25 Years Since SummerSlam hit the UK - The Show

A tad over 25 years ago, thousands of people were sitting in anticipation at Wembley Stadium for the only major WWF pay-per-view event to ever cross the pond.

With a multitude of media coverage in the build up, tickets bought and transport sorted, it was time for the real event to begin.

The first bell saw a dark six-man-tag match with Hacksaw Jim Duggan teaming up with The Bushwhackers to take on the trio of The Nasty Boys and The Mountie. Despite being a match full of gimmicks that were old hat a t the time, it is obvious looking at a video of this match that the atmosphere was a special one from the word go.

Lee Kimber said: ''When the event actually started and the stadium was filling out, I can honestly say that I’d never experienced anything like it, and if I’m honest nothing since has come close.

''I’d never seen so many people in one place before and they were cheering every last thing that happened in that ring. It was a party atmosphere in the stadium and the footage of the event really doesn’t do justice to how loud the crowd were at times. ''

Alan Dicks said: ''It was loud and it was the first time I had been in a crowd with that amount of people. Everyone was into every match.

A loud USA chant erupted as Duggan and The Bushwhackers picked up a victory, and that was followed by Papa Shango defeating Tito Santana before the real action was to begin.

Vince McMahon and Bobby ''The Brain'' Heenan introduced the PPV action before the Legion of Doom's music hit and they rode out on motorcycles in one of the most memorable moments of the night to take on Money Inc.

Lee Kimber says: ''One of the biggest reactions was for the Legion of Doom. When their music hit and they rode down to the ring on motorcycles the crowd loved it.

Alan Dicks also believes this to be the one of the more memorable moments, stating: ''The LOD entrance stands out, I was at the top of the stairs when they came out on the bikes. ''

After LOD's victory, Nailz beat Virgil, Shawn Michaels and Rick Martel fought to a double countout in a match, The Natural Disasters beat The Beverly Brothers to retain the WWE Tag Team Championships and Crush defeated Repo Man before one of the most hyped up matches of the evening.

Credit - Lee Kimber

It was time for ''Macho Man'' Randy Savage to defend the World Wrestling Federation Championship against The Ultimate Warrior in a rematch of their ''Retirement match'' at WrestleMania VII the year before.

Lee Kimber says: ''I went in with low expectations of Warrior Vs Savage. I had enjoyed their WrestleMania match the previous year but this one seemed to come out of nowhere.

''I wasn’t a fan of Warrior’s matches and I didn’t see how he had earned a title shot. The match exceeded my expectations though and the crowd were certainly hot for it.

Alan Dicks said on the title match: ''I was looking forward to Savage v Warrior the most, Savage is my favourite ever wrestler and I loved their epic match from WrestleMania VII.''

Ollie Clark said: ''Warrior v Savage was good but not a patch on the retirement match from the previous year.

The match may not have been at the level of their WrestleMania bout but it was still worthy of the event. The two had a back and forth match for around 25 minutes before Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect came out to the ring, pretending to be in cahoots with Warrior before attacking him too. After Flair hit Savage with a chair which left him unable to get back into the ring, Warrior won the match by countout before he joined forces with Savage to chase the duo away. It was a bit of a bullshit end to a big title match, but the real main event was still to come.

A short match between The Undertaker and Kamala followed, with a memorable Undertaker entrance on top of a hearse being the highlight as Taker eventually won by disqualification following interference from Kim Chee.

After Tatanka beat The Berzerker in an encounter that never made the US pay-per-view broadcast, it was time for hometown hero ''The British Bulldog'' Davey Boy Smith, accompanied to the ring by British boxing great Lennox Lewis, to take on his brother-in-law Bret ''The Hitman'' Hart for the Intercontinental Championship.

One of the best matches seen in the United Kingdom saw Bulldog win the title in front of his hometown crowd to end the show on a high note.

Speaking of the main event, Lee Kimber said: ''''The Bret vs Bulldog match was the highlight of the night and still holds up as one of the best matches I’ve ever seen.

''The crowd were absolutely rabid for this one and they were split down the middle, with duelling chants for Bulldog and Hitman.

''When Bulldog cradles Bret for the win the place just exploded. I honestly don’t know if you’d got a bigger roar in there when England won the World Cup.

Ollie Clark agreed with his assessment, stating: ''I remember seeing shots on the TV screen during Bulldog v Bret and seeing Diana Hart but the screen was small and I thought it was Jeff Jarrett!

