One of the best indy wrestling shows of 2005 took place Sunday June 26th at Oshawa’s Civic Auditorium. That supershow, presented by Warrior-1 Wrestling, has now made its way onto a cool DVD.
I got an invite to purchase this DVD by email, and I ordered right away, as I was in attendance for the event and wanted one more reminder of what happened.
This two-DVD set is a unique blend of industry production techniques, angles and hand-held camera units right at ringside. It adds up to a fantastic first person perspective — better than the view from the front row.
The action is non-stop and intense, and high flying moves were at a premium. The blend of video types does not go unnoticed but the result is very much appreciated. The shots from ringside — heck apron-side — give an awesome, almost wrestler’s perspective. It’s very cool.
I had no problem with the production quality of the DVD set, something I cannot say about my last federation DVD set (it, well, broke my Hart) but some of the backstage stuff is a little dark, coming close to your Uncle that never takes the lens cap off.
There was a very good attempt to deliver a polished product with throw ins and interviews but the results are hardly worthy of TV, as was the commentary, but hey, they have to learn somewhere and it might as well have been here.
As I did attend this event live, I can say it is a very good record of what went on that fateful day in Oshawa. As a matter of fact, you can see me sitting behind one of the ring posts so often I should have been mentioned in the credits.
There’s lots of great talent on this DVD, and it is headlined by a 3-Way Dance between Extremo, Kid Kash and “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson, and a main event under Raven’s Rules between Raven and Samoa Joe with Mick Foley as the special referee. (For a full recap of the show, see the SLAM! Wrestling story: Warrior 1 suffers an embarrassment of riches.)
At the WWE show in Oshawa previous to this show, I was lucky enough to win a cell phone. At this show, I was lucky enough to have my photo taken with Mick Foley, witness first hand what an incredible talent Jimmy Hart is, and see some up and comers like Kid Kash, The Highlanders and Samoa Joe just before they hit the big time. To this wrestling fan of over 35 years, there’s no question which was the better deal.
So go out and order yourself a copy of this incredible show which was reported quite often as the number one independent wrestling show of the year. My copy came with a free Mr. Socko and an autographed picture for my son of Sinn.
Featured Bouts include:
- Puma & Chad Collyer vs. El Tornado & Tyson Dux
- Kobra Kai, Otis Idol, & El Vigote vs. Jimmy Jacobs, Ash, & Sombra
- Derek Wylde vs. Cody Steele
- Gail Kim & Tarantula Gomez vs. Shantelle & El Fuego
- The Highlanders w/mgr. Jimmy Hart vs. Kamala & Crazy Steve
- Chris Sabin vs. Cody 45
- $10,000 8 Man Elimination Gauntlet Match
- Team Canada (Bobby Roode & Petey Williams) w/Coach D’Amore vs. The New Church’s Beasts of Burden
- 3-Way Dance: Bryan Danielson vs. Kid Kash vs. Xtremo
- Raven vs. Samoa Joe w/mgr. Jimmy Hart, Special referee: Mick Foley
DVD Extra Features:
- Kamala learning to Bowl and playing in the Arcade!
- Footage of Wrestler Meet & Greet/Autograph sessions
- BONUS Team Canada footage
- Backstage Interviews
- Blooper Reel
- Hosted by JT Playa and Jennifer Blake
- Available in English and French languages
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