Friday 14 September 2007

Paul Burchill Shoot Interview - DVD Review

Shortly before his departure for pastures new in WWE, British wrestling star Paul Burchill sat down with the FWA Academy production crew for his first ever shoot interview.
From his beginnings as a WWE fan, Burchill talks of his start in the wrestling business, from his first training stint at the Hammerlock training school, before he moved on to the FWA’s academy, under the tutelage of Mark Sloan, and training alongside the likes of James Tighe.

It was with the FWA that Burchill first made his name, becoming the rookie monster as he made several run-ins, beginning with his demolition of the New Breed at British Uprising towards the end of 2002.

From there, Burchill made his FWA debut proper at Frontiers of Honor, as well as honing his skills on the British wrestling circuit for Brian Dixon’s All-Star Wrestling and John Freemantle’s Premier Promotions, honing his mat wrestling skills, showing the fans that he was far more than a monster with a few flashy moves. This eventually led to his stints in Italy and Japan.

But while Burchill says he is grateful for the start the FWA gave him, the way he was booked at times, specifically when he teamed with Andy Simmons, a man he had been feuding with, he feels that some of the aura he had built up was lost at that point.

The WWE deal is also discussed here, although for obvious reasons he doesn’t go into exact details here. He tells of how Drew McDonald arranged his try-out match, and how he felt about being head-hunted by the world’s biggest wrestling promotion.

In all, Burchill comes across as a likeable and personable man, who is passionate about his chosen profession, and who has laid down clear career goals for himself. However, while watching this interview, I couldn’t help but have mixed emotions about this release. While it was obvious that this interview was released to capitalize on Burchill’s impending WWE debut, it just seemed too soon to record an interview of this type, just under four years into his wrestling career. Aside from his slight disagreement with the FWA booking team, there’s no real controversy or insight into the wrestling business here, and that insight is something that comes with a good number of years in the business.

Extras on this two disc set come in the form of a training bout with “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson filmed at the FWA Academy, and a music video chronicling Burchill’s career in Britain.

To order this DVD, log onto www.a-merchandise.co.uk and click on the FWA Academy link on the menu.

No comments:

Post a Comment