00a0 Sawa seemed legitimately touched by the post-match ovation.\u00a0 Overall, very entertaining.<\/p>\n<p><b>WorkHorsemen vs. The End vs. Catch Point (New Orleans Street Fight)<\/b>:\u00a0 If you like it rough, this is for you.\u00a0 Tables, ladders, batons, a million chair shots and just plain carnage.\u00a0 Super tough match made all the better by the camera work.\u00a0 My one knock on this match is that there was clearly some backstory that simply isn\u2019t described.\u00a0 Since this type of \u201cSuper Show\u201d is likely to draw casual fans, it seems like it would make sense to show a video package to re-cap.\u00a0 Or, at the very least, have the announcers tell the story.\u00a0 I think that context would have added a lot to the experience.<\/p>\n<p>That said, these guys totally sell that they don\u2019t like each other.\u00a0 The brutality seems real without being grotesque.\u00a0 A decent hard core slobberknocker kind of match, if that\u2019s your thing.<\/p>\n<p><b>Matt Riddle vs. Will Ospreay (Evolve Championship):<\/b>\u00a0 Two more really hot wrestlers working the main event. Osprey comes out selling an injury from the week before, setting up the underdog story line.\u00a0 Riddle looks incredibly fresh for a guy that wrestled about 20 matches in the preceding 2 days.\u00a0 This is a tremendous contrast-of-styles dream match. It\u2019s a really good back-and-forth contest with a worked in-ring injury that looked pretty legit.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen this match awarded 5 stars.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t go that far, but it\u2019s definitely in the 4 range.\u00a0 Totally worth watching\u2026<\/p>\n<p>There are, of course, several other matches. There\u2019s a good six-man, a woman\u2019s championship, a tag championship (with Walter!) and a couple of others.\u00a0 Every match is at least good and some are very good.\u00a0 All-in-all, I liked this show a lot.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Sum-Up:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Cost: Free with $9.99 monthly subscription<\/p>\n<p>Stream Quality: Really good except some muddied sound from the ring.<\/p>\n<p>Show Quality:\u00a0 Very good.\u00a0 However, I sort of share Alan4L\u2019s concern about the collection of \u201cdream matches.\u201d\u00a0 Obviously, it\u2019s fun to watch really good wrestlers do their thing. But it\u2019s hard to sell each match as an athletic endeavor when everyone knows they\u2019re worked.\u00a0 It was fine for 3 hours, but I can imagine it would get old after a day or two.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure it\u2019s hard to tell more complicated stories without weekly TV, but other promotions are using various social media outlets to cut promos, build heat, and evolve the characters.\u00a0 WWN doesn\u2019t seem to be using that approach heavily, yet, but they certainly could benefit from it. This is especially true for inter-promotional matches where fans have to be educated about distant rivals and the match has to be designed to mean something.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Overall Rating: 4\/5 recliner potatoes.<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Story 3: \u201cThe Backlash After Riyadh\u201d (Subscription Service: Club WWN)<\/h3>\n<p>Most WWE PPV days have some indie PPV early in the afternoon to take advantage of ravenous wrestling fans that might want to watch something before the main show.\u00a0 Today, on Backlash Day, I really couldn\u2019t find anything.\u00a0 However, since I have my shiny new ClubWWN sub, and it\u2019s raining like Heck, I thought I\u2019d see what I could find.<\/p>\n<p>I decided on a show that I was kind of interested in attending.\u00a0 Shine 48 ran not far from me in January and it was advertised more heavily than most indie shows. Unfortunately, even the promise of a high-end Cuban meal was not enough to entice Mrs. Not-A-Fan to cross the Bay for the event.<\/p>\n<p>Given the recent hubbub about Riyadh and such, I thought that an all-woman show would be a good way to close out this week.<\/p>\n<p>Before I get to the matches, let me say that I am, again, very impressed with the quality of the video.\u00a0 It\u2019s really well done.\u00a0 The audio is better than the Mercury Rising show, but there\u2019s only one announcer.\u00a0 He\u2019s calling it pretty straight.<\/p>\n<p>As with most indies, the show is running in front of a small crowd at a nightclub.\u00a0 Here are some high-and low-lights:<\/p>\n<p><b>Stormy Lee vs. Tesha Price:<\/b>\u00a0 Classic overpowering heel vs. smaller face.\u00a0 Pretty basic stuff except for Stormy taunting Price\u2019s mom at ringside the whole match, which was sort of funny.