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Has wrestling gone overboard with the various streaming services?


rzombie1988

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Highspots is sounding pretty good. Some questions:

 

1. How reliable is the Roku app?

 

2. How much shoot interview and documentary content is there?

 

3. How often is the selection of matches and other content updated?

Their Roku app is pretty flawless in my experience. It’s not super-functional (I wish I could make a watchlist, for example) but it always works. You are able to resume watching the most recent thing you were watching if you watch in chunks.

 

According to their website, they currently have 483 shoot interviews up. They include several of the RF Video shoots, as well as ones that HighSpots themselves conduct. Plus stuff like the Best Friends/Officer & A Gentleman and Rob Naylor’s Hitting the HighSpots series if you are into modern indie guys shooting the shit. There are a literal fuck ton of shoots, covering practically everything. As far as documentaries go, they don’t have a ton but they do have stuff that Michael Elliott did like the JCP one, Brody, Funks, RnR Express, etc.

 

They add content constantly. Multiple times per week.

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Nobody has mentioned WXW Now, which is a great service. They run like 80 shows a year, plus weekly TV. Most with English commentary with quite a back log.

Pretty much all of the wXw shows are included in HighSpots, as well. That includes the 17th Anniversary show that just got added today.

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wXwNOW is kinda unique, as it is not exactly tailored towards an English audience. Because of that I can see that a Highspots subscription might be preferable for certain people. Now please do not expect that you will have all full length shows online. It's actually a good question how many % of potential footage even gets online in the end. Not that I am complaining, Nero/Dreissker vs Ringkampf from Shotgun #334 was rather awesome for instance.

 

It is actually very interesting to notice how Alan/Walter/Ilja have an anti-BSS approach in that they dislike the somewhat hedonistic throwaway approach to wrestling. There is even a German word to describe that, "kurzweilig" (=> entertaining but with a duration date). One of the highlights this year for me was listening to the roundtables on wXwNOW and external Rico Bushido podcasts, as you could hear the Dutch wrestlers voice their displeasure at the disorganized state of the Dutch wrestling scene and how important for them the aspect of sustainability and organisation and the resulting growth at wXw is. I believe that these are the reasons why the Dutch and Alan have put their energy and trust into wXw.

 

The backlog is a mixed bag. If you can understand German, do absolutely watch the Carat timecapsules with new retro commentary about the old days. Only the newer shows have English commentary, I don't expect older shows to receive that treatment anytime soon. Looking at the old Thumbtack Jack matches it seems that the lovely Video Vegas commentary was hardcoded into the audio, so with that and the crappy lights in Essen it seems possible that only very little of the pre-Oberhausen era will be available for a long time.

 

Will there be still be doubts that the concept won't work with the national, far more casual crowd? Absolutely. In the 16 years that our WD website had a German board the interest in European promotions generally had a crappy 5% in polls. That is quite a handicap to overcome. So if you decide to dump your hard-earned $$$ into wXwNOW, you will help them keep up their dojo (where apparently students from 20 different nations trained this year). You will help people like Timothy Thatcher stabilize their careers, you will make the Chris Brookes and Jurn Simmons of the world improve by leaps and bounds. And with every AMBITION tournament the chances will improve that such a concept of wrestling will be accepted. Doesn't sound too shabby, does it?

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Is there any real reason to get wXwNOW if you have Highspots? Highspots is great, btw--huge archive, reliable, regularly updated. Powerbomb is really coming on, and they seem genuinely devoted to creating the best possible product. I also recently subscribed to Progress for a month to catch up with their 2017 stuff, and it's a good service.

I'll probably give WWN a shot, but I'm not sure I'll keep it all 12 months.

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Can someone clarify what WXW is getting put on Highspots Network? Are they uploading all of the major WXW shows on there? How long does it take them to put the newer WXW shows on there? Are they uploading them with English commentary?

 

If its a yes on uploading all the major WXW shows in a timely matter and with English commentary, then I will def. have to sign up to the Highspots Network.

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Can someone clarify what WXW is getting put on Highspots Network? Are they uploading all of the major WXW shows on there? How long does it take them to put the newer WXW shows on there? Are they uploading them with English commentary?

 

If its a yes on uploading all the major WXW shows in a timely matter and with English commentary, then I will def. have to sign up to the Highspots Network.

