When I first started watching WWE back in the early nineties, my parents would talk of Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks. I had no idea who they were. They weren't on my TV so I couldn't work out why they kept talking about them and not Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior.
It took me a while to work out that they were talking about something completely different - something that was part of their lives when they were younger, as the Hogan era WWE is now to me.
As part of my desire to watch a wider range of wrestling than I have previously done, I decided to watch the World of Sport program. I will be watching shows from as many different wrestling promotions as I can during the year.
I make no apologies for comparing the product to the WWE, as at the moment, it is really all I've got to compare it to.
The show gives you a lot of the history of World of Sport, and we learn a bit about a few of the characters who made the show what it was back in the day. However, to judge it, we need to look at the product they are putting out today - even though it is billed as a one-off.
The capture of Jim Ross on commentary is a great move. He is easily the best showman on the whole show. If they were to extend it into a series, it might be unlikely that they could get him on the show full time and it would definitely suffer without him.
World of Sport Championship match:
Grado v Dave Mastiff
It seems odd starting off with a championship match. This is what should have been a main event, but it becomes clear after the match that there will be a second championship match tonight, hence this needed to be early in order to be able to fit both of them in.
The match isn't the best technically. The seem to want to give you a bit of nostalgia, having a match between a couple of big men, to remind you of the original World of Sport. The match ends in a victory for Mastiff, assisted by interference from his cronies which leads the general manager of World of Sport to make Mastiff defend his belt against the winner of a battle royale later in the show.
The quality of the wrestling wasn't great. I often feel that big men try to over emphasise stuff. I'm not sure why this is, perhaps due to their size. Hogan always sold things really badly, and whilst these guys aren't as bad as him, they don't have the most fluid and believable match.
The showmanship isn't as good as the WWE, with the interview being clearly scripted. The storytelling isn't as good, either, and it seems to be a bit forced and not as natural as perhaps it could be.
Ladder match:
Kenny Williams v Sam Bailey v CJ Banks v Delicious Danny
This match seems to have characters with a few more gimmicks. Williams comes out as if he is at a rave and Delicious Danny has a Jeff Jarrett style cowboy gimmick, which doesn't work as well with a balding guy from Hertfordshire. However, it is a much more exciting match, with all four guys being more of the high-flyer mould. There are a few really nice moves in this match, with most of the competitors getting a moment to shine.
The match is shorter than Money in the Bank matches, and you don't get as many near victories. I think I actually like that because after so many, you expect the guy slowly climbing up the ladder to be just waiting for someone to come and knock him off.
Kenny Williams gets the victory and enters the battle royale. He seems to deserve it. Despite being the youngest guy on the roster, he is clearly talented and probably the best performer on the show so far.
Women's Match:
Alexis Rose v Viper
This is the first ever all women's match in World of Sport history, with women previously only competing against men in the original World of Sport. This is far from the standard of Charlotte v Sasha, although it is a positive sign that they have a women's match on the programme.
The heel Viper is perhaps in the Nia Jax mould and is clearly the favourite of the match, although Rose is a lot more agile. Viper comes out with a Viper wrapped around her, because Jake the Snake's gimmick clearly hasn't got over to Scotland yet. She also doesn't seem to utilise the snake in the same way that Roberts used to do. In the end, she gets an easy victory.
Tag team match:
The Coffey Brothers v Ashton Smith & Rampage
The Coffeys come out with face paint as a sort of Legion of Doom/Usos cross over. Smith and Rampage are in trunks and denim jackets. The match is a well worked tag team match, with most of the moves looking good with some exceptions. The story telling in the match works well, with both teams cutting the ring in half at times and the heels - Smith and Ramage - doing some classic tag team distracting the referee and cheating. The Coffeys get the victory when Smith accidentally hits Rampage with Sweet Chin Music and the two of them advance to the battle royale.
After both of these matches, there are some more backstage segments and whilst these explain what is going on, they are really poorly acted. Whilst I know that all of wrestling is scripted, these segments would ruin the illusion if I did not. As such, it makes it feel like a less polished product.
Singles Match:
El Ligero v Zack Gibson
The masked luchadore enters first, with Gibson being roundly booed upon his entrance. These guys are the best we see on the show, with the match being the best on the show, with some really high quality moves which are executed really well.
As a performer, Gibson is great, and is clearly an efficient heel. He is great at getting the crowd against him which helps elevate the match. El Ligero is also a great luchadore and the clash of styles makes for a very entertaining bout.
El Ligero claims the victory with an excellent springboard DDT to earn his spot in the battle royale.
Battle Royale:
Grado v Kenny Williams v Joe Coffey v Mark Coffey v El Ligero v Johnny Moss v Sha Samuels v Mystery Entrant
Seven men start, with the mystery entrant missing. Straight away, Kenny Williams suffers a near elimination but clings onto the top rope and swings himself back in, although he is eliminated shortly after with El Ligero following hot on his heels.The Coffeys look like they're going to fight each other but then Moss and Samuels throw them both out before they start to get it on.
It is at this point that the mystery entrant appears and turns out to be The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith Jr. Grado seems pleased by this, although it doesn't seem fair that he's basically missed half the match.
He wrestles in the style of his father, who was on the World of Sport show in his youth. He is a powerhouse and his move set is very similar, though foolishly he tries to pin Moss rather than throwing him out. Having recently watched a few Royal Rumbles with his father, I got annoyed at his tactics where he gorilla pressed his opponents before slamming them, rather than throwing them over the top rope.
Whilst he is running through Moss and Samuels, they manage to combine and throw him out, leaving Grado in the ring with the two of them. Grado hits a Grado cutter which shows him to be a better wrestler than I had originally given him credit for, and he manages to get the victory against all odds to set up a rematch against Dave Mastiff.
He is then attacked by Moss and Samuels before Dave Boy Smith Jr comes in for the save, with JR excitedly pondering whether Grado will be able to compete in the match as paramedics are called to the ring and they cut to a commercial break.
The match was moderately enjoyable, although it seems odd that the Bulldog was allowed to miss half the match, and it did look like it was being set up to allow Grado his rematch and it would have been nice to have a more interesting story.
However, I like the idea that in a two hour show they are using the same wrestlers more than once so they can tell a better story than they would have been able to with a larger number of individual bouts. As this is a one-off, it works better to get the crowd excited for the main event.
World of Sport Championship match:
Grado v Dave Mastiff (c)
Mastiff comes out again with Samuels and Moss. although the referee immediately ejects them. Mastiff does a reasonable job winding up the crowd and taunting Grado who has to fight his way to the wring through some paramedics before Mastiff attacks his injured knee.
The build up for this match makes it much more interesting and exciting than the bout earlier in the show. Grado sells his injury and manages to claim the victory with a Grado cutter to the delight of the crowd.
The fans love the victory and go home happy and entertained. The ending to the show was well done, and the last few matches picked up the pace after a slow start. Whilst there was nothing overly original in the show, it was good fun. If they were going to try to extend it, I think they would need to improve the quality of the show in certain areas, and improve the storytelling which was ok for a one-off show but would show a lot of weaknesses over a longer series.
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