Category Archives: DVD reviews

New Stone Cold DVD proves to be “The Bottom Line” about his WWE career

By Jonathan Williams

Considering the impact he has had on the industry and the number of amazing moments he was part of, it’s hard to believe that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin‘s in-ring career only lasted a little more than a decade. But in that short time, he became the most popular wrestler of his era and one of the industry’s most iconic personas.

Even in his retirement, Stone Cold remains one of WWE‘s most popular superstars, getting bigger pops than most active roster members when he appears at Raw, WrestleMania or anywhere else. In the most comprehensive look at his career to date, Stone Cold Steve Austin: The Bottom Line on the Most Popular Superstar of All Time shows us exactly why Austin became such a phenomenon, even when his defiant attitude got the best of him.

The four-disc DVD set begins with a documentary chronicling Austin’s career, starting with his early fascination with wrestling from the first time he caught Houston Wrestling on TV. After enrolling in “Gentleman” Chris Adams‘ wrestling school at the Dallas Sportatorium and debuting in World Class Championship Wrestling, it wasn’t long before the blond-haired hunk was winning Pro Wrestling Illustrated‘s Rookie of the Year in 1990 and gaining greater national exposure in World Championship Wrestling.

Though he had a successful run there as “Stunning” Steve Austin (namely as one half of the Hollywood Blonds with “Flyin'” Brian Pillman), it wasn’t until he was fired from WCW and had his brief stint in Extreme Championship Wrestling that the no-nonsense Stone Cold persona began to emerge. The DVD then delves into his WWE career, beginning with his initial pairing with “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase as the Ringmaster and touching on every important moment in his rapid ascent to becoming wrestling’s biggest success story.

As is true in most any profession, success is ofter about being in the right place at the right time and that has certainly been the case with Austin. From the scathing “Austin 3:16” rant that got the wrestling world’s attention after his victory over Jake “The Snake” Roberts at 1996’s King of the Ring pay-per-view, through his many encounters with The Rock and his ultimate rivalry with Mr. McMahon, this retrospective features commentary from Austin, Paul Heyman, Jim Ross, McMahon, Christian, Chris Jericho, C.M. Punk and many others who witnessed the Austin Era from varying perspectives.

Courtesy WWE

While his wrestling abilities and antihero persona are what made Stone Cold the star he remains today, it’s easy to forget that much of his success came during promos, backstage vignettes and absurd moments such as when he attacked a bedridden McMahon with a bedpan and when he served as the Raw sheriff while recovering from an injury. Though his career was plagued with severe injuries, which eventually forced him into retirement, this DVD shows that even when he wasn’t able to express himself in the ring, he was just as adept at entertaining fans in other ways.

But that’s not to say Austin had any shortage of magical moments in the ring, and the next two discs offer the most comprehensive look at the biggest matches of his career, as chosen by Austin himself. From early highlights such as a 1990 United States Wrestling Association match against his mentor Adams and a 1994 WCW match in which Austin and Ric Flair teamed up against Sting and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat to three of his matches against The Rock (one for the Intercontinental Championship and two for the WWE Championship), you’ll be hard pressed to think of a match that might have been left out. And that’s saying a lot considering that 2008’s The Legacy of Stone Cold Steve Austin features three discs of memorable matches, and very few of those matches have been duplicated on The Bottom Line (though I wouldn’t have minded seeing at least one of his matches as a member of Paul E. Dangerously’s Dangerous Alliance in WCW).

Courtesy WWE

Other key matches included here are the infamous King of the Ring victory over Roberts (as well as the subsequent promo), the brutal 1997 submission match against Bret “Hit Man” Hart, and wild encounters against Shawn Michaels, Dude Love, the Undertaker and the Big Show. The last disc is filled with the non-wrestling moments that came to define Austin’s career as much as what he did in the ring. Included here are such key moments as his old ECW promos (where he humorously lambasted both WCW and WWE), Slammy Award acceptance speeches, the antics that cemented him (literally, in one instance) as WWE’s ultimate blue collar hero and a Michael Cole interview in which Austin’s “What?” catchphrase really catches on. And the special features (all on the first disc) offer more insight into Austin’s unique character and sense of humor with interview segments about his concern over losing his hair (seems like the bald look worked well for him) to the origin of his finishing move, the Stunner.

Whether you watch it on its own or see it as a complement to The Legacy DVD set, The Bottom Line truly is all that needs to be said about Austin’s career. And I think anyone who sees it, including Stone Cold, would say so.

