Wrestling with Shadows

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Big Boss Man
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Wrestling with Shadows

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Edit: Replaced original video with the broadcast master version.

Like Beyond the Mat been years since I've seen this. It was shown here I think in 2000 on BBC2 as part of their Storyville series of documentaries. It's since been released on VHS and DVD. I believe an anniversary edition exists also. So yea, this must have been the most coincidental time to film a documentary ever, with the whole Montreal screwjob documented within it. Its still being talked about years later, whether it was a work/shoot, but seeing it all unravel on film is intriguing.

Like BTM it gave the fans a look behind the curtain and although WWE does their 24 documentaries you get their point of view on things and an independent production I think is much more interesting. As WWE have a habit of revisionist history and if WWS was a WWE documentary I doubt it would have been released.

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Bandit
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Re: Wrestling with Shadows

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A&E showed it in 1998 I think on the anniversary of Montreal and it got huge ratings because wrestling was at its peak of popularity.

I always found the Stu scenes more interesting than the Montreal stuff. A documentary on Stu would be good. He was an illiterate (Helen had to read everything to him) with an awful childhood in total poverty that somehow ended up a millionaire.

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Big Boss Man
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Re: Wrestling with Shadows

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Yea it was 1999 it aired on the BBC. I agree a Stu doc would be real interesting. Not sure how far the Stampede footage goes back to & to my knowledge Stu never did a shoot interview. However you could have Bret and the Hart family tell his story from the footage they do have & from photos etc. I'm not sure if he did any radio interviews etc to promote Stampede but you could include that.

It's a shame wrestling history wasn't more documented in the past then you'd have more footage available. I guess because of wrestlers "insiders only" type nature they didn't want people keeping notes etc and any interview would have been done within the realm of kayfabe. So a Stu documentary would be cool but I think it would consist mostly of stories etc with limited footage. Which would still be good but say idk 20 years or so down the line they make one on Bret again you would have tons of footage in comparison. But I suppose it's true of most sports etc. now in comparison to the 40s/50s/60s.

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Bandit
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Re: Wrestling with Shadows

Post by Bandit »

Stampede were recording in the 70s and Bret owns the footage.

Stu never did shoots because he was very old school and even got mad about Lou Thesz writing Hooker (plus because Thesz said Stu was overrated as a wrestler and he beat him in a shoot which Stu denied.) Which is why Bret took the business so seriously, because it was how Stu raised him to always act like it's real so the fans take what you do seriously.

But you could interview the Harts and people who worked for him.

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