''The biggest reaction of the night was with the Bulldog and Lennox Lewis.

''Bulldog v Bret is probably the best WWF match of all time on UK soil.

Alan Dicks wasn't too pleased about the result as a youngster, saying: ''The Bulldog vs Bret match was really good to watch, I remember getting upset at the result as I was a huge Bret Hart fan.

Looking back on the events 25 years later, all three attendees have fond memories but realise there are many differences between professional wrestling then and the product on screen now.

Lee Kimber said: ''The crowd were great and it was a truly amazing experience, and I’ll always be proud to say I was there in the audience when the British Bulldog beat Bret Hart at Wembley Stadium in one of the greatest matches of all time.

''I watched it back a couple of years ago. On reflection it was not a good card and there were a lot of screwy finishes. It was more cartoony then, but the characters were half of the fun.

''As bad as some of it was though it still holds up against today's supercards and surpasses many of them. That said, the Bret vs Bulldog match still holds its own against anything you’ll see today. It was storytelling at its finest.

I am surprised given how much of a success this one was, but then it’s not all about gate revenues.

''With the core audience in the US you couldn’t run the live event in the UK and delay the US showing until its usual time slot. The results would be online immediately. Mind you with betting odds most of the results are online before an event has even taken place these days so maybe it’s irrelevant now.

''I’m not sure wrestling is popular enough now in the UK to fill Wembley Stadium again, but you’d still draw a healthy crowd.''

Alan Dicks agrees with most of this having watched recently, adding: ''I remember not being able to talk for a couple of days as I had been shouting so much.

''It was an enjoyable show and I got to see most of the big names of the time but it was strange watching without the commentary.

''I've seen it recently and would say it's a one match show with some cool entrances. The in ring work was a lot slower compared to today.

I don't think the show did too well in the US due to time differences but I would have expected other PPV's to have been held over here before now.''

The common theme seems to be that the characters hold up more than the wrestling in hindsight, and Ollie Clark also agrees with his, saying: ''I last watched about 2 years ago - the wrestling these days is better but the characters and storylines were much better in the 80s and 90s.

I'm not really surprised there hasn't been an event since as they made a loss and what with them holding fire on and UK Heavyweight events I don't expect to see another UK PPV this decade unfortunately.

''The UK interest in WWE peaked between 1989 and 1992 alongside the release of the WrestleMania song and Slam Jam.

''But saying that ,I am sure they would have no problem selling out Wembley for another SummerSlam, or a Mania or Rumble.''

Article by Andy Phillips (AndyP_GY)

25 Years Since SummerSlam hit Wembley - The Build Up

Many have been talking about a different 25 year anniversary this week but with the latest edition of Summerslam coming this Sunday, this year also marks 25 years since the only major pay-per-view to hit WWE shores – Summerslam 1992.

80,335 fans crammed into Wembley Stadium on 29 August 1992, two weeks after the official start of the Premier League as the WWF hit its peak in Europe in front of their second highest crowd attendance ever as hometown hero The British Bulldog went for the Intercontinental Championship against Bret ''The Hitman'' Hart, whilst ''Macho Man'' Randy Savage defended the WWF Championship against The Ultimate Warrior in a rematch of the previous years Wrestlemania VII classic.

Lee Kimber attended the event as a 16-year-old along with his friend Graham. and has fond memories of this era of wrestling, saying: ''I had only gotten into the WWF the year before when Graham loaned me his VHS recording of Wrestlemania VII. From that point I was hooked.

''In 1992 I think it’s fair to say my love of wrestling was at its peak and I was pretty much obsessed with it. My outright favourite was The Undertaker, but I was a big fan of several others, particularly Bret Hart, Ric Flair and Mr Perfect.

''The WWF was massively popular here at the time with their tours selling out all over the country. I think it was an opportunity to cash in on the huge European popularity at the time and they took it.

When the announcement was made on either Superstars or Wrestling Challenge. I remembered being stunned, then deciding that I was going to get there no matter what.''

Alan Dicks was also one of the thousands in Wembley Stadium as a 14-year-old along with his dad and sister. Speaking of his fandom at the time, he said: ''I was a huge fan, I watched both WWF and WCW and was a big fan of both Bret Hart and Randy Savage.

''There were over the top characters, a lot less TV so you didn't get to see everyone all the time and big events seemed a lot more important.

