Search - UPW: Shock Wave on DVD

Quality < Ambition

Ed The K Motley | SCOTTSDALE, AZ United States | 03/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) prides itself as the number-one independent promotion in the country. As such, they were very excited to produce six DVD releases. The first two (Future Shock, vol. 1 & 2) saw its stars face established wrestlers. The remaining four were special events between August 2002 and January 2003.

The sound and picture quality is very raw but extremely ambitious (not unlike the independent circuits themselves). If you enjoy indy wrestling, then you already should value effort over the spectacle itself. The commentary team is Todd Keneley and Lucky; the more I hear them, the more I enjoy them.

The first matches of "Shockwave" are by far the best, and enhanced by Samoa Joe joining Todd Keneley and Lucky on commentary. In fact the second match is heralded as "one of the greatest matches in UPW! Three superstars take each other to the limit in a high-flying, hard-hitting epic in which two prestigious titles are on the line." Great match amongst UPW Lighweight champion B-Boy versus Zero-ONE Int'l Jr. Heavyweight champion Brian "Spanky" Kendrick versus Frankie "The Future" Kazarian.

Rowdy Roddy Piper hosted a classic rendition of the Piper's Pit, "classic" meaning one where he has a remote idea of what he's talking about. He discussed the likes of Lord Alfred Hayes, Ric Flair, Andre the Giant, Goldust, and a bear named Victor ("as if he needed a name").

Pro Wrestling IRON's Donovan Morgan and Mike Modest waged a war against Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes and Rocky Romero) of top-notch tag team action.

In the main event, Tom Howard extended a challenge to the man who attacked the Hardcore Kidd (his scheduled challenger). Despite the booking shuffle, the match was worthy of its "main event" status.

BONUS MATCHES

The bonus matches relive Spanky's quest for the Zero-ONE Int'l Jr. Heavyweight championship. First, Spanky met Frankie Kazarian with a crowd that defines the independent wrestling scene. In a separate feature, there is an extensive interview with Spanky regarding how that match came about, leading to the next match. Thank UPW for separating the lead-in from the second match itself, because it is very entertaining but not anything you need to hear every time you want to watch the match.

That second match is Spanky against UPW staple Smelly from Star Lanes in Japan ("Lanes" as in a bowling alley). In keeping with Japan tradition, the crowd is supportive throughout the match, and UPW provides its own commentary with Todd Keneley and Spanky himself; very amusing!

Check www.UPW.com for more information!"