DVD Review: 30 Years Of Survivor Series

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 437 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: October 23 2017

(Thanks to Fetch Publicity for arranging this review.)

Survivor Series is the second longest-running Pay-Per-View event in WWE history, behind only WrestleMania. It was there when Hulkamania was running wild, when Attitude was all the rage, and when John Cena and Batista were establishing themselves as the leaders of the Ruthless Aggression era. Even today, Survivor Series has major significance, enhanced by major moments in recent years involving The Rock, Sting and Goldberg.

This latest DVD offering from WWE covers the three-decade history of Survivor Series, released just in time for the 31st instalment on November 19 in Houston. The main focus of this compilation is a feature lasting just over an hour, which highlights what are considered to be the 30 top moments in Survivor Series history (though the programme itself doesn't state this; the DVD box art does, though). This is followed by a series (no pun intended) of matches spanning the years 1988-2016.

Visit our DVDs sub-page for full article by clicking here

DVD Preview: 30 Years Of Survivor Series

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Fetch Publicity

The following story is courtesy of Fetch Publicity ...

On Thanksgiving Day thirty years ago, WWE's second pay-per-view event was born with a new twist. In the early days, teams of five strived to survive. Over the course of the next three decades, Survivor Series evolved into one of the greatest spectacles on the WWE calendar, where championship matches, iconic face-offs and unforgettable moments take place. Join us as we countdown the 30 greatest moments from 30 remarkable years of Survivor Series.

Visit our DVDs sub-page for full article by clicking here

DVD Review: 1997: Dawn Of The Attitude

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 450 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: October 2 2017

(Thanks to Fetch Publicity for arranging this review.)

When analysing the history of WWE, previously the WWF (and the WWWF before that), a pivotal year is 1997. During that time, business was way down, and the company lagged behind WCW in almost every key area. However, a revolution was happening on-screen, and years of promoting wrestling to please the kids and bringing the families was being slowly replaced by a rebellious product which focused on entertainment via strong language, sexuality, bloody violence and more mature themes to the storylines. This would eventually lead to a massive boom period for the WWF and for wrestling in general, with 1998-2001 being the company's most successful years in history. Seriously, the word "ass" and the ever-so-frequent use of it made the WWF millions.

But most of this was still to come when 1997 began. At that time, traits of Attitude were being gradually introduced (Steve Austin swearing and flipping people off, slightly more violent matches involving the likes of Mankind, the sexual nature of Goldust's "psychological" tactics, and the infamous "gun" angle involving Austin breaking into Brian Pillman's home, during which Pillman said "fuck" live on the air, which almost got the WWF kicked off the USA Network), but it was still marketed as a family-friendly show. Throughout the year things would change, and as 1997 came to a close, the "new" WWF had arrived. A few weeks into 1998, Mike Tyson came on board to help promote WrestleMania, and subsequent angles along with other plotlines would bring about the success that Attitude is most remembered for.

Visit our DVDs sub-page for full article by clicking here

DVD Review: WWE Unreleased 1986-1995

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 501 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: September 4 2017

(Thanks to Fetch Publicity for arranging this review.)

Following on from last year's similar WWE The Attitude Era Volume 3 - Unreleased, which featured previously unseen matches from 1996-2000 (not necessarily all from the Attitude Era, but you can read more about that in my review here), we now have a new release covering hidden gems from 1986-1995.

Hosted by Charly Caruso and legendary personality Sean Mooney, Unreleased is a straight-up collection of bouts which only the live crowd will have seen. No matches here had previously been televised; all of these were only seen by those in attendance. It's possible that some of these bouts were intended to be broadcast, but if so, they obviously weren't.

Visit our DVDs sub-page for full article by clicking here

DVD Preview: WWE Unreleased 1986-1995

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Fetch Publicity

The following story is courtesy of Fetch Publicity ...

This is a three-disc collection of never-before-seen matches from WWE’s golden era and New Generation! Features action from legendary Superstars such as Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Macho Man Randy Savage, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Bret “Hitman” Hart, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker!

Visit our DVDs sub-page for full article by clicking here

The Attitude Era Volume 3 - Unreleased now available on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK

Image Source:
Fetch Publicity

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Fetch Publicity

The following story is courtesy of Fetch Publicity ...

The Attitude Era Volume 3 - Unreleased is now available in the UK on both DVD and Blu-ray.

The third volume in WWE’s Attitude Era DVD & Blu-ray series, this time bringing together previously unseen material from the period between 1996-2000. Includes “dark” matches from Monday Night Raw, non-televised matches from pay-per-view events, live events, and more never-before-released moments from WWE’s most controversial era!

