Like many men across the country, James Milin-Ashmore is forced to watch the X-Factor with his better half if I’m home over the weekend. This means that over the years, he has come to truly appreciate the idiosyncrasies of the televised reality talent show, but it’s also left him jaded and cynical of the format. Here’s what he thought of the latest episode of British Boot Camp…
The second episode of TNA’s British Boot Camp showcased the next round of auditions, which took place in the Future Shock gym in Manchester.
As the seconds slowly ticked by, I found myself wondering why they bother to televise the early rounds. With parts that were cringeworthy enough to put The Office to shame, there’s no doubting its entertainment value, but on the whole, it needs to offer more on the wrestling front.
Why bother showing us the people who didn’t have what it takes to join the TNA roster? Sure, there were cheap laughs to be had as the two ladies who made it through the first round were sent home abruptly in the second by Gail Kim, but it was obvious who would make it through from the start.
As it stands, four of the hopefuls made it to the next stage, despite some mixed performances along the way.
El Ligero is a mask-wearing, high-flying Hispanic wrestler we’ve never seen the like of before. Apparently.
Rampage Brown stuttered like a half-buffered video throughout his promo, but he has experience and he looks the part.
Mark Andrews was probably the best of the bunch, but TNA already have a tiny, blond British import in Rockstar Spud.
The fourth was so bland that my brain has simply refused to remember anything about him. Maybe his name was Chris? [Kris. – Editor]
Anyway, there was also a return for Grado, which led to an obvious worked shoot between the Scotsman and Al Snow. It was all a bit daft really. Stone Cold getting run over at the 1999 Survivor Series was more believable, and it left me confused.
Is British Boot Camp a storyline? Grado will probably definitely be back next week, once again ready to face the wrath of Snow, and they might even let him stay. In either case, it means less wrestling, and more Al Snow put-downs.
Now, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as they start showing a few minutes of wrestling in between. It’s the reason why most of us are watching.