Blu-Ray Review: WWE Sting: Into the Light

WWE's Sting: Into the Light is out now on DVD and Blu-Ray from www.wwedvd.co.uk and all other good home video outlets. The set includes a brand new documentary on the 2 time NWA World Heavyweight Champion's career, including footage surround his WWE debut at Survivor Series 2014. There's sixteen complete matches on the DVD spanning the Stingers career in MSW, UWF, NWA, NJPW, WCW and WWE, with an extra four bouts included on the Blu-Ray...but is it any good?

The Documentary

The documentary kicks of the set, in a pretty familiar style for these types of releases. There's a look at Sting's career as a whole (although don't get your hopes up for too much TNA coverage), mixed in with specially filmed footage looking at the build towards The Icon's signing with WWE. The true highlight for me was Sting sitting down to watch some of his most famous matches (with Luger vs. The Steiner, vs. Hogan at Starrcade 97 and more), allowing for a real insight into how those bouts were put together. There's also a strange pleasure to be found in watching the Vigilante enjoying his own contests. 


I found that certain elements were pushed a little too hard to fit the narrative that had been chosen, like how much kids loved Sting (there's a lot of interviews about this) to build towards his Crow transformation. Whilst Sting comes across as a humble ("what an honour to have a match with Triple H"), at times his faith is pushed a little bit too much for my taste. I understand the idea of giving an insight into someone's private life, but these were the only sections that turned me off this set, coming across as a little too preachy.


The documentary as a whole is an easy watch and fires along at real pace, with plenty of treats for all the little Stingers out there along the way. 

The Matches

The first bout to really get your teeth into see's The Blade Runners (Blade Runner Sting & Blade Runner Rock) battling Tracy Smothers & Ricky Gibson (MSW, 2/3/1986) in a basic tag match, with a lively crowd. A UWF Tag Title encounter with The Stinger teaming up with Rick Steiner against Tim Horner & Brad Armstrong has it's moments, but is a mostly slopping affair, that more than outstays it's welcome. The booking is weird and whilst there's clearly potential in the the future Icon he's clearly still too green to carry a bout of this calibre. 

The first great match here (and almost certainly the best on the entire set) is a classic encounter with Ric Flair over the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (NWA Clash of the Champions #1, 27/03/1988). Whilst Sting has clearly improved ten-fold by this time, it's the Nature Boy's brilliance that shines through here, as his selling allows The Stinger to look every inch of the star he needed to be. The back and forth technical wrestling builds and builds to a thrilling climax, with excellent use of the old-school time-limit concept, that has a fully invested live-crowd begging for more. It's a lengthy epic that some fans may find hard to adjust to, in comparison to today's WWE product, but if you stick with the action you'll be rewarded.


Whilst all the trademarks are present when The Franchise of WCW's bout with Great Muta (NJPW Starrcade 1991- 21/03/1991) doesn't quite hit the spot as a standalone contest. However, the tag bout that follows is another terrific effort out of Sting, as he tags with Lex Luger against The Steiner Brothers (WCW Superbrawl - 19/05/1991) in a pacy, back and forth face vs. face encounter over the WCW World Tag Team Championships. A Submit or Surrender contest with Cactus Jack (WCW Power Hour - 11/1991) isn't the greatest example of the style, but is a welcome change of pace. There's no commentary for a bout with Rick Rude (WCW Clash of the Champions #21 - 18/11/1992), due to Jesse Ventura being part of the announce team, but this actually ends up working in the matches favour. A masterclass in why being over is so important, as the crowd eats up every minutes of what is a fairly basic encounter, loudly cheering on Sting and getting on Rude's back throughout. 


A clash with Vader over the WCW International Heavyweight Championship (WCW Slamboree 1994 - 22/05/1994) has another hot crowd, with the two character slotting together nicely, even if it struggles to reach the heights of their Strap match from SuperBrawl III the year before. An obligatory match with "Stunning" Steve Austin (WCW Saturday Night - 08/04/1995) is a disappointing confrontation, in which the duo take some tame to connect, after a pretty sloppy opening. A pre-nWo, tweener version of Hulk Hogan (with Randy Savage) provides an intriguing contest (WCW Monday NITRO #21 - 20/11/1995), that includes some surprisingly good technical wrestling and is only let down by it's TV finish. A massive jump forward to a clash with The Giant over who got to hold the WCW World Tag Championships (WCW/nWo The Great American Bash 1998 - 14.06.1998) is our first look at "Crow" Sting, in what is a short, but enjoyable, story-driven contest.

