by ...Really really ***ing good.
I don't care. I don't care if it's not a work. I don't care if it's
somewhat...well...not so flashy, or kinda cheesy, or something.
Dammit, it *really* is great tv. It's obvious it's going to take a LOT
to light a fire under this show, audience-wise, because the action will
go over the heads of 99% of the audience out there watching TV. But if
you're a fan of *wrestling* and you like grapplers, and tend to lean
towards grappling styles in MMA, you'll love it. It's technical, it's
fast, and I honestly have a great deal of respect for the skills these
guys display. They're legit top notch wrestlers and so far, it's done a
great job of being somewhat "explosive".
Now...if you're a fan of *professional* wrestling...I dunno. You're
going to have to have a background in amateur wrestling and you're going
to have to let the whole idea of a work go out the window. There are no
angles, there are no "stories" and there are no "characters". It's much
the same as the UFC has been doing, building pseudo-angles around the
way the action in the ring dictates. There are natural "feuds" and
natural "angles" that arise from the way they've set up the competition,
so they've done a terrific job of making amateur wrestling more
"interesting" or "tv-friendly".
I'd love to see it get a push, get an audience, and last past this
season. I sat down tonight to watch the first couple of episodes that I
had tivo'ed on FSN, where apparently it's also airing besides PAX, and
I'm sold. I'm going to stick with it, because at this point, I'm
actually engaged...