DVD Review – Superstars Of Wrestling presents ‘Superclash 2′

 
By Nathan P Hunt

Event: Superclash 2 – Presented by Superstars Of Wrestling
Held at Gloucester GL1 Leisure Center, Saturday October 4th 2014
Available from www.hfponline.co.uk/product/superclash-2/

 

Superstars Of Wrestling is a British company run by wrestler/promoter Matt Jarrett and always features a mix of homegrown and international talent from all levels of the industry. Having been in the business himself since 1995, Jarrett began promoting shows under the SOW banner in 2007. The card for Superclash 2 was an impressive lineup including stars of New Japan Pro Wrestling and internationally renowned names who have appeared on some of wrestling’s biggest stages.
Having attended the live show and reviewed it for another website, I will avoid reviewing the intracacies and results of each match where possible, so as not to risk repeating myself from elsewhere.

Released as a two disc set, with the card divided into halves of just over an hour each, the box and discs are beautifully and professionally presented. The DVD starts with the in-ring 10 bell salute for the recently deceased British wrestling superfan “Mad” Eli Collins, where the British wrestlers on the card holiding a silent vigil for the tireless supporter of the national scene. The immediate impression is that the production values are excellent, with good camera work, lighting and footage quality. Immediately following the segment, we are introduced to the commentary team of Carl Ford & Peter Nixon, who prove to be a competent (and somewhat entertaining at times) duo. They remain focused on the action and performers in the match at any given time and do not detract from the show by falling into the pitfalls of WWE and TNA announcers (amongst others), who usually have to populate their shows with annoying plugs and segues about other matches on the card. Despite the fast paced action of matches such as the opener between Brian Kendrick and Jonny Storm, the cameras are always well positioned and the show is edited extremely well, with the shots carefully and skillfully chosen to best capture & represent the action on offer. The graphics used between matches to depict the performers in each bout are also of a generally high quality for a British independent release and while the physical entranceway is slightly underwhelming, the way that the entrances are captured and the sound quality are of a high standard. Generally speaking, the overall production values for the release are easily way above your average independent wrestling release. Even the little touches such as the professional appearance of the ring announcer and referees have been taken into account to give the overall presentation a more major league feel than some of SOW’s counterparts.
The aforementioned opener between Kendrick and Storm is an excellently performed, crowd-pleasing cruiserweight contest which includes some entertaining and exciting exchanges. It sets a good pace for the evening and gets the crowd into the action immediately, which translates well to the DVD as the audience remain fairly vocal throughout and give a good audio backdrop to the in-ring action and commentary.
The four way match which follows between Kenzo Richards, Phil Powers, Jimmy Meadows and Frankie Sloan is a strong match which features a mixture of styles and action. It is another fairly fast paced match and with one performer stealing the show during the match with his impeccable execution, it is a welcome result when the heel in question pulls off the victory. The contest which follows it between event promoter Matt Jarrett and World Of Sport legend Mal Sanders translates better to DVD than it seemed to in person. While much slower paced than the action which preceeded it, the technicality and strong use of fundamental wrestling is a welcome throwback and adds a dimension to the card which should be absolutely necessary to any British wrestling show.
Paul London Vs Nathan Cruz blends technical wrestling with high flying action in a well executed and well recieved match where Cruz is impeccable as the vicious, bitter heel. With much of London’s entrance edited out of the DVD (out of neccessity), it is a shame that Nathan Cruz’s entertaining efforts at the live event, such as feigning sleep and relaxing in the corner while waiting for the Intrepid Traveller to finally reach the ring, are lost to the home video audience. However, that certainly does not diminsh the match itself. Each of the men work extremely hard and it pays off as the audience is visibly and audibly absorbed as the match reaches its exciting conclusion.
We are then introduced to Ricky Knight, with sons Roy and Zak, The UK Hooligans. After a well delivered heel promo from Ricky and Zak, their opponents (Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger, Danny Collins and David Finlay Jr) come out to an impressive ovation. Dave Finlay Jr, the son of legendary Dave ‘Fit’ Finlay (of WWE, WCW, WoS and general international fame) spends much of this match playing the role of rookie babyface, executing some fantastic offense between taking some brutal beatdowns from the dastardly heels. With the high level of performance throughout this match from all particpants, it stands up to the calibre you may expect from an international pay-per-view, and comes highly recommended. Their scheduled rematch in a cage at Superclash 3, which is made in the aftermath of this match will no doubt be another instant classic.
Also absent from the DVD release is a presentation ceremony featuring the three man babyface team giving some flowers to the daughter of Robbie Brookside; British wrestling institution and current trainer at WWE’s development facility. While a nice and crowd-pleasing moment at the event itself, I cannot imagine that the segment would translate to the DVD in any meaningful or valuable way and so this was probably the reason for its ommittance.
Martin Stone takes on Davey Boy Smith Jr (Harry Smith) for the Stu Hart Heritage Championship next. The chemistry between the two makes for a very strong match and watching the pair work together is enough to make anyone wonder why WWE would release either of them, as they put in a hard fought and well crafted battle. Then in the penultimate match of the card, Chris Bambi Killer Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi is a hard hitting, high flying, eclectic match which certainly does not disappoint but runs quite short at only around 10 minutes. Nevertheless, the match is well worth watching and would serve as a decent introduction to either performer for anyone who may not be familiar with them.
The main event is a brilliant triple threat match, pitting IWGP Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles against Doug Williams and Rampage Brown in the first ever defense of the New Japan title in the UK. The performers all make a good account of themselves and hard work pays off again as the crowd are eager and excited for the action throughout. The action is once again captured perfectly for the DVD, with some expertly framed high spots and great close-ups of Doug & Rampage’s excellent facial expressions.

Closing with a thank-you promo to the fans from AJ Styles, the DVD captures a general feel-good atmosphere for the event and is family friendly without being cartoonish. Overall it has something for everyone and is well produced, making it a valuable addition to any collection. The strength in quality is superb in terms of the production as well as the content, which makes it easy to watch and is varied enough to maintain interest throughout. Highly entertaining and highly recommended, it is just a shame that the promotion do not yet have their own website and store where their offerings can be more easily found. Even knowing that the DVD had been released, a simple google search didn’t take me to the page where I could buy it, so I had to find SOW’s facebook page and locate the link from there. There are no extras on the release, but with a card this stacked the DVD already boasts a wealth of content. I would highly recommend the DVD, as I feel that any wrestling fan would value it and would undoubtedly find something, if not everything, which they would thoroughly enjoy.

Get your copy of Superstars Of Wrestling’s Superclash 2 DVD here: www.hfponline.co.uk/product/superclash-2/

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My Superclash 1 DVD review can be found on page 82 of Total Wrestling Magazine's April 2015 issue, which you can view online here.

(This review was originally posted on the 'Inside The Squared Circle' website on 19th December 2014, but was moved here as it is more relevant to the content of this site. You can see my other contributions to that site here.)