''It was hot at the time, I think WWE went with the live event in 92 due to Bret and Bulldog being very popular with the UK audience and the US business not being that strong. ''

Ollie Clark attended with several friends and concurred with these reports of the WWF in 1992, explaining: ''I was a massive fan. I'd been watching religiously since 1987, went to the first ever televised WWF show in the UK in 1989 at the London Arena and went to WrestleMania VIII in 1992.

''The night before WrestleMania VIII, I found the hotel were a lot of the wrestlers were staying and spoke to Vince McMahon!

''I asked him if he thought he would ever do Wrestlemania in the UK and he said 'never say never but probably not Wrestlemania', but another pay-per-view absolutely!

''It was really good over here at the time. I felt it peaked in between 1988 and 1990 but was still massive in the UK in 92.

''Loads of kids talked about at school and were wrestling each other.''

According to The Wrestling Observer, the plan was to do the event in Washington, DC but with business in the US down, which had a lot to do with Hulk Hogan leaving the company for the first time, the decision to come over to the UK and air the show on a two day tape delay in the States was made.

Tickets went on sale in around April 1992 for the event, and this video from Sky News shows footage of people queuing up overnight for the occasion and providing some refreshing insight on what it meant to have the show in the UK at the time.

Alan Dicks went to the show after seeing a travel package advertised in a newspaper and made his way down to the event on a travel agency coach, whilst the dark days before the internet saw Lee spend three hours on a phone hotline before getting through whilst Ollie queued up for tickets at Wembley itself.

The build up to the show revolved around a lot of drama, in particular with the two big babyface matches which were a rarity at the time.

Lee Kimber remembers this well, saying: ''It was covered heavily on weekly programming, in particular the Warrior v Savage match with speculation of whose corner Mr Perfect would be in, and the focus on Diana Hart Smith and her emotional turmoil as her husband and her brother prepared to face off.

''The national press got fully behind the event as well, with The Sun in particular giving it a lot of publicity in the run up to the event.''

Ollie Clark also remembers seeing the event advertised on television, explaining: ''It was heavily advertised in all the newspapers and remember seeing interviews on television with the promoter, Harvey Goldsmith.''

Shawn Michaels and Rick Martel were also feuding over the services of Sensational Sherri and The Undertaker's first feud of what went on to be a four year stint of him taking on big men saw him face Kamala in a Casket match, which you can see more of in Mean Gene Okerlund's special Summerslam preview two weeks before the event on an edition of Wrestling Challenge.

So the stage was set for a terrific event to unfold, and we'll continue with this when we take a look back at both the day and the show itself exactly 25 years to the day, on 29th August. See you then!

Written by Andy Phillips (@Andy_PGY)

WWE Diamond Dallas Page: Positively Living Blu-Ray Review

I'm looking to catch-up on my WWE Home Video situation at the moment, so expect an influx of Blu-Ray and DVD reviews this week. Let's begin with Diamond Dallas Page: Positively Living, which has been available in the UK since the end of March from all the regular outlets.

The main feature is a new documentary that covers the life of Page Joseph Falkinberg and the story of his transformation into Diamond Dallas Page (legally Dallas Page since 2003), through his wrestling career in WCW and WWE and onto the spectacular rise of DDP Yoga. The Blu-Ray's 26 matches include outings with the likes of Chris Jericho, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Ric Flair, "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan and Eddie Guerrero...but is this set worth your time and money? Let's take a look. 

Positively Living Documentary 

As you'd expect with pretty much every doc WWE produces, this is a great watch. The story involves Dallas driving around some old haunts as we follow the story of his childhood and onto his career. His journey into pro wrestling is fascinating and those that are unfamiliar with how Page got into the business will surely find the most enjoyment here. The run-time of just over an hour means that perhaps there's a lack of depth at points, but the structure and flow of the overall film tells a solid over-arching story that may have been damaged by taking further stops along the road. All those you'd expect are interviewed, including a nice surprise from Kimberly Page, with their words, and the narrative as a whole, creating a real feel-good film. The moment when Triple H calls Diamond Dallas Page to tell him he's going into the Hall of Fame is tingly stuff, with Page's reaction to the call making it special moment. 

I would have liked to have seen the documentary spend more time in places and to hear from a more varied pool of interviewees, but taken on it's own value this a great introduction for anyone interesting in delving into one of the more underrated performers in WCW history. 