There's a big match feel as The Vigilante and Goldberg make their way into the arena for a WCW World Heavyweight Championship contest (WCW Monday NITRO #157 - 26.04.1998), with a lively South Carolina crowd helping to make the build up feel extra special. It's a shame then, that the match is mainly used to build Goldberg as the World Champion, but this does mean we get an awesome example of Sting's selflessness as he bumps around for Big Bill. A title match that doesn't disappoint however, see's Sting tackle Diamond Dallas Page (WCW Monday NITRO #189 - 26.04.1999) in one of the best bouts to be broadcast on NITRO. Arguably Sting's last truly great bout, there's a cracking mix of technical wrestling, brawling, dramatic near falls and a lively crowd, whose pop for the finish is incredible. 


It's a shame that the DDP bout wasn't the last WCW contest on the set, as whilst another WCW World Heavyweight Championship bout, this time opposite Bret Hart (WCW Monday NITRO #213 - 18.10.1999), isn't bad, it never threatens to break out into anything of interest. The set jumps to Sting's WWE debut then, joining the Team Cena (Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan, John Cena, Ryback & The Big Show) vs. Team Authority (Kane, Luke Harper, Mark Henry, Rusev & Seth Rollins), Traditional Survivor Series Elimination tag match in progress (WWE Survivor Series 2014 - 23.11.2014) with only Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins left, and whilst the booking for the guys involved in the match is questionable, the reaction for the Icon is marvellous and he plays his part perfectly.


The ridiculousness of the entrances for a match with Triple H (WWE WrestleMania 31 - 29.03.2015) are presented in their full glory here and if for some reason you missed them earlier in the year, you're in for a treat here. In his first WWE bout, the Stinger does himself proud opposite the Game, in a silly run-in filled No Disqualification clash, looking like a star on the biggest stage available. Whilst some of the excitement of the bout is removed on a second viewing, it's still an entertaining bout that carries the time it was given well.

Blu-Ray Exclusives

Teaming up with Dusty Rhodes, opposite Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard with the NWA World Tag Team Championships on the line (NWA Clash of the Champions #2 - 08.06.1988) gives us the best of the Blu-Ray exclusives, with plenty of old-school heel tactics and a build to a fantastic hot-tag, only being let down by a TV finish. Sting's next opponent is Flyin' Brian (WCW Saturday Night - 07.11.1992) features some decent action, but could have been a whole lot better considering the talent in the ring. A decent TV clash with Scott Steiner (WCW Monday NITRO #37 - 27.05.1996) features some big moves from both men, as part of the build to their SuperBrawl tag match. A nothing clash with Booker T (WCW Spring Stampede 2000 - 16.04.2000) only stands to highlight just how much WCW was fucking up during this time period.


A "face-to-face" confrontation with Triple H (WWE Fastlane 2015 - 22.02.2015) is a curious addition, and whilst it goes a little too long, features plenty of interesting visuals as the pair built towards their WrestleMania 31 collision. A back and forth with Stephanie McMahon (WWE Monday Night RAW #1139 - 23/03/2015) is a much better example of the genre with Stephanie putting in a stellar performance with a terrific script, and a lively Los Angeles crowd. 

Finally...

This is another stellar addition to the WWE Home Video catalogue, with the documentary providing an enjoyable look at Sting's WCW career and his signing with WWE and a varied selection of matches. Three truly great matches (vs. Flair on Clash of the Champions #1, with Luger vs. The Steiners at SuperBrawl and vs. DDP on Monday NITRO #189) are included and with pretty much every other bout having something to enjoy (vs. Vader at Slamboree '94 and with Dusty Rhodes vs. Anderson and Blanchard at Clash of the Champions #2 standing out as the best of the rest of the set), making this a very easy watch from start to finish.


Whilst there were elements that could have been improved upon for my personal tastes, like the heavy focus on Sting finding God, I'd recommend any fan of Sting or WCW picks this up on either Blu-Ray or DVD, it also works as a terrific introduction for younger fans, in way that the previous WWE release "The Best of Sting" match compilation didn't quite manage. 


A big thanks to WWE Home Video and Fetch FM for our copy of this release. 

Blu-Ray Review: WWE The Monday Night War Vol. 2 - Know Your Role

WWE's The Monday Night War - Vol. 2 Know Your Role is out now on DVD and Blu-Ray from www.wwedvd.co.uk and all other good home video outlets. The set takes the form of the ten remaining episodes of the Monday Night War series originally aired on the WWE Network between 7th July 2014 and 13th January 2015. There's a little bit of bonus footage from the series original run with former WCW President Eric Bischoff returning to WWE to present interconnecting commentary and there's just under an hour of Blu-Ray exclusive content (including ONE wrestling match)....but is it any good?

