The Lo-Down

Doug Basham is one of those guys who the WWE had on their books for absolutely ages. Having honed his skills in OVW, he awaited a call-up to the big time, for a long time. In typical WWE fashion, they didn’t really know what to do with him. But eventually, he appeared on Smackdown screens and enjoyed a run with Danny Basham, and raised the WWE tag team titles. Becoming a member of JBL’s “Cabinet”, Doug enjoyed a solid run as a member of the Basham Brothers, until the WWE’s disinterest in tag wrestling affected his career. He was broken up with his partner, and thereafter appeared infrequently as a singles competitor. They were then reunited on the newly resurrected ECW, as a bodyguard duo for heel Paul Heyman, but released shortly after Heyman departed the company.

Strong Style Productions are the Irish based spawn of Rob O’Brien. We previously reviewed Quick Shooting with Alison Danger (which can be read here), while I also had the pleasure of sitting through their outstanding Fight Hard: The Alison Danger Story DVD. This Four-Hour Documentary disc is their biggest release yet and is a collaboration with Simon Rochford’s Irish Whip Wrestling, for whom Doug toured with extensively over the last year or so. It combines the format of shoot interview, with a more traditional (though not in wrestling) documentary format.

What’s on it?

The Feature itself, runs at just over 2 hours and is well shot, well-lit, and very professional looking, as is the standard we’ve come to expect from the Strong Style guys. This is their first project in HD, and I must say, it looks tremendously sharp throughout, with splendid sound quality. Doug is interrogated by IWW ring announcer, Eamon D’Arcy. I notice that the title music recalls a song from the soundtrack of a David Lynch movie….. That’s not relevant to anything, but hell, I love David Lynch.

We kick off with a brief discussion about Doug’s early days, before segueing into his career, and some road stories. The reign on the subject matter isn’t tightly held by the interviewer, hence Basham flutters freely back and forth, bring up all manner of subjects. He’s especially funny when he becomes self-deprecating, and see’s the humorous side of his shortcomings. One story, that sees him explain the term “appleing”, is particularly hilarious.

It quickly becomes apparent that Rob O’Brien and Strong Style Productions are attempting something more than an ordinary shoot DVD, a’ la the Fight Hard release. They’re clearly going for more of a Bio or documentary feel, using various angles, Black and White shots, and occasionally cutting to different scenes. However, it doesn’t entirely convince, because the depth of the interview requires us to hear Eamon D’Arcy’s questions, but in doing so, it robs the programme of a true documentary feel. Obviously a huge part of this issue for the guys at Strong Style is being able to use stills, and clips of Basham in action. If they were able to do this (still shots are used, but sparingly, and obviously footage from the subjects brought up, is not a possibility) and incorporate some graphics into the presentation, it would certainly help. That said, their attempts at something fresh should be applauded, and at the very least, the DVD isn’t hindered by simply being a guy on a couch in front of a curtain for three hours.

Doug’s really critical of the Independent scene, which is consistent with many ex-WWE guys, who don’t really seem to understand the differences between an Indy group, like say PWG, selling their product, and Vinnie Mac being able to sell his. And that issue is something I’ve found with his other interviews he’s done in the press. He sees things from the WWE point-of-view, and it affects his overall view of all wrestling. Obviously, he’s a guy who (rightly) appreciates the opportunities he received, and isn’t about to burn any bridges either. Clearly not a politician, Doug’s a guy who backstage was/is a company man, did his job, and doesn’t read into the gossipy side of the industry. More worrying, is when asked about how things work, such as what manner gimmicks are awarded to workers, he claims to not be able to speak for how it happened to anyone but himself. He surely could offer something more than that, but it’s in keeping with his attitude of minding his own business.

However, while that means this release is not crammed with bitterness and slamming of guys like Triple H or Kurt Angle, it doesn’t prevent him from being open and willing to discuss many topics honestly. And when he delves into positive subjects, such as his favourite match, he’s really good at relating, in a thoughtful manner, the circumstances and details. Doug’s full of praise for the smarks’ favourite whipping-boy, famed bully JBL- but he has every right to be. Contrary to the negativity some would bear towards Bradshaw, the loud-mouthed Texan did help to give Basham his biggest break.

After about twenty five minutes or so, the programme takes a, quite frankly, bizarre turn, when we cut to an office filled with posters of past Irish Whip Wrestling shows. Cue Doug going into an odd discussion about the effectiveness of these, and the keys to a successful poster in a really strange and unnecessary moment this.

