We’re going to look at episode one of the XWF and its TV tapings. This was one of several promotions formed in the wake of WCW being purchased by the WWE and features many former WCW superstars.
What Was XWF?
A couple of episodes—if not the entire takings—can be found on YouTube and come from the posthumous DVD release of the XWF TV tapings complete with post-commentary to kick off and end each episode as well as some extra for those commercial breaks.
The way it’s shot is like…the team over WCW Saturday Night going for WWF Shotgun Saturday Night aesthetics. Everything else screams WCW B-show or Porto-TNA PPVs mixed with some edgy but clean presentation for modern viewers.
It’s an odd mix because it’s a lot of older veterans and WCW undercard talent but they all make this very watchable, super digestible one-hour show. Episode one of XWF Wrestling has a lot going on, so let’s dive in!
The Undercard
The debut episode squeezed a lot into the undercard. While watching, I figured I’d hit the main event several times only for there to be more! Mind you, the more wasn’t exactly mind-blowing or good but they got it in there.
First, Buff Bagwell beat former WCW up-and-comer Big Vito in a pretty basic TV bout. You’ll hear that a lot in this and episode two. The more veteran guys either put on their B-show game or their physical best and deliver these stock B-show matches.
Most aren’t bad at all since they deliver those matches in less time and with a snappier pace. The opener is the prime example of the match pace and approach in these matches…or how they were edited.
Thumbs in the middle for the Bagwell victory opener. The one problem is that the face and heel aren’t exactly defined. It was just a match. Now, a thumbs down goes to Maximum Force—Simon Diamond and Johnny Swinger—taking on Caged Heat.
That was just a spanking and not even an interesting one. A slightly more interesting one was “British Storm” Ian Harrison mowing through Horace Hogan. Oh, Hogan gave a bit of a scuffle but he eventually fell to Harrison’s head scissors.
That’s right, someone was beaten with a head scissors in wrestling match in front of an audience in 2001. That’s a 1940s—maybe 1950s—finish to a match. That surprised me even if the match was a basic-ass big-man bash.
In our third spanking of the episode, Jimmy Hart’s monster Hail makes things rough for Marty Jannetty—who is sporting a look you probably would’ve missed in early 2000. He looks like he got with the times and isn’t holding on to the Rockers era. I dig it.
Hail was a later WCW guy you’d probably miss. He was a Jimmy Hart project that didn’t materialize in part because of backstage and business issues. The other reason as evidenced by this match, Hail wasn’t that decent at all. Fortunately, it was short and Marty was there.
I forgot to mention that throughout the video version of the episodes we get these hype bumps with Hulk Hogan and other XWF alumni. We also get the in-show vignettes. They’re roughly the same in their edgy, “IN YOUR FACE” approach.
Also, “In Your Face” is their slogan. It’s supposed to be a modern alternative to WWF…with all this former WCW and WWF undercard talent. Think ECW with a bigger starting budget or if WCW Saturday Night was the only WCW thing not ended or sold.
On that note, the alternative logo is stupid and looks like WXF. Of note, a bunch of cruiserweights hound Commissioner Piper about opportunities in XWF. He announces a battle royal for the Cruiserweight title later in the episode.
Public Enemy—or the South Philly Posse—are here and up to shenanigans. Nothing new there.
The battle royal for the XWF Cruiserweight title was a super brief affair featuring a young AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Kid Kash as Kid Krash, Prince Iaukea as The Tongan Prince, Billy Fives, Psicosis, and Low Ki as Quick Kick. Basically, most of TNA’s starting X-Division line-up and a few future champions.
If this was clipped, I’d love to have seen it in full because it needed more time. Even with the lack of time, this was the most eventful match of the episode. We had dives, sharp kicks, counters—everything that got applause in the early 2000s—all in under five minutes.
This had to be clipped since Jimmy Hart and Brian Knobbs—the videos’ hosts—mentioned a match that got a standing ovation. There wasn’t enough here to garner that but this match could’ve definitely got it.
My indifference towards Prince Iaukea in WCW runs through our retro reviews. Here as Tongan Prince, he wasn’t bad at all. Actually, he was typically more basic than bad. In this match, he didn’t seem out of place with the younger cruisers.
The finish to the battle royal was very mid but the match itself was exciting and the best of the episode. I give it a thumbs up.
Another thumbs-up match was the Nasty Boys taking on the Shane Twins. We all knew the Nasty Boys from WWE and WCW as two nasty brawlers with some power to them. By the late 90s they were just two rough brawlers…which worked for me here and there.
The Shane Twins are interesting in that they were this team of big heavyweight power brawlers who popped up everywhere on the indies in the 2000s. By 2005 they were rotting in WWE’s Deep South Wrestling developmental camp.
So, they’re a team many have never seen. Much like Billy Fives in the battle royal. These two looked really good against the veteran Nasty Boys. While the Nastys had the advantage for most of the match and utilized their…nasty tactics.
The Shane Twins looked like two rough housers who could handle the Nasty Boys here. One twin even caught Knobbs with a forearm smash out of the corner for the win. It seemed like a fluke win but Knobbs ate that forearm.
It was enjoyable, brief, and the Nasty Boys weren’t exposed. Also, the Shane Twins looked good. Thumbs up.
The Main Event
Closing out the debut is Vampiro versus Curt Hennig. Again, we got B-match game mixed with a brisk pace. They’re wrestling like this is going in the can for syndication—and I dig this pace!
Hennig looked fine in the match as did Vampiro. They both hit their hits minus Hennig’s bumping. Heenan was doing a good job outside the ring as Hennig’s manager—er, agent. Vampire making Hennig sweat in the bout. Heenan had something loaded for his guy but Commissioner Piper came out. He snatched whatever it was and blasted Hennig with it—in the view of the ref. The ref saw everything.
Vampire picked up the win here. I’d say that this was a thumbs-up weekend wrestling match. It was eventful and had some build for a story in the next episode.
XWF TV #1: Silver Medal (Thumbs in the Middle for the Undercard, Thumbs Up for the Main Event)
Overall, this was a breezy episode that hit you with a lot to introduce you to the show’s regulars. Promos are kept short, the matches are condensed, and the opening angle moved along fast enough that it didn’t bog the episode down.
Rena Mero as CEO was interesting as it was a new role for her and I’m looking forward to seeing what becomes of that. The battle royal was hands down the most eventful match of the episode but the main event was also watchable as it was kicking off a story.
Match of the Episode: XWF Cruiserweight Title Battle Royal
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