So, for the last Volume of the Monday Night Wars set, I did an episode by episode review, which in hindsight I think was a little bit too much and became a little bit repititive at times, with certain points. Therefore, for the 2nd volume of the series, I thought I'd streamline things just a little. This review will take much more of an overview of the entire THREE-DISC Blu-Ray edition of the release.



Let's start with some of the positives, shall we? There's a great deal of variety, in terms of subject matter in here. If you've never purchased a WWE documentary set before, then I'd recommend this one to you for sure. Although obviously there's a lot of coverage of a similar time period, the set includes ten documentaries, all just under an hour in length. The topics covered in this set are Chris Jericho (Monday Night Jericho, aired October 28th 2014), ECW (The War Goes Extreme, aired September 23rd 2014), The Rock (The War Gets Electrified, aired 4th November 2014), Divas (Divas Gone Wild, aired 18th November 2014), Celebrities (The War Goes Mainstream, aired 25th November 2014) WWF and WCW's mid-carders (Assembling an Army, aired 9th December 2014), The Kliq (The Kliq, aired 16th December 2014), Infamous Mistakes (Mistakes on the Battlefield, aired 23rd December 2014), the dying days of WCW (The Fall of WCW, aired 6th January 2015) and the aftermath of the Monday Night War (Life After Wartime, 13th January 2015). Whilst some of these subjects have DVD sets already out, that are perhaps a little more focused, but if you're after a wide spectrum of subjects to kick off your collection you couldn't go much wrong. Think of it as picking up a variety pack of cereals, as opposed to a big box, less commitment and you can chop and change as you go. 


Whilst some of the more left-field earlier episodes (The War Goes Mainstream, Building an Army) are offer something different, I was especially pleased with the final three episodes of the set. They were exactly what I wanted from the Monday Night Wars when the series were first announced. The three episodes more or less follow on from one another, telling a good chronological story of the later part of the Monday Night War. Whilst having the first part of the episode recap things we've already seen allows each episode to stand alone, it does make it a little annoying when you're binge watching, as the story takes at least fifteen minutes before hitting something new. These episodes could easily have been merged into one longer episode to form a more satisfying story, or perhaps more interview content or archive footage added to give more depth. 


On the last Volume we had Renee Young acting as mediator between Sting and Triple H, but this time around we get Eric Bischoff going solo in his first WWE project in a long time. In a way I was a little disappointed with these segments, as the earlier ones are notably shorter than the one on the other volume, simply down to having just one voice, as opposed to three. However, what I did like is that Bischoff has clearly watched each episode, which couldn't have been said for Triple H or Sting, and he presents his thoughts on what he's just seen. Sometimes that's a clash of opinions with one of the interviewees and in a later episodes there's a great moment when Bischoff agrees with part of an Arn Anderson interviewee about some of the mistakes that Bischoff made while in charge of WCW. There's good stories in there as well, and certainly there's something bought to the show that the original was missing, in terms of the voice of one of the integral parts of the Monday Night War.


Unfortunately for the main feature, that is probably about all I have to say positive about it. Of course, there's individual gems in the various interviews and a handful of stories that I hadn't heard before, but these episodes are so repetitive. Not just sharing content with the first volume, but sharing content with the individual episode within this volume! The choice to focus on separate wrestlers or longer running topics, rather than tell a chronological story means that the same couple of, admittedly, pivotal moments. If these documentaries were on their own different releases there wouldn't be a problem, but as part of the same series we shouldn't be being told that Eric Bischoff wanted to remove the Southern feel from WCW, how Kevin Nash and Scott Hall jumped to WCW, about the formation of the nWo, how WWF's edgier direction during the Attitude Era helped to turn the tide over and over and over and over and over again. It's insulting to my intelligence and completely misses the trend of binge watching. People are going to want to watch two, three, four or maybe the entire ten episodes in one go, with a big bag of popcorn or whatever their snacks of choice are and this just isn't possible with this set. 


Alongside the repeated content, there's also a lot of content that comes from outside of the time period off the wars. Whilst I don't mind a little of this for the purposes of context, certain episodes really take the piss. The Mistakes on the Battlefield episode, discusses Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair not facing each other a WrestleMania VIII, three years before the debut of Nitro, Eric Bischoff's WWF job interview and various other things, taking TWENTY MINUTES before even beginning to talk about Nitro. Indeed the highlight of this section for me was Tony Schiavone's marvellous fleece. This isn't the only case of this either, and whilst certain episodes like Life After Wartime deserve to be included, it would've been nice to have seen the flab cut from earlier episodes and shorter more focus product created.