For more information, go to www.wweshop.com.

“Michaels vs. Hart” closes the chapter in one of WWE’s most controversial rivalries

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By Dan Kemp

What is there to say that hasn’t already been said about the volatile relationship between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart? Anybody who’s been watching professional wrestling for the past 15 years (or anyone with even a passing interest in what goes on in and out of the ring) should already know at least a little bit about their storied rivalry. Even before the infamous Montreal Screwjob, Michaels and Hart had many great matches, always trying to outdo each other. In fact, their historic matches and constant one-upping helped keep the then-World Wrestling Federation afloat when World Championship Wrestling came to the frontline and began winning in the Monday night television ratings in the ’90s.

Apparently there is still quite a bit to discuss on this matter, as evidenced by the new WWE DVD release WWE Greatest Rivalries: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart. In this DVD, Jim Ross sits down with the two WWE Hall of Famers and starts off by taking a look at the humble beginnings of each man’s career. There is a nice video montage for each of them, which, if you’ve seen any of WWE’s previous Michaels or Hart releases, is really nothing new. Both men talk about how they broke into the business, who trained them, where they started, etc.

Soon enough, the interview begins to cover when Michaels and Hart crossed paths in the late 1980s. The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart) was already a fairly dominant tag team in the WWF when the Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) made their WWF debut. Hart mentions how impressed he was with what he and Neidhart saw in the young Michaels and Jannetty, and how the Hart Foundation was pushing to face them in the ring. It’s clear that there was a mutual respect between Hart and Michaels from the beginning.

Eventually, the interview leads in the direction that we’ve all been waiting for; the beginning of the rivalry between Michaels and Hart. You’ll be surprised to find out a couple things regarding the events of the mid ’90s, where much of their hatred and disrespect came to fruition. Both men speak candidly about what was happening behind the scenes at the time, and for the first time you’ll be able to see just how bad things truly were between the two men.

Without giving too much away, the interview does end on a high note, as we travel to the present day and see Michaels and Hart reunited. There’s some backstage footage of the two meeting on the night of Hart’s return to Raw in January of 2010. After nearly 15 years, the two legends have patched things up and are moving forward as friends.

Along with the riveting interview, there’s also a slew of matches and in-ring segments on the other two discs in this package. On the second disc, you’ll see some early tag matches between the Hart Foundation and the Rockers, along with several high profile singles matches between Michaels and Hart. If you’re a longtime wrestling fan, you’ve likely already seen most of these matches, but that doesn’t take away from their amazing quality. These two men are two of wrestling’s all-time greats, and they prove it in each of these matches.

The third disc is bit of a letdown. Aside from the iron man title match between the two at WrestleMania XII, the only things on here are the Hall of Fame induction speeches by both men and their in-ring reunion from January 2010. It’s all quality stuff, but, again, stuff we’ve seen before.

Overall, this is a great addition to any wrestling fan’s collection. The quality of WWE’s DVD releases has always been top notch, and this one is no exception. You’ll learn something new about Michaels and Hart, you’ll see some classic matches, and most importantly, you’ll feel the real emotion that both of these men felt during the interview. It’s really something to see that peace has been made between these two WWE Hall of Famers despite the in-ring rivalries, backstage politics and other controversy that came between them for some many years.

For more information, go to www.wweshop.com.

“Enigma” highlights the charisma and chaos of TNA’s Jeff Hardy

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Prior to his recent return to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Jeff Hardy‘s last appearance in a TNA ring was in the main event of Victory Road last March. Considering that he didn’t come anywhere close to defeating Sting for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and, instead, was pinned in less than two minutes in what will likely always be considered one of the company’s most embarrassing moments, it might seem unwise for TNA to release a two-disc set celebrating Hardy’s most recent stint with the company.

Enigma: The Best of Jeff Hardy, Volume 2, however, is actually a good reminder of Hardy’s accomplishments prior to Victory Road. From interviews with childhood friends and peers such as Kurt Angle, Sting and brother Matt Hardy to footage of Jeff at home with his artwork, dirt bike and baby daughter, Enigma shows the seemingly down-to-earth guy behind the makeup and mishaps. More importantly, the DVD set features some of Hardy’s best matches in TNA, as well as footage of his 2004 debut at the Asylum against AJ Styles, his return on the Jan. 4, 2010 and his first match back with the company last March (again against Styles in an impressive non-title victory over the then-TNA Champion).