 

My understanding is all WXW shows (major events and Shotgun/TV episodes) are posted in both German and English. I believe WXW's site posts a lot of extra content / features that aren't on Highspots, but if you're looking to catch all matches you can do so on Highspots. It makes you wonder how long they'll keep the Highspots relationship in place as it would seem to cannibalize they're own service, but its not as though I've got nearly enough info to intelligently speculate.

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Can someone clarify what WXW is getting put on Highspots Network? Are they uploading all of the major WXW shows on there? How long does it take them to put the newer WXW shows on there? Are they uploading them with English commentary?

 

If its a yes on uploading all the major WXW shows in a timely matter and with English commentary, then I will def. have to sign up to the Highspots Network.

 

My understanding is all WXW shows (major events and Shotgun/TV episodes) are posted in both German and English. I believe WXW's site posts a lot of extra content / features that aren't on Highspots, but if you're looking to catch all matches you can do so on Highspots. It makes you wonder how long they'll keep the Highspots relationship in place as it would seem to cannibalize they're own service, but its not as though I've got nearly enough info to intelligently speculate.

 

HighSpots has all the major shows (including the house shows, like the Fight Forever Tour, etc.), as well as Shotgun, with English commentary when available.

 

This is what they currently have available: https://www.highspotswrestlingnetwork.com/categories/wxw/6956/media

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wXw NOW is mostly for the super wXw fans and I would only recommend it if you are interested in their back catalog. You can watch a large chunk of WALTER's career with the service so maybe that's worth it for you. Highspots might not have all the bells and whistles but you get the vast majority of shows uploaded there. wXw NOW is for the niche of the niche. They did just upload a dojo show I would be interested in watching.

 

Quick note on IWA Mid-South on Powerbomb, while there is IWA Mid-South content on Highspots, the new content is coming to Powerbomb which is a big distinction. Powerbomb, in general, has made big leaps this year. The SMV relationship seems to be neater in theory than practice outside of IWA MS who actually uploads 2017 content. The big deal is Beyond Wrestling which is now the brand leader for the service. That's a promotion that runs regularly and puts content up quick. Digital first promotion ftw. Anarachy also uploads content regularly and hope they get talked up more in 2018. They just ran Gunner Miller vs. Matt Riddle II which would be great if that gets uploaded.

 

I sub to Powerbomb and Highspots and really wouldn't need anything else. Might mix it up in 2018.

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Highspots is the best right now. Just an incredible amount of content.

 

Also I am loving Powerbomb.TV, just subscribed against to watch the epic match between Joey Janela and the Invisible Man. Loving the live streams and all the content they've been adding. So cool that you can see a mix of a lot of under the radar stuff there.

 

NJPW World is pretty disappointing at this point. I cancelled two days before December 1st, was still charged, and sent a few emails asking why I was charged if I had cancelled days before, and no response. Also annoying how it deletes your entire account if you cancel. I actually dig the NJPW product a lot, so not hating on them, just legit disappointed since I wish they had a better platform.

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wXw NOW is mostly for the super wXw fans and I would only recommend it if you are interested in their back catalog. You can watch a large chunk of WALTER's career with the service so maybe that's worth it for you. Highspots might not have all the bells and whistles but you get the vast majority of shows uploaded there. wXw NOW is for the niche of the niche. They did just upload a dojo show I would be interested in watching.

 

Quick note on IWA Mid-South on Powerbomb, while there is IWA Mid-South content on Highspots, the new content is coming to Powerbomb which is a big distinction. Powerbomb, in general, has made big leaps this year. The SMV relationship seems to be neater in theory than practice outside of IWA MS who actually uploads 2017 content. The big deal is Beyond Wrestling which is now the brand leader for the service. That's a promotion that runs regularly and puts content up quick. Digital first promotion ftw. Anarachy also uploads content regularly and hope they get talked up more in 2018. They just ran Gunner Miller vs. Matt Riddle II which would be great if that gets uploaded.

 

I sub to Powerbomb and Highspots and really wouldn't need anything else. Might mix it up in 2018.

Thanks for the clarification re: IWA M-S. It’s kind of confusing since they added some classic content like some TPI’s and stuff to Powerbomb right after they announced the deal. And yeah, definitely agreed re: Beyond. It is the one promotion they have right now that will literally get people in the door. If it means more eyes on Curt Stallion matches, it is inherently good.

 

I would say if someone had a $20 monthly budget to spend on wrestling, it would be best spent on HighSpots and Powerbomb.