Of course, with any WWE product focusing on WCW and especially the tense subject of the Monday Night War (despite what Vince McMahon says here he's clearly still got a lot of pent up emotions over this period of his life) this is a very revisionist history of the period. WCW is only ever credited so far, and when it comes to current WWE superstars that are used to give fans opinion of the time, there is very little positive said about the company and any from WCW that has something positive to say about the company is presented as either as overly nostalgic or a bit mental. There's many a blanket term used and those blank terms are repeated times and time again, with little time to reflect the intricate details of the time period. Basically WCW was rubbish, especially when Vince Russo had anything to do with it (everyone burying Russo is actually an amazing thing to see) unless it was the nWo or the Cruiserweights, but even those got shit after a while and WWF was great as soon as the Attitude Era started and everyone on the card was amazing from top to bottom. 

Blu-Ray Exclusives

Hulk Hogan's Contract Signing Parade - A fun little piece of history, but a bit tedious to watch in full.

Post-WrestleMania 14 Press Conference - Mike Tyson involvement is a great addition, and he comes across very well with his "No one is bigger than the sport" mantra. Vince McMahon being asked if he's turning into a bad guy is a cute moment, with McMahon's answer being very guarded.


Hulk Hogan & Dennis Rodman vs. DDP & Karl Malone Contract Signing - A good sister piece of the WWF press conference, showing the difference between the two companies. Hulk Hogan leads the thing and seems more focused on getting a few laugh than making people want to see the upcoming tag bout.


Scott Steiner says WCW sucks - Scott Steiner on microphone for an extended period of time, you should know how this goes.

Finally...

I'm gonna be completely honest here and say that this addition to the WWE Blu-Ray offering was not for me. It's repititive watching and a lot of it, covering a lot of the ground that's been covered elsewhere. I can however reccomend it to anyone who has never purchased a WWE Documentary before (and doesn't have the WWE Network). Get this set and the 1st Volume and you'll get plenty of extra knowledge of one of the most succesful periods of wrestling history. 


If you have got the WWE Network, then the extra content probably shouldn't be enough to convince you to buy. Eric Bischoff's piece are quaint and there are some cool moments, but they aren't long enough to justify the price if you already have access to the episodes. The Blu-Ray exclusives all have their merit also, especially the WrestleMania 14 Press Conference. 


For me, this experiment of releasing WWE Network series on Home Video has not  work out in terms of producing an enjoyable watch from start to finish. Here's hoping that WWE sticks to bringing out new documentaries with added matches, as that format is a much more rewarding one. 

Blu-Ray Review: WWE The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro Vol. 3

WWE's The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro Vol. 3 is out on on DVD and Blu-Ray from www.wwedvd.co.uk and all other good home video outlets. The set takes the form of a match and segment compilation, with Diamond Dallas Page appearing intermittently to narrate and lead into certain portions of the content. There 34 matches and 8 segments (with a further 6 matches and 2 segments as Blu-Ray exclusives) with the likes Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Bret Hart, Sting, The Outsiders and more feautring throughout the set.

Disc One

The opening match between Lex Luger and "Macho Man" Randy Savage (October 1995) is decent start to the set, with the pair stringing together some nice looking sequences, although like a lot of the matches on this set is harmed by having a "TV finish" (To be expected, really!) Johnny B. Badd clearly is up to wrestling Eddie Guerrero (November 1995) in the style of bout that is laid out, and despite some quite clever ideas, the end result is kind of shitty. Diamond Dallas Page and Sting (January 1996), put on a solid TV clash, that is certainly helped along by a lively Charleston crowd. The first real quality bout of the set is Savage and Ric Flair's (January 1996) World Heavyweight Championship clash, which features an electric finish, even if the commentary is more interested in pushing SOME GUY called Kevin Greene.  


Having Scott Hall and Kevin Nash on commentary makes a match between Rick Steiner and Sting (December 1996), that becomes more of a segment, ridiculously entertaining, as the two discuss whether is not Sting is part of the nWo. Another cracking in-ring segment with the nWo kicking out The Giant (December 1996) follows, with the amount of debris thrown into the ring by the fans being quite a site. nWo continues to dominate as the entire group and what feels like the entire roster brawl in the ring (May 1997), with Hollywood Hogan and Randy Savage's commentary adding something a little extra to proceedings. I'm convinced that the match compilers saw Chris Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrera (June 1997) and went "Yeah, that'll be all-right"...it isn't, it's botchy and Guerrera looks like he's never stepped foot inside a ring. 