Enigma chronicles Hardy’s climb to the top of TNA’s ladder (literally, in some instances) as he teams, then feuds, with Mr. Anderson, has a great series with Angle that includes some incredible matches with awful endings, reunites with Matt and becomes the TNA Champion after his ultimate heel turn at last year’s Bound for Glory. Though his inclusion in Immortal (like so many other things about that faction) seems a bit nonsensical, the fact that he was actually able to achieve his greatest success since returning to TNA despite the egos of Immortal’s other members (and that horrendous custom title belt) says a lot about Hardy’s charisma in and out of the ring.

The DVD concludes with two of his best TNA matches to date; a ladder match against Anderson at Against All Odds where Hardy regained the TNA title and the March 3 Impact! match against the returning Sting, in which Sting defeated Hardy for the title. Both of these matches happened just weeks before that other match against Sting at Victory Road, which makes Hardy’s inevitable fall from grace that much harder to accept. Of course, this being a “Best of” DVD, that match is not included. And as evidenced by what is included in this collection, including an amusing episode of his Internet-based The Hardy Show (as well as the positive fan reaction Hardy has received since his return to TNA in recent weeks), Hardy clearly has plenty more to offer as long as his self-destructive risks are limited to athletic displays rather than reckless ones. Let’s just hope his current run results in a third volume rather than another public spectacle.

“Diamond” Dallas Page relives “The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro”

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During the ’90s, World Championship Wrestling rose to Monday night dominance over the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) with WCW Monday Nitro, which went head-to-head with WWF Monday Night Raw for more than five years. Though WCW eventually lost the Monday Night Wars in 2001, Nitro definitely provided some exciting times that wrestling fans still recall fondly to this day. With The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro, WWE honors its former foe with a three-disc set of Nitro highlights hosted by one of WCW’s biggest stars, “Diamond” Dallas Page. Page talks to Wrestling with Pop Culture about the Nitro DVD and the memories it brought up for him.

Former WCW stars Kevin Nash and Booker T recently returned to WWE, and there are still plenty of other people from WCW in the company. How did you end up hosting this DVD?

It was interesting because when they first asked me if I was interested in doing it, I was like, “Hell, yeah. I’m interested. I’m honored!” But I wanted to see the copy because it was very important to me what was said there. After I saw it, I said, “You don’t really want me to do this.” And they were like, “What do you mean? We want you to do it.” I said, “I just wouldn’t say some of these things about WCW. I want to talk about the best of and keep it really positive.” And they said, “Well, change it.” WWE really wanted to do something really cool and I actually talked to some friends of mine because I wanted to know what the fans wanted to see. So they gave me some great ideas and WWE was like, “Great!”

At the end of the video I say that it’s a crime to try to fit six years into one production. I hope people get to see some of your favorite stuff, but they sure missed a hell of a lot of mine. That’s why I say at the end that I’m ready for volume two. I liked what they did, but there’s so much that WWE could do with the footage they have. You could do a DVD set just on mine and [Randy] Savage‘s feud. Never mind Sting and [Hulk] Hogan. You could do three sets of DVDs on just the New World Order, maybe ten.

Have there been talks about doing a DDP DVD?

If this one sells well, a DDP DVD might be a good idea. I’d put my career up against anyone’s in terms of things that have never been done before. I would never compare myself to Ric Flair or Shawn Michaels or Dusty Rhodes. I don’t have the talent that those guys did, and I have monster respect for all of them. But I am the anomaly. No one did what “Diamond” Dallas Page did. I tried wrestling at 22, didn’t work out. When into the night club business, came back as a manager at 32 in the AWA [American Wrestling Association], worked one day a month, which got me on TV every week. Then I went to Championship Wrestling from Florida and worked under Dusty after he left the NWA [National Wrestling Alliance] and started his own territory. I didn’t know a wristlock from a wrist watch and the next thing you know I’m doing color commentary next to Gordon Solie. Then I tried out for the WWF, at the time, and WCW, and both of them passed. Then Dusty brings me in as a manager at WCW and they say I’m too over the top to be a manager. Magnum T.A. said, “We should have put you in a pair of tights and seen what you could do.” So I became a wrestler at 35 and the rest is history. No one ever did, or will ever do, what I did.