The Matches

Kicking off with DDP's earliest TV match alongside The Diamond Studd [Scott Hall] against Chris Sullivan & Brian Lee (World Championship Wrestling, Dec '91), things swiftly move into a curious Lethal Lottery Tag Team match pitting Page & Mike Graham against Jushin Thunder Liger & Bill Kazmaier (Starrcade, December '91). My curiosity for this one quickly wore off and I'm still not quite sure why this relatively lengthy bout so early in DDP's career is included. There's improvements seen when tagging with Cactus Jack against Dustin Rhodes [Goldust] & Barry Windham (Saturday Night, Mar '92), but the bout is cut short just when it seems to be getting interesting. A six man tag alongside Vinnie Vegas [Kevin Nash] & Scotty Flamingo [Raven] opposite Marcus Alexander Bagwell, Brad Armstrong & Johnny B. Badd (Saturday Night, Dec '92) continues to show signs of DDP quickly developing as a wrestler, but not much else. 

The first singles bout is with Johnny B. Badd (Spring Stampede, Apr '94) and after a decent jump in time, DDP is still not particularly crisp, however the Battle of the Gimmicks is driven well by Badd and has a pleasant flurry of action to bring it to it's conclusion. The set then begins to move past Page's formative in-ring days, jumping to a United States Heavyweight Championship match with Eddie Guerrero (Starrcade, Dec '96) with the pair connecting nicely in the first truly enjoyable bout of the set. A random mid-match piledriver and a screwy nWo based finish, as well as an uninterested crowd, harm what could have been a much better outing for Guerrero and Page. At first glance a match with some guy called Mark Starr (Monday NITRO, Jan '97) isn't particularly interesting, but the post-match swerve with DDP "joining" the nWo is quintessential WCW viewing and one of the highlights of the Monday Night War. No Disqualification with Randy Savage (Spring Stampede, Apr '97) is a deck-stacker, storyline based epic of a scrap. Coming from one of DDP's most memorable feuds, it's a shame that the subsequent Great American Bash and Halloween Havoc matches aren't included as having the trilogy one after the other would've been a really cool touch. 

A World Heavyweight title bout with Hollywood Hogan (Monday NITRO, Oct' '97) showcases the kind of performer DDP developed into as he sells his arse off for Hogan and gets a DQ finish in return. The post-match angle with Sting making the save from the nWo (a rag-tag bunch including Konnan, Vincent, Curt Hennig, Scott Hall, Scott Norton & nWo Sting) doesn't make this bout anymore worth it's inclusion. Hennig is the adversary in the next bout (Starrcade, Dec '97), where DDP earns his first US Heavyweight title in a decent outing. The two mix a brawling and wrestling style well at points, with Hennig heeling it up to the max to result in a fun out of nowhere victory for DDP. A match with Chris Jericho over the same title (Monday NITRO, Jan '98) is included presumably just to put Jericho's name on the artwork. A Raven's Rules match with...um...Raven (Spring Stampede, Apr '98) has some value in it's brawly weapons and interference based tomfoolery, but it's still not a good match. 

A tag bout with basketball chap Karl Malone against Hollywood Hogan & another basketball chap Dennis Rodman (Bash at the Beach, Jul '98) is needlessly long, but not actually that bad. DDP's ability to allow the celebs to shine and still look a million dollars was a special skill that not many have ever possessed. This match wouldn't have worked without Page in his role. A similar match with DDP teaming with comedian, non-wrestler Jay Leno against Hogan and non-comedian, non-wrestler Eric Bischoff (Road Wild, Aug' 98) is not as good, with Leno & Bischoff lacking any real athletic ability. The fact that Hogan sold an arm wrench for Leno means that pretty much everything else that goes on here is irrelevant. It could have been much much worse, but it's still shit. 

One of DDP's top three matches is here as Goldberg (Halloween Havoc, Oct '98) is our unlikely hero for a perfectly simple World Heavyweight title bout in front of a molten Las Vegas crowd. The two do exactly what they need to do to get that audience whipped into a frenzy and it makes for a satisfying watch. The next night, it's Bret Hart over the US Heavyweight title (Monday NITRO, Oct '98) and another solid match, that's well worth a look-see. There's more silly WCW nonsense in the aftermath, but when DDP and Hart get it going in the ring, it's pretty sweet. 

