Reviewing WWE on YouTube

At the beginning of this month, WWE relaunched their YouTube page with brand new original web shows. I was pretty excited, to be honest, because WWE.com used to produce some pretty entertaining shows a few years ago. Remember The Dirt Sheet? And while they weren’t my cup of tea, Cryme Tyme and Matt Striker had weekly shows as well. Let’s see what these nine new shows have to offer.

Are You Serious? (Sundays)
WWE’s answer to Mystery Science Theater 3000. This is definitely one of the best shows of the bunch, with Road Dogg and Josh Matthews looking back at some of the more peculiar and downright ridiculous moments in wrestling history. I often find that WWE is at their best, comedically, when they’re willing to laugh at themselves, so I’ve really enjoyed the episodes I’ve seen thus far. The Triple H puppet is a little unusual – is this some sort of inside joke? – but overall I definitely recommend this show.

WWE Download (Tuesdays)
This is a blatant rip off of Tosh.0, but I have to admit it’s a fun show. Like Are You Serious?, it pushes the envelope and drifts somewhat from the PG stuff you see on TV. And Dolph Ziggler is a pretty charismatic and humorous guy, so it’s fun seeing his natural personality shine in this web show. While he may already be pretty high up the card, I could see this doing for Ziggler what the Dirt Sheet did for Miz and Morrison. If nothing else, it could add a little personality to his already over and successful character.

Backstage Fallout (Tuesdays & Fridays)
Backstage Fallout just seems to be the backstage, TMZ-style videos they’ve been posted on WWE.com for the past several months, only repackaged. Nothing special, but nothing bothersome either. I never watched TNA ReAction….but I imagine it was something like this.

WWE Inbox (Wednesdays)
This is pretty straight forward. People send in basic questions (such as “What’s your favorite movie?”) and various Superstars and Divas answer them. Not “must see,” but worth checking out. If nothing else, it’s enjoyable seeing some of the performers let loose and act a little more natural. Getting a glimpse into some of these guys’ real personalities is rarely a bad thing.

Outside the Ring (Thursdays)
The title is pretty self explanatory. I initially imagined this to be like WWE.com’s former “Lifestyles” webshow, where it gave us a glimpse of the Superstars’ and Divas’ homes – but it appears that this will focus on other extracurricular activities as well. Episode #2 is about Orton’s WWE 12 photoshoot. And based on the intro, it looks like we’ll see an episode on Kelly Kelly’s Maxim photoshoot as well. I’m sure this show will only be as interesting as the subject matter.

Z! True Long Island Story (Fridays)
Remember when Noah’s Arcade took over Wayne’s World? I’m sure that’s the fear most people have when Zack Ryder moved his show over to WWE’s YouTube page. Truth be told, I have no problem with Ryder moving his show over since Z! True Long Island Story has been under WWE’s microscope for a long time now. If they wanted him to change something, they probably could have done it then. To be perfectly honest, though, the magic of this show was lost months ago (for me, anyway). When it began, Ryder was extremely clever in his passive aggressive comments towards his treatment (“Nobody pushes Zack Ryder!” “I’m trying to get over!” “This is WWE having cold feet about putting Zack Ryder on TV.” “This is WWE putting Zack Ryder on the backburner.”) But ever since Ryder began consistently appearing on WWE television, his web show pretty much transformed into a Raw clip show. I don’t begrudge him for this – the allure of the show was that he wasn’t being used. Plus, the show has been hurt somewhat by the fact that Ryder is constantly forced to sell an injury angle. But c’mon, having a successful wrestling career is a lot more important than being an underground YouTube phenomenon.

Santino’s Foreign Exchange (Saturdays)
Santino’s an interesting case. Some people find him utterly hilarious. Others find his brand of comedy unbearable. I tend to think that Santino’s a really, really funny guy with a genuine knack for comedic timing, but he’s probably best kept at small dosages. It’s a fun enough show, from what I’ve seen. Basically there’s a subject matter and Santino interviews various midcard Superstars and Divas. Thus far, it’s one of the better shows….so I guess he hasn’t worn out his welcome yet.

WWE Presents
There’s only been one episode of this show, and to be perfectly honest it wasn’t that entertaining (the Bellas visit West Point). That isn’t to say the show doesn’t have potential. For example, I could see an episode focused around their recent tour of Abu Dhabi being rather interesting. But the premiere was a bit weak. To tell you the truth, I think I would have enjoyed an in depth look on the new Live Events set more (which seems to fit with the description of this series).

Superstar Toyz
I’m not a huge car guy, so the Alberto episode didn’t enthrall me, per se, but I do really enjoy the concept of this web show. This also reminds me of the former WWE.com “Lifestyles” show, with us getting a glimpse into the personal lives of the Superstars and Divas. Based on the intro, it looks like we might take a look at Hunico’s mask collection, which could be interesting. Just from what I know, a lot of these guys and girls have some unique collections, and this series will seemingly showcase that. Worth checking out.