By Sean Radican, Torch columnist

RADICAN’S HOODSLAM DVD REVIEW SERIES
“I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST HOODSLAM”
APRIL 8, 2011
OAKLAND, CALIF.

RESULTS

(1) Chicano Flame beat Jeckles the Jester

(2) Prawn Cena & Mr. Hoodslam II beat Crocodile Hunter & Super Red Rhino 2099 in a Jeff Hardy Memorial Lethal Lottery Battlebowl Tournament match

(3) E. Honda & Otis the Gimp beat Gotha the Bi-Polar Clown & Super Tiger in a Jeff Hardy Memorial Lethal Lottery Battlebowl Tournament match

(4) Kassy Summers & El Chupacabra beat Zombie Vinny Butabi & Mega Man in a Jeff Hardy Memorial Lethal Lottery Battlebowl Tournament match

(5) Miss Bratt beat Sal Lundy (w/Grand Master G)

(6) Lucha Magnifico & Rick Scott Stoner (w/ Scott Rick Stoner & Villano 420) beat Juiced Lee & Invisible Charlie Chaplin Jeff Hardy Memorial Lethal Lottery Battlebowl Tournament match

(7) Rasta Mysterio beat Johnny Drinko Butabi in a Mask vs. Career match

(8) Caitlin Gill beat Johnny Drinko Butabi

(9) Lucha Magnifco eliminated Otis the Gimp to win the Jeff Hardy Memorial Lethal Lottery Battlebowl Tournament

Overall thoughts: This show was a big improvement over “So I Married A Hoodslammer,” which is the only other DVD available from Hoodslam right now. The production was a lot better in terms of lighting compared to the first show. This time around, the show was built around a Jeff Hardy Memorial Lethal Lottery Battlebowl tournament. The teams were randomly generated throughout the show on a computer manned by color commentator Steven Segal. Before you ask, it wasn’t the real Steven Segal, but instead it was someone dressed like him. The winners of each tag team match advanced to the finals of the tournament, which was contested under Battle Royal rules. It was explained at the beginning of the show that the winner of the Battlebowl finals gets to pick any match they want at any Hoodslam event at any time.

JCW’s Kevin Gill handled the play by play commentary all night with Segal by his side. They were also joined by comedian Caitlin Gill at one point. She’s not really to Kevin. Gill and Segal were really funny all night, especially their jokes about crappy Dell computers that were made while the computer randomly generated teams for the tournament matches throughout the night. I’ve had some really bad experiences with Dell, so the commentary hit home with me.

The matches were almost all hilarious, although some of the humor goes a bit far for me. As I said in my last review, this company puts on wrestling shows unlike any I’ve seen mixing dark humor with pop culture references, stoner humor, and videogame references as well.

The Crocodile Hunter & Super Red Rhino 2099 vs. Mr. Hoodslam II & Prawn Cena match was funny simply because Crocodile Hunter did commentary while beating up his opponent and when the tables were turned on him, he continued to do commentary. Of course, Otis the Gimp lived up to his gimmick and came to the ring with an inflatable sheep. Neither Gotho nor Super Tiger wanted anything to do with Otis during their match. Of course, Otis pinned and molested Tiger to win the match. KG got off a funny line during the match when he said, “Before Steven Segal, we would just talk things out. “

There were two performances during the show and neither was very entertaining to me. The New Eccentrics came out during the early part of the show. This act featured a man singing a song, only to be mauled by a topless zombie woman. Later the Displayed Labors Sideshow came out featuring a man and a woman doing crazy stuff. The only thing the Displayed Labors Sideshow performance left me wondering was if that woman is so hardcore, why does she wash the worms before eating them.

I think the highlight of the entire undercard was the Zombie Vinny Butabi & Mega Man vs. Kassy Summers & El Chupacabra match. I don’t think I ever laughed as hard as I laughed when Mega Man blasted Chupacabra with his arm cannon complete with blast special effects appearing on screen. Chupacabra flying into the turnbuckles after taking the arm cannon blast. What sealed it though was Steven Segal saying after the spot, “This is real,” which is one of the tongue in cheek mottos of Hoodslam with the other being “F--- the fans.”

The way the Johnny Drinko Butabi angle played out was hilarious. I don’t want to ruin it for fans, but the entire shows plays into a storyline that climaxes at the end of the show. It was cleverly done and plays into a common stereotype in the wrestling business. It’s also crazy to think of all the things that were done just to set up the payoff in the main event.

The major negative on the show was the Sal Lundy promo before his match against Miss. Bratt. I thought it went way over the line in terms of humor I’m comfortable with. This is a promotion that doesn’t take itself seriously and features a cast of characters with everything from a gimp to E. Hondo from Street Fighter, who bumps to sound effects.

If you’re interested in checking something out that’s completely different and funny, I recommend watching this DVD. Kevin Gill and Steven Segal were both funny on commentary throughout the night and there are so many pop culture references on the show that something is bound to connect with you if you see this show. I never laugh at loud at things I see in wrestling, but this show had me laughing so hard that I scared the dog.

You can purchase this show at BirdsWillFall.com by clicking on the merchandise tab.

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