Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This at Home
Encyclopedia
Backyard Wrestling is a video game developed by Paradox Development
, and published by Eidos Interactive
in 2003 for Xbox
and PlayStation 2
.
is largely to use the environment to defeat an opponent.
The featured wrestlers come mostly from rap group Insane Clown Posse
's own wrestling federation, the Juggalo Championship Wrestling. These include Mad Man Pondo, Sabu, Tom Dub, Rude Boy, Josh Prohibition, MDogg20 and the clowns themselves, Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. Other celebrity appearances include Miller Lite spokesmodel Kitana Baker and former World Championship Wrestling
valet Tylene Buck.
Aside from the standard backyard locations, Backyard Wrestlings arenas include a truck stop, a slaughterhouse, an outdoor parking lot, a talk show set and a strip club. Each environment is littered with barbed wire-laden bats, fluorescent light bulbs, breakable tables, steel chairs and other objects players may use to injure their opponents.
Also this game featured FMVs that you could unlock by completing certain objectives while fighting in the different venues. Mostly they are taken from the "Backyard Wrestling" DVD series, and they have the different songs of the game playing in the background. The first one on the backyard level was "Backyard Babes 101", which contained the backyard babes near-naked over Bowling for Soup
's song "Punk Rock 101
", featured on their Drunk Enough to Dance
album. Mud pools, water pools and sun tan lotion are all featured in this clip. Other FMVs, like "Collateral Damage" and "Kids Today..." are also featured, including two clips of ICP's wrestling promotion, JCW, with two of their songs playing in the background.
was released the following year, including more wrestlers and moves but mostly the same game play.
Sum 41
's "The Hell Song" was used during TV
commercial advertising for the game.
.
The game had a "Story" like mode, entitled "Talk Show
Mode" circling around a show called "Today's Topic", which resembled The Jerry Springer Show
. The talk show host, a nameless character that resembled Kevin Gill, one of the game's creators, interviewed different victims and personalities of backyard wrestling. After the interview, your character would be placed where the victim was and you would fight three other backyard wrestlers. You had to face three opponents with one health bar.
Paradox Development
Midway Studios - Los Angeles Inc. was an American-based video game developer. They are best known for fighting games such as the X-Men Mutant Academy and Backyard Wrestling franchises, as well as the Mortal Kombat action game spin-off Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. The team was also responsible for...
, and published by Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
in 2003 for Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
.
General summary
The goal of backyard wrestlingBackyard wrestling
Backyard wrestling , and also referred to as yarding or backyarding is a controversial underground recreation based on the usually untrained practice of professional-style wrestling in a typically low budget environment between predominantly 12 to 30 year old males. Some practitioners have attended...
is largely to use the environment to defeat an opponent.
The featured wrestlers come mostly from rap group Insane Clown Posse
Insane Clown Posse
Insane Clown Posse is an American hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan. The group is composed of Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler, who perform under the respective personas of the "wicked clowns" Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. Insane Clown Posse performs a style of hardcore hip hop known as horrorcore...
's own wrestling federation, the Juggalo Championship Wrestling. These include Mad Man Pondo, Sabu, Tom Dub, Rude Boy, Josh Prohibition, MDogg20 and the clowns themselves, Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. Other celebrity appearances include Miller Lite spokesmodel Kitana Baker and former World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
valet Tylene Buck.
Aside from the standard backyard locations, Backyard Wrestlings arenas include a truck stop, a slaughterhouse, an outdoor parking lot, a talk show set and a strip club. Each environment is littered with barbed wire-laden bats, fluorescent light bulbs, breakable tables, steel chairs and other objects players may use to injure their opponents.
Also this game featured FMVs that you could unlock by completing certain objectives while fighting in the different venues. Mostly they are taken from the "Backyard Wrestling" DVD series, and they have the different songs of the game playing in the background. The first one on the backyard level was "Backyard Babes 101", which contained the backyard babes near-naked over Bowling for Soup
Bowling for Soup
Bowling for Soup is an American pop-punk band which originally formed in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1994...
's song "Punk Rock 101
Punk Rock 101
"Punk Rock 101" is a song by Texas pop-punk band Bowling for Soup. It appeared on the second release of their 2002 album Drunk Enough to Dance. The single peaked at #43 on the UK Singles Chart....
", featured on their Drunk Enough to Dance
Drunk Enough to Dance
Each version of the album has a number tracks that are five-to-six seconds of complete silence, titled "[Blank]," between the last song and "Belgium." The number of blank tracks varies upon the version, but "Belgium" is track 28 on all versions except for the Japanese Edition, where it is on track...
album. Mud pools, water pools and sun tan lotion are all featured in this clip. Other FMVs, like "Collateral Damage" and "Kids Today..." are also featured, including two clips of ICP's wrestling promotion, JCW, with two of their songs playing in the background.