Similarly, there are other excursions from the main portion of the DVD. Doug traipses around Donegal, and checks out an Obama café, which pays tribute to the new American President. Good fun. But when Doug visit’s a bar, and attempts to pull a few pints of Guinness, its entertaining stuff, whether they need to cut to black and white shots of him pouring the drink though, is debatable. When he sits down to actually talk at the bar though, it’s really intriguing, and when they return to this setting, it feels improvised, and is amongst the most impressive material on the event.

Later on the DVD, we walk with Doug as he arrives at a building for an IWW show. This is absorbing stuff, as he greets a few kids, and goes through his pre-show rituals. But it’s also notable for taking place in a venue with the most ludicrously low-ceiling I’ve ever seen at a wrestling event!

Doug seems to exhibit a little hurt towards the WWE about the latter days of his tenure, especially as he discusses how he went back to OVW of, according to himself, his own bat, in order to improve his work. He feels they didn’t bother even paying attention to his efforts. But he is also very businesslike in his discussion of such matters, and while he’s critical in this regard, he doesn’t seem to let it cloud his overall viewpoint.

Eamon D’Arcy takes us into discussing certain talents also. Basham is full of praise for guys like CM Punk, but it’s in this area that perhaps the DVD is least interesting- in merely discussing other performers. When asked about Punk, he briefly mentions his talent, but he doesn’t really answer the question about the feud between the two. Not pressed for an answer, we simply move on. It’s a shame because the rivalry in OVW was supposedly really neat. Doug’s a smart guy and he’s not the type to spill on a ton of guys, and dwell on the negative. He knows what’s got to be done to ensure your future employment, and while he doesn’t kiss folks asses, he doesn’t bury them either. Although, in contrast to that, his opinion on Randy Orton, when the current WWE Champion first came to OVW is pretty interesting….

The second hour of the feature improves as it goes along, with an increasing reliance on the clips of Doug at an Irish Whip event, and the aftermath of him working a long bout with IWW Champion Mandrake. A couple of the scenes in the locker-room post-match are extraordinarily candid. We cut between all of this, and the interview, in which Doug become increasingly melancholy as he reflects, and brings up the subject of retirement.

Extras

-On disc one, a whole bunch of guys give their opinion on working with Doug, including, LA Warren, and Joel Redman. Exactly what you would expect, with everyone gushing over the guy, aside from Mad Man Manson, whose contribution is in character, and utterly baffling.

-IWW promoter Simon Rochford talks about a match between Doug and IWW Champ, Mandrake, who are performing the bout through a window behind him. There’s not much more to say about it in all honesty…a really strange clip.

-The Second Disc boasts an absolute pile of deleted scenes. Some are better than others, but they’re all worth having. A story about finding himself in “Wrestlers Court” is noteworthy, and we get a nifty name association bit. I can see why a lot of this was cut, because although the standard is similar to the feature, it simply would have been far too long.

-The same shiny disc also includes two matches. The first, Doug’s hard-hitting 2/3 Falls match with IWW Champion, Mandrake, is the better of the two, but a Triple Threat match with Vic Viper and Balls Mahoney, is watchable as well.

Add to basket?

If you’re a fan of Interviews, or Documentary features, this contains enough elements of both to offer the best of both worlds. It goes without saying that this is also a must for Doug Basham fans, but it’s also recommended for those who follow IWW. Doug Basham is a compelling subject for the most part, and pretty damn entertaining. Although he dodges the odd subject slightly, the questions he’s asked are well-thought out, and bring to light more than a few interesting tidbits. His tone is good-natured and patient and his humour warm, making him a subject whom I am truly surprised by.

One thing I have to say I really enjoyed is how they wrap the main interview around an overall story in itself. Yes, the do stray all over the place along the way, but in general, there’s a flowing structure, especially in the second hour of the documentary as Doug goes to work, wrestles, and then leaves. It’s a bittersweet moment as he drives into the night, and in this, it’s O’Brien and Rochford’s biggest achievement as they intertwine Doug’s confession that he’s retiring (note, Doug did announce his retirement following the IWW tour).

It’s not quite as effective as Fight Hard- but this is still quite the DVD release. Forgive some early awkwardness, and you’ll be rewarded with rather a special DVD package. Strong Style Productions have gone from err… strength to strength, and look set to be a major player in the field.

Wrestling Memories with Doug Basham, is available now, and can be purchased from http://www.strongstyleproductions.com/

For more information, SSP are also on MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/strongstyleproductions.

Thanks for taking the time to check this out. I welcome any and all feedback and I can be contacted at www.myspace.com/michaelwrestlingetc or simply by emailing me at Michael@ifight365.com. I look forward to hearing from you, and will be back soon!