Scott Steiner battles Randy Savage (July 1997) in a bout that features some competent action, but lacks urgency, harming the pace as the pair plod along and wait for the nWo run-in. The Outsiders are on sterling form in a tag match opposite Diamond Dallas Page and Lex Luger (August 1997), with one of the hottest crowds on the entire set and quite clever finish for television that left me wanting to see what would come next. nWo bitch-boys Vincent, Konnan, Buff Bagwell, Scott Norton and Rick Rude replacing the WCW signs (December 1997) with the nWo logo is interesting for about ten seconds, but quickly becomes a bore and runs WAY too long. The segment continuing all the way through to include the nWo Monday Nitro intro is a nice touch, but Eric Bischoff giving Hollywood Hogan two motorcycles and a limo (with a hot tub in it, because WCW) is mind numbingly bad. 


A cruiser weight tag team pitting Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero against Chavo Guerrero and Dean Malenko (February 1998) is one of the best bouts on the entire set, as one would imagine, but is hurt by Eddie trying to heel it up and the El Paso crowd not having any of it. nWo trying to recruit Rick Steiner (March 1998) did absolutely nothing for me, because I just couldn't give a fuck about Rick Steiner. The Giant chucking Scott Hall into a pool (March 1998) is at least a novelty to see, in a time when all WWE's venues look the same, but is still really quite silly, SPRING BREAK! Michael Buffer is the bane of my life, seriously every time this guy turns up I want to fast forward. He does the intro for a confusing Randy Savage vs. Hollywood Hogan bout (May 1998) where I'm pretty sure that everyone was heel. 


There's more nWo antics as Lex Luger joins the Wolfpac (May 1998), with so many of these jumps and without any real context it's difficult to get too involved. There is however, a superb segment featuring some back and forth between Hollywood Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Diamond Dallas Page and Karl Malone (June 1998), that's paced to tee and the crowd laps up every minute of. Things take a down-ward turn with Scott Hall's alcoholic "gimmick" in a match opposite Kidman, where Vincent refuses to give Hall a drink until he wins the contest (September 1998). It's easy to forget just however over Diamond Dallas Page was, but his over-booked contest with Kanyon (October 1998), is testament to Page's popularity if not anything else.


There's pretty cool stunt in a segment involving Bret Hart, Diamond Dallas Page and The Giant (December 1998), with Page offering a decent insight into it in his lead-in prior. A three way bout between Bam Bam Bigelow, Goldberg and Kevin Nash (December 1998) is at least an interesting combination of guys, but with the match coming just before Goldberg and Nash's infamous Starrcade bout there's way too much of an eye on that match for this one to get too interesting.

Disc Two

When DDP puts over a match between Booker T and Bret Hart (February 1999) as being "nothing less than a clinic", it's easy to be a bit sceptical, with what has gone before, but this is probably the best match of the set. Plenty of great back and forth between the two, who both look very comfortable in the ring, but it's a major shame that the focus of the show isn't on the pairs quality wrestling match. There's a strong story being told in Goldberg and Ric Flair's (March 1999) entry, but it's hurt by some stupid booking. I had absolutely no idea what was going in Diamond Dallas Page and Hollywood Hogan's brawling bout (March 1999) and quickly lost interest. A hardcore bout between Rick Steiner and Hak is thoroughly entertaining (June 1999), but the booking is mind-boggling as Sting makes an appearance. 


Whilst a tag match with Kevin Nash and Sid Vicious on the opposite to Sting and Hollywood Hogan (July 1999) might be star-studded, this is WCW...and the hallmarks of the promotion are all over the bout towards it's conclusion. There's a decent match between Sting and Bret Hart over the World Heavyweight Championship (October 1999) but even this bout isn't quite as smooth as it should have been. A Ladder match between Hart, Vicious, Scott Hall and Goldberg with Kevin Nash as special guest referee (November 1999) is a steaming pile of wank...perhaps one of the worst matches I've ever seen. Hart puts on another sound match, this time with Jeff Jarrett (November 1999) but similar to the earlier Sting bout it's nothing to go out of your way to see. 


A Tornado Tag Team match (which is also apparently Falls Count Anywhere) with Sting and Vampiro taking on Team Package (March 2000) is utter silliness throughout, but is actually very entertaining. Booker T and Mike Awesome's World Heavyweight Championship bout (July 2000) is another satisfactory encounter with some nice back and forth between the two and a CLEAN FINISH! To close off the set for the banter, there's a pre-match promo from SCOTT STEINER! A SCOTT STEINER PROMO! Scott teams with brother Rick for a bizarre match with Booker and Diamond Dallas Page. (March 2001)

Blu-Ray Exclusives

The Blu-Ray exclusives kick-off with a Scott Hall promo, oh you are treating us WWE. Hall teams with Wolfpac brother Syxx in a short but sweet bout opposite the Steiner Brothers (October 1997). Gene Okerlund interviewing Ric Flair and Bret Hart is a diamond of a segment with and shows just what both men could do when motivated (January 1998). I found Hart's match with Lex Luger (August 1998) rather absorbing, the bout tells a sound story, with the commentary team (Tony Shiavone, Mike Tenay, Larry Zybyszko and Bobby Heenan) being on their best form of the entire set. 