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So I just reshuffled my subscriptions a bit.

 

I was doing wXw now for the past few months, but mostly so I could go back and get at some hyped stuff that I hadn't seen yet. I got to most of that so I nixed it today. In turn, I finally subscribed to Powerbomb and Highspots. I probably should have done both a while ago. I sort of have Progress and WWE as my constants right now. Progress gives me enough between chapters, specials, and other promotions that I find it worth it. WWE is WWE... I'm going to keep it.

 

I still imagine that eventually WWE will take in a hand full of indy promotions and in-turn up the price of their service.

 

Ultimately, I think it will come down to maybe 5 conglomerates (we are starting to see this more and more) with the WWE Network getting in on that game. I'd like it to get down to 3-4 that would more or less give me everything I want. As it stands right now I am still going to be circulating some stuff. I would like to take some time to catch back up a bit on some of the high end NJPW stuff from the last year and to dig into Stardom (which I just haven't done because of time and money yet) in 2018.

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See I am sort of the opposite, just based on my watching habits. I would much rather have the computer access bc i find myself watching in shorter pieces of time. sorting out both will be important for all the streaming services going forward.

 

 

Progress is one that I have thought about signing up for but haven’t done yet. WWE supposedly has some kind of agreements in place with Progress and OTT but nobody seems to have any idea what they entail other than that they exist.

Yeah, it is really clear there is something. I'm assuming progress winds up on the network, even if it is a slow - somewhat trial run - transition. When they announced their big show for next year i immediately said their relationship with the E must be really strong. I can't see them jumping on something like that without a bit of a safety net behind them.

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I plan on grabbing Highspots as soon as its avialable via Firestick or PS4. Stardom is currently the only one I'm willing to support without big screen access.

Ah, I do most of my watching on Roku with HighSpots and Powerbomb. I do use Firestick for NJPW but the app is pretty weak. The Firestick app is my favorite version of the WWE Network app after using it on both Roku and Apple TV, though. I did use the Firestick browser for Powerbomb before they improved the Roku app and it worked pretty well watching some Beyond shows.

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If you really want to get into indie streaming, you kind of need to get a Roku. It's the easiest platform to get a channel/app on and PivotShare is very Roku-centric, so...

Absolutely, and the Express is like $29 and works brilliantly. They are hands-down the leader in the market of streaming devices and I can’t see anyone catching them. Apple TV’s look slicker but still lack the channels, even on the new platform. The Amazon devices are generally always pretty much junk across the board from my experience, though like I said, I do have the Firestick solely for NJPW World. Have had four Rokus, two Apple TV’s, and the Firestick since 2011. Only reason I needed more Rokus was older models getting phased out and buying a house.

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If you really want to get into indie streaming, you kind of need to get a Roku. It's the easiest platform to get a channel/app on and PivotShare is very Roku-centric, so...

Absolutely, and the Express is like $29 and works brilliantly. They are hands-down the leader in the market of streaming devices and I can’t see anyone catching them. Apple TV’s look slicker but still lack the channels, even on the new platform. The Amazon devices are generally always pretty much junk across the board from my experience, though like I said, I do have the Firestick solely for NJPW World. Have had four Rokus, two Apple TV’s, and the Firestick since 2011. Only reason I needed more Rokus was older models getting phased out and buying a house.

 

 

Do you have the first-gen model of the Fire Stick? How is it with NJPW World? I have a first-gen Fire Stick collecting dust.

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If you really want to get into indie streaming, you kind of need to get a Roku. It's the easiest platform to get a channel/app on and PivotShare is very Roku-centric, so...

 

Absolutely, and the Express is like $29 and works brilliantly. They are hands-down the leader in the market of streaming devices and I cant see anyone catching them. Apple TVs look slicker but still lack the channels, even on the new platform. The Amazon devices are generally always pretty much junk across the board from my experience, though like I said, I do have the Firestick solely for NJPW World. Have had four Rokus, two Apple TVs, and the Firestick since 2011. Only reason I needed more Rokus was older models getting phased out and buying a house.

Do you have the first-gen model of the Fire Stick? How is it with NJPW World? I have a first-gen Fire Stick collecting dust.

I have the voice remote one. Target had them on sale on Black Friday so I got one for the hell of it.

 

In other news, a bunch of random old CZW shows from the Smart Mark library popped up on Powerbomb today. HighSpots has 243 of them, currently, and usually gets the brand new ones up very quickly.

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