<\/p>\n<p><b>Dynamite Didi vs. Holidead:<\/b> I saw Holidead in Mercury Rising, and she was OK.\u00a0 She runs a horror gimmick that includes some pretty cool face paint, creepy music, and the usual wild-eyed expression that comes with these characters.\u00a0 \u00a0 She has a pretty cool ring entrance that involves touching the faces of several fans before doing sort of a seductive zombie dance.\u00a0 Dynamite Didi\u2019s entire gimmick seems to be centered around shooting off a confetti cannon.\u00a0 Holidead is a mildly entertaining heel, talking-wise, but this was a slow, not very good match that went too long.<\/p>\n<p><b>Brandi Lauren vs. Leva:\u00a0 <\/b>Brandi has one of the worst ring entrances ever. She looked confused about why she was there. Maybe she\u2019s working a belly-dancer angle, or not, hard to tell. Leva runs a cosplay cartoon-type character from Overwatch. Pretty fun entrance.\u00a0 This match was just bizarre.\u00a0 Brandi working as the mean girl heel against Leva, who just is crazy.\u00a0 Leva kissed Brandi for no apparent reason, wandered off from the ring, and babbled incoherently the whole match.\u00a0 Definitely a spectacle, but not in a good way. Really bad match. I sort of hate myself for watching the whole thing.<\/p>\n<p><b>Cutie Pie Club vs. Priscilla Kelly &amp; Vanessa Craven &amp; Ariel Monroe (Six-woman Tag Team War):<\/b> This match started hot with brawling in and out of the ring.\u00a0 There\u2019s a definite improvement in quality in this match.\u00a0 Ariel Monroe looks great. She\u2019s fast and agile and has tons of charisma. Kiera Hogan from CPC also looks like she is pretty skilled. And Dementia Rose has the nickname of the \u201cWeapon of Ass Destruction,\u201d which is money with or without skills.\u00a0 Overall, it was a fun match. Lots of action, a decent story, and enough quality not to be distractingly bad.\u00a0 Definitely watchable.<\/p>\n<p><b>Lady Chardonnay Darcy &amp; Isla Dawn vs. Las Sicarias \u00a0 (Tag Team Championship)<\/b>:\u00a0 Pretty decent tag team action. Both teams showed some coordinated moves early.\u00a0 It slowed down after the fast start, and there were a few rough spots, but this was an OK match.<\/p>\n<p><b>Lufisto vs. Rain (Shine Championship): <\/b>\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen Lufisto a couple of times and she\u2019s a pretty good heel Champ.\u00a0 In this match, she faces former Champ, Rain. The announcer\u2019s sold Rain\u2019s auto crash injuries hard to set up the match. Lufisto went for the beat down and dominated early. This was definitely the hardest-hitting match of the night, with both women doing damage inside and outside of the ring (including the Merch table).\u00a0 This match was way more brutal than anything else on the card, and really pretty good.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Sum-Up:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Cost: Free with ClubWWN Subcription<\/p>\n<p>Stream Quaility: Excellent<\/p>\n<p>Show Quality: Meh. This is a case where an hour\u2019s worth of talent was stretched into a 3 hour show.\u00a0 The entire first hour was bad.\u00a0 The 6-woman match and the Championships were all OK.\u00a0 This was not a great show.\u00a0 I\u2019m glad I didn\u2019t have to buy an expensive dinner to see it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Overall Rating: 1.5\/5 Recliner Potatoes.<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Okay, folks, that\u2019s it for this week.\u00a0 I\u2019ll start digging for good stuff for next week.\u00a0 In the meantime, leave comments &amp; requests below.\u00a0 Thanks for reading this!<\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1689461374\"><div id=\"pwtor-1268668980\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Have you noticed all of the new streaming sites for wrestling? There\u2019s Facebook, Twitch, Fite, Highspots, Powerbomb, and a bunch more.\u00a0 They offer thousands of matches ranging from free to 50 bucks,\u00a0 Who has time <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/05\/07\/surfing-the-stream-debut-column-reviews-of-what-im-watching-online-and-whether-your-should-watch-it-too\/\" title=\"SURFING THE STREAM (Debut Column): Reviews of what I&#8217;m watching online and whether your should watch it too\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5970],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-surfing-the-stream"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/SabreJr_3x2KN.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59539"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59541,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59539\/revisions\/59541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}