Dallas' first World title win is present, but it's unfortunate that it comes in the form of a shit show of a Fatal Fourway with Hollywood Hogan, Ric Flair and Sting (Spring Stampede, Apr' 99), with Randy Savage operating as guest referee. You'd think with such a fine list of talent, that these five lads would, at the very least, be able to coast to something mildly engaging, and perhaps this is, but for all the wrong reasons. The booking is shit, the wrestling is shit, the finish is shit, this match is shit, you should watch it, because I did. Luckily, the night after against just Sting (Monday NITRO, Apr' 99) is DDP's best match, despite dropping the belt. The heel work from Page is juxtaposed well with his earlier babyface matches here, with the second half of the bout being full of top drawer near falls and reversals. It all comes crumbling down later on in the same show when DDP gets the title back in another Four-Way, this time with Kevin Nash and Goldberg, which manages to undo the good work of the earlier bout, as very little happens and when it happens it happens awkwardly.  

The final WCW match is a bizarre tag match with Bam Bam Bigelow against Perry Saturn and (a mostly absent) Kanyon (Monday NITRO, May '99), that whilst containing an impressive performance from Saturn, has a bollocks finish when Kanyon finally turns up. Things close up with the only WWF match, which is a fun clash with Christian over the European Championship (WrestleMania X8, Mar '02), and whilst it doesn't set the world alight it's still an easy watch. 

Blu-Ray Exclusives 

A Television title match with The Renegade (Fall Brawl, Sep '95) is not good, not at all good. Then there's a Battle Royal for a World title shot, with a bunch of crabcakes, namely Scott Norton, Ice-Train, Dirty Dick Slater, Earl Robert Eaton, Rocco Rock, Johnny Grunge and The Barbarian (Slamboree, May '96), which is as much of a farce as you could imagine. A US title bout with Bret Hart (World War Three, Nov' 98) is a slog of a bout. Seriously, there's nothing bad going on, but there's just so much meaningless slop and for a PPV main event you would've expected a lot more. Things aren't helped by the near 20 mins of action concluding with a screwy finish either. 

The Giant [Big Show] provides an intriguing opponent for DDP (Starrcade, Dec' 98) next, with the pair doing some strong big man/small man schtick, which is different from most of the content on the set. Beyond the story, it's hard to get past just how green Giant is at this point and the fact this is WCW means the booking is confused as hell. A steel cage match with Jeff Jarrett (Monday NITRO, Apr '00) concludes a poor selection of matches, as despite the cage having a roof WCW still managed to use a screwy finish, which is then fucked up further by Kanyon. 

Everything ends with the debut of DDP for WWF (RAW, Jun '01), with Dallas doing his best with having to do the Undertaker's wife's stalker gimmick.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.78/10

Positively Living is a strange release, because parts seem extremely well thought through, whilst others appear thrown together. The documentary is a strong film, telling it's story well and hitting most of the major points, whilst also creating a strong image of the man behind the character. The matches begin by following Page's arc of improvement and then jump about to title wins and then kind of gets lost. The match quality doesn't always reflect DDP's body of work, with matches against Raven (Spring Stampede, Apr '98), Chavo Guerrero Jr. (Fall Brawl, Sep '96), the aforementioned bouts with Randy Savage (The Great American Bash, Jun '97, Halloween Havoc, Oct '97) and Johnny B. Badd (World War 3, Nov '95) all missing, as well as a stellar three way with Raven and Chris Benoit (Uncensored, Apr '98) for obvious reasons. 

As a whole the match selection feels little bit like "Hah, wasn't WCW ridiculous?", instead of picking the stronger and most enjoyable matches of Page's career. With the WWE Network readily available, I'd personally want, if not all, of a person's best matches, at least, the majority to be here in one place. The lest said about the Blu-Ray exclusives the better.

This is a solid release, but had potential to be a lot stronger. 

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Opinion: The Changing Face of WrestleMania

Amongst WWE fans, I’d class myself as somewhat of a veteran: I’ve been watching the product for nearly 23 years now (it’s fair to say, I’m not going to grow out of this) and I’ve gone back and watched a huge chunk of content from the 10 years that preceded my introduction to the sport. Obviously, there have been huge changes to the presentation of the product over this period: from the booking of both the stars and the venues to the structuring of the cards and the status afforded to the titles, there have been notable evolutions and deviations in Vince McMahon’s vision for his company. To consider the extent of such changes, I’ve selected snapshots in history to analyse closely: Wrestlemanias 3, 13, 23 and 33. By re-watching the Manias of old and considering the build to this year’s event, I can consider what creative and business policies have changed and what philosophies have remained constant over the course of three eventful decades. Here I begin my odyssey through wrestling history with an examination of the shows from 1987 and 1997.

Wrestlemania III - "Bigger! Better! Badder!"

