The Pro’s:
1. The scriptwriting and talent. A strong script so far, with quite a few rivalries in the build, and in execution already. What I liked a lot was that instead of crowning the champion right in the first episode, they were patient, and introduced tournaments to determine the champions. As far as the talent is concerned, they have Chavo Guerrero, Matt Morgan, Brutus Magnus, Luke Gallows, The Masterpiece, Abyss, DH Smith, Trevor Murdoch etc. among others. Need I say more?
2. The double ring announcers. Loved the coordination between Jeremy Borash and the Indian announcer, both of whom are doing a damn good job in their respective fields (J.B. introducing the American wrestlers and the female announcer introducing the others.)
3. Titantron and the pyro work. After watching the failed attempt at a wrestling show called ‘100%: De Dana Dan’ couple of years ago, I didn’t really expect Ring Ka King to be able to deliver much, especially in the stated fields. However, much to my pleasant surprise, they were about as good as their American counterpart (apart from maybe A.J. Styles’ entrance pyro) in the pyro department. On the other hand, the Ring ka King stage actually looks bigger and better lighted than the Impact Zone.
4. Bollywood Boyz. These guys impressed me so much, I had to write a full point on them alone. They have fantastic charisma for two people we have never heard about before; their confidence is as if they have done this 100 times before, which is fantastic. I don’t need to be a psychic to be able to predict that these two guys have a bright future ahead of them.
The Con’s
1. Unprofessional Commentary with lots of casual remarks. There is an important reason behind me putting this in number 1. One of the commentators, Siddharth, has NO knowledge of wrestling whatsoever! The other, Joe Baath, despite doing commentary for TNA India previously, doesn’t have much to offer apart from a few “I love it baby!”s and arguments with his clueless partner. A couple examples of his commentary at its best would be referring the Frog splash as Crossbody splash, and the Carbon Footprint as Boot to the Face. The other guy, ah damn….
2. Lack of enthusiasm and passion of the sport among the audience. First of all, the audience is more bothered about whether the camera is focusing towards them, so that they can do Cena’s “You can’t see me” or DX’s “Crotch Chop” towards it, rather than paying attention to what’s happening in the squared circle. There are some women in the front row in traditional clothing, on most episodes (not sure if cast-crew or not), who are more like statues, they neither cheer, nor boo- dead still. Their facial expressions seem to be yelling “I came here expecting Shah Rukh Khan. And who are these disgusting guys?”
3. Amateur participants. Leaving behind the people that we have seen previously in other promotions, most of the talent is still very green. The top Indian face, Mahavali Veera has a long way to go before he would be in a deserving position for that stature. I can cite an example of last week when he almost lost his balance after being back-slapped by Matt Morgan. Jwala, the apparent mad-man is also quite out-of-place, but he’ll improve with time. Tonight they introduced a Ring ka King version of Khali, setting up an alliance for the upcoming weeks, called Chotu-Lambu (hindi for Tall-Short), that guy looks very stale as well.
4. Improper execution of moves and script by some of the participants like Mahavali Veera (again), Pathani Patthe and the occasional guest Harbhajan Singh. I understand that they are inexperienced and judging them as incapable would be an incorrect thing to do, but there is no denying the fact that RKK needs to make sure they continue to attract the people so that the TRP doesn’t drop. I checked out Colors’ Facebook page the other day, and reception of the show is vastly negative. They will have to ensure that only the best of the best get air-time. Any mistake at this level would cost them dearly.
I’ve been told that the scriptwriting section of the program is in safe hands, so I’m not all drained of hope. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that this show brings forward the best of entertainment over the next calendar year. Overall, i give Ring Ka King a 6 out of 10 stars.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