You’re also the one who brought Kevin Nash and Scott Hall into WCW originally as Vinnie Vegas and the Diamond Stud.

Exactly! I created Scott Hall’s character, which became Razor Ramon. Scott would be in the car with me doing impressions of Tony Montana from Scarface and that became “The Bad Guy.” The thing with the toothpick, we were walking out of a freaking Waffle House and I grabbed a toothpick and said, “Oh, I’ve got a great idea. When you do an interview, flick your toothpick into the camera.” Then I tagged with Kevin Nash and we were green, but we could work. That’s when I tore my rotator cuff, got fired, came back and they sat me on the bench. It took Hulk Hogan telling me over in Germany, “I don’t know what you’re doing to keep getting so much better, but whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. You and I have the ability to draw huge money together.” Then Hulk went to Eric [Bischoff] and said, “You need to do something with him.” That’s when I started getting the little pushes and we all know what happened from there. Then I became the oldest World Champion.

While watching one of your World Championship matches against Sting on this DVD, I was reminded of the signs people used to hold up at shows back then. There’s a great one that says, “DDP: The Hippies’ Champ.”

Yeah, that one would show up occasionally and I thought it was funny. You know, Sting was the only guy who could get away with never turning heel.

Yeah, even when he joined the New World Order he wasn’t a heel.

Right. The red-and-black were babyfaces. So it was just easier to work as a heel against him. I knew how to do that and he’s one of the few guys I could do that with. Goldberg, too. I flipped myself, and Bischoff was mad as hell at me for doing it. What happened was I came back and was in an angle with Scotty Steiner. I had never been to Toronto and I came out and the place went nuts. When I started talking about Steiner, they cheered and I thought they were cheering Scotty. They were really cheering the angle, but I turned on the people and cut a vicious promo. I remember going back and Bischoff saying, “What are you doing turning yourself heel?” I said, “The people were cheering for Steiner and I got pissed!” And that was all reality based, so I went with it. But he was like, “You’re one of our top babyfaces! You can’t just flip like that.”

Another moment that was missing from the DVD was when the nWo was really trying to get you to join and it looked like you were about to, but then someone jumped you from behind.

It was Dennis Rodman and Hulk Hogan.

I was surprised that wasn’t on the DVD, especially after the part where you say something to the effect of, “Who was the only superstar to never join the nWo? We’ll get to that later.”

I really wanted them to put the La Parka match in there. That was one of the greatest Nitro moments ever, and they said they liked it, but they didn’t put it in there. I can’t remember why they didn’t.

The whole thing with the nWo was the bookers at the time didn’t want me to drop the nWo. It was my idea and they drew that out for so long. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. There’s something positive that comes out of everything, you’ve just got to keep looking for it. I was a heel and I never fucking changed my promos. Just like Steve Austin in ’97, I just turned my disdain and disgust for the fans to the nWo. That’s all I did. And at some point I became a pure babyface, but that took years.

The same thing happened with the Four Horsemen and several others. It was WCW vs. nWo, so it didn’t matter if you were a face or heel.

One thing that was huge to me was Sting going into the rafters. The only babyfaces we really had were the Big Show [then known as the Giant] and Lex Luger. And Lex was 6’4″, 290 pounds of pure chiseled steel, so they had to beat Lex down. I had a legitimate angle with these guys because I was really tight, best friends, especially with Kevin.

Now that you’ve done this DVD with WWE, are you working on any other projects there?

I’m open. I went in to promote the DVD on Raw and it was great having fun with Booker in the back. There are four guys I really wish I could have worked with. One being the Rock, of course, so it would be the People’s Champion vs. the People’s Champion. Shawn Michaels would absolutely have been another. Triple H and Stone Cold are the other guys I really wish I had been able to work with. But interacting with Shawn on Raw was cool.

I’m really glad I did the DVD set and it would be a natural fit for them to keep me as a host. When people think of Nitro, they think of “Diamond” Dallas Page because I was there from the get-go to the ending. Goldberg was made over that time period, but I was there when we were nothing and we were way down the ladder. And I can remember Eric Bischoff saying, “We’re going to kick Vince McMahon‘s ass.” And I’d be thinking, “What are you smoking, man? How can you even say that?” But first you’ve got to say it and believe it, or else you’re never going to achieve it. And he did. I was there with him for that whole ride.

That Raw segment with Booker T and Shawn Michaels was great, when Michaels said he missed Nitro because he always had to work that night.

