So, let’s keep it retro but get into a little something more recent—at least within the last 15 years or so. We’re definitely in the 21st century. Let’s look at MTV’s Wrestling Society X! If you enjoy loud, crash TV-style wrestling, WSX might be right up your alley.
WSX is basically an Xtreme Pro Wrestling offshoot featuring a lot of the company’s alumni from staff to the commentary to the wrestlers. That means expect a lot of XPW flavor here.
Storylines in This Episode
The shows ran for 20-minutes at most of a 30-minute block. Our first episode doesn’t have much in the way of storylines. This is more of a pilot to show the style and approach of Wrestling Society X.
Trust me, they start to develop stories later on. Managing to get all the action and drama done within 20-minutes is an impressive feat.
Also, there’s a musical performance from guest commentator/singer/guitarist Zakk Wylde and his band Black Label Society. As this is a Train Wreck Theater review, it’s being reviewed on how much a train wreck the show was.
If it was exceptionally mild, it’s “Safe to View” or a 4.75 out of 10 and below. Should it be the worst thing ever booked and put to video it’s deemed “Unsafe for Viewing” or a 7 out of 10 and above.
Anything between 5 and 6.75 is “Cause for Concern.”
Mid-Tier
Jack Evans taking on Matt Sydal—better known as Evan Bourne—is a battle between two current All Elite Wrestling stars. This was a fast-paced, flashy spot-fest that condensed their best stuff into four minutes.
Evans picks up the win against attempted interference from Sydal’s valet Lizzy Valentine in an exciting bout that showcased what WSX was presenting. Seriously, it was so fast and brief that there was nothing to note.
After this match, we had a battle royal to establish the contenders to crown the first WSX Champion.
The competitors include former ECW World Champion Justin Credible, former WWE European and Tag Champion 6-Pac, current Impact Wrestling X Division Champion Puma (TJP/Manik/TJ Perkins), Al Katrazz, former XPW TV Champion Kaos, former ECW Tag Champion New Jack, Youth Suicide, Chris Hamrick, and former WCW Tag Champion Vampiro.
This was a 100-percent car crash. It was madness, folks! You had flashy flying, wild—for the 2000s—spots, and lots of hardcore action. Around the ring were tables and pits that exploded once someone landed on them.
If someone was eliminated, they were falling on or through something. The goal was to climb the ladders and grab one of two contracts for the title match next week.
Of course, we had New Jack targeting Hamrick, eliminating himself, and putting Hamrick through a table. Just thought that should be noted.
After several eliminations, we were left with 6-Pac, Justin Credible, Vampiro, Youth Suicide, and Teddy Hart. 6-Pac manages to get a contract first then Vampiro after managing to deal with Youth Suicide and Credible.
Wrestling Society X #1 Verdict: Safe to View (3.5/10)
I want to note that the main event was the first match where Zakk Wylde actually got to contribute to the commentary. His commentary partners Kriss Kloss and Bret Ernst were shouting and yelling the whole time but with the action and pace of the show, I can overlook it.
Even with the crowd plants, overbooking, over-production, explosion, endless yelling, and—wow, this sounds a description of Hell’s waiting room, actually. Despite all of that, WSX had a product direction.
Fast-paced, violent, exciting wrestling that could fill half an hour. The first episode of WSX did just enough to meet those general goals and produce a show for MTV’s demographic.
Matches were kept short to stay within that time slot. Plus, spot-heavy matches and extreme brawls are usually better when they’re kept shorter.
The longer they go, the more bleh they become so WSX did well there. Capping this off, there was no reason for ring announcer Kevin Kleinrock to yell people’s introductions and have pyro for opening the show.
However, it fit the show so I can’t totally boo it. It’s obnoxious as hell but it fits the product. Ultimately, this episode wasn’t a bad first impression.
It wasn’t a great one but I enjoyed the show and it would’ve gotten a 5 on the Into the Vault reviews. The match of the episode was the contender’s battle royal.
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