professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
documentary released online via an official stream in 2009. It is compiled by interviews featuring wrestlers synonymous with different eras in wrestling (1970s to 2000s) and different wrestling regions (
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
and
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, Japan and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. When interviewed for ''Fighting Spirit'' magazine, director David Sinnott stated, "I don't intend this film to be negative. It's too easy to sell people bad news."
In October 2011, the documentary was made available on DVD.
Background information
It is said that the original concept was to be a mixture of drama and reality, with fictional “dramatic” scenes already filmed with ex-WWE wrestler, and ITV ''
Celebrity Wrestling
''Celebrity Wrestling'' is a British television programme, broadcast on ITV in 2005. It involved two teams of celebrities, competing against each other in wrestling style events. The series was presented by Kate Thornton and Rowdy Roddy Piper ...
'' Coach
Joe Legend
Joseph Edward Hitchen (born September 2, 1969) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler and trainer, known under his ring name Joe E. Legend. He also wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 2000 to 2001 under the ring name Just J ...
. Two of these dramatic scenes were released for the first time on the DVD release. The drama concept was dropped in favour of extended interviews.
Cast
Hosted by
Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven (born July 18, 1963) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Al Snow. He is best known as a wrestler for Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Wrestling Entertainment. Sn ...
, the interview-based documentary revolves around nine internationally recognised and critically acclaimed wrestlers:
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jerich ...
,
Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling ...
,
Mick Foley
Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American actor, author, retired professional wrestler, and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE under the company's Legends program, acting as a company ambassador.
Foley worked for m ...
,
Keiji Muto
is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), where he is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for his work as in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and N ...
h,
Roddy Piper
Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor.
In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his ...
,
Jimmy Snuka
James Reiher Snuka (born James Wiley Smith; May 18, 1943 – January 15, 2017) was a Fijian American professional wrestler. He is better known by the ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka.
Snuka wrestled for several promotions from the 1970s to 2010 ...
,
Último Dragón
(born December 12, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and actor, better known as . In addition to having trained in Japan, Asai learned to wrestle in the lucha libre style while working in Mexico. He is credited with popularizing the " A ...
,
Christian Cage
William Jason Reso (born November 30, 1973) is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Christian Cage. He is best known for his tenure in WWE under the ring name Christ ...
and
Nora Greenwald
Nora Kristina Benshoof (''née'' Greenwald; born on September 7, 1977) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler signed to WWE as a producer, she is best known for her appearances with the said company from 2000 to 2005 under the ring n ...
. The film shows Van Dam's first third-party interview after leaving
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
, as well as the only shoot style interviews conducted with Último Dragón and Muto in the Western world. The interview questions are voiced over by British wrestling commentator Dean Ayass.
Leaked YouTube video
In March 2007, footage of the film featuring four minutes of interviews with Piper and Greenwald appeared on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
, claiming that it was hacked footage from the former official website. It is debated whether this was the true case or whether the video was put up for publicity. Over 160,000 people watched the video, and the news story was picked up by a number of publications, including ''
Power Slam
''Power Slam'' was an independent non-kayfabe magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1991–2014 by SW Publishing, with co-founders Findlay Martin and former ''WCW Magazine'' owner Colin Bowman. ''Power Slam'' was Europe's best-selling ...
'' magazine which adds cause to the debate that it was in fact a planted video. In time the video even made its way to the official website. Several topics were discussed in the video, including the death of
Bruiser Brody
Frank Donald Goodish (June 18, 1946 – July 17, 1988) was an American professional wrestler who earned his greatest fame under the ring name Bruiser Brody. He also worked as King Kong Brody, The Masked Marauder, and Red River Jack. Over the years ...
.
The video was taken down in late May 2009 for unknown reasons. The YouTube video proved to contain no footage which was used in the actual production itself.
Legal issues
David Sinnott, executive producer of ''Bloodstained Memoirs'', released a statement on July 30, 2008 through the official ''Bloodstained Memoirs'' MySpace page stating that documentary was facing a delay because post production services delivered to the documentary had been below standard. The company responsible for the post production services, Online Post Production Ltd., were taken to court as a result of this. The company was owned by
Hilary Lawson
Hilary Lawson is an English philosopher and founder of the Institute of Art and Ideas. His theory of "closure" puts forward a non-realist metaphysics arguing that people close the openness of the world with thought and language. Lawson has also ...
, Vice Chair of the Forum for European Philosophy at the London School of Economics and Political Science and author of Closure.
On October 24, it was revealed that the producers of ''Bloodstained Memoirs'' won the case in court for an undisclosed financial sum, and that they would be moving on to another post production facility, stating that a release date would not be far away.
