Well, I received in record time, Mike's CWA: 2001 tape. This make two Canadian feds I have tapes for. Mike tells me I am the first to purchase a tape, which is too bad because it is very entertaining and full of great spots.

First off, being a newbie to CWA, I hadn't realized how big Mike is. He is a monster, but agile and can do moves. He has great mic skills and his promos are quite something else. He is the type you would rather have as a partner than as an opponent.

The wrestling took place in a ring, in a fenced area and in the open, so there was plenty of location variety. There is some hard-core, but to say Mike just bleeds is not true...he can mix it up with any opponent and can wrestle various styles.

Lots of fine wrestlers other than Mike...Kris Wright, Syn, Bastard, Momo, Major Pain, Julio, and a lot of ethnic types. LOL! Surprisingly there is good officiating in CWA.

Major Pain and Bastard give a good early match here. Although the ring has flabby ropes, a good receptive crowd livens up things. As with all good wrestling, there are ladders, kendo sticks, tables and metal lids involved. Kerf's paddle makes a guest appearance. And CWA have great looking belts for a poor backyard fed. Also, during the "fenced area" matches CWA has a nice tent-like entrance thing for wrestlers to come out of. It adds to the overall show in a positive way.

All the wrestlers seem to understand the game and have the right amount of cockiness, theatrics, and personalities for someone who is just a viewer and not knowing the guys, to have a good and entertaining time.

One of the very best matches is the streetfight three-way dance between Massive Mike, Major Pain and Coyote Joe. This is classic hard-core with a barbwire bat and other scary items. Great moves, but lots of hard-core make this a highlight. Although Mike is badly lacerated and busted open, his inner fortitude comes out and he continues his assault to his opponents. Thumbtacks and other weapons come into play. This is a long match, but the intensity and variations involved, it never wears out its welcome.

Lots a neat music videos/promos and I don't know if Mike does the tape, but whoever does has a great program for fancy dissolves and stuff like that. MOMO has some very funny promos and Mike is a master at the mic!

One unique thing was the use of a car door in a match. First time I saw something like that!

The tape ends with a classic "turn" but I won't spoil that here. But that final IRON MAN match between Kris Wright and Tim Coates is outstanding...and 30 minutes long.

I hope in the future Mike and Major Pain could meet up for a hard-core match. They are both fantastic, but I guess not evenly matched...but it would be cool.

I only have two little criticism on it. For me, who is unfamiliar with CWA, if more of the matches had commentary it would help keeping who is who straight. And it would help with the story lines and such. The only other little thing is that it was recorded on the LP speed, and although I have three VCRs, not one would track it without some noise or lines. However, I did turn off the HI FI Sound and the linear track was fine, so no big deal.

But don't let those little things deter you. The tape is really good with plenty of action and all that makes Backyard Wrestling fun.

In conclusion, I hope Mike sells some more of these because they are entertaining. It is what backyarding is all about. The tape runs just over 3 hours and is definitely worth buying.

John Morgan