Review: Camp WWE “There’s No Place Like Camp”

 

Spoilers Below

John Cena’s suffering from homesickness, so Vince deploys camp counselors Stephanie and Triple H to help make the kid feel more at home. They don’t work, so Ric Flair is tasked with making sure Cena is happy, but between fucking a bear, a tire, and thin air, he kinda doesn’t make it around to doing the job. Vince decides to take matters into his own hands, and ends up chasing John Cena through the woods. Eventually, the two give up, and John agrees to help Vince get back to the camp, only to find the entire area engulfed in flames inside of a Hell in a Cell!

Turns out, Stephanie and HHH burned down the camp after not paying attention to the kids and instead trying to convince them that their parents were dead. The Young Authority dispels this notion after constant pressures, and all of the kids (Cena included) want to stay in Camp WWE for good.

Our Take

It’s so refreshing to see WWE programming with a TV-MA network rating again. Back in my day, (the Attitude Era), that was when the rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, and more came to be and helped destroy WCW for good.

Now, the network rating is used for a new adult animated comedy in Camp WWE, and yes, it’s well earned. WWE Superstars and personalities alike bring us a side of humor that we normally don’t get to see on regular WWE TV, and Michael Cole made sure to remind of us just that heading into the premiere episode.

Produced by Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, I was rather impressed with the fact that WWE ordered a handful of episodes with a 22-minute run-time and it works here because we really do get smacked with just SO MANY characters. Half of them didn’t say a word, but like South Park, I suspect more of the camp kids will become feature players sooner rather than later. Vince McMahon is undoubtedly the Cartman of this universe if I’m to continue to use the South Park analogy. The 70-year old owner of the WWE is the best part of this show, and the producers put together a bunch of dialogue that, quite frankly, I was shocked to hear Vince say. Ric Flair is another really strong character, having taken the crown of being the sexual deviant of the series.

As for the kids, I’ll be honest, we spent more time with John Cena than anyone else, and he kind of comes off as the Butters of the show. Stone Cold Steve Austin is just as funny as advertised, and R-Truth, The Undertaker, and HHH are also very well-represented.

That said, Vince does carry this show on his back, which could wain to be not fun as episodes come along. Also, I’ve never been a fan of crass jokes having punch line cuss words. Not to say all of the dialogue is like this, but a decent amount. I personally thought the better jokes were the ones at Stephanie’s expense from her dad, and even R-Truth had some really funny snaps as he was arguing with the camp’s counselors.

Overall, a strong first episode. Yea, the premise has been done before. An animated series revolving around a camp has been done quite a few times over the years, but arguably, Vince McMahon is as terrifying of a prospect as you can get for a camp counselor. If the producers can continue to flesh out the ancillary characters as time goes on, Camp WWE could very well do for that network what South Park, Beavis and Butthead, and The Simpsons did for theirs.