We take a look at the newly-released documentary short focusing on Rev Pro’s 12 Year Anniversary show from this past August…
As a young ‘un, one of the first documentary series that stuck with me was a five-parter called Premier Passions. Over a total of almost four hours, the documentary introduced a cast of characters to the viewer, fleshing them out to be more than just names and faces while also avoiding the thorny issues that would arise from giving too much access in the wrong places. Even if you were a devout supporter of Sunderland AFC, Premier Passions showed or taught you something you didn’t know about the club.
How To Start A Revolution tries to do much of the same, albeit with a much more condensed timeline. Rather than throwing everything at the viewer, we’re treated to a few choice cuts – starting with Rev Pro owner Andy Quildan dismissing talk of the promotion “not being an indie” set to a mixture of behind the scenes footage and early-day Rev Pro footage. Real ones know how much those corner flags were despised on that lighting rig…
It’s not just a to-camera piece for Andy Quildan either – Will Ospreay, Sha Samuels and Michael Oku get screen time too as featured roster members retelling their Rev Pro story, going back to the Cockpit days and beyond. They’re not the only ones who get face time, amid montages of the set-up of the Copperbox, we also get a short piece with Harry Milligan, who essentially runs the video production of Rev Pro… amid the odd times he’s in the ring. Had this been a series, not a short, those fifty seconds for Harry left so much behind after they’d scratched the surface… but I digress.
Back to show day, the spotlight’s shone on the ten-woman tag that turned into a wild brawl, highlighted by some fantastic B-roll that caught all of the big moments… before tracking the victors backstage as they celebrated… ahead of a jump to the main event of Luke Jacobs and Michael Oku. More fantastic B-roll from across the Copperbox highlights this, as I’m sure you all know the result, before they veered off into addressing the rumours from this past summer of Oku heading to AEW.
Of course, at time of airing, that hadn’t happened as all talk around it remained non-committal, which in a series could have gone into much more detail than a headline and a quick soundbyte – the ultimate theme of this piece.
The piece ends on an uplifting note from Andy Quildan, reminding himself and everyone why they do all this – to chase their dreams, and to leave a positive mark behind for those who come after us. Be it in wrestling, or any other walk of life, that should be everyone’s aim, no?
All in all, GRAPS ON FILM’s “How To Start A Revolution” packs a lot into its fifteen minute run time – giving you a beautifully-shot look into some of the inner workings of Rev Pro, while also finding a way to leave you wanting a lot more. If we do get “more” and in what form, remains to be seen…