Memo to ROH: Enough Already
So I just plunked down $15 for what I am sure will be another solid pay per view offering from Ring of Honor tonight. And, as "Driven" came on the air, I naively hoped against hope that I would not be once again blinded by the glowing white skin of poorly filmed wrestlers.
Alas, I was wrong.
And so, I say this: Enough is enough, Ring of Honor. Your product looks like absolute crap. I would not hire your production team to film my wedding, much less put them on pay per view available in millions of homes. As a matter of fact - quite literally - the majority of wedding videos I've seen over the years look considerably better than what is on my TV right now.
It's inexcusable in 2008 for a national wrestling product to look as low rent as ROH does. By not investing the necessary money and attention into its production, ROH is becoming its own worst enemy. And it's simply absurd that Cary Silkin, worried about ROH's financial struggles, would take the drastic step of firing a more-than-capable booker in the form of Gabe Sapolsky before he would pump a few thousand dollars into some real cameras and audio that doesn't sound like its coming through a tin can.
And before I drive home my next point, let me emphasize that I hate, hate, hate when people use all caps and exclamation points to make their point. That said:
ROH, GET SOME DECENT LIGHTING!
My God, some of the most rinky dink of independents don't look this bad. Their faces are so washed out in light that you can't see details in wrestlers' faces. You know, little things like their noses.
Add to that cheap-looking graphics, sloppy editing, and a bush league ringside set up, and I just can't believe that Cary doesn't notice how bad his product looks nor realize the perception of so many fans. ROH is the woman with the thick mustache that either doesn't realize how bad she looks, or is too lazy to do something about it.
As for the die-hard ROH-bots who say, "We don't care about production quality. All we care about is the wrestling!." To them I say this: Get real. The fact is, ROH's sub-par production is one of the major obstacles keeping the company from growing. And if ROH doesn't reverse its fortunes relatively soon, it could conceivably go out of business. It won't matter how talented the wrestlers are if you won't be able to see them anymore.
So, ROH, I implore you. Address this problem as soon as possible, whatever it takes. If it means running fewer shows, raising prices on merchandise, or even cutting some talent - do it.
I've bashed WWE, WCW and TNA a lot over the years. But I've never said this: In the age of high definition televised wrestling, ROH is becoming, quite literally, unwatchable.
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Comments (16)
Hey man,
They just hired a production company from Las Vegas a couple days ago.....
Hopefully it will get better bro....
Let me just say that I do professional video editing work and the most basic of programs can do a better job of editing than what ROH has been doing. There is no reason for the sound of the entrance musics and the crowd should not be more audible than what they are. I consider myself a die hard ROH fan and love the wrestling as opposed to sports entertainment - oh, sorry, entertainment - but I agree that they need to do something
Let me just say that I do professional video editing work and the most basic of programs can do a better job of editing than what ROH has been doing. There is no reason for the sound of the entrance musics and the crowd should not be more audible than what they are. I consider myself a die hard ROH fan and love the wrestling as opposed to sports entertainment - oh, sorry, entertainment - but I agree that they need to do something
Let me just say that I do professional video editing work and the most basic of programs can do a better job of editing than what ROH has been doing. There is no reason for the sound of the entrance musics and the crowd should not be more audible than what they are. I consider myself a die hard ROH fan and love the wrestling as opposed to sports entertainment - oh, sorry, entertainment - but I agree that they need to do something
That is one of the key reasons I haven't gotten more into ROH. It was excusable in 2002 - they were new and didn't have the reputation they now have. Now, in 2008, they are the third biggest wrestling promotion in North America. Like you said, it doesn't matter how good the wrestling is, if it doesn't look good people won't watch it.
Indeed. The third-rate production values are the big reason I don't buy more ROH DVDs. When small promotions like Chikara and SHIMMER (who get most of my wrestling DVD budget) have better production values (though the sound being better in smaller promotions probably has a lot to do with there being less crowd noise to worry about) than the third biggest promotion in the US, you'd think they'd consider hiring some professionals.
I was at the Driven Show. This post doesnt even begin to describe how faulty the production value is. About 10 minutes to Bell time the curtin fell down and they had to hang it up with paper clips. It looks so dreadful being live. I cant immagine it on TV. Although it was good wrestling. I was impressed with that. It was also my first show.
I have to say, as bad as the product may look, I can get past that. What I can't get past is the audio levels constantly being way too hot. I'm quite sure the announcers don't have that kind of hiss in their voices when they're not on the air.
I agree with the last person. I can live the the crappy video production (yes, I'd like to see it look better but I can live with it) but the audio is the worst.
I used to watch ROH all the time on the Fight Network up here in Canada but I couldn't really follow any of the storylines because when the wrestlers were out in the ring cutting a promo, I couldn't understand a word they were saying.
I have to agree with the comments here. My main points of concern are not being able to understand what the wrestlers are saying when they are in the ring, and the awful production value. The wrestling itself is superb. However it's hard to watch when you can't hear what they are saying, or you're thinking that the show looks like it was produced in Windows Movie Maker.
They've basically fixed the audio problem (see the recent Video Wires).
They're working on production.
As much as I enjoy their in-ring product ROH has always suffered from their refusal to invest in how their product is presented. In professional wrestling we all know that you need both the steak and the sizzle to succeed, and ROH is sorely lacking in the sizzle.
I agree. Wrestling is good, but you need to be able to see it. It's why I've skipped much of ROH. It's not worth it for crappy production.
I haven't bought an ROH DVD since the Summer of Punk, but I had purchased quite a few before that. The one thing that always bothered me was the commentators. They were just so...irritating. I remember the main event of Main Event Spectacles (AJ Styles vs. Bryan Danielson), the commentators decided to just leave and let the wrestling speak for itself, and I was more excited about not having to listen to their inane voices than the awesome wrestling in the ring. There were some shows where, about about 40 minutes, I would have to mute the sound because my irritation with the commentators was starting to color my enjoyment of the in-ring product. It wasn't just the fact that their commentating was insipid and more pointless than Don West, it iwas that their very voices were just grating.
So my question is thus: Does RoH have a decent commentary team yet?
StereoTypeA:
It's been a while since I've checked out a DVD, but I believe they've got Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard. I actually like Leonard, but Prazak, while knowledgeable, is no pleasure to listen to. Unfortunately I don't forsee them changing the commentary team anytime soon.
I disagree with AC. The leonard/Prazak team does a good job.