This was the first time that Vince McMahon decided to try and fill a stadium for a WWF show and fill it he did: the company announced a gigantic, record-breaking attendance of 93,173. Admittedly this is a number that is disputed by many but the counter argument- that it was in fact 78,000 fans that rocked the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan on March 29^th 1987- still represents incredible business. Indeed, whilst stadium bookings remained a fairly rare policy over the subsequent decade, the success of this show was never forgotten and laid the foundations for WrestleMania as we know it today. From the singing of "America the Beautiful" by Aretha Franklin to the dramatic, patriotic video images that punctuated the performance, this was the prototype for much of what we see in today’s incarnations of the flagship PPV.

To draw the house, McMahon relied on a match of epic proportions. The main event of WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant was built over a period of months and relied on the company's tried and tested baby face/monster heel dynamic. It is, in my opinion, the most significant match in the history of the company: it delivered possibly the sport’s most iconic moment in Hogan slamming the (kayfabe) undefeated giant; represented a symbolic passing of the torch; and set a wrestling attendance record that would stand in North America for nearly 30 years. I wasn’t watching back in 1987 but in every screening of that match since, I’ve grasped the magnitude of the contest; the energy of the crowd seeps through the screen. True, the quality of their ring work is fairly poor but the bout has heat and meaning. In wrestling, what else really matters?

This was a show that enforced the old adage of the Intercontinental title being the worker’s strap. Here the IC title match between Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat clearly meant something and the crowd and announcers reacted excitedly to every moment in this famed match. Interestingly, Savage received cheers on his entrance; despite being the villain, fans clearly respected and enjoyed his work. However, when the bell rang, the face and heel divide was established and the pop for Steamboat’s win wasn’t tainted by fans reluctant to play along. Elsewhere, the bout between "Rowdy" Roddy Piper against Adrian Adonis moved the live crowd who believed they were witnessing Hot Rod’s final bout. The action was poor, most notably for the interference of Brutus Beefcake, who delivered the world’s most invigorating massage.   

Truthfully, this was a three match card, although the 6 man between The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart) and Danny Davis and Tito Santana and The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid) was rather good (look out for Davey Boy hitting a tombstone; Bret and Dynamite working extra stiff; and guest celebrity, Entertainment Tonight host Mary Hart calling a match better than either Byron Saxton or David Otunga could). Otherwise, this was a long card but largely lacking in quality: Vince’s desire to get everyone on the card was admirable (everyone gets a payday and to be part of history) and it was a booking policy that would continue into the 90s. Furthermore, this show was very much a reflection of its time: some of the comments regarding Junkyard Dog and little people pushed the boundaries of taste and earned the show a TV 14 rating and a warning on the WWE Network .

Commentary duties were well handled by Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura: this was an era when the announce team received adulation from the audience and largely added value to the matches. The chemistry between the two was strong and they interacted with guests in an engaging manner. Indeed, all of the celebrities added something to proceedings. Bob Uecker knowingly delivered one of the greatest lines in Mania history when commentating on the exploits of one of the little people: “There’s Beaver everywhere”.

The show was a huge success: it drew 400,000 buys on PPV and a further 450,000 on closed circuit television. Combined with a live gate of $1,590,000 and one can see why this will always be viewed as one of the most historic and successful WrestleManias of all time.

WrestleMania 13 - Heat

Fast forward to 23rd March 1997 and WrestleMania 13, which emanated from in Rosemont, Illinois and you’ll find the difference in shows to be stark. If 1987 was the WWF at their hottest, then 1997 may have been them at their most lukewarm: business was down with the buy rate for this show registering at a mere 237,000, making it the lowest drawing show in WrestleMania history. The Rosemont Horizon was full to it’s a capacity of 18,197 but it is thought that only 16,467 paid for a house of $837,150. Not great by any means but probably not unexpected. This card fell within my timeframe as a WWF fan and I vividly recall being non-plussed about the show. I was just as, if not more, hyped for the next month’s In Your House PPV as I was this. From the lack of "America the Beautiful" and celebrity involvement to the ordinary set and scale of the crowd, the visual presentation lacked spark, verve and anything that differentiated it from a bog standard TV taping.

The commentary had by now switched to a three man booth: Jim Ross provided the bulk of insight (and occasionally wandered off to conduct ringside interviews) while Vince McMahon was… enthusiastic. Jerry Lawler had an off night, most of his jokes (including some off colour remarks about Chyna) missing the mark but at least he, and the others, had a clear role. The sparky interactions shared by Monsoon and Ventura (and later Gorilla and Bobby Heenan) were not present but at least there were no obvious passengers on this announce team either.

