I went and saw the documentary on backyard wrestling which was showing at the Melbourne Film Festival yesterday (The Backyard). I thought it was great: some of the kids are obviously idiots (particularly the death match kids) but some were really level-headed. There was one kid who had a congenital liver dysfunction: he had a terrible few years in and out of hospital, he was partially deaf and couldn't speak too well. His parents were at first horrified that he participated in backyard matches but realised he was making friends and finally being accepted by his peers. His match with a guy called the, wait for it, *ed Butcher (whose mother banned him from wrestling) was one of the highlights of the doco.
My favourite though was the Lizard: a great good ol' time Southern boy who was convinced he was going to make it in the WWF. He could do some great high spots (Swanton bomb through a table) but his regular work was shocking. He tried out for Tough Enough and was invited to Las Vegas but he didn't make the cut. He eventually went to a wrestling school and made his pro debut for an Indie organisation. His gimmick was to hiss at the audience, forgetting of course that it is a snake that hisses. He was a really likeable guy and he was the feel good story of the doco.
If you get the chance, check it out. The doco doesn't make a judgement on backyard wrestling-it shows the good and bad side of the phenomenon which lets the viewer make their own mind up on it.
My favourite though was the Lizard: a great good ol' time Southern boy who was convinced he was going to make it in the WWF. He could do some great high spots (Swanton bomb through a table) but his regular work was shocking. He tried out for Tough Enough and was invited to Las Vegas but he didn't make the cut. He eventually went to a wrestling school and made his pro debut for an Indie organisation. His gimmick was to hiss at the audience, forgetting of course that it is a snake that hisses. He was a really likeable guy and he was the feel good story of the doco.
If you get the chance, check it out. The doco doesn't make a judgement on backyard wrestling-it shows the good and bad side of the phenomenon which lets the viewer make their own mind up on it.