Website release
In May 2009, it was revealed that production had finalized. In addition, it was revealed that
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the prom ...
president
Dixie Carter
Dixie Virginia Carter (May 25, 1939 – April 10, 2010) was an American actress. She starred as Julia Sugarbaker on the sitcom ''Designing Women'' (1986–1993) and as Randi King on the drama series ''Family Law'' (1999–2002). She was nomin ...
had given the producers footage to use from TNA's video library.
Following several more trailers, ''Bloodstained Memoirs'' became available to stream on November 23, 2009, via a subscription on the official website.
Reception
''Bloodstained Memoirs'' received positive reviews from critics. Amongst the reviews, ''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' magazine called it an ''“undertaking which paid off handsomely.”''
The Fight Network
Fight Network is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment. The network broadcasts programming related to combat sports, including mixed martial arts, boxing, kickboxing, and professional wre ...
and Wrestle Hustle labelled it as ''“something very, very special”'' and ''“brilliant”'' respectively.
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...
magazine gave it a review of 4.5/5 stating it, “delivers big.”
Future Publishing
Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, newsletters, websites, and events in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photogr ...
's DVD and Blu-ray Review magazine scored the production 4/5. MNM Radio asserted that the production featured "great stories" whilst Bill Apter's, 1 Wrestling stated the production delivered "a great piece of oral history and a fresh insight into modern wrestling." ''Inside Pulse'' summarised that ''"what is put together here is pretty phenomenal"'' and ''Film Monthly'' summarised, ''"If wrestling is an art, then it’s fun to hear the process from the artists."''
Several wrestling personalities who were not associated with the production also spoke out publicly to compliment it, such as
Paul Bearer
William Alvin Moody (April 10, 1954 – March 5, 2013) was an American professional wrestling manager and licensed funeral director. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) where he performed under ...
,
Sonjay Dutt
Retesh Bhalla (born April 7, 1982) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a producer and manager. He is best known for his time with Total Nonstop ActionImpact Wrestling under the ring name Sonjay ...
,
Missy Hyatt
Melissa Ann Hiatt (born October 16, 1963), better known by her ring name, Missy Hyatt, is an American retired professional wrestling valet, commentator, and occasional professional wrestler. She is best known for her appearances with World Cha ...
and
Lanny Poffo
Lanny Mark Poffo (born December 28, 1954), better known by his ring names "Leaping" Lanny Poffo and The Genius, is a Canadian-American professional wrestler, motivational speaker, poet, and actor. Poffo was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to ...
, something which in itself was noted by sources such as ''
The Miami Herald
The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.
The film, however, has not escaped criticism. ''Fighting Spirit'' magazine called it, ''“Something of a missed opportunity.”''
Style Weekly
''Style Weekly'' is an online alternative media outlet that was previously an alternative weekly newspaper started in November 1982 for news, arts, culture and opinion in Richmond, Virginia.
Style was originally owned by Landmark Media Enterpri ...
proclaimed, ''“interviews tend to jump into nitty-gritty wrestling knowledge without setting up scenarios so that casual fans will get lost in the details.”''
Following the success of the documentary, an iPhone
application
Application may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks
** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...
was released in September 2011 featuring unreleased footage of the documentary.
A Kindle book titled "The Making of Bloodstained Memoirs" was released in May 2012. The book is authored by the film's director and looks at the making of the production. The book reached #1 in both the American and the United Kingdom Amazon stores within several categories including Wrestling, Film & Television and Direction & Production.
Six years after the release of ''Bloodstained Memoirs'', the director would release his second wrestling film ''
Nine Legends
''Nine Legends'' is a professional wrestling documentary released online via an official stream in January 2016. The film features interviews with seven professional wrestlers, boxer and occasional wrestling personality Mike Tyson and former amate ...
''.
DVD release
In early October 2011, a new trailer was put online with the news that ''Bloodstained Memoirs'' was being released for the first time ever on DVD. The DVD was released on October 17, 2011, reaching the top 10 of the Amazon.com sports chart.
A Special Edition DVD was released on October 16, 2012. This version includes footage of a match between Foley and Snuka, as well as additional interviews with
Christy Hemme
Christina Lee Hemme ( ; born October 28, 1980) is an American former professional wrestler, singer and model. She is best known for her time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (now known as Impact Wrestling) as a ring announcer and one of the o ...
,
Juventud Guerrera
Eduardo Aníbal González Hernández (born November 23, 1974) is a Mexican professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Juventud "Juvi" Guerrera.
Guerrera is best known for his appearances with the Mexican professional wrestling prom ...
, and Tigers and Monkeys (the band that contributed to the film's soundtrack). In addition, an extended interview with Piper is also included, plus a discussion on the film by ''Aftermath Wrestling'' hosts
Arda Ocal
Arda Ocal ( tr, Arda Öcal; born May 7, 1981) is a Canadian television personality, broadcaster, announcer, and writer. He previously worked in WWE under the stage name Kyle Edwards, as well as the host of Aftermath TV on Sportsnet 360 and The MSG ...