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LOOKING AT THE RING ROASTS: TERRY FUNK DVD RELEASE

I had a chance to check out the Kayfabe Commentaries' DVD release of Ring Roasts 2 - Terry Funk over the last few days.  I was in attendance at the event and thought it was a unique fun event, but a mixed bag.  For a "roast", much of the time, it turned into a tribute to Terry Funk, which is fine, especially in my book, as the man is the best of all time in my eyes.

There are some wonderful stores here about Funk, from Mick Foley's fun recounting of the IWA King of the Death matches and the ECW fire incident to Mike Graham telling stories about Funk using a hand grenade on Independence Day to show everyone what a "real firecracker was" to Kevin Von Erich's great memories of how he was taught that to succeed you do things "a certain way" and then Funk succeeded by ignoring all those rules, its a nice collection of stories for a truly remarkable individual.

The highlight from an emotional standpoint is Dennis Stamp of "Beyond the Mat" fame, nearly breaking down as he told stories of Funk going far and above the call of duty to visit with dying children in the Amarillo area.  Stamp, who was probably booked as a lark based on the "I'm not booked" scene in the Barry Blaustein documentary, went from getting a small, polite reaction to a long, extended roaring response.   Sometimes, you get the best out of someone you least expect to get it from and that was the story here.

However, when you expect a roast, you want scathing, sometimes downright evil jokes - especially since it's all in good fun out of love.

Thankfully for everyone who will see this DVD, we have the Lisa Lamponelli of professional wrestling, Missy Hyatt.  Unlike many of those on the dais who looked downright befuddled and/or uncomfortable at times, Hyatt took all her shots with grace and humor, no matter how perverse and twisted they were.  Then, when it was her turn, she proceeded to steal the entire show with what was absolutely the best set all night from a comedy standpoint.   It was obvious Hyatt got the point of what the event was supposed to be and came out swinging with what was probably the best mic work of her career.  From nailing Superstar Graham for his Sybil-like love/hate relationship with WWE depending on whether he was earning a paycheck there or not, quips about New Jack's legal history, Kevin Sullivan's booking prowess and much more, Hyatt gave a Wrestlemania level performance here.

One of the selling points of the first Roasts DVD was the controversy of Scott Hall's reaction to a tasteless Owen Hart joke.  Well, enter New Jack, who terrified some of the comedians to the point it strangled their own sets, who started his own appearance by promising not to repeat his mistake from the 1997 ECW Tribute to Terry Funk dinner where Jack went on and on about himself for almost 45 minutes - and then allowed history to repeat itself.  If you like New Jack, it's the undiluted, Raw promo you'd expect from him. 

To Kayfabe Commentaries' credit however, they did edit out the most cringe worthy moment of the night, where Jack decides to rebuke Missy Hyatt's set, apparently believing everything she said was for real.  That rant led to an incredibly disturbing and sad scene and it's nice to see Kayfabe opted not to milk that to sell a few extra copies.  While disturbing, oddly enough, that wasn't the worst part of the night, which was Superstar Graham's crowbarring his "Vince McMahon is evil" shtick into a Terry Funk tribute.  Graham does eventually redeem himself by presenting Funk with an amazing oil painting of the former NWA and ECW champion.

The Roast event is split over two DVDs.  No extras, but none really needed.

The complete list of presenters are Mick Foley, Mike Graham, Kevin Sullivan, King Kong Bundy, Missy Hyatt, Superstar Graham, New Jack, Kevin Von Erich, Dennis Stamp, Bill Apter, and comedians Sean Morton, Matt Bridgestone and Ryan Maher.  Of the three comedians, Bridgestone is far and away the best set.

Overall, well worth the time to track down and check out.  For more information, visit www.kayfabecommentaries.com.

 

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