The bout between Bret Hart and Hollywood Hogan (September 1998) is going strong for the portion of the match just between those two, but as soon as the booking team and Sting get involved it quickly became a pile of horseshit. The two nWo factions brawling backstage (leading to the Wolfac flipping Hollywood's limo) is a lot of fun with plenty of stuff going on throughout it's very enjoyable in isolation. The exclusives conclude with an "Everything is happening" bout between Jeff Jarrett, Goldberg, Kevin Nash and Scott Steiner (June 2000) and not wanting to break from tradition, we close things with a truly wank finish.

Finally...

I think the first point I need to make here is that the idea of having a third volume of a "Very Best" series is pretty ridiculous...if the first volume was the "Very Best" then this volume surely can't be?


Diamond Dallas Page is a fun host once again, offering some nice personal stories to go behind some of the matches, however, I can't help feeling having a different narrator for different matches and segments could have added the extra context that certain bouts could have done with. Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo explaining some of the booking decision could have been very interesting...


The entire set is pretty watchable from start to finish and whilst some of the moments are cringe-inducing or head-scratching, a lot of them are decent television outings. That being said there isn't a lot that is worth searching out to watch, with only three matches standing out as true quality bouts (Savage vs. Flair, Guerrero & Jericho vs. Guerrero & Malenko, Booker vs. Hart). If you're a big fan of average, television matches then you'll enjoy yourself here. The segments are hit and miss, but there is some absolute gold at points, with the Bret Hart and Ric Flair interview on the Blu-Ray exclusives standing out as one of the best of the bunch.


The set comes across as a good representation as the overall feels of Monday NITRO with a solid mixture of match types and segments. If you don't fancy trawling through every episode on the WWE Network then this could be a good purchase for you, although I'd imagine the first two volumes would be first on your list here.


You can find the set at WWEDVD, Amazon, Base, eBay, Hive, Rakuten and Blackwells. With WWEDVD offering the best price at £22.99 for the Blu-Ray.

DVD Review: WWE Monday Night War Vol. 1 - Shots Fired

WWE's Monday Night War Vol. 1 - Shots Fired is out now on four-disc DVD and three-disc Blu-Ray, available from www.wwedvd.co.uk and all other good home video stores. The main features ten episodes from the Monday Night War series that aired on the WWE Network between July 2014 and January 2015. Filling in between the episodes is a brand new interview conducted by Renee Young with Triple H and Sting. There is, however, no full matches included.

Disc One

Episode 1 - The War Begins

Aired - 7th July 2014


The series get's off to a strong start with a look at how the Monday Night War between WCW and WWF began. The episode features a sprawling story, beginning with the early days of cable TV and includes a nice glimpse into the relationship between head honchos Vince McMahon and Ted Turner. Hulk Hogan and Lex Luger both feature heavily, with both men's moves to WCW given a fair amount of coverage and making for a satisfying narrative. There's some nice inclusion of stuff that perhaps wouldn't have merited their own installment, such as the dirty tactics that both sides employed throughout the war. Vince McMahon and Lex Luger are the star interviews here for me, with McMahon's opinion on Nitro going head to head with Raw, as well as Luger's insight into his jump to WCW prior to the first episode. I'd have liked to have seen the documentary be a little more fluid in it's description of events between the two promotion, as things seem to cover WCW and then WWE, without comparing the two companies all that much. Still a good start for the series.

The interview with Triple H and Sting provides a good insight into both lockeroom's at the time of the first episode of Monday Nitro, whilst Triple H also discusses into areas that the documentary doesn't go, such as the infamous Curtain Call incident.

Episode 2 - The Rise of the nWo

Aired - 26th August 2014


The main problem with this episode is that it's been less than three years since WWE released the nWo - The Revolution three disc, which included a full length documentary, however if you haven't seen that documentary it won't be a problem. The feature, as the title would suggest, mainly focuses on the glory days of the nWo, which is a rather interesting choice. Hulk Hogan offers the best interview on this one, with the Hulkster noting his initial reluctance to join the group, presenting some sound reasoning. The inclusion of WWF's decision to use Fake Razor and Fake Diesel is one of the rare times throughout this series where WWE admit some kind of mistake on their part. Chris Jericho provides a glance at what it was like to be on the outside of the group and it's a shame not to have a few more outside voice chiming in on this. The episode works fine in it's position, following nicely on from the initial episode.