As for the card; it was structured somewhat similarly to Wrestlemania III, showing Vince’s on screen preferences hadn’t changed hugely. Two big men contested the title in the main event (admittedly this wasn’t the original plan but remained a tried and tested fall back in times of need); two super workers competed in the stand out match of the under card; multi-man matches like a four corners tag and the 6 man Chicago Street fight tried to fit as many performers onto the card as possible. The most notable exception was the star power: it had declined greatly since 1987. Neither The Undertaker or Sycho Sid were at Hulk Hogan’s level (and neither were aided by the fact this match was afforded a few weeks build as opposed to the few months dedicated to Hogan and Andre) and the responses for the majority of mid and undercard talents were less rapturous than those garnered by the stars of old. Even the titles had lost some lustre: here the Intercontinental title felt like an afterthought, not the showpiece attraction of old. By this point, name wrestlers fighting one another wasn’t a rarity saved for PPV attractions, it was the norm on free television and therefore not something to get overly excited about. Fan burn out had begun and only the truly special could command a star’s responses.

Fortunately, for all of the negatives, there was still fun to be had on this card: like Mania III, the show boasted an outright classic as the bloody war between Bret Hart (who, along with Davey Boy Smith has the distinction of wrestling on both the ’87 and ’97 cards) and Steve Austin foreshadowed the rise of the Attitude era. Indeed, whilst Mania III may be the ultimate symbol of the 80s boom, Mania 13 is the calm before the storm, an early experiment in a tonal shift that would lead to the company scaling new heights as the century drew to a close.

Next week the focus turns to WrestleMania 23 - "All Grown Up": we’re back in Detroit but with a Presidential twist. And then a look at the build to this year’s show and a measured evaluation of whether Vince's current presentation of WrestleMania is better or worse than those which preceded it.

Words: Sean Taylor-Richardson

Images - James Marston

Editor - James Marston

Twitter - @ATPWrestling 

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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.

WWE WrestleMania 31 DVD Review

WWE WrestleMania 31 is out on DVD and Blu-Ray now, available from www.wwedvd.co.uk Broadcast live on Pay-per-View (and the WWE Network) from the Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, USA on 29th March 2015, the three-disc set features Roman Reigns challenging Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, alongside appearances from The Undertaker, Daniel Bryan, Sting, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and many more. The special features include two matches from the WrestleMania Kick-Off show and the 2015 Hall of Fame ceremony in full. 

Disc One

A fun, spot-laden ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship, involving the likes of Daniel Bryan and Dean Ambrose, kick-off the show in good fashion. The crowd is loud from the out-set, making this a great match to open the show, with a feel-good finish making things even better. Randy Orton and Seth Rollins' grudge bout is an underrated scrap with the pair working together nicely on a series of strong reversal sequences. A spectacular finish caps off a throughly enjoyable contest.

Whilst it may not be a great wrestling match, Sting and Triple H's No Countout, No Disqualification bout is a great spectacle. From the entrances onwards (especially Triple H's) this is fun and slightly ridiculous contest, that may be the epitome of sports-entertainment. Choc-full of nostalgia, any fan of the Monday Night Wars would get a big kick out of this one, although younger fans may get a little lost in it all. A musical performance from Skylar Grey, Kid Ink and Travis Barker is not the worst musical interlude in WWE history, but perhaps could have been cut from the DVD release. 

Paige teams with AJ Lee to take on the Bella Twins in a completely watch-able Diva's effort, with a nice story. John Cena and Rusev's Fastlane rematch fails to reach the heights of their previous match, but is still a good slice of action. Based heavily on the pairs submission holds, there's a solid story to be told here, with Rusev's relationship with manager, Lana, also playing a part throughout. The main draw back to this one is the crowd's lack of interest in the contest, which may be down to many international fans in the crowd, not buying into the USA vs. Russia storyline.

An appearance from Ronda Rousey (UFC/The Expendables 3/Furious 7/Entourage) works well for what it is, with The Rock, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H all involved also. As cool as it is to see Ronda on WWE television, it's Stephanie who steals the segment with some superb work on the microphone, especially opposite Rock.

Disc Two

The return of The Undertaker produces a decent encounter opposite Bray Wyatt, in what is a bout driven by character. It's a shame that this bout wasn't held in darkness, as the level of light, takes away a little from the mystique of the characters, especially during the entrances. Whilst the match feels a little formulaic, the crowd is into every near falls, which certainly helps.

