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WWE News: Recap of WWE stars on Food Network - Santino & Miz stand-out performances, how to book a TV wrestling show
Nov 12, 2009 - 9:30:34 AM |
By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor
WWE wrestlers The Miz and Santino were the stars of last night's edition of "Dinner: Impossible" on the Food Network that featured wrestlers and personalities preparing a number of dishes during Summerslam weekend this past August in Los Angeles.
The premise of the show was chef Robert Irvine having the task of making dishes based on wrestlers's finishing moves in time for a pre-Summerslam VIP party. In the kitchen helping him were The Miz, Santino, Gail Kim, and Jim Ross.
Miz's heel personality stood out throughout the hour-long episode, as he was shown driving a motorized cart in the grocery store ala George Costanza on Seinfeld, getting into a food fight with Santino, and failing at every food preparation task he was given.
Santino also stood out for being, well, Santino. He remained in-character through the final 30 minutes of the show when he "arrived" in the kitchen to assist in the meal preparation.
Taking a broader look at the show, Food Network put together one of the better wrestling TV shows of the year drawing from many of the elements used from basic pro wrestling TV.
An issue was started at the top of the show when Stephanie McMahon and Big Show gave Chef Robert the task, the issue was developed over the course of the show, there were twists and turns along the way, complications came up, characters were spotlighted and developed, and there was a final segment of satisfaction for the viewer after investing an hour of time watching the show.
The following is a segment-by-segment break down of how the show went down.
Segment 1
The episode opened with a shot of a WWE ring outside of Staples Center at Summerslam. Out comes Stephanie McMahon and Big Show with Chef Robert selling awe at Big Show's size. The idea is that he was not given any instructions ahead of time and Stephanie McMahon was there to tell him what's going on.
Stephanie plugged Summerslam and said she wanted Robert to complete a superstar meal for WWE VIPs. Each dish with the name of a finishing move. He has nine hours. Big Show, of course, used intimidation as a threat if Robert didn't get the job done.
Jim Ross and The Miz were waiting for Chef Robert in the kitchen. Miz and Ross demonstrated holds on Robert, who turned finishers into dishes in a "six degrees of separation" way. For example, Green Mist was turned into a green liquid drink and the frog splash was turned into deep-fried frog legs, which Linda McMahon was shown eating at the very end of the show.
Miz then accompanied Robert and his team to Ralph's grocery store. Highlight was Miz riding around on a motorized cart ala George Costanza on Seinfeld.
Segment 2
They were down to five hours to get cooking. Miz was shown breaking chickens, which he failed at miserably to begin a theme of Miz being "all talk, no cook," as Robert said several times in post-produced voice-overs.
Miz was then shown chopping onions like a kid in school with no technique. It became a recurring theme for Miz to act like a kid with Chef Robert reprimanding him like a teacher. Very basic storytelling targeting WWE's kids demo, but Miz still shined with his scripted promos on the show.
One of the other chefs on the team revealed that his favorite wrestler is Rey Mysterio. Miz told him to go home and send his kid a message: "I'm The Miz and I'm awesome."
Meanwhile, Jim Ross was shown making some "WWE main event level BBQ sauce." At the end of the segment, Miz was shown pretending to cut a promo on Robert, but it was a potato with a little face on it.
Segment 3
They were down to three hours left without any of the dishes done yet. "Lots of characters in the kitchen. TIme is running out," Robert said .
Miz, the heel, got his comeuppance when he tried a piece of pork drenched in a special sauce that made him speechless, which everyone pointed out.
Jim Ross was shown BBQ'ing chicken, then Gail Kim entered 25 minutes into the show. Gail was given the task of cutting lettuce for the "Chop Block Salad."
Ross then asked for a house mic and it dropped down from the kitchen ceiling, Mr. Kennedy style. Ross said he made the best BBQ sauce over, but had to leave. He sarcastically said the good news is that Miz was still there.
Miz was then given the task of making his Skull Crushing Finale - little scoops of ice cream with raspberry and chocolate sauce. Heel gets his comeuppance again with a not-so-manly dish to make.
Suddenly, the narrative gave us a twist when Chef Robert discovered that JR's BBQ Chicken burned after he left. Chef Robert had to toss it all out and start from scratch. Good hook to stay tuned if he could still complete the task.
Segment 4
They're now under three hours and in trouble. This is where the narrative switched to more of the "science of cooking" rather than the character interplay between the chef, the team, and the wrestlers.
Santino then arrived 33 minutes into the show to shift the focus back on the characters. Santino engaged the chef in a pose-off, then he cracked eggs with his elbows, playing up his dim-witted character. Chef Robert gave him instructions and Santino replied, "Oh, like ah to make an omelets."
Miz was shown complaining about Chef Robert's credentials. "All he's really doing is yelling at people," he suggested. Santino then called over to Miz from across the kitchen: "Hey, Miz. You ah probably suck, right?"
Santino then inserted a plug for his own make-believe cooking show, Cooking with Santino. "I'm ah faster than fire," he said.
They were down to two hours when a food fight broke out between Santino and Miz. They cut to break with a hook for how it would be resolved and how Chef/The Mean Teacher Robert would handle it.
Segment 5
Miz and Santino were shown chasing each other around the kitchen. Robert told Santino to put the scallops down before separating the kids. Santino, of course, accused Miz of starting the whole fight.
"If these guys want to act like children, then I'll treat them like children," Robert said. Miz was then forced to sweep up the floor.
The show focused on the food preparation, cooking techniques, etc. as they were down to crunch time reviewing the menu board.
First mention of John Cena, who had a Hot Wings dish named after his finisher because Cena likes hot food, according to Chef Robert.
There finally seemed to be a resolution to the issue in sight as the team began completing dishes, but then a new character entered. Catering said some VIPs are arriving early and they need dishes out 30 minutes early. No one ever arrives 30 minutes early in Los Angeles, but now there is a new issue to be resolved...on the other side of the break.
Segment 6
They come back from break with some "crunch time" music to heighten the drama of needing to be ready 30 minutes early. VIPs are already at the event because WWE's Summerslam Axxess event ended early.
Chef Robert made the first deadline with some of the dishes out 30 minutes in advance. They begin rushing to the end, but give us only a brief glimpse of the final preparations. Like a main event TV match ending with a run-in after five minutes.
They cut to a shot of The Miz on stage with Santino and Gail Kim talking to the VIPs about how they made the food. Chef Robert then joined them on stage.
The final five minutes showed WWE fans (the VIPs) munching down on food. Santino was shown doing his facial expressions after each bite. There appeared to be a cameo by Dr. Mike Knox sporting glasses and his beard was tied up in a neat knot.
The final few shots of the "VIP room" were of celebrities, including Champ (David Koechner) from Anchorman. Linda McMahon was then shown eating frog legs. That'll go on a campaign button.
The show then closed with Robert back in the ring with Big Show ready to face him in a thumb war center ring. Appropriate conclusion to a show focused on wrestlers behaving like children. Show made Robert's thumb disappear to close the show.
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