Bloodstained Memoirs is Good, Not Great
In 2005, production began on a brand new wrestling documentary. This was to be Bloodstained Memoirs, and if you're a wrestling fan on Facebook or Twitter, I'm sure you've heard or seen something about it. The film asks some serious questions to some of the best in the business, including Chris Jericho, Ultimo Dragon, Keiji Mutoh (Great Muta), Roddy Piper, and Christian. Christian, interestingly enough, was interviewed upon his sabbatical from WWE, and working with TNA. A lot of his comments seem very corporate and careful, I'm sure a tactic taught well by the PR boys and girls at Titan Towers.
The realness of this movie picks up right away, when Ultimo Dragon, who's the first to be interviewed, explains how he had multiple surgeries on his arm so that he could still compete. His hands and fingers all suffer because of this, nerves severed. Piper talks about wrestlers hurting one another in the ring, and tells the story of Wendi Richter getting pinned by Moolah, in the original screwjob. Jimmy Snuka talks about Bruiser Brody getting stabbed to death in Puerto Rico and how he had tagged with him earlier in his career. But the whole show is peaked, with the words of Keiji Mutoh.
The Great Muta talks about the differences between working in Japan and working in the States. He goes on to discuss his time working in the office at New Japan as well as the work he did with Sting and Ric Flair. He even has a hilarious story, about how WCW hired him to come and do something, but by the time he got there, the guy that had hired him was fired.
In his first post WWE interview, Rob Van dam talks about One Night Stand, and going to war with John Cena, along with why he thought he wasn't getting pushed and why he wasn't happy with the return of ECW. This comes across as bitter and disappointed, and I don't know if I blame him. I know that Rob feels his best years were in ECW, there's no denying that. He's said it every where he can get it printed. But you have to evolve and you have to move on. Rumors are circulating that he's to be showing up in TNA on Monday. Let's see if that brings back some of the lightning in his step.
There were some troubles with this production coming out of the gate. Lawsuits, a YouTube Leak, and some concept changes in the early goings all contributed to the long period of time that it took to get Bloodstained Memoirs off the ground and hitting the internet. The quality of the production isn't as polished as something you would see from WWE, but it looks better than most of the RF Video shoots I've seen lately on YouTube. Interestingly, the producers at this point, have only released it online and only from their website. For a registration fee you can get your password and cuddle up with your laptop as host Al Snow brings you some of the great stories and opinions of some of the great names in the business.
I won't go through all the interviews here, because with nine interviews, it would defeat the purpose of you paying to see something very, very special. The men and woman who were interviewed for this project are all very honest, open, and critical. The interviews open a window into a world that for most is clouded with doubt and mistruths. Although the interviewer can come across as bland and annoying at times, it's clear that this is a labor of love, and that the work put into it shows, that even in the face of adversity, a great story can still break through.
The documentary is available online at www.bloodstainedmemoirs.com
Jeff Goodridge is a freelance writer and lifelong wrestling fan. One year for Christmas, his best friend Blair gave him a Macho Man Randy Savage bandanna he had owned since the early 80's. Jeff wears it to wrestling events to this day, always with his friend in mind.
