Review: 350 Days

Pro Wrestling from Every Angle

By Chris Sabga

"350 Days" refers to the amount of time the average professional wrestler spent on the road and away from his family. Driving many miles, working through multiple injuries, and combating loneliness, fatigue, and problems at home, they wrestled every night of the week and "twice on Sundays." The highlight of their day was often those few minutes inside the ring. But that wasn't the only thing they had to look forward to! After the matches, they had instant access to drugs, alcohol, and willing women known as "ring rats."

This documentary assembles a who's who of great names to discuss the professional wrestling lifestyle from every perspective:

Tito Santana • "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff • Greg "The Hammer" Valentine • Bret "The Hitman" Hart • Wendi Richter • George "The Animal" Steele • Don Fargo • "Superstar" Billy Graham • Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka • Bruce Allen (Promoter) • JJ Dillon • Ox Baker • The Masked Superstar (Bill Eadie) • Lanny Poffo • Abdullah the Butcher • "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase • Gangrel • Angelo "King Kong" Mosca • Farmer Pete • The Wolfman (Willie Farkas) • Howard Jerome • "Butcher" Paul Vachon • Angelo Savoldi • Stan Hansen • Gino Caruso • Ricky Johnson • Doink the Clown (Ray Apollo) • Lex Luger • Paul Lazenby • Slick (Ken Johnson) • Davey O'Hannon • "Pretty Boy" Larry Sharpe • Ric Drasin • "Cowboy" Johnny Mantell • "Bushwhacker" Luke Williams • Gene LeBell • Don Leo Jonathan • Marty Jannetty • Nikolai Volkoff

Filmed over five years, a staggering number of wrestlers were interviewed for "350 Days." Several of them are no longer with us.

The movie often switches from the silly to the surreal to the sublime, sometimes in the same scene.

One of the highlights: footage featuring the "crazed" Ox Baker preparing a meal in his own kitchen. Was it entirely necessary to include five full minutes of this? Possibly not. But I can't lie: I wouldn't have been in the least bit disappointed if the rest of the film consisted of cooking lessons from Ox Baker.

Here's a picture of Ox Baker, in case you need a visual aid:

This alone would have make Ox Baker a star again – it's a shame he didn't live to see it.

On the other end of the emotional spectrum, there's a touching segment with "Superstar" Billy Graham (not the preacher) discussing his health issues. Known for his outrageous catchphrases, such as "the man of the hour, the man with the power, too sweet to be sour," Graham puts aside the bluster of his bombastic character to discuss his battles with Hepatitis C and the young lady who died, which allowed him to live by receiving her liver.

However, Abdullah the Butcher has been accused of infecting other wrestlers with Hepatitis C (not Graham) by using an old razor blade to draw blood in matches – a common, if barbaric, practice in wrestling – but the movie completely ignores his irresponsible, reckless, negligent, and potentially murderous actions. A similar blind eye is also turned to "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, who allegedly beat his girlfriend to death in 1983. (He was arrested and indicted in 2015, 32 years later. He died in 2017.)

At first, I was distracted by these omissions. The endearing scene of a loving, nurturing "Superfly" feeding and petting adorable farm animals takes on an almost dreamlike quality. People are complicated! But I can also partly understand why the filmmakers decided to shy away from spotlighting such shocking stories. The darker side of these wrestlers' personal live might have overshadowed the rest of the film and obscured the overall purpose of the documentary.

Despite that, there is still plenty of bad behavior to go around.

Bret "The Hitman" Hart spent his entire career portraying a virtuous "Canadian hero." The revelations in "350 Days" won't be surprising to anyone who read his voluminous almost-600-page tome, Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling. But for the average fan, this film will definitely expose a different side of "The Hitman." Anyone who has listened to any recent Bret Hart interviews will already know that he's honest to a fault (potentially the result of a stroke he suffered in 2002). Here, his "Canadian hero" persona is laid bare. In one startling speech, he practically endorses cocaine by fondly reminiscing about the drug while going out of his way to point out that it did not impair him. He claimed to retain everything he ever learned from veteran wrestlers during those powdery bonding sessions. Later, he concedes that drug testing has been good for the industry. "The Hitman" also makes no apologies – and has no regrets – for indulging in extramarital affairs during his career. He said he made many friendships that way. Wrestling is indeed a hard life – as this documentary points out – but coming from the mouth of Bret Hart, you would think he was a combat veteran who served in two World Wars. Then again, "The Hitman" has always taken himself very seriously – as demonstrated in another excellent wrestling documentary, 1998's "Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows."