Reception
Released in 2003, the game went on to sell nearly half a million copies worldwide. Its reception from critics was lukewarm, but player interest was high enough to justify the development of a sequel. Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the NeighborhoodBackyard Wrestling 2: There Goes The Neighborhood
Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood is the second installment in the Backyard Wrestling series and was released on Xbox and PlayStation 2. The licensed soundtrack includes music by Andrew W.K., Kool Keith, the Insane Clown Posse, Bad Brains, Body Count, Six and Violence, Mudvayne and...
was released the following year, including more wrestlers and moves but mostly the same game play.
Sum 41
Sum 41
Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. The band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of members Deryck Whibley , Tom Thacker , Jason McCaslin and Steve Jocz .In 1999, the band signed an international record deal with Island Records...
's "The Hell Song" was used during TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
commercial advertising for the game.
General gameplay
The gameplay could be better described as a cross between classic pro wrestling video games and 3D platform fighting like Power StonePower Stone
Power Stone is a fully 3D arena fighting game series made by Capcom. Power Stone was initially released on the Sega NAOMI hardware and later ported to the Dreamcast...
.
The game had a "Story" like mode, entitled "Talk Show
Tabloid talk show
Tabloid talk shows are a genre of American television programming talk shows that achieved peak viewership during the late 20th century. Airing mostly during the day and distributed mostly through broadcast syndication, this genre originated with The Phil Donahue Show and was popularized by the...
Mode" circling around a show called "Today's Topic", which resembled The Jerry Springer Show
The Jerry Springer Show
The Jerry Springer Show is a syndicated television tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician, broadcast in the United States and other countries...
. The talk show host, a nameless character that resembled Kevin Gill, one of the game's creators, interviewed different victims and personalities of backyard wrestling. After the interview, your character would be placed where the victim was and you would fight three other backyard wrestlers. You had to face three opponents with one health bar.
Roster
- Violent JJoseph BruceJoseph Frank "Joe" Bruce is an American rapper, record producer, professional wrestler and actor. Bruce is most commonly known as Violent J of the Insane Clown Posse . He is the co-founder of the record label Psychopathic Records, with fellow ICP rapper Joseph Utsler and their former manager,...
- Shaggy 2 DopeJoseph UtslerJoseph William "Joey" Utsler is an American rapper, record producer, DJ, professional wrestler and actor. Utsler is known as Shaggy 2 Dope of the hip hop group Insane Clown Posse. He is the co-founder of the record label Psychopathic Records, with fellow Insane Clown Posse rapper Joseph Bruce and...
- Mad Man Pondo
- The Rudeboy
- Josh Prohibition
- M-Dogg 20
- JCW's Evil DeadRobert Bruce (rapper)Robert Bruce is a former American rapper, Psychopathic Records don, and professional wrestler, and currently works as a paramedic in Detroit, Michigan.Bruce is most commonly known by his stage name Jumpsteady...
- Jamie MadroxJamie SpanioloJames Spaniolo is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. Spaniolo is most commonly known as Jamie Madrox of the rap group Twiztid. He is also a member of the two supergroups Dark Lotus and Psychopathic Rydas...
- Monoxide Child
- Sabu
- Tom Dub
- Masked Horn Dog
- El DrunkoNate WebbNathan "Nate" Webb is an American professional wrestler and semi-pro football player, best known for his appearances in Combat Zone Wrestling, Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South, Ring of Honor and MTV's Wrestling Society X. On April 22, 2008, Webb was notified that he had made the roster...
- El Chicharron
- Karnage
- Gupta
- Masked Mike Jackson
- Sonny D. Chopper
- Atrocity XXX
- Commissioner
- Dameon Redd
- Da Bone DoctorCharles Wright (wrestler)Charles Wright is an American businessman and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation throughout the 1990s and early 2000s under the ring names Papa Shango, Kama, Kama Mustafa, The Godfather, and The Goodfather .After leaving the wrestling...
- Ross Lover
- Josh Asbill
- Tylene BuckTylene BuckTylene Buck is an American Pornographic actress & model and a former wrestler and valet under the name of Major Gunns.-Professional Wrestler:...
- Kitana BakerKitana BakerKitana Baker is an American model and actressBorn in Anaheim, California, and of Chinese, Hawaiian, German, and Irish ancestry, Baker has appeared in numerous films, videos and television shows, and has worked for both E! and Playboy...
- Sally
- Jezebel
- Rosie
- Adrianne Pain
- Hernia