Visit our DVDs sub-page for full article by clicking here

The Attitude Era Volume 3 - Unreleased coming soon on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK

Image Source:
Fetch Publicity

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Fetch Publicity

The following story is courtesy of Fetch Publicity ...

The third volume in WWE’s Attitude Era DVD & Blu-ray series, this time bringing together previously unseen material from the period between 1996-2000. Includes “dark” matches from Monday Night Raw, non-televised matches from pay-per-view events, live events, and more never-before-released moments from WWE’s most controversial era!

Visit our DVDs sub-page for full article by clicking here

WWE Tagged Classics: WWF The Year In Review 1993 & 1994

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 352 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 2
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: May 16 2011

As part of the Tagged Classics series, the original WWF Year In Review shows for 1993 and 1994 were re-released. Unfortunately, according to UK distributor Silver Vision (who were technically the ones releasing these DVDs rather than WWE), the original master tape for the 1992 Year In Review is unsuitable for re-release (which is a shame since this was a VHS that I did not purchase back in the day), meaning that the YIR series on Tagged Classics begins with the 1993/1994 annums.

This was an interesting time in WWF history, as it marked the dying days of the Hulkamania era and the emphasis on the New Generation. It's clear that while the in-ring quality of WWF action improved over the mid-1990s, but the general popularity of the Federation was in decline. Indeed, the arenas for weekly television were much bigger at the beginning of 1993 than they were by the end of 1994; in fact, large-scale arenas wouldn't host WWF/WWE television shows again until early 1997. In the meantime, many of the big names who departed the WWF were not suitable replaced, so while the crop of talent in the company was generally good, very few were truly over, meaning that there is a smaller cast of memorable characters on the 1994 disc.

Visit our Wrestling sub-page for full article by clicking here

The Best Of The Intercontinental Championship

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 61 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: January 25 2005

This retro DVD review really is a throwback in more ways than one. The DVD in question was released in 2005, but is actually a re-release of a video (yes, a video) which first saw the light of day in the mid-1990s. Adding to the old-school feel, it is roughly an hour long and features five matches, most of which lack entrances and some of which have overdubbed commentary.

We open with Gorilla Monsoon introducing us to the programme and quickly explaining what is to come. I liked Gorilla but I couldn't help but laugh when he described an upcoming Bret Hart-Skinner match as a "blockbuster" (due to the latter, not the former). Anyway, we then get into match 1. Oh, and all matches bar one are from 1993 (the exception is from 1992).

Visit our Wrestling sub-page for full article by clicking here

Bret Hitman Hart - The Best There Is

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 549 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: December 12 2005

After the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997 resulted in Bret Hart exiting the WWF earlier than expected and under very bad terms, a potential reunion seemed unimaginable. For all the old WWF/WWE names who would return in the years to come (including Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Roddy Piper), it seemed that the Hitman would never go back under any circumstances. But relations improved between Hart and Vince McMahon in the early-to-mid-2000s, so much so that Bret would agree to participate in this career retrospective DVD, the first step towards a landmark return.

(Actually, Bret had stated in more than one interview that he was initially approached to contribute to a release focusing solely on Montreal, which likely would have dumped all over Bret's reputation. Why such an idea seemed a good one is anybody's guess, but fortunately the Hitman managed to persuade Vince to allow common sense to prevail, and so this DVD became a proper career retrospective instead.)

Visit our Wrestling sub-page for full article by clicking here

Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows

Image Source: IMDB

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Distributor: Vidmark/Trimark
Production Companies: A&E Television Networks, High Road Productions and Trimark Pictures
Director: Paul Jay
Producers: Paul Jay, Sally Blake, David M. Ostriker and Silva Basmajian (NFB)
Writer: Paul Jay
Main Cast: Bret Hart, Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels, Stu Hart, Julie Hart, Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith and Jim Neidhart
Released: December 20 1998
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Certificate: E

Since it's WrestleMania Week, this week's retro movie review takes a slightly different approach by focusing on a wrestling-themed production, which is more of a documentary than a film; however, its reality-based content and gripping footage allows it to shine nonetheless.

Wrestling With Shadows tells the story of Bret Hart, at one point the WWF/WWE's biggest star. He first became WWF Champ in 1992, and lost his third title to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XII in 1996. Shortly afterwards, Hart went on an extended vacation from wrestling, and pondered his future as WCW made him an offer; bear in mind that WCW was now overtaking the WWF in terms of popularity. It is around this time, in autumn 1996, when Bret chooses to stay in the WWF that the documentary begins to tell its narrative.

Visit our Wrestling sub-page for full article by clicking here