What makes the movie so fascinating is the often contradictory opinions expressed by different wrestlers on a wide variety of topics. For example, one common belief expressed in the film is that the wrestling business ruins marriages. Lanny Poffo, however, is quick to dispel that notion.

"350 Days" is a revealing look at the human beings behind the wrestling personas. "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff expresses regrets about placing wrestling and money ahead of his family and laments that he can barely move his arm after years of abusing his body in the wrestling ring. "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka somehow come across as calm, clear, and coherent – a far cry from one of his wild "Superfly" wrestling promos that were nearly impossible to decipher – while "Rocker" Marty Jannetty is sadly almost unintelligible.

The sheer breadth of wrestlers interviewed in "350 Days" is ultimately what gives this documentary its considerable depth. 

Review: Bipolar Rock 'N' Roller

How Mauro Ranallo Became the Most Trusted Voice in Wrestling, Boxing, and MMA

By Chris Sabga

"Mamma Mia!"

That is Mauro Ranallo's catchphrase and rallying cry. When he unleashes it in the middle of a heated wrestling match, you know he's excited about the action in the ring. He's bouncing with energy, and taking the fans right along with him.

Listening to Mauro's creative commentary and infectious enthusiasm, it would be easy to mistake him for a happy-go-lucky guy who is always smiling and full of joy. In reality, every day is an exhausting mental and emotional struggle for Mauro Ranallo.

Showtime's "Bipolar Rock 'N' Roller" takes a hard look at Mauro's battle with bipolar disorder. The documentary's depiction of the disease is as raw and real as it gets. No attempt is made to ease the audience into it or smooth out the rough edges. The film is intentionally uncomfortable.

We've all heard stories about people drifting aimlessly through their 20s. Mauro Ranallo's circumstances during those years were far more serious and dire. He spent his entire 20s in and out of mental institutions. His first breaking point came after the sudden shock of his best friend's death at the all-too-young age of 19. For Mauro, it was like losing a brother.

Among the tragedies, there are also many triumphs. Early footage of a teenage Mauro as a heel (bad guy) motormouth for a local wrestling show in Vancouver is great fun to watch. In general, combat sports – pro wrestling, boxing, and mixed martial arts – would become a safe haven for Mauro Ranallo.

Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor was a "dream match" between a boxer and an MMA fighter that fans of both sports clamored for and debated endlessly. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa was a slow-burning, smoldering, bitter rivalry between former tag team partners that diehard wrestling fan couldn't wait to see. Mauro Ranallo was the voice of both.

Mauro Ranallo's bombastic commentary style is often the subject of discussion. His love of language and steady stream of pop culture references are two of his unmistakable trademarks. The reason: merely "calling the fight" is anathema to Mauro, as we see in one scene where he berates himself for doing too much paint-by-numbers play-by-play during one event. His goal, he explains, is always to be a storyteller and entertainer. Through tireless research and copious notes, he constantly strives to be as creative as possible.

Bipolar disorder used to be referred to as manic depression, and it's obvious that the "manic" side aids his commentary at times. WWE released footage of Mauro's "priceless reactions" during the Gargano-Ciampa match. He can barely sit still.

Treatment for bipolar disorder is covered at length in the documentary, including – surprisingly – marijuana, which Mauro freely admits is his medication of choice. His reasoning make sense: When he would ask doctors how or why certain pills, doses, and combinations worked, they were often unsure. Because he had no way of knowing exactly what he was putting into his body or what it would do to him, he felt more comfortable treating his mental illness with marijuana.

Some would say that Mauro Ranallo succeeded despite bipolar disorder, while others would argue that his greatest successes may very well be because of the disease. Both are true and neither are true. It's more complicated than that. What cannot be debated, however, is the common denominator in both of those statements: his success. Because "Bipolar Rock 'N Roller" never sugarcoats Mauro Ranallo's struggles or minimizes the realities of mental illness, his success story ultimately serves as a message of hope.