Yeah, that was great! It’s total bullshit because we all watched everything we all did. But he was working that thing when he said, “I’ll check that out.”

Sting was obviously a big part of WCW, and a lot of people think he deserves to be in the WWE Hall of Fame. Do you think he’ll ever go to WWE before he retires?

No, I don’t think so. Now that it’s PG, there might be a chance. But I think if Sting comes in it will be under his terms. He’s 52 now and he’s still out there doing his thing. I know how hard it is because I did house shows until I was 53. I don’t want to do it anymore. For Stinger to come back, what does he have to prove? The reason why he could do it is the face paint. He’s kind of ageless. I think he’ll be in the WWE Hall of Fame regardless. Sting is a guy they really want and I think they would do something really good with him.

For more information, go to www.wwe.com and www.diamonddallaspage.com.

ArenaChicks offers a new alternative to women’s wrestling

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By Jonathan Williams

Women’s wrestling still exists in today’s mainstream shows, but what passes for female grappling these days is usually more about eye candy than athleticism. Recently, however, a new indie promotion has emerged to help remind fans what women’s wrestling is really all about.

With its first DVD release, ArenaChicks, Volume 1, ArenaChicks features some of the top talent in underground female wrestling. Filmed in conjunction with the Carolina Wrestling Federation Mid-Atlantic shows in Burlington, N.C., the seven matches included on the first ArenaChicks DVD are from different shows, but form one cohesive collection.

With ArenaChicks executive producer Amber O’Neal providing commentary alongside Amber Gertner (best known for her interview segments for Shimmer Women Athletes wrestling), this DVD includes talents such as Allison Danger, Sara Del Rey, Angel Orsini and others previously seen in Shimmer, Women Superstars Uncensored and other prominent indies. And while match-ups such as Del Rey vs. Danger and Orsini vs. Jessica Havok are impressively hard-hitting bouts, it’s the intergender tag match pitting O’Neal and Chiva Kid against Kellie Skater and Coach Gemini (aka CWF Mid-Atlantic’s Gemini Kid) that proves the ArenaChicks are just as tough as their male counterparts.

The main event also features teams of male and female combatants doing battle in The Dating Game Match, where the winners get to go on a date together. Sure, it’s silly, but the match is great and the actual date is included as a bonus feature. Another bonus match is an eight-woman tag match featuring the likes of O’Neal, Danger, Persephone, Becky Bayless (aka Total Nonstop Action‘s Cookie) and Talia Madison (aka TNA’s Velvet Sky), to honor the late Sherri Martel.

ArenaChicks will also be appearing at the Cape Fear Tattoo and Arts Expo April 29-May 1, filming matches for their second DVD on April 30 with former WWE and TNA star Shelly Martinez as guest referee. And this weekend, Cookie will be making an ArenaChicks appearance as a guest bartender alongside O’Neal at Lucky’s Tavern in Jacksonville, N.C.

For more info, go to www.arenachicks.com.

The True Story of WrestleMania chronicles the emotional beginnings of wrestling’s biggest show

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Review by Jason Von Stein

Previous WWE releases have documented the inception, chronology, and spectacle that is WrestleMania to varying degrees. But never has a DVD set looked at the event’s history as extensively as The True Story of WrestleMania. This set shows what went into making WWE’s version of the Super Bowl a reality and how it has become one of the biggest spectacles in all of live entertainment. Along the way, we are exposed to an emotional side of WWE chairman Vince McMahon and other WWE personalities that we don’t normally see through their on-screen and in-ring personas.

When done right, professional wrestling is an emotional ride, with its grand ring entrances, false finishes and, on the grandest stage of them all, the occasional culmination of confetti-covered championship victories in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans. The True Story of WrestleMania does a great job of documenting that ride over the course of the past 26 WrestleMania events. Watching this feature and the highlighted WrestleMania matches definitely invigorates that ‘Mania excitement as we approach WrestleMania XXVII in just a few days.

For those of us that grew up watching WWE, reenacting our favorite WrestleMania moments with friends and debating over whether the Ultimate Warrior was a better champion than Hulk Hogan, The True Story of WrestleMania allows us to relive those memories and escape into these historical moments once again . But even those who weren’t around for those magical moments of the early ‘Manias will no doubt enjoy learning about the risks that made WrestleMania possible and the rewards that the wrestling world has reaped ever since.

The True Story of WrestleMania is available now