Review: The Best of RHW

Way back in March, I was asked for a reco on the best match on my Rock Hard Wrestling casting post. I kind of gave an answer, but I thought I'd expand on it here.

It's probably pretty clear that I'm a huge fan of Rock Hard Wrestling. I have bought many matches from them and plan to buy more. So here is my review, to help you decide if you'd be a fan. I know that just because I like them, it doesn't mean you will.

Strengths (Subjective)

These are strengths for me, but I list them like this because they're very much personal tastes.

Talent: It all starts with the wrestlers. In terms of appearance, the guys are top notch, if you like the young, white fitness model type. Handsome, ripped and charismatic all describe most of the talent. While I obviously have an appreciation for a lot of different guys, based on my story casting and my reviews of Guido Genatto matches, I do like the roster of RHW guys a lot.

Josh Steel holds Dash Decker

The Look: Their clean, sleek aesthetic is my aesthetic. Everything looks crisp and professional. It's a real pro ring. No saggy ropes in RHW. The stark black background makes the action pop without unnecessary distractions of posters, stuffed animals or furniture.

Brodie Fisher and Alex Waters pop against the black curtain

Long-lingering holds: The action isn't that fast-paced, which might not sound like a positive, but for me it is. I like that the submission holds are usually held onto for a while, letting you really savor them. For me, this is one of the advantages of the targeted video companies over bigger pro groups, like WWE or TNA, whose wrestlers move between holds too fast and many of the hottest holds have fallen out of favor.

Jake Jenkins suffers in Alex Waters' hold

Strengths (Objective)

Rock Hard does a lot of things well. I feel like these are empirical judgments, not a matter of taste.

Consistency: You always know what you're going to get with an RHW match. They have a look, tone and style that remains the same.

Typical RHW with Jake Jenkins and Cliff Johnson

Value (Price): The matches have two prices - $17.95 for SD and $19.95 for HD. All the ones I've bought are at least 20 minutes, with the average being 25. That's great value nowadays. Other competitors charge a lot more and I question paying over $25 for one match. One company has literally priced me out of their product by going over $30 for a one-match download.

Alex Waters, Jake Jenkins and Josh Steel

Customer-First Delivery Options: Unlike most companies, they offer their downloads in multiple formats. You choose between HD for $19.95 or SD for $17.95. The great thing about their SD option is that you get three different formats for the one price - a small MP4, plus large MOV and WMV files. I really appreciate this, as it saves me time converting WMV's into something I can use on my iPad. The MOV files look great on my TV and the MP4 doesn't hog space on my devices.

Austin Cooper splits Alex Waters

Production Quality: The cameras are almost always in the perfect spot, the lighting is great, the video and audio are crystal clear. They're so close to perfect that on a recent release, when you hear someone off camera say, "one minute", it's kind of shocking because it's the first mistake I can ever remember. So I'd say 99% perfection.

Dash Decker splits Blake Keller 

Limitations

Like anything, RHW isn't perfect. Here's things I thought you should know before buying ...

Diversity (Product): RHW does one thing and they do it well, but they only do one thing. They've tried to add some mild bondage and plots, but really, I'd say every match I have is pretty similar. Even the action has a formula, which is followed pretty closely. And the holds and moves repeat. The repetitiveness can be a deterrent for multiple purchases.

Jake Jenkins gets racked a lot, this time by Zack Jonathan

Diversity (Casting): RHW is like the best looking fraternity on campus at an all-white college. It's definitely the most homogeneous roster in the business and many of the guys are interchangeable to me.

Which mop-haired stud is which?

Wrestling ability: This is not always the most skilled group of guys. The guys I buy are not terrible, but I'd rank them in the middle of the industry, with some being much better than others. The submission moves are usually pretty good and there are occasionally some good power moves, like suplexes and bodyslams. But there isn't a ton of variety or creativity, there are moves attempted that don't work and selling isn't everyone's strength.

Dash Decker tries to sell Colt Stevens' ... Boston crab?

Favorite Wrestlers

As I identified in my original reply, I have three "go-to" wrestlers. I have bought a few videos that didn't star one of the three, but it's really these three that drive my purchases. I listed them in order of discovery, not preference.

Jake Jenkins: Jake is smaller, but highly skilled. He’s great at dishing it out and taking it (his high-pitched whimpers of pain are awesome). He wins and loses, but always fights well. He's short and ripped in the early matches, a little less defined in later matches. I like him in everything, but I'd say that his singles matches against Alex Waters, Nick Collins and Josh Steel come to mind as among the best.

Jake looks buff

Nick Collins racks Jake

Jake punishes Matt Engel

Alex Waters: He’s a cocky, southern, gorgeous heel. Like an evil frat boy, he's a perfectly coifed sadist. Great at dishing out, not as great at taking it. He trash talks a lot, so he'll keep talking when he should be suffering. He did an especially good job against Jake Jenkins, Z-Man and Dash Decker.

Alex boston crabs Jake Jenkins

Josh Steel stretches Alex out

Alex mocks Kyle Carter

Dash Decker: As RHW’s uber-stud, Dash is a big, muscular heel. He dominates most of his matches more than anyone else, probably 70% of the time. While he’s not much of a talker, he does suffer well against smaller guys, like Gage Cardona and Colt Stevens. Alex Waters and Ethan Andrews tested him. I liked his match against Colt Stevens, who was a mouthy wannabe model. The only one I’d avoid is the Josh Steel match. Josh is supposed to be drunk during the match, so while the action isn’t bad, the drunk gimmick put a damper on it for me.

Dash does a lot of this

Dash chokes Colt Stevens

Dash bearhugs Gage Cardona

Best Match

I can't name one favorite match, but I have a suggestion for the first-time RHW buyer.

Best Series: King of the Ring. This series gets you the top stars with the most action. There have been three so far, Jake Jenkins vs. Josh Steel, Alex Waters vs. Dash Decker, and Dash Decker vs. Ethan Andrews. You can't go wrong with any of them, but if I ranked them, it'd be 2-3-1. If you don’t like these matches, you probably won’t like RHW.

KOTR 3: Dash Decker trapped by Ethan Andrews

Best Value: King of the Ring 2 - Alex Waters vs. Dash Decker. It's $17.95 ($19.95 for HD) for 31 minutes of their best action. The biggest names and hottest studs through five rounds and a lot of great punishment on both. Regardless of who you want to see punished or as punisher, there's enough to keep you going.

It's one hell of a battle

And one I can watch over and over

So that's my Rock Hard Wrestling assessment. What'd you think? Was it helpful? Agree? Disagree? Does it motivate you to check them outfit you haven't? Or confirm that they're not the company for you? Please let me know in the comments!

Alex