Perhaps it's the difficulty of balancing sarcastic humor with a genuine affection for something, but Tosh.0's tribute to recent-vintage wrestling was clunky.
I presume that the need to be irreverent was part of the problem. Sure, Miss Elizabeth is dead, so a cheap shot at her was in order -only surprise that the late Randy Savage didn't come in for a similar "can't fight back" knock. And the joke about WWF (old name vs. Wildlife Federation) was just juvenile.
Of course, the butt of the nonsense and hook for creating the episode was the poor slob who is a real-life fan caught crying at a live match in the audience, and granted 15 minutes of fame in this segment. This is mean-spirited stuff -making fun of fans (or fanatics) of all stripes in all fields. I hate to break it to Tosh & gang, but even peculiar 21st century comics live & die thanks to their fans, too. And what they present on this show and elsewhere is not all that more sophisticated or hip than the easy target of pro rassling.
Guest stars like Koko B. Ware and the Million Dollar Man seemed pulled out of a hat, hardly representative of the colorful circus-like world that wrestling morphed into under the non-gentle promptings of Mr. Vince McMahon. As far as this satirical nonsense goes, there were too many unfunny in-jokes, and no display of real knowledge of the subject. If I were in charge (thank God I'm not), I would have covered the waterfront, giving some well-earned equal time to Verne Gagne, Jim Crockett, Fritz von Erich and some of the other regional leagues that provided quality entertainment to fans over the years prior to the more recent monopolization of the ersatz sport by the likes of McMahon and for a while Ted Turner.
I presume that the need to be irreverent was part of the problem. Sure, Miss Elizabeth is dead, so a cheap shot at her was in order -only surprise that the late Randy Savage didn't come in for a similar "can't fight back" knock. And the joke about WWF (old name vs. Wildlife Federation) was just juvenile.
Of course, the butt of the nonsense and hook for creating the episode was the poor slob who is a real-life fan caught crying at a live match in the audience, and granted 15 minutes of fame in this segment. This is mean-spirited stuff -making fun of fans (or fanatics) of all stripes in all fields. I hate to break it to Tosh & gang, but even peculiar 21st century comics live & die thanks to their fans, too. And what they present on this show and elsewhere is not all that more sophisticated or hip than the easy target of pro rassling.
Guest stars like Koko B. Ware and the Million Dollar Man seemed pulled out of a hat, hardly representative of the colorful circus-like world that wrestling morphed into under the non-gentle promptings of Mr. Vince McMahon. As far as this satirical nonsense goes, there were too many unfunny in-jokes, and no display of real knowledge of the subject. If I were in charge (thank God I'm not), I would have covered the waterfront, giving some well-earned equal time to Verne Gagne, Jim Crockett, Fritz von Erich and some of the other regional leagues that provided quality entertainment to fans over the years prior to the more recent monopolization of the ersatz sport by the likes of McMahon and for a while Ted Turner.