Sting completely no-selling Renee Young's question about potentially being the 3rd man in the nWo continues a frustrating theme with the Stinger, who seems reluctant to give away much about his time in the promotion.

Disc Two

Episode 3 - Embracing Attitude

Aired - 27th August 2014


Similar to the previous episode, if you've already seen The Attitude Era DVD set (released 2012) then there is nothing important here that you won't have already heard before. The biggest criticism here is that the timeline the episode follows is seemingly completely random, jumping at one point from the Hardcore division to the birth of the Mr. McMahon character. The Attitude Era is put over something fierce, as one would imagine, with the main points being that things were sexy and awesome during those days. The coverage of WWF's Hardcore division, as opposed to WCW's, is horrendously biased, with no real reason's given for why one was better than the other. My absolute highlight of the entire show is Daniel Bryan's impression of Sunny, which had me in bits for a minute or so. If this episode had been shuffled around to take a more linear review at the Attitude Era (and therefore it's effects on the ratings) it would have been all the better for it.

Episode 4 - A New D-Generation

Aired - 2nd September 2014


WWE's previous documentary releases on D-Generation X have, at least, The New and Improved DX and DX: One Last Stand have, at least, looked at the faction in years following the Monday Night Wars, although numerous releases on Triple H and Shawn Michaels have covered that time period. Shawn Michaels stands out of the talking heads on this, providing a frank description at his turbulent personal life during the time, although the documentary shies away from going into too much details. There's also some well thought out comparisons of the D-Generation X and WCW's nWo, with Michaels again standing out with some strong reasoning to back up his opinion. There's more of a focus on specific moments in the history of the faction, such as Rick Rude's defection to WCW and the infamous DX address, and therefore it's a shame that the ratings for these specific shows aren't brought up at the same time. Rude and Chyna are the only faces missing from the talking heads, and whilst Rude is sadly no longer with us, Chyna could have offered a different perespective into the time she spent with the group. This episode is where the cross over with previous episodes really begins, and it becomes a frustrating motif for the series from here on in. 

Disc Three

Episode 5 - Have A Nice Day

Aired - 9th September 2014


Another name with a number of previous DVD releases, including Mick Foley: Greatest Hits and Misses, Mick Foley - Hard Knocks and Cheap Pops and most recently, For All Mankind - The Life and Career of Mick Foley, a lot of the ground covered here will be familiar to most. For me, the documentary looks at a lot of content that it doesn't need to, spending a good deal of time peeking at Foley's career prior to the Monday Night War, and whilst certain elements like his time in WCW are relevant, I'd have preferred to see this focused on Foley's career during that period. Foley's ability to change throughout his career means that there's a good deal of different footage available and keep this episode feeling fresh. Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler provide fascinating insight at what it was like to be at ringside for Foley's infamous Hell in a Cell match at King of the Ring 1997. There's also a fantastic look at Foley's WWF tenure from the other side of the trenches, as Diamond Dallas Page, Kevin Sullivan and Larry Zbyszko all give sound interviews on the subject. Once again the episode is hurt by covering previous ground, with the nWo again featuring heavily on an episode where they wouldn't have been missed had the not appeared.

The interview with Sting and Triple H quickly shifts off Foley onto something else entirely, however not before Sting imparts his most interesting story of the DVD.

Episode 6 - The Hart of War

Aired - 16th September 2014


Bret Hart is another wrestler who WWE have given a number of DVD releases over the years, Bret Hitman Hart: The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be, Hart & Soul: The Hart Family Anthology, Greatest Rivalries - Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart and Bret Hitman Hart: The Dungeon Collection have all graced video stores shelves. From the very opening of this episode, it's made clear that this is all about the Montreal Screwjob, with no real effort made to look at any other element of Hart's career during the Monday Night War. There's more content on the nWo, as well as the Attitude Era, which whilst both seem relevant, feature reused interviews from their own episodes, which is pretty lazy on the production teams part. There is a decent look at Hart and Shawn Michaels backstage problems, with Jerry "The King" Lawler and Pat Patterson telling an interesting story between the two of them. Where this episode really shines for me is in it's use of footage from the film Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows (if you haven't seen it...go now), which provides some real life footage that grounds a number of the comments made. The juxtaposing opinions of Hart and Eric Bischoff on his WCW run also makes for good viewing.

Whilst Sting doesn't really have much to say about Hart, other than that the two have the same finishing hold, Triple H does offer an extra dimension to the episodes coverage of the Montreal Screwjob.