Whilst it would be easy to cast away the Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar World Heavyweight Championship main event, due to the excitement of the finish, the two put on a terrific, hard-hitting bout. With Reigns out to prove that he was worthy of his spot in the main event, the 29 year old puts on a great performance, with his facial expressions bringing a lot to the story of the bout. A fantastic piece of booking, that allows every man involved to shine throughout, there's a reason why this bout won ATPW's Match of the Month poll in March.

Special Features

The special features begins with two bout's from the WrestleMania Kick-Off show, starting with a lively four-way bout for Tyson Kidd and Cesaro's Tag Team Championships. With the crowd warming up nicely throughout, thanks to the multitude of well-timed spots, this bout is a lot of fun to watch. The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, including the likes of Cesaro, Hideo Itami and Kane, is fun battle royal, despite the match lacking on any real star power. Damien Sandow and The Miz's storyline is furthered nicely throughout the bout, that includes some cool elimination spots.

Hall of Fame

The Uso's begin the Hall of Fame ceremony with a slick and humours speech, as they induct their Father, Rikishi. Rikishi's speech is well-delivered, with a strong focus on his family, as it to be expected for a member of Anoa'i tribe. Anyone looking for some stories about Rikishi's time in WWE (especially during the Attitude Era) may be a little disappointed, as the speech rarely ventures into that area. 

With a strange combination of kayfabe and real-life stories, the content of Bruno Sammartino's induction speech for Larry Zybysko, is interesting in-terms of content, it's a shame that the delivery is dull as dishwater. In contrast, Zybyszko's speech is charismatic and engaging, with a handful of great stories about his time in the business. It's a shame however that Zybyszko hasn't planned any of it, leading to a number of repeats and the speech descending into a complete car crash come the end. 

Alundra Blayze's acceptance speech works as an extended list of people she has met throughout her year's in the business, which has it's moments. The gimmick at the end, in which Blayze's reenacts her infamous appearance on Monday Nitro, is about as cringey as could be.

Disc Three

Hall of Fame

The Ultimate Warrior's widow, Dana, produces a speech, that is both heartbreaking and fantastic in equal measure. As Daniel Bryan presents the late Conor the Crusher with the Warrior award, the former World Heavyweight Champion's speech is emotional, but focuses on the lighter times he spent with Conor. Conor's Dad, Steve, put's on stellar job, under the circumstances, and Conor's brother's final words would be enough to bring even manliest of manly man to tears. 

The Bushwacker's acceptance speech is just as absurd as you'd want it to be, with the pair seemingly completely off their collective rockers. They do, however, manage to produce some quite interesting stories about getting into the business, in what is perhaps the surprise gem of the Hall of Fame ceremony. Hulk Hogan's induction speech for Randy Savage fails to hit the mark, with the pairs difference at the time's of Savage's death quickly becoming the elephant in the room. Savage's brother Lanny Poffo's acceptance speech focuses more on Savage's relationship with the Special Olympics, rather than Savage's time in the business, and also shuns Savage's first wife Ms. Elizabeth.

Triple H works as a strong inductor for Arnold Schwarzenegger, with The Game putting together  a slick and funny intro for the Hollywood star. Schwarzenegger (Conan the Barbarian/The Terminator/Commando/The Running Man/Predator/Twins/Total Recall/Kindergarten Cop/True Lies) puts on one of the best celebrity inductee speeches to date, with a strong focus on his relationship with wrestling over the years. Shawn Michaels has charisma coming out of his arse, as he talks about his old pal, Kevin Nash, with some great personal stories surrounding major moments in Nash's career. Big Daddy Cool's acceptance speech works nicely as a close to the show, with the crowd lapping it up, before inevitable appearance from the Klique.

Special Features

John Cena prepares for Rusev is an interesting interview between Cena and Byron Saxton, with a handful of added clips to illustrate the points made. Seth Rollins is the Future is a similar venture, with Booker T, and whilst the feature is well produced, it's placing at the end of Disc Three is curious indeed.

Finally...

One of the best WrestleMania's in recent memory, there isn't a bad match on the main card here. The Hall of Fame ceremony is a mixed bag as ever, but there's still plenty to enjoy here, especially with the help of the skip button. Throw into the mix two decent matches from the Kick-Off show that are both worth a watch and you have a DVD that is well worth the money.