Episode 7 - Foundations of War

Aired - 2nd December 2014

The set jumps two months, in terms of when the episodes aired on WWE Network, for reasons. A slightly different approach to this episodes, see's The Undertaker and Sting become the focus of the piece, which is a breath of fresh air from previous episodes, and allows things to jump from one promotion to the other quite easily. From my knowledge, this was WWE's first documentary look at the career of Sting, and whilst The Undertaker has had multiple DVD sets, the gimmick means that The Deadman is never focused on for too long. Again, I'd have liked to have seen more focus on the pairs journeys during the Monday Night War, rather than their times in either promotion prior. The documentary lacking both The Undertaker and Sting as interviewees means that we never get a true idea of their mindsets for staying loyal for both companies, which is odd because Undertaker does turn up elsewhere on the set. One of the stronger episodes present here, because of the dual focus.

Sting is again slightly reluctant to reveal anything during the post-episode interview, which is a real shame, as with him not being present on the main feature, it would have been well received to hear him reply to some of the points made in the episode.

Disc Four

Episode 8 - The Austin Era has Begun

Aired - 29th September 2014


With six WWE DVD sets to his name, there isn't really much that isn't known about Steve Austin's career, is there? Throw in the fact that numerous episodes throughout the series so far, especially Embracing Attitude, have covered a good depth of Austin's relevance to the Monday Night War and by the time you've got to this episode it's already become a little bit of an overkill. With a strange amount of references to Hulk Hogan throughout, there is at least, some good comments from those in the industry at the time, as well as current WWE wrestlers. The moment Austin breaks his neck at SummerSlam 1997 is repeated at least three times here, which is lovely (seriously though, once was enough). There is some rare footage that I hadn't seen before included, like Austin's WrestleMania 14 press conference after winning the World Heavyweight Championship. Whilst the story is as fascinating as ever, it's nothing most won't have heard before.


Triple H and Sting have a great chat about wrestling being built on characters, rather than moves, with The Game in particular giving great observation.

Episode 9 - Who's Next?

Aired - 21st October 2014

Goldberg is someone who WWE have surprisingly yet to release a documentary on (although they did release a match compilation a few years ago), which means that this episode is one of the most interesting of the ten released here. Someone who's career pretty much all took place during the Monday Night Wars, Goldberg's story is covered in full and allowed to focus entirely on the Monday Night Wars themselves. William Regal offers a superb understanding into his infamous encounter with Goldberg from 1998, although it is a shame that we don't get to hear Goldberg's side of what went down. The comparison of Goldberg and Steve Austin, that is glanced at in the previous episode, offers some differing views and works well as the talking heads exchange opinions. CM Punk may quite possibly steal the show however, with a hilarious description of how Goldberg's streak came to end.

It's clear that WWE's opinion of Goldberg isn't particularly high, with "Two Moves, One Name" being used during the opening of his episode and therefore when the Sting and Triple H interview descends into talk of limited workers, it's not all that surprising.y 

Episode 10 - Flight of the Cruiserweights

Aired - 14th October 2014


The final episode on this Volume is, in fact, the shortest, which seems fitting considering we're talking about Cruiserweights (HA!). This episodes is one of the times when WWE admits that WCW did something quite good, with plenty of praise for the Cruiserweight division and the vision of Eric Bischoff for setting it up. There's a strong focus on individual matches again, as looks at Brian Pillman vs. Jushin Thunder Liger from the 1st episode of Nitro and Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero from Halloween Havoc, both getting plenty of praise. It's a shame that no data is provided for the kind of ratings that the Cruiserweight's got during episodes of Nitro as that would really have given some of the opinions given that extra bit of weight. Of course, WCW get's the blame for the downfall of their own division, whilst WWF comes out squeaky clean when they manage to make stars out of the likes of Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero and the status quo returns.

Finally...

A lot of what is covered here, is covered elsewhere and in more depth. There's not a whole lot of fresh stories, outside of, perhaps, the Undertaker/Sting, Goldberg and Cruiserweight episodes. Dust off your old DVD's on either Austin, Foley or the nWo and I'm sure you'll have a much better time.

If you don't own a single documentary from this period, then this is the set for you. You'll get coverage of some of the biggest names in the industry in one set and everything will be fine. However, I'd suggest you don't watch more than one episode in a fortnight (I watched this entire thing in just over a day) because there is surely only so many times you can hear about Razor Ramon and Diesel jumping to WCW before you go completely insane.

I can't help but feel that this whole series was a missed opportunity, as a linear look at the War, perhaps covering a few months at a time, could have been a much better way to chronicle one of the most popular periods in wrestling history.